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“There is no systematic corruption in FIFA”

November 17th, 2011 | Posted in FIFA | Comments Off

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has caused uproar over his latest comments about racism in football following the Football Association’s decision to charge Liverpool striker Luis Suarez over alleged racist remarks, but his assertion that racism is not a problem on the pitch – “there is no racism … at the end of the game, we shake hands” – is only the latest in any number of contentious public comments from FIFA’s beleaguered President.

From matters such as accusations of financial mismanagement and corruption at world football’s governing body, to his infamous declarations on homosexuality, women footballers, marital infidelity and sporting slavery, the 75-year-old is rarely out of the headlines:

“Crisis? What is a crisis? If one of you can describe to me what a crisis is, I can answer. We are not in crisis, just some difficulties. The difficulties will be solved, and solved inside our family.”
- Dismissing questions of Fifa’s credibility during recent corruption scandal

“I could understand it if it had happened in Africa, but not in Italy.”
- Commenting on the match-fixing scandal in Italy

“Please do not insist on the technology. The day that the referee takes two captains aside to study monitors and see if something is inside the box or outside is the day the spectators will say no, we are not coming to the game.”
- Refusing to introduce video technology into the modern game

“Listen, this is a special approach in the Anglo-Saxon countries. If this had happened in let’s say Latin countries, then I think he would have been applauded.”
- Referring to England captain John Terry’s alleged affair with ex-teammate Wayne Bridge’s girlfriend

“Let the women play in more feminine clothes like they do in volleyball. They could, for example, have tighter shorts. Female players are pretty, if you excuse me for saying so, and they already have some different rules to men – such as playing with a lighter ball. That decision was taken to create a more female aesthetic, so why not do it in fashion?”
- Advising on how to attract more followers to women’s sports

“I think in football there’s too much modern slavery in transferring players or buying players here and there, and putting them somewhere.
- Standing up for the rights of horribly mistreated and oppressed millionaire footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, comparing his Real Madrid transfer saga plight to the suffering of slaves

“I would say they should refrain from any sexual activities.”
- Advising how gay fans should behave during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where homosexuality is banned

“Diving is worse than shirt-pulling or tripping. It is betraying the players and the referee. I’m in favor of red cards for diving.”
- Attacking player’s decisions to dive during a match

“I know myself, I was always a striker. But it’s 50 years ago now – but I’m still a little bit of a striker. We tried to dribble, but when we could not go through and someone put his foot there, what do you do? You do a little bit more than you should have done. Is this so terrible? I don’t think so. At least it’s not so terrible that we should intervene after a match.”
- Defending players’ decisions to dive during a match

”Every game should have a winner. When you play cards or any other game, there’s always a winner and a loser. We should have the courage to introduce a final decision in every game of football.”
- Considering a ban on draws

“I would say it is a little surprising that the motherland of football has ignored a sacrosanct law or belief that the national team manager should be from the same country as the players. I have never seen Italy, Germany, Brazil or Argentina with a coach from another country.”
- Responding to Fabio Capello’s appointment as England boss

The chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association has said it is time for Sepp Blatter to step down, following his comments on racism in football. Speaking to Today sports presenter Garry Richardson, Gordon Taylor said the Fifa boss’s comments showed that he just “doesn’t get it” and that ”when you see the corruption they’ve had at FIFA, I just feel it’s the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

When Blatter does stand down in 2015 (if he’s not forced out by this scandal or subsequent ones), he’ll be remembered fondly within FIFA primarily because he made them so much money, but for the rest of us, whether or not we feel he was fit to lead the most important football organisation in the world, his legacy will forever be tainted by his public outbursts. When Blatter goes for good, there’ll be cheers all round.

Premier League 2011-2012: Is Manchester United the only team in the race?

July 30th, 2011 | Posted in English Premier League | Comments Off

When the season kicks off on August 13th, the influx of new talent should make the Premier League tighter than ever before in terms of team quality and consistency, but its hard to imagine that any Premier League team but Manchester United, Manchester City, or Chelsea could possibly be in contention for the 2011-2012 title.

Manchester United are the pre-season favorites to secure the 20th title in their history and win their sixth title in seven years. Although Sir Alex Ferguson’s side have had to deal with the retirements of legendary keeper Edwin van der Sar and midfielder Paul Scholes, the Club will be confident of defending their title after signing England regular Ashley Young from Aston Villa and the Spaniard David de Gea to replace the two retirees. The squad has further been freshened by bringing in Phil Jones from Blackburn and resigning Chris Smalling who is fresh from a sterling campaign with the England U-21 in the 2011 U-21 European Championships, where he was named in the Team of the Tournament.

The noisy neighbours! – Manchester City will be opening their season having boosted their attacking options significantly by signing Argentinian international Sergio Aguero from Atletic Madrid. Aguero was simply amazing throughout last season for Atletico Madrid and he was also phenomenal when he replaced Carlos Tevez in the Argentinean National Team’s starting line-up. Aguero bolsters a strikeforce that already includes Mario Baltelli and Edin Dzeko. His compatriot Carlos Tevez is also still in the squad but has reiterated his desire to leave the Club as soon as possible. Even though Manchester City have all the players they need to win the Premier League title, it remains to be seen if they can coalesce enough this season to become a winning team.

Chelsea have been relatively quiet on the transfer front with their new manager Anfre Villas-Boas announcing: “You have to value as well the kind of approach we are having this season. It’s an approach made on taking wise decisions, evaluating what we have, paying respect to a valued squad we have. It’s not a case of spending straight away when we don’t need to do that. We hope it will prove to be the successful approach.” In Torres, Drogba, Terry, Lampard, Luiz, Cole and Cech Chelsea certainly have the players to perform well in the Premier League. if Villas-Boas can pull them all together and get them working as a team, just like another young Portugese manager did before him, then Chelsea could be a real threat.

Though neither is likely to put up much of a challenge, either Arsenal or Liverpool will probably join Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea in the top four.

Heading into the summer, it has been clear that Liverpool’s focus was strengthening their midfield. They have spent big to bring in Sunderland youngster Jordan Henderson, Blackpool hero Charlie Adam and the consistent Stewart Downing from Aston Villa. Since returning to the managerial spotlight at Anfield, Kenny Dalglish has set about constructing a Liverpool team with a solid core and an old-fashioned British mentality. Having tasted several successes in the game, both as player and manager, the Scot knows the importance of a consistent and familiar defensive unit when trying to compete at the top end of the English game. Here’s hoping that Liverpool’s strong and quality signings bring quick results and the team makes it back to the top four and Champions League Football.

Arsenal Manager, Arsene Wenger will be under pressure to end the Gunners six year trophy drought and to that end has secured the signings of two new players so far in Carl Jenkinson and Gervinho. Arsenal are also closing in on Valencia winger Juan Mata, who is one of the best young talents in the world. With the futures of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri not decided as yet, signing Mata would be a huge boost to the team. If Arsenal do sign Mata, it will be one of those signings which will lift the mood immediately as he is a terrific player with a lot of potential. However, if Arsenal does not find success this season, they may be looking for a new manager sooner rather than later.

Aston Villa will have new direction this year under new manager Alex McLiesh and newly promoted teams Norwich, QPR and Swansea will especially want to make their presence felt. Tottenham, Bolton and Everton will be eager to give the top four a run and Wigan and Woverhampton will be wanting to make their way up the table. This year the Premier League will be boasting so many impressive teams and talented players it should be one of the most exciting seasons yet.

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Alex Ferguson – Notable and Quotable

June 4th, 2011 | Posted in English Premier League, Manchester United | Comments Off

Whether you love him or loathe him his success as the manager of Manchester United can’t be denied. Nor can his eloquence. Sir Alex Ferguson speaks his mind, and he never minds what he speaks. Enjoy this sample:

You must be joking. Do I look as if I’m a masochist ready to cut myself? How does relegation sound instead? - on whether Liverpool could end an almost 20-year wait for top flight glory in 2007

“Get down to the library and read a book. Seriously – it’s a waste of time.”- on the joys of Twitter

“Only true champions come out and show their worth after defeat- and I expect us to do that” - after being beaten by Arsenal for a second time in the league 2006 season

“I thought the first 45 minutes were the best of my time as a manager.”- after United had come back from 2-0 down to beat Juventus 3-2 in Turin, Italy in what was later heralded as one of the greatest comebacks in sporting history

“At the end of this game, the European Cup will be only six feet away from you and you’ll not even able to touch it if we lose. And for many of you that will be the closest you will ever get. Don’t you dare come back in here without giving your all” - half time team talk during the 1999 European Cup Final

“My greatest challenge is not what’s happening at the moment, my greatest challenge was knocking Liverpool right off their fucking perch. And you can print that!” - responding to Alan Hansen questioning Sir Alex Ferguson’s future as Manchester United manager in September 2002

“It’s getting tickly now – squeaky-bum time, I call it” - on the 2002/2003 end of season title race

“It keeps those fuckers from the media out.” - about the new ‘Fortress Carrington’ training complex

“I am such a bloody talented guy. I might go into painting or something like that.” - on life after management

“They say he’s an intelligent man, right? Speaks five languages! I’ve got a 15-year-old boy from the Ivory Coast who speaks five languages!” - on Arsene Wenger

“It is totally out of the question. There is no way we would sell him, or any of our best players” - before selling David Beckham, 12th April 2003

“David Beckham is Britain’s finest striker of a football not because of God-given talent but because he practises with a relentless application that the vast majority of less gifted players wouldn’t contemplate.n- on David Beckham (1999)

“If he was an inch taller he’d be the best centre half in Britain. His father is 6ft 2in – I’d check the milkman.” - on Gary Neville

“When an Italian tells me its pasta on the plate I check under the sauce to make sure. They are the inventors of the smokescreen.” - before Manchester United played Inter Milan in the Champions League Quarter Final 1999

“Whether dribbling or sprinting, Ryan can leave the best defenders with twisted blood” – on Ryan Giggs

“Pippo Inzaghi was born in an offside position.” - Sir Alex Ferguson on Pippo Inzaghi after finding out that Pippo is the most offside player in the football ever

“As with every young player, he’s only 18.” - on youngsters

“It was particularly pleasing that our goalscorers scored tonight.” - on scoring goals

“The philosophy of a lot of European teams, even in home matches, is not to give a goal away.” - on European teams

“If we can play like that every week, we’ll get some level of consistency.” - on consistency

“The lads ran their socks into the ground.” - Alex Ferguson on his players

“He could start a row in an empty house.” - on Dennis Wise

“We have people coming here to admire the scenery and enjoy their crisps.” - on United fans

“He was certainly full of it, calling me Boss and Big Man when we had our post-match drink after the first leg. But it would help if his greetings were accompanied by a decent glass of wine. What he gave me was paint-stripper.” - on Jose Mourinho

“Oh dearie me, the FA are going to be delighted with that!”- on Man U vs Arsenal in the Carling Cup

“They have those fans who are so emotional and fanatical, they expect to win the World Cup” - on Newcastle fans

“They come out with the ‘English are so strong, we’re terrible in the air, we can’t do this, we can’t do that’. Then they beat you 3 – 0″ - on Italians

“At half-time it could have been 20-all! But commonsense took over – or boring football took over!” - on a 3 – 2 win over Fulham, 2005

“I remember the first time I saw him. He was 13 and just floated over the ground like a cocker spaniel chasing a piece of silver paper in the wind” - on Ryan Giggs

“He was towering over me and the other players were almost covering their eyes. I’m looking up and thinking ‘if he does hit me, I’m dead’” - on an argument with Peter Schmeichel

“I bet him he wouldn’t get 15 league goals and I’m going to have to change my bet with him. If he gets to 15 I can change it and I am allowed to do that because I’m the manager. I’m going to make it 150 now” - on Ronaldo

“He’ll be getting a hug and a kiss from me – maybe even two!” - on Sam Allardyce

The Red Devils are coming …

June 3rd, 2011 | Posted in Barcelona, Manchester United | Comments Off

If you’re a Manchester United fan, Old Trafford is not the easiest place to get to, but if you live in the United States your chances of seeing your team play may have increased with the announcement that the Red Devils will be here this summer to play a series of five games including a match against the MLS All-Stars and another against Barcelona.

Launching the full details of the tour, manager Sir Alex Ferguson said: “Tours are a fantastic chance for the players to get away as a unit, to put in some good training sessions and to meet some of our fans around the world who don’t have a chance to watch us play live every week.” “Our visits to the US are always enjoyable ones. The training facilities are excellent. We certainly found last year that, with the improving quality of the MLS teams, the games are very competitive, which is great preparation for a new season. To finish off with a match against Barcelona will be a special moment for all our fans in the States.”

Manchester United’s pre-season tour of the USA will see them take on the New England Revolution, Chicago Fire, Seattle Sounders, MLS All Stars and FC Barcelona.

The MLS All-Star game will be a rematch of the 2010 event when Red Devils beat the All-Stars 5-2 at Reliant Stadium in Houston. That loss was watched by over 70,000 fans which was one of the largest crowds to watch an All-Star game in any of the major sports played in the US.

This year the New York Red Bulls will host the MLS All-Star Game at Red Bull Arena which is considered the premier soccer facility in the United States.

Manchester United’s pre-season preparations will be wrapped-up in a glamour friendly against Barcelona on the 30th of July, taking place in the FedEx Field in Washington DC where over 90,000 fans will see the biggest clubs on the planet do battle. According to their most recent history, Barcelona has to be the favorite after beating Manchester United 3-1 in the recent Champions League Final, and another 2-0 win over the Red Devils in the 2009 Champions League Final.

Football’s increasing popularity in the US is demonstrated in the audience of 4.2 viewers nationally that watched the UEFA Champions League game between FC Barcelona-Manchester United on May 28th. According to Nielson Media Research the world’s most prestigious soccer club tournament final generated a 2.1 household rating and 6 share, beating the ratings and audience of the Inter Milan and Bayern Munich game, a year ago, by 75 percent and 91 percent respectively.

Whether playing against a club team or Barcelona, Manchester United will be assured of receiving a warm and enthusiastic reception this summer during their 2011 tour of North America from a rapidly growing core of football fans!

Fan Favorite King Kenny Dalglish returns to Anfield

January 14th, 2011 | Posted in English Premier League | Comments Off

Next month it will be twenty years since Kenny Dalglish, the manager who brought such tremendous success to Liverpool from 1985 to 1991, walked out of Anfield after a shock resignation. Last Monday he walked into Anfield again as the most celebrated interim manger in football today.

Dalglish returns to a team that is in bad shape. With five defeats in eight league games Liverpool is enduring its worst season since 1992-1993. The team is now 12^th in the League and only four points above the drop zone. With their recent change of owners and their third manager in less than a year, Liverpool FC have become the very opposite of the very qualities that they used to exemplify, namely stability, loyalty and consistency.

”It’s obviously a big challenge,” said Dalglish. “Very, very seldom do you walk into a job where there is no challenge. The encouraging side from me is the attitude and commitment of the players. The harder they try then the luckier they will get. If we keep trying really hard we can get some luck.

“Every side that is successful needs that bit of luck and maybe at the moment that’s going against us a bit. But the longer we get stuck in and don’t feel sorry for ourselves, the more likely it is our luck will turn. But it’s not just about a change of luck, though. We have a lot of work to do. We have to get ourselves into a position to get that luck.”

But will a new manager, make that much of a difference when the team still consists of the same under performing players? He can change tactics and tweek the line-up, but is Dalglish’s presence really going make that much of a difference? He is under pressure and is going to need time and confidence and to show some good judgement during the January transfer window in order to turn Liverpool’s season into anything even resembling respectable.

On the surface, arguments against the appointment of Kenny Dalglish as Liverpool manager make sense: his last jobs were indeed categorised by failure and inertia. However, his supporters at Liverpool don’t believe he is a saviour whose presence will instantly solve their all problems, but rather that he is someone they feel they can trust at a time when they’ve lost faith.

King Kenny’s return might be seen as a ludicrous gamble but the bottom line is Liverpool and Dalglish have nothing to lose. We wish him all the best!

The FA Cup and how it works

November 30th, 2010 | Posted in English Premier League | Comments Off

The FA Cup competition has been described as the greatest single match outside the World Cup Final and generates tremendous interest all over the world. Tickets are released some weeks before each round and tickets for the Manchester United vs. Liverpool match to be played on January 8 are presently being purchased from fans around the world.

First played in the 1871-72 season, the Football Association Challenge Cup is the oldest football competition in the world. At a meeting held in the offices of The Sportsman in London on July 20, 1971, a proposal by FA Honorary Secretary Charles Alcock “that it is desirable that a Challenge Cup should be established in connection with the Association, for which all clubs belonging to the Association should be invited to compete” met with favour and was finally approved three months later.

More commonly known as the FA Cup, it is a knock-out tournament between teams drawn from the English Football League and the Barclay’s Premier League. As long as an FA affiliated club has a basic standard of ability, and a suitable stadium they can enter the tournament.

Because any team may play, every year hundreds of teams start off in round one. There are no seedings and pairings are drawn at random and any two teams in the entire line up can be matched – an English Conference team like Kidderminster Harriers can be drawn against a powerhouse Premier League team such as Arsenal. The draw for each round is not made until after the scheduled dates for the previous round.

There are a total of 14 rounds in the competition — six qualifying rounds, followed by six further rounds (the “proper” rounds), semi-finals, and the final. The competition begins in August with the Extra Preliminary Round, followed by the Preliminary Round and First Qualifying Round, which are contested by the lowest-ranked clubs.

Clubs that are higher up in the rankings can jump to certain rounds: Clubs playing in the Conference North or Conference South are given a bye to the Second Qualifying Round and Conference National Clubs get a bye to the Fourth Qualifying Round. Clubs in Leagues One and Two are given byes into the First Round proper. Finally, teams from the Premier League and Football League Championship enter at the Third Round Proper, at which point there are 64 teams remaining in the competition. The Sixth Round Proper is the quarter-final stage, at which point eight teams remain.

The FA Cup has a set pattern for when each round is played. Normally the First Round is played in mid-November, with the Second Round on one of the first two Saturdays in December. The third round is played on the first weekend in January, with the Fourth Round later in the month and Fifth Round in mid-February. The Sixth Round (or quarter-finals) traditionally occurs in early or mid March, with the semi-finals a month later. The final is normally held the Saturday after the Premier League season finishes in May

At the end of the final, the winning team is presented with a trophy, also known as the “FA Cup”, which they hold until the following year’s final. The FA Cup is on its fourth trophy. The first one, known as the “little tin idol” and dating from the Cup’s inception in 1871 was stolen in 1895. A replica was built and used up until 1910 when it was presented to the then FA president. A third FA Cup trophy was built in 1911 to replace the replica but it eventually grew too fragile to be passed around so in 1992 yet another copy of the “little tin idol” was created. A “backup” trophy was also made alongside the existing trophy in 1992, but it has not been used so far, and will only be used if the current trophy is lost, damaged or destroyed. So the FA Cup might be the oldest domestic football competition in the world, the trophy is not.

Although the FA Cup has a long tradition of lower-ranked teams becoming “giant-killers” by defeating opponents from a higher division, in the history of the Cup only eight teams who were playing outside of the top level of English football have gone on to win the competition, and no team from the third level of the football league has ever progressed to the final. However, for non-league teams, reaching the third round – where all top flight sides now enter – is considered a major achievement.

Early FA Cup Finals were held at various venues including Fallowfield Stadium but were mainly in London. In the period from 1923 until 2000, the final was held at Wembley Stadium, English football’s national stadium. From 2001-2005, the final was moved to the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, during the rebuilding of Wembley Stadium. The Millennium Stadium was used again in 2006 due to construction delays in opening the new Wembley Stadium. The final of the 2010-2011 FA Cup will be held in May at Wembley Stadium, a little earlier than usual because of a clash with the UEFA Cup Final which is also scheduled to be played there.

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The Carling Cup: Is it worth the effort?

October 30th, 2010 | Posted in English Premier League | 1 Comment »

What do Manchester United, Scunthorpe, Ipswich, Leicester and Arsenal football clubs have in common? They all compete for the Carling Cup.

The English League Cup, also known as the Carling Cup is a knock-out competition for the top 92 clubs in England’s Premier and Football Leagues. The winners qualify for the UEFA Europa League, if they have not qualified for European competition through the Premier League or by winning the FA Cup.

The League Cup competition was the brainchild of Alan Hardaker, who was secretary of the Football League from 1957 to 1979. Known as the Godfather of Football, Hardaker realised a tournament based on two-legged ties would be financially attractive to teams in the lower echelons of the league. These lower level teams could go many years without an opportunity to make money from reaching the finals of the FA Cup.

During the late 1950s, the majority of senior English clubs equipped their grounds with floodlights. This opened up the opportunity to exploit weekday evenings throughout the winter. The League Cup was introduced in the 1960-1961 season specifically as a mid-week floodlit tournament. In the early years of the competition, many of the top teams declined to take part. It was only when automatic entry to the UEFA Cup was promised to the winners that the full League membership took part.

The big clubs started taking an interest when it was announced the winners for the 1966 competition would have automatic entry into the Europa Cup competition. This was the last final to be decided over two legs. The format was unnecessary as the growing popularity of the tournament meant it could now be decided at a neutral venue and the fact that 98,000 fans packed into Wembley for the 1967 League Cup final was conclusive proof that the League Cup was now extremely popular. In just seven years it had earned the right to stand alongside the FA Cup as a showpiece final. In every subsequent year, the League Cup final at Wembley has been a sell-out.

The League Cup(or Carling Cup as the sponsors would have it) continues to be derided by some top sides as a competition for the reserve sides, and having to participate in Cup play has also been seen as the reason that English Premier League players do not get a Winter Break. However, it is important to understand that it allows fans to see fringe players and young prospects as managers rotate squads, and is a source of revenue and exposure for most clubs outside the top tier of the English Premier League, and perhaps their only real chance of silverware. It’s a competition smaller clubs care more about than bigger ones, and that means that you get a lot of evenly matched, tight, exciting games. And by extension, you have 11 lads from the football boonies who have just had the best night of their lives!

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Everton vs. Liverpool: The Desperation Derby?

October 15th, 2010 | Posted in English Premier League | Comments Off

Everton vs. Liverpool: The Desperation Derby?

It has been a dramatic week for Liverpool FC but the off-field soap-opera around the sale of the club will be put aside on Sunday when the Reds travel to Goodison Park, to take on Merseyside rivals Everton in the 214th Merseyside Derby.

Twenty-five years ago, the Merseyside Derby was a key fixture in deciding whether Liverpool or Everton would take the league title, but in recent seasons, these games have been of more significance to Champion’s League qualification than the title race.

Both Everton and Liverpool are in the bottom four of the Premier League, each having won just one game so far this season. Everton is somewhat accustomed to being in this position – for several seasons now they have had a less than stellar early season record, but this is Liverpool’s worst start since the 1953-54 season which eventually saw them relegated. However, there is nothing like a win over your closest rivals to turn a season around and one team could begin to emerge from the abyss on Sunday.

Although Everton has always been the smaller of the two clubs, living in the shadow of its far bigger and more successful rival, according to skipper Phil Neville they have every intention of adding to Liverpool’s current woes on Sunday. The Toffee’s captain said recently:

“It’s going to be a massive game. I think you relish the fact that they are below you. I don’t think it has ever happened since I have been on the Merseyside that Liverpool has been below us so it’s something that you would like to happen more often. Everton fans have been looking up to them for a long, long time and its about time we started putting pressure on them and finishing above them.”

Liverpool full-back Glen Johnson is also looking forward to the Derby at Everton and says the passion of the fixture is unlike anything else in football. He said:

“The Merseyside Derby is different to any other I’ve played in. The Liverpool area is so passionate about football. You’re either a Red or a Blue. Where I grew up in London people supported all different teams but here it’s one or the other. It’s what you live for. You can sense when a derby is coming because of the build-up the week before. It’s so intense.”

Liverpool have won seven and lost just one of the last 10 Premier League meetings with Everton and are hoping for another Barclays Premier League victory at Goodison on Sunday. Despite being incredibly successful for their size and resources, the Toffees have not won a title since 1985, and their lone recent glimpse of glory came in 2009, where they lost the FA Cup final to Chelsea.

While Sunday’s game might not be the most glamorous derby match in recent years it could well be the most significant – a tough game between teams desperate to endure.

Everton vs. Liverpool: The Merseyside Derby

The Greatest Grudge Match in Football: Manchester United vs. Liverpool

September 16th, 2010 | Posted in English Premier League | Comments Off

The fixture between Liverpool and Manchester United is one of the most significant sporting rivalries in football, sometimes referred to as the North West derby. Both clubs hail from the North West of England, they are also the two most successful teams in England. The rivalry between the two cities predates football, going back to industrial times when they both competed for supremacy of the north-west, with Manchester famous for its manufacturing prowess while Liverpool was famous for its busy port.

Both teams have had long spells of dominance in the English game over the last 3 decades, Liverpool during the eighties and Man Utd during the nineties and noughties. During those respective periods Liverpool and Manchester United were each regarded as one of, if not the best club teams in the world.

Manchester United may have dominated the English Premier League for the last 20 years, but Liverpool continues to give them strong competition and when the two teams meet again on Sunday at Old Trafford the rivalry and sense of occasion will be as strong as ever.

Manchester United is coming off a poor week, first throwing away a 3-1 lead at Everton to draw 3-3, then following that up with a goal-less draw against Rangers in the Champions League. United is now already four points behind Chelsea in the title race because of their inability to finish off Fulham and Everton.

Until their comfortable win over Steaua in the Europa League Liverpool had been poor away from home this season, losing 3-0 to Manchester City and drawing 0-0 with Birmingham City in their two matches on the road. But Liverpool’s striker Torres knows that beating United will ignite their campaign.

“It means everything to them,” Torres said. “We are the two most successful teams in England but it has not been nice for the Liverpool fans to watch Manchester United have so much success over the recent years. We have a great squad and a great manager, and we really hope to give the fans a trophy this season, as well as beating Manchester United for them.

“The Liverpool fans are great, when you play well they are behind you and when you are not playing the best they are still behind you. I walk my dogs round the city, and before matches like Manchester United the fans will tell you good luck and things like that. It’s clear how much the Manchester United games means to them.”

Liverpool stunned United in this fixture two years ago with a 4-1 rout and have been a bit of a thorn in the side for Ferguson over the past couple of years. An in current form, Manchester United look the more likely to take away something from this match, although if Liverpool can find some form against their rivals, we could be in for a very exciting match.

Manchester United vs. Manchester City: Manchester Derby

August 24th, 2010 | Posted in English Premier League | Comments Off

For many years Manchester City have languished in the shadow of their hugely successful rival neighbours Manchester United. The City fans have watched in despair as their bitter rivals have won Premier League titles, Champions League and many other trophies.

Although City fans can taunt their rivals about the fact that United does not actually come from Manchester (Old Trafford is located outside the city limits in the borough of Trafford), United fans are able to more effectively insult Blues fans by pointing out their lack of success. At the Stretford end of Old Trafford, a banner is displayed as a taunt their biggest rivals, Manchester City. The banner displays two words: 34 years. It has indeed been 34 long years since City have won a major trophy.

However, the “tick-tock taunts” now emanating from the City camp indicate the Blues’ conviction that time is running out on United’s glory days and that Eastlands will soon be the center of the Premier League universe. Money is now no worry for Manchester City since the super rich Abu Dhabi group took over the Eastlands Club in 2008, and the club has reportedly recently spent approximately £200 million on players such as Emmanuel Adebayor, Carlos Tevez and Gareth Barry.

Manchester United is the most valuable football club in the world – worth £1.2billion according to Forbes, however fears of financial meltdown have stalked the dreams of supporters since the Glazer family took their club into private ownership in 2005. Currently carrying debts of almost 700 million pounds, the team now has no money to buy players. Having broken the British transfer record four times in the last 20 years, United is now trying to restore “value” to the market with its emphasis on homegrown players. United’s manager, Alex Ferguson recently criticized the ‘kamikaze’ spending of rival clubs – although he didn’t specifically mention City, his target was easy to figure out – but City’s manager Roberto Mancini retorted that by throwing money at the top end of the market, his team is only doing what United have done for years. Additionally, the City team that trounced Liverpool recently fielded no less than 6 English players and with so many home-grown players in their playing 11, they can hardly be written off as foreign mercenaries.

Despite all the taunting appears to be no divide within the city of Manchester – there are no pubs or particular areas that are off limits for those wearing the wrong team’s colors. Although the ugliness of chants about the Munich disaster – the 1958 air crash that claimed 23 lives, including eight members of United’s Busby Babes and Frank Swift, a journalist and former City goalkeeper still lingers about the fringes, United and City continue, fans of both teams continue to co-exist relatively happily within the same community.

The Manchester Derby is the name given to matches between Manchester City and Manchester United. In the 1990s United went unbeaten in Derby matches for an entire decade. More recently the 2007-2008 Derby games were both won by Manchester City, 1–0 at the City of Manchester Stadium on 19 August 2007, and 2–1 at Old Trafford on 10 February, It was the first time since April 1974 that City had beaten United in the league at Old Trafford and the first time they had won both league derby games since the 1969–70 season. United prevented City from winning a third consecutive derby match in the first derby of the 2008–09 season, with Wayne Rooney scoring the game’s only goal. Alex Ferguson proclaimed the 2009–10 Manchester derby at Old Trafford as “probably…the best derby of all time”. Manchester United won this game 4–3 after Manchester City had equalised three times only for Michael Owen to score the winning goal after 95 minutes. City will host United on November 10 for the first Derby match of this season. Premium TicketHub has tickets for this and all other Manchester United games: http://www.premiumtickethub.com/manchesterunitedtickets get yours now!