End-of-season decisions will change Manchester United as a club

For Manchester United and David Moyes in 2013-14, the defining game has always been the next one.

But the game at home to cross-city rivals Manchester City on Tuesday did not gain any significance. That City would win was a foregone conclusion. However, the supporters’ patience inside the stadium seemed to be wearing thin. Old Trafford was well on its way to becoming Moyes’ personal Theatre of Shattered Dreams.

United’s clash against Liverpool ended with the home supporters voicing their support for their embattled manager. But the voices could not hide the visuals. In August, the stands of Old Trafford hung with banners proclaiming Moyes as "The Chosen One", handpicked by the retiring Alex Ferguson himself. Fast forward seven months, and rival clubs were unfurling their own banners in Moyes' 'honour', gleefully calling him a 'football genius' for piloting the defending champions to mid-table mediocrity.

The loss against City led to the issue escalating further: stewards had to protect ‘the Chose One’ banner from being taken down, with the approaching home game against Aston Villa rumoured to be the stage for a flypast demanding Moyes' sacking.

The chances of United winning the title are dim at best. Actually, if Bloomberg's predictions are anything to go by, United's chance of winning the Premier League stands at a grand 0.00%. And while Moyes and his players may talk of trying till the last game, they only have a 1.00% chance of ending the season in the top four positions. And that was before the loss to City.

A season without a single trophy and a year out of both European competitions means a massive task faces United. While the external pressure is there for all to see, it's what goes on inside the United boardroom that matters at the end of the day. And irrespective of what decisions are taken, come May, Manchester United will be a changed club.

Possibility One: David Moyes Sacked

While it seems rather remote, one must learn to say 'never say never' in football. The Glazers did their bit by giving their backing to Ferguson's choice and handed him a six-year contract in an age where only Newcastle United's Mike Ashley could do something similar.

A long-term contract-and six years is as long-term as it gets, with the exception of Mike Ashley of course-is supposed to have dual benefits. One, it allows the managers to craft the team in his own image while knowing that he has the owners' complete support. Without the fear of the chop, managers can stay away from hasty decisions and make more long-term ones.

Second, it also acts as a deterrent to trigger-happy owners, increasing the cost of sacking managers before the contract ends due to large compensation fees.

Much of United’s attraction lies in it being a unique club. All the times when clubs fired their managers in search of glory, United stood with their man, Alex Ferguson, who continued to deliver title after title. Ferguson’s longevity was a crucial ingredient to his success. Having endured more than three barren years as United’s manager, the FA Cup of 1990 proved to be a turning point and initiated the United juggernaut.

But Moyes’ total inability to conjure any passion from his players has been highlighted several times, and the Scotsman has been accused of having ripped the heart and soul out of the club. Tactics-or their lack of-have been questioned incessantly, and have often been ridiculed even by opposition players mired in the relegation zone.

Moyes’ Everton had one feature: they were tireless on the pitch, and a working-class city like Liverpool appreciated that. But the city of Manchester is a different animal. It has been brought up on a diet of fast football, with flair in the right amount. Moyes has overseen the disappearance of both.

The grounds for sacking Moyes are multiple. There does not seem to be any plan on tackling teams, nor do the players seem to give any indication that they are being instructed by their manager in times of need. Additionally, Moyes’ track record in the transfer market-so far-has been mixed at best. While he was not backed by in the summer transfer window as he would have liked, the purchase of Marouane Fellaini continues to baffle. Moreover, even the acquisition of Juan Mata has not stemmed the rot, as Moyes’ decision to place the Spaniard on the flanks has left everyone dumbfounded.

Writing for Sportskeeda in May 2013-a long time ago for any United supporter-yours truly had said that there was little chance of Moyes being given the same amount of time Ferguson was to win his first trophy. But I had never imagined that the first season would be anything like it has been.

So if the United hierarchy does decide to hand Moyes the pink slip, the last bastion of football would fall. The pride that United supporters felt in not chopping and changing in their pursuit of success would vanish. United, the money-generating commercial machine, would become just another football club who were scared by what they were seeing in the short-run.

Possibility Two: Wholesale Squad Changes

Substantial additions, and subtractions, to the current squad of players are inevitable.

Consider the back-line: Nemanja Vidic is off to Inter Milan, and Patrice Evra may very well join him. Rio Ferdinand is probably on his way to retirement. Alexander Buttner could count the number of games he has played on his hand, with little confidence being shown in his abilities.

While Phil Jones, Jonny Evans and Chris Smalling will stay, only Jones seems to be good enough to play for United. At right-back, for all his forward endeavors, Rafael is a walking liability. Conclusion: four defenders can be expected in the summer transfer window.

The same can be said of the mid-field, where Fellaini has been an unqualified failure/misfit (depending on how angry one is), and Juan Mata constantly played out of position. Nani, Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young top the deadwood list. The case of Shinji Kagawa has everyone mystified, while Ryan Giggs is surely in his last year as player.

Tom Cleverley, despite being 24 years old, continues to be branded as a young player by Moyes whenever the former’s ability is questioned. The only bright spot has been Adnan Januzaj, and it speaks volumes about a club when a nineteen-year-old in his first season as a senior player is expected to save the team.

Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher are not the players they once were, and Wilfried Zaha’s loan spell at Cardiff is indicative of the confidence Moyes has in the youngster Ferguson paid £15 mln for.

The attack seems to be well-covered, with Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie, Danny Welbeck, and Javier Hernandez capable of finishing when presented with opportunities.

Conclusion? A massive squad overhaul not seen since Chelsea circa 2004 is in the offing. Sums such as £150 mln and £200 mln are already being bandied about as being available to Moyes in the summer.

However, a splurge will again split United at its seam. A club, that has promoted its youth set-up for so long and taken pride at the players it has produced, would be left with no place to hide when multiple £40 mln players make their way into Carrington. What would all the fans do when they see their own team brandishing the cheque book, not unlike their Blue neighbours? Years of mocking Chelsea and Manchester City of having ‘bought’ their way to success would come back to haunt them. And this would be even before success was delivered.

The possibility of a humongous spending spree is 100%, whether Moyes is sacked or not. But what happens to the club’s self-professed 659 mln supporters? What happens to the uniqueness that brought them to the club?

More importantly, what happens to the things United stands for? Over the last decade and more, it has stood out from the sometimes crazy, always chaotic, world of football and its never-ending incidents of poor decision-making on the administrative level. The club, and its supporters, have taken immense pride in being run in an almost old-fashioned way in an era of three-year contracts and regular breaking of club transfer records. Ferguson would get the cheque book out regularly, sure. But he would never make heads turn by making obscenely expensive signings, leaving it to the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City, Real Madrid and Barcelona to be the focus of fans’ capitalism-stemming vitriol.

Should Moyes be sacked, or an almost-cathartic squad overhaul take place, or both, Manchester United will not be the club that it has been for the last 25 years, or at least purported to be. It will just be another institution, great nonetheless, caught in the race of achieving success using short-cuts. The romance in football would shrink in size, consumed and subsumed by the green of money and the red of impatience.

Suddenly, maybe not so suddenly, it's not there. The old spark that ignited short conversations, which told you that friendships could last more than just time and distance, has diminished to the point where little can be seen of it. There seems to be no fun, intrigue, even interest.

Reduced contact may have played a part. But then, frequency of verbal exchange should not, and does not, determine the strength of a bond which is supposed to transcend superficial relationships.

Was the past an illusion, the concoctions of a delusional and searching mind? So many questions, so few answers. Where an understanding that once existed, smattering of nods and almost-tiresome acknowledgements now stand. Like watching an empire crumble before your very eyes. Except, it's your own empire.

Maybe this is how people move apart. The natural course of things? Well, I don't like it much.

Wish the years could be rolled back, moments played out slowly. Even the bad ones.

Literary and verbal laziness in football

The mid-season transfer window slammed shut for European football clubs not too long back. No, it did not close gently. It, as it always does, ‘slammed’ shut. Given the nature of football transfers, a door left ajar is as good as one that is wide open. Should a club get a sniff of a want-away player, the 2300 GMT deadline becomes a mere number as deals get ‘thrashed’ out in double-quick time.

For a sport where scripts are written, torn, re-written, and torn apart again in less than two hours, football’s allegiance to cliches is not just annoying, but confounding. And each section of the game is afflicted with the disease, be it the players, managers, or the journalists.

Sample Juan Mata‘s statements on becoming Manchester United’s record signing.

“The time has come for a new challenge,” Mata was quoted as having said by the BBC. “I am excited at the chance I have to be part of the next phase in the club’s history.”

Curiously, footballers always move for a new “challenge”, or when a ‘project’ becomes too tempting, or too ‘big’ to resist. Of course, one cannot expect footballers to be brutally honest and say that the massive salary on offer was instrumental to their transfer, or their former manager was completely wrong to have not played him more frequently. But that does not absolve them of the atrocious post-match interviews, none exemplified better than a victorious Wayne Rooney, basking in the success his immense talent brings to him and his team.

“I am concentrating on my football. I have got my head down and worked hard,” Rooney was quoted as having said in mid-September.

Yes Wayne, we are glad you are concentrating on your football and working hard. A bucket-load of new information: a footballer concentrating on his football.

Jose Mourinho stirred up another controversy recently when he accused West Ham United of playing “19th century football”. Trust Jose to say it like no one else could. But then, don’t West Ham United and Stoke City, at least before Mark Hughes’ subtle shift to a more continental footballing ‘philosophy’, represent the ultimate challenge to a footballer? So what if Lionel Messi scores a hat-trick against Real Madrid? Could he do it on a wet Wednesday night against Stoke City, with the bus parked in front of the goal?

Of course, for every ‘hoof up the pitch’ involving ‘the West Hams’ and ‘the Stokes’ of the world, there is always ‘the Arsenals’ and their ‘top, top, top’ players who prefer to ‘pass the ball into the net.’ The manner in which goals are scored is of utmost importance, and nothing better describes a fluid, passing game than ‘playing along the carpet’.

When one of the less fancied clubs comes up against the ‘big’ clubs, talent takes a back seat for 90 minutes as David versus Goliath is played out for the umpteenth time. Never has the underdog received so much support as he does today. And should plucky David win, it has to be after having ‘worked their socks off’, or having ‘played their hearts out’.

Of course, such a match, or any other for that matter, would require a ‘turning point’. However, if the turning point is incidentally near the 45-minute mark, then it becomes a ‘game of two halves’, ensuring that the incompetent mathematicians packed in the stands don’t make the mistake of thinking that football had borrowed the system of quarters from basketball.

One can only be thankful that Sir Alex Ferguson retired at the end of the 2012-13 season. If anything, Ferguson is singularly responsible for two of the most overused cliches in the history of sport.

Should his team put in a floundering first-half performance, there could only be one place where Sir Alex would be standing: next to the locker room plug point, revving up his hairdryer. Having blown hot air over his wards, the septuagenarian would then take his place in the stands, ‘furiously chewing’ on his favourite piece of gum.

Obviously, Manchester United would then go on to win the match in the dying minutes of the game, better known as ‘Fergie Time’. Whether David Moyes owns a hairdryer or not is yet to be seen. But, it can be safely said that Moyesie Time will not be making an entry anytime soon.

Liverpool’s victory over Everton on January 28 was of added importance, as the two clubs’ adjacent positions in the league table had somehow managed to convert the derby into a ‘six-pointer’. Relegation battles are another category of matches that are assigned six-points by commentators and journalists, even though only three points are awarded to the victors at the end of the match. Little is known of the constituents of the remaining three points, though one could guess that ‘bragging rights’ may form a part of it.

To end with England defender Rio Ferdinand’s fantastically articulated summation of the challenges of the 2012-13 season: ”We want to give the fans what they expect and be battling at the top of the league. The gauntlet has been thrown down time and time again. It is up to us to pull in the right direction. We have to step up to the plate and produce. I am sure we will.”

Football, for all its Brownian motion-like unpredictability on the pitch, is rooted in literary banality off it.

Nature 1 - 0 Tactics: Gerrard deals blow for Rodgers' regista hopes?

Aston Villa gave Liverpool an object lesson in counter-attacking football on Saturday, tearing the Reds into shreds in a first-half performance that could have graced any Champions League season and not looked out of place. In the middle of the first 45 minutes of the Villan whirlwind was Steven Gerrard, sitting in as the deep-lying play-maker, Liverpool’s resident regista.

Rodgers had played Gerrard in a the holding mid-field role against Stoke on January 12, with Liverpool emerging victors by five goals to three in a roller-coaster of a game.

“It’s something Steven and I have spoken about for a while. I thought he did very well in that role at Stoke – the mix of his game was excellent,” Brendan Rodgers, the Liverpool manager, was quoted as having said by Liverpool’s official website ahead of the Aston Villa clash at Anfield. However, the fact that Liverpool let in three goals at the Britannia Stadium should have told Rodgers that Gerrard and the defence had probably not done as well as they should have.

Gerrard was more than just “swamped” against Villa in the fist half on Saturday. He made a measly 16 passes in the first 45 minutes, less than Jordan Henderson’s 33. Even Christian Benteke managed to string together 30 passes in the first half, making Gerrard’s performance in the depths of his own half look even more disturbing. Over the length of the entire game, the Liverpool captain completed only 73% of his passes. Compare that to Raheem Sterling, who completed 97% of his passes, the majority of which were in the opposition’s half.

There is little point in doubting Gerrard’s ability on the ball. However, Rodgers’ dream of seeing his captain strutting his talent à la Andrea Pirlo would have taken a beating after the first half against Villa, and the Liverpool boss was quick to right the ship during half-time, replacing Phillipe Coutinho with Lucas Leiva, who had started the game on the substitute’s bench. With Lucas back, Gerrard was free to roam the length of the pitch and influence the game in the manner he does so well, picking out Luis Suarez with a precise 40-yard pass from just inside his own half, a position he would not have been in if he was providing cover in front of Martin Skrtel and Kolo Toure. Gerrard’s ‘Hollywood’ pass, minutes into the second half, led to Suarez earning the penalty.

Rodgers’ dislike for two defensive mid-fielders is well known. With Lucas having played in front of the back four up till now, Rodgers’ has used various formations according to requirements of the match. Although the unavailability of Suarez and Daniel Sturridge at different points in time has meant that a lone striker was often the norm for much of 2013, if one were to consider matches where two have played together, two basic structures can be discerned.

The 4-3-3: With Suarez, Sturridge and Coutinho/Sterling/Victor Moses changing positions at the front, the midfield trio comprised of Lucas, Gerrard and Henderson. The Liverpool skipper and Henderson here played in an advanced midfield role. Alternatively, this could be seen as a 4-1-3-2, with Coutinho playing as part of the second line of attack.

The 4-4-2: The more conventional English system, although currently out of favour with clubs who cannot afford the luxury of two strikers and the resultant lack of cover. With Sturridge and Suarez plying their trade at the top, Gerrard and Lucas would form the mid-field’s centre, with Henderson and Coutinho/Sterling/Moses playing wide. Lucas would be the conventional defensive midfielder, while Gerrard would provide support in attack.

By moving Gerrard to Lucas’ position in front of the defence, Rodgers wished to infuse a “range of passing” to the normally workman-like character associated with a defensive midfielder, while allowing the other two players in the midfield to aid the three-man front line.

The regista in its modern, 21st century rendition has often been seen with the support of another player. When one talks about Xabi Alonso’s breathtaking 70-yard cross-field sniper-like passes at Liverpool and Real Madrid, it’s difficult to imagine them without the harrying figure of Javier Mascherano or Sami Khedira bundling the opposition into submission, clearing the field for their partner in crime. Xavi Hernandez, while playing in a slightly more advanced position than Alonso, is coupled with Sergio Busquets, who does the proverbial dirty work. Paul Scholes played the ‘keep-the-ball-ticking’ role to much acclaim at Manchester United, punctuating his midfield stability with attacking insurgencies. Andrea Pirlo, everyone’s favourite beard-sporting midfield metronome, had Gennaro Gattuso for company in Milan. His time at Juvetus, however, has seen him without the typical destroyer, although Juvetus’ wealth when it comes to combative midfielders – Paul Pogba, Arturo Vidal, Claudio Marchisio – ensures Pirlo is not caught out.

Rodgers has talked of using Gerrard as a centre-back in his twilight years, with the approaching years rendering him devoid of the pace he so effectively used for his lung-busting runs over the past decade. However, the lack of running speed does not mean that Gerrard should be relegated to a deeper role.

Gerrard’s second-half performance against Villa was a perfect example of a player with more than just pace to his game. While his passing ability would be a bonus at the holding role, the cross-field passes are effective when one is in a slightly more advanced position, with the ball still arriving at pace to the receiver rather than floating and enabling easier interceptions.

It can be argued that Gerrard needs more time to accept the new role and get used to the new positioning and the speed with which the game is played in your own half. Rodgers and Gerrard conceded as much before and after game.

“Now you are reprogramming him(Gerrard) for his movement patterns in this half of the field. Once we continue to do more work on it on the training field, he’ll get that total picture of where he’s at,” Rodgers had said before the Villa game.

Pirlo’s languid style has been the outcome of a prolonged spell in a deeper role, dictating games even before he joined Milan at the age of 22. His development as a deep-lying controller started at Brescia in northern Italy, the club he played for in two spells. The end of his second term at Brescia – a six-month loan deal from Inter – saw his role taken up by Pep Guardiola, whose spell was halted after he tested positive for nandrolone.

Maybe with time, Gerrard too will flower in a role Rodgers has identified for him. If there is any player who has managed to play more than adequately in different positions, it is Steven Gerrard, be it at right-back, centre, left or right midfield, or just off the striker. Surely, sauntering about as Henderson and company do the legwork will not be too difficult? Sporting a beard could probably help.