In a footballing climate where the tribal element in the hearts of players appears to be doomed, engulfed by a tide of mercenary individuals pimping themselves out to the highest bidder, it may not be surprising to see Wayne Rooney looking around for rival offers when time comes to sign a new contract at Manchester United.

Problems have befallen him on the pitch with England and at home with his marriage yet he has brought this baggage with him to his day job at Old Trafford. He has confused this despair with a need to escape the pressures a young man raising a newly born son should not have to be burdened with and so he is looking for a way out.

So to cut to the chase, should he stay or should he go?

Rather than hypothesise and speculate over a paradoxical personal life here is a top five of purely football reasons for why Wayne Rooney must stay at Old Trafford. Feel free to contest or agree in comments.

1.    A culture of winning

You do not win league titles and a Cup Winners’ Cup with Aberdeen – breaking up the Rangers/Celtic monopoly in Scotland – then head south of the border, awaken a sleeping giant at a time when Liverpool were winning everything, cure an addled club with a damaging drinking culture, lead it to near dominance in the eighteen years of the Premier League and win two Champions Leagues with two rebuilt sides without knowing a thing or two about how to manage professional footballers.

2.    Sir Alex

The Scot’s man management skills are rated high and away above his tactical prowess which he tends to leave to his entourage of coaches. Rather, he knows how to get the best out of his players and how to develop them into world beaters.

When Ryan Giggs was a wee Welshman, drawing flattering overtures from European managers for his dazzling twinkle toes and from exotic women for his tropically adorned chest, his head was undoubtedly turned by Inter Milan. Ferguson recognised he was straying down the path of the celebrity footballer (insert Golden Balls reputation here) and directed his focus and energy back on succeeding where he was.

Fast forward to 2010 and he is the most decorated and arguably most respected, adulated and championed footballer ever to grace English football. Rooney is in the most capable hands he could be in to help him get through a difficult period on and off the field and realise his still unfulfilled potential.

3.    In good company

The Liverpudlian evidently looks up to Paul Scholes and admires his professionalism. With the likes of Giggs, Scholes and Gary Neville excelling as a one-club player in this country Rooney must be aware that he is ideally positioned to be next in line.
Furthermore it doesn’t take the Hamlyn illustrated history of Manchester United to realise the careers of those world class players that left Old Trafford invariably struggled to push onto even greater heights.

David Beckham struggled at first to win trophies at the Bernabeu with Real Madrid, eventually winning La Liga in his fourth season away from United. Ruud van Nistlerooy started well at the Galacticos before seeing himself frozen out. Jaap Stam has always said he should never have left Old Trafford after clashing with Ferguson.

The only players in recent years to be thriving since seeking pastures knew have been Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez…and yet they are yet to claim any silverware at their new clubs.

4.    Form is temporary

It is fair to say those in football suffer from short term memory loss. Last season, Wayne was striding around Premier League grounds, chest puffed out, confidence overflowing, proudly displaying the red white and black of the Red Devils kit. Yet with a memory akin to that of the school fate goldfish this season he’s been skulking around the pitch, in the shadow of the emboldened Dimitar Berbatov, incapable of trapping any pass and more error prone than a gently pressed Mikael Silvestre with time and space (let’s be honest he hasn’t been that bad).

If he were to take a step back, clear his befuddled head and realise the levels of ability and success he achieved last season then he would realise this rut he’s in is temporary. If the Chilean miners were able to escape the hole they found themselves in last week then Rooney can get back to Players’ Player of the Year award-winning form.
Most importantly, he will realise this form was found in a Manchester United shirt and can be again. He is still the main man in attack for United regardless of progress made by the Bulgarian and potential of Javier Hernandez and Kiko Macheda. Everything is so much rosier when it’s going well.

5.    Fans offer rehabilitation

While at Manchester United, Rooney was quoted in early May 2009: “I want to stay at this club for the rest of my career. I will sign an extension any time the club wants me to.”
This effusive confirmation of his devotion to the Red Devil cause and commitment to Sir Alex came in the final stages of a Premier League winning season that also led them to the final of the Champions League in Rome.

What a difference a year makes. Problems may have followed him to Old Trafford and a fresh start may appeal to a strained, unhappy 24-year-old, yet fans don’t quite see it that way.

Rooney will not be forgiven for turning his back on the Stretford End faithful. These are the fans that revelled in being the most hated club in England pre-Abramovich’s Chelsea. These are the fans that cheered Beckham when he was blamed for England’s exit from France ’98 whilst up and down the county his effigy was being burned remorselessly. These are the fans that took pride in their Portuguese winker and bellowed Ronaldo’s name whenever he graced Old Trafford after it was his turn to be held responsible for the national team’s failures in an international tournament.

These fans back their fallen heroes and inspire them to hit yet greater heights. Rooney has not gone past the point of no return. He is tip-toeing precariously close to it but the fans will still be there for him if he puts pen to paper. The rest – his confidence, belief, form and love for the game – can be revitalised by the Manchester United supporters who still line up in their thousands every Saturday afternoon to see their heroes enjoy a kickabout.

Seven wins out of seven, 18 goals scored, three points clear at the top. Mainz have a one hundred per cent start equalling a Bundesliga record orchestrated by a bright, young manager with 20 something starlets setting the league alight. Where it is all going so right for the O-Fives?

Scan over the league tables abroad in Europe right now and you would be pleasantly surprised to see some of the less fancied sides setting the pace and making the European heavyweights play catch-up. Rennes have leapfrogged the big names to top France’s Ligue 1, Lazio have been all conquering at the summit in Italy and Valencia, lately suffering financially and selling their Villa in the Summer, have taken residence at number one in Spain.

But the standout performance so far comes from Germany where minnows Mainz are leaving the Munichs and Leverkusens trailing in their wake. Unlike the other surprise packages in Europe, Mainz have virtually no table-topping pedigree to speak of whatsoever, making their feat all that more remarkable.

Carnival city building sporting heritage

The city of Mainz, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, straddles the river Rhine.  Its only previous highlight came in qualification to the 2005/06 UEFA Cup via the honourable “fair play” process. Yet their dream ended abruptly against eventual winners Sevilla, losing 2-0 on aggregate in the first round.

This time around fans of the self-professed “carnival club” have refused to stop partying, routinely packing their Stadion am Bruchweg’s 20,000 capacity. This positive atmosphere has spread to the players as well. At the final whistle of their 2-0 victory over 1 FC Koln in September, the celebrating players carried an oversized “1” on to the pitch, a not-too-subtle testament of their intent to enjoy their time in the limelight.

Young coach with point to prove

Which leads nicely on to their real Number One: head coach Thomas Tuchel. After retiring from a less than glittering career following a serious knee injury in 1998, aged just 24, he was appointed U14 coach at Stuttgart, being taken under the wing of his former manager Ralf Rangnick.

He undoubtedly impressed and was offered the Mainz post, taking the reins two years ago. He led them to promotion out of the Fussball Bundesliga in his first season, a ninth-place finish in the top flight in his second and has now guided them to the summit.

Tuchel, 37, employs similar tactics to his mentor Rangnick’s TSG 1899 Hoffenheim who were wowing the 2008/09 Bundesliga in similar fashion until the winter break scuppered their progress. Mainz play a fast, passionate, pressing game, with Tuchel unafraid to tinker with tactics countering opponents’ strengths and rotating his young squad without sacrificing talent or losing momentum.

In total he has used 19 players in his starting 11 affording his charges rest to maintain the team’s high energy in attack and defence. It is no surprise to hear his favourite side are Barcelona, but it is telling that he admires their devotion to winning back the ball above their play when in possession.

In an interview with the Guardian, Midfielder Lewis Holtby revealed how Tuchel’s personal touch of “absolute authority with humanity” has helped unite the squad.

Investment in youth

The South-West Germans policy of utilising youth is certainly bearing fruit up front. Their star performers read like Arsene Wenger’s Carling Cup wish list: Holtby (20), Andre Schurrle (19), Sami Allagui (24), Adam Szalai (22) and Morten Rasmussen (25).

Mainz have been entertaining in victory as well as relentless, scoring 18, and spreading the goals around between eight players including their playmaker Holtby who has been catching the eye of Fabio Capello. The midfielder on loan from Schalke – whose father hails from Yorkshire, his mother from West Germany – remains eligible for England despite representing Germany at every youth level since U16 and being their current U21s captain.

Nevertheless there are yet to be any senior call-ups to Joachim Low’s national squad. Other than Holtby, defender Jan Kirchhoff and top-scorer Schurrle representing the U21s it appears that Mainz’s form is very much due to a sum-of-their-parts approach this season adapted effectively by Tuchel.

Opponents’ underwhelming form

Perhaps their greatest feat so far came at the Allianz Arean. A 2-1 victory on Bayern’s home patch, in the midst of Munich’s beer festival Oktoberfest, which supposedly renders them invincible, is telling of how far Mainz have come but equally how far last year’s Champions League finalists have fallen.
Devoid of their mesmerising wingers Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery the Bavarians have looked toothless, slumped in lowly twelfth, 13 points adrift of the top. It is a trend befalling many in the Bundesliga.

Hoffenheim and Wolfsburg apart, all of Mainz’s defeated opponents are currently floundering in the bottom half of the table whereas Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen have started brightly.
The remainder of the month provides fixtures against the aforementioned clubs as well as seventh placed Hamburg. October will serve as a litmus test to just how far Tuchel’s boys have come. Those in richer veins of form may prove more of a challenge as the season develops.

Financially astute

There may be echoes in Mainz’s assent this season to financial backer Dietmar Hopp’s Hoffenheim and their assault on the top tier two seasons back. However, Mainz have a squad that costs a relatively austere €17million (£14.5million) in wages and is devoid of a billionaire benefactor with pockets as deep as those in Hopp’s lederhosen.

This looks unlikely to be a footballing flash-in-the-pan. Sports manager Christian Heidel and long-serving president Harald Strutz have taken the previously small second division club to amongst the top tier in Germany.

Like Sir Alex, Heidel clearly wasn’t listening when Alan Hansen muttered the irreversible words “you’ll never win anything with kids”. Mainz have bought young, talented players at a snip and nurtured them into national prodigies whilst investing in their academy.

However, this is where their limited funds are exposed. The club was reluctantly forced to accept Bayer Leverkusen’s £6.5million offer for academy product Andre Schurrle, who will move at the end of the season but on the flipside the agreement guaranteed the permanent signature of loan midfielder and exciting prospect Marcel Risse.

In Heidel’s hands you can guarantee those Euros will be spent astutely without breaking the bank to further improve their blistering start.

Wait and see

It is not hard to see how the O-Fives have caught the attention of European football. It remains to be seen if Mainz can cling onto their young and exciting squad for the remainder of the season. The January transfer window may prove the greatest threat to maintaining their imperious assault on the Bundesliga championship and providing the fairytale story of the season.

The most decisive Manchester derby since Dennis Law’s back-heel in 1974 will highlight where success and failure lies in a footballing city marked by a season of transition.

Forget the War of the Roses. Forget the north/south divide. Saturday’s clash between the red and blue armies of Manchester promises to be an epic, with meteoric implications for both clubs and both sets of supporters.

The Carling Cup contest was a classic cup tie with each side going for broke from the first kick. The early season 4-3 victory over City was special for its drama. The 2-1 humbling of United in 2008, on the fiftieth anniversary of the Munich disaster will not be forgotten quickly.

But with unrest and uncertainty in the air for the reds, contrasting with the optimism and financial clout wielded by the blues, this Premier League derby could prove as decisive and divisive a match as there has been at Old Trafford since former red, Denis Law’s back-heeled goal for City relegated United to the old second division in 1974.

Victory for United in the powder-keg atmosphere of Eastlands would reinvigorate their flagging aspirations for a fourth consecutive championship. While defeat or success for City would have dramatic implications for their assault on the top four, the immediate future for their manager and offer a fitting barometer to gauge the potential of this revamped, resurgent City of Manchester club.

For both Lancashire outfits this season has been one etched with transition. United are just facing up to a potentially bleaker future of consolidation and austerity on the pitch and in the transfer market. City, by contrast, have been burgeoned by Sheikh Mansour’s billions generating a firm belief in this club that they can recapture the glory days gone by of the 1960s and 70s.

The prospects for this period of transition in Manchester will be clearer when the final whistle goes tomorrow lunchtime. In previous years United have been almost untouchable in the league, setting the standards of domestic football while City were establishing themselves in a relatively new stadium and trying to shrug off doubts over the legitimacy of their ownership by Thaksin Shinawatra.

Since Gary Neville held the Premier League trophy aloft in May the gap between the clubs seen in performances on the pitch and in the transfer market has narrowed considerably. Perhaps this fixture in the coming years could represent a title decider – the likes of which not seen since Joe Mercer and Malcolm Allison led City to League Championship success in 1967/68, when United were beaten into second place – as the two clubs continue on this path toward a level playing field.

Returning to the story of 1974, two years after Law’s goal against his former club, the blue side of Manchester was celebrating victory in the League Cup. It has been 34 years since that day and they have not picked up anymore silverware since – a fact the Old Trafford faithful propagate with increasing relish. The second-leg Carling Cup semi-final tie in January, regardless of what Ferguson would say about the importance of reaching finals, was ultimately about extending this barren spell, delaying Mancini’s men an outing at Wembley that their attacking displays this campaign have arguably deserved.

A befitting consolation for their passionate support would be a top four finish and an opportunity to represent what they believe to be the true team of Manchester on Europe’s centre stage – in the Champions League – confirming their ascent to club football’s elite that their billions of pounds would vindicate and their thousands of fans would demand.

Both times at Old Trafford a last-gasp goal has been the only thing maintaining United’s superiority this season. At the City of Manchester Stadium, the former United striker, Carlos Tevez was the difference for the Blues taking a 2-1 lead in the cup. It could well be, just like Dennis Law in ‘74, a former red devil that will have the final say on a season dominated by transition that will ultimately end in despair for one half of Manchester and celebration for the other.

Beckham, Terry, Cole…injuries and melodramas expose England’s Achilles’ heel

As the Greek myth of the Trojan War goes, it was the heel of the great Achilles – pierced by a poisoned arrow fired by Paris – that killed the apparently invulnerable warrior. Now in England’s World Cup campaign, one that seemed so promising six months ago, it is the stricken heel of David Beckham that has all but killed off the nation’s chances of success in South Africa.

If 2009 had been a perfect year for England and Fabio Capello, 2010 will so far be remembered with anguish and dismay. It has taken less than three months to derail England’s previously impeccable World Cup campaign. For all the invincibility perpetuated by the form of Wayne Rooney, it cannot be disguised that England’s Achilles’ heel has been left exposed by unrelenting fitness set-backs and public crises.

In the qualifying season Capello equipped the team with a raw pace and precision befitting of a world finals favourite. The pieces of the puzzle seemed to be falling into place. England scored more than any other European team in qualifying with a coherent, dynamic set-up that brought the best out of every individual.

The Italian even went so far as to say he knew who his no. 1 would be in goal, presumably David James given he played the majority of the qualies. The same could arguably be said for his thoughts on how the rest of the team would shape up.

Heskey and Rooney, with Gerrard interjecting from an advanced left position seemed to crack the ‘square peg in a round hole’ enigma of the Liverpool captain and bring the best out of Wazza, England’s most devastating weapon. Lampard and Barry developed an effective partnership in the engine room and Ferdinand, Terry and Ashley Cole made up 3/4s of an impenetrable back four. Doubts remained over the right flank but there were plenty of viable options.

Team morale was buoyant and yet the national team had an air of composed assurance instilled by the Italian’s machismo.

Now what a difference a superinjunction makes. The revelations (not like everyone was really that surprised) about Terry’s affairs and unrepentant betrayal of an England team-mate sent shock waves through the camp and stripped him of the armband. Shortly after being cut down by a broken ankle that will jeopardise his fitness for the summer ‘Cashley’ Cole’s popularity took another dramatic plunge after having salvaged respect for impressive displays on the pitch.

Wayne Bridge, the most experienced if not reliable back-up to Cole at left-back, backed out of deputising in the Chelsea man’s absence. No one is convinced about who should start in goal let alone be on the plane. Ferdinand has barely appeared all season due to his vulnerable vertebrae; and now one of the only truly talismanic player in the projected squad has cried off to Finland after rupturing that mythical weak spot on his left heel.

His experience – whether you think he would have played every minute in this summer’s tournament or just made up the numbers on the training pitch – would have been invaluable for the squad in South Africa. He has been through everything on the international stage from baring the expectancy of a nation to baring the burden of defeat; from his role in redemption in 2002 to reliability in 2006 he has embodied England’s pride and passion from that first cap to his 115th.

It must be acknowledged that England’s hopes are not entirely dashed, yet. Players are rediscovering form and fitness at a crucial time and with Rooney in the form of his life anything is possible. He is capable of inspiring the team around him to excel (just look at how his club are doing).

However, England’s vulnerability has been exposed as far more extensive than thought when qualification was secured in Wembley last September. That 23-man squad will be hobbling to South Africa, a World Cup most expected would go furthest in alleviating 44 years of hurt.

Which self-important, deluded, foreign-funded club would you least like to see take the final Champions League spot at the end of the season?

For the Manchester United supporter this is one of life’s great conundrums. Arch nemesis or arch rivals? Sworn enemy or noisy neighbour?  For those who still believe in the beautiful game and the purities of football Manchester City will represent Beelzebub incarnate – driving ticket prices, agents’ wages and fan expectations through the roof. For those sick of the ‘four-trick pony’ that has been the Premier League, practically since its inception, the opportunity to break up the Big Four monopoly with the sacrificial lamb that is Liverpool FC would be a refreshing development.

On the one hand the Scoucers need reminding that last season was an anomaly. A freak event. One comparable to the magnitude of Yellowstone erupting in the film 2012, spiraling the world into chaos and fear, until Rafa made his famous speech that reminded everyone their resurgence was merely a storm in a teacup.

However, the alternative is almost too unbearable to imagine, isn’t it? That City, with their trillions and uninterested investors could flourish while the Crystal Palace’s and Portsmouth’s flounder in their wake. With princes and big wigs in it to make a name of Abu Dhabi rather than rejuvenate a once proud club. Happy to bank roll inept suits such as Garry Cook and make examples of football’s hardworking heroes like ‘Sparky’ Mark Hughes.

To allow Liverpool to remain in the top four after the shoddy campaign they’ve cobbled together would be criminal of the chasing pack. To allow City to break through into Europe’s esteemed premier competition would do a disservice to the traditions of the sport.

So, if you too enjoy stagnation and fear change, if you would reward those who value self-righteousness and can forgive Villa and Spurs for not making the grade then pick Liverpool for fourth. Alternatively, if you welcome change on the scale Obama was talking about following Bush’s reign of ineptitude and can accept the Fat Cats profiteering while your neighbour swallows forced redundancy then City with their blood money are for you.

For most the decision is between the lesser of two evils. Like Cameron or Brown. Swine Flu or Bird Flu. Jump or be pushed. I just hope there can be a third option: give us Nick Clegg, a common cold, throw us a parachute and have Martin O’Neill do us all a favour by leading Villa into the top four.

Wayne Rooney has six goals in seven for Manchester United so far. For England in qualification matches his record is nine in eight. The national side has booked their place for the World Cup next summer allowing him to whet his appetite for South Africa by focusing on Premier League and European competition.

Come June, without the WAGs to distract him, Wazza can tuck into the native cuisine of biltong, ostrich and vetkoek (literally ‘fat cake’) and eye-up the opposition with menace. For finally it looks like England have all the ingredients of talent up-front to envy any side on the international landscape.

This sudden discovery or revelation, call it what you will, came to me when indulging myself on the forums in recognising Darren Bent’s reinvigorated form for Sunderland. ‘Is he good enough to be taken seriously again?’ I asked. The conclusion was emphatically definitive: no.

He has turned a few heads and can be lauded for his league form but nobody’s making space on the plane for him to join the World Cup party just yet. He may be given a glimmer of hope in Capello’s next squad to be announced on Sunday but that may be misleading as others are simply too good right now.

In analysing the probable forward options that will be in attendance in South Africa it looks like England have an abundance of riches. Capello has everything rolled into one in the form of Rooney. Defoe has pace and explosive finishing. Cole has strength and power as well as an effective shot on him and ability in the air. Crouch has realised he can score with his head and Heskey is the glue that holds it all together. Give Agbonlahor and even my newly crowned hero Michael Owen time to impress until June and all the boxes are ticked.

‘Fox-in-the-box’, Defoe. Pace, Agbonlahor. Power, Cole. Aerial threat, Crouch. Link-up play, Heskey. Finishing, Owen. All of the above, Rooney.

And for the rest:

Spain
Torres, Villa. They need to be supported by a ‘big man’. Back-ups Cazorla and Llorente sound more like something you’d throw in a paella than up-front. Yet they may not even need one if Spain play like they did at the Euros and Bojan could be back on the radar by then.

France
Henry, Anelka, Benzema then possibly Saha if he keeps scoring for the Toffees. That seems a daunting attack complimented by Nasri, Ribery and Gourcuff! Think they are struggling for qualification at the mo but they have the most all rounded front line for me.

Brazil
Robinho, Fabiano, Adriano (suprisingly included – he must have run out of beer money). We know all about them and will be re-acquainted in November when England face them in a testing friendly. Yet, they have unknown quantities such as Nilmar and Tardelli waiting in the wings and being Brazil, they will probably be quality. Could say they have the complete package but injuries would expose the more inexperienced players in a World Cup.

Germany
Podolski and Klose have had plenty of opportunities to play together. Klose is effective in the air and together they can be prolific but I don’t think there is much back up after Gomez.

Italy
Gilardinho and Iaquinta don’t really scare me. They are not consistent enough and Rossi and Di Natale are too slight and inexperienced.

Holland
Van Persie, Kuyt, Huntelaar and Robben as a wing-forward should be quite a handful. Yet when Robben goes missing they do lack someone with blistering pace. Against England they didn’t create much that wasn’t put on a plate for them by our errors.

Argentina
Messi, Tevez, Aguero, Higuain and Milito. They are all tricky players but no one stands out as offering much of an aerial threat and anyway, they may not even qualify so we’ll worry about them later.

African nations
each have one big name striker like Drogba, Adebayor, Eto’o etc but don’t have enough quality back up.

So all in all, England surely have plenty of the right ingredients to produce a dynamic, diverse, devastating forward partnership that is only rivalled by France and Brazil. But three months ago it didn’t look like we had any capable centre-forwards so who knows how we will shape up in nine months time…

If everyone’s fit, Wayne will still be licking his lips at the prospect of getting stuck into the opposition defences with ample support for good measure, and England should be the team to beat.

Times they are a changing in the Premier League

Six weeks ago the English press were running around like little school girls gushing over the brilliance of our national league. Three teams representing the Premiership had reached the last four of the European Cup two years on the bounce. The English champions were the world champions and they had nurtured and cultivated the world’s player of the year. All eyes across the planet were focused on these shores and the allure of the league had never been stronger.

Safe to say, CEO of the Prem, Richard Scudamore was sitting rather pretty as Blatter and Platini scowled in jealousy, resigned to the imminent departures of the best their compatriots could produce.

But then, along came Florentino Perez. Here was the man that brought us the incompetent ‘Galacticos’; the man who handpicked the greatest players on earth and wrenched them away from their boyhood clubs; the man who threw all the finest footballing eggs in one soulless basket and left them there to rot.

Like a cross between a WWII genocidal dictator, a Star Wars galactic emperor and a Dick Van Dyke movie child snatcher, he set about in his revamped plans for world domination. Within days he had singled out the good-for-nothings (curiously, all Dutch players) and sent in his spies to unsettle the stars with burgeoning ability and more crucially, mushrooming marketability.

Former world player of the year Kaka was his with nothing more than a brief “Ciao” to the club that had made him their talisman. Before you knew it current world player of the year Ronnie was off with not so much as a wink for old times’ sake. No doubt the contractual papers are being typed up as we speak for Ibrahimovic.

So surely now there will be players clambering over themselves to fill the void left such influential departures. Villa? “No thanks, I’ll wait for Floro to trump up another earth shattering bid from his bottomless pockets.” Benzema? “I’ll hang around in Lyon till Real come calling.” Liverpool’s midfield looks to be vulnerable with Alonso and Mascherano getting fidgety. Adebayour and Tevez have already packed their bags for greener pastures. And even Torres seems to have had his head turned with everything going on.

It looks like Perez has well and truly rocked the boat and swung favour back in the direction of La Liga. Those trusty politicians up in Whitehall don’t seem to have done us any favours either. With the pound crumbling against the euro and the tax bands getting tighter for the rich and famous, it’s no wonder these players are jumping ship.

Yet England hasn’t had a world player of the year grace its shores for as long as I can remember. The last Ballon d’Or winner from England was the Liverpool superstar formerly known as Michael Owen back in 2001. Cristiano was meant to be the start of things to come with the most glorified and majestic players queuing up to represent our top four. The only saving grace now will be if English teams continue to excel in Europe and generate world beaters of their own.

It seems like it has happened in the blink of the eye but now that the European crown is in Catalan hands and the tide is turning, this generation might start having to realise that the Premier League’s not quite what it used to be. As with boom, there comes bust. And as there was Ronaldo, now there is Nani.

It may sound premature to say this, but the golden era of English club football is on the precipice, a couple more big money moves away from entering its dark ages.

Rory Delap: One reason why the Euro champs wouldn’t reign in England

One further debate that has emerged since Manchester United “didn’t turn up” in the Stadio Olimpico, and the vertically challenged Spaniards, Iniesta and Xavi, stole the show in Rome, has been to question just how good this treble-winning Barcelona side really are. Not content to question how much they could dominate their own league, pundits have been considering how they would fare in the perceived, ‘best league in the world’ of the Premiership.

Sky Sports’ Graham Hunter, based in Spain but most likely hailing from Blackpool, has been carrying the Iberian torch with vigour. He has been waxing lyrical about how Barca’s precocious talents would obliterate all in their path, highlighting the superior status of the Premiership, and financial clout that comes with it, that would cement their place as numero uno.

He has a point too. Manchester United’s recent inheritance from TV rights and league success has made them €45million richer whereas the Spanish giants only reaped €12million for an equivalent campaign. That extra dosh would only make the European champions more powerful.

So, alternatively, what would our league offer that the Spanish one does not?

This season Barca sit justifiably at the pinnacle of European football, having proven their abilities against the best that England can throw at them, although admittedly in a knockout competition. Yet the common retort to such claims that Barca could handle the unrelenting 38 games of the English league is normally asserted through the challenge that would be brought by the burly and brash Stoke FC.

Aerial bombardment is not a weapon often used in La Liga and the words ‘route one football’ would be considered more a derogatory phrase than a football tactic – one that was ingeniously manufactured in Wimbledon and lovingly nurtured in Bolton – and one that has been known to thwart the more talented teams throughout the season.

Kevin Davies would revel in the wrecking-ball role up-front. Rory Delap would be like Kryptonite to Spain’s Supermen. And Gary Megson and Sam Allardyce would be seen as tactical masterminds in plotting their downfall – which would inevitably come.

You only have to look so far as the Emirates to understand how the Catalan style of free flowing, graceful artistry would struggle to bring reward. In England, a team’s success is built on resilience, determination and a solid backbone rather than induced by creative flair. The aforementioned physical challenge that the Spaniards face on the hallowed turf of Camp Nou would translate far more dramatically on the frosty narrow pitches of Fratton Park and the Britannia Stadium.

These teams are not to be underrated. Liverpool could understandably look to points lost against Stoke to explain the demise of their season. Arsenal were well and truly put in their place by the Potters. United were almost derailed there in January and that victory was hailed as Sir Alex’s most important result. So what gives Graham Hunter so much conviction that Barcelona would be able to nonchalantly brush them aside?

Perhaps it is the gloss that the title of European champions brings and with it that air of invincibility. Perhaps it was the manner of Barca’s resurgence in the final that made him forget their fragility when going toe-to-toe with Chelsea at the Bridge. Or perhaps, it is because such a scenario where the Spanish title holders would line up against the likes of Stoke and Blackburn and Bolton, is simply just a hypothetical one.

Nevertheless, you can bet your lives that Messi, Iniesta and Alves are more relieved than anything that this is the case, because Stoke and Rory Delap in particular, would give them one hell of a run for their money!

Now I don’t mean to rip off the idea Dexy, but this whole best XI business somehow got my mind racing. It got me thinking about those past and present who have been our eyes, ears and experts on the game, and just what we think about them. Who do we appreciate (see below) and who are best forgotten (see David Pleat, Mark Lawrenson, John Barnes, etc.). So here is my Ultimate 11 of pundits, critics, presenters and commentators for the game we all know and love:

Bob Primrose Wilson

Goalkeeper

A stalwart of British football broadcasting on BBC and ITV. His dignified refined manner and caring charitable spirit have earned him an OBE, yet with a middle name being the source of ridicule in the past, a savage side boils just under the surface. A keeper with a complex makes a much more dangerous proposition, so don’t expect any charity in the commentary box Lowro or to get away with any mumblings from Mr Pleat. He won’t take no shit.

Alan Hansen

Center Back

wise old head at the back who is still repenting for his comments: “You’ll never win anything with kids”. But thereby lies his value. He’d have plenty to prove to the young start ups coming into the punditry world like that Jamie ‘one suit, Andy Gray suck up’ Redknapp.

Marcel Desailly

Center Back

With heart on his sleeve performances and sheer jubilance on the touch lines before a big game, it is clear he’s just happy to be there. Rubbing shoulders with a plethora of footballing greats across Europe and Africa, he has combined a French panache with his Ghanaian gusto to enthrall viewers the world over.

Soccer AM’s Tim Lovejoy and Helen Chamberlain

Full backs

Their partnership for the better side of a decade on the Saturday morning show, witnessed more often than is healthy with a pounding dehydrating hang over, did more to whet the appetite for a weekend of football festivities than a lifetime supply of gobstoppers. With these two flanking the hard nuts in the centre, their enthusiasm and joviality would invigorate the Pundit XI, though their repeated attempts at the Cross-Bar challenge could disrupt proceedings slightly.

Jeff Stelling (Captain)

Center Midfield

With a patented drinking game and forays into day time TV on Countdown, Jeff’s international recognition would be priceless for shirt sales and merchandising. His ability to orchestrate his comrades every frantic Saturday afternoon and his loyal devotion to his hometown club Hartlepool have solidified his symbolic stature and role model capabilities for generations to come.

Chris Kamara

Center Midfield

“It’s unbelievable Jeff!” Chris Kamara truly is just that. A hard man on the pitch and a nutter off it, he has the ability to excite even the most mundane of Middlesbrough matches and his off camera antics would keep studio morale on the up even when the bitter Hansen tries to douse it.

Matt Le Tissier

Right Wing

A spot kick expert, he is generally spot-on when it comes to crunch time. With a formidable gut, you know he could handle his bitter on the South coast (better than his weathered colleague Paul Merson), and his aptness for the majestic has been carried over from his playing days to the Soccer Saturday live-commentary team, excelling where the mere mortals of Charlie Nickolas and Phil Thompson simply cannot compete.

Guillem Balague

Left Wing

To satiate Sepp Bleater, we’ve rationed the foreign imports to just two, but drawn the cultured penmanship and multi-lingual abilities of Guillem to these shores. As a shrewd tactician with a continental craftiness, he would be in the know for those vital European fixtures and have the tricks up his sleeve to mesmerise the audience with his Catalan control of the mic. GOOOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLLLLL.

Andy Grey

Center Foward

He may be a biased bastard but he sure knows a thing or two about the game and can be relied on to have the final astute word. Sky are reportedly throwing 20 grand a week at him and have even introduced that fool Redknapp to whisper sweet nothings in his ear and keep him sweet. Golden Boots, Young Player of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year during his career and a renowned playboy and womanizer off the pitch underline his value to our Pundit XI. Take a bow, son.

Martin Tyler

Center Foward

Like Bangers and Mash, Torvill and Dean, Kylie and hot pants, the combination of Gray and Tyler makes as much sense as it does quality punditry. Their harmonious collaborations provide perfect symmetry to the football game. As a striking double act for a Commentators XI charity game, in which he scored from an Andy Gray cross, underlines their potency in spearheading this team against all the young pretenders of Setanta and ITV.

Des Lynam

Manager

Old Des needs no introducing. His presenting skills span a multitude of formats, fermenting his talents on Match of the Day, before the big eared Lineker filled his boots; a favourite amongst the ladies, young and old, has seen him hold the allure of the feisty Vorderman on Countdown, before Jeff bumped her for a younger model. Similarly to Wilson, an OBE has been his reward for his charismatic performances on the box. And his enigmatic charm, of which Mourinho would be proud, would captivate the press room and inspire the pundit’s dressing room alike. All in a day’s work for Des and his boys.

]]> http://www.dexysden.co.uk/2009/05/ultimate-xi-football-pundits/feed/ 11 http://www.dexysden.co.uk/2009/05/ref-elitism-underlines-ovrebo-witch-hunt/ http://www.dexysden.co.uk/2009/05/ref-elitism-underlines-ovrebo-witch-hunt/#comments Wed, 13 May 2009 07:00:53 +0000 Sam Rider http://blog.ukfootballfinder.co.uk/?p=1012

After all the fuss has died down

A special place is reserved for people like Tom Henning Ovrebo. Just like Anders Frisk, Graham Poll, Robert Mugabe, and Osama Bin Laden before him, Tom has achieved household name status and established himself on Interpol’s top ten most wanted overnight.

The witch hunt began to take shape in the Sky Sports studio last Wednesday night. Drogba set the precedent kicking and screaming and foaming at the mouth and the pundits continued in such vain. On the performance of the Norwegian, the ever impartial Jamie Redknapp (son of Harry Redknapp – brother-in-law of Frank Lampard Snr – daddy of Jnr – consequently making Jamie Lamp’s cousin and an obstinate Frank fanatic and Chelsea convert – still following?) had a lot to say. He launched into his tirade: “Why can’t we have the best Italian or Spanish… Hold on, we can’t have a Spanish one…” Did I mention how Jamie likes to give the audience the impression he has no clue what he’s saying?

Then you might have noticed him calling Andy Gray Andrew Gay…woops! Was that a little Freudian slip? Revealing some genuine insight amongst Jamie’s typically fumbling post match assertions? Surprised that there were hints of homoeroticism involving Jamie’s adopted paternal role model? Me neither.

If you can sift through all that, then well done! The point is: there’s some blatant elitist referee selection creeping into the Champions League. In this scenario of English v Spanish clash, only an Italian official would have been deemed to have sufficient capabilities, match experience and big game temperament to cope with the feisty semi final encounter.

Poor Tom Ovrebo’s abilities, eyesight, allegiances and all round personal character have been called into question by every quarter since his interesting take on officiating that night. The biggest question marks over his selection have focused on his lack of experience cultivated in the Norwegian league. Albeit, the Tippeligaen, catchy isn’t it, can hardly lay claim to presenting the biggest of big game clashes for ref’s to oversee – what when the Viking’s are taking on Odd Grenland and all the team’s just sound like fruity European beers – but his credentials should be enough to earn him a place amongst the refereeing elite.

The quality of football in Scandinavia should not detract from the role of the ref. They are still relied on to bound about with whistle in hand, cards at the ready, to keep players in check, administer deserving punishments and occasionally, at least last time I checked, award penalties. Then again, Ovrebo’s reluctance to point to the spot at the Bridge does notably discredit such an assumption.

So why was he selected? At the age of 41 the psychologist by trade has proven a shrewd professional. He has overseen semis in the Uefa Cup over the last two years and several big quarters in the Champs Lge such as Inter v Liverpool and Man United v Roma (he gave a pen to the Italians in that one). Earning the right to ref at European championships and even to be preselected for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa show he must be doing something right. Perhaps it is his fleeting similarities in appearance to the referee colossus Pierluigi Collina that earned him this honour. That is the only reason I can fathom in the sudden elevation of fellow slap’ed Howard Webb to top official in England. Bald is back for the men in black.

It appears that Ovrebo’s previous 15 years of refereeing was building up to that crucial semi final second leg and rightly so. Ok, so he had a shocker but he deserved to be the man in the middle on the basis of his experience. One thing we could be more worried about is the increasing trend of English teams getting to the sharp end of this tournament will mean that no English refs will be allowed to oversee the biggest games and our standard of officiating will never get the opportunity to impress. Then again, last time our top man, Mr Poll, was put in the international limelight in the Euro championships for that Croatia v Australia game he forgot how to count so maybe that’s just a blessing in disguise.

Before we find ourselves in a position where no ref is good enough or Italian enough to ref these big games we should embrace the possibility for officials from the third world of league football to earn the right to oversee the games on the biggest stage. Until we have video technology, the rest is up to them and they will have to deal with any consequences…or go into hiding until it all blows over.
But let’s be honest, Chelsea should have sealed the tie long before Ovrebo lost his bottle and forgot what a penalty was, so perhaps they’ve only got themselves to blame. And next time, Abramovich should dig deeper into his gold lined pockets and offer a bribe more attractive to the Norwegian.

A season of so nears yet so fars

Unlike Arsenal, Liverpool has no youth policy to point to in excuse of a season bereft of silverware, so can the Anfield faithful truly call this be a season of progress and positives?

Arsenal are having to come to terms with yet another trophy-less campaign and this predicament can be mirrored in the inevitable failings of Liverpool. While the Gunners begrudge their frailties in youth, a commendable performance in both leading cup competitions will remind them how far this reliance has taken them. The Scousers, in contrast, have no such excuses to leap to in defence of a season that promised so much but delivered so little.

So Arsene’s “babies” – as Patrice Evra perhaps unfairly labelled them, maybe the language barrier confused him when he was actually trying to fondly reminisce of the Busby’s Babes, who knows – have inspired the team to two massive semi-finals in the FA cup and European cup. They have put together a scintillating run in the latter half of the season, not conceding a league goal at the Emirates in all of 2009 so far. And a certain slack-jawed Russian, who incessantly runs about with his head lolling and tongue hanging out (he can do what he wants when he has just smashed four past Pepe Reina) has taken the Premiership by storm. He could well have made the difference in Europe and he will certainly have a leading role next campaign.

Adebayor calls this a cross roads for the Gunners but the weight of expectation has not been pressed upon the Arsenal fans as it has on those in Merseyside in recent months. If anything, their progress has been a bonus and with some wise experienced additions in the summer the Emirates could well be a happy hunting ground next year.

So moving on to the main thrust of all the debate, what can Rafa the gaffer and co really hope to take from this year? They have relied on imports rather than their youth academy and the arrival of a twenty-goal-a-year-striker in Fernando Torres was supposed to signal their intent to consistently trade blows with the heavy weights of the Premiership and European football. Yet efforts to supplement the Gerrard-Torres partnership with another goal-getter backfired in Robbie Keane’s brief spell in red.

The focus has been on efforts to end Anfield’s barren 20 years without league success and come Christmas, all was going to plan at the summit. Rafa said back then that if Liverpool were leading at Christmas, his side would have “an 80% chance” of ending the season as champions. Well, I’m glad I didn’t take those odds. Even with an eight point lead at one point, successive draws against the leagues minnows have seen the gap swing back the other way for Manchester United.

Their Merseyside rivals knocked them out early on from the FA cup. A fourth-round failure to Tottenham saw them exit from the Carling cup. And an enthralling aggregate defeat to Chelsea in the quarters of the Champions League was swallowed with a belief that the league could regain their full attention. Yet this wasn’t to be with another mammoth 4-4 encounter against Arshavin, I mean Arsenal, sealing their trophy-less fate.

Is it all doom and gloom at Anfield then? No silverware in three seasons since winning the FA cup against the Hammers in 2006; going backwards in Europe since reaching two finals in three years; and no real sign of youth coming through the ranks.

Benitez’s response to such questions has suggested one attempt to cling onto positives amongst disappointments: “We are in a position that we were not in before – that is the positive thing.”

And rightly so. Liverpool have certainly pushed the leaders of the league all the way, coming closer to success than at any point during the top flight’s status as the Premier League in 1992. The closest the gap has been under Rafa’s reign was when they finished third, nine points adrift of Chelsea in 2005/06. This year the gap could still stretch but at present they are just three points off United, practically secured of at least second spot and the pressure will be right back on if the Red Devils fail to keep up their form against their City rivals and the return of the Gunners to Old Trafford.

Furthermore, their manager appears to have finally secured an all powerful reign in charge of all things football with the terms of his latest contract. Fringe players like Skrtel, Alonso, Riera, Kuyt and Benayoun have grown into accomplished and pivotal players for the Reds and two hammer-blows have been dealt to their main rivals, with victories home and away over United.

Ultimately, if this season’s run of form can be maintained next season at Anfield – which would be amply assisted by the expected arrival of another Spanish-Liverpudlian convert, David Villa – and the errors can be eliminated, then Rafa may well be sitting pretty at the summit this time next year, safe in the knowledge that the gap has been gradually bridged in a season of improvements and education.

If, however, there are no gleaming, sparkling cups standing in the trophy cabinet at the end of 2009/10, then Rafa could start to feel the weight from the fans and from the boardroom that have seen Arsene call last Tuesday’s defeat the most harrowing night of his career. Coming so near, yet falling so far can become a bad habit and it is a feeling that could become a familiar one for Rafa if his team don’t start delivering on the potential they keep promising every pre-season.

The big boys league

In response to Stephen Trenery’s post suggesting that the Premier League has reverted to its boring tag as the ‘top four’ dominate everything, I felt compelled to doing some investigation.

This predominance of certain teams at the top of their leagues affects all the best competitions in Europe, without fail. Nevertheless, Liverpool are an exception. They are invariably in or about the top of the league but have failed to finish first for verging on two decades now. So why does this trend of dominance occur? It may seem a little obvious, but success breeds success. And in this day and age, that means money, ensuring they remain at the top of the table.
As the leading domestic competitions of England, Spain and Italy illustrate, there are always dominant teams that compete for the trophy who excel more than the rest and move away from the chasing pack.

In England, despite the Red Devils’ dominance, the last eight years have seen the trophy been shared more evenly between Manchester United (four), Chelsea (two) and Arsenal (two). Although these three and Liverpool are regularly at the summit of the league, the latter’s singular success coming 18 years ago suggests that their status in the top four has not been decisive. Verdict: ‘Big Three’ unless Liverpool can overtake Manchester United in the remaining two months of the season.
In Spain, the two giants of the game, Real Madrid and Barcelona have traded blows and first places by a long distance from any other team with eight a piece in the last 20 years. Teams like Sevilla, Villarreal and Atletico Madrid, who are in and around the top of the table now, have struggled to turn this position into league winning campaigns. Valencia have been unable to rediscover the champion winning form of 2004 and find themselves in mid-table. Verdict: only really a ‘Big Two’.

In Italy, Milan (six), Juventus (five) and Inter (four) have shared the spoils fairly evenly for the last 20 years. Despite Juve being relegated in 2006 for match fixing, they have restored their status as one of the top teams in Italy this season, currently sitting a few points adrift of Inter in second, with Milan not far behind. Yet the past glories for Roma, Lazio, Napoli and Sampdoria appear to be merely fleeting moments of glory and they cannot make their presence felt at the top. Verdict: dominance of the ‘Big Three’ European heavy-weights.

The global recognition of the game has gone into hyper-drive since the turn of the century, meaning that the dominant teams with the history of glorious eras have been exalted above all other teams who have not received such recognition. Therefore, financial investment from the high rollers with the biggest bank balances have come calling to Old Trafford, Stamford Bridge and Anfield first. The top clubs on the continent have investment from the actual government or whole communities as if they were a religious institution. AC Milan are owned by the Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi no less, and Real Madrid’s huge debts were wiped by the city itself buying their training facilities from the club at astronomical expense and then leasing it back to the club. So clubs like Real Madrid, Barcelona and AC Milan, whose histories are steeped in unwavering glory, have likewise, been elevated to higher plains than their competition can cope with.

Ultimately, the modern game showers financial success upon the clubs whose past glories draw in the biggest crowds, the most sought after talent and the most privileged economic investment available – thereby solidifying their status at the top of the table. As a marketing goldmine, these teams have been built up as a global enterprise, crossing the boundaries between sporting recreation and lucrative business brands. Thus, they have become recognised by the companies fighting for TV rights, and the billionaires looking for global investment, finding them adorned with the corporate tag of being the ‘big’ boys of the league.
So stop complaining about this establishment of Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal as the top teams in the league, if they are not at the top, it’s because they are underachieving and the best teams are not playing the best football. Realise that Liverpool are yet to be truly deserving of this title during the Premier League’s lifespan and be grateful that there are at least three teams capable of taking the top spot in England. The onus is on the other teams in the league to step up to the plate.