Madrid Bound Mesut Ozil

One of the longest drawn-out transfer sagas of the Summer finally reached its conclusion today as Mesut Ozil signed for Real Madrid and will undoubtedly join a cluster of stars sitting on the bench for some of the biggest games in La Liga this season.

Personally, I never felt that we would sign Ozil after Fergie decided to keep Tom Cleverley at United rather than send him on loan but that won’t stop legions of Manchester United fans from being disappointed at this development, especially as the fee is believed to be around £12million (a far cry from the £25-30million quoted during the Summer when the World Cup was on).

What would be nice to see now is for young Cleverley to be actually brought through into the first team. The game against Newcastle seemed to be the perfect game to give him a chance but he wasn’t even listed amongst the subs which was a strange one.

With the Premier League kicking off tomorrow, I thought I’d do my usual preview of the season and how I rate the various teams’ chances as we go into it.

I will start with Champions Chelsea.

It has been an unusual Summer for Chelsea as there has arguably been a weakening of the squad with Joe Cole, Carvalho and Deco all leaving although midfielder Ramires looks certain to be joining and Benayoun has also been brought in. I certainly see nothing about this to suggest that they are going to come on leaps and bounds from last season although they will clearly be right up there next May again.

Pre-season has also been pretty disappointing for Chelsea having lost several of their games including a pretty convincing 3-1 defeat to United last weekend in the Community Shield. Ashley Cole doesn’t look a happy man to me and was probably at fault for at least two of the United goals and given how big a player he is for Chelsea, I would suggest that if he doesn’t sort himself out, they will struggle a bit at the back, especially with Carvalho (who I consider their best defender over recent years) leaving.

Still, they have been there or thereabouts for the last six years and certainly know what it takes to win the League and cannot be discounted lightly but I don’t think they will retain their title this season and could even finish third.

Then we come to Manchester United. I’m obviously biased but I think we were unlucky last season with injuries that ultimately cost us dearly. To be fair, the best team probably did win the League in the end but despite our horrendous injury problems, we still kept the title race alive until the very last day and I see no reason why we can’t do something similar this season.

A massive weight was placed on Rooney’s shoulders last season but I don’t think he will have to match his goal-scoring feats of last season again and something around 25 goals in all competitions looks more likely this season because I just can’t see him having the same amount of game time this season.

The signing of Hernandez took a lot of people by surprise but it looks like a typical masterstroke from Fergie already. We still have to see how he does in the rough and tumble of the Premier League but, despite appearances, this is a strong lad who is not afraid to mix it himself and I think he will do fine. Depending on the number of games he gets, I can certainly see 15-20 goals from him this season.

And then we have Berbatov who has been mostly disappointing in his two seasons at United but I sense a change in him this summer. He has looked much more at ease with himself and the old Berbatov confidence looks to be back. What this will mean in terms of game time remains to be seen but Fergie clearly likes the Berby/Hernandez partnership and so I am sure it will be used when the situation demands it. I would expect Berbatov to enjoy a better goal return than usual this season but I still think 10-15 goals is about the most we can expect.

The area that we haven’t strengthened is the one area that most fans believe we need to strengthen the most – the midfield. Rumours about Ozil won’t go away but I still can’t see that happening and I believe Fergie is going to be giving Cleverley and Obertan a decent number of games this season. With backup from the oldies Giggs and Scholes, it will also be hoped that Carrick can rediscover his form and that Fletcher can continue to be the man for the big occasion. Anderson is unlikely to feature until October, I would suspect but if he can come back determined to make up for lost time then we will have a player on our hands again.

Valencia and Nani will also be expected to kick on from where they left off last season and Valencia in particular just seems to be getting better and better now that he is fully integrated into the team.

At the back, the re-signing of Vidic was obviously a major boost for us and the signing of Smalling has provided added cover for Rio who is clearly becoming a big injury concern for Fergie so I expect the Vidic/Evans partnership to be used far more often this season with Smalling getting a fair few chances and Rio playing his usual 1 in 3!

What all this means is that I can only see that we have got stronger this season. I do believe that the improvements to some of the younger players more than makes up for any decline we might see from the likes of Giggs and Scholes.

Given the disappointment of last season, the players will be as hungry as ever and I see no reason why we won’t be up there come next May. I believe we’ll win the League this season.

Behind these two, we have a real tussle involving more teams than ever. The days of the so-called “Big Four” are well and truly over. Arsenal, Man City, Tottenham, Liverpool, Everton and Aston Villa will all be contesting the next six places although I am inclined to believe that the order I have just given is the order in which they will finish.

Arsenal just wouldn’t go away last season despite the fact that I must have written them off at least three times and I expect them to be stronger this season due to some of their players maturing and learning from the experience of last season. Whether this will be enough to take them to the title remains to be seen and I see them in a tussle with Manchester City.

Manchester City are, as always these days, something of an unknown quantity coming into this season. With the signings of Jerome Boateng, David Silva, Yaya Toure, Aleksandar Kolarov, Mario Ballotelli and likely signing of James Milner, they will have taken their spending to well over £100million this summer alone. Given that that is basically half a team, it is going to be interesting to see how well and how quickly Mancini can get them functioning together. Keeping them all happy is also going to present a challenge for Mancini as he will undoubtedly have to rotate the personnel regularly.

If he can pull it off then clearly Manchester City are going to be a big danger but I just can’t see them winning the title. A Champions League spot looks likely though and I suspect it will be considered a failure if they don’t achieve that status at the very least.

Next up is Spurs who had a terrific season under Harry Redknap last year and clinched that Champions League spot. The challenge for them now is to maintain or improve on that position whilst actually competing in the Champions League itself (assuming they overcome Young Boys) – something a few teams have found difficult in the past. Personally, I think they will find it difficult to emulate what they achieved last season and a fifth placed finish looks likely.

Next up are Liverpool who, of course, had the season from hell last year and there has been all kinds of upheaval there over the summer with Benitez leaving for Inter and the ownership situation in something of a mess. I really did think at the end of last season that there could be something of an exodus from Anfield this summer but Roy Hodgson appears to have done a great job of convincing the high profile players that Liverpool remains a place to be to achieve their ambitions. The arrival of Joe Cole on a free from Chelsea was a good bit of business (especially when it was effectively a swap with Benayoun and a few million quid on top) but I just can’t see it being enough. They will be hoping Torres can stay clear of injury this season and if that is possible then they have a much better chance because he is possibly the best striker in the League when fit and on form but it’s not be the kind of thing I would like to rely on. I just don’t think they have what it takes to get back into the Top Four this season. They could push Spurs down into sixth but I can’t see any better than that to be honest. I think they’ll finish sixth.

Next up is Everton who also had a season from hell last season due to the most awful injury situation at the beginning of the season. Once they got their players back, they started to look like a very, very good side again and I can only believe that they will have a bit more luck with them in terms of injuries this season and that we’ll see the real Everton from start to finish. This could actually be good enough to finish above Liverpool and Spurs although I just feel that seventh is their limit.

Next up is Aston Villa who have shown that they can mix it with the big boys up to a point but always seem to collapse towards the end of the season. The fact that they have just lost their Manager, Martin O’Neill, is not good – especially so close to the start of the season. I still believe they’re a cut above most of the teams who finished below them last season but I cannot possibly see them improving on last season’s sixth place and I feel they’ll drop down to eighth this season.

Beyond this, the other teams are much of a muchness. There could be one who breaks out and rides high for a while but in the end, it is likely to be the usual suspects in mid-division.

The relegation battle, as usual, is likely to be interesting but unfortunately (for the neutrals), I don’t think it will involve quite as many teams as it did last season because the teams coming up (Newcastle, Blackpool and West Brom) are not particularly strong.

I think Blackpool are going to find themselves completely out of their depth and will be the first team to be relegated. Newcastle were woeful when they were in the Premier League a couple of seasons ago but Hughton did a brilliant job with them last season and they took the Championship title by storm, winning it by eleven points. Whether this confidence can be carried into a new Premier League season remains to be seen. Personally, I think they will do enough to stay up.

West Brom could go either way but I just have a feeling that they’re going to be in and around the relegation zone for much of the season and could eventually and up straight back down.

If Newcastle do stay up then I think Wolves or Wigan could be vulnerable. I expect West Ham to have a much better season than they did last year and will finish nearer to mid-division.

I think I will go for Blackpool, West Brom and one from Wolves or Wigan.

A Lesson In Class

And so another World Cup has come to an end and whilst most people seem to agree that the competition wasn’t quite the festival of football we had all hoped to see, that may just be the English amongst us who have rarely left a tournament with such a feeling of intense disappointment and disillusionment with our national side.

As we watched Germany not just beat us but completely humiliate us 4-1 there was one good thing that came from that defeat and it came about because of Frank Lampard’s “goal”.

In English minds, at least, we were beaten 4-2, not 4-1. Beaten as much by a stubborn old fossil who just happens to be the President of FIFA, as we were the Germans.

That Sepp Blatter has promised to look into the use of goal-line technology again after that incident is an encouraging sign and I only hope that something positive in that direction will ensue.

However, I think there’s something else that needs to be looked at and this won’t cost football any money and it is something that can be adapted from the grassroots level all the way to the very top with minimal effort.

It is a little thing that has been bugging me for quite some time now but watching the World Cup Final last night reminded me just how ridiculous a rule it is.

I am, of course, talking about booking players for removing their shirt following a goal.

Last night was always going to be historic whichever team won the game because neither nation had ever won the World Cup in their history.

The game was hard fought and goalless as extra-time ticked away and it was starting to look like history would be decided from the penalty spot. Then, up popped Andres Iniesta to bang in a superb winner with just a few minutes remaining.

It is one of those moments in life that the vast, vast majority of people will never experience. This was the World Cup Final and you have just scored the winner to make history for your nation. Just what, exactly, goes through a players’ head at that moment in time?

Well, for the classy Iniesta, his first thoughts appeared to go to compatriot, friend and fellow footballer who played alongside him as the two were coming up through the Spanish International ranks, Dani Jarque, who tragically died last year at the age of just 26.

As Iniesta wheeled away, he removed his shirt to reveal a shirt underneath with the words: “DANI JARQUE SIEMPRE CON NOSOTROS” printed on it which I believe translates as “Dani Jarque always with us”.

It was a magnificent gesture by a magnificent player and clearly a truly great man.

How does the game view such beautiful moments? Iniesta was given a yellow card for removing his shirt.

Sort it out Blatter, for pity’s sake!

Even He Neuer It Was In

As regular readers will know, I have been banging on about the introduction of video technology on this site for the last twelve months and there have been no shortage of examples during that time to make any normal person shake their head in disbelief that the most influential person in the game, Sepp Blatter, simply refuses point blank to even consider the suggestion.

Watching the England game yesterday was embarrassing and disappointing – we played badly, we were well beaten and Germany thoroughly deserve their place in the quarter-finals.

However, none of this should be allowed to detract from the fact that England were denied a clear goal which would have been picked up within half a second if Hawkeye technology was used and within ten seconds if simple video technology was used.

The debate as to whether this goal would have changed the dynamics of the game and the overall result is completely irrelevant to this argument but I’m sure we can all at least agree that scoring goals is the whole point of football and when mistakes are being made regarding this most basic, but most crucial, part of the game then the powers-that-be should be doing everything in their power to eliminate them.

Sepp Blatter has yet to comment on this latest farcical moment but he was in the crowd watching the match yesterday and he would have seen the replay on the big screen for himself. I would love to know what was going through his mind as he watched that.

Millions of people around the world had just seen a moment of sporting injustice within seconds of it happening and the fact that it was allowed to stand, despite all those people immediately knowing that it was wrong, just makes an embarrassment of the game and as this is the World Cup – the most glamorous and famous event in football – just makes it all the worse.

This embarrassment and injustice is not the fault of the referee and his assistant and I hope that he does not try to deflect it onto them. The cause of it all is down to one very powerful but very stupid man who can’t see the error of his antiquated ways even when they are shown to him on a fifty foot high screen.

I look forward to his response to this incident with great interest.

St George Defeating Germans... or Something

At 3pm this afternoon, I will be sat in front of my telly with my St George flying high as our boys take on Germany in the World Cup.

I must admit, I am not feeling quite as bullish as I was before the Slovenia game but I am quietly confident that we are going to win this game.

There will be no danger of the England team not being “up” for this one and an England team playing with pride and passion is a match for anyone in the World.

It is going to take more than pride and passion though and we are going to have to show a lot more in front of goal than we have shown so far. Rooney, in particular, needs to find his scoring boots.

Still, cometh the hour, cometh the man and the stage is set for Rooney to show the World just what he is all about. I think he will score this afternoon.

That’s all I have to say for now. I’ll leave the rest of this post to my mate Bill.

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;
Or close the wall up with our English dead.
In peace there’s nothing so becomes a man
As modest stillness and humility:
But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger;
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favour’d rage;
Then lend the eye a terrible aspect;
Let pry through the portage of the head
Like the brass cannon; let the brow o’erwhelm it
As fearfully as doth a galled rock
O’erhang and jutty his confounded base,
Swill’d with the wild and wasteful ocean.
Now set the teeth and stretch the nostril wide,
Hold hard the breath and bend up every spirit
To his full height. On, on, you noblest English.
Whose blood is fet from fathers of war-proof!
Fathers that, like so many Alexanders,
Have in these parts from morn till even fought
And sheathed their swords for lack of argument:
Dishonour not your mothers; now attest
That those whom you call’d fathers did beget you.
Be copy now to men of grosser blood,
And teach them how to war. And you, good yeoman,
Whose limbs were made in England, show us here
The mettle of your pasture; let us swear
That you are worth your breeding; which I doubt not;
For there is none of you so mean and base,
That hath not noble lustre in your eyes.
I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips,
Straining upon the start. The game’s afoot:
Follow your spirit, and upon this charge
Cry ‘God for Harry, England, and Saint George!’

NOT Coming to United

Michael Ballack has rejoined Bayer Leverkusen on a two year contract.

What has this got to do with Manchester United? Well, as he was released by Chelsea and as we are now apparently in the market for any players going on a free, it was suggested that we would be interested in bringing him to Manchester United by some mischievous little hacks.

Something I wasn’t happy about and said as much in a recent article.

The Joe Cole rumour, unlike Michael Ballack, had some legs, he’s a decent player with a good few years ahead of him but the Ballack story was a non-starter as far as I’m concerned.

Come And Get It Slovenia

Apologies for the lack of posts recently but there has been very little in the way of news on the Manchester United front and the World Cup hasn’t exactly been something to get excited about so far – especially for an Englishman.

We English are used to seeing our boys hyped up before these tournaments to the point that anything less than winning the thing would be seen as abject failure. The fans themselves are a bit more realistic. We know that we have a very good bunch of players but “forty years of hurt” has tempered our willingness to get swallowed up by the hype to such a degree.

What we want to see is our boys playing with pride and passion and for every player to give it everything. If we get that then it is usually more than enough to take care of most teams out there.

What we have seen so far as been nothing short of embarrassing. The draw with Algeria last week was probably one of the lowest moments in England’s World Cup history. Take nothing away from Algeria, they played well, they were organised and deserved their point.

England just looked devoid of passion, to a man they underperformed and those Three Lions on the shirt seemed to mean nothing to them.

However, I expect different today. The lions have been sleeping so far but they are going to come out of their slumber today. Hungry and angry, they will tear Slovenia to pieces.

Wear your England shirts with pride today because the boys are going to do us justice.

Mark my words.

Come on England!

Today I sat myself down and watched the England-Algeria game. This was a first for me, since I have not really had the time to watch a game in its entirety till now, usually flicking in and out and catching the last 20 minutes when not traveling.

The game today was abysmal from an English viewpoint, but ended quite well for the Algerians (they have given themselves a chance to progress). England by now should have been the first to qualify for the round of 16. The U.S. has a competitive edge (physical fitness) that most teams cannot boast. Throughout this world cup I’ve noticed a real drop in players energy levels towards the last 10 minutes of the game, and this is where the U.S. can capitalize. England, though, on paper look like they will be in the round of 16. However, I don’t see much progress beyond that.

Why does England perform so poorly, esp when flooded with a bunch of premier league superstars? I’ve boiled it down to three points:
1. No footballing exports from England to continental Europe. This is the main problem. The current team is loaded with players from Man Utd, ChelC and Liverpool. I find it hard to understand how bitter opponents for the last 9 months are meant to come together for a possible 7 games. Esp with the kind of end of season we just had. These guys have egos way over the majorities head. Overseas based players can help mitigate this bitterness and ego problem. Additionally exported players help provide diversity in their understanding of differing footballing customs. This is vital in terms of footballing knowledge. I hope this makes sense to you.
2. Two out of the three goalkeepers were busy fighting relegation all season. Relegation comes with conceding far higher share of goals. How I wonder can your top goalkeeper can be those that have become familiar with conceding goals rather than keeping clean sheets. This just makes no sense. Are the decision makers in the England camp really that bad in their judgements? The highest placed premier league team with an English starting keeper is Birmingham who conceeded 47 goals this past season, while both West Ham and Portsmouth conceeded 66. How the England team still refuses to go with Hart is a mystery. Further, the strongest league in the world does not have an English starting keeper amongst its top 8 teams.
3. There is no system! Who is the pointman? Rooney, Gerard, Lampard???? This team has had an awful long time to be built around certain players. Watching this World Cup and seeing Rooney playing almost in your own third (defending) should be an embarrassment to all the players. The lead striker playing everywhere but upfront. Are the players tired after a gruelling season? I highly doubt so. What I see is a complete lack of will on the part of management and players. Probably making difficult decisions is not part of this England management team’s responsibility. Plenty of people want to see Joe Cole. My problem with that is that out of the starting 11, 8 would be from Man Utd, ChelC or Liverpool. And this again points to a clash of egos and bitterness.

Hi all,

This commences the first post for me on The Red Devil blog. Some thoughts on the new schedule follow, but first factors which will play lead roles in who from the big 4 will claim the crown come May 2011. My account of the big four this coming season is Utd, ChelC, Man CT, and Arsenal.

Leading factors

1. The weather – how many games shall be postponed and cramped much closer to crunch time

2. Performance of the medical department – Utd’s medical dept was absolutely out of wack last season as was Arsenal’s

3. Performance and run in domestic cups

4. Sky Sports – how many games will be rescheduled for early kick-offs following CL games

5. Adaptation to the new 25-man squad rule

6. Performances and run in CL – looking for a very strong Utd performance this season. Man CT will be competing in Europa so their analysis is related to such

7. 12th man – Utd fans have to make a choice at some stage as the protests will at some point begin to impact  player performance

2010-2011 season should see relatively weaker performances from Liverpool and Tottenham, and stronger performances from Everton, Blackburn, Sunderland, Fulham, Birmingham City and Villa.

In regards to the upcoming season:

ChelC seem to have the easiest start. Their first 10 games sees them face Man CT, Arsenal, Villa and Rovers from the main 12 teams in the premier league. Man Utd in their first 10 face Fulham, Everton, Liverpool, Sunderland and Tottenham. Arsenal shall face-off Liverpool, Rovers, Sunderland, ChelC, Birmingham City and Man CT. In turn Man CT will have to contend with Tottenham, Liverpool, Sunderland, Rovers (this is their first 4 games…wow!), ChelC and Arsenal.

The last 10 games AGAIN sees ChelC have the easier ending. From the main 12, they face Man CT, Tottenham, Man Utd and Everton. United in turn have Liverpool, Fulham, Everton, Arsenal, Chelsea and Rovers (4 of their last 5 games are going to be critical). Arsenal face Sunderland, Rovers, Liverpool, Utd, Villa and Fulham. Man CT shall be prviledged with ChelC, Sunderland, Liverpool, Tottenham, Rovers and Everton.

This almost looks like the season organizers have basically afforded ChelC the crown on a silver plate. However, stronger opposition towards the end of the season can be quite desirable especially if a strong run is made in the champions league.

Who Would Have Foreseen This Twenty Years Ago?

Far away from Manchester, Florida, PIKs and Debts, all eyes will be on South Africa tomorrow and I, for one, will be glad for that.

Yes, the World Cup is now just one day from kick-off.

First up is the match between hosts South Africa and Mexico. I’ll be watching as much of this one as possible and hoping to see our own Chicharito doing the business on the big stage.

Later tomorrow, is Uruguay against France and our own Patrice Evra has been named as Captain (reportedly causing some annoyance for William “Permasulk” Gallas). United fans will know that if there’s one player in the French team who deserves that armband, it is Evra.

A genuine player who gives 100% in every game, a role model on and off the pitch and, as far as I am aware, has never deliberately handled the ball in the penalty area in order to qualify for the World Cup.

All this is just for starters. The day after we have, of course, England against the USA but I intend to cover that one in a bit more depth tomorrow.

It promises to be a great tournament. I can hardly wait.