Tag Archives: Manchester United

‘English clubs did not under-perform; they did what economics suggested they would’

“As an academic with an interest in economic analysis, the downfall of the English teams in the Champions League this season did not surprise me, even while it disappointed me as a Manchester United fan. Earlier this season, I was actually expecting that the English teams would “under-perform” in the competition, when set against general expectations, and now that United have followed Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool out of the Champions League, they have done so. Except I would argue they did not actually under-perform; they did what economic analysis suggested might happen.” (Sporting Intelligence)

Thomas Vermaelen’s poor positioning keeps costing Arsenal goals

“There’s little doubt that Thomas Vermalen has been a good signing for Arsenal. Lacking a top-class centre-back last year, Arsene Wenger did brilliantly to dispose of Kolo Toure and bring in the Belgian – and made a profit by doing so. Vermaelen is extremely popular with the Arsenal fans because he’s the type of player they haven’t signed in recent years – a tall, strong defender who enjoys getting tough tackles in and competing in the air. His early-season goalscoring form made him an instant hit, and he’ll probably win ’signing of the season’ in many pundits’ end-of-season awards.” (Zonal Marking)

Manchester United 3-2 Bayern Munich: Arjen Robben does it again

“Bayern do it again. Their victory in the last round against Fiorentina featured a last-minute goal at home to win the first leg 2-1, and then a 2-3 defeat away from home, with a brilliant Arjen Robben ‘winner’ near the end. It seemed inevitable when Bayern pulled a goal back before half-time that the same would happen here.” (Zonal Marking)

Manchester United 3-2 Bayern Munich – Recap and Video Highlights
“Manchester United hosted Bayern Munich in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals on Wednesday, April 7, 2010. Wayne Rooney, who was injured in the first leg, made a surprise start for the match. The winner of the match would face the winner of Bordeax/Lyon. The match took place at Old Trafford with over 70,000 in attendance.” (The 90th Minute)

The Blog Files #1: Just Football interviews Barcelona Football Blog

“Well, as we celebrate the relaunch of Just-Football.com, we decided to catch up with some of the blogosphere’s leading lights writing about Europe’s top clubs to find out what makes them tick, get their perspectives on the teams they hold dear and their opinions on said team’s prospects for the rest of the season.” (The Blog Files – #1: Just Football interviews Barcelona Football Blog), (#2: Just Football interviews The Republik of Mancunia), (#3 – Just Football interviews Oh You Beauty), ( #4: Just Football interviews Real Madrid Talk), (#5: Just Football interviews AC Milan Blog)

“England” Out Of Champions League, Apparently

“So it has come to pass. For the first time in seven years, there will be no English clubs in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. The manner of the defeats of Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United were from three different chapters of the book, ‘How To Get Eliminated From A Two-Legged Cup Tie’. Chelsea were edged out by Internazionale over two legs during which they seldom looked a considerably inferior team. Arsenal were thrashed – fortunate to find a way back into the first leg against Barcelona, they were hopelessly outplayed by one single player in the return match. Manchester United can, at least count themselves slightly unlucky – beaten on away goals after two very tight matches.” (twohundredpercent)

European Teams Vie for Champions League Semis

“Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid will be preparing for Saturday’s Spanish “clasico” with Barcelona, but the rest of the soccer world will be fixated on the four return matches in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League. ‘I don’t like to watch the Champions League matches because it leaves me a bit annoyed because I know that our team was good enough to remain in the competition and we are not because of our own fault,’ Ronaldo told a Spanish television station.” (NYT)

Low-Key Ancelotti Thrives in Tough Spots

“There’s a widespread belief in soccer, as in most sports, that a successful coach is basically at war 24/7, scoring virtual “public-opinion” points whenever he can. He can take a jibe at the officiating here, make a quick moan about how injuries have affected his team there, and give a recap of his own successes seamlessly dropped into conversation—just as a reminder, of course—over there.” (WSJ)

Manchester United 1-2 Chelsea: Ancelotti gets it right with his strikers

Carlo Ancelotti
“A tight game that was won the better side. United looked tired after their midweek game in Munich – Chelsea were fresher, brighter and created more goalscoring opportunities. They are now in the driving seat. Sir Alex Ferguson would have gone with a 4-5-1 regardless of Wayne Rooney’s absence, so it was essentially a straight change, with Dimitar Berbatov in to replace him. Michael Carrick was dropped after his poor display midweek, so Fletcher and Scholes played deep, with Park Ji-Sung in the central role he played so well against Milan.” (Zonal Marking)

Time for Berbatov to show he cares
“Manchester United have been called a one-man team for the past three seasons. Cristiano Ronaldo was said to carry them before leaving for Madrid and now Wayne Rooney is supposed to be their only match-winner. United fans might be fearing the worst ahead of Chelsea’s visit to Old Trafford today, but Alex Ferguson has never allowed his team to rely on one player. In the same way that Ronaldo’s exit provoked a reaction from Rooney, his injury ought to prove the catalyst for someone else to step up. If Dimitar Berbatov is ever going to prove his worth to the club, this is his moment.” (WSC)

Manchester United 1-2 Chelsea – Recap and Video Highlights – Saturday, April 3, 2010
“One of the biggest matches in the English Premier League this season took place on Saturday, April 3, 2010 as Manchester United hosted Chelsea. The two teams are separating by only one point head into the match and the result could determine who would win the title. Manchester United would be without star striker Wayne Rooney because of an ankle injury he suffered in the Champions League.” (The 90th Minute)

World’s Focus Is on Old Trafford

“Hobbled by an ankle injury, Wayne Rooney looks certain to be cast in the role of spectator as Manchester United and Chelsea collide in a potential Premier League title decider on Saturday. He won’t be the only one watching. With a single point separating English football’s top two sides and only six games remaining, the eyes of the world will be on Old Trafford, with an expected global audience of about half a billion people—one in every 12 people on the planet.” (WSJ)

Bayern 2-1 Manchester United: Ferguson loses the game with a strange substitution

“How on earth did Manchester United manage to lose this game? On top after twenty seconds of playing time, Rooney causing the Bayern centre-backs no end of trouble, and a spare man in the centre of the pitch, it really is quite remarkable that Bayern will go to Old Trafford with the advantage. Sir Alex Ferguson has been constantly praised on ZM for his tactics so far this season, but he might have to take the blame here.” (Zonal Marking)

The Professor’s Appeal Saves Him With One Arsenal Fan

“The harmony of 60,000 voices that drifts out of the Emirates Stadium in London every other week is evidence that sport can bring people together. Singing as one, Arsenal fans serenade the leadership of the bookish, 60-year-old Frenchman who leads their favorite soccer team. ‘One Arsene Wenger,’ rings the chant . ‘There’s only one, there’s only one Arsene Wenger. One Arsene Wenger!’” (NYT)

The Champions League Quarter Finals – A look ahead.

“As we’re about to seamlessly pass into another Champions League week, what better time is there to look ahead to the mouth watering quarter final ties ahead? Well, slightly later in the week perhaps, or even actually in said week as opposed to just before it maybe, but sod it I’m gonna do it anyway and I’ll be damned if such a trivial thing will stop me. So without further ado…” (Football Fan Cast)

Is this the best season of football in recent years?

Inter
“A brief break from the in-depth tactical analysis here, to round-up the major European leagues, highlight this weekend’s crucial table-topping fixtures, and celebrate how wonderful European football has been this season.” (Zonal Marking)

Secrets of Bayern’s ungainly schoolmaster

“Louis van Gaal, Bayern Munich’s coach, was celebrating a goal when he fell over. The scorer, Arjen Robben, had run up to hug him but instead jumped on top of him. Eventually Van Gaal stumbled into his dug-out, blushing and with a bloodied finger. The hug is already a Youtube classic in Germany.” (FI – Simon Kuper)

The Best? Football As Never Before

“In looking at George Best Fußball wie noch nie (Football as Never Before) it would be logical to set the work next to the more widely viewed 2006 film, Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait and analyze the similarities and differences, but, in my eyes, I don’t think it would be fair to either film. There’s no doubt the Zidane edition is a direct descendant of the 1971 work by German filmaker Hellmuth Costard, with the exact same premise driving both the storyline and singular character focus. But where the two differ is outside the film itself – particularly, in the eyes of this viewer.” (Pitch Invasion)

How the 2000s changed tactics #2: Classic Number 10s struggle

“The decade started with the most attacking, open tournament in modern football, at Euro 2000. The four semi-finalists all played ‘classic’ Number 10s in the hole between the opposition defence and midfield. France, Italy, Portugal and Holland had Zinedine Zidane, Francesco Totti, Manuel Rui Costa and Dennis Bergkamp respectively – it almost seemed essential to have a player in this mould to be successful – helped by trequartista-less England and Germany’s early exits.” (Zonal Marking)

Teams of the Decade #2: Barcelona, 2008/09

“What more can you say about this Barcelona side? European champions, La Liga champions and Copa Del Rey winners, all in the first season under the charge of Pep Guardiola. And they didn’t do it by merely winning games, they did it by winning in style, making them perhaps the most universally respected side of the decade. The most astonishing thing about their La Liga performance was how utterly convincing they were in defeating the sides around them at the top of the table.” (Zonal Marking)

How Pep Guardiola is looking to improve on perfection
“Just how does Pep Guardiola improve on the most successful club side in a calendar year? We detail the tactical changes the Barcelona coach has made to his side to make them even better. After Barcelona’s 1-0 win over Estudiantes in the Club World Cup in which the Catalan side recorded a never before paralleled, six cup wins in a calendar year, manager Pep Guardiola turned to his assistant Tito Vilanova, with bleary eyed with tears of joy, seemingly asking ‘where do we go from here?’ Just how does Pep Guardiola possibly improve upon perfection?” (Arsenal Column)

‘Galacticos’ in Hell

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The Hell, Coppo di Marcovaldo
“It has become a sign of spring: as swallows crowd the sky over Madrid, Real is eliminated at the knock-out stage of the European Champions League. Yet again, the richest club in the world has spent obscene amounts of money with the sole intention of winning the most important club competition in the world, but on March 10, they were knocked out from the last 16 for the sixth year in a row (in 2003, they were eliminated from the last eight).” (The New Republic)

African Teams Certain on World Cup, but Not on Coaches

“A World Cup campaign is usually a four-year process that starts when a national team engages in torturous self-examination immediately after its ouster from the last championship. Coaches are fired (or their contracts are not renewed) and aging players retire from the international scene. Even the winner is often in need of a new manager to enliven the roster and refresh tactics for the interspersed continental championship and next phase of World Cup qualifying.” (NYT)

More Shots the Merrier in Quest for Football Goals

“Bobby Charlton perfected his shooting technique through hours spent kicking a football against a concrete well. Oliver Bierhoff developed his predatory instinct by practicing with his eyes closed. Brazilian striker Romario even attributed his ability to stick the ball in the net to a penchant for late nights and love making. But what really separates football’s top goal scorers from the rest isn’t ice-cold nerves, a cannon shot or unerring accuracy. It’s being selfish.” (WSJ)

The Beauty Of The Ugly Relegation Scrap

“Speaking as a Reading fan, I remember the day vividly. In my time away at University in Portsmouth, we were playing Middlesbrough away in an utter dog fight of a match in 2007/2008. This was not going to be pretty, with both teams languishing in the relegation zone, the deepest, darkest echelon of any league table where nobody wants to be in May. With 91 minutes of this dire spectacle gone, terrier like midfielder James Harper popped up to score a priceless winner for us. Sheer jubilation.” (EPL Talk)

Fernando Torres and Wayne Rooney set to turn on the magic

Philips Wouwerman, Cavalry Battle in front of a Burning Mill
“Torres sat enthralled as this footballing Fab Four enthused about Liverpool’s great history, about the philosophy behind the Kop’s chant of “attack, attack, attack” and rivalry with foe such as Sunday’s opposition, Manchester United. As they left the restaurant, Torres murmured his appreciation to these charismatic club ambassadors for giving him such an insight into such a special club.” (Telegraph – Henry Winter)

Park Ji-sung gives Manchester United the edge over Liverpool
“The game embodied all tensions of this year’s contest for the Premier League, with Manchester United coming from behind to end a bad recent record against Liverpool with a winner from Park ji-sung. The reigning champions, who now lead the League, will feel relieved that the substitute Yossi Benayoun merely headed into the hands of the United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar in the 90th minute.” (Guardian)

Fernando Torres reduced to pouting isolation by United’s defence
“In the end, Manchester United won because they passed the ball with more authority and provided greater support for Wayne Rooney in attacking positions than Liverpool did for Fernando Torres. There were parts of this game when Torres looked as though he would terrorise Old Trafford single-handedly but he was an isolated, pouting and aggravated figure for most of the second half, muttering under his breath and making those little hand gestures that Iberian footballers are so fond of.” (Guardian)

United beat Liverpool to go back to the top
“Manchester United came from behind to clamber back to the Premier League summit, trampling on Liverpool’s top-four hopes in the process. Park Ji-sung headed home the winner after an hour, securing the spoils after Wayne Rooney’s 33rd goal of the season had controversially levelled Fernando Torres’ fifth-minute opener.” (Independent)

We bid farewell with a look back

Steven Gerrard
“As a lone infantryman wistfully bugles a lamenting Last Post into the chill twilight air, Team Limey stands forlornly on the battlements of Castle Limey contemplating our final EPL column for SI.com. Together, over a last pint of ale, let’s relive some highlights from our five years here. And what a five years it’s been.” (SI)

French Contenders to Play in Champions League Quarterfinal

“Could this be the year that a French team wins the European Champions League? The last team to do so was Marseille, which won the title in 1993, the first year the current format for the European Cup was adopted. But no team from France has lifted the trophy since. Olympique Lyon and Girondins Bordeaux aimed to end that drought this season; both teams advanced to the quarterfinals in impressive fashion. But it will be one or the other as the two teams were drawn Friday to face each other in the quarterfinal round.” (NYT)

The changing Champions League

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“UEFA officials at this morning’s Champions League quarter-final draw will have been delighted that the number of nations represented is at its highest since 1999. Indeed, it’s exactly what UEFA president Michel Platini was aiming for when he talked about democratising the top level of European club football. A major surprise this year is the inclusion of two French teams in Lyon and Bordeaux.”(WSC)

Tactics: United, Lille shirk midfield confrontation

Francois Perrier, Orphée devant Pluton et Proserpine
“Manchester United have already demonstrated this season that they are capable of overwhelming teams despite fielding what on first glance appears to be a conservative 4-5-1 formation, notably in the 3-1 Carling Cup semi-final victory over Manchester City in January. They were at it again in the 4-0 win against Milan last week, when a side fighting hard for the Serie A title were simply torn apart by a United team fielding only one dedicated attacking player in the form of Wayne Rooney.” (Football Further)

Keeping Score on the Best Goal Makers in Europe

“Quick—who’s the best goal scorer in Europe right now? If you answered Wayne Rooney, Lionel Messi or Didier Drogba, think again. Those three players top the standings in the race for the European Golden Shoe, given annually to the leading scorer in Europe, but according to an analysis by The Wall Street Journal, the continent’s most dangerous finisher is actually plying his trade for an unfashionable Italian team currently fighting relegation from Serie A. Step forward, Udinese striker Antonio Di Natale.” (WSJ)

EPL – The Rashomon Effect

“With eight games to go (9 in Chelsea’s case) and this being the closest league finish in many many years, it presents endless opportunities for the dreamer in me to fantasize – a la that Kurosawa classic, Rashomon. Presenting two of such tales with four crucial fixtures (chapters) taken as the crux.” (BigFourZa!)

Oliver Kay Interview: EPL Talk Podcast

“Six weeks ago, Oliver Kay joined us ahead of the onset of UEFA Champions League’s Round of 16, venturing a prediction that the English Premier League teams would find this year’s tournament rougher than those of the preceding seasons. Today, Oliver joined me to reflect on the knock-out round performances of Manchester United, Arsenal, and Chelsea. Also, we look forward to this Sunday’s match between Manchester United and Liverpool and ask what Liverpool needs to go to maintain their string of good performances over Alex Ferguson’s side.” (EPL Talk)

France Is Back in Football Hunt

“It’s elementary sports psychology: To produce their best in the biggest moments, athletes are advised to recall peak performances from the past. But as Bordeaux prepares to face Olympiakos for a place in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals tonight, Laurent Blanc, coach of the French club that’s been the surprise of this year’s tournament, will focus his team’s attention not on the six European matches it’s won this season, but the only one it didn’t.” (WSJ)

Mid-Week Review Show: EPL Talk Podcast
“Looking back on the mid-week action for Premier League sides in Champions League, Europa, and within the Premiership, analysts Laurence McKenna and Kartik Krishnaiyer join host Richard Farley on this version of the EPL Talk podcast.” (EPL Talk)

Match Of The Midweek: Chelsea 0-1 Internazionale
“How would you feel if you were Roman Abramovich after this evening’s Champions League match between Chelsea and Inter? When he disposed of Jose Mourinho just over three years ago, it was reportedly a show of player power the likes of which the English game had seldom seen before.” (twohundredpercent)

Different Routes Yield Same Result
“One of the joys of sports is that they confound just about any theory that attempts to explain them. When Real Madrid was eliminated from the Champions League last week, and Manchester United produced one of the biggest victories in its history, it was reasonable to conclude that stability counted for something.” (NYT)

Italian press celebrate Inter’s victory over Chelsea
“Having held a grim-faced silenzio stampa (press silence) for the past week, Jose Mourinho’s relationship with the Italian media had reached a new low on the eve of Inter’s Champions League return leg against Chelsea. A touchline ban, a pitiful display against Catania and ongoing grief with Mario Balotelli had formed a simmering backdrop to the game, with the Nerazzurri lumbered with the added burden of being Italy’s sole survivors in the competition.” (WSC)

Chelsea vs. Inter Milan
(footytube)

Aquilani shines in Reds romp

Francesco Guardi – Cappriccio mit venezianischen Motiven
“Midfielder Alberto Aquilani finally found a performance to justify his £17 million price tag, capping a masterful display with his first Liverpool goal in the 4-1 win over Portsmouth at Anfield. The summer signing, brought in after Xabi Alonso’s sale to Real Madrid, has struggled to adapt to life in England but was at the heart of everything in only his fifth Premier League start.” (ESPN)

Gerrard to escape FA punishment
“The FA have confirmed they will take no action against Steven Gerrard following his clash with Portsmouth’s Michael Brown during Liverpool’s victory at Anfield on Monday night. The Liverpool captain appeared to elbow Brown in the back of the head in the 73rd minute of their 4-1 win, with Rafael Benitez substituting Gerrard immediately after the incident.” (ESPN)

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard faces fresh video row after Michael Brown clash
“With a quarter of the match to go Gerrard and Brown chased a ball towards the penalty area but, as the Portsmouth midfielder tried to hold off his Liverpool counterpart, Gerrard seemed to hit his opponent with his forearm. Referee Stuart Attwell was only a few yards from the incident but took no action against the Liverpool captain.” (Telegraph)

Manchester United angry as Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard escapes FA probe
“Steven Gerrard has escaped disciplinary action over for the use of his forearm against Portsmouth’s Michael Brown in Liverpool’s 4-1 win yesterday. The decision has incensed Manchester United and led to allegations that the Football Association has employed double standards. Had he been found guilty of violent conduct, Gerrard would have been banned from Liverpool’s trip to Old Trafford on Sunday. The collision with Gerrard knocked Brown to the floor.” (Guardian)

Manchester United 1948-1992: The Busby Dynasty

“We have a little break from the usual this morning, with a downloadable, four-part audio cassette produced by the BBC in the early 1990s, just before the death of Sir Matt Busby, which tells the story of Manchester United Football Club through the prism of the involvement of the man that took a run of the mill First Division club and made them the champions of Europe and one of the biggest club sides in the world. Written and narrated by the late Bryan Butler, the BBC radio commentator, it features commentary snippets from many of United’s great matches of the post-war era, as well as interviews with the likes of Bobby Charlton, Denis Law, George Best and Harry Gregg.” (twohundredpercent)

Uncertainty stalks Gianfranco Zola as relegation clouds gather over West Ham

“Italian coaches will be everywhere at the Bridge. The Impossible Job has become the Italian Job. Marcello Lippi has won the World Cup while Giovanni Trapattoni wins friends with the Republic of Ireland. Zola, though, is under pressure. Widely considered one of the nicest men in an often heartless profession, the Sardinian who made the ball smile as an elegant maestro with Napoli, Parma and Chelsea, among others, now battles to keep West Ham United in the Premier League.” (Telegraph – Henry Winter)

David Beckham, The Green & Gold

“The Champions League match between Manchester United and Milan had been punctuated by what are now starting to become familiar images. The green and gold gold scarves and the “Love United Hate Glazer” flags are starting to feel like part of the furniture at Old Trafford, but the question that was on many people’s lips could probably best be summarised by a four letter acronym: WWDD? Beckham’s appearance on the pitch had been greeted with, in rapid succession, cheers, boos and laughter and, while he didn’t disgrace himelf on the pitch, his presence on the pitch was in itself a sign of the times – a practical demonstration of the gulf in quality between Manchester United and Milan.” (twohundredpercent)

Manchester United 4-0 AC Milan – Recap and Video Highlights – UEFA Champions League – Wednesday, March 10, 2010

“Manchester United brought a 3-2 lead into the second leg at Old Trafford against AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League round of 16. Milan needed a 2-0 win or to score many away goals to have any serious chance. It would be a tough test as Manchester United have a history of being very difficult to beat at Old Trafford in the Champions League. Pato was unavailable for Wayne Rooney was fit for Mancheser United.” (The 90th Minute)

Beckham Grabs the Scarf, but Not the Reins, of Protest

“It was a highly significant game in the Champions League knockout match between Manchester United and AC Milan last night and Wayne Rooney continued his devastating form with two more goals in what is a 30-goal season so far. Nani made one of the assists of the tournament to set up his second, curling the ball into Rooney’s path with the outside of his foot. The 4-0 defeat exposed AC Milan as an aging, blunt shadow of their former selves, increasingly reliant on Ronaldinho’s capricious flashes of brilliance. But guess who stole the show?” (NYT)

James Lawton: Barcelona’s model democracy is a paradise still beyond United’s reach

Aerial view of the park along the Besòs river
“Sooner or later some of the less temperate critics of the Red Knights – who propose, among other things, to move Manchester United from under a mountain of debt – may have to get a bit more specific. At this formative stage of a game plan that is inevitably, to some considerable degree, speculative, an emotional reaction, one way or the other, is surely more valid than the barrage of knee-jerk cynicism that the Nobel Prize-winning novelist John Steinbeck once categorised as ‘slothful self-regard’.” (Independent)

Putting the Trust into Football: An Examination of Supporter Ownership

“Slowly, a behind-the-scenes footballing revolution is growing. Whether it’s Portsmouth’s ongoing demise, the Glazers burdening Manchester United with hundreds of millions of pounds with of debt, Hicks and Gillett at Liverpool, Ashley at Newcastle or, lower down, the Vaughan family taking Chester City to the wall, the spotlight has well and truly turned on the owners. And with fans becoming more alarmed at the mismanagement of their clubs at boardroom level, supporters are asking whether it’s time that the fans took control of their clubs.” (Pitch Invasion)

Punishing ineptitude rather than cynicism

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“Nemanja Vidic should have been sent off for his foul on Gabriel Agbonlahor in Sunday’s Carling Cup final. Aston Villa’s manager, Martin O’Neill, said it. Villa’s players thought so too and their fans were convinced. Even Sir Alex Ferguson admitted that Manchester United got a lucky break after the Serb conceded the penalty from which James Milner gave Villa the lead.” (WSC)

High Standards, Low Standards, Bloody Standards

“During the course of my research for this piece, I discovered that my planned intro, Jerry Seinfeld’s bit about how supporting a team was tantamount to “rooting for laundry” has already descended – or should that be ascended? – to the level of cliche. That’s what I get for being late to Seinfeld, I suppose. Still, every cliche has a kernel of truth (as the cliche has it), so let us anyway remind ourselves of precisely what he said…” (Norman Einsteins)

Frugality Is European Goal

“Faced with their toughest opponent for a generation, Europe’s leading football clubs have been forced to adopt a new tactic: frugality. Creditors have caught up with the beautiful game in recent weeks, raising fears that spiraling wages and reckless spending could put the future of some of the world’s most iconic teams at risk.” (WSJ)

On a Club’s Identity and Tradition, via Trigger from Only Fools and Horses

“Sometimes you wonder why you’ve been wasting all your bloody time every day for the past three years writing and linking to pieces about issues of club ownership, club identity (versus club brand) and the difference between being a supporter and being a fan. As we’ve haphazardly been doing here since 2007.” (Pitch Invasion)

The Joy of Six: matches that never were

“Pele’s Brazil against Gerd Müller’s West Germany in Mexico 1970, plus five other classic games that never took place” (Guardian)

Aston Villa hope for League Cup glory

“Sixteen years ago I saw Aston Villa play Manchester United in what was then called the Coca-Cola Cup final. Our opponents were favourites on that day too, although the gap between the clubs was less clear cut than it has become in the intervening period. Man Utd were going to be League champions for the second year in a row but prior to that they had gone 26 years without winning the title (a fact that rivals fans gloated over in much the same way that United fans now like to laugh at Man City’s 35 years without silverware).” (WSC)

English Football Clubs Face Heavy Debts

“The full extent of the debts engulfing English football has been laid bare in a report that shows Premier League clubs are carrying more debt than the rest of Europe’s clubs put together. The findings are contained in a study from European football’s governing body into the state of football’s finances and come as the Premier League’s bottom club Portsmouth FC prepares to file for administration—a form of bankruptcy protection—on Friday as a result of debts of roughly £70 million ($105.5 million).” (WSJ)

Wayne’s World: Rooney Leads the Field

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The Building Of The Trojan Horse The Trojan Horse Into Troy 1760, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
“This year’s Premier League title race has been notable for its unexpected twists and turns, but one thing seems certain: If Manchester United is to be crowned champion for a record fourth consecutive year, it will be thanks to Wayne Rooney. If it seems like the England striker has single-handedly kept United’s title challenge afloat this season, it’s because that’s pretty much true.” (WSJ)

Mourinho Stretches a Record and Our Patience

José Mourinho
“There might never have been a coach more intent on turning his teams into a sideshow to his own performance than José Mourinho. Yet he is not the pretty sight he imagines. On Saturday night in the San Siro, his Inter Milan was reduced by foul play and gamesmanship to nine men before halftime for the second match running. No matter, Mourinho applauded them, mocked the referee, and boasted that a team of his would have to be reduced to six players to lose a home game. He is a bitter and twisted man — and a successful one.” (NYT)

How Supporters’ Groups Have Won the Ear of the English Media

“For a long time, the only place you’d hear about supporters’ trusts in the national English media would be in the pages of When Saturday Comes. Yet now, it seems we hear more from spokespersons of supporters’ trusts — democratic non-profit fans’ organisations aiming to influence how their clubs are run — than we do from clubs themselves, at all levels of the game.” (Pitch Invasion)

Breathe and Stop… Manchester United: ‘An Italian Team from Another Era’

“… Where else to start but Manchester United’s impressive 3-2 win over AC Milan at the San Siro, which hands them a desirable advantage heading into the 2nd leg of their Champions League round of 16 knockout clash. United have become a truly masterful European outfit over the last three seasons, winning the tournament once and reaching two finals, and on the evidence of Tuesday’s game they look capable of making it all the way to Madrid for round three.” (Just Football)

Football Weekly Extra: Arsenal and Real Madrid on the back foot

“Kicked out of the near-earth-orbit studio by overrated Indie rockers Vampire Weekend and with a presenter still somewhere in the alpine wilderness, Football Weekly makes do with a broom cupboard and whoever Producer Pete could find five minutes before recording was due to commence. Luckily he found Paul MacInnes, Rob Smyth, Kevin McCarra and Paul Doyle at a loose end and they all agreed to do him a turn. The hastily assembled bunch waste no time getting stuck into the week’s Champions League action, including Lukasz Fabianski’s night to forget, a Rooney-inspired comeback at the San Siro and Bayern Munich’s ludicrously offside goal to beat Fiorintina.” (Guardian – James Richardson)

‘Real’ Rooney offers antidote to football glamour

“A streetfighter, a product of the terraces, the antithesis of David Beckham, earthy, real, unmanufactured: branding Wayne Rooney has been profitable business. Just how lucrative is up for debate, as the agency Proactive – who produced that description of the Manchester United striker – is claiming he owes them £4.3 million. An alternative viewpoint is to wonder about the necessity of spin to deliver an accurate image of Rooney.” (ESPN)

United in Italy; Real in Trouble

“Few people would confuse Wayne Rooney with a rocket scientist, but the increasingly deadly and dangerous Manchester United striker used his head not once, but twice, as the Red Devils nearly crushed A.C. Milan’s hopes of advancing in the UEFA Champions League with a 3-2 win in the first leg of their home-and-home, total-goals series at the San Siro on Tuesday.” (NYT)

AC Milan 2-3 Manchester United: 8 Key Observations
“Classic European nights. When we complain about the stifling dominance of the Big Four; when we curse every transfer that sends a promising young player from a lesser club to the Big Four; when we ponder proposals such as debt-to-revenue restrictions, foreign player quotas, and playoffs for European places; when we talk about all these things, we are talking about the promise of classic European nights like Tuesday night at a raucous and roaring San Siro. Some observations…” (EPL Talk)

Why I’ll Be Cheering For Man United, Arsenal and Liverpool This Week

“Watching European football has always had an exotic element for us in Britain. In the 60s and 70s, abroad was a long way away. The world seemed much bigger and the visit of a team from Italy, Germany or Albania was like a visit from another football planet. We hadn’t heard of most of the players, we didn’t know much about the teams. How could we? They were not on TV and rarely covered in the press. Our only exposure to non-British players was at World Cups and on European nights. Hardly any played in the UK.” (EPL Talk)

Play-Offs For A Champions League Place: Game 39 Revisited?

“Small wonder that Ian Watmore’s brain-child of ‘reforming’ the FA Cup senseless was leaked to the press at the weekend. No more than forty-eight hours after the story broke in the press (with more or less no fanfare anywhere other than in The Times, which broke the story), the Premier League comes up with its proposal to jazz up the end of the season. Their answer, a play-off for the fourth Champions League place, is an act of evil genius so simple that one is almost tempted to stand and give grudging applause. And let’s make this absolutely clear, this idea has nothing to do with evening things out or redistribution of money. It’s about the Premier League snatching the end of the season away from everybody else.” (twohundredpercent)

Beckham to put emotion to one side

“AC Milan’s press conference on the eve of their UEFA Champions League first knockout round first-leg tie against Manchester United FC was even more animated than usual as the massed ranks of the media jostled for positions at Milanello.” (UEFA)

Manchester United fans ready to make club ownership key issue of General Election

“They are also intensifying discussions with the Red Knights, businessmen considering forming a consortium to buy out the Glazers. United fans are even joining forces with their ancient rivals, Liverpool, to make club ownership a topic of debate on the campaign trail along with more usual Newsnight subjects like the economy, the environment and the war in Afghanistan. Football’s hitting the hustings. Lobbying is already under way.” (Telegraph – Henry Winter)

Dear Rafa Benitez – Beforeza #2

“Note : This post was written after the defeat to Fiorentina in the Champions league. With me still lost for words over the loss at Emirates, I’d like to make a re-visit to continue my support for the man who cares for the club the most. So some of the readers who are new to this blog kindly have a look. (For the old ones, yeah the ‘Psycho’ part was re-edited for obvious reasons.” (All Four One..)

Van Nistelrooy Gives Hamburg Spark

“Twenty minutes into the second half of Hamburg’s match at Stuttgart on Saturday in the German Bundesliga and the score deadlocked at 1-1, visiting coach Bruno Labbadia called in the cavalry. The lanky figure of Ruud Van Nistelrooy trotted on to the pitch for what was only his sixth appearance in the last 15 months. Within twelve minutes, he had turned the game, striking twice from close range, first with a left-footed pounce and then with a cool right-footed diagonal finish. Hamburg went on to win 3-1, rising to fourth in the league standings and keeping its hopes of a Champions’ League spot next season intact.” (WSJ)

Beckham comes face to face with his spiritual descendents

“The last time José Mourinho went to watch Chelsea, he noticed something curious. Though he had been sacked as coach in 2007, hardly anything had changed in his absence. ‘Even the warm-up is the warm-up they did in our time,’ he remarked. He still knew almost all the players. This was still his Chelsea. The Champions League this month will provide us with two reunions: Mourinho and his new club Inter Milan will meet Chelsea, while David Beckham and AC Milan play Beckham’s old team Manchester United.” (FI – Simon Kuper)

England manager Fabio Capello worries over Wayne Rooney’s huge burden

“The subject was Wayne Rooney. ‘Please, rest him sometimes,’ the England manager said to his Manchester United counterpart. ‘He plays every game. I need him more fresh to play in the World Cup.’ Capello’s request carried heightened poignancy after the depressing bulletin from Chelsea earlier on Thursday about Ashley Cole’s injury.” (Telegraph – Henry Winter)