The Devil In Me

With all due respect to the great man we can ignore Alex Ferguson’s statement that ‘tranfer business is done’ at Old Trafford for the summer. Within five days of that announcement we had purchased Mame Biram Diouf from Molde and you can expect a few more below-the-radar acquisitions before the transfer window slams shut.

This has become a bit of a trick of Fergie’s over the last few years, to say we are not going to be buying anyone else, and then buying someone else. It is a nice idea though, certainly nobody saw the transfers of Nani or Anderson coming.

Our rivals, on the other hand, are conducting business with all the subtlety of a herd of buffalo in a small family-run china shop.  I don’t, in all honesty, expect any gigantic signings to arrive at OT in the next month, but this is as good a time as any to run the rule over our rival’s squads:

Chelsea:

Ancelotti has won all of the big trophies with Milan but has performed poorly in the league. He freely admits that his job brief is to get the team to the pinnacle of Europe so you can expect that to be their priority again this year.

Chelsea are creaking though, they are still basically operating with the side Mourinho put together a few years ago and they ain’t getting any younger. If you ask me, their major problem is still the  player power in the dressing room. Their smartest move would be to get rid of John Terry , crush the ego culture, and start building a team ethic. Won’t happen though. They will still be strong and determined, and will no doubt completely lack class when things go against them.

Threat: Pretty strong, if Ancelotti can get them churning out results they will finish in the top two again.

Liverpool:

Liverpool were mighty close to the summit last year but I have the feeling it was sheer force of will that got them so close. Their squad is nowhere near as strong as United’s and that will count against them over the course of a gruelling 38 game season. Certainly though, their starting eleven is as good as any in world football. They are capable of winning any of the major showdown games, provided Gerrard and Torress are fit, to keep things interesting. They are also bloody determined to win the league again.

Much will depend on whether or Xabi Alonso moves to Real Madrid, he is a key part of their midfield and there will be no Gareth Barry in white shining armour coming to the rescue now. Benitez is getting better at managing in this league every year and, should he finally start getting his team selections consistently right, Liverpool could be a big problem.

Threat: Major, will be spurred on by last year’s near miss and even more determined than usual.

The close season is a totally different world for me. I can get initially excited by Wimbledon and the Ashes, but the inevitable disappointment both tend to bring English fans usually kills it. For me, far more than supporting our nation, following United is what it is all about.

We have the fixture list now and with nine teams from the North West represented in the Premier League this year our mileage will take less of a pounding than ever. This is both a good and a bad thing.

One of the top things about following a team is getting to visit new places en masse to cheer them on. I was too young to remember it, but when United went down in ‘74 my old man and his mates went to every single away game we played in the second division.

Towns up and down the country did not know what had hit them. Thousands of Reds would swarm an area determined to cheer on the mighty Man Utd. Many still regard that season as one of the best ever as a fan.

When the Champions League draw is made in a couple of months I am sure we all want to avoid another trip to Celtic. Equally, I am hoping for some new climes to explore on the continent. Watching United away in Europe is a great experience and the excursions the fans have made is an important part of the club’s fabric.

As I await the start of the new campaign I find myself locked in a cage, reading up on United stats and history the same as usual. This year I have had the great pleasure of finding a new book that covers in amusing detail the antics of our fans overseas.

Ian Hough’s Perry Boys Abroad delves into the adventures of some of our more colourful supporters. He ties in the history of Manchester’s music and fashion cultures with the evolution of the club’s fan-base during the ’70s and ’80s.

Scattered through his sharp social commentary, there is also a wealth of anecdotes on the scrapes some of United’s lads have gotten themselves into. Rather than being another biography of the club, it charts the rise of guys like us who will do anything just to get to see the team play.

Fortunately, Ian is not only a good writer but a top bloke to boot and would like to give one lucky fan the chance to get a copy of his book for free.

If you are interested please e-mail aeonhuff@gmail.com with the answer to the following question:

Can you name the 5 Manchester United managers to have won a major trophy?

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Australia upped the stakes in their bid for the 2018 World Cup yesterday as Prime Minister Kevin Rudd briefly detoured from the G8 talks to meet with Sepp Blatter in Zurich.

This is the second meeting between the two men but this time Rudd was armed with Football Federation Australia’s promotional video and a complimentary bottle of wine.

Rudd argued that awarding the finals to Australia would open up football to a new frontier and Blatter is thought to have been impressed with the level of government support.

The frontrunners now include England, America and Russia but Australia’s bid has unique selling points that could derail the competition.

Competition for the 2018 and 2022 finals is expected to be fierce with 11 countries currently bidding. Australia’s bid gains strength by its proximity to Asian time zones and the excellent record it has in hosting previous sporting tournaments, most notably the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

Skilled Park

Attendance: 10,336

Fulham’s pre-season tour of Australia got off to a disappointing start last night as they lost to A-League newcomers Gold Coast United at Skilled Park. An early goal from the evergreen Danny Murphy and some heroics from local hero Mark Scwarzer kept Fulham ahead until the break, but the second half belonged to the Australian side.

The Coast came out for the second period with all guns blazing and with Pascal Zuberbuhler replacing Schwarzer Fulham suddenly looked more vulnerable. Michael Thwaite headed against a post after 56 minutes and Fulham’s players appeared to be tiring in the Queensland heat.

Zuberhbuhler was again at fault as he failed to deal with a Smeltz header from a Jason Culina cross which allowed Brazilian Milson to power home the equaliser with ten minutes to go. Fulham looked to be holding on before the struggling Shane Smeltz roused himself to fire past the outstretched Fulham goalkeeper and send the home fans into rapture.

I was in the South Stand for a game towards the end of last season when Ronaldo was brought down near the touchline in front of us. As usual, he threw his arms up in the air, scrunched up his face and protested to the referee as the play switched towards our goal and the official ignored him.

The guy sat next to me screamed at the top of his lungs “GET UP! 150 GRAND A WEEK, YOU’RE HAVING A LAUGH!” To be fair to Ronaldo, he has done the business over the past few years – but the incident highlighted to me how much the players earn is now a point of contention.

We are prone to think that the men in the shirts now are overpaid, over-pampered and over here. What we don’t stop to think about is the players who have great potential but see their careers cut short before they have even begun.

On May 1^st 2003 a young United player of promise, Benjamin Collett, was tackled during a reserves match against Middlesbrough. The tackle from Gary Smith was high, reckless and snapped the tibia and fibula of his right leg. Collett was unable to play again to the level he had been enjoying.

This is not the first time in history a player’s career has been cut short. One of the Busby babes, Wilf McGuiness, was forced to retire young from injury. In those days compensation was unheard of so McGuiness was brought on to the coaching team by Sir Matt Busby and was thus able to still make a living.

Collett, as is absolutely right, sued Smith and Middlesbrough Football Club for compensation. The final judgement was passed last week and it makes for interesting reading.

United, in general, are pretty good to their ex-players. Bryan Robson now works for the club as an ambassador, scores of former players are burrowed around the club, coaching and scouting and still contributing. There are notable exceptions of course, Nobby Stiles was never given a testimonial and Denis Law learnt of his free transfer via the papers. But, by and large, United are a family club and try to look after their own.

Collett survived the brutal youth culling that occurs at the ages of 14 and 16 and was offered a two year apprenticeship at that point. He went on to score one of the goals as United won the 2003 FA Youth Cup, shortly before the tackle, and won the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year Award.

During the course of proceedings Brian McClair, Alex Ferguson and Ricky Sbragia (part of United’s coaching set-up at he time) all came forward and spoke glowingly of Collett’s potential. Damages awarded in the end amount to the equivalent of £4million pounds in lost earnings.

Collett has taken his injury on the chin, been patient with the courts and is now studying a degree in Manchester where he is apparently an outstanding student. He should still go on to do well for himself.

Whilst we might get miffed from time to time with whingeing superstars it pays to be aware of what a brutal industry football can be. Ben Collett was one tackle away from what could have been a stellar career for Manchester United. A dream like that does not die easily. He appears to be a young man of purpose and strength. Not all are like him though. “150grand a week, you’re having a laugh”. Maybe, but just maybe they deserve it a bit too.

You can take it as red that Sir Alex Ferguson is now back off his holiday, working hard and probably slightly miffed. He has been tracking Benzema since he was a scratch in his daddy’s pants and would have been furious that the Lyons striker signed for Madrid yesterday.

The age of our squad is very good at the moment but, and it is a big but,  you only need to have a peek at Arsenal’s fortunes last season to realise that proven experience needs to be added. I think that United are likely to win the league again in 2011/12 when the team will be something like – Foster, Da Silva x 2, Hargreaves ,Vidic, Nani, Rio, Rooney, Macheda, Wellbeck, Berbatov – in the meantime, we could face a fallow period.

Ferguson wants to bring in some quality to oversee this transition and had his hopes built up high for Benzema. So was Michael Owen Plan B or just a reactionary flutter?

I think a little of both. Owen came up through the ranks in the Northwest so it is pretty safe to say Fergie has known about him since the get-go. At zero pounds and zero pence a proven international goalscorer does represent fairly good value for money.

But there is something about this that could be quite delicious. Owen has been completely written off, barge-pole sales are at an all time low as people will not even touch him with one of those. But he has talent, bags of it, and a big point to prove too.

United have signed players who were seemingly finished before and got the best out of them. This, should it come to pass, will not reshape the future of the club but it can only be a good thing to have Macheda and Wellbeck training with Owen and learning how he makes runs and gets into position.

Once again, Ferguson has surprised us. Can’t wait to see what he does next.