Soccer rant: As a Chelsea supporter I am not trying to upset Man Utd. supporters with the following rant…I just need to air these thoughts publicly…. The whole Moyes out argument at Man U. is unfair, he should be given time for sure and I’m getting tired of it in a season of outrageous manager sackings in the EPL. Look at Rodgers at Liverpool for example, he was given time. The way this season has gone for Man U. really has highlighted the fact that their success last year was a great achievement for Alex Ferguson and that the ‘Fergie Factor’ was SO important to that success (backed up by a great and experienced backroom staff). However, I would argue that the ‘Fergie Factor’ was behind the clubs success for a long time…coupled with another factor related to the playing staff detailed below. But first, when you look at the Man U. players who have EPL winners medals there are some pretty mediocre and over-rated players among them. This list could be expanded I’m sure, but the likes of Rafael, Fábio, Nani, Anderson, Michael Carrick, Wes Brown, Alan Smith, Kieran Richardson, Juan Sebastián Verón , Karel Poborský, Jesper Blomqvist, Jordi Cruyff, Louis Saha, David May, Phil Neville, Gary Neville, Nicky Butt and David Beckham really benefited from the ‘Fergie Factor’ and being surrounded by better players. I’m not saying all of those players were a success at Utd. Or central to winning titles, but they certainly punched above their weight…some for a LONG time. Now, I would highlight the likes of the Nevilles, Butt and Beckham…all internationals…why?...because they played for Man U., so despite the fact that none were anything particularly special, all seriously over-rated if we are honest, the ‘Fergie Factor’ led in part to their success…punching above their weight…people bought into the ‘idea’ that these were great players…were they…I never believed so, still don’t. Anyway, many mediocre players accepted? So then we ask ourselves, how were Utd. SO successful…quite simple really many of the shortcomings were papered over by fantastic strikers (Cantona, Hughes, Yorke, Sheringham, Cole, Solskjær, Dublin, van Nistelrooy, Larsson, Rooney, Tévez, van Persie), rock solid centre backs (Bruce, Pallister, Berg, Stam, Johnsen, Blanc, Ferdinand, Vidić) and some amazing goalkeepers (Schmeichel, Barthez, van der Sar)… the occasional great central midfielder (Robson, McClair, Ince, Keane, Scholes), winger (Kanchelskis, Giggs, Ronaldo) and full back (Parker, Irwin, Silvestre, Evra). These players also afforded Ferguson the wiggle room to sign and play some awful awful players over the years without his reputation being tarnished…that’s just an aside however. Important here is the spine of the team Goalkeeper, centre backs, central midfield, strikers…a lot of quality in these areas over the years. Goalkeeper and centre backs that won’t concede many goals…with central midfielders ahead of them who could (for the most part) tackle, and importantly contribute assists and goals. Throw in some full backs and wingers who do the same and that adds to the attacking threat. Then we come to the strikers listed above…give them chances…they score goals. What’s my point you may ask? It is two-fold (a) the importance of the ‘Fergie Factor’ is perhaps under-estimated (b) a strong spine to the team is almost key to success. So, I come full circle to the David Moyes situation. ‘Fergie Factor’ we know is gone. Then look at the team…there isn’t really a spine there. A goalkeeper that is still learning his trade you could argue, centre backs who are either past their best or quite young, central midfield, I don’t need to point out that Keane hasn’t been replaced. Kagawa and Mata should be capable of replacing Scholes…but haven’t been afforded that chance…judging either on the wing is unfair, particularly the on the former. Those [laying in the centre…have been found out (not including Fletcher in that statement though), not providing much in defence or attack. The strikers…yes they will score if provided with chances. Outside the spine do Utd. Have quality wingers and full backs? In short no…Evra is past his best and he’s the pick of the full backs. Wingers….Zaha hasn’t been given a chance yet… Januzaj…? perhaps…I’m not convinced by him yet…first season breaking onto the scene, doing well yes. But, the next couple of seasons will show if he has what it takes or is the next player on a long list to burst into the lime-light and then fade into obscurity. Back to David Moyes himself…is he to blame for the current situation? In part, yes, he’s the manager…but I think I have shown that he is not culpable enough to deserve the sack. I hope he is given time to really put his stamp on things.
Posted on: Sun, 02 Mar 2014 16:03:05 +0000
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