Of course if Mike Riley was the center man, United would have hit Sunderland's net for six like Arsenal did to Blackburn, right Mr. Moyes?................................ I have been kicking this one around for the last 3 or 4 days wondering if Sir Alex has this one right or not. And in the end I just don't think it would matter. I do, though, have some thoughts about the lastest Sir Alex attacks the referee tactics. Here's my say:
- What surprises me is that the FA is taking such a long time to make a decision on this. The fact that they are waffling on what to do about this latest attack on officials seems to me to undermine the purpose of the RESPECT campaign in the first place. Had this been any other manager in the Premier League, or Jose Mourinho, he would have been fined swiftly and charged with bringing the game into disrepute. And no, I don't think a touchline ban should be given to a manager for making comments after a match. Ferguson has been able to attain some sort of special handling from the FA that other managers envy.
- I was listening to Radio 606 last night and I think it was a recording from the weekend. I recall the host having a 16 year old calling in who is a referee. The explanation is that the FA referee licensing course and training is VERY rigorous (I am assuming the professional level), to where this self-declared fit 16 year old has failed the course twice. Based on that, I'll go way out on a limb and assume that Alan Wiley has met the fitness criteria to be an FA referee at the professional level.
- The fact that Sir Alex Ferguson has attacked the official with this post match commentary should surprise no one. This has become his trademark, especially in matches where Manchester United arrives at an unexpected and disappointing result. United were outplayed by Sunderland and needed an own goal in stoppage time to escape with a point. So Ferguson goes the "I'll attack the referee" route. In a way, he's taking the blame and the scrutiny off his team who so surprisingly underperformed, and put the attention sqaurely on the official. Yes, yes, yes, he did say at the end of the interview that he was disappointed with his team's performance and credited their character for gutting out the draw, but he already did the damage and had everyone's attention on the fitness of the official. It's worked brilliantly in the past as he's taken the pressure off his players, but he continues to stir up controversy in the media.
When are people going to stop being surprised by Sir Alex's ability to deflect the blame from his players in the media? Other managers, namely Rafa Benitez, need to not get in an uproar over what Ferguson gets away with and focus on improving their teams. This isn't the first time Fergie has questioned the officials, and it won't be the last. Sir Alex Ferguson is one of the more manipulative managers in all of sport, and unfortunately he lacks the class to match his competitiveness. Sad thing is that whenever he gets mic time and wants to have a pop at the refs, everyone is shocked that a man who has won so many trophies can have such a hissy fit.
If you want a manager with humility, look to Steve Bruce, who oh by the way is Sunderland's manager. A very fierce competitor as a player and a manager, and quite gentle in how he goes about addressing the media. He has been on the wrong end of some lopsided results wherever he has coached (games while he was at Birmingham where he got battered), and he always seems to delicately balance between crediting the opposition and saying his players were not good enough. Never, have I heard him blame a referee.
But he was fit enough to book Kieran Richardson not once, but twice............................ I should footnote, like most observant people out there, that this is the same Alan Wiley who was the fourth official in the Manchester Derby that Sir Alex Ferguson was all chummy with after United scored the winner in what seemed to be the 20th minute of stoppage time, despite Wiley previously holding up that board with the number 4 on it.
Everyone gets a neat looking badge to add to their shirts...................................... So what exactly has the RESPECT campaign accomplished anyway? Managers are still grouchy about penalties not being awarded among other things, and players who are not captains (see Drogba and Ballack) still confront the official when they've been fouled or if a handball in the box was missed. The braintrust behind the RESPECT campaign are looking for special protection for the population of the game who's human element play a role in decision making. In other words, interpretation of the Laws of the Game. Here's how this campaign can stick, allow a referee who has been scrutinized some mic time after the match to get their views on the manager's tactics, such as starting Nani and Danny Welbeck.
I'm so scared right now. I'm just gonna to do what's sensible, I'm gonna file for unemployment. Then I'm gonna try to get a job at Enterprise Rent-A-Car, because they got an excellent corporate structure and they... *they* give *you* the tools to be your own boss. ...................... Portsmouth's new owners have just hired Avram Grant (last seen smiling at an airport in Israel relieved to be relieved of his duties as interim Chelsea boss) to be their Director of Football. Nice job on that win over Wolves, Paul Hart, now meet the man that will probably have your job within the next month.
So then I got a call from him, saying we don't have to worry about money no more. And I said, that's good! One less thing................................. So the best player on planet Earth and the two neighboring planets, Lionel Messi, got signed to a contract extension through 2016 with Barcelona and this has prompted Johan Cruyff to discuss the hazards of long-term contracts/ make sure people remember who he is. Cruyff disagrees with such a lengthy contract for Messi, as it can lead to players losing their motivation.
We don't have a lot of sample to work with here, but I think Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka are doing just fine so far at Real Madrid, and each of them were penned to at least 6-year deals. Lionel Messi is currently a better footballer than both of them and deserves the contract he's been signed to. Cruyff is likely recalling guys who have gone Billy Bigboots like Ronaldinho and Ronaldo (fat one), but Messi's class and willingness to ambassador the sport certainly suggest he will still be motivated.
I'm an AC Milan fan, FML.
So this week my team wasn't even on tv, and thank goodness because we spent over an hour trailing bottom side Atalanta before Ronaldinho rescued us and got us a critical point in our mission of accomplishing extreme mediocrity! Woohoo!
Our greedy and selfish owner, Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi, has an approval rating in Italy of over 50%. No AC Milan fans were polled.
The 60+ million Euros was needed for Jose Mourinho's wardrobe..................... Checking the Ibra will score more than 30 in La Liga and Eto'o will score less than 25 in Serie A numbers:
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic has 5 goals through 6 La Liga games, putting him on pace for 32 goals.
- Samuel Eto'o has 3 goals through 7 Serie A games, putting him on pace for 16 goals.
Exactly how was this a better deal for Inter again?
Bits and Pieces, and Bits and Pieces. In other words, a few things that got my attention in the European football that I didn't want to spend a lot of time on.
- In their maiden voyage of the Premier League, Burnley has made Turfmoor a fortress, winning all four home games outscoring their opponents 7-2. Too bad they can't play all their games at home, the have a 0% away form in 4 getting shelled 14-0 in the process.
- At Bayer Leverkusen, it was never an issue of scoring goals in the German Bundesliga last season, it was a matter of conceding them. Conceding 46 goals through 34 games won't put you in a position to win the title. Jupp Heynckes has taken over and so far he's tightened the ship, with the help of veteran defender Sami Hyypia. Through 8 games, only 5 goals against. Oh, and they're still scoring plenty of goals too, as they have hit the back of the net 18 times. And Patrick Helmes, their leading scorer last season, has yet to play this season.
- If you looked at the form books from last season, or simply read my Serie A preview, Palermo's 2-0 win at home over Juventus shouldn't be that much of a surprise. Last season Palermo earned 43 of their 57 points in Sicily. The form is following again this season, as the Rosanero are unbeaten in 4 home matches (won two, drawn two), and winless in their 3 away fixtures to date (drawn one, lost two).
- Steve McClaren, who we all know as they guy who couldn't manage England out of a wet paper bag, has his FC Twente team sitting top of the Dutch Eredivisie. Which leads one to ponder: how far have Ajax, PSV, and Feyenoord really fallen?
The Sack Race or Managers who better get their act together, or else:
- Paul Hart, Portsmouth
- Phil Brown, Hull City
- Abel Rosina, Atletico Madrid
- Ernesto Valverde, Villarreal
- Leonardo, AC Milan
- Markus Babbel, VFB Stuttgart (but I might think he'll be safe).
So thank you for letting me have a chance to vent about football and the issues that have come up in the past week. Hope you enjoyed the read. Let me know what's got you all hot and bothered about the beautiful game.
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