With football’s silly season already in full swing and rumour abound that players and managers alike will be seeking pastures new, experienced fans are starting to see a familiar pattern emerging.
Overinflated transfers fees, shock bids for unknown quantities and Harry Redknapp denying links to every player under the sun are just some of the qualities fans await with anticipation, all while the Sky Sports News team has a heart attack providing 24 hour coverage to all and sundry.
The Premier League’s biannual centrepiece is as theatrical as it is uncompromising but amidst all the gossip and intrigue, there’s a sense of inevitability when awaiting the transfer window’s trademark features.
While it may provide a wonderful attraction to football lovers worldwide, every year supporters soon remember how predictable the whole process has become. Below is a gallery of scenes that fans can expect to witness before the window slams shut at the end of August.
Click on Jim White to unveil the 15 things we can expect from the transfer window
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Fiorentina hitman Stevan Jovetic has revealed he would be interested in a move to Arsenal if the Gunners came calling.
The Montenegro international looks set to be at the centre of a tug of war for his services this summer, with the Gunners, Inter Milan, Juventus and Manchester City all said to be chasing him.
The 23-year-old has previously admitted he would rather ply his trade in the Premier League if he were to leave the Stadio Artemio Franchi and has now revealed a move to north London could appeal.
“I’ve heard about Arsenal’s interest,” Jovetic told The Sun.
“It’s a big pleasure for me to be on the radar of such a big club. I am happy about that.
“I’ve always had an affinity with Arsenal. It’s a major club with a big tradition, one of the biggest in Europe.
“They are still very strong. I often watch Premier League games on TV. It’s one of the best leagues in the world and looks tempting for me.”
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Fiorentina are unlikely to let Jovetic go on the cheap after 12 goals in 24 appearances for the Viola this season, with the Tuscan club reportedly looking at offers of £20m and above.
Blackburn Rovers, Blackpool, Bolton Wanderers, Burnley, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Wigan Athletic. These are all the teams from Lancashire and Merseyside, who have played in the Premier League in the last ten years. Hull City, Leeds United and Sheffield United. By contrast, these are the select few teams from Yorkshire and Humber who have played in the Premier League in the last ten years.
This is staggering on two counts. Firstly, it is staggering when you consider that Yorkshire, by area at least, is the biggest county in England. So large in fact, that it has subsequently been broken up into sub-counties as a result. Secondly, it is also incredible because in Leeds and Sheffield, Yorkshire has two of the biggest cities in England by population.
All this has led me to ponder, what has and is going wrong with football in Yorkshire? In deliberating this question I asked a friend. To which he retorted, ‘it’s easy, Yorkshire has more rugby teams like Leeds Rhinos and Bradford Bulls.’ It was then I reeled off Wigan, St Helens, Widnes, Warrington etc.
And just to note this article is not an anti-Lancashire piece by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, it is admirable that within the last ten years, so many Premier League teams have come from the north-west. But, as a Yorkshireman, it seems puzzling to me how in such a big county, especially a county that loves it football, how we have had such feeble representation when it comes to backing a top flight team.
This article seeks to simply consider some of the possibilities. The first one is this. It has been well documented that there are certain players in the Premier League, most notably London-based players, who are reluctant to leave their clubs, even though they are surplus to requirements at that club. For example, do players such as Sebastian Squillaci at Arsenal and Paulo Ferreira at Chelsea remain unwanted at their respective clubs for fear of leaving London? I would argue yes. And this made me wonder, do players simply not want to play in Yorkshire? Do players find the prospect of living in Barnsley, Leeds or Sheffield untenable? By comparison do cities such as Liverpool and Manchester represent a hub of activity for the top flight players?
Or, instead on focusing on what Yorkshire is doing wrong, maybe we can look to the north-west and be in ore of what they are doing right. I think there are two teams to thank in particular for the success of football in the north-west, Liverpool and Manchester United. And it boils down to the notion that success breeds success. It is so true. Both Liverpool and United, have pretty much monopolised the Premier League title honours for the past thirty years now. Within this period, the north-west has produced quality players such as Gary Neville, Paul Scholes, Steven Gerrard Jamie Carragher, the list goes on, of players who have all turned out to be legends at their respective clubs.
I think most people reading this article will remember the famous scene when adoring Leeds fans swarmed round Alan Smith, praising his loyalty to a failing cause. Smith was a Yorkshireman with great potential. He ultimately found the lure of Manchester United too great. Within this period Leeds produced two other fine young talents in Aaron Lennon and James Milner. They both have sought pastures new in London and Manchester.
One bitter and perhaps misguided argument would be to say that in the top four divisions in England, there are more teams from Lancashire and Merseyside, 17, than there are in Yorkshire and Humber, 10, and therefore the likelihood of having Premier League representation is greater. What a terrible argument people may think. What realistic chance do teams such as, and with all respect, Fleetwood, Morecambe and Rochdale have of playing in the top flight? Well the 1996-1997 campaign is a great example of how teams can make a meteoric rise through the leagues, as Wigan Athletic beat Fulham to the Division Three title that season, whilst Swansea City finished fifth.
A major indicator to success or failure in football is financial backing. The demise of Leeds United, invariably Yorkshire’s biggest club, occurred due to a complete over expenditure which led to the club in financial ruin. With the risk of picking on Wigan Athletic, they have shown over the past seven years that with sound financial backing, small teams can survive in the Premier League. Football Fancast’s Thomas Hallett wrote an article on ‘Do football fans really matter anymore’? For all that Leeds are a hugely supported club, because of their lack of major investment in the past ten years, they still lie a division below the likes of Wigan and Swansea.
Finally, maybe Yorkshire just hasn’t had that bit of luck. Sheffield United fans would argue that if it wasn’t for the Carlos Tevez affair, the following five years may have been so different.
These are just suggestions. Perhaps it is just complete chance that Yorkshire clubs haven’t been successful in recent years. Or maybe it is just sour grapes from a disappointed Yorkshireman?
Regardless, I would love to read about what people think about this so please leave a comment and give me your suggestions.
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The premier league have re-iterated their desire for Premier League teams to shake hands before a game, according to the Guardian.
This is despite anxieties over certain players refusing to shake hands with one another a succession of games in the Premier League this forthcoming September. The first match of concern is between Chelsea and QPR at Stamford Bridge on September 15th. It is though that Rangers’ defender Antonio Ferdinand will refuse to shake hands with Chelsea captain John Terry after the racist allegations made against Terry which resulted both men being embroiled in a dramatic court case over the summer.
The weekend after the West London derby is a clash between fierce rivals Liverpool and Manchester United. This rivalry was intensified even further at Old Trafford last season when Liverpool striker Luis Suarez refused to shake the hand of United defender Patrice Evra following a race row which resulted in Suarez picking up an eight match ban over the Christmas period.
In addition to this, the match between Chelsea and Manchester United on October 28th may cause even more controversy, when John Terry matches up against United defender and older brother of Anton, Rio Ferdinand. Rio is also thought to be angered by Chelsea defender Ashley Cole’s decision to testify in favour of his teammate Terry in court in July. As a consequence of this, Rio landed himself in hot water so the FA when he labelled Cole as a ‘choc-ice’ on the social networking site Twitter.
The Premier League introduced the handshake for the 2008/09 campaign as a goodwill gesture. However, it first attracted attention during a match between Chelsea and Manchester City in February 2010 when City defender Wayne Bridge refused to shake the hand of John Terry following Terry’s affair with Bridge’s wife.
Before the beginning of the season the Premier League did give its 20 member clubs the option of removing the pre-match ritual of the handshake. However, all clubs were unanimous in agreeing that it should remain.
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Liverpool look set to clinch the signing of Chelsea forward Daniel Sturridge just as soon as the January transfer window reopens, but given the question marks over his temperament, his fluctuating form recently and the size of the fee required to secure his signature, are the club taking a big risk on the England international?
Brendan Rodgers moved to deny the suggestion that any move for Sturridge was hinging on the condition that the 23-year-old be assured of a central striking role in the side, and with Luis Suarez doing so well there at the minute, while there is an obvious need for more strength in depth up top and out wide, the starting eleven is doing reasonably well without him at the moment.
The reports linking Sturridge with such ludicrous demands are part and parcel of the game, especially at this time of the year when the preamble to January leaves the media with little in the way of concrete news to report on with regards to transfers, but the fact that it was believed by some just serves to highlight the reputation that the player has garnered for himself in recent times.
The company line is that if Sturridge was half as good as he thinks he is then he would be some player, but question marks are often raised concerning his mentality, with many quick to write him off solely down to his character. As far as I can tell, while he is clearly far too selfish at times in certain situations, there’s little evidence of this so-called debilitating arrogance that many use as a stick to beat him with. Of course, that is not to say that he isn’t arrogant, but show me a centre-forward that isn’t.
So far, the deal which looks pretty much complete and will see the Merseyside club fork out the best part of £12m for their man having already completed a medical in advance of the window, even if the switch has been met with a lukewarm response by fans. The general feeling is that while he can occasionally be a dangerous player, that he lacks consistency and that the fee is somewhat inflated due to his status as an Englishman with a bit of talent.
His ego has routinely been cited as a reason for his lack of effectiveness under Roberto Di Matteo and Carlo Ancelotti at Stamford Bridge, but there are just as many reasons to be optimistic that his move could be a success at Anfield and just the ticket for Rodgers young and hungry side.
His six-month loan spell at Bolton back in 2010-11 saw Sturridge torment defenders with his pace and ability to beat a man in a one-on-one situation to the tune of eight goals in 12 appearances, all largely coming from a central position, further backing up his protestations that much like Theo Walcott, while he is capable of playing out wide on the wing, he’s best utilised through the middle.
His return to Stamford Bridge saw him flourish in a wide left position as part of a front three under Andre Villas-Boas, but his form tailed off due to a lack of a clearly defined role under Di Matteo and he became more and more marginalised, eventually missing out on England’s Euro 2012 squad, something which seemed extremely unlikely just a few short months earlier. His two goals for Team GB at this summer’s Olympic Games, though, gave further proof that there is clearly something there in Sturridge worth pursuing.
It’s no coincidence that the two times that Sturridge has been afforded an assured first-team place and a regular starting berth in the top flight that he’s performed very well and been consistent, if a little frustrating at times in front of goal. While allegations of his arrogance may be lazily flung in his direction, there is clearly an element of self-doubt in him that in order to perform to the best of his abilities, that he needs to be made to feel loved. He will no doubt get both at Liverpool.
That is not to say that he’s been unfairly treated at Chelsea, for his performances since the turn of the year haven’t really merited anything other than a bit-part role, but nobody seemed to suffer more from Villas-Boas’ sacking than him, with Di Matteo returning to the tried and tested old guard to see the club through a difficult period at the tunr of the year.
There’s been a considerable lack of progress from Sturridge in the last few months and his career has stalled in a similar way to that of Adam Johnson while he was at Manchester City, but a move to Sunderland looks to be slowly but surely changing that. He still has plenty left to prove despite having already played for two of the last three Premier League champions in his short career so far.
He has been casually labelled an egotist and it’s a tag that’s stuck much to his detriment, but Rodgers’ 4-3-3 system depends heavily on everyone in the side working hard off the ball to close down space and win it back quickly; any lack of effort in the second half of the season will likely earn him a stinging rebuke from his new boss just as it did with Stewart Downing earlier this season.
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His decision-making in the final third can at times be questionable, while there was a reason why Rodgers only wanted him on loan in the summer, with the size of the fee something of a gamble, but needs must and the lack of dependable striking talent in Liverpool’s threadbare squad necessitates a move for someone of Sturridge’s ilk; he is young, direct, versatile and pacy and he would appear to suit the formation and style of play well.
Moving to Anfield is hardly a pressure-free environment, but with expectations being dampened to such an extent that a top-eight finish will be seen as a decent achievement for the club this term, then the timing could suit Sturridge and there would be considerably less pressure on him to it the ground running right from the start, given his lack of playing time so far this season. He has it all still to prove, and while he’s undoubtedly a little on the pricey side, there is certainly a reason to suspect that he could prove a good purchase for Liverpool in both the long and short-term.
The cries of “he’s just too good for you” were once reserved solely for Adel Taarabt, but now these words are inspired by a young star at Crystal Palace, whose recent performances have seen him tear through Championship defences as the club surges up the table.
Wilfried Zaha is the latest extraordinary talent to have emerged from the exceptional youth academy at Crystal Palace. At just 19 years of age he has already made a home for himself in the heart of the supporters with the pace, flair and eye for goal that define football as one of the most breathtaking and entertaining sports in the world.
His newfound prolific nature in front of goal has all but confirmed suspicions that he possesses all the attributes required to succeed at the highest level but while a move to the Premier League may be inevitable, it might not be as forthcoming as the nation’s tabloids would have you believe.
Crystal Palace may not be able to boast the same history, stature or financial arsenal as rival teams around the country but the club beautifully illustrate the benefits of promoting a family atmosphere and the local community. As a result the fans share a genuine sense of belonging and in a strange way the process of administration has been a blessing in disguise. How many clubs in English football can claim they’re happy or even inspired by their current manager and chairman combination?
The current youth set-up is littered with ‘local lads’ that are well aware of a realistic path to the first-team, especially now the club is renowned for providing a stage for young players to flourish. The new financial regulations of the EPPP will see the Premier League vultures become a prominent feature at clubs like Crystal Palace and so it’s vital that they maintain this ethos and continue to enhance their positive learning environment.
In 2010 Bromley-born centre-back Ryan Inniss rose to fame when he captained the England U’16’s to victory in both the Victory Shield and the Montaigu Tournament in France. However, despite a concrete offer from Manchester City, Inniss turned down a bumper pay pocket in favour of signing a professional contract at Crystal Palace. His decision highlights a refreshing display of maturity and one that will hopefully be replicated in the future.
In the case of Wilfried Zaha, both he and manager Dougie Freedman have worked closely in various capacities over the past five years. Zaha recently revealed that he misses South London when he’s away on international duty, an admission that not only highlights his affinity with club but also the fact he’s not quite ready for the next stage in his career. Freedman’s legendary status at the club coupled with his playing career as a striker means he is the prime candidate to help Zaha fulfil his potential. An opinion Freedman also appears to share:
“The arrangement I’ve got with the club is that I will let Wilfried and his family know when I can’t develop him any longer – and I will also let them know which club for him to go to.” (Croydon Today)
On the outside this statement may be perceived as the customary stubborn and ignorant attempts to hold onto the club’s prized asset, but it’s clear that there is a mutual respect and affection between the key trio of club, manager and the player. The modern sacking culture in football means such long-term and rewarding relationships are an increasing rarity, which is perhaps the reason why so many players are easily lured away with financial incentives and misleading promises.
In recent times we’ve witnessed promising strikers Marvin Sordell and Connor Wickham struggle to adapt to life in the top flight after seemingly outgrowing the Championship. The pressure and expectation of such high-profile moves coupled with a drastically reduced playing time means their development has been bought to a rapid halt.
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To put their respective downfalls into perspective, Sordell managed just three substitute appearances in the second half of Bolton’s relegation season and has notched up just one goal this year in the Championship. Wickham has also only managed a solitary goal for his new club but has yet to clock up a single minute under Martin O’Neill this season, which is remarkable considering their demoralising stats in front of goal.
Zaha need only be reminded of former academy graduates John Bostock, Tom Soares and even Wayne Routledge to understand the perils of moving on too soon. He should look to learn from Nathaniel Clyne, who agreed to sign for Southampton last summer despite reported interest from Newcastle and Manchester United. Clyne is now playing first-team football for a team in the Premier League that endorses an attractive brand of football. As a result he has continued to prosper and has surely established the perfect platform for him to achieve the next step-up.
I hope that the future transfer of Wilfried Zaha provides a turning point that sees youngsters trust their club with the timing, fee and destination of any potential move onwards and upwards. It’s imperative that they join a team with a similar playing philosophy that can offer a regular first-team role rather than a few extra zeros on their wage packet. If the next generation of stars are to fulfil their potential then it remains clear that they should keep their eye on the ball rather than their bank balance.
Manchester United kept their place at the top of the league last night after a scrappy 1-0 win over West Ham at Old Trafford, but they’ve struggled to get out of second gear for the most part this campaign and two of the main reasons responsible are the heavy rotation policy currently being used by Sir Alex Ferguson, along with the constant switches in formation, which are stopping the side from gaining any momentum.
Rotation is an essential tool in the modern game and when you can rest players to make sure they are at their optimum for future, more difficult challenges, you most certainly should, but there’s also an argument to be made that a settled side is more conducive to success.
The state of inertia which seems to have gripped the squad so far can be dated back to just after the 3-1 away win over Braga in the Champions League, and while certainly not at their best again, United qualified for the next round with four wins from four games as they established an unassailable lead at the top of the group.
In the very next game against Norwich, courtesy of an outstanding performance from John Ruddy in the home goal, United slumped to an embarrassing and somewhat avoidable 1-0 defeat, their third in the league already so far this campaign. The midfield pairing of Michael Carrick and Ryan Giggs kept the ball but moved it far too slowly to cause the organised Canaries any undue problems, while Javier Hernandez lacked both service and support up top to have any sort of impact.
The very next game, Hernandez was brought off the bench and involved in all three goals against Aston Villa as the side came back to win 3-2, a result which always had a certain air of inevitability about it, and bringing on the Mexican striker was hailed as some sort of masterstroke and the topic of ‘super subs’ once dominated the week’s news along with Manchester City’s Edin Dzeko, completely ignoring that Ferguson has mismanaged him two games on the bounce. Meanwhile, the constant chopping and changing between Anders Lindegaard and David De Gea in goal is truly baffling and isn’t helping either player’s form or confidence.
The main problem that the side have had this season is going behind early in games, something they have suffered in 13 of their 21 matches across all competitions so far to date. They’ve also kept just three clean sheets in their 14 league outings, the third of which came courtesy of a fine defensive performance against West Ham, with both Chris Smalling and Jonny Evans superb.
Nevertheless, that is the exception rather than the rule this term and both of their title rivals – Manchester City and Chelsea – have kept six clean sheets in the league. The amount of times that they can continue to be bailed out be a fantastic and diverse forward line is not infinite and they must learn from their mistakes and where they keep going wrong.
The lack of form of several players in key areas right through the side appears to have been a motivating factor in the constant switches from a 4-4-2 to a 4-3-3 formation, while the midfield diamond system keeps making an appearance every so often, which all just helps to cover up the fact that United have an unbalanced, top-heavy squad, with very few central midfielders of genuine quality, so much so that it’s taking them three or four to control a game these days.
That Brazilian midfielder Anderson has been hailed in many quarters as enjoying something of a revival, off the back of a 15-minute cameo against QPR and a admittedly good display against Chelsea in the Capital One Cup defeat at Stamford Bridge says it all. He, along with Carrick and Tom Cleverley (does he have an actual position yet?) started against West Ham and by and large controlled the midfield, but they offered little in attack and while they shielded the back four well at times, Ferguson is still finding it tricky to compensate and get the right balance.
Of course, the switch to a 4-3-3 can be seen as little more than an admittance of the fact that the side have only one genuinely consistent winger in Antonio Valencia. Both Ashley Young and Nani are capable of producing moments of magic, the latter has made a career out of said ‘moments’, but from one game to the next, Ferguson has literally no idea what sort of performance he’s going to get from them and the answer has been to play three in the middle apparently, which has seen Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney come deep in search of the ball and occupying very similar areas, meaning the side carries less threat when playing three up top should mean more.
Against QPR, Ferguson simply got it wrong again and starting Danny Welbeck in an auxiliary left wing berth with Fletcher and Scholes in the middle and Young on he right left them short of inspiration and unable to make their possession count. The eight-minute spell aside, where they plundered three goals, neatly displaying what the side are capable with the right formula in the process, they were far from their best. A better and more confident team than the side currently found propping up the table would have made them pay, and they’ve struggled to produce a performance across the entire 90 minutes all season domestically.
We all know that United are traditionally slow-starters, and their success has allowed a degree of leniency towards this accepted fact, but why has nobody really asked ‘why does it keep happening, though?’ Their rivals, City haven’t been at their fluent best either yet, which is what makes it them so frustrating that they’re not cashing in when the teams that can challenge them are struggling.
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Ferguson seems incapable of addressing the problems in the side at the moment and in search of the answers, the needless tweaks to the side are doing more harm than good. There’s a hint of complacency about United this term, they don’t look nor feel like a team that can be champions, yet they sit at the top of the table, only serving to highlight that in terms of quality, the league is not at its strongest at the moment and that above all else, it’s really there for the taking if they can start to string some good displays together in sequence.
The 70-year-old Scot needs to find his best side, because at the moment I’m not entirely sure he knows what it is nor which formation they fit, and he needs to do it quickly, otherwise their stop-start nature around the busy festive period could come back to haunt them in May.
Sir Alex Ferguson is a man who has ever been aware that a football club must constantly move forward and improve in order to stay on top of their game. Over the years he has reinvented and reconfigured his Manchester United side to fit the needs of the modern game and maintain their supremacy in the Premier League.
But in the name of progress, some must fall by the wayside – it is the underlying law of the theory of evolution. So whom at Old Trafford needs to be moved on, for the sake of the club?
The summer transfer window is the perfect opportunity to bring in some fresh players, but also to get rid of the deadwood.
But who from the Manchester united roster should be sold for scrap in at the end of the season?
Click on Rio Ferdinand to see our five Old Trafford candidates for the transfer list
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One of the most exciting Premier League fixtures of the weekend is at White Hart Lane – Tottenham Hotspur v Chelsea FC. It sees Spurs manager Andre Villas-Boas return to his former club and the match also has a distinctly Brazilian flavour to it. Sandro will line up for Tottenham, while Chelsea boast Brazilian duo David Luiz and Oscar. Ahead of their clash at White Hart Lane on Saturday, Tottenham’s Sandro and Chelsea’s David Luiz got to grips with each other during a training session for Brazil, with Oscar and Paulinho looking on.
Can you come up with a funny caption for this picture?
Leave your suggestions in the comments section below…
This week you can win a copy of Chelsea FC: Double Champions! Season Review 2011/12 on DVD!
For Chelsea , 2011/12 was an incredible season that will live forever in the hearts and minds of players and fans alike.
The club completed an historic double, lifting The FA Cup and becoming newly crowned champions of Europe, lifting the coveted Champions League trophy following years of heartbreak, after beating four times winners Bayern Munich at their home ground in one of the most exciting Finals in recent times.
Every match and every goal from this unforgettable season are covered in this action-packed review, with bonus material thrown in, too.
For the FootballFanCast.com Caption Competition Terms and Conditions click here
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Given his declaration that Manchester United can cope without a specialist defensive midfielder this season, there’s a sense that Sir Alex Ferguson is now eating his own words.
As the world awaited their first glimpse of Robin Van Persie in a United shirt on the first Monday Night Football of the season, the need for a new defensive shield became all the more evident on an eye opening night at Goodison Park.
Van Persie’s £24 million switch to Old Trafford has unquestionably captured the imagination of United fans desperate for their team to regain the supremacy relinquished to rivals Manchester City last season. But there are question marks over whether the money used to acquire the Holland striker should have been reinvested in impoverished areas of the squad considering the abundance of attacking talent already present at the club.
On the face of it, Ferguson’s decision to sign van Persie appears rash and a reaction to City’s last ditch Premier League title triumph in May. There’s a feeling that the 70-year-old has overlooked a paucity in midfield and impulsively splurged a chunk of his budget on a player he believes will re-establish them as the dominant force in English football
That notion is strengthened given the unexpected revamp of United’s shape. With football still in the midst of a tactical evolution, prompted by Barcelona’s tiki-taka philosophy, Ferguson acted in accordance adopting a fashionable 4-2-3-1 as opposed to the trusted 4-4-2 that has brought him unprecedented success during 25 years at the Old Trafford reins.
The result of that deviation left an imbalance in the United midfield that the Red Devils’ chief has struggled to correct given his limited options and eagerness to accommodate new signing Shinji Kagawa into the starting eleven. His desire to mimic Barca’s methodology came at a cost though as his midfield were ruthlessly crushed by a vibrant Everton performance led by the imperious Marouane Fellaini.
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If the alarm bells weren’t already ringing in Ferguson’s ears by the time the Belgian had headed the Toffees into a second half lead, they should have been blaring at the final whistle. Having found himself forced to partner Michael Carrick alongside Nemanja Vidic (who was returning from a nine-month injury lay-off) in central defence on account of a crippling injury crisis, you’d imagine the inclusion of an anchor man would be an obvious pre-requisite.
But without the means of installing a layer of protection in front of the back four, Carrick and Vidic were terrorised by David Moyes’ men, in particular Fellaini, as they exploited the space afforded to them in and around the penalty area to great effect. It was an oversight on Ferguson’s part not to recognise that danger and take the necessary measures in sheltering Carrick and Vidic from a Merseyside pummelling with subsequent games against Southampton and Fulham only serving to emphasise the need for a specialist defensive midfielder.
Much was said about Ferguson’s decision to bring Paul Scholes out of retirement in January to fill a creative void in the midfield following his failed pursuit of Wesley Sneijder last summer. It appears as if history has repeated itself this year only although it’s highly unlikely the United boss will be sending an urgent SOS to Roy Keane like he did Scholes. But in prioritising the signing of van Persie he has overlooked a fatal flaw in his team that could have grave long-term ramifications.
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In a 4-4-2 he could get away without deploying a defensive midfielder but the change to a Barca style 4-2-3-1 necessitates the implementation of an anchor. Yet Ferguson continues to turn a blind eye opting for his central trio to be geared towards a possessional based game working from the mantra of ‘why win the ball back when we can keep it?’ In a similar strategy to the one applied by the Catalan giants, that sees Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta and Xavi collectively share the ball-winning duties, Carrick, Scholes and Cleverley function as deep lying playmakers with the focus on utilising their keen reading of the game and intelligent positional play.
Although it could be argued that La Liga is an entirely different environment to the robust setting of the Premier League, several of the Red Devils’ rival clubs, including City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Newcastle and Tottenham, operate with a comparable framework accommodating both a tough tackling anchor man and a player competent in retaining possession. Needless to say you can’t hold it against Ferguson for attempting to instil a flexibility to his side through the use of modern tactical concepts as the game continues to evolve. However, against stronger opponents he will endure a greater punishment for deliberately ignoring the kink in his side that could prove to be the deciding factor in the pursuit of their top-flight crown.