The Devil In Me

With number of hairs on Homer Simpson’s head outnumbering the amount of points separating key parts of the league this year the January transfer window could be more influential than ever. Of course, other factors, such as fixture congestion and injuries, will have their say on where the trophies and places in Europe go but it would be nice to think that the fresh impact of new signings could be crucial too. Having a look at the business done by the teams at the top indicates that the second half of the season will do anything but mirror the first few months.

Manchester United could well become victims of their own success this year. I hope I am wrong but the Herculean number of fixtures they are required to play would finish off a team of Russian coal miners. Despite saying there would be no new signings in the window Fergie has, in fact, smuggled in several young players who are currently jogging around the same snow-covered training pitch as the first team. Some people would call these guys signings Alex. I think Fergie saw the level expectation placed on the shoulders of Nani and Anderson from the get-go and decided he just doesn’t want the undue attention this time. None are likely to win a regular starting berth this term anyway. United’s squad and set-up do look the strongest but, the phrase ‘injuries permitting’ is all important when assessing their chances. Many of us will also remember 1992 when we had to play four games in eight days, collected two points and missed out on the league.

Villa have moved adroitly. Could there have been a smarter buy than Heskey this January, anywhere? He comes at a reasonable price, he does exactly the job the team needs him to do and he is on old-back-slapping terms with his new manager. Villa do, I am afraid, have the weakest squad of the teams at the top – but £10 on them to pip the others to the title does not look a bad bet right now. I expect them to finish the season strongly.

Liverpool of course, have kicked out Robbie Keane. It is difficult to find a word more flattering than ‘debacle’ to describe how the Irishman has been handled. Hocking him back to Spurs put visions in my head of a sweaty Benitez in the refunds queue at Marks & Spencers with an unwanted Christmas jumper, “it’s the wrong style,” he shrieks, the rest of the customers stare blankly at their shoes. Benitez leaves the store and shivers in the cold, he is in need of a jumper. That said, Liverpool have started winning again now that he has departed. I still fail to see how this improves their squad though.

Chelsea are in a bit of trouble at the moment. The crucial area in which they needed to improve was in the position of first team coach. Steve Clarke’s influence seems to have been slightly forgotten by their hierarchy, and their players, stupendously gifted as they are, look a little lazy of late. Quaresma, whilst very decent, has looked like a man with his confidence shot to bits in recent months. I highly doubt he will make an immediate and positive impact. They could drop extremely low if Everton continue to march onwards and upwards.

Arsenal are a team capable of beating anybody, and with some panache too, but they are a little short on consistency and a ruthless influence at times in the final third. Enter the amusingly named Mr. Arshavin. He is, I feel, a player touched by genius and could have a major effect on how the London club play for their remaining games. Coming from Russia he should be a fairly hardy fellow and not be bogged down in the ‘adapting to the Premier League’ tribulations many have to go through. I also believe that Wenger is a good enough manager to handle his suspected prima donna tendencies. Arsenal are a team to watch out for at the moment.

On the basis of the transfers done, we can expect to see the biggest improvement from the teams at the Emirates and Villa Park. Arsene Wenger and Martin O’Neill will also feel they still have a lot of damage to do this season. The problem for both of them is that the title is now, very much, in Manchester United’s hands.

I was not confident going into this fixture at all. There is absolutely no way United will finish the league season having lost only two games and our recent record against West Ham has been dismal. Added to this, we have only won once in our last eleven visits to London and the Hammers were in a pretty rich vein of form.

But they did it again. Our team selection of old heads and former West Ham players was utterly inspired and whilst United were more dogged than dazzling we still had a proper go at attacking the game. Giggs’s goal was just reward for some lovely play from Scholes and Carrick is starting to quietly boss games in an unshowy and highly effective manner. We may look back on this as one of the major results of the season.

The transfer window is starting to close shut and the gaze of the footballing world is starting to point in new directions. Where does it rest its unceasing gaze for the next few months? Well, onto the Player of the Year awards, and who are the likely contenders for this season’s prize. Last week Sir Alex Ferguson stated that Ryan Giggs would be enjoying another extension to his contract and that he also thought Giggs was is line for a personal award this time round too. Was this comment the crafty machinations of a fatherly manager, or is English football’s most decorated player a genuine challenger for the title of best Premier League Player 2009/2010?

There are a few different accolades on offer but the two most prestigious are The Football Writer’s Award and the PFA award (or player’s player of the year). Whilst the voting for these two comes from different areas, the criteria for both is roughly the same. Namely, that you need to be the outstanding player in the league over the course of a season. It can be awarded to a player who is head and shoulders above the rest, see Ronaldo last season, somebody critical to a highly successful team, Roy Keane, David Beckham, Thierry Henry. Or, more suspiciously, it somehow finds its way into the hands of a glamoruous player who plays for a London club, see David Ginola winning it in 1999 after United’s treble.

So,why hasn’t Giggs won this award before? There are those who argue that the two seasons in which Giggs was truly outstanding were his first two. They might feel that as he was awarded the Young Player of the Year award in those years that he was justly rewarded. Perhaps this is true, but I can attest to the tremendous consistency of a player who I have been watching since his debut in 1991. The reality is that he has just been unlucky. During his immense career, at certain times, there have simply been more talented players who have hit peak and shone a little brighter. After Keane declined and Henry sulked, instead of Giggs taking their limelight other great players have come to the fore and gobbled the plaudits. Steven Gerrard and Cristiano Ronaldo have grabbed more headlines during their marquee seasons, but Giggs has been quietly in the background collecting the medals. Perhaps this approach suits him. Giggsie found himself in trouble with Ferguson a couple of times during the early days and now he seems to enjoy not being the centre of attention. I remember clearly him stating he was glad when Beckham became famous because it gave him a break.

The talk about Giggs winning it this year seems to have started since his performance against Chelsea at Old Trafford. He was, undeniably, awesome that day. Playing in a position that is relatively new to him, he managed to control the game in a manner many midfield veterans would have been proud of. But, and it is a big but, does that alone qualify you for the trophy? If we look around the country it is indeed a year where Player of the Year candidates are not standing out obviously. At Chelsea, only Frank Lampard looks interested, and he is having a phenomenal season. At Liverpool, Steven Gerrard is performing utter heroics, the amount of times that guy drags Liverpool up of the floor is just incredible – he reminds me of Robson. But for me, so far, the season’s best player has been Ashley Young of Aston Villa, solid, reliable and (dare I say it) more menacing than any of the other three at present.

The campaign for Giggs to win the award this year will be long and loud. The question we have to ask is will he deserve the award on merit, or will it be a sentimental gesture, much like Paul Newman winning Best Actor in the Autumn of his career after five failed nominations.

The good news is that I cannot give you an answer now for the simple reason that the season is not over yet. The PFA Award, much like everything else, is all still to play for. I am happy that Giggsie is in the running (and am right behind our player) but only want him to win if he truly deserves it, denying somebody else would probably not be right. Whether he wins it or not, he is still one of the all time greats.

We will, I hope, look at back at this stretch of games as one of the most impressive in the club’s history. The number of fixtures we have played, with a full treatment room, is astonishing. If we win nothing, then this run faces being lost in the memory except for one stand-out fact. VDS now has the clean sheet record and that, if nothing else, is going to stick around for a while.

This also means that I have to tuck into a a large serving of humble pie….

Earlier in the season I suggested that Edwin was looking a little shaky, that he was unsettling the defence and then, well, there was our comedy goal concession at Anfield. How long ago that seems now.

I am extremely glad to have been proven wrong. Edwin Van Der is now a solid pick as United’s 3rd best goalie of all time behind Schmeical and Stepney- an honorable nod must also be made to Gary ‘and Smith must score’ Bailey.

The team certainly seem to appreciate him being between the sticks too. “The best keeper I have played with,” reckons Rio Ferdinand who has had the pleasure of playing with around ten different goalies at United. That is the fact we should be careful not to forget, between the Great Dane’s retirement and Edwin’s arrival we used 11 goalkeepers in just a couple of years and won very little. We are in much better shape with this guy around and despite my false soothsaying at the start of the year I am glad he is still no. 1.

The question is, much like the one over his manager, how long can he keep doing this for? I shall choose not to worry about this for the time being and just enjoy the ride but, it is a concern.

It is not just this record, there is his decisive save in the European Cup Final shoot-out and the fact that during this 11 game spell he has played with a mish-mash of ten different defenders in front of him. The only other ever-present has been an imperious Nemanja Vidic. The record belongs to Van Der Sar but it is the presence of the Serbian that rings in my head. He will be suspended for the first tie against Inter at least. That tie is starting to look like a sizeable bananaskin.

of fixtures we have played, with a full treatment room, is astonishing. If we win nothing, then this run faces being lost in the memory except for one stand-out fact. VDS now has the clean sheet record and that, if nothing else, is going to stick around for a while.

This also means that I have to tuck into a a large serving of humble pie. Earlier in the season I suggested that Edwin was looking a little shaky, that he was unsettling the defence and then, well, there was our comedy goal concession at Anfield. How long ago that seems now.

I am extremely glad to have been proven wrong. Edwinb Van Der is now a solid pick as United’s 3rd best goalie of all time behind Schmeical and Stepney- an honorable nod must also be made to Gary “and Smith must score” Bailey.

The team certainly seem to appreciate him being between the sticks too, “The best keeper I have played with,” reckons Rio Ferdinand who has had the pleasure of playing with around ten different goalies at United. That is the fact we should be careful not to forget, between the Great Dane’s retirement and Edwin’s arrival we used 11 goalkeepers in just a couple of years and won very little. We are in much better shape with this guy around and despite my false soothsaying at the start of the year I am glad he is still no. 1. The question, much like the one over his manager, is how long can he keep doing this for? I shall choose not to worry about this for the time being and just enjoy the ride but, it is a concern.

It is not just this record, there is his decisive save in the European Cup Final shoot-out and the fact that during this 11 game spell he has played with a mish-mash of ten different defenders in front of him. The only other ever-present has been an imperious Nemanja Vidic. The record belongs to Van Der Sar but it is the presence of the Serbian that rings in my head. He will be suspended for the first tie against Inter at least.That tie is starting to look like a sizeable bananaskin.

Greetings chaps,

Just a quick update to let you know that thedevilinme is now available at a new ESPN spot:

ESPN

which can also be reached by clicking at the top of this page.

Thank you for all of your continued support and keep reading and commenting.

Cheers

Mark

Allez les rouges! 

“It’s not always about money. It’s about playing for the best team, playing with the best players in the world and winning trophies and being successful.”
David Beckham, oblivious to the irony of his advice to his new team-mate.

Milan were delirious, Sao Paolo went crazy, Manchester United complained about a lack of sleep and kept an eye on the match at Stoke. We are a funny bunch in this country. It is a tremendous honour to be able to represent your nation and for United fans this is the way to do it. The general consensus on the England team around the stands of Old Trafford is that England are a London club who play at a London ground whose sole purpose is to injure United players. Well this time, we got to be both United and the representatives of our nation. Plus nobody got injured.

Of course, we don’t know how this competition will evolve but it is appropriate, considering our history with the European Cup, that we embrace the challenge and take it seriously. Not to do so would be un-United.

I have had a whinge about the goals to shots ration in recent weeks and mentioned that we look a different team without Wayne Rooney. Lo and behold, the fearsome one returns and we score six goals in two games, the winner in the final was a particularly fine strike too. More encouragingly, we played well and were able to dominate a match against South America’s best team despite having 10 men for the last forty minutes.

Can we now replicate this form in the league? Well I hope so. The game at Stoke, whilst by no means easy, will be a good place to start and our rivals at the top of the table are dropping points all over the place so it is all still to play for. Going into Christmas we already have the Charity Shield and the Club World Championship in the cabinet, now it is time to start focusing on the real trophies, we already know how they have evolved.

Perhaps our most noteworthy performer was OShea, perhaps it was Park, it certainly wasn’t the team at large. Rooney’s bite was sorely missed and the remaining front players were solid rather than spectacular. Spurs were unambitious and just wanted to counter attack, despite being at home, but their plan nearly worked. Lennon can definitely run and Bently’s long-range shooting was a menace but it was thankfully a good day at the office for Van Der Sar.

We should have hurt Spurs more after they lost Woodgate but if you have 60% possession, 14 corners and 3246 shots and still don’t score then you can’t really complain. Credit to Gomes for his goalkeeping but it should be noted that we also fielded a ramshackle defence that played well. United looked a lot better after Giggs came on but I think we would have won if Tevez had played the full ninety.

We played well in the first half, passing around the ball well but you do worry about our finishing some of the time. We have had seventy-three shots in the last three league games for a return of two goals. Sunderland’s full backs played well, all eleven of them, and Villa too were well organised, but we should be scoring more. That said, we will definitely look back on this as an important win and despite the worrying nature of Ronaldo’s exit I feel more confident than I expected to at this stage of the season.