Cheltenham Thoughts

Well well well, all sorts of developments have been going on at Cheltenham. It all started with the Rochdale game in which the Robins put in an abject display and went down 2-0. After that, Scott Brown gave an interview in which he revealed that one player (or two players according to some reports) had openly admitted to Mark Yates that they’d not been trying. It’s not clear whether this means in that particular session or during the season as a whole.
For a player to not put in the effort is one thing but to openly admit it to the manager is abhorrent and I don’t wish to see that player in a Cheltenham shirt again. I don’t care who it is, even if it’s Super Sido who I adore, they’ll have lost my respect not only as a player but as a person too.

Paul Baker has promised that the one/two in question will not play for the club again and will be named and shamed. Excellent. In all the fall out, it was announced that assistant Neil Howarth will not be at the club next season and Mark Yates has agreed in principle a new one year contract. According to some this makes him a “bottler”. I’m not entirely sure how promising to sack the non trying one/two, making a change of assistant manager (which can at some clubs be as important as changing the manager himself) and reducing Yates’ term from two years to one is in any way bottling.

On to Yates’ deal then, I seem to be in the minority of people that agrees with it. He didn’t deserve two years, but he has deserved one. If in October or November we’re in the mire, we can afford to get rid and it would give a new manager time to push us up the league. As York showed you can be 21st at Christmas and finish 6th.
We haven’t had the best of seasons this year to put it mildly. I for one was hoping for a top 3 push, we’ll make top half at best this year. Yates does make some frustrating tactical decisions (that bloody diamond) and struggles to change a game but a lot of dropped points have come for individual that he can’t really be blamed for. Look at the Wimbledon game, he had his tactics spot on then the players decided to commit footballing suicide. I think he deserves a chance to get us out of the mess that he (according to some) has got us in to.

We could have sacked him in 2011 after a dismal end to the season. We didn’t, and he repaid us with a play off final and a play off semi. We know he is capable of building a good squad. We know he is capable of getting us playing great football-who can forget the way we swept aside a good Southend side.

The summer is big. Get the right players in, we can have a memorable season for the right reasons, get the wrong players in and we Cheltenham fans will be feeling very depressed around this time next year.

I think it’s a shame some of our fans seem to almost relish the opportunity to have a pop at Yates. Of course according to them, a player admitting to not giving his all for the Cheltenham cause is Yates’ fault. Yes, you can say that Yates should be able to motivate the players but sadly there are some people in life who are just bad eggs. In education, you can have the most inspiring, passionate and knowledgable teacher known to man but there’ll still be one student who just doesn’t want to learn.

I think I may have mentioned in a previous blog the jibes he got for attending a coaching course in Turkey. A “holiday” according to some. Yes, how very dare a football manager attend a course designed to develop and improve his skills in his chosen profession. What absolute moronic manager would want to continue to learn.

Then there’s his interview skills. Yes, sometimes he can come across a bit grumpy, especially after a bad result but I imagine I would too if I had a microphone thrust under my nose right after my team had disappointed. We had a charismatic, media savvy manager before and that worked out brilliantly didn’t it.

The Lowe/Penn sale hasn’t helped him either. We deemed them surplus to requirements and they helped take York into the play offs. In football you have to gamble, and sometimes they don’t pay off. Yates needed the money from Lowe and Penn to bring in some fresh blood. For a variety of reasons that hasn’t worked out. Things could have worked out differently; York could have languished near the bottom and David Noble could have remained fit and guided us to the play offs. In the summer we might buy two players who become more of a success for us than Penn and Lowe were.

There are some wanting to create a poisnous atmosphere against Dagenham by booing and calling for Yates’ head. That’s not doing the players any favours. Yates deserves better than being subjected to abuse from the stands. If the atmosphere was a poisnous as it’s being suggested it might be, I wouldn’t blame Yates at all for turning his back.

I’d also like to give my thanks to Neil Howarth, a great right hand man and by all accounts a top person. He seemed to play good cop to Yates’ bad cop which I felt worked well for the most part. Of course now he’s gone, the same small number of fans who asked what the point of him was will act as though he was the messiah.
As for who should replace him, many are suggesting Steve Elliott and I’d be inclined to agree. He’s been around the block, he’s passionate, a leader and commands respect. Someone like Grant McCann would also be good.

Going on to the summer, I don’t expect McGlashan to be here, nor do I expect Deering, Vincent, Taylor and Noble to be. Cureton and CBB I’d put in the unlikely category. Cureton some are saying should stay but I don’t think he’s quite done enough and I feel he’s going downhill.

So what we need then. A goalkeeper possibly if Brown doesn’t sign a new contract. A right back maybe to provide back up for Sido or to replace him. I’d maybe take a look at Hodgkiss who’s been released by Forest Green, or maybe give Mitch Brundle a try. One centre half in the Steve Elliott mould-I’ve always believed that a good CB pairing should have one brutish type and one who’s a little more quick and elegant. A left back is imperative because CBB isn’t good enough to be first choice and Matt Richards doesn’t like playing there.
The midfield also needs a lot of work. We need a deep lying playmaker type, in the Marlon Pack mould who will control play from deep. We also need a tough tackling midfielder who simply breaks play up, what Taylor was supposed to be. Then we need a duracell man, a Russ Penn type who pops up everywhere and plays box to box. Of course we also need a left winger to replace Vincent who will surely be off. Finally, a poacher up front, someone who’ll get us 15-20 goals along with Harrison.
One name that’s been banded about is Yan Klukowski who’s just left Forest Green. A central/attacking midfielder who has an eye for goal and is the New Lawn club’s all time record scorer.
So really we need about 8-9 new players. Building almost a whole new team like that is very risky. In 2011-12 we bought in Duffy, Penn, Summerfield, Jombati, Mohamed, Spencer, Bennett and later down the line Garbutt; Butland and McGlashan. What a team that was. Then you get cases like Bury who also tried to assemble a whole new team and it nearly proved disastrous. However, while it hasn’t quite worked out this season I trust Yates’ eye for a player.

There are an increasing number of fans who are promising to stay away next season and seem very keen to make this known. Personally, I’d still want to go to games if we were getting whipped every game, simply because I love the club. I’m sure these “fans” will come crawling back if we draw a big club in the league cup. It’s strange, these fans are probably the sorts who criticise “glory hunters” yet all but give up on the team when they’re not playing as well as one would hope? With reference to a post on the Robins Nest Forum, imagine this conversation between a Coventry and Cheltenham fan:

Cheltenham: What made you stop going to watch Coventry?
Coventry: After years of terrible management off the pitch, we’ve suffered Administration and this club that was once a mainstay in the Premier League now sits near the bottom of League 1. Our useless owners took the decision to move from our stadium in Coventry to a ground about 30 miles away in Northampton. That was the final straw for me. Why don’t you go and watch Cheltenham?
Cheltenham: After a play off final followed by a play off semi final, along with playing Spurs and Everton in the FA Cup and West Ham in the League Cup, we only finished mid table this year. I just couldn’t take any more.

Unlike many, I’m excited for the close season and the season to come. It’s a mystery box for me. We could be mid table floaters, relegation battlers or contending near the top. Write this season off as a bad job and come back stronger next year.

Mansfield Away-A Game Missed.

I was supposed to go to Mansfield V Cheltenham yesterday. Up until Monday morning I debated whether I wanted to make the journey up there and eventually made the decision. Alas, when I got on the train I was informed that the game was all ticket, meaning if you hadn’t already bought one you weren’t getting in.

This left me with three options:
1. Chance the Mansfield staff being lenient
2. Sneak into the home end
3. Go to another game.

So when the train got to Nottingham I went for option 3 and went to Notts County V Crawley. It was a decent game and finished 1-0 to Notts. Cheltenham won 2-0 which I was happy with. Webwon, but I didn’t miss a thriller or an all time classic. If we’d won 6-1 or 6-5 I’d have been mad with anger at my decision.

It seems a bit of a strange rule to have for me. OK it’s understandable for teams like Portsmouth and Plymouth who will very likely fill the 1800 capacity away end, or rivals like Chesterfield but this is Cheltenham, a team that has no rivalry with Mansfield, would expect to maybe bring 200 odd fans at best and has no real reputation for troublesome fans. It was also pretty much an end of season dead rubber. Would it not make more sense for them to make it advanced sale but if only a small amount has been sold open it to matchday sales? Quite a few fans decide on the day whether they’re going to a game. At least with me it’s “do I want to make a 5 and a half hour round trip to Mansfield for a meaningless game? I’ve never been to Mansfield and we play well away from home. But look at that train journey.”
I think a few clubs-I know Northampon do- only allow fans to buy tickets from a ticket office rather than paying cash at the turnstiles but in those cases you can actually buy a ticket up until kick off. When I saw some mention of needing a ticket I think I just assumed it was that.

In the time I’ve watched Cheltenham, I think there’s been I think 4 times I’ve had to buy a ticket in advance. Two were home games, against Leeds and against Everton in the FA Cup, one was Spurs away in the FA Cup and the other was the play off final. Other than that, even against Hereford which you’d think might be made all ticket I was able to pay on the day. In fact, I’d have more expected the game I went to between Stamford and FC United to be all ticket than this one due to the large following FCUM took.

Yes, I should really have known about the all ticket thing before I got on the train but I didn’t really think to check. If it had been a title decider or something I’d have probably called the club and checked. It was mentioned I believe during the Fleetwood game but I wasn’t there. I also don’t follow the club on twitter. Nothing against the club twitter account, I just figured that if there was any news of note I’d either see it discussed on the Robins Nest Forum or see it discussed on twitter. I barely look at the official site either for that reason.

In any case, no matter if I should have known or not, it strikes me as a rather odd rule. Doing a bit of reading around it seems Mansfield fans themselves don’t disagree. Anyway, no harm done, we got a win which by sods law probably wouldn’t have happened . And Notts County V Crawley was a decent enough game with a great atmosphere.

Why David Moyes Deserves The Sack

Now David Moyes has been sacked, there are the usual comments about how the decision is harsh and how the club should have stuck by him. I disagree.

The key fact is that Moyes was clearly not up to the job. Not just in results, which were way below the expectation of even the most pessimistic Man Utd fan, but in performances too.

The first of his problems was that he didn’t have a particular style. You couldn’t say “Moyes favours a high tempo pressing game” or “Moyes’ teams always play long ball” there was just no identity. Brendan Rodgers may well have come 7th in his first season at Anfield along with being knocked out of the FA Cup by Oldham but you could tell his team were a work in progress and that eventually they’d come good. That simply wasn’t the case with Moyes. There’s never been any hint of a plan coming together.

Judging by flat performances in the majority of big games this season, he was clearly unable to motivate the players. In the Liverpool home game for example they looked less than half-arsed. Quarter-arsed would be a stretch.

A lot are saying that he inherited a poor squad but that poor squad won the league by 11 points. And as much as people say it was due to the other teams being poor, they got 89 points. It would most likely have been more had they not eased off when the title was won. They won about 25 of their first 30 games. It’s not like they relied heavily on other teams losing.

There’s also that stat that shows he made a better start than Sir Alex Ferguson. Yes maybe he did but he took over the champions whereas Sir Alex took over an average mid table side.

Yes managers should be given time but in cases like this one when it is clear he’s not the man for the job you can’t really risk another season or so of bad results on the off chance your club might have a similar situation to one that happened over 20 years ago. It could be hugely damaging to the club’s reputation if they had another season languishing in 7th place.

No one really expected Moyes to win a title in his first season. But at the very least he was expected to challenge for a top four spot and maybe win a cup. He has failed to do that with some aplomb. Even his comments in the press showed he wasn’t Manchester United material. “We’ll try and make it hard for Newcastle” for example.

There were baffling tactical decisions too, like not making any subs against Liverpool for around 75 minutes before bringing on Welbeck and Cleverley and the rather odd Valencia for Evans sub against Everton on Sunday. Having The Game Of 1000 Crosses against Fulham with their big defenders but playing narrow against Liverpool when a wider game would have made more sense. For the first leg against Olympiakos he rested players despite there being around 10 days until the next league game, making wholesale changes from the side that performed perfectly well against Crystal Palace.

If I started a job as a car salesman and was given a three year contract and six months in had failed to even come close to selling a single car I’d expect to be sacked. I wouldn’t expect to be kept on the off chance I might suddenly become the best car salesman in all of the land. If my sales patter was decent and there was potential then maybe but that just isn’t the case with Moyes. He showed no sign of progress whatsoever and just looked miles out of his depth. He’ll probably come back and do well for a club like Newcastle or Aston Villa but Manchester United was just not for him.

Football Manager Experiment 2: Moyes and Mourinho swap jobs

I also swapped round the coaching staff at each club, so Moyes and Mourinho had the same first team coaching staff they have in real life.4

Pre season: Mourinho snaps up PSG’s midfielder Blaise Matuidi for a cool £3.5M. Meanwhile Moyes brings Miralem Pjanic to Stamford Bridge for £12.5M. Antonio Valencia is sold to PSG for a fee of £14.25M. Moyes’ second buy is a youngster. Richairo Zivkovic joins from Groningen for a free transfer that could rise to £1.6M. Mourinho’s second buy is Andros Townsend, who joins for £9M. As expected Mourinho lifts the community shield but it’s not easy; a late Kagawa goal sees the Red Devils beat Wigan 3-2.

August: Both managers make winning starts, with United winning 2-1 at Southampton and Chelsea 2-0 at Hull. However Mourinho loses Andros Townsend for two months with an injury. Chelsea continue their winning start against Liverpool but United fall to a 1-0 loss at home to Cardiff. Moyes’ good start continues as he lifts the Super Cup with a 1-0 win over Bayern. Mourinho returns to winning ways with a 2-0 win at Hull. Moyes’ good first month sees him win the manager of the month award.

September:
Moyes concludes his transfer business by spending £3.4M on Middlesbrough’s Jordan Jones. September begins with a win over Swansea. The two managers meet and Mourinho comes out on top in a 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge, Mata among the scorers. Both sides start well in the Champions League. United win 2-0 at Ajax while Chelsea win 3-0 at Steaua. Mourinho’s first taste of the Man Utd/Liverpool rivalry is relatively disappointing. Goals from Nani, Rooney and Van Persie put them 3-1 up on 19 minutes after Aspas’ early opener. However Coutinho and Sturridge strike back for a 3-3 draw. Chelsea also draw, 1-1 at White Hart Lane. Both teams easily progress to the fourth round of the league cup, with away wins against Reading and Chelsea, both by four goals to nil. Mourinho then leads his men to an impressive 4-1 home win against Spurs. After 6 games, both teams have 13 points, with United just ahead on goal difference. Moyes ties John Terry and Ashley Cole down to new contracts, while Mourinho does the same with Nemanja Vidic.

October: Both sides win at home against Italian opposition. Chelsea beat Milan 2-1 while Man Utd are 2-0 victors over Napoli. In the league, Man Utd are held 1-1 at home by Swansea and Newcastle win 2-1 at Stamford Bridge. Mourinho then oversees a 1-0 loss at Villa Park while Chelsea also lose, this time 2-1 at West Ham. Both sides return to form in the Champions League. Man Utd win 2-0 at Lyon and Chelsea beat Copenhagen 2-0. Man Utd return to winning ways in the league with a 1-0 success at West Ham but Moyes continues to suffer as Norwich come from behind to win 2-1. Both teams win in the Capital One Cup, Chelsea with a routine home win against Sheff Weds, Man Utd edge out Liverpool 1-0 at Anfield. After 9 games each, Man Utd sit in 4th with 17 points while Chelsea languish in 8th with 13.

November: Newcastle hold Man Utd to a goalless draw at Old Trafford, meanwhile Chelsea return to winning ways with a 2-1 win over Crystal Palace. Both teams continue their impressive 100% Champions League records. Chelsea win 3-0 in Copenhagen and Man Utd see off Lyon 2-0. Man Utd again draw at Old Trafford, 0-0 with Crystal Palace. Chelsea easily beat Everton 3-0. Both sides then win away by two goal margins. Man Utd 2-0 at Norwich, Chelsea 3-1 at Fulham. Champions League form continues as Man Utd thrash Ajax 4-0 and Chelsea beat Ajax 3-0. Chelsea’s good form ends however as Arsenal win 2-1 at Stamford Bridge. Man Utd fare better, beating Everton 4-0. The month ends with Lampard and Evra sealing two and three years contracts respectively. After 13 games, Man Utd are 3rd with 25 points while Chelsea are 5th with 22.

December: Chelsea hold leaders Man City to a 1-1 draw at the Ettihad. Man Utd also draw but their result is more disappointing. 1-1 at Fulham. Rio Ferdinand is handed a new 2 year contract before Man Utd lose 3-1 to Arsenal at Old Trafford, despite taking the lead through Nani. Chelsea are held to a 1-1 draw against a West Brom side who go down to nine men. Man Utd complete a 100% Champions League record with a 3-0 win at Napoli. Chelsea’s 100% record slips with a 2-2 draw in Milan. Wayne Rooney is handed a new five year contract and United match Chelsea’s result at the Ettihad. Chelsea meanwhile need a late Oscar strike to beat Sunderland. Both sides reach the semi final of the League Cup with 3-1 home wins; Man Utd against Newcastle and Chelsea against Fulham. Chelsea are then surprisingly well beaten 3-0 at St Mary’s. Man Utd fare better however, overturning a 1-0 half time deficit to beat Sunderland 3-1 at the Stadium of Light. Both sides secure boxing day wins at home; Man Utd edge out West Brom 2-1 and Chelsea see of Stoke 3-1. Man Utd leave it late to beat Stoke 1-0 at Old Trafford, Chelsea fall to a shock home defeat against Cardiff. Man Utd then end 2013 with a 1-1 draw at Cardiff. Juan Mata wins the World Player Of The Year award thanks to some great performances for Mourinho’s men. At the end of December, Man Utd are 3rd with 37 points from 20 games. Chelsea are 5th with 30 having played a game less.

January: Moyes starts the month with a 2-2 draw at Anfield before falling to a shock home defeat to Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup, 2-1 despite being 1-0 ahead at the break. Shinji Kagawa signs a new 4 year contract at Old Trafford as a late Van Persie equaliser completes a fightback from 2-0 down at Fulham in the cup. Central Midfielder Milan Badelj comes to Old Trafford for £7.75M from Hamburg. The first leg of the League Cup semi is won by Man Utd, 2-1 at Old Trafford. Hernandez’ double cancelling out Ramires’ opener. Both teams pick up 2-1 home wins with Chelsea defeating Hull and Man Utd edging out Southampton. Man Utd progress to the fourth round with a 2-0 replay win against Fulham. Both sides win in the league again; Chelsea win 2-1 at Swansea while Man Utd beat Hull 3-1. Alex Buttner is sold to Newcastle for £2.1M while Mourinho’s men book a Wembley spot with Kagawa scoring the only goal at Stamford Bridge in the second leg. Man Utd are again taken to a replay in the FA Cup, this time drawing 1-1 at Stoke. Man Utd end the month with a 0-0 draw at Anfield, while Chelsea pick up an impressive 3-0 win over Spurs. With 23 games played each, Man Utd are 3rd with 44 points while Chelsea are 5th with 40.

February:
The spoils are shared at Old Trafford as Eto’o and Van Persie exchange first half strikes. Man Utd exit the FA Cup with a surprise 2-1 home defeat to Stoke then draw 0-0 at White Hart Lane. Chelsea edge out Aston Villa 1-0. Mourinho then returns to winning ways with a 3-0 win at Swansea, while Chelsea are beaten 2-0 at Newcastle. Chelsea get a vital away goal in a 1-1 draw at Schalke, thanks to a late Eden Hazard goal. However they suffer from what is known in some places as the “Fifa Virus” as they slip to a 2-1 home reverse at the hands of West Ham. Man Utd have a better weekend, winning 3-1 against Aston Villa with Hernandez netting a hat trick. Man Utd then get an away draw in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 as Ryan Giggs strikes with 10 minutes left to earn a 2-2 draw against Benfica. The month ends with Man Utd 4th, with 52 points from 27 games and Chelsea 5th on 44, having played the same amount. Meanwhile, Rene Meulensteen’s Fulham sit a point and a place above Man Utd.

March: Chelsea fall to another defeat, this time 3-2 against Crystal Palace. Mourinho wins his first significant trophy as Man Utd manager as Kagawa’s second minute goal beats Man City in the League Cup final. Tom Cleverley signs a new 3 year deal and David De Gea extends his stay for another 4 years. Chelsea return to winning ways with a 3-1 win at Everton, while Man Utd win 2-1 at Selhurst Park. However Robin Van Persie is ruled out for the season. Two goals from Demba Ba see Chelsea 2-0 victors over Schalke. Man Utd are in league action in the same midweek, beating Newcastle 2-1 away before beating West Ham 2-0 at Old Trafford. Chelsea end a good week with a 4-1 romp against Norwich. Man Utd need a late Javier Hernandez equaliser to draw 1-1 against Benfica and progress on away goals. Man Utd then see of Norwich 2-0 while a late Demba Ba goal sees Chelsea beat Fulham 2-1. Both sides end the month with defeats. United going down 1-0 at Everton and Chelsea losing 3-2 at Arsenal. Despite that defeat, Mourinho still picks up the manager of the month accolade. With 32 games played, Man Utd are 3rd with 64 points, Chelsea are 5th with 53.

April; Man Utd take a big step towards the Champions League semi finals by beating Porto 3-1 with new signing Badelj getting a brace. Chelsea however are left with an uphill task after losing 1-0 at home to Real Madrid. Chelsea’s bad start to the month continues with a 2-0 reverse at West Brom. Man Utd meanwhile see of Arsenal at the Emirates by a Juan Mata goal to nil. Real Madrid repeat the first leg score to knock Chelsea out of the Champions League while United also crash out as Porto win 2-0 to take the tie on away goals, then lose 1-0 at home to Fulham the following weekend. Chelsea fare better, beating Man City 3-1 at home. Man Utd are next to host Man City, but can only draw 1-1. Chelsea meanwhile beat Sunderland 3-1. They follow it up with a 2-1 win at Stoke but Mourinho’s shaky April ends with a 2-0 loss at West Brom. With 4 games left in the league, Man Utd sit 4th with 68 points while Chelsea are 5th with 62,

May: Both Chelsea and Man Utd draw 1-1 away in their penultimate games. Chelsea at Cardiff and Man Utd at Stoke. Petr Cech extends his stay at Stamford Bridge for another 4 years. Both sides also draw their final games, this time at home. Man Utd draw 1-1 with Sunderland while Southampton pick up a goalless draw at Stamford Bridge. Juan Mata is named Football Writers footballer of the year while Oscar wins the PFA player of the year award. Man Utd finish 4th with 70 points while Chelsea finish 5th with 64. Relatively disapponting seasons though Mourinho is consoled a tiny bit by League Cup success.

So it seems that in FM terms at least, Moyes struggles at Chelsea almost as much as he does at Man Utd. Mourinho meanwhile has a respectable season with what many say is a poor Man Utd side.

Football Manager Experiment 1: Gary Neville as Man Utd manager

This is the first of hopefully a series of experiments conducted using the popular management sim Football Manager 2014.

While FM prides it self on being a highly accurate reflection of the real world of football, the results of these experiment do not of course indicate that the following course of events would happen in real life. It’s mainly a bit of fun.

So onto the first “what if” scenario. Gary Neville has proved himself to be astute tactically, is a passionate man, is loved by Man Utd fans and is thought to have the makings of a promising manager. What if he, rather than David Moyes had been handed the keys to the Old Trafford manager’s office? Let’s find out:

Pre Season:
Neville brings a much needed central midfielder as Lars Bender joins for £17.5M. Somewhat surprisingly Danny Rose joins from Spurs for £7.75M. Going the other way is Danny Welbeck who heads to White Hart Lane for £14.5M. Meanwhile Alex Buttner is shipped off to Stoke for £2.1M

August: The first silverware is won as Rooney’s goal decides the community shield against Wigan. Centre back Hector Moreno is snapped up from Espanyol for £10.75M

The season gets off to the best possible start as Darren Fletcher’s goal gives Neville’s men a 1-0 win at the Ettihad. However the rest of the month is patchy, as they are held at home 1-1 by Swansea and fall to a 2-1 defeat at Cardiff despite taking the lead.

September:
League results pick up, with a hard fought 2-1 win at Stoke and an easy 3-0 at home to Crystal Palace, but they can only draw 1-1 with Newcastle at home. The Champions League campaign gets of to an indifferent start with a 1-1 draw in Copenhagen. Progression to the Capital One Cup fourth round is sealed with a 2-1 win against Aston Villa.

Neville is rewarded with the manager of the month award and Nemanja Vidic pens a new three year contract.

October:
The month starts with another veteran, this time Patrice Evra, signing a new 3 year deal. The stuttering start to the Champions League continues with a 1-1 home draw with CSKA. A disappointing draw at Fulham is followed by a 3-1 win at Anfield, with Van Persie netting two and Fellaini getting the other. The Champions League campaign finally takes off with a routine 2-0 home win over Celtic but a 2-0 home defeat to Spurs in the league follows, though Spurs are defeated days later in the Capital One Cup fourth round, with Lars Bender getting his first for the club. At the end of the month they lie 7th, with 15 points from 9 games.

November: League form is good, with Aston Villa being brushed aside 4-2, Southampton 3-0 and West Ham beaten 2-1 all at Old Trafford. Away from home there’s a 2-2 draw at Norwich. Champions League hopes take a blow with a 2-0 loss at Celtic Park but things are back on track with a 2-0 win against Copenhagen. Neville again wins the manager of the month award, with Van Persie picking up the player of the month accolade thanks to four goals in four games. United move to 4th with 25 points from
13 games.

December (and New Years Day) The big news of the month is Wayne Rooney signing a new 5 year deal. United progress to the Champions League knockout stage with a 2-0 win in Moscow, but Capital One cup success is not to be as Southampton win 2-1 at St Marys. In the league, it’s a busy and mixed month. It starts with 2 draws, away to Hull 1-1 and 2-2 at home to Sunderland. Juan Mata scores against his old club as Chelsea are beaten 3-1 at Stamford Bridge before Cleverley and Oxlade-Chamberlain exchange goals within a minute as United and Arsenal draw at Old Trafford. Van Persie’s last minute goal brings a 2-1 win at Everton but a 2-0 home loss to West Brom follows. A double over local rivals is completed as late goals from Kagawa and Fletcher cancel out Jovetic’s opener. United sit 3rd with 37 points from 20 games.

January:
The FA Cup dream is ended in Round 3 as Newcastle win 2-0 at St James’ park. It’s a quiet month in league terms. The 2-1 win against Man City is followed by a 3-0 win at home to Cardiff and a 1-1 draw at Swansea, which is enough to win Neville his third manager of the month accolade.

February: League results are patchy. A good 3-0 home win over Stoke is followed by a 2-0 reverse at Crystal Palace while Fulham inflict a 3-2 home defeat. There’s another 1-1 with Newcastle before a 1-0 defeat at Dortmund in the Champions League first knockout round ensures progression to the quarter finals is a tough ask. The month ends on a good note with a 3-1 win at Spurs. Man Utd are now 4th with 48 points from
27 games.

March: The month gets off to a bad start as Liverpool win 3-1 at Old Trafford and Neville’s men are held to a 1-1 draw at Southampton. Champions League hopes are ended dramatically. Van Persie’s 75th minute goal looks to have forced extra time before Lewandowski and Aubameyang strike late. A 2-1 win at Villa Park and a 3-2 win over Norwich follow and the month ends with a hard earned point at Upton Park having gone 2-0 down. After 32 games, United remain 4th with 56 points.

April: A positive month. 2-1 wins against Hull and Sunderland plus a 2-1 win at the Emirates. Januzaj equalising with eight minutes remaining and a 90th minute winner from Rooney after Ramsey’s early opener. However a two goal lead is let slip as Chelsea draw 2-2 at Old Trafford. Another manager of the month award is collected, and United are in 3rd, with 66 points and two games remaining.

May: Champions League qualification is assured with a 2-0 win at West Brom, though the season ends on a low as Everton win 3-2 at Old Trafford. The season ends with 69 points and a 3rd place finish.

Top scorer: Van Persie with 21 in all competitioms.

So no silverware for Neville then, but a Champions League place is secured. Good results over the bigger sides were tempered by slip ups against lowly opposition-Fulham and West Brom picking up wins at Old Trafford. While they finished 3rd, in another season 69 points may not have been enough for a top 4 finish. Lars Bender aside, the signings made were not typical Manchester United signings.
So would Gary Neville do a better job than Moyes? On this evidence, probably not.

I reminded myself in my last blog to write about my Classic Premier League Collection so here we go.

Ten DVD boxsets, each featuring five discs containing four memorable Premier League matches from 1992-2004. That’s 200 matches in total. And if you have a look on iTunes, you can get around 70 more, taking you up to the 2009-10 season. Each match is given around 26 minutes of highlights so rather extensive.

As far as I can see, every team that’s featured in the Premier League between 1992 and 2010 features at least once except for Sheffield United, for some reason. There are title deciders, relegation six pointers and even the odd mid table end of season dead rubber.

Why would I recommend them? Well firstly they’re a great way to kill half an hour. Half an hour before you leave for the game? Why not sit back and watch that 4-4 draw between Liverpool and Arsenal from 2009? Or that 4-3 between Liverpool and Newcastle from 1996?

And of course it’s a great way for a fan to relieve great matches in their clubs history. A Newcastle fan could be cheered up by rewatching their 8-0 win against Sheffield Wednesday. A Manchester United fan bemoaning the season they’re having can dig out that 8-1 win at Forest and enjoy seeing the club in better days.

For me I find it a great thing to pick up and watch. Plenty of games to choose from, action, drama and plenty of goals.

Football Memories-Leicester’s Comeback Overshadowed

One of my favourite games from my collection of Classic Premier League Matches (I must write a blog about that soon) is the 3-3 draw between Leicester and Arsenal from 1997. The game was largely memorable for a Dennis Bergkamp hat trick which included two world class goals, one very similar to the winning goal he would score against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup.

I always think however that Leicester’s contribution to the game gets very little credit and seems overshadowed by Bergkamp’s magic. For those who don’t remember, Leicester were 2-0 down with around 6 minutes to go, then pulled it back to 2-2 with Matt Elliott scoring in the 90th minute which was some feat in itself against the team that would go on to claim the title. After Elliott’s goal, commentator Jon Champion states “and still we play on.” as the game is clearly well into injury time. Bergkamp scores what is surely the winner. But somehow, in the dying seconds, Steve Walsh heads in another equaliser.

That game shows the character Leicester had under Martin O’Neill. How many teams could keep going after conceding a spectacular goal deep into injury time and nick a point. Imagine what twitter would be like if Norwich did the same thing to Man City tomorrow. People would be talking about it for weeks. In my opinion it’s one of the best comebacks in Premier League history and Leicester deserved more credit for it. Even when it happened I don’t recall much being made of quite how stunning a fightback it was, just a lot of praise for Bergkamp’s brilliance.

My Standard Away Day-by A Casual

The away day, the day that separates the men from the boys, the day where I truly make my mark.

The fun starts before I go to bed. I prepare my clobber the night before. I never wear my team’s kit, gotta look your best ain’t you. So I’ll normally go for a polo, maybe some jeans and of course my CP jacket. Take a snap of it to show everyone what I’m all about then get the beers in the fridge ready for the train journey.

Train journey with the lads is always proper boss, lots of cans going down, crazy banter, bit of recreational drugs, maybe some ket, mdma or mkat. One of the lads might get in a spot of bother with tbe old bill, it happens, they’re always after us, got a bit of a rep ain’t we. Blast some top tunes, Reverend and the Makers, The Courteeners that sort of thing, getting us right up for the day ahead.

Then it’s gametime, boozed up, pilled up, some of us won’t make it to the end, but that’s fine, we’ll just take over the pub, stamp our mark on it you know how it is. The match isn’t important really, all about the day. Getting shitfaced, pulling some birds, top tunes, maybe a bit of aggro, basically taking over whatever shithole we end up in innit.

Then the train home, probably take over at least one, maybe two carriages. Win, draw or lose we’ll be singing our hearts out for the lads.

Back home to the clubs to continue where we left off, I’m not one to brag but I normally don’t go home alone if you get what I’m saying. Like I said I have quite a rep. Girls know I’ve done time and they love a bad boy round here.

After all that it’s time to recover just in time for another MAD weekend with the crew. Standard Saturday.

FUCKING LOVE IT

Guest Blog: Daniel Plankington-Booth

Some of you may remember Daniel from “The Diary of a Football Hipster.” Well he returns here to discuss his summer holiday, the new Football Manager game and his plans for Christmas:

Salutations all, Daniel Plankington-Booth here to talk about the beautiful game. Futbol, Calcio, Voetbal, Fußball, Soccer, Football, whatever you call it where you’re from.

In the summer I was given a princely sum of money to spend on a holiday. I could have chosen one of those “lad holidays” to somewhere like Kavos but in all honesty I find that sort of experience somewhat crude and vulgar. I would not learn anything there and I prefer not to go overboard with alcohol as I like to keep my brain active. I’ll have the odd bottle of rare exported foreign lager but that’s about it. Instead I travelled alone-to Slovenia to witness Nogometni Klub Domžale in action, under the guidance of rookie manager Luka Elsner. They played FK Koper and although they lost by a goal to nil, Elsner deployed the 4-2-3-1 formation well and could count himself unlucky to be on the losing side. It was a thrilling battle of tactics and I felt great pleasure in being among the 350 spectators. I was especially excited to see how the NK false 9 and enganche would regularly switch between roles, causing confusion between the Koper defence. However I did feel they were lacking a real regista to allow them to dictate the game.

After the match I had the privilege of being granted the opportunity to discuss the game with Elsner over a bottle of Lasko. Having spoken at length about his footballing philosophy and how he feels the game should be played I really think he could manage on the grandest of stages. It reminds me a little of when I first witnessed Señor Guardiola take charge of the Barcelona B team. It will take a while for Elsner’s philosophies and style to pay dividends but when it does, NK fans are in for some exhilerating football. It was just reward for having taken the effort to learn Slovenian in the month before I went rather than wasting my days partying.

I’ve been really enjoying the new Football Manager game. Of course in homage to my new hero Mr Elsner I took charge of NK, hoping to replicate the glittering career path I believe lies ahead of him. FM have started to include the more intelligent footballing roles such as false 9, enganche. trequartista. regista and Volante. A number of people now use these roles but don’t really know how to use them-they just do so because the position sounds intelligent and exciting. I however know how to set my tactics so I can really get the best out of my players and allow, for example, my regista to play exactly as a regista should be deployed.

Christmas is just around the corner, sadly most of the decent football leagues are currently on their winter break. There is of course a feast of football here around the festive period but in all honesty I find English football a chore to watch. Far too fast paced, almost like playground football. For Christmas I hope to receive mostly books that will further my footballing education.

On a final note, a message for two people who hold a very special place in my heart.
Michael Cox of Zonal Marking- if you are reading this I have been trying to get in touch with you with regards to meeting for a drink to mull over football tactics and maybe discuss me writing an article or two for your website but I’ve yet to receive a response.

Jonathan Wilson- if you too are reading this, I have composed a lengthy article on Luka Elsner’s footballing philosophies that I think would be perfect for The Blizzard.

Anyhow, I must bid you all farewell as I must prepare notes for the Chilean Apertura play off between Universidad and Palestino. What better way to spend a Monday night?

Trying times at Old Trafford.

Two home games for Manchester United in three days, two defeats without scoring a goal. The first time they’ve lost two home games in a row since 2002 when Middlesbrough and Arsenal both won 1-0 at Old Trafford.
What’s most worrying for David Moyes’ men is how toothless they have looked when going behind. Manchester United have obviously been behind and lost games at Old Trafford before. Normally if they fail to snatch a result it’s not without a fight-the opposition’s goal will lead a charmed life. Watching today after Newcastle went ahead, United never really looked like scoring. I can barely remember an effort on target.

I do wonder what on earth happened during the international break. They went into it having beaten Arsenal, leaving themselves 5 points adrift and looking as though things were on the up. Away draws against Cardiff and Spurs weren’t overly disgraceful and there was a fantastic 5-0 away win in Leverkusen but suddenly they’ve lurched fully into crisis mode. It seems that two weak break was the worst thing to happen to them.

It’s almost pointless to say the main problem is in midfield. Everyone knows it. Teams who play three in the middle are able to control the midfield with ease and can put United on the back front with high pressing. United meanwhile look slow and laboured, struggle to string passes together and look sloppy in possession. In fairness to Moyes though, I felt this was the case more than just a little last season under Sir Alex Ferguson-barely able to string two or three passes together.

As for Moyes, questions have to be asked as to whether he’s out of his depth. As I think I’ve mentioned before, a lot of people associated with Man United think Moyes should be given time, pointing at the example of Sir Alex Ferguson going through a few torrid years before the trophies started to roll in and also not wanting to be one of those clubs that sack managers on a whim like Chelsea and Liverpool. While this is admirable, the logic may not be entirely healthy. Firstly Ferguson took over what was a mid table side. He also had a little more pedigree having won the SPL and European Cup with Aberdeen. Moyes meanwhile inherited a side which despite obvious weaknesses won the league at a canter. However poor the challengers may have been, they still got 89 points in total and had they not slacked off somewhat at the edge of the season, it could have been more. While giving a manager time is important, there can be a time when it becomes apparent he’s out of his depth and the fact that a previous manager did well from a bad position 27 years ago may not be relevant. If it’s clear that with Moyes, top four may not happen, a change may be needed to salvage the season.

Moyes is not a bad manager though. While Everton’s away record against the bigger clubs was known to be poor under his tenure, they were a top 6 team when he left and they were the sort of team you half expected to get a result against the big clubs at Goodison, as wins against United and City at home showed. Moyes’ Everton outfought and out thought United on the opening day last season and it was the now apparently inept Marouane Fellaini who ran the show. If Sir Alex had signed him after that game, I doubt anyone would have complained. There are complaints about him being a negative manager away from home but this clearly wasn’t the case when Everton scored two quickfire goals to pull out a 4-4 draw at Old Trafford, or two injury times in the 3-3 against his current club at Goodison and the latr comeback win against Spurs. Then there’s that stat regarding not beating the top 4 which is a bit misleading because the top 4 has changed a few times since he took over. Spurs, Liverpool and even arguably Leeds have been top 4 sides since Moyes took charge of Everton. Man City weren’t, but are most definitely now. Everton won at the Ettihad in 2011 in a season where City finished third and won the FA Cup and were taking shape as title challengers.

What’s interesting is how United have fared a lot better in cup competitions than in the league. Impressive wins against Liverpool and Norwich in the Carling Cup and already through their Champions League group. If they win at home against Shakhtar which in most circumstances you would expect, they’ll top the group with 14 points; an admirable haul for a manager who’d not managed in the Champions League proper before and in a group that was no walkover.

Believe it or not, this is not Man United’s worst start to a season. Cast your mind back to 2001. Man Utd sealed the title at a canter, but lost their last three games. The following season, the tone was set with a shaky win over newly promoted Fulham and by game 15, they sat 9th with 21 points-6 wins, 3 draws and 6 losses. They’d just lost 3 on the spin including successive home defeats to Chelsea and West Ham. They only dropped 13 points in the remaining 23 games but it was already too late. Moyes’ men are also a point better off than Arsenal were at this stage last season.

In Europe it’s rather common for the big clubs to have poor seasons. I can remember Barcelona having the odd season in the UEFA Cup in the 2000s, Milan are currently languishing in mid table of Serie A, Inter finished 9th last season and Juve finished 7th and failed to qualify for Europe the year before going on a season long unbeaten run. In a way it’s staggering that United have finished consistently in the top 3 since the Premier League began. The only club to have done so.

The title is pretty much gone. They can now get a maximum 91 points if they win a staggering 23 games in a row. Champions League qualification is still very much achievable but a huge improvement is needed.