Sir Alex Ferguson
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There are several unwavering lessons in soccer: never bet against the Germans, if you’re going to tackle from behind, make sure it counts, and the latest one: don’t mess with Wayne Rooney. If the irascible, potato-headed striker gets frustrated or flustered, well, let’s just say the results aren’t pretty.
Yesterday’s unlucky recipient of this logic was Aab Aalborg midfielder Kasper Risgaard, who received his wisdom via flying feet and cleat marks somewhere in the chest region.
To the tape! And, to the post-match quotes!
First, the video evidence. I am not a physicist by any means, but there’s more than just gravity at work there. Perhaps a soupcon of malice? Wayne was surely irritated at his side’s scrappy performance against the eliminated Danish side, not to mention the lack of success in front of goal at Old Trafford. The video shows a couple of other incidents, including a baffling kick on a defender with the ball nowhere near, and some shoving with a defender once the ball has gone. I’m not saying he should be sent off, but there’s some middle ground there! The ref didn’t do a thing!
Unsurprisingly, everyone’s weighing in, including coaches and players.
We get the victim’s response first. What say you, young Risgaard?
“I don’t know what he was thinking but he jumped on my chest. I don’t know why but I think he was a little bit frustrated. But I don’t understand it because they were playing good football and the score was 1-1 at the time. Anywhere else but here and it would have been a red card. But the referee didn’t say anything. I think referees are frightened to punish players at Old Trafford, and especially players like Rooney. But I can see the marks on my chest - big marks. He’s apologized, so that’s OK. But there was another incident too when he used his arm to hurt one of our players. I don’t think it looks good on television.”
Fair point about Old Trafford, and there is definitely something about Rooney and his temper that we’ve seen before that makes me wonder. He’s a fiery player (in the best and worst sense of the word), but it looks like he did get lucky with this one.
Aalborg manager Allan Kuhn was also non-committal as to intent, although upon further review (something that UEFA said they might do as both linesmen and the referee missed the incident) he might change his mind:
It is not good for a fantastic footballer. You have to keep your head and stay calm in situations like that - but that man was a little bit frustrated. I was not sure during the game and I have not seen the pictures, so I cannot be 100% sure, but some of my people have seen it and said it was.”
Of course Fergie looked at it the other way: AaB were the dirty ones, not Wayne! “Aalborg are not short of tackles are they? They got stuck in and the one on Carlos was a blatant attack. Probably what saved him was that Carlos got straight up.”
You have to admire the man’s ability to deflect and change the subject completely. What we should be talking about is the goalkeeper’s tackle on Tevez, not young Wayne!
Will anything come of this? Probably not - the news cycle is fickle and fast-paced like that. But it still merits some debate, mainly because Rooney is that type of character, capable of moments of brilliance and moments of madness at any given time. We’ve seen it in an Everton shirt, in the England shirt, and plenty of times in Manc red.
Written by Darkvader on December 11th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Lingering Bursitis and Sir Alex Ferguson and Video and manchester united and playing the media game and wayne rooney.
So after yet another rather listless 0-0 draw for United against Villarreal, Sir Alex Ferguson took the occasion of the postgame to complain about… wait for it… wait for it…
Yes, the officiating.
Oh, Sir Alex what we would do without your ritual bitching that you are on the business end of every whistle despite the fact that pretty much the opposite is the case? I think I’d dance a jig, but that’s a post for another day.
Anyway, first SAF came out to say that Rooney atoned for his dive in the box: “He apologised to me and said he didn’t mean to do that. Then I gave him a lollipop for admitting he was being dishonest.”
Okay, I made that last part up, but hey, someone gave Fergie a map to the high road. Too bad he summarily used it to wipe his Scottish ass. He continued: “I think he’s been watching (Villarreal forward) Robert Pires too much. At least he apologised to their players. You’d never see Pires do that.”
So even when a United player dives, a) his actions are still laudable relative to other players who do the same thing and b) it’s an occasion to take a cheap shot at an opponent. Curious choice of Pires there, too. Wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact that he used to play for Arsenal, would it?
Then SAF added this gem about Cristiano Ronaldo: “The systematic fouling on him, that’s what’s now happening. It’s a tactic. Eventually the referee thinks he’s diving all the time.” Actually the referee thinks he’s diving all the time because he is diving all the time. Ronaldo starts trying to locate the ref as he’s going to the ground so he knows where to aim the pouty face as he appeals for a whistle.
Finally Sir Alex made the assessment that “The referee was very fair and strict with both teams.” Okay, so here’s the stat line: Villareal were whistled for 10 fouls and United for 24; meanwhile United were given 2 yellow cards while Villarreal were shown 3 yellows and one straight red.
Here’s the comment from the Soccernet gamecast on the red card: “Oh! A straight red for Capdevila after a foul on Ronaldo. Not much in it really, a bit of a high leg, and it was late, yes, but that’s never a straight red. Ronaldo did his bit of course.”
So, United is clearly the more physical team (almost 2 and a half as many fouls!) yet they receive fewer cards and get to play the last 10 minutes with a man advantage after a dubious sending off for Capdevilla, but no, United is the one who is being treated unfairly by the referees.
At least Baghdad Bob was slightly amusing in his inability to grasp reality. But even he got one correct every now and then..
Written by Darkvader on November 26th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Die Sir Alex Die and Diving and Sir Alex Ferguson and cristiano ronaldo.
So after yet another rather listless 0-0 draw for United against Villarreal, Sir Alex Ferguson took the occasion of the postgame to complain about… wait for it… wait for it…
Yes, the officiating.
Oh, Sir Alex what we would do without your ritual bitching that you are on the business end of every whistle despite the fact that pretty much the opposite is the case? I think I’d dance a jig, but that’s a post for another day.
Anyway, first SAF came out to say that Rooney atoned for his dive in the box: “He apologised to me and said he didn’t mean to do that. Then I gave him a lollipop for admitting he was being dishonest.”
Okay, I made that last part up, but hey, someone gave Fergie a map to the high road. Too bad he summarily used it to wipe his Scottish ass. He continued: “I think he’s been watching (Villarreal forward) Robert Pires too much. At least he apologised to their players. You’d never see Pires do that.”
So even when a United player dives, a) his actions are still laudable relative to other players who do the same thing and b) it’s an occasion to take a cheap shot at an opponent. Curious choice of Pires there, too. Wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact that he used to play for Arsenal, would it?
Then SAF added this gem about Cristiano Ronaldo: “The systematic fouling on him, that’s what’s now happening. It’s a tactic. Eventually the referee thinks he’s diving all the time.” Actually the referee thinks he’s diving all the time because he is diving all the time. Ronaldo starts trying to locate the ref as he’s going to the ground so he knows where to aim the pouty face as he appeals for a whistle.
Finally Sir Alex made the assessment that “The referee was very fair and strict with both teams.” Okay, so here’s the stat line: Villareal were whistled for 10 fouls and United for 24; meanwhile United were given 2 yellow cards while Villarreal were shown 3 yellows and one straight red.
Here’s the comment from the Soccernet gamecast on the red card: “Oh! A straight red for Capdevila after a foul on Ronaldo. Not much in it really, a bit of a high leg, and it was late, yes, but that’s never a straight red. Ronaldo did his bit of course.”
So, United is clearly the more physical team (almost 2 and a half as many fouls!) yet they receive fewer cards and get to play the last 10 minutes with a man advantage after a dubious sending off for Capdevilla, but no, United is the one who is being treated unfairly by the referees.
At least Baghdad Bob was slightly amusing in his inability to grasp reality. But even he got one correct every now and then..
Written by Darkvader on November 26th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Die Sir Alex Die and Diving and Sir Alex Ferguson and cristiano ronaldo.
So after yet another rather listless 0-0 draw for United against Villarreal, Sir Alex Ferguson took the occasion of the postgame to complain about… wait for it… wait for it…
Yes, the officiating.
Oh, Sir Alex what we would do without your ritual bitching that you are on the business end of every whistle despite the fact that pretty much the opposite is the case? I think I’d dance a jig, but that’s a post for another day.
Anyway, first SAF came out to say that Rooney atoned for his dive in the box: “He apologised to me and said he didn’t mean to do that. Then I gave him a lollipop for admitting he was being dishonest.”
Okay, I made that last part up, but hey, someone gave Fergie a map to the high road. Too bad he summarily used it to wipe his Scottish ass. He continued: “I think he’s been watching (Villarreal forward) Robert Pires too much. At least he apologised to their players. You’d never see Pires do that.”
So even when a United player dives, a) his actions are still laudable relative to other players who do the same thing and b) it’s an occasion to take a cheap shot at an opponent. Curious choice of Pires there, too. Wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact that he used to play for Arsenal, would it?
Then SAF added this gem about Cristiano Ronaldo: “The systematic fouling on him, that’s what’s now happening. It’s a tactic. Eventually the referee thinks he’s diving all the time.” Actually the referee thinks he’s diving all the time because he is diving all the time. Ronaldo starts trying to locate the ref as he’s going to the ground so he knows where to aim the pouty face as he appeals for a whistle.
Finally Sir Alex made the assessment that “The referee was very fair and strict with both teams.” Okay, so here’s the stat line: Villareal were whistled for 10 fouls and United for 24; meanwhile United were given 2 yellow cards while Villarreal were shown 3 yellows and one straight red.
Here’s the comment from the Soccernet gamecast on the red card: “Oh! A straight red for Capdevila after a foul on Ronaldo. Not much in it really, a bit of a high leg, and it was late, yes, but that’s never a straight red. Ronaldo did his bit of course.”
So, United is clearly the more physical team (almost 2 and a half as many fouls!) yet they receive fewer cards and get to play the last 10 minutes with a man advantage after a dubious sending off for Capdevilla, but no, United is the one who is being treated unfairly by the referees.
At least Baghdad Bob was slightly amusing in his inability to grasp reality. But even he got one correct every now and then..
Written by Darkvader on November 26th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Die Sir Alex Die and Diving and Sir Alex Ferguson and cristiano ronaldo.
It’s hard to type when your gut-busting laugh ruptures your own spleen, so I’ll just quote the folks at the Guardian’s Fiver:
“Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has been given a two-match touchline ban and a ÂŁ10,000 fine by the Football Association following his row with referee Mike Dean after United’s 4-3 Premier League win over Hull on November 1.”
Okay, before I drag myself off to the ER, let me direct you toward the botton of the same page (link good for today only as it’s a daily update). Under the “Rumor Mill” is this little bit of tid: “Arsène Wenger is hoping to sign Spain Under-17 captain Koko Resurreccion in time for next year’s Euro Vase campaign.”
Forgive my lack of knowledge with the Spanish youth team, but that name sounds totally made up, like worse than Chest Rockwell made up. But if that is an actual player, holy shit, that might be the greatest name in the history of everything.
Anyway, suck it Sir Alex. This is long overdue, your charges are on the beneficial side of the vast majority of dodgy refereeing decisions but you still whinge more than any other manager in the PL. Well, now you’ve got some time to take out T-C-P.
Written by Darkvader on November 18th, 2008 with no comments.
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Yay, my new house is worth more than Gerrard’s!Anyone who follows the footy even remotely knows Sir Alex Ferguson. Fergie. The genius behind (blech) Manchester United. However, it’s probably fairly safe to say that most Americans couldn’t pick Sir Alex out of line-up if he was placed next to Kim Jong-Il, Barack Obama, and Abby Clancy. While New York may have more than its fair share of footy fans, one wonders how many of them will be living near Sir Alex in the coming months.
Recent reports out of New York City indicate that all plans are full-steam ahead for Manhattan House, an uber-luxe 538-unit high-rise undergoing condo conversion. The latest is that Sir Alex has purchased a 3-bedroom penthouse unit at the toney address. At close to 3000 square-feet and $2,700 per square foot, the digs are worth approximately $8.1 million. That’s close to ÂŁ4.5 million, or 2.25 times Steven Gerrard’s house (no word on whether Rafa’s house also exceeds that of his midfielder).
So now the other well-to-do residents of 200 E. 66th Street will get to hobknob with a Knight of the Realm and world-famous football manager. I’m sure that at least a few of the 537 other residents will be excited by their new neighbor. But will Sir Alex be able to walk a few blocks West and meander through Central Park without being hassled? Can he jog over to the Plaza or the Waldorf-Astoria for afternoon tea without some chav yelling at him that Rio Ferdinand is complete shite?
So, if any of you Mancs feel the need to give Sir Alex a piece of your mind after they blow the double this season, you know where to find him now.
Written by Darkvader on August 29th, 2008 with no comments.
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You can surely file this missive under the “Too Early” label, but it’s still a point worth mentioning: what on earth has happened to Wayne Rooney? He’s been on a rather troubling trajectory of late, and his growing anonymity in games is close to rivaling the disappearances of England teammate Frank Lampard. Where’s the hustle, the influence, the pace, the tenacity? Perhaps he left them all at the beach with Coleen?
As far as his career is going, he’s at a difficult age. Considering when he came into the league, he’s still incredibly young, but time served dictates that he should be emerging into one of the world’s top players at this point. He’s had great managers, great teammates, and all the opportunities in the world to take his skills to the highest possible level. Of course I’m not ruling out that he’ll still get there, but his rather lackluster form is troubling the masses.
The papers and the blogs are beginning to touch the story, so I figured I’d have a go. My solution is relatively simple: he needs to leave Manchester United.
The Guardian is the first to point out the delicate situation unfolding, noting that Fergie isn’t really doing a good job in figuring out what to do with young Wayne, or how to curb his natural tendencies to backtrack when he’s needed as a striker. For them, the answer is simple: buy another striker.
Right, it’s that simple, isn’t it? The process of solving problems via spending has worked, with varying degrees of success, the other big English clubs, and it seems like whenever they have a down year, Barca and Real simply open the purse and let their wheeling-dealing fix any issues they couldn’t battle out of before.
However, time is ticking on that window, and the Berbatov mess is now worse than the Gareth Barry quicksand that sapped our energy all summer long.
This guy sums things up a bit, but leaves us on a cliffhanger, although he does point to two other articles that present another side to an already complex problem.
Again, the Guardian looks at Rooney’s wandering tendencies as being part of the problem, and miraculously, they get Fergie to open up on the subject! Normally he would let his lacky deal with any unpleasantness, but Queiroz is long gone back to Portugal…
This is something we are talking to Wayne about and he himself has started to identify that it’s a weakness. It is not a bad thing for him to have come out [after England's 2-2 draw against the Czech Republic] and said so.
He is realising he needs to be more around the edge of the box in the last third of play. It can be a waste of energy chasing from man to man to man. But that’s his natural enthusiasm and you can’t fault that.”
Well, if we’re being brutally honest, you can fault that, especially if it’s stopping Manchester United from being the offensive juggernaut they and their fans have come to expect.
Meanwhile, another perspective offers word from young Wayne himself, and how he feels he doesn’t need to change his style in order to win:
While Ferguson is content the deficiency is nothing major, he does feel Rooney’s energy could be better utilised elsewhere.
Capello is of the same opinion and feels the 22-year-old should concentrate on terrorising opposition defences, but Rooney is content with the way he plays and does not believe any adaptation is required.
“I don’t think I will ever lose my determination,” he said.
“It is something I have always had. If we are not winning I get frustrated. “I don’t like losing. If you are telling me that is wrong I won’t believe you.”
Rooney clearly feels his all-action style is based upon a natural competitive streak that comes to the surface when situations are starting to turn sour.
Uh oh. Well this is a little mini-storm brewing, isn’t it?
Fabio and Fergie feel one way, Rooney does another. So what’s the tipping point?
As I see it, albeit in my outsider, bloggy perspective, think this isn’t something that’s going to disappear any time soon, regardless of whether Man U get themselves scoring three or four goals a game. Rooney’s style of play is rather hard to pin down into a system, but it appears that a system and form is exactly what Man United are looking for. They want a coherent style of play with a clear purpose, but it’s tough to do that when you have a player who doesn’t understand where their responsibilities begin or end.
A lot of people (including on this blog) point to Steven Gerrard as being a guy who gives Liverpool a similar problem; no matter what the formation or tactics, Stevie Mbe has freedom to do whatever he pleases, and while I welcome that, it’s not entirely beloved.
For Rooney, it’s slightly different considering he’s employed as a striker. It’s no secret that your strikers are going to be ineffective when they’re coming back to their own half to either win possession or collect possession, but what can Ferguson do? Tevez also loves to come back behind the front two and maraud, so that leaves them with just Saha and Frazier Campbell to actually play striker. Not exactly world-beating, is it?
The other big complication is Rooney’s age. He’s demonstrated in the past just how sensitive he is to criticism, a by-product of his tough upbringing, and while he thrived at a one-dimensional club like Everton, where both his work rate and enthusiasm were championed, things are a bit different at Old Trafford.
The team mentality is there like it was at Goodison, but there are still hierarchies of personality within the team, and it trickles down from there. Everyone has a job to do, and Rooney’s constant disappearance from the front line, where he should be, is causing problems in the way they distribute the ball and begin their attacks.
When Ronaldo is back, it should get easier for Fergie to marshal everyone into a coherent attacking unit, but if he speaks out much more on the subject, he risks sending Rooney into a tailspin.
Wayne Rooney is the future of England. He’s showing the skill of Beckham, the scoring ability of Lineker, and the guts and emotion of Gascoigne, arguably three of our biggest national heroes in the annals of history. Perhaps Man United’s formalism isn’t right for him. These problems wouldn’t crop up at a club where he could employ his work rate without fear of rebuke. For me, I certainly don’t think it’s where he is now.
Written by Darkvader on August 28th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Lingering Bursitis and Sir Alex Ferguson and Transfer bullshit and manchester united and wayne rooney.
Today's programming should be fun, if not a little ire-inducing: after all, the two teams fighting for this mighty honour are two of the three teams I hate the most in the world. Manchester United, and Chelsea. [There's no danger of Everton ever reaching a prestigious game like this, really]
On one side, you have a team run by a drunk Scot, hell-bent on infecting the world with Cristiano fever. He's got a deep, talented squad, and he's smug about it.
The Russian, before he became old and evil
On the other side, the blue menace from London, a team owned by an unscrupulous Russian oil merchant who is intent on ruining the transfer structure by paying top dollar for damaged goods.
Lesser of two evils? Is there such a thing in this one?
Putting personal hatred aside for just a moment, there are enough juicy storylines to keep us entertained.
FAREWELL, SWEET DIVING PRINCE:
Could this be Drogba's last game for Chelsea? Or, as I indulge in the most ridiculous of weekend gossip, Cristiano Ronaldo's? He'd really love a move to Spain, you know... as would Frank Lampard.
Furthermore, could this be the end of Sir Alex Ferguson? He's won just about everything there is to win, and while his retirement would be a serious shocker, it could happen. After all, he's got enough cash in the bank to inhabit a bar stool for the rest of his days. The temptation is pretty strong, I'd imagine.
THE BIG CHEATING PAYBACK:
It's been less than a fortnight since Man U won the title from right under Chelsea's nose. Avram Grant, passive and morose as he might seem, would love a bit of revenge. Not only would this be Chelsea's first CL win [remember, there was a time when Liverpool would simply knock them out in the semis... alas, that duck is broken], but it would prevent SAF from winning the silverware that's eluded him the longest. They did win it in 1999, but nary a sniff since then. Racking up EPL titles is one thing, but what good does it do when you can't win Europe's biggest prize?
LET'S HOPE THE REFEREE IS CARD-HAPPY:
Nothing spices up a big game like an early red card [just ask Richard Dunne]. Today's referee is Lubos Michel, the guy who awarded Luis Garcia's goal in that cagey 2005 semi-final against Liverpool. You know the one: just over the line, Terry and co. protesting vigorously [some things never change], the one that put LFC in the final where they had that comeback you might have seen.
Well, he's the man in charge today, and if the last Chelsea/Man U encounter wasn't violent or contentious enough, I expect nothing less than bloodshed and late tackles from both sides today.
Evra better keep a lid on it this evening.
In true prognosticating spirit, I took a quick poll of UF brethren to see what they think will happen today.
I swear: if it ends up being 1-0, I will murder someone.*
The Fan's Attic:
Since Ronaldo never comes up big in the big matches. I can't go with him for MoM. I think United wins. 3-1. Terry is injured. Drogba flops 14 times only to be outdone by Ronaldo with 16 flops. Tevez scores a brace and is MotM. Ballack scores for Chelsea, and Ferdinand finishes the job. Ferdinand plays out his mind and permanently takes the armband from Terry. Van Der Sar saves a Lampard PK that would have put Chelsea up 2-0 to send him off to Italy.
Precious Roy:
Chelski wins 2-1. Ballack and Malouda for Chelsea, Rooney for Man U.
ĂĽ75:
Chelsea after PKs. 1-1. Tevez and Ballack to score. Ronaldo misses his spot kick. Brave John Terry MotM.
Ian:
You guys are such optimists. I'm voting for Ronaldo to score in the first half, followed by a very questionable awarded to Chelsea deep into second half injury time. Chelsea then manage to scrape through in penalties. 1-1 (Chels wins on PKs)
Moonshine Mike:
As much as i hate to say it, 1-0 in favor of ManU. I feel dirty now.
Lingering Bursitis:
I will be optimistic in saying that there will be many goals.
3-2 Man U
Man U: Ronaldo, Vidic, Scholes
Chelsea: Drogba 2
---
So there you have it folks. We've reached the end of the European football season, barring some minor former Soviet bloc countries who are wrapping up their domestic leagues. We have 90 minutes of potentially good football left before the tidal wave of average football at Euro '08 [why yes, of course I'm still bitter that we didn't qualify].
Let's hope we get what we all deserve: some good goals, and one set of players crying openly for the cameras after the final whistle.
*A figurative "someone"
Written by Darkvader on May 21st, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Champions League and Chelsea and Douchebags in Chelsea Shirts and Lingering Bursitis and Sir Alex Ferguson and manchester united and predictions.
