Man City and Man Utd transfers summer 09

Classic mind games stuff from Sir Alex today - saying Man City are not a threat to United and that Tevez is not worth £25.5million.

I agree with him on both counts - although Man City certainly have the money and potential to be a major threat in England and Europe. Tevez was a tryer and a battler but did not score enough goals to elevate him to top class (although you could also argue Ferguson bought Berbatov for £4million more and he was neither a tryer nor a battler and does not score enough goals).

Also I think Man City are lopsided. As Fergie says they have 10 strikers but no foundations - a bit like a Real Madrid lite. Adebayor is a lazy whinger - but a class act when he is in the mood, but what is the point of buying him when you have just splashed out £17million on a like for like player in Santa Cruz?

Gareth Barry? Overated and too ponderous. Only in the England team because Owen Hargreaves is always injured - if Hughes had vision he would surely have gone for Everton's Jack Rodwell who will end up taking Barry's England place within a year or two.

Shay Given? Top class. Man United should have bought him given the understandable feeling that Ben Foster might not be quite good enough - Foster may turn out to be a modern day Chris Turner for Utd. Good, but not quite top notch.

Wayne Bridge? Solid, sound buy.

John Terry? (If he goes) Great leader and inspiration, worth it for that. Injury question marks and pace question marks.

As for Ferguson saying he is not making a marquee signing this summer because the market is inflated, well, wasn't the £80m for Ronaldo itself inflated? I would question the wisdom of bringing in two unproven foreign players for £23million - Obertan and Valencia - when the Champions Lge format will soon demand clubs have more English players in their squads. I would have splashed out on three English players - Agbonlahor, Ashley Young and the aforementions Rodwell. That would have shored up United in midfield and given them pace in attack (which they could have done with given the leaden feet of Berba and Owen). They would have got Young for £22m, Agbonlahor for £12m and Rodwell for £10m - almost half the money from the Ronaldo sale for an injection of excitement and hope.

Better those three in than the money sitting in the Glazers' bank account (or paying off some of their debts) eh??

Pearce a shocker, Capello a disgrace

IF there was one bit of good news to come out of England U21s' 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Germany in last night's final, it was that Stuart Pearce has surely shot his chances of being the next England boss. The man failed at Man City and is not technically gifted enough to be manager of the national side. He is Kevin Keegan lite - a fist on the chest, all-passion, all brawn operator. His failure last night was to be able to change tactics when things went wrong and to mess with his best player. Yes, his treatment of Theo Walcott, who went out on a limb with his club boss Arsene Wenger, to make the trip to Sweden was terrible. Dropping him, questioning whether he would even play him in the final in a Press conference and then not having the brains to work out a formula to get the ball to him in the match.

Pearce needs to learn a little finesse and civility if he is to progress - both in terms of his team and himself.

As for the man who is leading England seniors to South Africa and World Cup 2010, well, Fabio Capello's management has been excellent - certainly something old 'Psycho' could learn from. But his absence from the U21 final last night was an absolute disgrace. He blamed it on missing a flight from the Confederations Cup final - but what was he doing there, anyway? He should have been in Sweden encouraging Pearce and showing he is committed to the English cause from the semis onwards. His absence merely confirms the suspicion that he will be on his way after next summer - otherwise he would surely want to check out the form and the ability to cope with competitive tournament football of the young men who could infiltrate his squad in a year or two?

And if he goes - please don't promote Pearce and take us back to the nightmare years of Steve McClaren. Roy Hodgson or Harry Redknapp are the best (English) men for the job - with Glenn Hoddle (yes, I know he failed in 98, but he is older and wiser now and one of the best tactical brains out there) a younger alternative.

Sad he is dead...

...Steven 'Seething' Wells was one of my contemporaries and rivals when I worked for MM in the 80s in the north - and he was doing the same for NME. I liked the man and his writing, you will be missed Swellsy...

....as for Michael Jackson - am I alone in thinking the hype and outpouring of grief a la Princess Di may come back to haunt some of those who are weeping the most?

Sure, Wacko Jacko was a pop genius (but let's not forget the part Quincey Jones played in the whole extravaganza) and the likes of Billie Jean are true pop classics - but isn't there an element of Robert Maxwell in the mix? Remember, when Capn' Bob died and the Daily Mirror eulogised him for a week - but quickly changed their tune when they found out he had diddled them out of their pensions?

I would harbour a guess that opinion may not be so sympathetic of Jacko if stories leak out (which I am told they will) about his treatment of family and friends. Then there may be some questions asked about why 16-page glorifications of his life were rushed out. Or maybe I'm just an old cynic and have got it all wrong...time will tell...

Springsteen saves Glastonbury

The best Glastonbury ever? I think maybe Michael Eavis should hand over the reins to his daughter now rather than in a few years if he truly believes that. No way was it the best ever - in fact, it was probably one of the worst. Turgid acts galore and no spark of invention with mediocrity ruling the day.

Thank God then for the Boss. Yes, Brucey babe came, he saw and he conquered. His set was an oasis in the desert of crap that covered the three days (and I don't mean the mud). His set steamrolled over the drab, dull and mind-achingly boring and overrrated acts that had gone (Lily Allen etc) and those still to come (yes, we are looking at you, Blur). I thought one of the most telling comments of the whole weekend came when Lily Allen was asked what she thought of Bruce. She replied: 'Old'. It did not reflect well - if the boot were on the other foot, she would have been well pissed off if a group of people had been asked what they thought of Lily Allen, I bet. Especially as the most likely one-worder would surely be: 'Privileged'. Yep, singing songs of dismay, regret and hardship when you are born with a silver spoon in your mouth; a junior member of a showbiz dynasty. Also I thought Damon Albarn was arrogant and too full of himself - as if he were a genuine rock icon rather than just a shadow of Liam Gallagher. And weren't Blur always that really? A shadowplay of Oasis, in reality not fit to lick the Mancunians' boots?


The Boss made a connection with the crowd and gave what was arguably HIS best performance ever. My favourite band ever is The Clash and Springsteen almost brought a tear to my eyes - he was a double for the late great Joe Strummer - and the set was spot on, with a mix of the classics (Thunder Run, The River etc) and the hits (Glory Days, Dancing In The Heart) and the oddities (including the haunting Outlaw Pete).

I note that a lot of people have been knocking the BBC for sending 427 operatives to the festival. Well, the end result was worth it - excellent coverage throughout. If they are going to blow our money, better on the biggest festival in the world - and something that matters..ie music - than the likes of Ascot or some remote outreach programmes. The one area I would quibble with is the Beeb's too easy backing down over the demands of the bands - ie not showing all Bruce's set because he wanted to save some surprises for the Hyde Park gig the following night and the same with Blur and the other highlight of the festival, Dizzee Rascal.

Madrid - not the real deal, Kaka

Why would Kaka want to join Real Madrid instead of Chelsea?

Okay, I know that in the old world order Real meant something - but they are nobodies nowadays, as exemplified by their 5-0 thrashing by Liverpool in the CL and their 2-6 home loss to Barca in La Liga.

In comparison, Chelsea are now a world superpower - in the same frame as Man Utd, Barca, Liverpool and Inter Milan.

Real are about the level of Fulham, aren't they? No, maybe that is being cruel to the Cottagers...more like say Wigan or West Ham.

And even if they buy Kaka, they won't win the league or the CL - he is no Maradona a la Naples, is he...

Ancelotti - the right man for the Bridge?

"Carlo was the outstanding candidate for the job. He has proved over a long period his ability to build teams that challenged for, and have been successful in, major domestic and European competitions.

"He also had a highly successful playing career in those competitions and therefore brings unparalleled all round experience to the job," the statement added.

SO TRUMPETS the official Chelse FC website this morning - but are they, and Roman Abramovich, right? Or is it another desperate fumbling about in the dark by a board that has not exactly covered itself in glory since the departure of the Special One?

Avram Grant - not good enough - Luiz Felipe Scolari - not backed financially or emotionally - Guus Hiddink - excellent but short termist.

And so to Pilsbury Dough man Ancelotti. I am not confident he is the right man. He has not even won the Italian league title since 2004 - FIVE YEARS - and if he was that good Milan would have hardly let him go, would they? After all, he admitted he would have stayed if they asked him...

He does not speak good English and his last Milan side was like the Real Madrid of the Galacticos era - good on paper, but ageing and fragile on the field. Also, judging by his comments in his autobiog he seems to believe that his mission at Chelsea is to instil 'personality' into the team. How is that going to go down with some of the strongest personalities in the game - Terry, Lampard, Ballack and Drogba among them.

No, surely it would have been more sensible to have allowed Hiddink to stay on in his temporary role - managing both Chelsea and Russia - until the 2010 World Cup finals are over? Then he could have become permanent Chelsea boss. Now, the club risk losing him for ever - hey, he might even end up at Man Utd or Arsenal when his Russian sojourn finall ends!

Utd - no midfield, no big ears

It must rank as one of the most unusual substitutions ever by Sir Alex Ferguson.

To take off a midfielder for a forward, when his team were struggling most to stay in the game...in midfield.

I applauded the decision to bring on Carlos Tevez as Man United struggled to keep up with Barca in tonight's Champions League final - but at the expense of Anderson?

Surely, if Anderson had to come off at half time, and, true. he did have a bit of a stinker, the ready-made replacement would have been Paul Scholes?

As it was, it meant United had to try to cope with Iniesta, Xabi and Bussets with just one recognised midfielder...Michael Carrick. Sure, Giggsy was still out there, but he was playing somewhere between the front and the midfield.

It was a gamble and it didn't work. United as we know them simply did not turn up - too many of the big names froze or did not get into the game. It was as if they were flatlining - even Fergie and Mike Phelan were slumped on the bench whenever I looked, rather than getting to the touchline and urging their men on.

Barcelona were good, but United did not give us a normal United showing. It is hard to take defeat when there is no battling and no determination or grit to turn things around. From the pitch to the bench, Utd seemed floored after the 10th minute goal by Eto, who I believe is not the player he was.

I heard that both Ferdinand AND Vidic (Utd had apparently tried to keep it quiet about the Serbian because there were already doubts over Rio) were not fully fit - and it showed.

The defeat also showed two other things - Berbatov is not worth £30million (he blew over a header he should have scored) and Utd need to invest in two quality midfielders as a matter of urgency. One enforcer and another creative player. Yes, I know they have Owen Hargreaves coming back and Darren Fletcher to return from suspension, but it makes sense to strengthen an area where they are clearly not full of alternatives.

Berbatov needs to be told he has to set Old Trafford alight next season - or he is out, £30m flop or not. No doubt Spurs would be buy him back for half that money, they do have a habit of bringing back strikers who left them in the lurch (cue Keane and Defoe).

But Utd lost in Rome because they had no midfield to claw them back into the game. Barca - for all their arrogance - were worthy winners of old Big Ears (the nickname for the CL trophy). But I still don't like the way they set themselves up as the perfect team - and I am sure that if the real United had shown up, they wouldn't have had it so easy.

Next post will be on Darren Fletcher...how the boy who suffered more abuse and insults at United than anyone in recent memory became the man the club now can't do without. Amazing turnaround - football, eh, bloody hell...

The arrogance of Barcelona

You know, I used to love Barcelona. They were my fave team from abroad and it helped that I also loved the city and the unique character of the locals. But this year the football club has done itself no favours in terms of its frequent bleatings, declarations that it is the best in the world and that any rivals are limited and pedestrian in comparison to their great selves.
Okay, the football they have served up in La Liga has been breathtaking at times - but so what? Real Madrid ended up second in that league - and they were battered 5-0 by Liverpool, which gives you some idea of the oppposition they have been facing week in, week out.
But the regular pronouncements coming from the Camp Nou leave a bitter taste.
Particularly the stuff about Chelsea being crap and defensive.
Truth of it is this...the great Barcelona should not even be in the Champions League Final. Yep, it should be Chelsea - who outwitted them and outplayed them, and who are only at home in West London right now because of the incompetence of a referee not fit to legislate on Hackney Marshes.
I think, like all bullies and big heads, Barca will get their comeuppance tonight against Man Utd in Rome.
1-1 or 2-2 after 90 mins, Ronaldo or Rooney to grab the winner in extra time.
Only then will they be in a position to learn something they haven't got...humility.
It's time for the club who think they are the most perfect in the world - and who you sense feel they are entitled to win just by turning up - are brought down to their true size...against the real biggest club in the world.
Come on United!

Big weekend at the bottom...Moyes and Strachan

Massive weekend at the bottom of the table - in my eyes it is either Newcastle (cue headlines Newcy down) or Hull who will join Boro and West Brom in the Championship. Newcastle have the better goal difference (six better) so you would think that if they could get a draw at Aston Villa they will stay up. After all, you would assume that Man Utd would win at Hull.

But it's not that clear cut, is it? Newcastle are a very poor team. I am not sure about Shearer as a manager - he may be all bluster and no tactical nous - but he was hardly handed a dream team when he took over the job, was he? Certainly, even if they stay up they will struggle again with the poor selection of players on their books. Are they good enough to get a draw at Villa? On a normal day, no, but with passions running high and Villa's players already on the beaches of Miami in their heads, yes.

So that puts it all down to Man Utd really. If the Purple One plays a team of boys, they could still win, but could just as easily lose or draw. A real tough one - maybe Phil Brown can sort his own head out and get his players to fight to the death in front of their home crowd. He seems to think he is the new Jose Mourinho but he reminds me more of the old Villa boss John Gregory (remember him!!) - all poses and pouts for the cameras.

So what do we reckon, then? Two draws...and Shearer to return to the TV couch.

Which could bring Gordon Strachan in at St James and David Moyes to Celtic...or maybe it will be a Moyes/Strachan swap between Celtic and Everton?

We shall see...

Benitez, Ferguson, Hodgson and Wenger

Old Rafa is a grumpy bugger and a bad loser for not having the civility to congratulate Alex Ferguson for another Premier League title win. It's do or bust for Benitez next season - he has to win the league or the Kop may find it hard to take his whingeing, excuses, poor transfer buys (Mascherano and Torres honourable exceptions) and blaming others (like Ferguson) for his self-inflicted problems.

In comparison, look at the job done by Roy Hodgson at Fulham on a shoestring. A great season and only second to Ferguson in the Manager of the Year stakes. If Capello walks out after next year's World Cup amicable, wise old Roy will be a fine candidate to step in as England boss for a year or two.

Meanwhile, Arsenal fans will have only themselves to blame if Arsene Wenger walks away to manage Madrid. Who could blame him after all the abuse and criticism he has had to swallow as he builds another fine Arsenal side? The old saying is you only really miss someone and realise their worth when they are gone - how true that would be at the Emirates...

The Shield - the greatest TV show ever?

Tonight on Five USA...the final episode of The Shield, the greatest Tv show ever in my mind - along with Patrick McGoohan's excellent Prisoner of the 70s.

Vic Mackey gets his comeuppance in tonight's show, I won't spoil the ending for you, but I have seen it already and it is a cracker. Don't miss it...essential viewing

PS I know many pundits go on and on about The Wire, but for me it is too earnest, too slow and too clever by half - like playing chess while in comparison The Shield is like the most wonderful big dipper ride you'll experience.

Is Berbatov Ferguson's new Juan Veron?

Like most football fans I love a bit of speculation and gossip - especially about possible transfers. The Man Utd situation with Carlos Tevez is hotting up and my info and feeling is that the Argentine warrior will end up at 1. Chelsea or 2. Man City. Liverpool? No. I think he has to much respect for United fans to join their bitterest rivals.

I like Tevez. He is a great battler and a busy player - a lot like Rooney. If Sir Alex Ferguson hadn't splashed out £31million for Dimitar Berbatov last year it would seem there would have been no question of keeping Tev. But with hindsight it is surely the case that Ferg opted for Berba rather than Tev.

Was it the right move? Well, it seemed so at the time - Berba had done the business at Spurs and was a centre forward in the true Cantona style so adored at OT. But he has not consistently delivered at United - he has been much like Juan Veron, whom Ferguson signed in 2001 and played time and again (often instead of David Beckham) in the hope he would finally turn on the style.

Veron never did and it seemed to me that Ferguson felt he would be scoffed at for spending a fortune on him if he dropped him. Indeed he once lambasted the Press corps when he was asked why he was playing Veron instead of Becks, claiming the journalists were f***ing idjiots (sic). Is history repeating itself with Berba?

My own feeling is no: that Berba is class and will come good and deliver a world class performance he owes Utd...very probably in the Champions League final in Rome!

And would I have Berba or Tevez given the choice? Berba..

The Damned United/Cass

Saw The Damned Utd at the cinema - it is excellent (as is the book by David Peace). Not simply a film about football in the 70s, although it is truly magical in that sense too, but a comment on life and relationships.

Also watched the DVD of Cass and really enjoyed that too. The story of former West Ham firm (ICF) lad Cass Pennant. Again, not just a film about football or football violence, but a defining tale of a lad who rose above it all and eventually found himself after half a lifetime of not really knowing who he was or why he was. Cass is now a publisher of books (as well as being an entertaining author himself) - good on him.

Tom Henning Ovrebo costs Utd dear too

The incompetence of Norwegian ref Tom Henning Ovrebo is far reaching...gallant Chelsea suffered defeat after he refused three blatant pen calls, and now Man Utd are suffering, too. UEFA have today turned down United's appeal for Darren Fletcher to be allowed to play in the final after he was wrongly sent off against Arsenal.

My feeling is that the decision has been made because, if he had been let off, UEFA would also have felt duty bound to let Barca's Eric Abidal off the hook.

He was also wrongly sent off - by Ovrebo - and that incompetent decision has now had implications for Fletcher as UEFA did not want to open the floodgates.

I still fancy Utd to win the CL final in Rome - 3-2, or with pens if it ends up 2-2.

ABRAMOVICH, SCOLARI, HIDDINK, CHELSEA FUTURE, inChelsea magazine Feb 09

SOMETHING'S ROTTEN IN THE STATE OF SW6.
That is for certain after the events of the last couple of weeks.
How can a club that has aspirations to be one of the biggest in the world have a caretaker manager at the most crucial part of the season?
However talented Guus Hiddink is, the situation is farcical, a slight on the history of Chelsea FC and their loyal fans.
Put it this way...could you imagine Manchester United taking on Hiddink as a caretaker?
Of course not.
They would have told the big Dutchman: We are bigger than you, we are a huge football club...you do the job full-time if you want the job, otherwise you don't do it all.
We are doing you a favour, not the other way around as Hiddink has claimed.
And as far as I understand it, a favour means for free - not for £2.5MILLION for FOUR MONTHS' WORK!
Yet if the appointment of Hiddink as a caretaker undermines Chelsea's credibility, so does the disgraceful way they dispensed with Luiz Felipe Scolari's services.
Put simply: the man who won the highest honour in world football (the World Cup with the poorest Brazilian squad in memory) and more trophies than Hiddink could dream of was never given a chance to turn around a faltering, ageing, divided squad of players.
He never had the backing in terms of transfer money or authority to carry out his mission.
As I understand it, the Chelsea board failed him when he needed them most and it cost the club dear.
Big Phil wanted to reduce the age of the squad by bringing in the likes of Robinho, but that deal fell through.
He also wanted to weed some divisive, negative influences out of the dressing room, but again was thwarted.
And he lost his key coach - Steve Clarke - to West Ham, with the board bringing in Ray Wilkins as his replacement. Now don't get me wrong: Ray is a lovely man but, in my opinion, is not in the same league as Clarkey as a coach.
For proof look at Chelsea's results after Steve left - and West Ham's renaissance under him.
Big Phil had the carpet pulled from under him - how was he expected to turn Chelsea around when he had both hands tied behind his back? Don’t be surprised if Scolari comes back to haunt Abramovich at Manchester City – a move that would keep Robinho in Manchester and encourage other top Brazilians and Portuguese to join City instead of the Blues.
Now we get to the heart of the problem: Roman Abramovich.
The owner threw his toys out of the pram by getting rid of Big Phil: he wanted to show he was still the man in charge and the man to be reckoned with. He also wanted his man in: Hiddink, a pal.
He did not fancy the revolution Scolari outlined.
So Chelsea are left with the same problems and Hiddink at the helm.
In sacking Scolari, they have picked at the scab but not treated its underlying causes.
Yet while Roman is the problem, he is, of course, also the solution.
Without him Chelsea would not have prospered since 2003.
It is a tricky situation: if he were to walk would the club be back to the days of the last caretaker manager?
David Webb...who took over, let's not forget, after the disastrous Ian Porterfield era.
These are crucial times for Chelsea FC: the club could go one way or the other.
If it is to avoid meltdown, Roman needs to give Hiddink everything Big Phil was denied.
I have no doubt whatsoever that Guus will stay for the long-haul if he can get assurances that he will be the man in control.
That means he needs a transfer budget so he can revitalise the team - and he needs to be left alone to sort out the bad eggs, to sift them out and replace them.
Roman must let the man he entrusts as his football manager to do just that: to manage, if he wants to make up lost ground both on and off the pitch to Manchester United.
He would not have been my choice to replace Big Phil. Again, think of Man Utd. Who would you bet on being their next boss? Whoever it is should have been the man Chelsea should have approached now. My view is that the next United chief will be Jose Mourinho or Martin O’Neill – and given that Jose’s return to the Bridge was hardly feasible in February 2009, I would have gone all out to bring in O’Neill.
Peter Kenyon often bleats on about the Chelsea business model and how he plans to conquer the world with it.
But the frightening thing is that Chelsea's model of late is more Newcastle United than Manchester United!
They too have a caretaker in Joe Kinnear and owner Mike Ashley has made several poor management decisions.
Now Hiddink is here, let him at least have a proper chance at success, unlike Big Phil.
And put in motion plans for the future - a future that, unless Mourinho were to return or O’Neill brought in, would surely see the dream team of Zola and Clarkey return to the Bridge in triumph in say three to five years.
The club needs stability and diligent forward planning, not constant change and upheaval and only one man can decide whether that will happen.
It’s your call, Roman...