England must go to Rio

The immediate future of the England football team hangs in the balance at the mercy of their next two matches. If the Three Lions do not successfully negotiate their way through a tricky couple of World Cup qualifiers against Montenegro and Poland, the national game will sink to a new low and there are question marks about how it would recover.

Not playing in Rio would be catastrophic for the country. Not just for the futures of the players and coaching staff, failure to qualify for the biggest event in the calendar next year is unthinkable because of the wide range of consequences. Each and every level of English football will bleed by England’s absence from the World Cup.

The world’s greatest show will be held at what is rightfully considered the ‘home of the beautiful game’ next summer and it would a tragedy of humongous magnitude if the founders of the game were not able to secure their ticket to the party. The damage of not being invited to the summer’s biggest festival will bring irrevocable damage in terms of the perceptions of football in England, its reputation as well as long term development and it will be quite a while before the damage can be reversed. It is bad enough for English football to be considered in the second tier of footballing nations; and falling down to the third tier would surely be appalling.

It’s not hard to imagine what the talk will be if the results don’t go in England’s favor. People would talk about it being a ‘blessing in disguise’ which would allow the FA to take stock of the situation and start a rebuilding process from the grassroots level. That’s utter nonsense. There is absolutely silver lining if England fails to qualify for Brazil 2014.

The best place to start afresh is not among the audience while the others vie for the title; it’s from the world stage itself. English football must have one eye trained on the future – talk of youth development and reforms must be continued – but this must be done while England still has the knees to support it, not with the FA, the players and the supporters down on their knees in despair.

For a restructuring operation to be successful the atmosphere must be on that suit it and the doom and gloom it could face if it fails to qualify for the World Cup is not the one.

England has to qualify for Rio. Even if they fail miserably at the tournament proper, it is still better than not going there at all.

And amid all these talk about giving the young players a chance, we tend to forget that there are no players who can take the team by the scruff of its neck and turn it around. Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard are nearing the ends of the careers but where are the players at any age level capable of stepping into their shoes? Right, there aren’t any!

This is not the late 1990s and there is no golden generation waiting in the wings to grab their chance.

Perhaps the country’s best prospect, Everton’s Ross Barkley, is still quite a raw and needs a couple of seasons in the Premier League before England start to expect him to delivering in international matches. He is definitely not ready to be the focal point of an England starting XI at this point.

In the context of the future of English football, the next two fixtures against Montenegro and Poland are the most important matches England has had in a long, long time.

It wouldn’t be the first time that England has failed to qualify for a World Cup, failing once in the 1970s and then in 1994 but the game has changed a lot since then and even then, people wouldn’t have looked at their failure as the end with no chance to recover.

England has a greater worry now because of the ridiculous shortage of English players in the Premier League or even in the lower leagues.

England definitely wouldn’t go to Brazil as one of the title contenders but there still will be some hope that they can spring a surprise or two. Every child in the country will be out on the streets with a ball during the summer festival and there is no greater motivation than seeing home grown heroes performing at the grandest stage of them all, making each and every youngster feel they, too, can live the dream.

You can win all the European Cups you can for your club but there is no greater joy, no greater pride in turning out at the World Cup for your country and if you manage to win it, you will etch your name in the history books forever.

For a footballer, the World Cup is the very pinnacle of one’s career and it is competition one dreams being a part of and being a World Cup winner eclipses everything else that life can offer.

Every player dreams of playing in the World Cup.

And it is the motivation of being there that drives a player to succeed. There is no way England will win the World Cup but there is almost no chance they will miss out of the tournament altogether.

And Roy Hodgson’s side must deliver for the sake of English football. If it doesn’t, it will be a very, very long road back to respectability.



DISCLAIMER: This article has been written by a member of the FootballWorld fraternity and represents the personal views of the writer and not of footballworld.co.in.
Posted by Subham Mitra on behalf of FootballWorld.

The rise of Southampton highlights the intrigue of the Premier League

The Premier League is, without a doubt, the most exciting domestic league in the world and the rise of Southampton, of all clubs, to fourth in the standings after seven rounds of matches goes to encapsulate the very essence of the league that has seen the title race becoming one of the most unpredictable and entertaining in recent memory.

When domestic football returns in a fortnight’s time following the international break, the South Coast side will travel to the North West to face the champions Manchester United at Old Trafford on the back of three wins on the bounce and having kept five clean sheets in seven matches, a remarkable feat for a club in just their second season back to the top flight after seven years in the doldrums.

A trip to the Theater of Dreams is a daunting experience for many teams but considering United have already suffered three defeats in new manager David Moyes’ first seven matches in charge, including a humbling 1-4 defeat at the hands of Manchester City, Southampton will have a renewed hope sense of expectation and optimism.

“I always look forward to this kind of pressure in my career; it is what I thrive on, what I relish,” 

echoed manager Mauricio Pochettino following his side’s 2-0 win over Swansea City on Sunday.

“The players need to be a lot more self-demanding, very ambitious and learn how to withstand the great expectation that is being placed on them.”

And Southampton is not the only team outperforming their fans’ expectations, with Arsenal, rejuvenated by their record signing Mesut Ozil, sitting on top of the table after a rare Jack Wilshere strike securing a point for them against West Bromwich Albion.

Arsenal were expected to struggle just like the previous seasons but following their opening day defeat at home to Aston Villa, they have not lost a match and now lead Liverpool on goal difference at the summit.

It is a sheer sign that the club is going in the right direction under Brendan Rodgers that the Liverpool manager snapped as they beat Crystal Palace 3-1 at home on Sunday.

“I was probably as disappointed as I've ever been because we played counter-attack football and we didn't keep the ball so well,” said the former Swansea City boss to the club website.

Major Doubts

West Ham United’s 3-0 thrashing of Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane and Manchester City’s reversal against the likes of Cardiff City and Aston Villa has reinforced the fact that nothing can be taken for granted in the Premier League.

Everton has also started their campaign in flying colors under new manager Roberto Martinez, having remained unbeaten for their first six games, which included a 1-0 win over Chelsea before losing to Manchester City last weekend and Hull City, while Hull City, many pundits’ favorites to go straight down have also surprised many taking 11 points and sit one place above Manchester United in the standings.

“I think the league will be open until the end,” according to Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho.

“Some teams are being helped by the fixtures, because some fixtures are more difficult than others. I think Manchester United had the most difficult ones, playing at home against Chelsea, away against Liverpool and Manchester City.”

“Some other teams not so much. By the end of November, beginning of December, everybody basically played everyone and then we will find someone in a better situation than others. But I believe this is a situation that could go all the way with big doubts about positions and that is good.”

However, it will be difficult for the pace setters at this early stage of the season have what it takes to sustain their challenge.

“People are saying it is the most open Premier League for years but, as far as I am concerned, the favorites at the start are still the favorites - the two Manchester clubs and Chelsea,” said former Liverpool defender Alan Hansen.

“Early on in the season, teams will start slowly and others like Southampton start really well. The table only starts to tell a story when we are 15-20 games in,” added Welshman John Hartson.

DISCLAIMER: This article has been written by a member of the FootballWorld fraternity and represents the personal views of the writer and not of footballworld.co.in.
Posted by Subham Mitra on behalf of FootballWorld.

Blame Sir Alex for Manchester United slump

Even before David Moyes had walked into the Old Trafford press room for his first media call as the new Manchester United manager, the press was looking for the slightest chink in his armor to exploit. Three months and ten official matches on, it has been a massacre for the former Everton manager with the media, fans, critics and oppositions up in arms against the 50 year old Scotsman, already calling for the Old Trafford decision makers to give him the sack.

But honestly, there was only little that Moyes could do. Sir Alex Ferguson, with years of experience behind him, had probably looked at the growing competition in the league and decided to bail on United at the end of last season.

In the words of Manchester United legend Lou Macari, “He’s always been a good judge of everything. When he shocked everyone and said he was retiring, I thought, ‘is he aware of what’s around the corner, is he taking the view that one or two of his best players are coming to an end’?”

Macari is not the only one. Many ardent United fans believe their beloved Fergie has let the club down when he walked away, leaving the club in a disorganized and frenzied stated. “It was important to me to leave an organization in the strongest possible shape and I believe I have done so. The quality of this league winning squad, and the balance of ages within it, bodes well for continued success at the highest level.”

Early evidence suggests quite the contrary five months from that famous proclamation. United have made their worst league start in 24 years and although they have done reasonably well in the UEFA Champions League with a win at home and a draw at tricky Shakhtar Donetsk, Moyes runs the risk of further resentment from the fans if the club fails to get a result against Sunderland this weekend.

A narrow defeat to Liverpool was followed by a humiliating defeat at the hands of fierce rivals Manchester City and West Bromwich Albion completed the worst month possible for the club with a shock 2-1 win at Old Trafford, their first since 1978 and one that they truly deserved.

During his last lap at the Theatre of Dreams, the Great Scot was the club’s greatest strength as well as its biggest liability. He was probably the one man who could have taken last season’s side and made them into champions, with four matches to go as well. Having not signed a playmaker in the last five years, following the Glazer’s family’s very public and poisonous takeover of the club, Ferguson managed to win five Premier League titles, a European Cup, three League Cups and the FIFA Club World Cup in his last eight years.

His opinion also holds significant weight among the club’s fans as well. When the Glazer family was in talks to take over the club, everyone thought the Socialist and trade unionist in Sir Alex will speak out against the heavily leveraged buyout of the club, just like he did previously when Sky and then Rupert Murdoch showed interest in buying the club. Even David Gill, who had been a Managing Director and then the Chief Executive at Old Trafford before leaving his post this year, had famously commented “Debt is the road to ruin for football clubs”. Eight years on, Gill has resigned from his post as CEO and is now a member of the club’s board. His final pay package from the club came in at a staggering £ 1.8 million, a massive 60% increase from what it had been prior to the Glazers era. He is also one of the most vocal supporters of the American tycoons. Such an irony!

Sir Alex, meanwhile, never spoke out against the Glazers burdening the club with a humungous £ 716 million debt, hugely limiting the club’s chances of competing in the transfer market against the likes of City, Chelsea, Monaco, Paris Saint-Germain, clubs financed by filthy rich sugar daddies.

In a bond issue a couple of years back, the family raised more than £ 500 million to pay down certain preference bank debt. But the bond also enables the family to remove more than £ 565 million in interest, dividends and management fees from the club by 2017. Sir Alex kept quiet in spite of all that, in spite of numerous protests and demonstrations from supporters’ groups.

And in an interview with Charlie Rose on PBS in America this week, he had this to say about the Glazers: “There is a misconception about the Glazers buying the club. It created hostility and different factions but you forget, the minute it became a PLC someone was going to buy it. The Glazers did buy it. And in my time with them - they were nothing but supportive - very strong, single-minded people but always supportive of the manager and the things that happen in the club. I've absolutely no hesitation in supporting the way they're going about the job - very low key.”

His silence shocked the United faithful. But success on the pitch ensured they had nothing to complain about. But he has since retired, leaving United in a far worse shape than he pointed it out to be. It has been mentioned that had United not suffered THAT last minute heartbreak when City won the league in 2012, he would have retired and Moyes would have come in to replace him a year earlier.

But Sergio Agüero spoiled those plans and United fans will be thanking their lucky stars that he did because it forced Ferguson’s hand and he splashed out the cash on Robin van Persie. In the Dutchman, Ferguson stole a march on City and no player has so comprehensively decided the outcome of a Premier League win.

But what about the rest of the lot? “We'll have to rely on the bunch of idiots who strolled the league last season,” remarked one fan after never ending letdowns in pursuit of summer transfer targets. Truly, United were the champions last season by default; they were the best team out of a floundering lot.

That isn’t to say they didn’t deserve the title. Yes, the widening gap between United and City at the end of the season wasn’t a proper reflection of things. They ruthlessly seized the initiative whenever their neighbors dropped points, fuelled by the agony of Sergio Agüero's title clincher in May 2012.

But a look at the team reveals how poor it actually is. For a man like Sir Alex who has built at least six different championships winning sides in his 27 years at the club, last season’s team can easily be the worst he has had during that time. David Moyes bemoaned the lack of quality at the club when he wrote off the team’s chances of winning the European Cup. United are "five or six" short, according to Moyes, who has inherited a team which won the league by 11 points as recently as April and reached the Champions League final in 2011.

However, both those achievements went on to mask several deficiencies at the club. Having failed to improve the squad year in and year out, it was down to ingenuity of Ferguson that the Old Trafford faithful still got to witness silverware success. In 2011, he won the league having signed Javier Hernandez, Chris Smalling and the Portuguese vagrant Bebe.

The signing of van Persie was a mere papering over the cracks by Fergie, whose hands were tied by the iron clad Glazer family. It’s not that United do not have the cash; they do. The club’s aggressive marketing policy has raked in millions of pounds in the last few seasons, their new shirt sponsorship deal with Chevrolet alone is worth a staggering £ 357 million over seven years. That almost twice as much as Arsenal draws from Emirates Airlines and more than Liverpool’s deal with Standard Chartered or Chelsea’s endorsement of Samsung.

But most of the money goes to pay off the huge debts that the Glazers have burdened the club with and their recent IPO in the New York Stock Exchange did little to boost the chances of the new manager getting big name players.

When Moyes took over, the media went into a standstill. Various papers reported the Glazers would go all out and bring in a marquee signing to kick of the new era. They failed miserably at that. They were snubbed by as many as five world class midfield players merely because the Glazers didn’t want to pay the apparently ‘inflated’ transfer fees. And the result has showed on the pitch as United have struggled to cope with pressing football from the opposition and have been found grasping at straws in midfield where the only quality players they have are Michael Carrick and Shinji Kagawa.

Moyes should never have been given the chance to manage the current squad of players ahead of a winner like Jurgen Klopp and maybe even Jose Mourinho but he can’t be faulted for the club’s recent downward spiral. The Nemanja Vidic – Rio Ferdinand pairing is slowly moving towards the end of its time, Patrice Evra remains a defensive liability, Michael Carrick, so reliable and the arguably the club’s best performer after van Persie last season, is suffering from poor form and the alternatives the club has are not that impressive either.

The main problem United has is not their lack of world class players, but quality players. The likes of Anderson, Ashley Young, Tom Cleverley, Danny Welbeck, Anders Lindegaard, Antonio Valencia, and Alexander Büttner would find it tough to get into any mediocre team in the Premier League but such has been dearth of competition at the club that they are more than guaranteed playing time.

Ferguson had become too sentimental towards the end of his time at United and it was a very chastening result that compelled him to act. Ironically, it was a victory but the manner in which the Red Devils defeated non-league Crawley Town 1-0 back in 2011 that forced his hand. Wes Brown and John O’Shea left for Sunderland, Darron Gibson was signed by David Moyes at Everton and Gabriel Obertan was sold to Newcastle United. Bebe, currently in his third loan spell away from United has not played for the club since and perhaps, never will.

The United of yesteryears would not have tolerated Anderson’s poor contribution to the side while being allowed to collect four Premier League winners’ medals, or the inability of Antonio Valencia to cross the football into the ‘danger area’ or signed someone like Büttner let alone give him a game. Southampton passed up the opportunity to sign the Dutchman as they deemed the £ 2 million transfer fee too high. United paid Vitesse Arnhem £ 4 million for him.

Moyes wanted to freshen the squad up. He wanted a quality left back and two proper attacking midfielders. He ended up signing Marouane Fellaini from Everton on transfer deadline day – the fourth or maybe fifth choice in his list, and that too, for £ 4 million more than they could have paid. United’s new chief executive Edward Woodward gave an interview to the United fans’ magazine United We Stand last week and his excuses make for a fascinating reading.

What is inexcusable on the part of Moyes is he is still getting to know his players. He managed Everton for 11 straight years and barely a single week passed without the Scotsman being seen at opposition games, sizing up their threats. Javier Hernandez, United’s top goal scorer last season after Robin van Persie who was very wrongly left out of the team for the 4-1 humiliation at the Etihad had popped up with the winner against his Everton side on two occasions and was only given his first outing in the Capital One Cup win against Liverpool, where again, he proved to be the match winner.

Now, with the club on the brink of three defeats in succession in the league for the first time since 2001, Moyes has pretty much written off the fans’ expectations. The club had effectively done that when they handed the Scotsman a six year deal at United. But now, Moyes has passed the buck on to Sir Alex Ferguson and admitted that he doesn’t believe the current squad of players is good enough to continue the long legacy of success under his mentor and has effectively criticized the great man for the team he inherited.

NOTE: The author is a Manchester United fan and has been so since the 1997/98 season when his father would wake him in the middle of the night to watch his then favorite player David Beckham in action. He has witnessed the magical night at the Camp Nou in 1999 when riled on by Ferguson, United secured a glorious victory in the European Cup and the fans’ joy at stadium were echoed in a spontaneous celebratory dance of son and father over in Calcutta. Over the years, United has become a passion for him and Sir Alex’s silence and later approval over the Glazers’ reign has left him in shock like many other fans. But he still believes Moyes is the man for the job because, well, Sir Alex is almost never wrong and hopes the club will come good in the future once again. 

It’s all about BELIEF!!! 1958, 1968, 1999, 2008 taught him that!!!

DISCLAIMER: This article has been written by a member of the FootballWorld fraternity and represents the personal views of the writer and not of footballworld.co.in.
Posted by Subham Mitra on behalf of FootballWorld.