Settling For Moyes

Having had a chance for the decision to appoint David Moyes to digest for a couple of months now, it still doesn't seem to be the appointment that Manchester United deserved. A pragmatic approach is needed when assessing a new manager however it seems bereft of credence as to why this man has the job of the biggest and most lucrative sports team in the world.

David Moyes is a good manager. He's been described as a 'worker' and there's nothing wrong with that. He has been brought up in the same vein that Sir Alex Ferguson was and again, there is nothing wrong with that. His list of achievements are getting Preston North End promoted and working on a limited budget. Outside of the top 8, which manager isn't working with a limited budget exactly? Is that something to put on a CV as an attribute? It's akin to being close to pay-day and getting lunch from Tesco rather than Pret A Manger. Once again, pragmatism.

Manchester United have a claimed legacy of hiring managers that are there for the long term however it's not hard to look online and notice that other than Sir Matt Busby and Sir Alex Ferguson, the managers in between stayed no longer than 5 years. Maybe that's why David Moyes has been given a six year contract? Who knows but this appointment wasn't sitting well when announced in June and it still isn't sitting well now. Looking from the outside in, I'm sure other teams are envious of the 'long term project' being afforded to Moyes. Case in point being Chelsea prior to re-hiring Jose Mourinho. They could have done with someone like Moyes just to settle the ship and make the team the winners that they should be considering the astronomical amounts of money that has been spent. In light of this, David Moyes at Manchester United just doesn't look right from any angle.

Staunch United fans are built as such to stick by whomever is in charge. That is not a bad thing in any respect. It is why football exists. A team is chosen to be supported and the key word here is 'supported' and regardless of the decisions, the players and manager are backed irrespective of the clientèle. This hasn't been written to create an aggressive response from these fans, in fact they should be applauded for being true to their beliefs when, at the opposite end of the spectrum, football has bread the supporter that is epitomised by Piers Morgan. No more words need to be said about such a person.

The dilemma here is that it is quite clear that across Europe, not one of the top 3 or 4 teams would have hired David Moyes as their manager. To lure players to a club, the footballer looks at the manager first and himself second. If the manager is not going to improve a player's ability then he'll have second thoughts. It's a question that needs to be asked: 'Are Manchester United not making transfer moves or are players just not blown away by the lure of playing for Manchester United under David Moyes?' It's a quandary for any Manchester United fan and it's not just transfer activity that seems to be the main problem. Along with Sir Alex Ferguson moving into the upper echelons of the club; David Gill has also moved on to pastures new. David Gill was one of the best CEO a football team could have asked for and now two novices: Ed Woodward and David Moyes are in charge (along with many other members of staff) of taking the club forward. It's a sad indictment for United in that there has been so much change in such a small amount of time. Now time is all that they have for this project to come to fruition and as Moyes has said, it will take a little while for things to get back to normal for fans and players alike.

Alongside the factors mentioned above, the embarrassingly public pursuit of Cesc Fabregas has been something else out of the norm. It's not normal for the pursuit of transfer targets to be in the public domain so much. The norm is meant to be that the manager may or may not admit that he likes the player and after that, the player signs or he doesn't. The parts that have taken place in between have been cringeworthy. It's not clear as to the strategy here but it's plain to see that it is not working. Fabregas aside, the non-pursuit of the cliché that is Thiago Alcantara was something strange. The media claimed that United were favourites to sign him, only for Thiago's mentor and Agent's brother, Pep Guardiola to come out and say he is the only player Bayern are looking to sign. From there it was only going to end one way, Bayern adding another star to their already star-studded midfield. The odd part of all of this is that after signing, Thiago came out to say that Manchester United didn't make a bid or show any interest at all. Now you can believe who you want but let's just say that Thiago will be one of the best players in Europe very soon and it's a huge opportunity missed if what he is saying is true.

Keeping a keen eye on NewsNow for any transfer activity attributed to Manchester United has been laughable and frustrating. From Baines to every available midfielder on earth to Ronaldo. Not one of these has any credibility to it and herein lies the problem. Baines created the most chances in the Premier League last season yet £12m was offered. Liverpool skewed the English transfer market with their penchant for paying 6.3 times the worth of a player and with that in mind, £12m found a swift rebuttal. It's moves such as these that are showing Moyes's naivety at now having money to spend. Other than a back up right back who is sure to go on loan straight away, the only signing Manchester United have made is the appointment of PepsiCo. Now the last time I checked, given that the midfield has publicly been highlighted as an area of concern by Moyes, PepsiCo wasn't and never will be a footballer.

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The Insurmountable Gulf In Class

England have crashed out of another tournament and chastised in the press for doing so but what expectations were they supposed to exceed? In any age group, other than the media, does anyone actually envisage an England team succeeding at a tournament in the near future? The manager Stuart Pearce has been sacked and the reasoning behind it is that he failed to meet expectations set out prior to this Under 21 tournament. It's times like this that you have to realise that a managerial change means nothing when the talent pool is so heavily restricted and quite frankly, terrible.

If you were not from these shores and you looked at the current crop of English players at this Under 21 tournament in Israel, at no point would you have been worried. Pearce has been deprived of the players he would like to pick and that's where the problem starts. Statistics can show that there were good enough players out there with England having four full internationals in the squad. Four? This four included Jack Butland, Steven Caulker, Jordan Henderson and Wilfried Zaha. None of which would get into the senior squad today. Only Henderson has more than one cap with the fantastically grand total of five and that's a sad indictment for a team such as England.

In comparison to Spain, who won the tournament with ease, they only had two full internationals in Thiago and Isco. Concrete proof that it is harder to win a full Spanish cap. However it is not this statistic that is meaningful; it is that all 11 players in Spain's strongest team play top-division football. That amounts to 371 appearances with 272 of them in the league. Taking it further, nine of the 11 will be playing in the Champions League next season. Put into context, four players in the England team play top-division football with one of them being Craig Dawson. Now of those four players, not one of them plays for a top four club and the accumulated Premier League appearances is 76. With the powers of elimination, that automatically means that the other seven players play in the Championship. Other countries put a huge emphasis on tournament football except England. The FA have said that the senior team take priority but what priority exactly? The team that are struggling to qualify for tournaments? The team that once at the tournament are outplayed in nearly every game then coming home to media castigation every two years? Indeed this is the team that takes priority over any other age group below it. Not to put these players on a pedestal but where were Phil Jones,   Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Danny Welbeck and Jack Rodwell? The latter of which played 5 minutes against Brazil rather than competing in a tournament which would have aided his footballing education exponentially. Using context again, after Spain won the World Cup Juan Mata won the Under 21 Championships a year later. He played in both and at no point is one made more important than the other.

It would seem that the stigma needs to be removed in this country that 'dropping down' a level to the under 21s is not a hindrance. Every other country uses it as a vital step in a young player's career whereas in England it is seen as a step that has no means to an end. Case in point being Holland and their use of twelve senior internationals in their under 21 squad. 

It puts many countries in good stead when it comes to tournaments for the lower international levels however it only seems to cause England problems when it comes down to it. The cyclical stages of international football here can be seen as thus: Once problems have been uncovered a scapegoat is then needed. Once the avenue of poor technical ability has been exhausted, the system used by the current manager is then next in the firing line. It is at this stage that the only change is made; to sack the manager, and that's the sad state of a top-down approach to English football. Football needs to be viewed with a bottom-up approach and if that isn't strikingly obvious then the future is not bright, the future is Roja.

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Would you sell Rooney for £30m?

Before getting started and to make it clear, this is not a piece to make Wayne Rooney receive any more vitriol than he already receives. There is no doubting the talent involved here however it has come to a time in the career of England's 'best player' that he has to, along with his manager, assess the situation and what is the next step in his career.

Talking about Rooney's career would be an apt place to start. Can it be viewed as a success? Yes. To think otherwise is, quite frankly, absurd. He isn't viewed in the highest regard by non-Manchester United fans but the other side of the coin is that he isn't held in such esteem by Manchester United fans either. In October 2010, a night that will not be forgotten in the supporter's minds, Rooney issued his threat to quit the club and hold Manchester United to ransom. It is too simplistic to call the guy a mercenary however his ambition seemed to be bigger than that of arguably the biggest football club in the world. At 24 years of age and with only two years left to run on his current deal it was a time when he was the talisman. 'Was' being the clear word here and the reason he could do what he did. To empathise with Manchester United here, what would you do when your best player asks to leave? Let him go or agree to his excessive demands? You do what any sane person would do and give in to such demands when the number 1 globally endorsed English player asks for anything.

As this is being written, the media is awash with articles about Wayne Rooney wanting a new contract. It seems apt that at a time when he could be considered surplus to requirements would he now want to stay at the club. You could even say that his plan three years ago has backfired in the sense that he's not the main man any more; if anything, he is hindering Manchester United. An explanation of this can be called the 'Jenas Theory' (bear with me). Luka Modric signed for Spurs in 2008 and came in as Croatia's next big player. A player that had an attacking mindset with a penchant for creating rather than scoring, he was a player that Spurs really needed in the middle. However Juande Ramos played him as a deep-lying defensive midfielder and Harry Redknapp played him on the left wing. The only reason for this was to not interrupt with the constant inclusion of Jermaine Jenas. In conclusion, Jenas's lack of flexibility and, quite clearly, ability moved Modric around the midfield to play in positions he was not naturally selected for. To apply this to Manchester United is simple and works in two ways:

1. In 2008 when Manchester United won the Champions League, Rooney was Modric and had to move around the midfield/attack to compensate for the talismanic Cristiano Ronaldo. Now in theory and in practice, this is the perfect reason to keep Rooney in the side due to his flexibility and footballing ability. The opposite to Jermaine Jenas but very much the same theory. 

2. This current season Rooney is Jenas. A player not at the top of his game and quite clearly hindering the side unless he is playing against a team that is happy to relinquish the ball and have one eye on the next game against a fellow relegation struggler. When he was dropped against Real Madrid Sir Alex Ferguson was castigated in the press. It was clear to see that this was a shrewd move and the team selection worked until that famous red card. Players at the club are playing out of position so that Rooney can remain in the side. However he is much the better player in comparison to Jenas and he has been effective in his link up play even if his goal scoring exploits have had to take a back seat. Summer signing Shinji Kagawa is having to do what Rooney did in 2008 and play out of position to compensate for Rooney being in the side. Kagawa is therefore Modric. 

This theory can be applied to many teams across the globe however this season it could not be more apparent that it seems Rooney's inclusion happens to take the fluidity out of the side. When selected in midfield, he has allowed the attacking players more freedom and as could be seen against West Ham at Upton Park, a poor game for him, his role as Jenas was seen by all viewers and was correctly taken off to let Giggs play on the left and move Kagawa inside. Once this substitution was made the dynamics of the game changed and Manchester United became relentless, even if they were slightly ineffective in testing the goalkeeper more. 

Wayne Rooney is on a claimed £250,000 a week which makes him Manchester United's best paid player  but not paid because he is the best player. It's a sad indictment for a footballer that had so much potential early on. It has been noticed that on many occasions, Rooney returns from pre-season having gained weight. The same happens when he returns from injury and Ferguson's constant response of him needing a few games to get up to speed cannot wash forever. There comes a time when you only need to look to Van Persie for what an athlete should look like. Only two years his senior yet he hasn't an ounce of fat on his body yet having the same diet available to him in England that Rooney has. It is safe to say this speaks volumes of mental as well as physical ability.

As mentioned at the beginning of this piece, this was not written to discount Wayne Rooney as a footballer. It is however a reason for people to see that something needs to change and come the summer it will be more apparent than ever. Manchester United need players to replace Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs and short of stating the obvious, Rooney's move to midfield in October against Newcastle was seen as his second coming. A piece on this blog about looking closer to home for the answer to Manchester United's midfield conundrum sprang to mind against Stoke at the weekend. Alongside Carrick, he was influential and his constant want of the ball worked in his favour. It is this characteristic which works to his detriment when playing as a striker. The 'interfering' with dropping so deep and leaving space in front of the midfield caused more problems than solutions against West Ham. Honing his midfield ability would save United a lot of money in the summer as well as allowing them to spend elsewhere when Hernandez clearly needs games. A return of 16 goals from 28 games this season compounds this enough. Ironically this is the same amount of goals that Rooney has scored even though he's played 3 games more and the majority as a starter. It won't be long before Hernandez's ability to woo any man with his smile will be replaced with demands to play more football and not as a substitute. 30 goals in 46 games for Mexico is not something to take lightly. 

Rooney's demands to sign world class players could not have gone more wrong for him as a footballer. He is not the main striker at the club with Van Persie in the ranks and he is not the trequarista with Kagawa coming in. So where does that leave the player that was held in the same regard as Gascoigne? Or a player that can best Charlton's international goal tally? Only time will tell but if a club offered £30m for Rooney this summer, it wouldn't be a swift rebuttal like it would have been 2 years ago.

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The Boy Who Will Never Be King

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro.

The 'second' greatest player in the world and of his generation. Lionel Messi must haunt him on a daily basis as he goes about his business being the best player Real Madrid currently have past, present and future. Comparison after comparison, record after broken record. If you were to feel sorry for one player, Fabrice Muamba aside, Cristiano Ronaldo has to be one unlucky fellow.

He was never to know that during his rise at Sporting Lisbon as an 18 year old that the apparent greatest player of our generation was lighting up Barcelona B in the country next door.

Here is a guy who has 'invented', for want of a better word, his own free kick technique. To the point where players such as Gareth Bale has cottoned on, and himself a talented player, even uses the same posture before the referee has even blown his whistle to take the set piece. This free kick is pretty much unstoppable and shows the measure of a man's willingness to train himself.

The first time that Cristiano was seen on the world stage was when he made a mockery of Rio Ferdinand in a match to inaugurate Sporting's new stadium. Not that this is that hard to do nowadays but when you're that good, to the point where Ferdinand pleaded with Sir Alex Ferguson to sign him, you knew there was a great talent here.

Any fan of English football could see the raw talent that Ronaldo possessed but he brought with him the frailness and a willingness to go to ground at any attempt. This, knee-jerkingly caused the media to get on his back because: 1. He plays for Manchester United and 2. Nobody liked a diving foreigner. Diving is now commonplace in the game and it is no different to claiming a corner kick that never was or the way in which a player will claim he has not fouled a player when he knows he has. The art of misleading the referee has been around for decades. The point here, is that now Cristiano has filled the large boots he created for himself with his extreme ego, now what would you say if he dived during Real Madrid's next game? Probably not much right.

Quite often he is compared to Lionel Messi and that is what humans do unfortunately. To claim something to be better you have to compare it to its nearest rival.  However in this case it is difficult to compare. Ronaldo is older yes and of late hasn't scored as much as Messi however that doesn't make him any less spectacular. Something that sticks out is that Ronaldo played for the U18's all the way to the senior squad for Sporting in one season. Ronaldo was breaking records from the youngest of ages, just like his counterpart. There is no point picking out each record as there are so many but a few are highlighted below:

Beating George Best's tally for a winger in a single season with 33 goals.

First Premier League player to win the FIFA World Player of the Year award.

The fastest player to get to 100 goals for Real Madrid.

First player in La Liga to score 40 goals two seasons in a row.

First player to score against every La Liga team in one season.

First player to score in every final he has played in.

First player to win the European Golden Shoe in two different countries.

He is now on 188 goals in 186 appearances for Real Madrid and that is remarkable in itself. There is only one other player that can match such a goals to game ratio and that's the unfortunate part here. In any other century or dimension, Ronaldo would be the best player of his generation. By quite a distance too. He is the finest specimen you could imagine in terms of physique and mental strength. This has all come from dedication to the sport in which he loves. The media like to paint this comparison with Messi as Good vs Evil and not to take anything away from Messi but he's had his own moments of petulance and cheating throughout his illustrious career. Under Sir Alex Ferguson's tutelage, Ronaldo became a man first and footballer second. Now he is the the most expensive signing in football history with a €1bn buy-out clause.

You can't help but feel sorry for Ronaldo having to watch Messi pick up four Ballon d'Ors in a row when he's done nothing wrong himself. You can say he conducts himself in an inflammatory way however that should not take away from his ability in the confines of a football stadium. There isn't a player as devastating that can add power, pace, strength, agility all into one package as well as become a brand sensation. Make the comparison to Messi and you know who would be the underwear model here.

Gerard Piqué aptly put it like this:

"Ronaldo is the best among humans, but Messi is an alien"

He's not wrong either.

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Messi: An ode to the greatest

In terms of football, the year of 2012 finished moments ago and it was incredible for one reason and one reason only: Lionel Andrés Messi.

Pundits and people alike all talk of the greatest of all time or asking whether he is better than Cristiano Ronaldo, that's where people's perceptions are in the wrong place. You need to ask yourself, can he get better than the level he is at right now? He hasn't won a world cup single-handedly like Maradona or had the luck to play alongside some of the world's greatest players for Brasil like Pele but here is someone that just scored 91 goals in one year. It wasn't in an unknown league on the sub-continent, this has occurred for the best team in the world as the world's current best player. Surrounded by some of the current greatest players of this generation he has excelled in a role he has carved out for himself: the lynch-pin  the focal point, the false nine, the free role, the 'Messi role'. This is not a place to waste time making comparisons but to reflect on what we have available to us right now. Could you imagine what it would be like being born 20 years from now and not growing up having seen Messi play? This is a huge reason just to admire and be happy with what we have and not to make him something he isn't or get caught up in time wasting conjecture.

The Beginning

Lionel Andrés Messi was born 24th June 1987 in Rosario, Argentina. He was the younger of two brothers and had most of his upbringing delivered by his Auntie Marcela and Grandmother Celia. His parents were busy working day jobs making ends meet so it was up to his wider family to introduce him to football and become the catalyst in making him the player he is today.

His first football coach at Grandoli Sports Centre No 8 was urged to play Messi by his Grandmother. After some persuasion, Messi's Mother allowed him to play, but in the age group above. It was this acceptance from his Mother that let his coach, Oscar Lopez and other children from the neighbourhood see what a special talent he was. His first action with the ball wasn't your usual one. Sat in the middle of the pitch playing with stones until the ball bounced towards him. He jumped up, controlled the ball and dribbled it away in the same vein you see now for Barcelona. He may not have scored that day but from then on he turned into a goal machine playing with the older boys.

"He seemed to create pictures of what he wanted to do in his head and then make them reality on the pitch. He was just born with this talent. You can't teach it." Jorge Lopez

That's the thing, you can't teach it. All the great players were great before we all knew it. Training can help you hone your accuracy or strength but natural ability is exactly that.

A shy, caring, unnaturally small boy but with courage and determination that left an impression on anyone that met him. Messi is the same now as he was 20 years ago back in Rosario. It is this humble-ness that leaves you in even more admiration of him as any other player would have let it get to their heads and tarnish their reputation as a person first; footballer second. Messi's stock was rising and it caught the eye of Newell's Old Boys number two coach Claudio Vivas who made the trip to the training centre in the heart of Rosario. It was here that he saw something special as Messi was now under the stewardship of Grandoli Sports Centre No 8's new coach Gabriel Digerolamo. He was putting a team off 11-12 year olds together and was asked if he had space for one more. From there, the rest was history.

"He was from another world. He dribbled with the ball so closely it was like watching someone who had been given years of training in how to do it. He played like he does now, dribbling and scoring lots of goals. He was brilliant at anticipating what his team mates, his opponents and the goalkeeper would do." Gabriel Digerolamo

Digerolamo went down the unusual route of playing Messi as a sweeper. An astute tactic when you get past the surface as with the ability that Messi has, it was the natural place to put him as he could dribble past the entire team from the half way line which is not dissimilar from what occurs at Barcelona from time-to-time. Messi's next coach played him as a defensive midfielder and it was from here that he would go on to score over 100 goals that season and for the following seasons after.

Every coach that had the honour of honing Messi's talents all had the same worry; Messi was far too short for his age and he wasn't growing like the other boys. While playing for Newell's Old Boys, the doctors at the club urged Messi's Parents to speak to a child growth expert. After a year of examining Messi, Doctor Schwarzstein had found the hormone deficiency that was hampering Messi's height and began a course of injecting the missing hormone. Over the next two years, Messi grew at a 'normal' rate and his confidence increased in line with his height. However at a pricey £300-£650 per month, which wasn't a problem during the 90's as it was covered by the Government, but come the year 2000 Argentina was in the midst of quite severe fiscal troubles. Without this funding Messi's treatments could not be paid for by his family and Newell's couldn't help him either. River Plate were very interested in Messi's services but weren't in a financial position to cover the treatment. The only team that showed a concrete interest and were willing to fund his medical bills were Barcelona after Scouts had become aware of Messi's talent. They offered Messi a trial and after a family meeting and the famous 'napkin contract', Messi and his Father moved to Spain.

"In Barcelona, on the 14th of December of 2000 and in the presence of Josep Minguella and Horacio (Gaggioli), Carles Rexach, FCB technical secretary, it commits under his responsibility and despite some views against it to sign the player Lionel Messi, as long we stick to the amounts agreed upon."

Barcelona

At 13 years old, this was the first time that Barcelona had signed such a young talent from abroad and it wasn't long before he was turning heads at La Masia. Growing up alongside Gerard Pique and Cesc Fabregas, they formed a formidable side in the youth leagues and while Pique and Fabregas moved to England, Messi made his official debut as a 16 year old in 2003 against Porto. It wasn't until the 16th October 2004 that he started breaking more records in becoming the youngest player in La Liga when he made his professional debut against Espanyol.

Replacing Deco, this picture is more poignant that it initially may seem.

Messi then became the youngest scorer in La Liga for Barcelona when he scored his first professional goal against Albacete in 2005 at the tender age of 17. It is quite interesting to note that Messi also played for Barcelona B during this season and scored 6 in 17 matches in the Segunda División.

The Start Of Something Special

The 2005/2006 season was the season that Lionel Messi signed a contract extension as a first team player and let him play alongside the best player around at that time in Ronaldinho. They forged quite the partnership and Messi received a standing ovation when he was substituted as the fans recognised the shining star within their squad. Messi's season ended prematurely when he was injured against Chelsea in the Champions League at Stamford Bridge. The tournament that Barcelona ended up winning that season.

“Every time he plays, Leo Messi reminds me more of Maradona, both left-footed and short, Messi is the best player in the world, along with Kaká and Cristiano Ronaldo. For us it is not a surprise. Since he began to come and train with us and we knew we would go down this path. Someday I will explain that I was at the birth of one of the footballing greats: Leo Messi.” Ronaldinho

Messi started the next season a stronger player and it was this season he established himself as a first-team player. Anyone involved in his past knew that this was always inevitable but to displace current members of the Barcelona squad, on paper at least, seemed difficult. It was this season that his scoring exploits became apparent and he ended the season with 14 in 26 matches. He starred in El Clasico, scoring a hat-trick to give 10 man Barcelona the draw in a fantastic 3-3 match. 

In an already career defining season, Messi went on to score one of the best goals that anyone has ever seen and he didn't help the 'New Maradona' tag he had been labelled with. Against Getafe Messi took the ball from the half way line, beat 6 players and slotted home with ease. There have been comparisons with Maradona in the past but this goal was nearly identical to the goal Maradona scored against England in the 1986 World Cup.

The following 2007-2008 season saw Messi start to receive the plaudits that he deserved. The Spanish press were calling for him to be named the best player in the world and various figures in football echoed those sentiments. However he finished third in the Ballon d'Or behind Kaka and eventual winner Cristiano Ronaldo. Messi suffered a fourth thigh injury in three seasons and it kept him out of the side for quite a while. There were claims that his hormone deficiency was the cause however since then there has not been a recurrence and that's for the better of everyone. Messi finished the season with 16 goals and 13 assists, the former number continued to grow and it still is.

In 2008-2009, Messi took the number 10 shirt from the departing Ronaldinho. Along with taking the number, he also inherited his responsibility. Anyone with an ounce of knowledge knew that this would never be an issue for Messi and it couldn't have been compounded better with another record-breaking season on the way. Messi scored 9 Champions League goals, won his first Copa Del Rey, scored twice in a 6-2 Real Madrid battering and scored in the Champions League final to give Barcelona the final cup to claim a historic treble. This was the first time that it had happened in Spanish history and Messi went on to finish the season with 38 goals and 18 assists in all competitions.

After his exploits the previous season, Lionel Messi won his first Ballon d'Or by beating Cristiano Ronaldo by quite some margin. It was during the 2009-2010 season that he helped Barcelona win the European Super Cup and the World Club Cup, capping off an amazing calendar year for Messi. Under the stewardship of Guardiola, Messi was moved into the centre as a 'false-9' and went on to have another prolific season.

"He is a unique player. The best player I've ever seen and I think we'll ever see." Pep Guardiola

He's been called the best for a number of years now and when a player of Guardiola's calibre can have such superlatives, it is only correct that a €250m buy out clause was included in Messi's contract extension. He signed until 2016 and has always said that he never wants to leave Barcelona. When you're on such a tangent as a player, there's no reason to leave when you have Xavi and Iniesta playing with you. 

Messi went on to win the FIFA World Player of the Year title as well as scoring his first 4 goal haul in a single match against Arsenal. Those Champions League goals took Messi past Rivaldo as the competition's top scorer for a Barcelona player. He also equalled Ronaldo's record of 34 league goals and for a second year in a row was named La Liga's player of the year. His goal and assist tally for this season finished on 47 and 11 respectively.

Season after season Messi has improved and has not stopped breaking records. The 2010-2011 season was no different in helping Barcelona have a 16 match unbeaten run. In April of that season he surpassed his 47 goal tally from last season and went on to score a colossal 53 goals as well as providing 24 assists. On the way to this figure, Messi scored one of the greatest and my personal favourite El Clasico goals (albeit in the Champions League). 

Messi went on to score 12 Champions League goals that season which is only 2 away from the all-time record of 14 by José Alfatini. His exploits did not go unnoticed by the Ballon d'Or panel, which awarded him the accolade for the second year in a row.

A Record Breaking Year

The 2011-2012 season became one of folklore for many reasons but one that's been highlighted continually in the press. From numbers alone, Messi has got better and better year on year and there is no one out there at his level. The start of this season saw Messi score 3 against Real Madrid to help lift the Spanish Supercup and then score again in the European Supercup to claim that trophy too. 

You'd think there wouldn't be many more records to break but it was this season that he overtook Lázló Kubala as Barcelona's La Liga (132) and all competitions (194) top goalscorer. It wasn't long after that he scored his 200th goal for Barcelona and it's crazy to think he has achieved this at the tender age of 24. Messi won his second World Club Cup and again shined by scoring two and overshadowing the prodigious talent that is Neymar. Messi then broke another record by becoming the first player to score 5 goals in a Champions League game in a 7-1 demolition of Bayer Leverkusen. 

It was in March of that season that he became Barcelona's all time leading goalscorer by scoring his 233rd goal in all competitions. He then equalled the Champions League record of 14 goals mentioned earlier. Had he not missed that penalty against Chelsea, he would have most likely put Barcelona through and beat that record also.

In May during the run up to the end of the season, Messi overtook Gerd Müller's record of 67 goals in a season by scoring a hat-trick against Málaga. It was his seventh hat-trick of the season and confirmed him as the best goalscorer in a single European season. He went on to score in the Copa Del Rey final, winning Guardiola his last trophy as Barcelona manager and finished the season with 73 goals and 29 assists in all competitions. His La Liga tally was 50 and 16 respectively.

To cap off his most amazing season yet, Messi won the Ballon d'Or for the third time in a row (equalling Platini) and was named UEFA's Best Player in Europe. He beat his compatriots Xavi and Iniesta to both awards, to which he said was for them as much as it was for himself.

The current season is only half way through but it wasn't without its records. Messi surpassed Pelé's record of 75 goals in a calendar year to move within 9 of Gerd Müller's record. In December Messi scored twice against Athletic Bilbao which helped him equal César Rodriguez's record of 190 La Liga goals for Barcelona. It wasn't long before he surpassed both Müller's and Rodriguez's records by scoring another brace against Real Betis. Müller's was a record that stood since 1972 and it's a privilege to have been around to witness such magic. 

"My record stood for 40 years - 85 goals in a year - and now the best player in the world has broken it, and I'm delighted for him. He is an incredible player, gigantic." Gerd Müller

Messi's goalscoring exploits did not stop here as he ended the calendar year with 91 goals, a feat I can only see be bettered by Messi alone. He was then again rewarded with a contract extension until 2018, at which point he will be 31 and no doubt have broken a plethora of records.

All of Messi's 91 goals can be viewed here. What a player.

Lionel Messi is the best player in the world and that is undoubted. To compare him with Cristiano Ronaldo, who himself is a brilliant player, is nonsensical. Playing the numbers game, it is clear to see who is the better player but it's not always about that. Messi has the balance, touch, speed and agility of a player that hasn't been seen for decades. He resembles what Maradona showed the world during his time in the game but do not mistake this as a comparison to who is the better player. This isn't about that. This is about realising what we have right now and appreciating that he is the best at what he does.
It must be irksome for great players of the past however Johann Cruyff said it best:

“Messi obviously could not be compared to me as he is a completely different type of player; he is more in the mould of Maradona. What everyone should be especially happy about is that every era has its own heroes. Why would one be less than the other? Pele was a hero in his time, I was in my period and Messi’s time is now. He is a joy to behold. Instead of comparing, we should just be really happy that we are able to enjoy players like Messi and Ronaldo today.”

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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 United's season, looking at it from the outside-in looks great. Top of the table in both of the leagues they're playing in and scoring a plethora of goals. What has papered over the cracks is the weakness in the team to actually be the better team on the day or just to keep a clean sheet (3 in 16 games so far). Outscoring the opposition has now become the norm and it's completely understandable when purchasing last season's best striker in the league for what now looks like bargain money. When you consider that Jordan Henderson was £20m it's completely compounded. Or, my favourite example,  £35m Andy Carroll who still hasn't scored and as they say, the rest is history.

The change in formation and the acquisition of Kagawa are probably the main factors here as well as a defence that doesn't look at all confident. Regardless of the improvement now and it is somewhat settled, goals are still being conceded. This could be down to lack of communication or concentration but the midfield that precedes it does not instil the latter unless Scholes or Rooney are playing. That, unfortunately is the fact here.

Reading about Manchester United of late and their 'over-reliance' on Robin Van Persie doesn't change anything at all. There isn't a team on this planet that wouldn't rely on such a clinical finisher. The problem here is not the 'over-reliance' on Van Persie but the option not to rely on a midfielder. Out of Carrick, Cleverley, Fletcher and Anderson it is pretty tough to think of them as the reason a game was won. The latter's exerts in the League cup aside, it's a mediocre foursome of players for a top of the table club; in England or in Europe. 

There is no need to write about Scholes and his effect on the team or the fact there isn't a new Scholes that a team could buy. This would be the reason Sir Alex Ferguson hasn't gone out there and spent money on a replacement. This would be the reason he tried and failed to buy Eden Hazard. Or Lucas Moura who opted for the cash cow that is PSG. Instead he went for the number two on his list: Shinji Kagawa. These three are final third players who link play and score goals. There was no talk of players of the ilk of Daniele De Rossi or Arturo Vidal for example, players that command the midfield single-handedly. 

Many called it a mistake to not buy the midfielder everyone wanted. Many others thought Kagawa would be the player to be the Scholes of old. The rest thought the reinforcements at hand would suffice. In a way, they're all correct. Kagawa is a player that is easy on the eye, somewhat a Japanese David Silva. Interpret that how you like but he has the talent and he will find his feet after a lot more games. The problem here is that he wasn't the world class signing that would move the club forward. Yet at the same time the problem was never a problem in the first place. The world class signing had already signed back in 2003. 

Wayne Rooney's potential as an all-round midfielder far outweighs his exploits as a striker thus far. Firstly for the need of Manchester United to possess that kind of midfield talent (more on that later) and secondly the ample and somewhat better strikers up front in Van Persie and Chicharito. Both better finishers with better movement and intelligence in and around the box. This could be down to nationality but it's quite clear that Rooney should play behind these two players or one of the two. 

Rooney's first foray into midfield was to compensate for the talent that was Cristiano Ronaldo and at first the English media chastised the club for 'wasting talent' on the left wing. This slowly moved to acceptance and then on to praise for finding out how effective a move it was. You should also remember that Carlos Tevez was the final member of that triumvirate; a very capable player but also moved out of position so you can see that Rooney was not alone in adapting. This season you have seen that Rooney has become that missing midfielder with ease and no talent is being wasted here at all. It's clear that it has only been beneficial as I'm not sure United would be sitting where they were for it not for his displays so far.

Everyone has seen Rooney's passing range, vision and tenacity. Three qualities reserved for a player that isn't a striker but a midfielder. When he completes a cross-field ball, which is above 90% of the time, you wonder why he hasn't played in midfield for longer to hone his talents. His touch can be a bit hit and miss at times though thankfully it's more often leaning towards the former. He has made more interceptions, touched the ball more which he himself has admitted is something he enjoys, made more tackles and just influenced games a player of his calibre should. 

If this is only a temporary solution then it's a round peg for a round hole and looking at it now, United are reaping the rewards. The younger members of the squad may well have a say too. Nick Powell being the stand out figure here as Cleverley is plainly not good enough. There was a moment against Arsenal where his first touch was so bad it looked like a pass. It's moments like this that are slightly worrisome and his departure in that game was a benefit come the end of 90 minutes. Powell looks a better player and is 5 years younger. That is something to be excited about and his involvement in the first team plus his first call up to the Under 21's can only be a good thing.

As much as this season has been a blessing to the midfield situation. It does still leave a lot to be decided with there not being someone to accompany Rooney's talents there. The four players mentioned much earlier are not in that quality and a lot is left to be desired to show if they ever will be. It's due to this that Rooney is dropping deeper and deeper to influence games and often make mistakes. This could be due to naivety in this role or his mentality as a player but either way he needs to hone his skills away from turning into a box-to-box midfielder. 

The top teams in the world have Yaya Toure and David Silva, Ramires and Juan Mata, Busquets and Xavi, Alonso and Ozil. We just need to find the someone and Rooney.

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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 the added complexity (thus hindering the team further) of incorporating a new attacking system of Kagawa and Van Persie. The inherent problem was always midfield. In a 4-4-2 the system looked okay and papered over many a crack however with a 4-2-3-1 it seems even worse than it was before; even with the extra midfielder. When all of this is put together, United look vulnerable and likely to concede in every game that they play, something which isn't too far from the truth at all.

Once again there is an over-reliance on Paul Scholes. Excuse the switch to the first person but I wrote about this last season and I'm unsure as to why it's still the case now, 6 months on. United are one of the richest most successful club teams in history yet still rely on needing a 37 year old to make the team click. That is not to the detriment of Scholes as he is a fantastic player. The problem is, with the wealth and power of a club like Manchester United, plus having Sir Alex Ferguson as the manager, shouldn't adequate replacements have been purchased over the summer so this reliance still doesn't apply? Paul Scholes is to United what Xavi is to Barcelona. Watching both teams play this season, when rested, the team look inept and incapable of asserting any dominance on the opposition. It's no wonder that each time the player is sent on as a substitute, the whole pattern of the game changes. That would be a good reason to rely on such a player but with money to spend, a midfielder was paramount whereas a striker was a luxury. 

The pairing of Giggs and Scholes against Tottenham looked like a mistake before kick off. With the power and speed of Spurs's midfield trio of Sandro, Dembele and Dempsey, they were always going to cause United's midfield problems. Watching Spurs's two goals in the first half was clear vindication of the mistake that was made: elsewhere on the internet it was being written that Giggs only completed 5 passes in that half and he was promptly substituted for Rooney which changed the game. On the topic of power and speed, against Newcastle in the Captial One Cup, the midfield of Cleverley, Anderson and Fletcher contained those attributes and United looked a completely different side to the one that has been playing in the league. Taking that positive into the next game against Spurs, all three were put on the bench regardless of the former two both scoring goals. In every game this season, the midfield has been dominated over the 90 minutes. Yes there are times when Scholes influences the game, but that's a given. Overall the opposition midfield tends to dominate United's which creates more scoring opportunities and leaves United with a lot of work to do against the likes of Fulham and Southampton.

Without tarnishing Giggs's name, he was poor against Liverpool so I'm not sure how it warranted a start against Spurs. Proving that point, again he was poor and the game passed him by. To say that he has no worth would be ridiculous but he needs to be used wisely. The same can be said for Rooney as his introduction at half time changed the game and Spurs's second half possession was just 18%. His role behind Van Persie and generally dictating the game in the final third was exactly what was needed in comparison to what Kagawa was offering up until the second half. This 45 minutes was proof that the three of them can play together and if they don't in the next game away to Newcastle then it would be a huge disappointment. As this is being written, Scholes, Giggs and Carrick have all been rested for the Champions League tie against Cluj which isn't what United fans probably wanted to hear. Unless it's to give game time to Anderson and Cleverley so they can get back in the league side, it is slightly puzzling.

The January transfer window is an opportunity to address the problems in midfield but it's not something that is likely given past transfer windows. For a club the size of Manchester United, the constant overlooking of the elephant in the room is as equally perplexing as it is frustrating and it begs the question: how much longer can it go on for?

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