Oh Manchester...

Below are extract of conversations between The Writer and one of his close friends regarding his beloved Manchester United. Don't mind the spelling and grammar :D

Mr A: 

Everybody wants to play for Liverpool due to their achievement last year. I don’t see they can replicate the same form this year. Not without a world class striker. Ricky lambert? Danny strurridge? I think they are way behind the Uruguayan. Gerrard is not getting any younger. And the back four are not the ones who you would bet your house to. I predict that LVG’s side will top the scousers this year.

The Writer:

That is my biggest concern. When suarez gone, the leadership the influence the fear factor the never say die attitude are also gone. I hope sterling will step up to provide goals and assists. He is fearless and humble. I also hope coutinho improves his goal tally and his shooting accuracy. The only way forward for Liverpool is attack, attack and attack. And kill the game faster. Because I don’t think Brendan is good enough to motivate players when we are down at halftime and also not clever enough to tweak his tactics like Rafa Benitez. As for ManUtd, they will improve this season. But expect LVG to have his weakness exposed at some points of the season. The title will have to wait for another season…

Mr. A:

I agree with you. But to top Liverpool would be a good sign that manutd is progressing. LVG also admitted that he had inherited a broken manutd side. A side that was guided under the so called chosen one. In the first place, Moyes’s appointment raised several eyebrows among the mancunian, including me. It was obvious the selection was merely because of his loyalty at Everton which the Sir Alex thought he can follow his legacy.  With the fact that nowadays,  there are no managers that can stay with the same club more than 5 seasons , Moyes was a perfect fit to a club that emphasized on sustainability. He did a great job at Everton but he still have to go a long way before he can take the top job at old Trafford. 

The Writer:

David Moyes was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Enough said. Man Utd was in  decline, their stars are getting older. Most of the players joined ManUtd solely because of Sir Alex. They played for Alex. They were awed by Sir Alex’s aura. The arrival of Moyes intersected all that. He was very unfortunate. Players were not listening to him and their forms were also going downward because of age factor. ManUtd really need someone like LVG. A strong character. Because they have lost their fear factor at Old Trafford.

Mr. A:

Good point. LVG and Sir Alex both have different approach but they share the same passion. LVG is seems to be a coach like figure, a strong character needless to say. And like sir alex, he is not afraid of anything.

LVG is not intimidated by the likes of Franck Ribery, Luca Toni, Rivaldo who he had public outburst during his managerial career. This trait of his is important to nurture world class talents who tend to have big egos.

Sir Alex did not hesitate to kick out jaap stam while he was on his peak all because of the latter’s autobiography. The mancunians hopeful would like to see LVG tamed the manutd players and inculcate the old united spirit to the current squad. LVG might needs time before he can get the best out of his team, but the hope of all united fans will definitely spur him on and enlighten the gloomy united that was left by the chosen one.

The Writer:

Absolutely. ManUtd will face the football reality that now Sir Alex is gone. His dynasty was special. He was invincible. There will be more up and down in this post-Alex era. Just like Liverpool post-1970/80 era. For me, this new season will be competitive, just like last year. 5 or 6 races at the top. Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, ManUtd, and ManCity. Spurs and Everton are outsiders. Chelsea are good bet to be the best of the bunch but they lack leaders after the lost of Lamps and Ash. Drogba is back, yes. But his influence is more crucial when he is on the pitch and I wonder how minutes Jose will give him this season. ManCity will be consistent as always. Arsenal will be top during Christmas and be 4^th during April, as always. Liverpool and ManUtd are unknown quantities...

Captain Marvel

What makes a good captain? And who should be chosen as the captain of a club? According to the computer game of Football Manager, a good captain is someone who has a high influence attribute. But that alone is not enough. There are many factors to be considered. A captain should be one of the best players at a club in terms of footballing ability. A captain should be well respected by his teammates. And the most important thing is a captain should be able to play week in week out and is not injury prone.

There are two clear examples of good captains with different characteristics. First type of captain is the Roy Keane’s type. This type is the ones who are very vocal in their leadership. They show their passion in leading the team by shouting and commanding throughout the 90 minutes. These can spur other players to follow his lead on the pitch and perform better when things are not going well. Second type of captain is the Javier Zanetti’s type. Soft spoken but not less confidence. This type is the ones who lead by examples. Other players tend to look to them for inspirations. These type of players are one of the best at their respective clubs, if not, the best. Other examples of this type are Philip Lahm and Steven Gerrard.   

Apart from those two types, there is also a type of captain who is chosen because of his popularity. One example that will surely cross mind is David Beckham. Peter Taylor and Sven-Goran Eriksson first made Beckham as the captain of the England national team on November 2000. With Beckham was not even the captain of his club Manchester United, it was very clear that his appointment was based on fame and public relation move to appease England supporters after the failure of EURO 2000.

The two captain positions most talked about currently are those at Manchester United and England national team after the departure of Nemanja Vidic and Steven Gerrard respectively. From a neutral point of view, Wayne Rooney should be the comfortable winners for both positions. However he is facing fierce competitions from more than able competitors in Robin van Persie and Joe Hart respectively. If Rooney does win both captaincies, it is a justified footballing decision as he is a rare hybrid of both two examples of good captains as explained above.  

Loyalty in Football

Everyone was surprised when the news of Cesc Fabregas joining Chelsea broke up. Why Chelsea? Off all clubs in the world? Before the transfer was done, it looked very clear that Arsene Wenger didn’t want to sign Fabregas even when Arsenal have the first option to sign him from Barcelona, should the Catalan club wanted to sell him. It was an open secret that Fabregas was never been loved by Barcelona. He was often being made the scapegoat for all the bad things that Barcelona was going through. However his decision to join Arsenal’s direct rival, Chelsea is an issue of disloyalty. He was once quoted to have said about never want to play in England other than for Arsenal Football Club. But this case of betrayal is serious because Fabregas was not a nobody at Arsenal. He was their captain and legend, the symbol of the club.  

This trend has becoming an infectious disease among footballers nowadays. We often heard about players care so much about their clubs. That is nonsense. Nothing lasts forever. Even love. Because we are all going to die one day. The sight of a ‘one-man club’ is becoming a rare commodity. The likes of John Terry, Steven Gerarrd, and Ryan Giggs who are very loyal to their beloved clubs and played their heart for the clubs are things of the past. Other clear examples of players jumping ship are those of Fernando Torres and Mario Gotze. Both also join their clubs’ direct rival. The time when they wanted out of their respective clubs was the time that they felt they will be a lot happier joining other clubs.    

There are many genuine reasons why a player would want to leave his club such as career development and chances of winning trophies. But when it comes to betraying your loyalty, there is never an excuse. The latest case is when Frank Lampard, the legend of Chelsea opts to join Manchester City for this upcoming season. There is a rumor that said Lampard has a clause in his ManCity contract which will disable him from playing against Chelsea. The truth is yet to be known. To conclude, never trust a player when he kisses the club badge whenever he scores. Because soon he might kiss the club goodbye when he wants to feel a lot happier elsewhere...

Ronaldinho a.k.a The Magician

Remember Ronaldinho? The 2-times World Player of The Year. While other footballers are busy preparing themselves ahead of the new season, he is looking for a new club after terminating his contract with Atletico Miniero in Brazil.

Let's look back at his brief background to see how far he has gone to achieve legendary status in the football world. His full name is Ronaldo de Assis Moreira. 'Ronaldinho' is a nickname that shows the meaning of a 'small' or a 'young' Ronaldo as he was always the youngest one in whichever teams he played for, during his childhood. Such was his super ability even at a young age.

Starting from Gremio, the journey to PSG, Barcelona, AC Milan, Flamengo and Atletico Miniero confirmed his status as one of the best footballers ever on the planet. The triumph of Brazil's 2002 World Cup comprising him, Ronaldo and Rivaldo dubbed as '3R' added to his already glittering trophy cabinet. Barcelona should thanked Ronaldinho for the success that he restarted, long before the era of tiki-taka. Lionel Messi should be really grateful to learn from a great master.

There will never be a shortage of clubs lining up to sign him now, even at the golden age of 34. He still got the wonderful techniques, the freekicks, the no-look passes, the 'Elastico' and more importantly the commercial values that his name brings. English Premier League teams will be hopeful that they can realize Ronaldinho's dream to play there one day before he finally hanged his precious boots forever.

Liverpool New Signings

Brendan Rodgers is one of the busiest manager this transfer window. Here we look at his signings so far...

Rickie Lambert - He is 32. What do you expect? He will be a useful Plan B especially on a Champions League night against weaker teams. Brendan usually doesn't like to substitute his striker. So expect him to be benched just like Iago Aspas.

Adam Lallana - The one to watch. Can use both feet beautifully. Goal against hull city was one of the best goals last season where he dribbled past 6 players before scoring.

Emre Can - Fear for this one. Hope not another Nuri Sahin. Another surplus in an already well-stocked midfielders at Anfield.

Dejan Lovren - Another central defender? Are you serious Brendan? You have got 6 already. Your defensive tactics actually look vulnerable, not your defenders.

Lazar Markovic - Unknown quantity, even at 20million price. Youtube highlights look impressive but still a long way to go to avoid being another flop in the 'cursed' winger position at Anfield.

Divorick Origi - The next Romelu Lukaku. Enough said. Will be loaned back to Lille next season, so not worth reviewing.

The Best League in The World

'We won’t stop, we want the top 500 players in the world to play in our league!', said Spanish La Liga president Javier Tebas. That’s quite a bold statement. But don’t believe the hype. Spanish La Liga is not the best league in the world.

With the arrival of Toni Kroos & James Rodriguez to Real Madrid and Luis Suarez to Barcelona, the battle of El Classico just becoming bigger and bigger. But that’s just it. Boring old plain duopoly. Other 17 teams in the league just get inferior with the exception of Atletico Madrid who are likely to give their all to keep hold of the title they won last season. Those 17 teams have already wave their white flag to Barcelona & Real Madrid even before the ball is being kicked. That is why we often get the score of 6-0 and 7-0 from the La Liga.

The best league in the world award should go to the English Premier League (EPL). Where else in the world can you have a 5 or 6 teams capable of challenging for the title? Where else can you have a small team made a comeback of being 0-3 down against one of the 5 or 6 big teams? The EPL is full of surprises and emotions. Even the attractions and the temptations are mouth watering. Where else in the world can you have an upcoming young superstar joining the likes of small teams such as Hull City and Crystal Palace? Players all over the world would be willing to sign for any of the 20 EPL teams, just to feel the pure excitement of football matches that only EPL can offer.

LVG's New ManUtd

7-0 against LA Galaxy. Sounds impressive. Even more so considering LA Galaxy are in the middle of their league season. Louis van Gaal got the first taste of victory with his new team, Manchester United. If they ever lost that game, everyone will question the effectiveness of van Gaal's 3-5-2 formation. It is an alien tactic to the English game. The Old Trafford bandwagon will be desperate to see ManUtd succeed this season. The secret recipe of Sir Alex Ferguson's success was getting the best out of average players to play as a winning and dominant team. That is what David Moyes failed miserably last season. Not to offend the several world-class stars in the ManUtd squad, but Sir Alex really got those players played their heart for him to win even in the very last minutes. Louis van Gaal doesn't need a marquee signing. He just have to prove he is a winner. Whatever the tactics.