Archive for June, 2009

End of Season Awards

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009

Welcome to the inaugural, and highly, highly unofficial, end of season ESPN/thedevilinme awards. It has been a season of ups and downs with moments to cherish and a few to forget, hasn’t it Nemanja. Nonetheless, after careful consideration with the Crinkleys (the guys I go to the games with) and a few other season ticket holders, here is the honour roll for 2008/09….

Tantrum of the season:

A lip-wobbling stroll for Didier Drogba. His post semi-final outburst flip-flops ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo’s little strop in the same round. Apparently Drogba has a young child, no doubt daddy is still a hero. An honourable mention also for Robinho for not wanting to report back for training how many times?

The Mike Ashley Award for Loss of Credibility:

Monsieur Ashley himself did not waltz in with an infinite bank account of goodwill but his pigsear-ing of Newcastle will take some beating. Alas also poor Carlos, after we spent the entire season chanting his name he refuses a contract and says he “doesn’t feel wanted enough”. Are you deaf?

The MP award for money well spent:

It all looked so rosy in September. David Bentley, Spurs’s marquee signing, scores the goal of the season against Arsenal and seemingly has the world at his feet. Then, like Keyser Solze, he’s gone. Beckham for England. Quaresma was also an astonishing waste of money and you might not want to mention Robbie Keane to Benitez any time soon.

The Matrix Revolutions award for disappointment:

Again after briefly bright starts those chaps at Chelsea managed to hari-kiri by losing faith with Big Phil before the paint had dried on his parking space. One of the main reasons? Deco, a supremely talented player and a total waster. Sorry Bentley, you’re in this one too.

UNITED AWARDS

Most improved player:

Darren Fletcher, often maligned but now a really key part of the United puzzle. We missed him in Rome and I look forward to him bursting out of the traps in the new campaign.

Undersung Hero:

John O’Shea. The man who played the most games in the long run of clean sheets and a guy who never lets us down. O’Shea is also now in the top 20 for appearances in a United shirt.

Most Sorely Missed:

Owen Hargreaves, assuming this guys legs are still attached he will be welcome back with open arms. I hope the recovery is going well.

The ‘United Moment’ Award:

Step forward Federico Macheda. At the age of 17 you have mastered the art of making grown men cry. Now go and finish your A-levels.

Performance of the season:

A solid mention in 3rd place for Ben Foster’s heroics during the Carling Cup Final. An assured display and extremely promising for our future between the sticks. Joint first goes to Rooney for his brutal destruction of Chelsea at Old Trafford and Ronaldo’s astonishing showing against Arsenal in the Champion’s League semi-final.

Goal of the season:

Macheda comes close but Ronaldo’s goal against Porto must surely rank as one of the greatest of all time. Pretty much no contest.

Young Player of the season:

Stepped up to the plate and looked assured all the way through. We had serious injury and suspension problems in January at the back and it was men like Evans who made sure we barely noticed them.

Player of the Season:

Congratulations Rio Ferdinand. Without this guy in the side we are a different team and his steady marshalling of the defence over the last couple of years has been crucial to all of the success we have enjoyed.

Posted in 2008/2009 | 1 Comment »

Squad Review 2008/9

Tuesday, June 16th, 2009

The transfer tittle-tattle basically bores me to tears. I much prefer to see players coming through the ranks than a new John Wayne walk into the dressing room any day of the week. I will post a review of our transfer targets in the next week but beforehand I think it is important to assess the strengths and weaknesses the squad has shown up over the last year. Here goes:

Van Der Sar:

Started extremely wobbly and the general feeling at the start of the year was that he would gradually be phased out during the season. Horrifically at fault for the first goal at Anfield but showed the resolve of a great to come back and claim the clean sheet record. Can he repeat the feats next season? I doubt it, but suspect he will be asked to do so.

Foster:

One of the most talented goalies I have seen. Still very young but handled the Mickey Mouse Cup final responsibility like a champ. This could be the season when we ask ask him to step up to the plate. Only time will tell if he is ready, it would be a gamble though.

G. Nev:

The heart of the club and still our best spokesman off the pitch. He is not the man he was before his injury though. His determination and hard work will mean he stays in contention next season, but zippy forwards for our opponents look forward to playing against him now.

Vidic:

Awesome all year but I am a little worried about the trumpet blowing. His partnership with Rio is the most important thing in the team but pride tends to precede something doesn’t it? Don’t mention Fernando Torres.

Rio:

Pure class and should definitely be the next captain. I can’t remember him doing anything major  wrong all season. Almost immaculate.

Evra:

Probably his best season for us but having Rooney in front of him is a definite bonus. If he played with a winger who didn’t track back as much he could find himself in more trouble.

Rafael:

Welcome to Manchester United. Corking goal in his debut and a major talent but needs a couple more years experience to sort out his positional play.

Evans:

I wasn’t sure about him at first but he played a significant role in the clean-sheet record and deserves credit for that. A solid deputy and it is comforting to know he is there, probably not good enough to dislodge either Rio or Vidic though.

Wes:

Injured too much to really register but is class when he plays. Is there a connection between his lengthy recovery times and the rumours I hear about his fondness for a night on the tiles?

Park Ji Sung:

The man with 3 lungs and our best current chant harried every opponent he faced. It must be bloody annoying trying compete against him. Got lost in the European Cup Final and doesn’t play the decisive ball anywhere near as often as he should. Still a favourite though.

Fletcher:

Is emerging as the man of the team. The shadows of Robson and Keane hang over him but he always justifies his selection. Would like to see him become a bit more of a destroyer next year.

Ronaldo:

Spent a lot of time on the field looking like he didn’t give a damn but was still streets ahead of the rest. Likely to be the best player we have had since George but his attitude had effected his displays. I think his influence on the dressing room was having an effect on the other players and we will start seeing improvement in the performance of others now he is gone.

Rooney:

Nobody seems to mention how much has matured as a man. In interviews now his head is much more screwed on. He is doing the job of about three players on the pitch at the moment and all the hard work he does for others stops him from shining as much. Definitely my favourite current player and I hope he is played in the centre next season.

Giggs:

Another good season for Ryan, he is smart enough never to look exposed now but the pace is basically gone. Probably just cameos next year.

Scholes:

Fading. I am sorry to say it but he doesn’t have ninety minutes in him anymore. Still the best passer at the club and hope to see him come on and change a few games next year.

Carrick:

Not as  invisible as before and he was excellent against Inter. He doesn’t have enough presence on the field though and needs to sort out his haircut. Other than that, much improved and can hopefully get better again.

Nancy:

Was that second season syndrome? Needs to seriously pull his socks up.

Anderson:

A major talent but didn’t really produce this year. I still have high hopes for him but suspect that Ronaldo’s attitude was a bad influence on him.

Tevez:
Pivotally brilliant against Wigan and City but it just makes me think what was he up to the rest of the season. Almost as good as he thinks he is. A shame to see him go but I think having Kia Joorboachim in one ear and Cristiano Ronaldo in the other ear has stopped him thinking straight. Wish he was staying but he ain’t.

Berbatov:

There is more to come from this guy, much more. He does appear too languid still but boy can he control a football. I expect to see big improvements from him next year.

Wellbeck:

Scored probably the finest debut goal in history against Stoke. Will improve but a boy amongst men at the moment.

Macheda:

Basically won the league for us. I will just wait and see what happens next.

The Manager:

It is ridiculous that he is still going. Balanced the squad and team selections brilliantly all year and very nearly pulled off the quintuple. I don’t know how he continues to do it but I am bloody grateful that he does.

Posted in Other Blogs | 2 Comments »

The Transfer

Saturday, June 13th, 2009

I really admire diplomatic people. They have a skill which I lack, the ability to bring a clear head and the cool light of day to even the most frenzied of situations. Some subjects just divide opinion, there are topics that will have people gesticulating wildly, spittle jumping off their lips as they try and control their anger. Cristiano Ronaldo seems to have this type of effect on people.

There are voices saying ‘good riddance’, there is a chorus of relief even in some red circles, but just as pertinently there are a proportion of us who think ‘how the hell are we going to replace this guy?’ Quite simply, we cannot.

Ronaldo’s football has been from another planet for at least two seasons now and it has been a joy to behold. Tickets at Old Trafford now make a weekend in Vegas look cheap yet every single time Ronaldo played he did something to make the cost of that ticket worthwhile. Ridiculous things, be it a 40yard screamer or backheeling the ball when he was lying down. He is a truly sensational player. But he had to go.

Ronaldo, although a worthy occupant of the No.7 shirt worn with distinction by Cantona, Best and Robson was not United. His play was but, and this never sat well with me, he dived. A LOT.

Fergie has chats with players who do this and tells them to take it out of their game. Ronaldo didn’t. He was tolerated because of his space-age ball skills but the time had come.

We will read a million lines of copy over the summer now on the subject of who will replace him. Personally, I hope it is a player from the youth team.

There is no doubt that we, as a team, will be weaker without Cristiano Ronaldo but the ethos of Manchester United is now stronger than ever. No one player is bigger than the club, and certainly not one who dives. I take this opportunity to thank Mr. Ronaldo for the excellent football he has played for our club. But eighty million pounds? Thank you very much indeed.

Posted in 2009/2010 | 4 Comments »

Maverick

Sunday, June 7th, 2009

What we have seen at Old Trafford this year, and all around the world, was not really the United we have come to know and love. With the exception of Macheda’s goals I can think of very few moments from the past season when I sat on my chair and thought “this is United, this is why I follow”.

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We had the look of a dogged team, there were a few flashes of extravagance, mainly from Ronaldo, but nowhere near enough bravado to stand comparison to the heroes of yesteryear. I felt at times this United team was the can of spam compared to the Sunday roasts we have been raised on. It is churlish to complain, of course, when you are winning trophies but something is missing.

In particularl with the Carling Cup and the Club World Cup, it was almost as if we were collecting them rather than winning them. The spending in recent seasons has put our squad out of sight of even Chelsea in the quest to challenge for honours but there is something amiss in team spirit.

It is a United tradition, stretcing way back to the days of Billy Meredith, to have at the core of the side a maverick. A divinely gifted player who riles the opposition, outclasses them and has a bond with the supporters borne of having a “roll-your-sleeves-up” attitude and a touch of arrogance.

Although not arrogant in any way Robson’s sleeves were so far rolled up they met in the middle and the guy would have died for the shirt. Cantona and latterly Keane were heirs to Meredith’s tralblazing. During the sixties Denis Law’s attitude to authority made Marlon Brando look like a convent nun.

Where is that player now? We have the supremely gifted Ronaldo, but he seems to wind us up as much as the opposition, although he always, always wins me over with his football. Rooney is the closest I suppose but the x-factor is not quite there. Tevez’s dispute with the club breaks my heart as he could be the true talisman of the team.

What is without question is that we currently lacks a character, somebody mildly psychotic, to fire them up in the heat of battle. We were slaughtered in Rome, absolutely murdered and I couldn’t see anywhere on the park where it was going to turn around. How I longed to see Norman Whiteside trot on, a la Anfield 88, and start making things even.

He is not there, in fact, there are no Big Norms at the moment. The problem, I think, is because we are getting the players so young now they are indoctrinated into the United mythology before maverick tendencies can develop.

I would suggest we missed a trick here. If Ballack had come he would have been a hero for us, nobody really likes him but he is brilliant- a perfect fit for United, shame he didn’t. Looking around world football I cannot see that attitude too obviously anywhere. It is that attitude that I crave to see again on the pitch. For all of the merits of the current heroes, there is something slightly lacking in charisma.

Nonetheless, our shortcomings are far less yawning than those of our rivals and major surgery is not required over the summer months. I do, however, expect changes we may not see coming. Ronaldo, Tevez and Ribery will occupy most of the column inches over the next 10 weeks but be ready for something you don’t expect. The one maverick we definitely do still have is the manager, and he still has a few tricks left up his sleeve.

Posted in 2008/2009 | 7 Comments »