AS Roma and SS Lazio: Baying for Blood

http://www.sportskeeda.com/2013/05/25/as-roma-and-ss-lazio-baying-for-blood/

The foundations of Rome are set in the bloodshed of the Trojan War, as Aeneas escaped from Troy and made his way to Italy. It’s only fitting then that the fight for domination within Rome is no less bloody than the path which Virgil’s Aeneid described.
How does one explain an event – a battle between two sets of gladiators really – where the member of one group asks the audience to “leave their weapons and knives at home” before taking their seats at the present-day Colosseum that is the Stadio Olimpico? And we are talking of the same person who, in the previous meeting between the two, punched an opponent in the face.
Never has Bill Shankly’s legendary quote about football being more important than life and death ever been more true than it is for the Rome derby. Fans have died – and rumoured to have been killed – in and around the stadium, matches have been suspended by “Ultras” walking onto the pitch and riots have broken out in the stands. The derby in early 2004 saw most of it occur, with multiple arrests and more than 150 policemen alone injured. A Lazio-Roma match-up without the routine tear gas shells from the police and the associated violence is quite simply, boring.
But then, Rome isn’t any other city. Housing the Vatican within its walls, the passion and fanaticism of the supporters for their clubs rivals the faith in Christianity itself. Like most cities with multiple clubs, the footballing rivalry becomes the physical manifestation of deep-lying territorial issues. However, with Rome being Italy’s capital and the centre of political battles of yore, it’s not surprising that Italy’s fascist past has influenced the city’s football since the inter-war years.

Given the fact that SS Lazio was founded in 1900 – 27 years prior to the formation of AS Roma – it’s interesting that the Roma supporters proclaim Roma as the true club of the capital. Created by the consolidation of three Rome-based clubs (Fortitudo-Proroma, Roma Football Club and Alba-Audace) in 1927 on the instructions of Benito Mussolini to counter the strength of the giants from Milan and Turin, the rivalry was created due to the resistance put up by Lazio against the merger of the Rome clubs, helped by the influence of the Fascist general Giorgio Vaccaro. Thus, the creation of a single identity was denied.
What made matters worse was that Lazio fans were up against multiple sets of supporters brought under the umbrella of AS Roma, and this strengthened their resolve to support the only club they knew. Additionally, the adoption of the colours yellow and red as the new club’s colours further infuriated Lazio. The differences continue till today, with Roma’s supporters considering themselves as urban, middle class and the left-wing, while Lazio supporters are viewed as the right-wing, urban upper class and those from the surrounding suburbs and rural areas – resulting in Lazio fans being labelled as “peasants.”
But if anything contributes and adds to the roaring inferno that is the Derby della Capitale, it’s the lack of success for the two clubs nationally. In their eighty-six years of co-existence, Lazio and Roma have won the Scudetto a measly five times between them, while their Northern rivals – Juventus, Torino, Inter and Milan – have won sixty-five in the same time interval. This lack of success in the league led to the derby acquiring an importance barely seen anywhere else in Europe. When title expectations are low – as they have been – the focus and passion turns to the local derby, with stakes rising beyond the proverbial bragging rights.
The turn of the millennium saw the rivalry take an incredible turn, when Lazio won the Scudetto in 1999-00, after a gap of 26 years. The triumph was fuelled by the arrival of Sergio Cragnotti, a wealthy businessman who oversaw the purchase of numerous big-money signings like Juan Sebastian Veron, Christian Vieri and Hernan Crespo. The lavish spending culminated in the domestic double in 1999-00 under Sven-Göran Eriksson. However, Roma were not to be outdone, and they responded in turn by winning the league the following year under Fabio Capello, who had been appointed manager the previous year. The Roma team of the early 2000s contained the likes of Cafu, Gabriel Batistuta, Vincenzo Montella, Walter Samuel, Emerson and a certain Francesco Totti – a local boy who has grown to live the supporter’s dream.

A veteran of more than 650 games for the club, Totti continues to be worshiped by the Romanista twenty years after he made his debut. Lazio fans, meanwhile, have had a unique representative in the team in the past: Paolo Di Canio. A one-time Lazio ultra, Di Canio played for the club twice in a career spanning more than twenty years. Even though his appearances for Lazio totalled just over a hundred over seven seasons, there is no doubting his legendary status among the supporters, with his explosive nature and hate for Roma exemplified by his fascist salute to the Lazio end after winning the derby 3-1 in January 2005. With one gesture, Di Canio had aligned himself with the right-wing sections of Lazio’s supporters and confirmed his place in SS Lazio’s annals.
While violence in football stadiums has reduced considerably since the hooliganism of the 1970s and 1980s, Rome seems to be immune to such changes. Come Sunday, 2000 policemen will line up in and around Stadio Olimpico, with bragging rights, the Coppa Italia and the chance to compete in the Europa League waiting for the victors. Come Sunday, football will become more important than life and death again.

Liverpool: A Season Full of Promise

A review of Liverpool's season. Another Editor's Pick to go with the Writer of the Week win for the Ronnie O'Sullivan piece.

http://www.sportskeeda.com/2013/05/23/liverpool-a-season-full-of-promise/


A cliché is like a Bon Jovi song. It’s on everyone’s lips because it strikes a chord, but its popularity becomes its own bane, leading to its demise. What we all forget, however, is that a cliché’s previously soaring popularity was due to its powers of description. But I digress. Liverpool’s season can be best described by a cliché: a season of two halves. But the first real problem with a cliché is now visible: it hides, papers over rather, the underlying essentials. It forms generalizations, labels them singularly, and sits back, proud, hiding the truth behind an alluring postulate.

Brendan Rodgers started the season by lowering expectations all around. The aim was to improve on the previous season, but any hopes to lead a title charge, or even make it to the coveted top four, had to wait. But Rodgers would be lying if he said that he didn’t harbor a secret desire to gatecrash into the top four, irrespective of the fact that it was his first season at Liverpool. That the club improved on its position from last season wouldn’t be any consolation. What was heartening was that Liverpool increased its points tally by nine – it’s highest since the disastrous 2009-10 season under Rafa Benitez.

Rodgers’ appointment as the new manager was the club’s third change in just over two years. Never in the history of the club had the manager been changed at such a rate. Rodgers inherited a squad high on wages, low on quality, and burdened by expectations arising from inflated transfer fees. Work was needed to be done quickly and decisively.

Rodgers has been frequently compared to David Brent, the character from the hit TV show The Office, played by the incredible Ricky Gervais. While the comparisons might be a tad harsh – as Rodgers is nowhere near as funny as Gervais – one can only praise Rodgers for sticking to his guns. Price tags were ignored, as the expensive Dalglish-Comolli recruits were told where they stood. The football had to be slick, non-ponderous, and continuous: a slightly more possession-based version of what the great Liverpool teams of the 1970s and 1980s displayed.

The start to the season can only be described as disastrous. Barring a 5-2 away victory at Carrow Road, the first half a dozen games saw Liverpool languishing two points from the relegation zone. The defence leaked goals, the midfield kept the ball for the sake of it, and Suarez and co. were still allergic to converting chances. The full-backs kept finding themselves out of position, and rookie wingers like Raheem Sterling didn’t have the experience to cover up. All in all, the new “philosophy” was taking time to settle in, perfectly exemplified by Martin Skrtel’s back pass to Reina which allowed Carlos Tevez to equalize, when the Slovakian could have easily hoofed the ball into row Z.

But amidst the defensive hara-kiri and lack of correlation between possession and points, one could discern the foundations taking form. The full-backs increasingly pushed forward. Gerrard sat deeper than before, dictating play alongside the diminutive Allen. Up front, the fluidity between Suarez, Sterling and a random third player [Downing, Enrique, Suso – take your pick] allowed runs to be made from all angles. Pressing was relentless and intelligent. And Suarez was magnificent.

January could not have come quicker. The arrival of Daniel Sturridge reduced the burden on Suarez, and gave him much more freedom to play. However, it was Coutinho who truly liberated the Uruguayan: 13 goals in 20 matches prior to January, and ten in the next 13 games. The Brazilian took up the job of creating goals, and the two strikers gobbled them up.

It would not be too wrong to say that post-January, the football was exhilarating, with ceaseless pressure on goal, even a goal tally to match the efforts at times, and a clean sheet figure which seems to be getting back to normal. Sixty-one points is unremarkable and not good enough, but then, this season hasn’t been about being good enough.

A constant feature over the last few years had been the dropping of points against teams in the bottom half of the table. While there is some way to go to match the ruthlessness of Manchester United, the early indications are that the “smaller” teams will not be posing as many problems as they have done before. And that is the advantage of having a plan when there is a clearly laid out method of playing. You don’t need a Plan B when Plan A is good enough.

What has suffered though is the points return against the clubs in the top 10. While one can finish in the top four by winning games against the weaker teams, just three victories against clubs who finished above eleventh is not good enough by any standard. The only positive is that the performances were solid, with only individual errors turning deserved victories into draws, as was the case against Manchester City.

The Europa League campaign was one which showed exactly why UEFA has to take the competition more seriously rather than treating it like an inferior version of the Champions League. While the early fixtures were dominated by high-scoring games, the knockout round draws clearly flummoxed everyone. Even though Liverpool topped their group, their opponents were Zenit St. Petersburg – hardly an incentive to top your group. The group stage served nothing more than an opportunity for the youngsters to force their way into a first team place in the league, with the likes of Shelvey, Suso, Wisdom, Coates and Coady regularly starting. The inexperience showed in Moscow, where a two-goal deficit left too much to do for the Reds at Anfield in the second leg. But what a night it was, on par with Saint Etienne, Olympiakos and Chelsea in terms of performance and atmosphere.

The defence of the League Cup ended in the Fourth Round against Swansea, as did the FA Cup run, with League One side Oldham reading the last rites. However, the poor run in the cup competitions had one silver lining: the return of Jamie Carragher. Skrtel’s showing against Oldham – or the lack of it – led Rodgers to recalling the veteran into the starting eleven. Liverpool only lost three further games in all competitions over the next fifteen weeks.

To judge the team and Rodgers purely on this season would be folly. Deadwood had to be cleared [Fábio Aurélio, Alberto Aquilani, Charlie Adam, Joe Cole, Doni, Nathan Eccleston], experienced players left [Dirk Kuyt, Maxi Rodríguez, Craig Bellamy], key players were injured [Lucas, Fabio Borini, Martin Kelly], and the transfer window was mismanaged [Andy Carroll out while Clint Dempsey was allowed to move across London]. Youth players got a chance to make their case. The expensive flops of last regime were given an ultimatum, and they responded as professionals should.

Transfer evaluations:
Coutinho and Sturridge have made the difference, and look world-class. But considering how things have turned out for Nikica Jelavic and Papiss Demba Cissé, we should wait for the next season before making bold predictions.
Allen started well, only to flatter to deceive. It’s entirely possible that his hectic schedule caught up with him, having played in the Olympics in the summer. Let’s give the lad some time, shall we?
Assaidi’s purchase continues to baffle. A tricky winger with pace, he hasn’t been given a chance to do anything at all. What’s even more baffling is Rodgers’ decision to buy him, and not his Heerenveen team mate, Luciano Narsingh, who subsequently moved to PSV Eindhoven.
Where do you start with Borini? All that can be said is that he has made the treatment room his own playground.

Player of the Year: Luis Suarez. Forget the biting, the alleged diving, and the constant chatter with the refs. It’s a travesty that Bale won the awards and not El Pistolero. He scored thirty goals and eleven assists in 44 appearances in the toughest European league: what a genius! The club has to do everything in their power to keep him.

Young Player of the Year: It’s hard to look beyond Raheem Sterling. Rodgers put him into the deep end, and the teenager responded. What’s even more impressive was his willingness to run at defenders and get to the byline, and not move infield even when on his wrong foot.

Goal of the Season: There was only one clear winner. Luis Suarez picking out Enrique’s 70-yard long pass with his left shoulder while battling Coloccini, a touch with his right foot to round the onrushing Krul, and a third and final touch to pass the ball into the net. A master-class in control and strength.

Best Moment: There might have been bigger ones, but for sheer determination, the moment was Jordan Ibe’s 40-yard dash into his own half to dispossess Granero in the last match of the season. Seriously, the 17 year-old left-winger had no business being at the right back’s position. Watch this lad; an even better prospect than Sterling.

Best goal celebration: A tie between Jonjo Shelvey mocking his brother for wearing glasses and Fabio Borini’s hand-in-mouth.

 Worst goal celebration: Daniel Sturridge and his dance moves. Awful.

Finally, there is just one question which remains unanswered at the end of the season: whose names did those three envelopes contain, Brendan?

Steve Harper: The true face of loyalty

Another piece, another Editor's Pick.

http://www.sportskeeda.com/2013/05/19/steve-harper-the-true-face-of-loyalty/

Every few years, there comes a time when the winter is littered with retirement announcements of notable figures. This summer sees some of the greatest careers fading with the winter sun, with Sir Alex Ferguson leading the way. Closely following on his heels are Jupp Heynckes, Paul Scholes, Jamie Carragher, David Beckham, and Michael Owen, to name but a few.
The word “loyal” is bandied around too loosely these days, especially when a player/manager is at the end of his career. True, players like Paul Scholes and Jamie Carragher have served a single club – and so will Steven Gerrard, Ryan Giggs, and others. One club men, there is no doubt about that. They have played their hearts out for the only club they have known, become part of the furniture, and their loyalty and exploits on the field of play have already been formed into songs by the adoring supporters.
But shouldn’t loyalty be measured in the face of adversity? Without resorting to analogies from the field of battle, one can only say that when your backs are against the wall, when success seems distant and your ambitions are taking a battering, that is when loyalties are unequivocally tested. Players like Scholes and Giggs, and to a lesser degree Carragher and Gerrard, haven’t really faced such a situation. They all have won numerous trophies at domestic level, and have been richly rewarded for their services – monetarily and emotionally, in terms of the fans’ appreciation and love. They have deserved it for their performances, and no one could say they haven’t commanded the respect that is showered upon them.

One then has to search for a word other than “loyal” to describe Steve Harper. The Newcastle goalkeeper, forever an understudy to the likes of Pavel Srníček, Shaka Hislop, Shay Given and Tim Krul, will finally be leaving St. James’ Park at the end of this season. Having signed for the north-east giants in 1993 from his local club Seaham Red Star at the age of 18, Harper has spent an incredible twenty years with the Geordies. In those twenty years, the veteran ‘keeper has made a total of 198 appearances – 45 of which came in Newcastle’s year in the Championship in 2009-10.
At an average of ten appearances per season, it’s rather cruel that Harper will end with 199 appearances for the Tyneside club, with this weekend’s game against Arsenal being his last. But it has been typical of Harper’s time at Newcastle, and anything else would gloss over the truth.
Born in Eastington, Durham, in the midst of the fierce Tyne-Wear rivalry, Harper was picked up from his local club by Newcastle as a back-up goalkeeper for Pavel Srníček. Harper went on to make a solitary appearance [in all competitions] over the next three seasons – while on loan at Bradford City in Division Two. The trend continued until the 1998-99 season, when Harper made his first appearance for Newcastle. However, the five-year wait didn’t prove to be much of a respite due to arrival of one Shay Given. Harper’s game time was limited, and he fed off Given’s scraps for the next ten years, making 117 appearances, most of them due to Given’s injuries.
The goalkeeper’s position is such that it is understood that the number two would only play if the top dog is either injured, suspended, or the game in question is of little importance. So, an argument can very well be made that Harper knew what he was signing up for when he joined as a teenager way back in 1993.

But Harper’s case is curious not for the lack of game time, but because of his inability to get himself a transfer. No fan or manager would hold it against a player if he asked for a transfer purely because he wanted to play. Looking back, Harper wishes he had done things differently. However, the powers of persuasion of managers like Sir Bobby Robson, Kevin Keegan and Graeme Souness meant that Harper spent his best years on the bench, waiting for Given to leave something for him. Such was Harper’s misfortune that there were times Given played on even when injured, like in the Magpies’ Intertoto Cup campaign in 2006 [suspected broken thumb].
Of the twenty years that Harper has spent at Newcastle, ten years saw him not make a single appearance for the Geordies in the league. His best years coincided with the arrival of Given, and such was the impact of making just 16 appearances [in all competitions] between 2001-02 and 2005-06, that Harper spiralled into depression. What followed were sessions with counsellors and medication to help him out of his living hell.
It would be convenient to label Harper as unambitious for not getting a transfer. But not only would that be wrong, it would also insult the keeper’s commitment to the club. Post the Bosman ruling of 1995, Harper could have refused to sign new deals and, instead, could have waited for his contract to end. But his undying loyalty to the club he loved meant that he signed contract extensions as and when they were offered. This was perfectly illustrated in January 2009, when Harper signed a new three-year contract even though the Geordies were on the path to being relegated. While Newcastle managed to keep most of their squad intact for the following season, Given moved to Manchester City, leaving Harper to deal with the mediocrity that is the Championship.
And deal he did. Having waited sixteen long years to become Newcastle’s first choice custodian, Harper kept a club record of 21 clean sheets in 2009-10 as Newcastle won back promotion to the top flight in emphatic fashion. While he kept his place in between the sticks the following year, an injury allowed Tim Krul to gain a foothold. To make things worse, Harper lost his place on the bench to Rob Elliot in 2011-12. As luck would have it, Krul’s injury and Elliot’s dismissal last week against QPR has allowed Harper to finish his time at Newcastle with a start, barring an embarrassing decision from Newcastle. And one can’t discount such an event, considering the board’s decision to not offer an extension to Harper or even have the courtesy to offer him a backroom job. Keeping in mind the fickle nature of Mike Ashley, it would hardly be a surprise if the owner wasn’t aware of the fact the departing ‘keeper is the longest-serving player in the history of Newcastle United.
Harper might not have been the world’s greatest goalkeeper, but he didn’t lack ability. He might not have had the killer instinct or the selfish streak that one expects from today’s “professionals”, but when he leads his team onto the grass at St. James’ Park on Sunday – as he rightfully should – there will be 52, 404 voices who will honour the man who once stood tall against the likes of Juventus in the Champions League. A man who faced adversity, without any thought of just reward. A man who reminded us what loyalty truly is.

Ronnie O’Sullivan: To love or not to love

While I have never nurtured my interest in snooker - mainly because I don't consider much of a sport - it's rather difficult to ignore it's characters. Wrote a bit on the Rocket today for Sportskeeda. Another Editor's Pick.

http://www.sportskeeda.com/2013/05/16/ronnie-osullivan-to-love-or-not-to-love/


The year was 1992. Ronald, a young Englishman, having just turned professional, won the UK Championship. What made the achievement exceptional was that the boy – well, he was just 17 – was the youngest ever snooker player to win a ranking title. To make things more interesting, the boy’s father had just been given a life sentence for murder. His mother soon followed into jail for tax evasion.

In 1996, Ronald was found guilty of physically assaulting an official at the World Championship. He was given a 2-year suspended sentence, a £20,000 fine and a further £10,000 donation to a charity was advised. The same year, he beat Alain Robidoux 10-3. While nothing seems wrong with that, Ronald beat Robidoux playing left-handed. Unsurprisingly, Robidoux didn’t offer to shake hands at the end of the match.

In 1998, Ronald tested positive for marijuana after having won another title. He was later stripped of that title. Ten years later, Ronald was fined his appearance-money and world-ranking points that he had earned from the China Open for making lewd remarks and gestures in the press conference following his loss in the final.

Had he been another player, Ronald “The Rocket“ O’Sullivan would have been criticized to no end. But then it helps if you are the most talented player in the history of the sport. While snooker has moved away from the days of the Franciscos, Wurbeniuk, Knowles and Higgins, O’Sullivan continues to be a throwback to the 1970s and 1980s, when the cueist was more than just a machine. And the latest chapter of Ronnie’s life only makes one wonder: is all the talent in the world worth the drama, the tantrums, and the sheer disrespect to the sport? But then, maybe that’s what disrespect seems like when you are a mortal. For someone who is a living legend of the game, the sport itself takes a back seat when you are suffering with depression and need a sports psychiatrist to help you through and get hold of your emotions. The cliché “tortured genius” has never been more apt, and it’s a shame as Ronnie is anything but a cliché.

Ronnie’s return from his sabbatical to defend his Crucible title this year has only reinforced the argument that he continues to be in a league of his own, and he is as aware of it as his fans. In an interview with the BBC last month, O’Sullivan compared his return to snooker to a Rolling Stones reunion. “If you had the Rolling Stones doing a gig after a long break, it would be like: ‘I’ve got to get a ticket.’ And in some sort of way this is the same,” said O’Sullivan.

And what a reunion it proved to be. Thirteen century breaks in the tournament – with six of them coming in the final against Barry Hawkins – meant that the field was outclassed by some distance. And all this while he thought he was playing terrible for most of the tournament. He had his reasons though. Having played just one competitive match in the past twelve months, there was bound to be some rustiness. However, O’Sullivan’s triumph only led to his fellow players looking silly, with the man comfortably winning on his return after having taken a year off. These are the sort of acts which shape legends, and O’Sullivan’s grip over the audience was well summarized by a despondent Marcus Campbell after his defeat to O’Sullivan in the first round. “I played one shot, where I bent the green round the blue with check-side off the bottom cushion and landed absolutely perfect on the brown and I got a ripple of applause,” said Campbell. “If Ronnie had played it, it would have brought the house down.”

While O’Sullivan’s rapid game earned him the sobriquet of “the Rocket” and the love of millions of fans worldwide, his bizarre turnarounds have left many stumped. Post his quarter-final win, O’Sullivan disclosed that this year’s Crucible could be his last major event as he had fallen out of love with the game and had come to defend his world title only because he needed the money. Three days later, his win against Judd Trump in the semis saw him saying that he doesn’t know where all the money has gone and could not afford to retire. And if this wasn’t enough, post his victory in the final a couple of days later, the Rocket said that he couldn’t say if he would defend the title again in 2014 as he had “enjoyed his year out.”

True, such contradictory emotions and the blatant disregard for the passion with which other professionals strive to achieve greatness can pose problems for some, but O’Sullivan’s pulling power ensures that there is room only for one villain, and that role has already been taken by Barry Hearn. Fans won’t give a jot over O’Sullivan shooting his mouth off, as long as he continues to play a brand and level of snooker few will ever match. If anything, his persona and character only make things even more endearing. Here is a man who can create magic on the baize, while being reduced to a mere mortal due to his inner demons. He might have returned for the money, but was honest enough to say so. And in a world where athletes lie blatantly due to the contracts they enter into, Ronnie’s straightforwardness is beyond refreshing. He admits to his frailties and weaknesses, and that brings him closer than ever to the common man.

“People go on about how I blew them away but I wish people could walk a few days in my shoes… it might come across as easy but I was digging deep out there – I wish I could feel what you’re seeing.”

Whatever decision he finally takes, there will never be another Ronnie, and he will forever be cherished.

Sir Alex and manager tenures

Wrote my first article for Sportskeeda last night. Woke up in the morning and saw it had been published. Editor's pick too. Not bad, eh?
Here is the link to the article:

http://www.sportskeeda.com/2013/05/14/sir-alex-ferguson-and-changing-managerial-tenures/

I think it would be best if I declare my loyalty to the red half of Merseyside before saying anything regarding SAF. Why? So that I am not taken for another crazed United supporter [I have seen a lot of them, trust me], shedding a veritable river of tears as the gum-chewing, watch-tapping, human hair-dryer hangs his boots, bellowing out how the man was greatness personified, the granddaddy of all managers, the G.O.A.T. Yes, I will praise the man, but talking in absolutes only invites ridicule.

Over the past week – and frankly, over the last fifteen years – one could not have visited a football related website and not come across a blog/article/poll which debated or proclaimed that Sir Alex was the greatest manager of all time. His achievements are well documented, so we can leave that aside and tackle the issue at hand. No, I am not going to say that Messrs Shankly, Paisley and Fagan are ‘’better’’ than him [even though Paisley won 20 trophies in 9 years at Liverpool, along with six Manager of the Year awards. See what I did there?]. Even addressing the debate of who is the greatest manager of all time would be senseless, leave alone actually dissecting the achievements and weighing and comparing them over a period of more than a hundred years. Like I said previously, I am not interested in being ridiculed.

All I can say about Sir Alex is that we will never see the like of him again. However, before I am accused of dealing in absolutes and digging my own grave, let me add a caveat: we will never see the like of him again unless there is a marked change in the way club football is run.

Seems like a very obvious statement, doesn’t it? But I don’t say it because of his genius, but because the game itself does not, and will not, allow a legend like his to form.

Let us go back to early November, 1986. Ferguson is appointed manager, with United last having won the league in 1967. It takes three and a half years for the first piece of silverware to arrive. What happened after that is - as everyone says - history. But those initial three and half years of SAF’s reign will never be seen again. True, nothing new about that revelation. Owners and fans want immediate success, with success being what is deemed appropriate for each club. United would consider the league title as success, while QPR would be more than happy to see the week end without Jose Bosingwa getting abused by all and sundry.

To trust a manager even though the results are unsatisfactory takes more than just plain old courage in today’s times. And it’s not because money has become the raison d'être, the essence, of the game today. Money would have entered the game in the volumes we see irrespective of the fair play controls and regulations that FIFA and UEFA could have placed, and will continue to do so post the "implementation" of the FFP. Once a form of entertainment is in demand – and with respect to English football, that’s putting it euphemistically – there is nothing to stop the inflow of currency [unless we are talking of strict capital controls, which is the government’s decision]. What has broken the game, ensured that there will always be an element of disgust when players like Bosingwa do what they do, and hammered the proverbial nail in the coffin for managers is the Bosman ruling of 1995. Without getting into the details, it can safely be said that the ruling led to rising wage bills for clubs. This, in turn, meant that if clubs paid top buck for players who were able to negotiate high wages, the return on the investment had to follow quickly. If that didn’t occur, on-field performances would be the least of the club’s concerns.

European football can, then, be divided into a pre-1995 and post-1995 era. SAF faced eight years without having to worry about ballooning wage bills. To put things into perspective, Manchester United’s wage bill when SAF took over in 1986 was a full £3 million for the entire year.

Between 1987 and 1995, all that the Manchester United directors were concerned about was success on the pitch. Yes, the wage bill rose according to the salaries paid and newly transferred players, but these would not reach the exorbitant levels seen in the post-1995 era. In short, managers had to worry about balancing the team’s performances, and not the club’s accounts.

Is SAF the greatest manager of all time? That’s a question not worth discussing.
Will we ever see some one like SAF in the future? Well, no, because no club going after the league title would keep a manager after 42 fruitless months. And this isn’t to praise the United boardroom for their courage, faith and patience in the face of adversity. It’s just that they were working under circumstances we might never see again. True, other clubs could have followed the same blueprint. Arsenal had George Graham for close to a decade around the same time, and his dismissal coincided with the Bosman ruling and the non-achievement of league success. Chelsea chopped and changed, as did Liverpool once Kenny Dalglish resigned. Leeds United stuck with Howard Wilkinson for eight years, but never managed to win the title. And we all know what happened to Leeds in the new millennium. Blackburn turned to Dalglish and money for success, and he delivered. But King Kenny was sacked from his directorial role along with the new manager when the title success of 1994-95 wasn’t replicated the following year.

There is no doubt Ferguson is a great manager. I may be a Liverpool supporter, but I’m not foolish. He will rightfully go down as a legendary figure, not just for his Manchester United days, but for his success at Aberdeen too. But will David Moyes be given three and a half years to put his own team into place without having won anything in the meantime? No chance.

Premier League Team of the Season - the Worst XI

Wrote my second article for Sportskeeda. It wasn't approved the first time around because my comments on a few players could have offended the readers - as if anyone would be a fan of Jose Bosingwa. Edited it anyway. The link to the article is below.

http://www.sportskeeda.com/2013/05/16/epl-team-of-the-season-the-worst-xi/

The article as intended is below.



The likes of Bale, Suarez, Van Persie and Mata have played some tremendous football this season, and have been suitably rewarded with the fans’ appreciation of their skills. However, there exists another set of players who haven’t just flattered to deceive. Indeed, all they have done is turn up and collect their wages. Their performances will not be talked of in songs on the terraces, nor will clubs fight with each other for their signatures once the summer transfer window opens. Yes, they are professional footballers earning thousands of pounds every week, but their football is nothing to write home about. I present to you, the Premier League Worst XI.

Criteria for selection:
Well, it would have been extremely easy to just list the entire QPR squad and get done with things. Never has another squad consisted of so many highly paid mercenaries, and terribly incompetent mercenaries at that. But for diversity’s sake, the Team of the Season [henceforth TOTS] will not contain more than three players from any club.

Selection will depend on two sets of qualifications:
i] On-field non-performance: the player is just terrible at the game, keeping in mind the expectations at the beginning of the season, and his price tag [if transferred in at the beginning of the season]. Minimum playing time of 500 minutes has to be fulfilled.
ii] Off-field stupidity: the player acts rather stupidly at any point during the season, such that it affects his on-field performance in one way or the other. No minimum playing time requirements for such gems.

Now that the guidelines have been laid out, we can work towards building a team of winners losers. The formation will be a fluid and attacking 4-3-3 - as if that would save this team from relegation.

Goalkeeper: A tough one to begin with. There are two glorious candidates: Adam Federici and Ali Al Habsi. The former conceded a goal every 47.25 minutes, while the latter was even worse with a goal slipping through every 45.82 minutes. That means Reading and Wigan effectively began a game knowing they would concede twice – on average. However, Al Habsi takes the top spot for two reasons: One, for being John ‘’Budgie’’ Burridge’s “discovery” [whatever that is supposed to mean] and two, for having done this against Reading.

Defenders:

Jose Bosingwa - The Portuguese has done it all. Champions League winner to being the most abused player. An absolute star if there ever was one, with a salary to match. Only god knows what he did with the 65000 quid he ''earned'' every week.

Titus Bramble - A TOTS without Titus Bramble? Are you out of your mind? The lad has everything!

Sebastien Squillaci - Well, sometimes, you have to make exceptions. And for a player of Squillaci's caliber, they are made rather easily. Bought for a full £4 million three years ago, Toto has been previously described as " a player who reads the game well and is strong in the air and on the ground." No wonder he has been a rock in the Arsenal defence, having played a grand total of TEN minutes in the league in the last two seasons.

Roger Espinoza - I confess. The qualifying requirement was brought down to 500 minutes purely to accommodate Espinoza, who has played for 521 minutes as of May 15th, 2013. Brought in by Wigan in January from the MLS [an indicator of his undoubted talent], Espinoza at left back for Wigan has been a revelation. The man can't pass to save his life,  has made 10 crosses in eleven league appearances, and commits less than one foul per game. Truly, a force of nature according to Grant Wahl, a senior writer at Sports Illustrated.

Mid-fielders:

Ji-Sung Park - A fan favourite at Old Trafford, the South Korean grew tired of his squad player persona and wanted more game time. Fair enough. Good old Sparky buys him from Daddy's club and makes him captain for a fees potentially worth £5 million. Not bad, eh? Alas, 1262 minutes later, a return of zero goals and three assists means....Sir Alex recovered some money from that Bebe transfer.

Samir Nasri - A gem of a player when he can recognise what a football looks like, Nasri is not an enigma: he is just overrated. A goal return slightly better than Danny Welbeck's - and that is not saying much - means that it will be a miracle if he remains at City next season.

Anderson - HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Sorry.

Forwards:

Scott Sinclair - Sinclair had it all at Swansea. Played pretty much every game, scored goals and created chances. Having moved to the Liberty Stadium due to the lack of playing time at Chelsea, Sinclair thought it was the right time to make a move, and forced a move to.....Manchester City, a club famous for paying incredibly high wages to players for no apparent reason allowing young and promising players a lot of game time to develop into world class players. Well, things have gone according to plan then.

Peter Odemwingie - Probably the most deranged player the league has seen in some time. To request a move to QPR has to get you into the TOTS. Wait, not request a move, but to actually drive down to Loftus Road. And then get locked out. Idiot.

Nikica Jelavic - When you score more goals last season in one third the time played this season, you know you have not just underperformed, but performed incredibly poorly. Arrived last season in January from Rangers and set Goodison Park on fire. Since then, Jelavic has cooled down a bit. One goal in the last 21 league games has led to the Croatian being replaced by Victor Anichebe up front by David Moyes. Yes, that's the level he is playing at now. And the Toffees thought they had got a natural goalscorer on their hands.

If the aforementioned players aren't enough to guarantee relegation in record time, one needs the right manager to do the job. That makes  Martin O'Neill the best man for the job. What an inspiration. Sucked the life out of Sunderland.