United Pepped at the post as Fergie utters the unthinkable

On Wednesday night Manchester United and Alex Ferguson missed the chance to become champions of Europe, and make themselves a little bit of history into the bargain. A win would have seen the long serving Scot become only the second manager to win the European Cup on three occasions, and United the first team to retain the trophy in its current guise, of the Champions League. Instead, they were well beaten, as the brilliance of Barcelona blew the English Champions away. The Premier League, we are often told, is the strongest league in the world, well perhaps on this evidence we need to think again.


The result is all the more remarkable when you consider the two men in Rome’s technical areas. Ferguson, a veteran campaigner, has been there, seen it, got the T-shirt and quite probably done some shopping to boot. Pep Guardiola on the other hand was completing his first season in charge of one of Europe’s greatest clubs, in the true sense of the word club. A tyro. A beginner. A rookie. A genius? Barcelona’s football this season has been enthralling. Fergie knew what to expect at the Stadio Olimpico, he just didn’t know what to do about it.


The talk before the match was that the Barca defence offered a way in, it was a weak spot. They could be got at, Carles Puyol and Sylvinho were past their prime, and if United could start brightly they could breach the makeshift backline. So why start with Park Ji-Sung as one of his three attacking players? Surely Carlos Tevez and Ronaldo should have been detailed to punish these ageing fullbacks, leaving Wayne Rooney to ransack the out of position Yaya Toure? Yes, United started brightly and could have scored early on but that doesn’t explain the total capitulation after Samuel Eto’o had netted the opener. Once Barcelona went a goal up, United looked inept, ineffectual, and shorn of attacking ideas.


Should we be surprised by this outcome? Not really, Arsenal in the European semi-final aside, United have struggled against top sides this season. The Premier League was not won against Chelsea, Arsenal or Liverpool. Alex Ferguson’s men have become expert at taking points from lesser teams, where other members of the top four are prone to slip up. In short they don’t like it up ‘em. Remember the defeat at Fulham where Rooney and Ronaldo jumped up and down like spoiled children, ordered to bed on a sunny evening. Perhaps this team of born winners are too happy to accept defeat against opponents they themselves consider worthy?


Still at least one good thing came out of Wednesday’s game, as Fergie admitted his team had been defeated by a superior opponent. This loss was not blamed on a referee. The fixture computer for once escaped the dreaded hairdryer treatment. And no it wasn’t even the colour of their, or anyone else’s shirts, that was at fault. ‘We were beaten by the better team’ he said after the match. For once it looks like everyone can agree with you Sir Alex.

History beckons as dream final is upon us

The joy of winning a major tournament now appears to have been eclipsed in importance by the act of adding another trophy to your tally. Note the enormous amount of coverage given to Manchester United winning a record equalling 18th League title this year. And don’t expect the media coverage to die down on that front, next year United and Liverpool will battle it out to be the first to 19. Banners at big club grounds proclaim the number of European or domestic titles won, while the five stars over Brazil’s badge are merely a gloat concerning the frequency of their World Cup victories. Football’s rich history is one of the reasons so many of us are hooked on the sport, but this everyday obsession with the past is a relatively recent.


It is for such historical reasons that Wednesday night’s Champions League final is of such magnitude. Everyday Barcelona and their supporters must live with the knowledge that Real Madrid have won the European Cup nine times compared with their two. The fact that six of Madrid’s triumphs came before 1970 is of little importance to football fans desperate to better their rivals. Both Barcelona’s wins came since the advent of the 1990’s, during which time Real have picked up the pot three times. If Barca win a third on Wednesday it will, in the eyes of supporters, provide some sort of parity with Madrid, at least in the modern era. A win for the Catalans would also elevated them into joint six place on the all time list, out of a large group of clubs who have been champions twice.


Alex Ferguson’s dominance of English football is unquestionable; this year was his 11th league title. However, his record in Europe stands up less well to scrutiny. Two, some would say, slightly fortuitous wins in 16 years of competing for club football’s greatest prize does not make happy reading for the Scot. After all, United have been almost guaranteed entry since 1993 and boast the kind of financial resources other clubs can only dream about. That said, on Wednesday night, Ferguson can enter the pantheon of greats by equalling the record of 3 European cup wins as manager 28 years to the day since the feat was first achieved. The great Bob Paisley won his third continental crown on 27th May 1981, Liverpool defeating Real Madrid in Paris. Having recently matched Liverpool’s domestic benchmark there are no prizes for guessing what Fergie’s next target will be. Liverpool currently hold five European crowns, United with three can become the first team to defend the title since it became the Champion’s League.


People have described Wednesday’s game as being the dream final. In all honesty, though, with the stakes so high, the dream final is the final that your team wins. Unless an early goal for either side loosens up the defences, allowing the game to become stretched, this will surely be a cagey affair. That does not mean the match will not be enjoyable for the spectator, just that we are very unlikely to have a hatful of goals. Ferguson himself said as much last week.


The fact is Manchester United will have to watch Lionel Messi like a hawk. If they don’t and the little Argentine destroys United in the first half then Fergie will have his tactics heavily criticised. Likewise Pep Guardiola is duty bound to stop Ronaldo from taking the game away from his side. Having so much attacking talent on show can make managers and defenders very nervous indeed. And in such a big game, with so much history at stake, no one wants to be remembered for all the wrong reasons.

Finger-biting time for the North East as the Premier League reaches its climax

With just one round of games remaining the Premier League reaches its conclusion this Sunday at 4pm. Last Saturday lunchtime Manchester United banged the final nail into the title coffin, and a day later Liverpool put paid to West Brom’s hopes of rising from the dead. So with top and bottom decided, all that remains is the battle for seventh and the fight to avoid sliding through the trapdoor with the Baggies. Fulham should get the point they need, at home to Everton, to nick the final Europa League spot from Tottenham. But it is events at the bottom of the table that are going to grab Monday’s headlines.


There have been moans this week, mostly from angst ridden supporters of North East clubs, that Hull City may get an easy ride to safety against a weakened Man United side. A win for The Tigers will mean relegation for two out of Middlesbrough, Sunderland and Newcastle United. This is old news of course; every year brings with it a story of perceived injustice. Just ask Reading who went down on goal difference last season rather than Fulham. The Cottagers secured their Premier League status on the final day, against a Portsmouth side focused on an FA Cup Final. Southampton had the honour of playing a full strength Man United on the final day of the 2004/05 season, relegation rivals had already picked up points against Fergie’s reserves.


That these whinges are nothing new, however, doesn’t mean they should be taken any more seriously. If relegation is to come knocking for any of the giants of North East football then the blame is to be found squarely at their own doors. After all, underachievement has been the watchword for football in that part of the world for many a year. Middlesbrough’s League Cup in 2004, the only major silverware to shine in the region for over 35 years. So here are three good reasons why, if and when relegation comes, no one is to have any cause for complaint.


Firstly, since Christmas, Hull City have looked unable to beat Hull City Reserves let alone Manchester United’s. Most members of whatever team Alex Ferguson puts out on Sunday would walk into Phil Brown’s first eleven. Moreover the £32million pound that ‘reserve team’ player Carlos Tevez might eventually cost would buy the majority of Hull’s playing squad.


Next, Hull City spent less than £10million pounds in the close season as they prepared for their debut season in England’s top flight. Conversely Mike Ashley has splashed out countless millions on a whole host of international underperformers. Take Damien Duff, price £5m. One goal every 16.75 matches for Newcastle compared with a goal every 6.85 games for Blackburn and Chelsea. Or, how about £5.7m for one goal striker Francisco Tejada, any takers? Sunderland have a £9m goalkeeper between the sticks with £8m pound defender Anton Ferdinand playing just in front of him. Meanwhile £13m Alfonso Alves has spent all season banging in 4 league goals for Middlesbrough.


Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, the whole point of the league is that it is contested over 38 matches, not one. Chelsea might feel aggrieved at being knocked out of the Champions League because of some dodgy refereeing but that is the nature of cup football. Lose, or draw, one match and it could be curtains for you. In the league these situations must equal themselves out or otherwise why bother with a league system at all? If relegated, Newcastle should look to recent dropped points at home to Pompey, one point from two games against Hull, or the limp defeat to Fulham that ended their recent mini-resurgence. Middlesbrough and Sunderland can point to their inability to score at home as the reason behind their demise. Just 17 and 19 home league goals respectively is quite simply not good enough. So if Hull City stay up and Newcastle, Sunderland or Boro go down then they will have only themselves to blame and Hull City should be applauded for achieving the unlikely.


In any event Hull are unlikely to get anything of their game with United’s second eleven. Newcastle will probably lose at Villa and even if Boro win at West Ham, they will not see a sufficient goal swing to keep them up. Conspiracy theories should be left outside the gates of St James Park and The Riverside, what should concern the chairman and supporters of both teams, is this. Have they got the right men at the helm to steer their teams out of the second tier next season. Because, while the Premier League may often be touted as the best League in the world, next season’s Championship certainly looks like one of the toughest.

Strauss’s men get top marks as England move onto tougher tests

It was, quite frankly, vitally important that England managed to bowl out the West Indies to complete a 2-0 series win on Monday. Yes, the opposition were underprepared and have subsequently underperformed hugely. And yes, conditions at Lord’s and Durham were chilly and completely alien to Chris Gayle and his men. But, there is an old adage in sport, ‘you can only beat the team put in front of you’. And England not only beat the West Indies, but they have done so ruthlessly and with plenty of time to spare. In other words, they have done it like the Australians would have done it.

In the Caribbean, England had The Windies on the rack in 2 of the 4 completed tests but were unable to finish them off. In both Antigua and Trinidad, defiant and obdurate batting displays had frustrated England’s fielders, leaving them just short of victory on both occasions. As Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Lendl Simmons came out to bat on Monday morning, there existed a niggling doubt that the bowlers might fail to grab the win their performance deserved. Could the West Indies hold on long enough for the weather to come to their aid? As rain forced the players off for the second time in the opening session, that niggle began to grow.

But then out England came, and with the ball suddenly swinging the tourists middle order was gone. Five wickets fell in the 11 overs immediately before lunch, for just 25 runs. After that, it was merely a question of how quickly England’s bowlers could finish the job. The excellent James Anderson claimed four of the last 7 wickets. Tim Bresnan, finally given a prolonged bowl, picked up his first three test victims. For Bresnan, it was crucial he took wickets. If he couldn’t succeed against such average opposition, how could Andrew Strauss possibly trust him against the Aussies? Just maybe Bresnan has a future in test cricket after all.

England’s attention now turns to the shorter form of the game. Three ODI’s against Gayle’s side are followed by the Twenty20 World Cup. The West Indies will certainly provide sterner opposition in the coming weeks, starting at Headingly on Thursday. England should be strong enough to claim a few wins, but nothing should detract from solid progress made in the last two games. Test Cricket is a unique discipline, and England can now look forward to the Ashes with confidence.

Anderson, now looking the finished article, has completed the transformation from support bowler to talisman. Stuart Broad reminds one of Simon Jones, tall, athletic and with the knack of taking important wickets at crucial times. Graeme Swann is now the teams premier spinner and capable of regularly troubling the world’s top batsmen. However, the real bonus for England is the cast of support bowlers who are waiting in the wings. Monty Panesar could feature in Cardiff if the rumours of a spin friendly pitch prove well founded. Graham Onions has had a great start to his Test career and will be relishing a possible return to Lord’s on July 16^th. Ryan Sidebottom and Steve Harmison, both look in good form for their counties and will be hungry for wickets if called upon. And with Andrew Flintoff certain to return if fit, England’s bowling options are in rude health.

Equally encouraging is the batting situation. Questions over Alastair Cook’s technique outside off stump must be silenced, for now at least, by the sheer weight of his runs. Strauss is cementing his authority as captain, after a quiet start to the summer he will surely step up when the Aussies get to town. Ravi Bopara has three tons on the bounce and looks confident coming in first wicket down. Matty Prior looks a Test batsman at six while Broad and Swann are both capable of getting useful scores. And with Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood yet to get going this season there is no shortage of runs in this team. Should things go badly in the first couple of Tests, there are batting options in reserve too. Ian Bell is averaging over 93 in first class games this season and was in the squad for the last match. While the suspicion remains that Michael Vaughan, conqueror of Australian teams gone by, has one last hurrah left in him for England.

One glaring conundrum remains unanswered. How can England be judged against opponents as poor and disinterested as the West Indies? England have not yet had to bat on a 4^th or 5th day pitch to chase a win or save a match. They haven’t toiled in the field for two days while the opposition put 500 on the board with only 5 down. But the West Indies arrived and were not just beaten but thrashed, you can’t ask anymore than that. It remains to be seen how good the Australians are. Will they be the team that got beaten at home against South Africa or the side that comfortably defeated same opposition away? Don’t forget, they were also beaten heavily in a Test series by India last autumn. Australia may still be favourites but England are stronger now than people might think. Get off to a good start and we could be in for another cracking Ashes summer, lets hope we get the same outcome as 2005.