Weekend Round Up

An inverted Diego Forlan?

Wigan Athletic 0 Manchester United 4

The final result flattered the visiting league leaders, to say the least. A solitary goal from Javier Hernandez was all the separated the sides in a lackluster first half. United's passed the ball poorly, as they've been prone to do away from home this season, and Wigan had a number of good chances. Van der Sar was in good form, though, and as Wigan pushed forward in the second half they left their defence exposed. United scored again through Hernandez - “a natural goalscorer” a common theme amongst pundits – and then from Rooney and Fabio for a relatively easy Saturday afternoon.

Almost more interesting than the match itself was a short shot of United's players in the stands. Giggs, Obertan and Bebe sat behind Sir Bobby Charlton. While the two United legends watch attentively the youngsters fiddled with their mobiles; Obertan even wearing headphones. Its not surprising the pair failed to break down non-league Crawley Town in the FA Cup last weekend with attitudes like that.

Bayern Munich 1 Borussia Dortmund 3

All the prematch talk was about Bayern. They'd won late against Inter in the midweek and had Robben in fine form after demolishing Mainz and Hoffenheim. Dortmund, not coming off the winter break in the best of form, had the midweek to rest, however and could bury Bayern's hopes of retaining the league title.

The first half set off at a frantic pace, both sides going all out. Dortmund went ahead against the run of play through Lucas Barios but Bayern shortly equalized with a debut goal from new signing Gustavo. Only two minutes later Dortmund retook the lead with as Barios produced a great run deep into the Bayern half before Gotze laid off a pass for Sahin to finish with a curling effort from outside the box.

Bayern tried to fight back but whatever chances they fashioned were snuffed out by Mitchell Langerak, the 22 year old Australian keeper making his league debut in stunning form.

With the title all but sealed the big question is what does the future hold for this talented Dortmund side. How long with Jurgen Klopp stay as manager and how long will his talented young players stay? Against Bayern Klopp fielded a team averaging 22.3 years old. Sadly its the norm for young talent in the Bundesliga to gravitate to Bavaria. Can Dortmund build on the success this year and break the flash-in-the-pan title wins of Wolfsburg, Stuttgart and Werder Bremen? And how will Klopp's break neck attacking football play out on the big stage in Europe?

Lille 1 Lyon 1

A game which started with two early goals quickly descended into a stalemate. With both sides coming off midweek European games, Lyon's arguably the tougher of the two, and with so much at stake with Rennes winning on Saturday and Marseille on Sunday, the draw comes without too much surprise. Although Lyon have been prone to conceding away from home Lille failed to put Lyon under much pressure in the final third. The pitch was in terrible shape and certainly didn't help Lille's fast counter attacking style. In the end Lyon probably deserved to win but for a number of magnificent saves from Mickael Landreau.

So, in the tightest title race in Europe, Lille and Rennes top the table with OM one point adrift, PSG two points off and Lyon four points below. Next weekend sees another title clash with OM host Lille while Rennes travel to Montpellier, who just beat Lille 1-0 a week ago.

Palermo 0 Udinese 7

Truth be told, I stopped watching after 35 minutes. 3-0 up, away from home, and Udinese looked like they were playing a pub team. All credit to Sanchez and Di Natale, who were in superb form, but this contest ended early and just descended into a farce.

I will note that Sanchez's second goal brought a smile to my face as he did a few step-overs and rounded the keeper to slot into an empty net. Most players these days take a shot early and bend the ball around the keeper, but Sanchez's style brought back the hey-day of Serie A in the 80's and 90's and not just a hint of a couple Roberto Baggio goals. It'll be interesting to see where he ends up next season as it'd be a shock for Udinese to hold onto him in this kind of form.

The Weekend Flutter Continued...

Obviously Part 1 fell flat on it face. Not the best of debuts. But hey, you win some and you lose some. Lessons learnt all around. Think positive. That kind of nonsense.

Anyway, here are tomorrow's picks:

Stoke City vs. West Brom

Stoke are usually good at home and I still don't trust Roy Hodgson to have sorted out all of WBA's defensive problems. I'm backing them at 1.90 to win but know it'll end in a dull 1-1 draw.

Milan vs. Napoli

This should be a close match between first and second in the league. I picked Napoli on the handicap (+1) at 1.84 as I don't think Milan will win by more than a goal.

The Weekend Flutter Pt. 1

Am I really backing this man?

Saturday Edition

Everton vs. Sunderland

Although Everton have just knocked Chelsea out of the FA Cup I imagine they'll still struggle in the league. Sunderland have had a good season and Steve Bruce, having recently extended his contract with club, has built a consistent side. I'm backing Sunderland double chance (win or draw) at 2.02.

Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Blackpool

We all know Blackpool leak goals as often as they score them but I think Mick McCarthy has his side well enough organized at home to keep a low scoreline. Blackpool are also missing captain Charlie Adam. He's obviously crucial to the side. Under 2.5 Goals at 2.20. Odds were at 2.35 but I moved too slow.

Mallorca vs. Barcelona

The longest shot of the day. Barcelona are missing Puyol, Xavi, and Valdes but most importantly Mallorca are disciplined and perform well enough at home to the top sides to keep this contest close. I like Mallorca double chance at 3.00 and Under 2.5 Goals at 2.10. Good luck? Will need it.

Stade Rennes vs. RC Lens

Rennes, second place and in good form, take on Lens, second bottom and floundering. At 1.65 Rennes look good for the win.

Leicester City vs. Coventry City

Steadied under Sven-Göran Eriksson and hunting for a play-off spot Leicester City look a safe bet at home against a Coventry side that hasn't won away since November. City win at 1.50.

Rennes and Leicester all-up at 2.48

See above – two favoured sides at home.

Match of the Day

Bayern Munich vs. Borrisia Dortmund

Humdinger and probably the highlight of the weekend. A loss for Bayern and the nails will be well and truly nailed in the coffin for their title hopes. Dortmund have had a slip blip since the winter break but are still ten points clear and had no midweek matches while Bayern traveled to Milan. Too tight to put money on but too exciting to miss watching.

Better late than never...

Times have changed. Ten years ago this would not be happening: 3:00pm GMT kickoff on a FA Cup weekend and punters have packed Hong Kong bars to watch Australia and Japan contest the Asian Cup Final. Prior to the World Cup 2002 in Japan/South Korea even most football enthusiasts would be hard pressed to name an Asian footballer outside of Hidetoshi Nakata.

Since the host nations shocked the footballing world in 2002 they've given us the household names like Park Ji-sung and Shunsuke Nakamura, as well as emerging talent in Cha Du-ri, Shinji Kagawa and Keisuke Honda (not to mention adding the talent of the Australian sub-continent to the Asian Federation in 2005).

As the standard of players has increased East Asia has overhauled the Middle East as the stronger footballing force in the region. Saturday night's final was only the second occasion that a team from the Middle East failed to make the final – the other, in 2004, when China lost to Japan in Beijing. The failure of the Middle Eastern teams, not only in this Asian Cup but also at the World Cup and in World Cup qualifying, is a watershed for Asian football. Although, to be fair, Japan's rise is no recent flash in the pan – they had won three of the past five finals prior to the 2011 final in Doha.

While Japan have seen their most famous sons Nakata and Nakamura call it day with their international careers, Australia have been propelled in this Asian Cup by veterans of their golden generation – Mark Schwarzer, Tim Cahill, Brett Emerton, Lucas Neil and, in particularly good form, Harry Kewell. For these players, all in their 30's, the final was a last chance for international honours. It would be very surprising to see any of them, should they qualify, in Brazil 2014.

Leading up to the final things certainly looked positive for the Australians. They had cruised into the final, defeating Uzbekistan 6-0 in the semi-finals and Japan's young playmaker Shinji Kagawa would miss the final due to a fractured foot. Most of the smaller Asian teams had found it a tough task going up against the physically stronger Australians. Yet the only team to really match the Australians physically, South Korea, were knocked out by Japan in the semi-final – a match so open and entertaining it threatened to dwarf the final. In the end it nearly did.

While the open, end to end play extravaganza in the semi-final showed off both Korean and Japanese technical prowess, the openness of the final was due to the frantic and chaotic pace of the match. Without Kagawa pulling the strings in the midfield the Japanese had difficulty settling down and controlling the match and had to wait until the second half for their only real chance in regulation – a pinpoint cross from Yuto Nagatomo and a great header from Shinji Okazaki that just sneaked outside the post.

The Australians had the lion's share of goal scoring opportunities, and had Harry Kewell kept the same form he'd shown earlier in the tournament they would have run out quite easy winners. The best chance coming in the second half after Kewell headed the ball past the last defender but he failed to convert the subsequent one on one chance against the Japanese keeper Kawashima.

As the match progressed to the end of regulation and into stoppage time the Australians looks visibly tired – strange considering it was the Japanese who had to go all the way to penalties to secure their place in the final. Uncharacteristically slack on defense, the Australians allowed substitute Tadanari Lee to sneak unmarked into the area and finish a gorgeous volley with just ten minutes left in extra time. The cross again provided by one of the standout players of the knockout rounds left-back Nagatomo.

Japan's win, while adding to their recent domination of the event over the past twenty years also heralds the dawn of a hopeful era. Kagawa is 21 years old, captain Hasebe is 27 and Honda and Nagatomo are 24 – all already feature in the top European leagues (Nagatomo just finalised a loan deal to Inter Milan a few hours ago) and should be in their prime for the next World Cup. This summer the team will head to Argentina for the Copa América as one of two specially invited nations outside the CONMBOL region. The other nation, Mexico, will send their U-23 Olympic team reinforced with five senior players but Japan has yet to announce who they will send. While matching a full strength side against top South American opposition presents a fantastic opportunity for the side, many of the European players will be in desperate need of rest after a non-stop year at the World Cup, Asian Cup and regular club season. Still, whoever features, the experience will certainly help as the young side looks to adapt itself to competing against top international opposition.

Unfortunately as the Japanese are ascending, the Australians are at the end of their golden generation. For the core of their team, veterans of the Premier League for most of the 2000's, this was their last major international competition. At the moment we haven't seen the quality of Cahill and Kewell coming through the ranks. Qualifying for the next World Cup will be hugely significant for the national football side. Should they fail to make it to the finals in 2014 Australian football could find itself floundering in a nation already preoccupied on other sports.

So....

Does this mean Rooney will start playing better?

The State of Football

A year ago I pointed out how the media loves to blow up – or just make up – a football club's off-field problems when they are having a tough time on the pitch, specifically in the case of Portsmouth. The crisis club mantle thus far this season undoubtably falls to Liverpool but thunderclouds loom over Old Trafford.

Last year having lost arguably two of their best players in Ronaldo and Tevez, United failed to capture a fourth successive and overall a nineteenth league title, both unaccomplished feats in English football. Off the field the owners refinanced their enormous debts, kick starting the anti-Glazer “Green & Gold” movement and a highly publicized, but failed, attempt from a group of wealthy United fans, the Red Knights, to purchase the club.

On the surface consolation was found in the that United finished only one point behind champions Chelsea, a league cup title and the belief they would most likely have progressed further in the Champions League if not for an ankle injury to Wayne Rooney. In truth the injury to Rooney revealed how much the club relied on the striker in the first place. The old guard of Giggs and Scholes performed brilliantly, but by the end of the season even United fans knew changes were necessary if United were to keep up with big spending Chelsea and Manchester City.

Unfortunately for United supporters the changes this season haven't come in the expected, or desired, manner. Star player Rooney had a terrible World Cup, endured a tabloid scandal and appeared to have a loss of form until recent developments regarding his desire to leave United turned a bad situation into a potential disaster. Since the subject has already been turned inside out by anyone who has ever pretended to be a journalist, I'll try to keep things simple and present as many facts as possible.

1. The Player

As we've all read this week, Rooney wants to leave United due to concerns over the club's ability to challenge for top honors. While this is certainly believable, it's most likely a PR angle to shift the blame from himself and his Mr. Ten Percent to the club, ensuring he looks good in the papers and in the fan's eyes – espcially the anti-Glazer demographic. Even though it's true that United are not in the condition to win trophies as they were upon his arrival in 2004, it's impossible to discount the fact that he, and his agent, would stand to make a lot more money if he left than if he stayed. In fact, upon his arrival from Everton, Arsenal had just gone a whole season unbeaten and Roman Ambramovich had already begun spending silly money at Chelsea, a situation, football wise, not completely different than today. The difference then? Fiances.

2. The Club

Prior to Wayne Rooney's arrival at United the club had spent 99 million pounds on five big purchases from 1998-2002. These included Dwight Yorke, Jaap Stam, Juan Sebastian Veron, Rio Ferdinand and Ruud Van Nistelrooy. The final three of those purchases came between 2001 and 2002 and cost 76 million pounds. United were the transfer market bullies, having no English competition anywhere close to them. But in 2003 Ambramovich bought Chelsea and began his own spending spree. Still United managed to secure Rooney a year later for 27 million pounds, a world record fee for a teenager.

In 2005 the Glazers took over United, but spending stayed pretty much the same, 92 million pounds on 5 players from the take over until the summer of 2008. Then came America's financial crash, crippling the Glazer's non-United investments. Since America's recession United have spent 32 million pounds on four major purchases. No paltry sum, but it pales in comparison to previous spending and in light of Cristiano Ronaldo's 80 million pound move to Real Madrid.

The club has long claimed for the past two years that it has money spend, especially in regards to the massive Ronaldo transfer fee, but that in the current market prices have been overinflated. The fact is this never stopped United before. Previously whenever United relinquished control of the league title they spent big. In 1995 they broke the English transfer record for Andy Cole at 7 million pounds. In 1998 they purchased Jaap Stam and Dwight Yorke for 22 million pounds. In 2002, just one year after purchasing Veron for 28 million and breaking the English transfer record again, they spent 29 million pounds for Rio Ferdinand. And in 2004 they bought Rooney.

Since 2005, when the Glazer's took over the club, United have not broken the English transfer record nor splashed out in the same way to regain the league title. The 30 million pounds spent on Berbatov showed United could still throw their weight around the market, but once the US stock market crashed the club immediately took the line that the transfer market was overinflated and their policy was to spend on youth. Their oldest transfer since Berbatov's move, Michael Owen's free transfer not included, was Antonio Valencia, 24 years old when he arrived last year.

This doesn't even include all the details regarding the enormity of United's debt. On the basic face of the matter, United's behavior in the transfer market proves they are not in the same position to win trophies as they were when Rooney arrived.

3. The Manager

Finally, Sir Alex. Even rival fans would most likely begrudge Sir Alex the title of genius. He's won it all and then done it again, but on the back of a lot of money. Even before he won a title he broke the transfer record to bring in Gary Pallister. Of course Rooney isn't the first player Ferguson has bumped heads with and he managed the club to titles even after seminal figures like Ince, Stam, Beckham, Van Nistelrooy and Keane wanted away. But again, he achieved his success by spending a lot of money.

It should be noted that Ferguson has never patched things up with a player once they want away or he's had enough of them. He benched Ince, Beckham and Van Nistelrooy in a similar manner to Rooney and, in the end, it was only a matter of time before they left the club. Of course in each case he denied a rift with the player.

His own press conference earlier this week, like Rooney's, was a PR exercise in blame shifting. In Ferguson's eyes, he is Manchester United. What he does makes or breaks the teams performances. If he speaks out against the Glazers there will be internal turmoil, endless speculation, upset supporters and possibly boycotts. He won't do anything to damage the unity and belief at the club. So of course it's no surprise he takes the club's line that they have money to spend. He says he doesn't know why Rooney wants to leave and yet Rooney's statement says his representatives were clear in asking about United's intentions to remain a potent force in the transfer market. Then again Rooney said he wasn't injured and Ferguson has outlined that he was.

When it comes down to it, both Ferguson and Rooney have lied. Ferguson to protect the club and Rooney to protect himself. Normally most fans would side with Ferguson for protecting the club, but in this case, with the poor management of the Glazers its hard to understand him. Speaking to Sky TV he laughed off the question of whether he could guide United to further trophies. There's no doubt Manchester United pre-recession could rise back up, but given their clear inability to purchase world class talent, it seems more unlikely that United will win major honors with the Glazers as owners.

***

Ian Holloway made headlines today for claiming “football should look at itself” and “The game is wrong. The people in charge of the game are wrong. They are so wrong this is frightening.” While he was referring to Rooney and the Bosman ruling the message really should have been about football ownership.

It's nothing new that the clubs with the most money win the most trophies. For the most part the league table at the end of a season matches the amount of money that clubs spend on their wages. This is the way football has been since it became professional. But the problem is the amount of money involved now and the attitude towards this amount of money. The issue of club ownership and fiscal responsibility needs to be resolved immediately.

Since the inception of the Premier League we've seen the collapse of Leeds and Portsmouth and close calls with West Ham, Newcastle and Liverpool. United are tinkering on the edge and it wouldn't come as any surprise if their collapse finally signaled the start of some serious legislation on the matter of ownership, debts and club spending.

Quote of the decade

"Messi can do some amazing things, but anything he can do Joe can do as well, if not better. He used to shock us in training by doing footy tricks with a golf ball that most players can't even do with a football. I really fancy Joe for the [player of the year] award this season."

-Steven Gerrard

Why the Kool-Aid isn't appetizing

I recently received this Fox Sports column on the World Cup in my inbox. Unfortunately I can't email the writer directly (well I can but there's a word limit), so I figured I'd leave him an open letter here. Plus I feel the topic warrants discussion (aka. I feel like rambling on about something no one else really cares about or will ever read).

Dear Sir,

Firstly I must confess that I do not regularly follow your column or American sports. I do, however, respect your opinion and expect you are quite knowledgeable regarding the popular sporting competitions here in the States.

That said, I would like to mention a couple points in response to your article on the World Cup.

1.First of all it seems rather silly to start off an article by alienating the audience you wish to speak to. Shouldn't editorial journalism aim to openly discuss topics with those of a differing viewpoint? Essentially, what's the point in preaching to the choir?

2.You mention that “prejudice, for me, isn't the problem” and yet later admit if “you were raised with soccer, I'd totally get it.” This sounds like prejudice to me – a preconceived judgement or opinion – but prejudice isn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact it's unavoidable really. The issue is whether or not one can recognize their prejudices. You weren't raised with soccer, so you don't like it all that much. Seems like a normal reaction.

3.However, the constant need to discuss soccer and why it's boring and why you, as a American sports enthusiast, don't like it gets old really quick. No one else in the entire world does this. You won't find an English journalist writing an article on how dull baseball is during the World Series. Nor would you find a Chinese reporter mentioning how funny it is that American football players wear so many pads during the Super Bowl. If an American sport captures the attention of a foreign nation, such as basketball has in China, then it is followed with some interest. If it doesn't, as American football might be in China, then it just isn't discussed.

4.This leads to the main point of your whole article: you are annoyed that you have to hear so much about a sport you care so little about and which you imagine most Americans care very little about. You're a little bored this summer and need a good whine; not unlike an Englishman during alternating years between World Cups and European Championships who is forced to watched boring old cricket. Now a more interesting article would ask why anyone is trying to kick “a hole in the ancient force field” that keeps Americans from liking soccer and the likelihood of this actually happening.

5.During the World Cup in 2006 and estimated 93 million people worldwide watched each match and more than 5.6 billion people watched matches live during the entire tournament. My research might not be top notch, but the point the article makes is right on the money. American television networks crave the kind of audiences the rest of the world has when it comes to soccer. It's an untapped market here in America and like all untapped markets a demand has to be created. But what the idiotic American network executives fail to realize and what is most important about this whole issue is that sports are unlike other products. The demand for sporting events doesn't come top down through basic marketing maneuvers. The demand comes from the people. People know what sports they like and the networks have to react accordingly. No one is going to convince you that soccer is interesting by marketing it at you (which is why they got all your kids to play so they get them while they're young). Its a fake gesture, a free market capitalist cowboy attempt to wrangle in a few more dollars. The rest of the world worships soccer. Hell, the rest of the world calls it a completely different name. That's how much Americans don't care about it. And you know what? It's all right. It doesn't really matter if soccer catches on here in the States. It probably will gain popularity due to the “steady growth in the Spanish-speaking population” and a younger generation more acquainted with the game. But the rest of the world doesn't care. And really, most Americans won't care. The only people that care either stand to make money out of the sport's success in the US or are the targeted clientele who feel the need to convert everyone else.

Anyway, my response seems to be just about as longer as your original article, making the probability that you've actually read any of this very small. I hope your enjoy the sports you grew up with and I hope that you leave me to enjoy the sports that I grew up with.

Regards,
Joe Buckner