Post Season Updates

Post football season would be extremely boring if it wasnt for the transfer gossip that occurs daily. Stories can change so drastically from one day to the next, its difficult to keep up and determine which ones are accurate and true. So I have started an Updates posting whereby I will post only the relevant, truthful stories as well as some interesting off-season links.

• Ashley Young in United Medical

http://yfrog.com/h815439894j - Picture showing his arrival at Bridgewater Hospital 

• Van Der Sar confirms handful of players to be involved with his testimonial

1. Rio Ferdinand
2. Nemanja Vidic
3. Paul Scholes
4. Gary Neville
5. Alessandro Del Piero
6. Mark Overmars
7. One of the de Boer brothers

• Chelsea name Andre Villas-Boas as new Manager

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_7001161,00.html

• Spurs stand firm on Modric - follow through with him as their model for new kit

http://aggbot.com/link.php?id=13976067&r=tw&c=46

• List of Total Transfer Ins & Outs So Far

http://aggbot.com/link.php?id=13976067&r=tw&c=46

More links & updates to follow as they happen.

Keep the Passion Alive!

The Post Domestic Football Season Starts With A Bang

Internationals:

We are all already suffering from a lack of domestic football. I can see it in the eyes (and the tweets) of my fellow football lovers. International football is one thing, but especially for me where my country does not rank up there with the top footballing nations, I find the gap between the two to be extremely large. Regardless, I do enjoy watching internationals because its football at the end of the day and at this moment, I’ll take anything. It also allows me to watch the game in an unbiased and fairly neutral manner. This is a pleasant change; it’s nice to remove the red specs once in a while and appreciate the game without any strings attached. I especially love watching England play, because for me, it works both ways whether they win or lose. I prefer seeing them win, as all of their players play in the Premier League and I watch them week in week out, so it’s good to see them perform from an outsiders perspective. However, if they lose, well I just love watching the media dismantle and shame the team like they have for all these years, as if each of the players had intentionally set out to irritate and disappoint the public and their fans. Hilarious and classic, every time. 

But overall, it seems like something is missing and will be missing for some time yet. I actually can’t wait for pre-season tours to begin, to watch the players in their new kits and see the team together again. Last year we had the World Cup and next year we will have the European Championships to pass the time, however this time round there is really only one thing that gives us a real sense of footballing pleasure (unless you’re an 

Arsenal fan), and that’s the transfer window.

Some Interesting Transfers:

Wednesday, in particular, produced a peach in terms of transfer activity. It was announced that Liverpool had signed the promising youngster, Jordan Henderson, from Sunderland for 20 Mil, with David Ngog included in the deal. A good piece of business in all honesty, as they get rid of Ngog and add some depth (and youth) to their midfield. Even though United showed some interest in the lad, the truth is we already have one of our own in Tom Cleverley and need a more experienced player to come in and do the job. Both players are English, young and creative centre midfielders. I believe Cleverley will be given his chance this season and hopefully he will grab it with both hands. Liverpool are also looking to add Charlie Adam and Stuart Downing to their ranks, along with Roma goalkeeper Doni. Let’s see which of these actually happen, but I do expect major ins and outs to happen at the Scousers throughout the transfer window.

However, the best news of the day happened a little after the Henderson deal. Just when everyone thought Liverpool had secured their next target, United popped up and grabbed him from right under the noses of the scousers. A truly Houdini type of act performed by the master Sir Alex Ferguson. Phil Jones, what a surprise coup! According to reports Jones met with Wenger last night but still chose to join United instead in a deal rumoured to be around the 15-20 million mark. At this moment in time, with the transfer market completely inflated, most clubs are going to overpay for the players they really want. Especially if the player they want are English! They have become precious commodities, prized long term assets seen as investments in the clubs’ future to ensure they meet the UEFA “homegrown” criteria. Most of the players bought do not match and warrant the price tag they are accompanied with; however, they represent an overall larger investment which has to be made by the clubs.

With that said, I see Phil Jones as an old fashioned, uncompromising powerhouse defender with bags of commitment and promise. I have not seen him have a bad game for Blackburn and stats show their winning percentage is higher when he is in the team (34% vs. 25%). Sources also say that Fergie only really wanted to bring the player in the season after next, however after Liverpool and Arsenal showed their interest, SAF knew he had to move quickly and in the end he got his man. A long term investment, and with Smalling as his English U21 centre back partner as it stands, United have some great young defenders in the team. With two Englishmen and two Brazilians in our backline, there will be a perfect mixture of youth, speed, commitment and flair which opposition teams will one day fear.

I look forward to Wesley Sneijder, Luka Modric or Samir Nasri making their way to Old Trafford in the near future. My personal preference would be Sneijder, I’ve been a fan for a really long time and it would give me great pleasure to see him don our shirt. Modric, however, is pure class, Premier League proven and a player I would take in a heartbeat. With Ashley Young and David De Gea looking certain to join United by the end of the month, this season’s transfer activity is looking to be really exciting.

Who wouldn’t want to play under Sir Alex Ferguson, the most successful manager of all time? Play at Old Trafford, the largest stadium in the league and join up with the Champ19ns of England? Did I say I took my 

red specs off? I think they may have slipped back on sometime during this article. 

The Truth About United

The truth is obvious and the facts cannot be argued. Barca were by far the best team on the night and without a doubt, are the best team in Europe. There is no shame in losing to a team filled with creativity, precision and possession of the highest order. When the 3 nominated World Players of the Year are all in one team, no matter who you are, you will struggle to get a grip of proceedings and most likely play second fiddle to the world’s best. Add Pique, arguably with Vidic the world’s best defender & Villa, Spain’s highest scorer, and you have one mountain to climb. I thought we could do it, though I knew in my heart that going into the game we were 65/35 underdogs, but we could work with that. However, on the night, the class and experience of this Barca team shone through. Pure football domination in every aspect, from possession to shots on target to corners - they had it all and that stats don’t lie. Their combined experience of winning trophies with both Barcelona and Spain has created an unbreakable winning mentality when it matters most, which cannot be matched by anyone.

For United, it really wasn’t a case of players not performing or showing up for the big occasion. We were there, and we tried, and somehow managed to get into halftime at 1-1. But as the game went on, we grew tired of running around and chasing shadows, which unfortunately stemmed from Barca’s dominance. And even though the goals we let in could have possibly been avoided, I’m sure Barca would have found an alternative route to goal. The ref had no part in the outcome and man for man; they were and are far superior. But far superior not only to us, but to any team out there. Man for man, the only team that could possibly match them with individual quality would be Real Madrid. But as we saw over the 2 legs of their semi final, they are not half the TEAM Barcelona are. At United, we are a team but definitely do not have the players to compete with the kind of player power and class which they have in their ranks.

Where to from here?

Well I’m not going to start demanding we buy players and slating the players which helped us knock Liverpool off their perch and claim our 19^th league title. As I have said many times before (see all my previous articles), winning the league was always the priority and anything else should be seen as a bonus, which we unfortunately we could not claim this time round. Considering our performances over the past 4 seasons, we can rightfully claim to be the second best team in all of Europe, having reached 3 finals in 4 years. Had it not been for Barca, we could have easily had at least 4 European titles to our name, but it’s not to be. Our squad as a whole is ideal for winning leagues, dealing with the long seasons and with Fergie constantly changing the team, it helps keep everyone fresh and in turn allows us to rest our bigger players for the more important games. In a Final, a once off game, the classier team will generally prevail, as Barca showed on the weekend.

Fergie knows that if we are to one day beat this great Barca team; we will have to invest heavily and make some wholesale changes. We do not need a complete re-vamp of the squad, however, after Scholesy yesterday confirmed that he would in fact be retiring with immediate effect, it has left our midfield extremely thin and lacking creativity. Strengthening in midfield, and of course a goalkeeper, is vital if we are to challenge on all fronts again next season. We have lost Scholes, Neville, Van Der Sar & Hargreaves for certain and players such as Brown, Kuszczak and even Berbatov could also depart in the summer. They need to be replaced with experienced players of similar quality who can come in immediately and do the job. But Fergie knows this, he is aware of who is available and what positions need attention. I’m not going to turn this into a summer transfer targets article, but Sneijder, Modric, Young, Rodwell and De Gea are the ones that come to mind. All I ask for is for United to put in the offers, be proactive and wait for a response. Put in a 30 million pound offer for Modric. Bid 35 million for Sneijder. Let’s see how “unavailable” they really are.

With everything said and done, the season has come to an end and I call for all United fans to enjoy the season for what it really was – a success. With a team that many people saw as one of the “weaker” and “less creative”  teams in comparison to those triumphant United teams in the past, winning the Premier League for a record 19 times is just fantastic and as fans we need to appreciate the kind of job that has been done. We are now entering into a transition phase; we are losing big name players with bags of experience. However, I trust in Fergie and believe that we have some promising youngsters who can hopefully step up and take their opportunities. But without a doubt, big money will need to be spent if we are to remain as dominant as we have been over the past 20 years and hopefully for more years to come.

Bel19ve in the Champ19ns!