The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion
The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion |
| United tries to play Rio, but I say ‘no, no, no’ Posted: 24 Oct 2011 04:32 PM PDT  Ferdinand falling short yet again as Edin Dzeko scores his second goal for Manchester City. — Reuters pic Ferdinand made an unwanted encore presentation against Manchester City and, having kept an eye on him in all the matches he has featured in this season, it is very much time to say, "Go Rio Go". The slow but sure decline in performance and a loss in appetite has made Ferdinand a liability. The wrong-footed challenge on Charlie Adam in last week's encounter with Liverpool at Anfield was for me the biggest sign that Ferdinand seems to have lost interest. He will play well in the next two games if selected but the rot set in a very long time ago. Excuses in football go hand-in-hand and injuries will happen but some players have to be true to themselves and accept when the clock ticks faster than them. Yes, Ferdinand has lost the qualities and leadership drive that made him a good defender. The left-back position is there for the taking, too, as Patrice Evra struggles with personal issues when previously he used to just whack an opponent and get on with it. The baggage of the French debacle at South Africa 2010 has proven he is not a leader of men but a foot soldier. Trusted with responsibility, as he wore the skipper's armband against City, he has proven to be incapable. The second half performance from him on the weekend was shocking. The troops needed to be rallied after going a goal down and Jittery Jonny was sent off, but instead the skipper goes missing. The future is now for Sir Alex Ferguson to play Chris Smalling and Phil Jones together in central defence and build the team around them. The Da Silva twins have proven incapable of being top stars and the need for fullbacks is urgent. It might need a trip to Holland to entice Gregory van der Wiel from Ajax Amsterdam before Chelsea, as it has been rumoured, step in. This young right back would fit seamlessly into the United style of play. I did write following last week's draw on Ferguson's wise strategy to play the defensive tactic as opposed to an all-out attacking approach at Anfield because playing Wayne Rooney, Chicarito and Nani from the start might have seen United down by two or three goals at half-time. Some readers, United fans obviously, had good-naturedly questioned my judgment, saying I was wrong and that the opposite approach would have seen United up instead. Well, my comments have been vindicated with the disastrous showing at the "Theatre of Nightmares" on Sunday. I do wonder though, when Ferguson sent out the defensive-minded team at Anfield, was he trying to tell us something or trying to hide the flaws? Anyhow, to be positive, this thwacking at the hands of Manchester City could be the day a new United was born. Elsewhere, the bravery of Andre Villas-Boas has to be commended as he went into an all-out attacking mode despite playing with nine men. It was indeed the right tactic as Queen's Park Rangers struggled for long periods but bravely hung on. This physical effort will hit Chelsea within the next week or so and this is where their squad strength will be key. At the Emirates, the sight of Robin van Persie on the bench drew gasps but the choice of Maroune Chamakh was to simply add aerial ability against silky Stoke City. After the battle was won, van Persie came on to win the war. Now, that's what a captain is supposed to be doing for his team, reversing a downward slide be it in a single game or during a bad period within a season . . . and boy, has the Dutchman's goals and efforts turned around what was a disastrous start for the Gunners' this season. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Top-four Newcastle: Here to stay? Posted: 24 Oct 2011 04:27 PM PDT OCT 25 — While the majority of this weekend's attention was focussed on the Manchester clubs slugging it out at the top of the Premier League table (and I can't think of anything to say about that game apart from "Wow!"), Newcastle United quietly continued their highly impressive start to the season with a hard-fought 1-0 home win over Wigan. Newcastle have now picked up 19 points from an unbeaten opening nine games, establishing an early place in all-important the top four of the Premier League. Their strong form has largely been based on solidity at the back — with just six goals conceded in those opening nine games, they can boast the meanest defensive record in the league. They've been less effective at the other end of the field, scoring just twelve goals, and their lack of offensive firepower was painfully evident through the majority of Saturday's victory over Wigan, which seemed destined for a 0-0 draw until summer signing Yohan Cabaye provided an 82nd minute winner. But let's put the quibbling aside and acknowledge that it's been an unexpectedly strong start to the season for Alan Pardew's side, who were widely regarded as relegation candidates after losing important players Andy Carroll, Joey Barton, Kevin Nolan and Jose Enrique and not spending heavily to replace them. Pardew has done a great job to steady the perennially rocky Newcastle ship since he was controversially appointed to replace the popular Chris Hughton nearly a year ago. To say that Pardew was a surprise choice for the St James' hotseat (and believe me, the manager's chair at Newcastle is a hot one indeed) is an enormous understatement. He had recently been sacked by third tier Southampton and hadn't managed in the Premier League since 2007 when he was handed an unexpected return to the top flight by Mike Ashley, the Newcastle chairman whose unpopularity with his team's supporters is probably unmatched by any other team owner. Pardew was initially regarded by sceptical Newcastle fans as an Ashley puppet; somebody who would quietly sit on the bench and do what the chairman told him without causing any fuss. Anybody who knows Pardew — as I do, having worked with him for five years at the start of his managerial career with Reading — would immediately dismiss that notion because Pardew is a strong-minded, confrontational figure who will only do things one way: his way. But Newcastle supporters didn't see it like that: they didn't know anything about their new manager and had expected a more high-profile appointment than somebody who had just been sacked by a League One club. When star striker Carroll was sold to Liverpool in January, despite earlier assurances to the contrary, the mood of Newcastle supporters hardly improved — especially when nobody was signed to replace the departing frontman. But Pardew was unperturbed, calmly continued to mould his squad to mirror his own positive, hard working, no frills attitude, and achieved a decent set of results towards the end of last season, comfortably avoiding the relegation struggle that many fans had feared. Having first distrusted him, the passionate Geordie fans gradually learned to tolerate Pardew. Now, with their team unbeaten nine games into the new season, they're slowly starting to like him — even if he's still a long way from enjoying the hero worship that was meted out to Kevin Keegan and Alan Shearer in days gone by. The question now is whether they can sustain their impressive start to the season – are they in the top four to stay, or will their bright start soon fade away? Much as I'd like to say otherwise, I'm afraid I think it will be the latter. Although Pardew's side should be more than capable of maintaining a place in the top half of the table, I can't see them staying in the top four, or even the top six. Their lack of firepower will soon start to cost points. Modern football is more about scoring goals than keeping them out, and a strike force of Demba Ba, Leon Best and Shola Ameobi just won't win enough games to keep them in the hunt for a place in next season's Champions' League. Another reason to suggest that Newcastle are currently in a false position is that the fixture list was very kind to them in these opening two months of the season. Apart from Arsenal and Tottenham, who both gained draws at St James' Park, they've been handed a series of fixtures against lower-ranked teams including Wigan, Fulham, Wolves, Blackburn and Sunderland. That all changes soon, with consecutive games against Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea coming up in the next month or so. If Newcastle can come through those testing fixtures with their unbeaten record still intact, they might convert a few more believers. For now, though, Newcastle's long-suffering fans won't be thinking too far into the future. They'll simply be enjoying a rare opportunity to savour their team's lofty status, however temporary it might prove to be. Just don't expect them to give Mike Ashley any credit. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
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