Who are we to turn our nose up at the Europa League?

Since Chelsea’s dramatic win the other night, I have listened to so many football fans degrade their win in Amsterdam. Every fan I speak to says that it’s a terrible competition and not worth winning or who wants to be in it anyway. They say that the standard is poor and there are too many games that interfere with the league progression of their team. They are happy their club are not in the competition and laugh at the fact that Chelsea and Rafa, are being congratulated for wining a Mickey Mouse trophy as they call it.

This is pure stupidity. How can any fan, besides a Manchester United fan, snigger at the Europa League. Arsenal fans, Spurs fans and Liverpool fans all laugh at it.  How can even Chelsea fans snigger at it? Their club has just won a trophy. The manager that they hate and despise has given them another European trophy to add to their pretty empty cabinets. They have won more than Manchester City, Liverpool and Spurs this year. They have beaten a very good team in Benfica.

Put it this way, I’m sure Brendan Rodgers or even the recently sacked, Roberto Mancini would like to have the Europa League in their hands to keep their owners happy. No matter what the competition is or what the trophy is or who you play, a trophy is a trophy, and to play in Europe for player, is a massive occasion. You ask Ivanovic if he thinks it is a Mickey Mouse trophy. The player who scored the winner in the final who also missed the last final, I’m sure is over the moon to have a Europa League medal. You ask Frank Lampard what he thought of Amsterdam the other night and I’m sure he will be happy to be still wining trophies at this stage in his career. Even ask tracksuit wearing John Terry, he wasn’t even playing yet he was decked out in head to toe of Chelsea and celebrated the win like it was 1999. A trophy means success and Chelsea were successful. End of story

As a Liverpool fan, I would be happy with any trophy at this stage, never mind a top four finish, which Chelsea also have. Arsenal hasn’t seen a trophy since the prehistoric age and the same goes for Spurs. So where all of a sudden has this snobbery outlook of the Europa league come from? I can understand why Barca, Real, Munich and Man united don’t favour it too much. They have high standards. They have done the hard work to get to where they are. They have competed in the old UEFA CUP or Cup Winners cup and climbed the ladder. They win trophies every single year.  Before Wednesday night, Chelsea had 4 European trophies since 1905 and 4 league titles. Oh and two full members cup !!

Winning the Europa League will have a big impact on any squad and especially Chelsea’s one. If you look through their new team in a transitional year, not many have the experience of big finals or winning trophies do they? Hazard, Moses, Bertand, Ba, Azpilicueta and Cahill. It will give them the hunger and desire need to keep improving. It will also help older players like Lampard and Terry. Winning trophies still going into your mid-thirties is a massive boost personally and gives you the extra drive and passion to keep winning more. Fernando Torres, under Rafa at Chelsea, has scored 20 + goals and another European final goal to his name. That will help with his confidence going into a new season with another new manager and probably more new team mates. Goals help strikers and especially in big finals.

The Europa league also allows managers to test their young players against some of the best teams in Europe. Tactical teams, away from home in some intimidating stadiums, young players get to put on the club jersey and play for their future.  The next generation of players coming through and the early stages of the Europa league are a perfect platform for managers to showcase their young talent. It’s too risky these days to play them in the Premier league yet at the same time every club, with the new rules coming in, need home grown players to comply. You also get to experiment with formations and tactics and Chelsea can now see that David Luiz is a classy defensive midfielder as opposed to a PlayStation defender once described by Gay Neville. By winning the Europa League, Chelsea is the first team in history to win the Champions League and the Europa league simultaneously. And Rafa is part of that history whether Chelsea fans like it or not. Do Spurs have that history? Do Arsenal?? Nope they don’t.

We now live in a world of instant Gratification. We want everything done yesterday. But success isn’t like that. You have to work hard for it. You have to earn it. And no matter whom you play against or what competition you compete in, a win is a win. No football fan should turn their noses up to the Europa league or any competition as a matter of fact. The Europa league provides us with topics of discussions during the week. It gives Journalist’s more stuff to write about . It provides us with TV viewing on an otherwise boring Thursday night and in Chelsea’s case, win a piece of silverware. Irrespective of your view on the competition or Chelsea or Rafa, one man summed it up perfectly.

“Some of us will do our jobs well and some will not, but we will all be judged on one thing: the result.” Vince Lombardi

And Chelsea got a result and a trophy, which is a lot more than 17 teams in the Premier league isn’t it!!

Someone is still sticking around

It has been extremely emotional lately hasn’t it? Sir Alex saying his farewells to everyone at Old Trafford. The great man stepping down after 27 years at the top. Then, one of the most gifted midfielders of the last 10 years , Paul Scholes, also bid farewell to the Old Trafford faithful for a 2^nd time. He too, will step away from Manchester United. Then we go to Merseyside, where Everton say te-ra to their gaffer, David Moyes, as he has the honour of taking the biggest job in world football. And in the red half of Merseyside, Liverpool must now try to find a team without Jamie Carragher in it, after 600 appearances, he too says farewell. Then we have the strange possibility of club record goal scorer, Frank Lampard, saying goodbye to everyone at Stamford Bridge.  That’s a lot of goodbyes and farewells for one season isn’t it? Seems a bit of a morbid end to a season to me

As I sat back on the couch and thought of all the farewells, all the so longs and deserved retirements, I wondered  “ There must be something else about this season…maybe not even in the Premier League but something else that can take us away from the morbid goodbyes and make us smile again". Wigan winning the FA cup…well kind of..I smirked as opposed to smiled. Suarez biting Ivanovic made me laugh in amazement but then I stopped, I swear. Robbie Savages hair always makes me laugh but that wasn’t what I had in mind. There was something that I couldn’t put my finger on. Something I was overlooking. It took me about an hour and then BOOM…I remembered…this lad. Plays football in France, no  no  not that idiot Barton , trying to be so intellectual in one breath and then a savage gurrier in the next , no not him. This other lad.. Plays in France and at the ripe old age of 38 has just won a Ligue one title and the list goes on

Honours

Premier league – 6

FA Cup - 2

Champion’s league- 1

MSL winner - 2

La Liga  - 1

Ligue 1 - 1

Winner of Goal of the decade in the Premier League

First Englishman to win four titles in four different countries

First England player to score at three World Cups.

First British footballer to play 100 Champions league games.

Most outfield England international appearances.

Handsome git

Filthy rich

 

Why it could only be, David Beckham. This man is hard. Some of you may laugh at what I just wrote. “Hard? Are you mad?” Well I’m serious. Beckham has been through hell and back and he is still here. Playing with some of the best players in the world and winning titles.  As the quote goes” if you find yourself in hell, keep going” and that’s exactly what he has done. Kicked out of Manchester United because of the fame circus that surrounded him, he then sets off to the biggest team in the world with Ronaldo (the real one), Zidane, Raul and Roberto Carlos as his new team mates. Then he got told by Capello that he wouldn’t play for Madrid again. Beckham put his head down, trained hard, was called back into the Galacticos and made a massive impact in their title winning run also earning himself a recall to the England team after being told by McClaren that he wasn’t in his plans either… he seems to be in nobody’s plans but he doesn’t care. He just keeps going. He works, grafts, trains, looks after his body and gets on with it. At the age of 38 he is still going. For some reason everyone continuously goes on about Ryan Giggs. Nearly 40 still going blah blah blah. Don’t get me wrong, he is an incredible player and his loyalty is something that must be admired in the modern game. But me personally, if that was me, I’d want to try a new team, a new league to see how good I really am. I always wonder why he didn’t go to Italy. At the time Italian football was the best in the world and was known for its tactics and amazing defences. Why didn’t he say “I will test myself here and give it a go”. Look, again don’t get me wrong, the medals he has, the longevity of his career, it’s unreal. And I take my hat off to him. But Beckham has done it in England. He has done it in Spain, he went to the MLS when no one else was there. Now look, Tim Cahill, Thierry Henry, Robbie Keane and bigger stadium attendances. Then, he goes to Paris St Germain and wins a title with them. He is part of their title winning squad and lauded and praised by coach and superstar players alike.

 

The thing I always hear off a lot of football fans is that he is not a good footballer. Lads listen, if he isn’t good, then I’m Bill Cosby. To play for AC Milan, Real Madrid, Manchester United and nearly 150 caps for England, you must be truly WORLD CLASS.  Of course he sells a few millions jerseys but that makes him even more amazing. As you may know, I’m a Liverpool fan, but I don’t mind saying he is a player and a man that I truly admire and respect.He helps Paris St Germain win their first title in 16 years and now an offer of another year with bourgeois Parisians is on the tableu.

 

So as I said, the end of the football has bit of a sad feeling to it. Saying so long to all the legends retiring or moving on. But one still remains. Someone we all love to hate but love at the same time. Mother’s and daughters love him, men envy him and boys want to be him. He has money to last him four life times, so he doesn’t need the wages. He has a big family, houses all over the world and more medals than you have fingers and toes. He is really a footballing giant.

 

Although it’s hard to say goodbye sometimes, we must still be appreciative of what we still have while it’s here.

We all wonder..dont we

So after 27 years it has finally happened. The great sir Alex Ferguson has stepped down from Manchester united.  As a Liverpool fan, I can say that he is without doubt, the greatest manager in the history of football. No denying that. Year after year he built a team and rebuilt it, he got rid of players at the right team and he won something with kids. But everything that has a beginning must have an end and the great man steps down after reclaiming the title from the noisy neighbours and leaves behind him a fantastic squad brimming with youth and don’t forget the league’s top scorer.

And this is all left to a fellow Scots man who was personally recommend by Sir Alex to replace him and for a long time, has been lauded as his eventual successor. But let me make this point before I continue. No one ever actually thought Sir Alex would retire. Ok, we knew one day it would happen because of his age. But in our heads it just wasn’t conceivable. Manchester United without Alex Ferguson just didn’t seem realistic. Many managers have been mentioned as a potential successor. Pep, Jurgen Klopp, Mourinho and of course Moyes. But the thing is, we never took it seriously about Moyes and the reason for that is because we never thought Sir Alex would go.

But it is now a reality, and David Moyes replaces his fellow country man at the biggest club in the world. So what are the thoughts now he actually IS the manager?  Many comments have been made about Moyes's appointment. Words such as longevity, character, temperament, attitude and have used to describe the new managers qualities. The club say he is the perfect fit and he represents what Manchester United is all about. And let’s not forget he was personally recommended for the job by Sir Alex.

One interesting comment about his appointment intrigues me. “He done a great job at Everton with a shoe string budget, imagine what he can achieve with Manchester united”. Didn’t Fellaini cost 15 million pounds? That’s not a bad shoe string to me. So in his years in charge at Everton on a shoe string budget, what has he won? “But he had no money and we always finish in top half of the table”. Wigan, on a really shoe string budget, have just won the FA cup. Swansea, on a shoe string budget in their 2^nd season in the premier league, have won the Carling Cup. Swansea’s record signing is 5.5 million pounds and that’s just this year. Wigan’s record signing is 7 million for Charles N’Zogbia.  Moyes purchased Fellaini for 15 million, Yakubu for 10 million, 9 million on Bilyaletdinov and 8 million on Andy Johnson. That’s not a shoe string to me. And even if Everton fans still think it was a shoe string, his brand of football is nowhere near that of Swansea or Wigan, who play attractive, passing, trophy winning football.  Everton play off Fellaini and work from there. They play percentage football. Can he show his tactical knowledge at Manchester United? Does he have the knowledge to lead superstars to another Premier League crown or European success? Don’t get me wrong, I like Moyes and even as a Liverpool fan, I commend the job he has done at Everton, finishing higher than Liverpool last season and possibly this season and getting the club into Europe, is a good achievement. But, is that enough for Manchester united?  Is that enough to know how to beat Real Madrid away from home? Is it enough to keep Van Persie or Rooney happy? And is Moyes enough to attract new world class players to the club.

Speaking to many Man United fans, they are a bit disappointed by his appointment. Deep down they longed for Mourinho. They wanted him to come in a take the club even higher and achieve european success .They know the type of players he attracts. The fans know the instant respect he would have from his players and every fan in the world loves Mourinho.  So although they are content with Moyes, they are still not overly happy. The other news is now Paul Scholes, the greatest technical midfielder in England, will retire for the 2^nd time at the end of the season.  Two irreplaceable legends stepping away. Two icons of Manchester United gone. The Premier League will no doubt be tougher next year. Man City will revamp their team, Chelsea will add to their squad as will Spurs and Arsenal and Liverpool will try to push on. So Moyes faces a huge task. Football has changed since Sir Alex was appointed 27 years ago. No manager is given time, no matter who they are. I hope Moyes does succeed as I like him and it’s always good to see British managers getting a chance at the top. I just wonder….we all wonder. I think even Manchester United fans, for the first time in a long time…really wonder

Once bitten, twice not so shy – What should happen to Suarez

This is not the first time Luis Suarez has stuck his teeth in another player. Nor is it the first time he has got himself into hot water with the FA or his own club and as a Liverpool fan let me tell you, no matter who he plays for, it won’t be the last time

Many articles have been typed up and discussions had over Sunday’s biting incident. Firstly, Suarez actions were disgusting. No one can condone what he done. No matter how frustrated you get or riled up by an opposing player, biting is just unacceptable. So we all agree on that. What he did was wrong and yes he should be punished for it!

Now this is when the conversation becomes interesting, his punishment and how Liverpool should deal with the player.

Brendan Rodgers has come out and stated that the club will deal with it internally in an appropriate manner.  Ian Ayre has cancelled his trip to Australia to deal with the matter and I’m sure John Henry and Tom Werner will have a say in how they deal with Suarez and ensuring that the credibility of the club remains intact. But how should they deal with it? The media have suggested fining him and giving money to the Hillsborough charity in the wake of the anniversary. Graeme Souness and Henry winter have said that he should be sold as soon as possible and others have gone as far as saying his contract should be terminated

I agree that a lengthy ban and a hefty fine would be a just punishment. But selling him and sacking him…well that is just as mad as Suarez himself. And if you punish him who is to say he will not repeat again

Let’s go back to the infamous incident in 1995 at Selhurst Park when Eric Cantona launched himself at a fan in the crowd. The FA Chief Executive at the time, Graham Kelly, described his attack as "a stain on our game" that brought shame on football. He was handed an 8 month ban and United went on to lose the title to Blackburn Rovers. Cantona wanted to leave the club and even asked for his contract to be terminated. However, his manager, Alex Ferguson, persuaded him to stay on. In the next two years United won two league titles, an FA cup and Cantona was re-instated as captain of one of the most prestigious and historic clubs in the world. I doubt they have really looked back since and I’m pretty sure that the stain has been removed. In 2009 Ferguson said this about the incident nearly 14 years later “over the years since then I have never been able to elicit an explanation of the episode from Eric, but my own feeling is that anger at himself over the ordering-off and resentment of the referee's earlier inaction combined to take him over the brink." I don’t hear a mention of getting rid of him or “I thought about letting him go” do you?

So the question I ask is this, did United have to sell Cantona after “staining the Game”? Did they get rid of their leader, their charismatic talisman? Of course not! It would have been absurd of them to do such a thing. Cantona raised the bar at Manchester United. He made good players better. He showed young payers the talent that was needed to succeed. He made Manchester United an attractive team for other players to come join. And he scored goals when it mattered.

 “Sell Suarez now and get money for him and get someone else “I hear you cry. Liverpool paid 24 million for him 18 months ago and he has gone on to score 30 goals this season and is in contention for PFA player of the year. He is undoubtedly one of the top 5 players in world football today and could play for any team right now. His price had gone up to $50 million recently. But would Pep want this Latin American nut case on his team. Would the Special one? Not right now and certainly not for $50 million. Like a girlfriend with daddy issues….

Suarez recent antics, along with his other  well documented past misdemeanors, mean that no one would pay that money for him. So that in itself is hard for Liverpool after already wasting 35 million on Andy Carroll. Liverpool are not in the position to just let another striker go because who do they get in?? Cavani , Falcao or Benzema are all players who are possibly on the move this summer. But a move to Liverpool without Suarez would not be appealing to them.  Steven Gerard has taken a back seat to the Uruguayan this season and without meaning disrespect to the players who are currently at the club; Suarez is the only true world class player in the whole squad. And he will attract players of a similar stature. The rumour mill stated recently the Ajax’s Christian Eriksen had representatives at Anfield watching the Chelsea game. Suarez is a former team mate of the mercurial young Dane and I can guarantee that one of the main draws to Liverpool is to play with the brilliantly mad striker. Take him away and who do they attract??? Or more how do they attract this caliber of player? People say the club is big enough to attract these types of players in with its history. Rodgers calls it a “footballing institution”. That it is but it’s an institution that is falling further and further behind. Like a commodore 64 competing with a PlayStation 3.  I can admit that Liverpool have become a mid-table team. Struggling with bankruptcy, still awaiting a new stadium and now talk of getting rid of their best player. Surely this will set the club even further back.

Whatever punishment the FA and Liverpool hand down to Suarez or how much he is fined, there is one interesting alternative approach which could be taken by the club. This season Brendan Rodgers brought on board Dr Steve Peters.  Dr Peters is a sports psychologist who has helped the likes of Sir Chris Hoy and Victoria Pendleton with Olympic triumphs and also helped sports bad boys such as Ronnie o Sullivan and Craig Bellamy change their ways mentally. He works with the club on a part time basis and it’s voluntary if the players use his services. To go further into this argument is to suggest, after so many incidents and similar to this previous one, Suarez may possibly have some mental issues. Something in his makeup that pushes him over the edge or see the famous “red mist”. Is this a solution to the biting and diving? Should he sit with the good doctor and talk it out? Who knows but if I was Brendan Rodgers, Ian Ayre or even Tom Werner, I would exhaust all my options before I even think of letting one of the world’s best players leave a club that needs him more than he needs them.  Recently in an article published by the Daily Mirror, John Henry, Liverpool’s owner, mentioned that he speaks to the Manchester United owners regularly and seeks advice on how to progress the club. Maybe a few lessons can be learned from the old enemy after all.