Delusional Manager 2008 - starring: Wenger, Benitez, Grant and Ramos
‘I had a dream’, said Monsieur Wenger. ‘I had a dream in which I saw Arsenal beat Manchester United at Old Trafford, where Adebayor’s handball stood but Ronaldo’s penalty was not a penalty, and Hargreaves didn’t take any free kicks. I had a dream in which we won that game and won the Premier League title…’
‘I too had a dream’, chimed in Mr Grant. ‘I dreamt that when Mikel raised his foot chest high he got a pat on the back from the referee. I had a dream where Chelsea never wilted under pressure and scored 10 goals instead of conceding 2. I had a dream where we beat Manchester United at Old Trafford and won the Premier League title.’
‘Me too’, screamed Benitez, before Grant could go on about the Champions League final. ‘Me too. I saw the future, in which my Liverpool will beat Manchester United at Anfield and at Old Trafford, where they won’t choke and will get the 6 points they need to win the Premier League title.’
‘But wait’, Grant interrupted, clearly determined to get his say in lest he got fired before this article was over. ‘You’re forgetting that cheat Vidic, who pretended to have been slapped by Drogba, or that cheat van der Sar, who used an illegal wind-blower to push the ball away from the goal and into the woodwork twice when he was beaten, or that monster Ronaldo, who deliberately missed his penalty and thus kicked up a stump of grass that made Terry slip later on. We never got battered, we should be Champions League winners.’
‘I didn’t have a dream’, said Ramos, a statement that turned the heads of the other 3 managers. ‘I know that we had an excellent season. Excellent. When I came to England Tottenham were on the brink of abyss, apocalypse was near and the players were burning more weed than fat. I turned it all around, I got them to beat Chelsea, to beat Arsenal, and then against all odds to stay out of the UEFA Cup spots when winning would have taken us there. No need to fight when you’re already there, right? Excellent season, I tell you.’
…
All four managers have gotten their excuses in for last season. Grant blames the Mikel red card, Wenger the two United goals, Benitez the two United wins and Ramos…well, Ramos is just pulling someone’s leg. Thing is, titles are decided by a lot more than just one single moment. Chelsea bottled a few key games last season, ditto for Arsenal, ditto for Liverpool. In fact, so did United. If United hadn’t lost at West Ham, if United had beaten Boro, if United had kept Arsenal at bay, if United had…you get the picture.
The ‘if’ game can go on forever. It’s not going to change the truth - that over the course of a season, Wenger, Benitez and Grant didn’t get it right. It wasn’t just the refs screwing them (although that might have gotten Arsenal into the semifinals instead of Benitez), it was their own players not performing at key times (in retrospect Arsenal bottled the Stamford Bridge game and should have won the first leg at the Emirates). Several incidents over the course of a season - from ref screwups to player misses to tactical errors to freak coincidences - led to these 3 managers not meeting their targets.
Seriously, why would you make your club the butt of jokes just by clinging to desperate half-truths that are pathetic excuses for the real deal - you and your players failed. Learn from it and focus on being better, as opposed to lying to your fans and your own players so that no one can blame you (or the players) for their mistakes.
I’d be ok with this if the players weren’t believing this bullshit. What is this, kindergarden, where you can’t tell kids that it’s their fault? Sorry, but Wenger’s kids are all grown up now, and Chelsea / Tottenham / Liverpool all have professionals in their ranks who should know what the problem is - themselves.
Till next season and the next round of incessant bitching.
Also See: How the Premier League table might have looked if the refs got it right: Right Result 07/08.
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and Ferguson had a dream and said’” I dreamt of Man U overhauling Liverpool, beating Chelsea at stamford bridge, playing beautiful football like Arsenal, ….” and he woke up from his dream and given a sigh of relief. “Phew! It is only a nightmare.” and went back to sleep.
No one wins more decisions from the ref at home than Man United. It’s also true that in the press, no one gets a break more than SAF, who whines more than any other manager (funny how people like to accuse Wenger of that). No one gets screwed more by the refs and in the media than Arsenal. Look at Eduardo’s broken leg…the result of the “style” that teams are allowed to be played against them…and in the media they were extremely quicker to feel sorry for poor poor Martin Taylor than they were Eduardo….all because of the heat of the moment reactions by Gallas and Wenger. If it were and United player and SAF, the scenario would have been completely different. No one gets a break and gets his ass kissed more by refs and the media than United…as for incessant bitching…look no further than SAF’s whining about Arsenal fans’ treatement of him at the Emirates this season…of coarse that kind of behaviour is fine when it’s at Old Trafford and they’re calling Wenger a pedophile…also funny you never hear Wenger come out and complain about it either….NO ONE NO ONE NO ONE gets the benefit of a double standard more than the Man United darlings. Look at how Rooney consistently treats the referees with absolute disrespect and a potty mouth that would make a death row inmate blush, of coarse because he is an England hero he gets away with it while someone like Masherano for Liverpool gets a sending off. again NO ONE GET THE BENEFIT OF A DOUBLE STANDARD MORE THAN UNITED
Not to mention if there were a salary cap in the EPL Arsenal would win it every year. Wait one more year until the debt is paid and we can spend as much as you do…then we’ll see who is whining all the time. The only thing that separated Arsenal from finishing first was having a deep squad…but our management believes in fiscal responsibility. So enjoy those trophies you bought.
porbosky:
1) learn the meaning of tongue-in-cheek
2) go back and look at previous articles - say, the CL final match report, this piece to Arsenal fans, the carling cup final coverage…in other words, get some context.
Or you could always continue being yourself…
Tosser: Rafa has only ever blamed his players when they failed, and when he had a dig at poor refereeing he didn’t accuse them of costing him the premiership. The Liverpool players don’t harangue the refs Unlike the mancs, chelski and the gooners. Man U and Chelski were a disgrace in the CL final.
Well that’s 5 minutes of my life I’m not getting back…..what an utterly pointless article….why bother moaning, in a totally subjective way of course, about interpretation of managers comments….next time probably best to have even a single solitary worthwhile point to make when posting……do us all a favour….there’s already enough dross on the net….don’t bother
also I presume you’re a united fan based on the sadly apparent innate lack of intelligence and objectivity…feel free to confirm
thanks porbosky u are a true fan who has respect 4 opponents. thats why i stopped commenting on ahmed articles lately because he epitomises the arrogance of some man u fans on this blog, left to ahmed this blog will change from soccerlens to man-u-lens. so obsessed with the other top 3 clubs especially with arsenal. infact i am just responding to ur comments porborsky congrats to u and to all true man u fans 4 ur resounding sucess this season [remaining comment removed by moderator]
United play attractive, attacking football….Arsenal play SUBLIME football
Ahmed Bilal - get your head out of AF rear end - funny how you criticse all clubs in the top 4 except Manure after the CL final which they won by the skin of their teeth, just like the league, due to misfortune of others (and I am not a chelsea fan - not by far) Just be glad United won their double because the Prem and CL trophy will be out of their reach for the next few seasons.
counterfactuals are meaningless
No.. No one wants to even have a dream where you spend over a 100 million and yet no trophies. No .. Non one wants over 600 million debt and a trophy. No .. No one wants two owners fighting plus 50 million plus spending and finishing fourth. You are right .. No one wants a dream like that. Yes, the reality would be different when the debts are paid off. No.. Not you will write such an article again .. Cause no one will bother reading it.
Why undertake a serious analysis when you can selectively quote from press conferences to construct a stupid cynical argument. Do you seriously believe these managers don’t know where they went wrong, yet some how you do? Look at any of the team’s websites and you will see in-depth assessments of last session. Managers will not publicly criticise players, particularly post season, when they will be looking to sell a few. Why should they do that for the media? When they do, the media accuse them of washing their dirty linen in public. Mangers comment on specific refereeing decisions because they are asked to at press conference.
thanks mate u are welcome they took out my earlier comments and i stand by what i said. if this blog is an opinion blog then i ve aired mine. [comment removed by moderator] u fail to see what ur manager does but will go castigating other managers disrespectfully.
I did track back to read your ‘this piece [of patronising toss]to Arsenal Fans’ and I have to say it was as well put together as the horse manure that litters the bridle paths in the country. Typical response from a rose-tinted spectacle wearing plastic Manc fan (plastic because Utd are in Salford) basking (rightly so, I suppose) in the glory of a PL and CL double. Still, that’s not enough for you plastic Manc, is it? You have to cobble together a contrived pontificating treatise on why Fergie is so great and all other managers are in his shadow. It’s got nothing to do with his spending power and the fact that he couldn’t give a flying one about the debt the fat Glazers have saddled Utd with has it? I know it’s the start of the mad season when fergie moans about Real Puta Madrid indirectly tapping up oleaginous Ronnie; he had the gall to single out Batardlona as a paragon of virtue when they’re just as bad as using the rags to tap up PL playres. It’s seems to me that fergie’s inviting Bastardlona to make an offer for Ronnie - he knows the ‘lona won’t fail to bite. At least Terry didn’t win anything.
come on ye super spurs, come on ye super spurs,come on ye sup, come on ye super spurs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
well well well, i have read some drivvle in all my years but this takes the biscuit.I am a spurs fan and am quite astonished at juande saying it was an excellent season but in all respect after a trophy less period stretching back far too many years it has to be said the season was in fact a success.But as for the fact that AF is the mutts nuts i disagree he has been blessed with the money to spend most clubs could only dream of…yes of course Chelsea now have the deep pockets but united have had the luxury of having atleast 7 years head start.Scumchester fans like yourself is the reason i actually hate manure more than the red sh**e neighbours we have.All in all get a life and learn something about football and when you do come on here with something decent to say other than praising a more than lucky AF and players because if you hadnt won anything you would be hiding in your slum in moss side sulking and making excuses instead of putting useless articles on here
you must try not to fool us gooners. when chelsea were winning they bought the success and manu fans were knocking them. you have now bought your success. arsenal went unbeaten with out spending on an outfield player. just think when we can spend. wenger is an absolute legend and to think we could of also done the double. only after those injuries were manu better then us. so enjoy your success you done what chelsea real madrid and any other club have done; you guessed it ya bought success. to af, try working with players instead of just buying the greatest players a 5 year old can see. you are a successful manager not a great one.
If Arsenal came 2nd they still wouldn’t be champions , however finishing third and not winning the EPL for the fourth year in a row should indicate that with all your so called proper football you are inherently loosers.
Stand up arsenal fans, now bow and repeat after me ” Unite are the Kings of Europe”.. Say it like you mean it.. hahahahahahahhahahahah
Roy Keane said it wonderfully. Keane claimed without saying it directly that Old purple nose is a giant hypocrite when it comes to refs.Remmeber the Bolton and Portsmouth and Chelsea game he went nothing short off claiming the ref was bend and on the other hand he wants protecting for refs.After 30 years he really knows how to work it.Not only will teams have to beat United next year they will also have to beat the ref.
How about Ferguson complaining about Ronaldo being tapped up when he’s been tapping Berbatov up all season
b(l)obby c - I know what the ‘c’ stands for mate, but I digress; what do you mean by, ‘Unite are the kings of Europe’? Mu-ha-ha-hah-haaah! Salop.
i wonder if anyone noticed at the start of the second half of the champions league final when the players were coming from the tunnel , ferguson was talkin with the ref in pretty much an authoritative manner as if he owns the ref…
of all the managers only ferguson and his players take the liberty to bad mouth the referee on and off the game and still its players like mascherano who get sent off just for asking the ref…and yes they do get away with all the abuse bcoz the head of the FA is a manutd fan..yes ppl he was photographed wearing a manu jacket
its a shame that even with all the support of the refs ferguson whines more than any other manager…im sure the manu fans will disagree with me…well what can u say they are just mancs
Danish - the press forced the link on the issue, Keano never said anything about Fergie and I doubt he’d imply something like that sideways to his old manager.
everyone else - who said Fergie is made of holy water? He has his faults, of course, but this wasn’t about Fergie. This was about how managers and players use the ‘if only’ excuse to justify their own failings. Fergie does the same, it’s just that this end season he hasn’t had reason to, otherwise he’d be here as well.
its on skysports chelsea have just sacked avram grant, expect mr. bilal’s piece on this subject matter telling us how terrible chelsea were under grant and how perfect man u are as a club while the others are crap. is it not amazing what is happening in chelsea and wenger is as relax as a baby in a crib about his future? poor grant but that is what it means to have rich billionaires buying over a club. to think that arsenal have not won anything in 4 seasons and chelsea just 4 a season and heads are already rolling is very ironic. i think avram has done well he can step down with his head held high. congratulations to all hull city fc fans welcome to the premier league. nuff respect to mr grant and to all loyal chelsea fans
Why the attack on Ramos? Because he said that in spite of their miserable start they had an excellent season? They aren’t a top four team so you have to look at what constitutes an excellent season for Spurs. At the beginning of the season , if you would have said Spurs would win a trophy and be headed back to Uefa Cup I think many Spurs fans would have called that an excellent season for them. Especially after the miserable start Jol had them off to. Just because they aren’t Man U and didn’t win the double doesn’t mean other teams didn’t have a good season.
Brilliant Ahmed!! What a great tounge in cheek piece…and what a response!!!
They’re all wound up like a drum after their failings this season. Let’s just recap:
Chelsea: Won nothing!
Arsenal: Won nothing!
Looserpool: Won nothing!
You cast the bait and they’ve come flocking like a pig to shit!
Sad and pathetic comments all round but you reeled them in beautifully.
Nice work mate. Keep it up!
The ultimate double! I’m luvin it. It’s clear the bitters are hurting badly!
AHHHHH! Happy Days!
The manc is an amazing this, they can win cup after cup, but they still need to look to other clubs. Rather than simply being overjoyed at winning a double this week, they spend the afterglow period on all the radio phone-ins threatening to come after Liverpool’s records. I wonder, if ManUre do win 20 leagues and 6 European cups, will they then be happy? Or will they simply have an unfillable void, when they no longer have another team to feel insecure about?
so condell its okey 4 guys like ahmed to write sad and pathetic comments about others football clubs/fans and yet it is not okey when others respond to ur pathetic comments about them? i don’t begrudge man- united their victories this season but when fans like u cant be magnanimous in glory as ur players themselves showed to chelsea staff and players after winning the cl on wednesday then ur attitude is simply despicable. i am waiting to see if ur comments will also be moderated by the moderator if at all there is any objectivity on footy issues on this blog.
i see alot of objectivity from others who sent in articles on this blog than from i see from mr bilal,this is not criticism its a compliment (as well as a fact)especially in recent times. so kudos to others atleast u dont come on board insulting other clubs, their fans and managers, most of the time u try to be objective we thank u guys 4 that.enuff said
Still luvin it. Wound up and bitter. We’re laughing in your face. If you wern’t so wound up you’d ignore it and go do something else.
If you can’t take the heat get out of the kitchen.
Double Champions and you won sweet FA. You were full of it during the season and now we have bragging rights. Get used to it or go elsewhere if you don’t like it. Your envy and bitterness shines thru in everything you post.
I rue the day that you lose that as it always means that Man U are top dogs. Don’t see that changing anytime soon.
Good one Noblelox…it’s like the Noveau Riche…they have all the money most people could want but none of the class to carry it off in style. As for “me’s” comments, I feel the same. It was pathetic to go to the pub to see the season’s final fixtures and there were about 10 times the average amount of Manc Scum there as usual. I think some of them still had the price tags hanging off their shirts. One of the highlights of this season was the Arsenal fans at Old Trafford signing “We’ll race you back to London”.
You cuntbutlers better hope there is never a salary cap in the EPL or it’s relegation for you.
Give a moron a computer, sit back and Bilal happens.
I admire the way man-u does things. Fergie’s job is never in question and look at the results Man-u can get. If Chelsea did things this way, maybe we would have more consistent results. Grant constantly had to deal with his job being in jeopardy, he couldn’t just go to work and manage. Fergie only feels the pressure to win, a luxury few others in the world of football get. Fergie is known to to mix it up and say some things, but let’s face it, Man-u has two trophies and my team, Chelsea has zero. There is something to the fact that he just goes to work and does his job. If Grant didn’t have that pressure of whether his job was in doubt, Chelsea maybe could have one the league or won the Champions League. I don’t like Man-u but their approach to the managers job security is the right one.
Ahmed Bilal tries, he tries really hard to write unbiased articles which he hopes won’t taunt other fans, and he fails miserably.
Hilarious! Chill pills all round.
Ahmed,
glad to see that you would put Fergie in there if it was not for the title win, but i bet you would have put something in about wenger if Arsenal had won.i think the worst thing i have ever heard from a manager was when Arsenal went unbeaten and Fergie said that it just because they drew 12 matches it wasn’t title winning form. if you wrote an article about the worst comments ever made by a manager, that would top it. whatever Wenger says about a failed championship season he is not that stupid.
First of all, let me say that I may be in the minority as a Man U fan with little respect for Sir Alex Ferguson. For all his accolades and league title, the pockets of his club’s owner being as deep as they are can hardly be considered less than the primary reason for that success. With all the hype around his schemes and formations, Rooney and Ronaldo score on their own without much trouble. And with one of the strongest defensive lines in professional soccer, the Man U offense is fee to play loose and aggressive with very little risk of opposition counterattack. Basically, Ferguson’s role seems essentially minimal, and a toddler could design formations equally efficient given the same caliber of across-the-board talent Ferguson is able to play with.
Additionally, am I the only one who views Ferguson’s ostracizing of Ruud Van Nistelrooy as one of the most historic blunders in club history? With every attempt at avoiding my own personal biases (Nistelrooy being a personal favorite player, even after his embattled departure from Old Trafford), I can’t help but imagine how dominant my Red Devils could have been had they retained Nistelrooy, with the continued growth and blossoming of young stars Rooney and Ronaldo. Imagine having two 30+ goal scorers in Manchester this year and last - maybe we might have been chasing a Champions league repeat in addition to the Premiership double. I’m interested to see how Ferguson handles this offseason’s transfer market, because I don’t think I’m the only one who views Giggs and Tevez as entirely inadequate Ruud replacements.
That being said, I am disappointed at the perception of United players shown in previous pots to this article. Yes, Rooney can be a bit heated and vocal during games, but obviously not enough so to get him in too hot of water. Even if, as you say, Premier league refs are in Ferguson’s and Man U’s pocket, they are still human, and they can’t possibly look the other way regardless of their own biases if the conduct of players on the field is poor enough. Rooney is a fiery and agressive player, in play and conduct, but he clearly knows the limits of his insubordination on the field, and it shows a startling lack of faith in league referees (and immaturity in using the least original scapegoat in sports history - is it really the officials’ fault you can’t win?) to assume that they let him get away with what he ought not to. Also, keep in mind that he’s only 22, and he’s bound to be given some leeway for conduct due to his youth. Also, it is disappointing that fans characterize the entire team as getting preferential treatment in the media and from referees; just because Ronaldo flops and gets away with it, doesn’t mean the whole team gets cheap foul calls or receives unjust clemency from the media. Man U players have it just as hard on and off the field, and an objective review of the team as a whole (obviously with condition exception of young and star-treatment favored Rooney and Ronaldo) will prove that true.
And as for spending, to suggest that Manchester United are the New York Yankees of professional soccer is ridiculous. Chelsea’s Lampard, Terry, Schevchenko, and Ballack all 7.8 million Euros or more per year, and all make more than Cristiano Ronaldo’s 7.68, the highest paid on the Man U roster. Additionally, those four, as well as Liverpool’s Torres and Gerrard, as well as Drogba (the fifth from Chelsea), all are paid more in annual team salary than Wayne Rooney. And that’s excluding mainland cash incinerators Barca and Real. Clearly, Man U is not the only football club with its hand stuck in the cookie jar. It is frustrating to hear your team’s fiscal discipline criticized by fans of Chelsea in particular (whose four top-paid player salaries exceed that of our top-paid Ronaldo), and those of other clubs just as guilty of liberal player salary payouts.
Lastly, although an argument could be made for Arsenal’s lack of spending and (admittedly tremenous) fiscal discipline, the argument that Arsenal, as a club, would benefit from a salary cap, or that other clubs would not be able to mirror Arsenal’s pattern of spending is asinine. Arsenal’s recent experience of Wenger-inspired expenditure restraint is ample proof that a salary cap is not the solution for Premiership competition. Arsenal can’t compete in the Premier league with it’s resistance to excessive spending because great players don’t want to play for peanuts when there are plenty of teams that will pay them what the free transfer market decides they are worth. All a Premiership salary cap would do is force the best players in the world into the open arms of mainland cash cows Barca, Real, Bayern, Ajax, Juventus and any number of clubs outside cap-restricted leagues. A salary cap would reduce the caliber of competition, decrease interest in Premiership football, and generally ruin the sport in the UK. Who knows? Maybe even some of those players might glee to the states where I could enjoy watching them play (without bitching about how much they make; spending a concept I am more than used to as a domestic fan of Major League Baseball). Regardless, it is not Arsenal as a club that would benefit, it is WENGER Arsenal that would benefit and, with further lack of performance, Wenger’s departure from Arsenal might just predate any imposition of a cap in the Premiership. Basically, to all Arsenal fans; don’t bitch about the excessive spending of other teams, and don’t daydream too much about a salary cap and Wenger-led Arsenal dominance of th Premiership, ’cause it’s not gonna happen (at least any time soon) and you’re probably the only ones who want to see the sport ruined in the UK just because you can’t win without putting money on the table.
PS: The original article was pretty obviously meant for humor and shock value, so it’s a bit pointless to judge the author on his (obviously, and intentionally included) biases in a laugh-targeted piece. Good work Bilal; I know not to take this too seriously, even though I am a Man U fan and completely agree. In any case, it was good for a few laughs.
Agree with Michael…..absolutely hilarious! These idiots get so wound up it only adds to our pleasure!
You’d think they’d be used to us winning by now.
Stallone Rock no longer comments of Ahmed’s posts (his words)!! Coulda fooled me pal.
AustinGooner…bitter and twisted…but that’s the way we like em!
@ WillD (no. 37)
As regards Man Utd’s spending (when compared to other big clubs), I agree with you in the most part. However, your statement: “For all his accolades and league title, the pockets of his club’s owner being as deep as they are can hardly be considered less than the primary reason for that success” is really not giving Ferguson credit where credit is due. Have a look at his career at Aberdeen for instance. He took charge of a team of relative nobodys and, with them, broke the stranglehold that Celtic and Rangers had on the league and Scottish cup. Ask yourself how many managers could take an Aberdeen side and beat the likes of Bayern Munich and Real Madrid to win the European cup. How many? Ferguson did.
When he came to Old Trafford, he found players who had well known fitness issues, not to mention the drinking culture at Old Trafford. It took him some time and player movement but he turned Man Utd into a world beating outfit.
Also, for anyone that assumes that having a Rooney or Ronaldo (or equivalently talented players) in your team translates to automatic success, I only ask you to look in the direction of Chelsea, Real Madrid and the other such clubs…
Do I even need to mention the 10 Premier League titles, numerous FA cups, League Cups and (now) two champions’ league titles? Yes, he has been given as much money as he likes to buy players as he pleases, but it takes top-level man management to create a new team and pass on the values and winning culture that define Man Utd. I’m not at all suggesting that Ferguson is a saint, WillD, but to say that the club owner’s pockets are the reasons for Fergie’s success is being a tad mean, to say the least.
Being a spurs fan im just glad we got mentioned with the top 4! Thanks for the compliment!
I agree that Ferguson has done some great things in the past, and I don’t dislike him, I just think that he may be a bit overrated as a coach. In a game like soccer, there’s only so much that a coach can do, and holding the coach responsible for failures or praising the coach for success is a bit pragmatic. The players on the field should be held accountable for their own play, not the coach. And for that reason, I’m not a big fan of Ferguson, although it’s mostly just bitterness about him ostracizing Van Nistelrooy and removing one of my favorite players from my favorite team.
It’s also a bit of frustration about having to wait this long to see the kind of fast-paced and high-scoring offensive play I’ve know our front line has been capable of for some time. I think, also, that this is due more to Ronaldo blossoming and taking control of games than Ferguson’s schemes and formations, which I don’t see as particularly innovative or effective. I also believe that he has been too passive as of late in player acquisitions, despite his virtually limitless funds. Upon Van Nistelrooy’s departure, I was sure that Ferguson would immediately begin shopping for an adequate replacement, but for the past 2 seasons we have sufficed with the likes of Giggs and Tevez to fill the front line void left by one of the world’s best strikers. Recently, several more high-priced, high-talent potential replacements have been mentioned in transfer rumors, though no attempt has been made to secure a long-term, legitimate front line scoring threat. I was overjoyed to see that Huntelaar has been rumored a potential near future acquisition, but once again disappointed that no bid has been made for other stars and potential replacements (that Ferguson can scarcely ill afford) such as Samuel Eto’o of Barcelona, Robinho of Real, or (a personal favorite and admittedly a stretch) Zlatan Ibrahimovic of Inter Milan. All would be outstanding fits with the new up-tempo style of offensive play, and would provide fantastic compliments to our young (and dare I say overburdened?) stars, and yet none have been linked to Old Trafford, but have been linked on numerous occasions to Tottenham, Chelsea, and other rival premiership clubs.
As for Stars not meaning automatic success. Maybe Rooney and Ronaldo don’t mean automatic success, but this year it seemed to me like they were doing quite a bit on their own. I didn’t see a tremendous amount of formation-specific moves or shifts this past season - just Rooney and Ronaldo doing their own thing and scoring at will. When you have two young stars like them, and you can cut them loose with as much success as we have witnessed this year, you’d be hard-pressed to find a manager that couldn’t win games. All I’m saying is that you shouldn’t brake your arm patting Ferguson on the back, and you should “give credit where credit is due;” to the players (namely Ronaldo and Rooney).
Also, to say that spending and having great players doesn’t translate to success, and citing Chelsea and Real Madrid as examples… didn’t Chelsea finish second in the Premiership and make it the the Champions League final, and didn’t Real Madrid win the Spanish league title this year? Looks like spending the most money and having the best players does kinda translate to success.
I’ll admit my disdain for Ferguson is a bit unwarranted, and he has been good for the club. All I’m saying is that the great players he has ha the privilege of coaching have been the reason for his success as of late, and I’m sick of people criticizing Rooney and Ronaldo for their on and of field exploits while touting Ferguson as a saint.
It is not just the cockiness of this article but the delayed cockiness that, amusingly, betrays the reasons why the cockiness couldn’t have been expressed any earlier than this. Since the outcome of the Premiership this season was only decided in the last minutes of the last matches on the very last day, no trumpet-blowing was possible because the eventual outcome was so uncertain. Much the same goes for the European Champions Cup Final, before which hopes for Manchester United had to suffice in the absence of certainty. In the event, that final was only decided in the very last seconds of a penalty shoot-out following extra-time added to the originally intended ninety minutes. Only with these two late achievements, because pushed so close to the wire by a club I don’t support, does this charmless article appear as if 2007-08’s story is of the brilliance of one and the ‘delusion’ of others. What a lousy ambassador for the club you have latched on to, do you turn out to be.
WillD, allow me to make a few more statements; I can’t resist an argument backed by logical reasoning.First, I know you must have had this a myriad of times before, but selling van Nistelrooy was better for the club. Once teams double-teamed on the dutch striker, Utd had no one to funnel to pass the final ball to, and Utd were screwed as a result. A look at the averages reveals that Utd’s average goal per game ratio improved with Nistelrooy’s departure. That said, I really loved watching the guy set up camp in the penalty box and terrorize defences. As for getting a replacement for him, had Saha been fit, Utd would have had one of the finest attack in the whole world. Saha is everything we would have wanted in a striker, bar his injury situation. Ferguson knew this, and that’s why he was so patient with the Frenchman. However, Ferguson has now got to the point where he has to admit that Saha is never going to be that man. This summer, I can almost guarantee that SAF will get a striker as close to Saha (in terms of abilities) as he can. I remain a bit skeptical about Huntelaar, although I must admit he is more mobile and more useful in the build-up play than RVN ever was. Plus do you think Huntelaar will be willing to stay on the bench for about 2/3 of games. (I am of the opinion that even if we get a striker, he will not be a guaranteed starter, just an option to bring in when teams like Middlesbrough and Derby are not giving us any space with their whole team behind the ball).
As for Ferguson not having any tactics, surely you must have realized that Ferguson picks his team to allow ronaldo as much space as he likes to roam the field. Surely you would be very pissed at Ferguson if he constrained Ronaldo to a single position. Making the best use of your players surely does not mean you are tactically inept, does it?
Any fan of Real Madrid would expect that Real would dominate Europe, let alone spain, given the massive talent on their team. I believe that Barca’s situation has meant that they did not really challenge Real for the title. Barca’s off the field problems have allowed Real to hide their troubles very effectively. No one can stand up and claim that Real were the force that they once were. For the fourth straight year Real have failed to make the quarter finals of the champions’ league. Is that acceptable for a team of Real’s caliber? While Chelsea’s plight is more understandable, they still grossly underperformed in the Carling cup final and in the FA cup against Barnsley for instance.
Avram Grant, Carlo Ancelotti and Frank Rijkaard both had the “privilege” of coaching great squads- far superior to United’s squad if you ask me. Were they hard pressed to win games? I will let you answer that. So YES, managers should be given credit for taking great players and making a WINNING team out of them.
When I started reading articles here- a little over a year- it was a class blog. Now… it’s not half-decent. Ahmed you should stuff all your manutd bias up your … Or instead change soccerlens to manchestedunitedlens. Thankfully there are still some decent writers here: graham fischer 4 instance.
He is not blaming the actual games he is stating once Liverpool can break that barier and beat United then we will finally have what it takes.
This is the worst article I’ve read on this site in a while. Is it even an article? It seems like senseless bashing and a complete waste of time. I have no doubt that had United lost the title to Chelsea on the final day we would have heard every excuse in the book from this site. SAF says the exact same things.
Its really too bad because this site used to be one of my favorites, but now its so convoluted and biased its unreadable. There was a time when I looked forward to Ahmed’s insight on every piece of news. I used to disregard his Man U bias because he didn’t make such a big deal out of it and I could trust him to be somewhat objective. Now it seems as if this site has been overrun with full-of-themselves Man U supporters, and the quality has dropped. A sad day.
Will D, I could go on for hours on your ridiculous ramblings but I won’t bother.
Hint 1: If you want to be taken seriously don’t ramble on forever, as people lose interest.
Hint 2: Study Ferguson’s record and make-up in detail. There are many books, articles and independent observations out there.
Follow the above and you’ll stop being an embarassment to yourself (Hopefully).