UNITED’S FIRST EXCLUSIVELY ONLINE FANZINE
ISSUE
FOOTBALL UNITED FANZINE
14
The Transition What does this actually mean? Also inside:
End Of A Gentlemanly Reign? Back To The Future Football Agents, Bloody Hell
And much more
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ISSUE 14, APRIL 2012
April 2012
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ISSUE 14, APRIL 2012
Football United Fanzine Issue 14 - April 2012 Managing Editor: Steph Doehler Deputy Editor: Rachel Turney Contributors: Al Monger, Vinnie Shaw, Brett Burgers, Harry Sherlock, Jack Harvey. A special thank to: Hollie Designer: Steph Doehler Images: Micky Owen PI: Michael Kyeyune ________________ Email: editor.fub@live.co.uk
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All material unless otherwise stated, is copyright to the Football United Fanzine. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the editors. The Football United Fanzine is completely independent of Manchester United Football Club. The Football United Fanzine accepts no responsibility for services offered by advertisers.
editors’ notes Talk of atmospheric changes ahead for United could improve the library. Let’s be honest. We’ve all been to Old Trafford in recent seasons and thought “how the hell do 76,000 people make such little noise?” Sometimes it’s embarrassing, others it’s bloody frustrating. However this month we’ve seen two different news stories which could look set to change the volume inside the ground and, with luck, work towards turning it into a fortress once again. Aston Villa fans come to visit in mid-April and will be the first Premier League club to find themselves situated up in the heavens, AKA SAF Stand Tier 3. Moving travelling fans from their South-East block has spilt supporter’s opinions with much of the United contingent worried that this will see an even lesser atmosphere as home and away fans are known to bounce off each other. However many Supporters Groups have sought to rectify this. It is looking increasingly likely that the away area will become a dedicated singing block from next season, used by only Season Ticket holders who want to see the general atmosphere inside Old Trafford improve. I think most supporters would be in unison when I say something needed to be done, and whilst perhaps moving the away support isn't ideal, the introduction of this new singing area could be exactly what United need. We are Manchester United. Teams should be scared of coming to our ground. Roy Keane had a point about his prawn sandwiches, now let’s finally prove him wrong and let it be know that our fans and our team are something to fear. Steph Doehler - Managing Editor
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editors’ notes So now it really is all or nothing for the two teams of Manchester. Come Sunday 13th May at the latest one of the teams will be celebrating a wonderfully hard fought claiming of the Premier League and the other will be reflecting on a season that no one predicted would end trophy-less. A fine line between success and failure if ever there was one. United’s exit from Europe received mixed reactions with some feeling it would only distract from the league, especially if City were no longer competing in it. Others felt it was a competition we never wanted to be in anyway. On the flip side any defeat can damage confidence and momentum and any trophy is better than no trophies. Personally I was disappointed we seemed to go out without much fight, although I don’t want to take anything away from how good Bilbao were. The decision to play one striker up front in the second leg when we needed two goals said a lot about our ambitions in the cup. It’s not the most important but our club’s philosophy has always been to try and win everything we are involved in. It’s hard to know exactly what has gone so wrong for us in Europe this year but I think people need to remember we have been spoilt in the past, making three of the last four Champions League finals. To be perfectly honest, having suffered two very recent and painful final defeats to Barcelona, I would rather go out early if we are not going to win it. The closer you get, the worse it feels and I’m not convinced we would beat Barca or Real Madrid this season.
COMING UP THIS MONTH Sunday 8th April: United vs QPR Premier League Kick off 1.30pm Wednesday 11th April: Wigan vs United Premier League Kick off 7.45pm Sunday 15th April: United vs Aston Villa Premier League Kick off 4.00pm Sunday 22nd April: United vs Everton Premier League Kick off 12.30pm Monday 230th April: City vs United Premier League Kick off 8.00pm
The league is always the priority and given how long we have been chasing City for this season, it’s fantastic to find ourselves ahead as I write this. At times number 20 has seemed a long way off but now it’s so close we can almost touch it. Eight games to go and anything can still happen but I’m hoping our experience will see us hold our nerve and get the points we need. That City would be left with nothing would make it all the sweeter.
Rachel Turney - Deputy Editor
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Contents Issue 14, April 2012 O3 Editors’ Notes REGULAR FEATURES 06 On Our Radar 07 Editor’s View
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08 Shaw Show 10 Micky Owen: PI 14 A Month In Football 20 Born & Red
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SPECIAL FEATURES
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12 Back To The Future 17 In Transition 22 Football Agents, Bloody Hell 24 End Of A Gentlemanly Reign?
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28 I’ll Have An RVP Please Fergie
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On our Radar this month... Jamie Mackie: QPR’s second top goalscorer this season was buoyed by his impressive substitute performance, helping his side come from 2-0 down to beat Liverpool last month. Joe Hart: One of City’s most consistent players this season and arguably the best keeper in the division Hart will be looking to keep United at bay. Leighton Baines: The left back has shone for Everton this season and will give Ashley Cole a test for the position in the England squad at Euro 2012. Carlos Tevez: He wouldn’t...would he? After making his comeback for City last month every United fan will be praying our former player doesn't come back to bite us again in this title decider.
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EDITOR’S VIEW All the best Fabrice! As Fabrice Muamba collapses in front of the public eye some criticise the response generated from thousands on Twitter. It’s always difficult to know how to react when tragedy strikes someone you don't know. Actors, musicians, footballs—it feels like we know them personally as their lives are thrust upon us through every media possible. And yet the response to football fans’ shock at Fabrice Muamba’s ill health last month came under some controversy from a few football quarters, perhaps none more so that a well known United fanzine. Perhaps the public outcry to the incident was partially due to the publicity of when it actually happened.
Muamba didn't just collapse at home, behind closed doors. It happened in front of thousands of football supporters at White Hart Lane and millions more watching around the world. I ask that fanzine, and the men behind it, why not support him? Why not express shock and upset at the incident? People deal with not just grief, but hope, in different ways. With social media at the forefront of our existence nowadays it’s hardly surprising many took to Twitter to offer support to Muamba and his family. It is embarrassing? No I
AGREE OR DISAGREE? We want to know what you think about anything you read in the magazine. You can email: editor.fub@live.co.uk or tweet us @footballUB
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don’t think so. In fact I’d go as far to say that it showed the best in football, at a time when rivalries are of paramount importance to us, most supporters unified in their hope to see Muamba survive and playing football once again. As human beings there is no rule book as to how to react in occasions that we don’t deal with daily. Unfortunately for some their negative response resulted in custodial sentences (yes, I mean Liam Stacey), for others it served as a fantastic reminder that football is, just football. We love our dreams, we love our players but it certainly isn't a matter of life and death. We wish Muamba all the best for his recovery.
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THE SHAW SHOW If we were not good enough to progress in the Champions League then we should not be put in the Europa League as some kind of ridiculous compensation for failure.
So that is that all done and dusted for one year and I, for one, am incredibly grateful that it is. Please do not get me wrong, European nights are what Manchester United are all about those bouncing Champions League atmospheres against the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid will always live long in the memory whereas
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going further back there were unforgettable Cup Winners Cup evenings in the 1980s and 1990s. Compare that to this season’s Europa League and I just wanted it to end. Of course there will be plenty of people out there accusing me of being spoilt but put it this way if we
were not good enough to progress in the Champions League then we should not be put in the Europa League as some kind of ridiculous compensation for failure. Had we been entered in the Europa League because we had finished fifth then that would be all well and good but because we had finished third in our Champions League group was all kinds of wrong. Initially being drawn against Ajax sugared the bitter pill somewhat as the cool points from that fixture countered any thoughts of disappointment that we were no longer in
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main European competition, indeed the following tie against Athletic Bilbao conjured misty eyed memories of the Busby Babes’ European adventures in the 1950s. Manchester United and Sir Alex made all the right noises about being in it to win it and that United approach every competition with the sole intention of winning the thing but I just got the impression the Europa League was treated in a similar vein as the Carling Cup, as in that would be great to win but at the end of the day no tears would be shed if we go out. This is not an article of sour grapes. I have said from the very beginning that Champions League failures, as Manchester United were this season, should never be in the Europa League and, whisper it quietly, I think Sir Alex agrees. The team has struggled in Europe this season as a whole but was it just me that got the impression that, despite rather strong sides being selected in the games against Ajax and Bilbao, United played at around 85% to 90% of their true capacity? Do not let this take anything away from Athletic Bilbao’s performances against us. Rarely have I witnessed a team play at Old Trafford with such verve, adventure and with an energy level that was simply exhausting to watch. How they kept
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that up for sixty minutes of one leg never over both legs will remain a mystery. I have no doubt that scientists at CERN have given up looking for Higgs’ Bosun and are instead trying to harness the energy from the Bilbao players to create a new green fuel for the 21st century. However Bilbao only had the Europa League to aim for, we have the Premier League and trying to stop a financially doped Manchester City from dominating domestic football. They could treat the games against us as a be all and end all. Manchester United could not. In years gone by we could have used the strength in depth of our squad to see us through but that is not there this year due to our injuries so the cloth has been cut to fit and the Europa League was sacrificed. All this did not stop Channel 5 from going into full on giddy mode as they commentated in ill-disguised glee on United’s European demise. “United are chasing shadows”, they shouted as Bilbao launched an attack they strung three passes together in an apparent surprise that a team could play well against us. “United are in it to win it.” Jim Rosenthal would remind us while forgetting that Fergie could hardly come out and say, “Well, to be honest we could not give two flying shites about this piss poor competition but we’re in it
now so hey ho.” This all added to their excitement as an excellent Bilbao side made chance after chance in both legs. We had told everybody that we were taking it seriously so there could not be any Carling Cup excuses. The average age of the defence in the first leg could be ignored and the fact that Rio and Carrick were substituted mid-way through the second half of the return leg could be brushed over. Channel 5 had their big scoop, they had witnessed and broadcast live the final European exit of United this season. Of course all of this could end up biting us quite nastily on the backside if we do not maintain our Premier League lead and City win the title but as it stands I am quite happy to be out and you can all accuse me of being spoilt. Please form an orderly queue and no pushing!
By Vinnie Shaw @TheShaw2009
ISSUE 14, APRIL 2012
FICTION
MICKY OWEN: PI By Brett Burgers At Manchester United, without regular football as a distraction (It’s starting to take the piss a bit isn’t it? I mean where the fuck is he?) Micky Owen with the help of side-kick Berba and spirit guide Eric provided the club and SAF with a headache, no I mean, erm, oh no, I do mean headache .At first the detective nonsense was at least partially helpful, but now he was just getting in the way a bit and none of it actually made much sense. It was a typical day I’d just finished scribbling the name of ‘arry Redknapp from all the parcels, welcome cards, footage of me in my prime, England statistic packs and various other gifts and replacing it with Psycho. Berba was going on about something or other, about putting himself in a shop window or something, well, he is a dummy, so should fit right in. I was about to revisit my personal archive of footage of me playing really good for England, just to see if I’d forgotten anything, when a mansize carrier pigeon crashed through the ceiling. - “Coo, Cooeeerrrrrr, Yer got any plasters?” It was Phelan. - “What the fuck are you doing?” I shrieked. - “Whooo are yoooooo talking tooooo? Yoooo don’t know whoooooo I am. I’m just a humble pigeon!” He sort of hooted. - “Fuck sake! I’m talking to Michael Christopher Phelan, age 50! But you’ve got a point, aside from that I don’t have a clue who you are or what your function in life is.” I snapped back. - “Ooooooo that’s a bit ruuuuuude and upsettiiiiing” He hooted back.
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- “Are you crying?” I instinctively knew from bullying Berba, that in asking that question, it would actually make him cry. A few hours later, when Phelan came round after I’d knocked him over the head, because he hadn’t stopped crying he unravelled his “claw” (a kitchen utensil) and handed me a note. The note was, of course, from SAF. It included an article highlighting that the masters of modern management were the ones who could juggle the squad the best throughout the season and keep all the players happy. The article went on to claim that unfortunately some managers were struggling to do this. I wholeheartedly agreed with the author of the piece when it listed Rafa Benitez, and AVB, BUT STOP THE PRESS!! The article went on to suggest that SAF was also guilty of mismanaging players, leaving some to simply rot on the bench. Actually WAIT A FUCKING MINUTE, that’s fuckin’ true. I’m not taking this case. - “Berba?” Where is he? He might want to take this one on himself? “BERBA?!!” As a footnote, SAF had also reiterated the importance of carrying out the investigation
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without revealing one of the club’s biggest secrets! Nothing was going to be done and fast! The secret he was talking about, I guess, was how a few years ago, having grown bored of jumping up and down on beds of cash and lighting our cigars with £100 notes we had invested in some genetically engineered ‘human’ suits for a bit of a laugh. They weren’t just any old humans, no, they were all exact replicas of the members of the squad! This allowed SAF to play Scholesy, Keano, Rio etc…when they were suspended, simply by putting them in, say, the John O’Shea suit. Didn’t you ever wonder how Phil Neville became such a good midfielder? Well that’s cus, that wasn’t him!!! It was someone in his ruddy genetically engineered replica body suit. It was anyone of a few players who could squeeze in to it. We had an issue recently when Phelan took home Fletch’s suit, his wife wanted to see him in or something, but when it came back it was absolutely fucked. What they’d done in it, no one actually knows or wants to know. Anyway, without a suit, (we all have to wear one so no-one notices we’re a bit fatter than we should be, with the extra layer) Fletch’s only option was to get out the old
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Scholesy one from the back of the store cupboard. Hence the comeback of Scholesy! Mad isn’t it. Yeah, quite a lot of flaws with regards to the plausibility. Well, you know what they say, “There’s nowt as queer as stuff!” - “Micky, Micky, Micky!!” Eric repeated in the tone of voice that suggests I’ve done something wrong. “Will you ever remember that your inner-monologue is being written down?” - “SHIT!!!!!!!!” As there was no case, I’ve no need utter my now famous viral catchphrase, Case Closed! Okay, so, wherever the fuck he is, Berba had better have set up this fucking selfdestruct thing this time, if SAF or anyone sees this I’m toast. What? What? Sorry folks … Look whoever you are I’m trying to do something here. Can’t it wait? What? *whisper, whisper, whisper* Oh, no one actually reads my diary. GREAT! PHEW Thank FUCK for THAT!!!! Hey, wait a minute …
@bifurcated_mufc
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BACK TO THE FUTURE By Harry Sherlock It’s 2019 and Manchester United have just won the Premier League once again, but what else has happened in English football this year? The 2018/19 season may well go down in history as the greatest Premier League season ever recorded. Manchester United won the league in magnificent fashion, Sunderland surprised everyone, Wimbledon stayed up and Arsenal finished in the bottom half. And City? Well, they’re just in a different league. Literally! The fact that the Premier
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League champions came from Old Trafford was a surprise to all but those in the terraces at the famous old ground. The new gaffer – groomed for the United hotseat since 2011/12 by Sir Alex Ferguson – brought a completely new style of football to Manchester. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was backed all the way by the Glazer family in his endeavours in the transfer market, signing a 25 year old Mario
Gotze for a club record £36 million and 24 year old Ross Barkley for £16 million. They weren’t the biggest spenders in the transfer market though, oh no. A newly bought Sunderland spent big, splashing around £150 million on talent including a 33 year old Andres Iniesta, a 28 year old Gareth Bale and a 34 year old Robin Van Persie. Tottenham then replaced Gareth Bale with Alexis Sanchez, Barcelona replaced Sanchez with Daniel Sturridge and Chelsea replaced Sturridge with Angel Di Maria while Arsenal replaced Van Persie with Karim Benzema. Transfer merry-go-round doesn’t begin to describe it... The promoted sides didn’t fare quite as well as the last time all three avoided the drop – way back in 11/12
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– with Wimbledon the only survivors. The team formerly known as the ‘crazy gang’ pulled up a few trees up during their campaign – thrashing Arsenal 4-0 at the Emirates, nicking a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge and capping it all with a magnificent 5-1 victory over Liverpool at Anfield. The other two promoted sides – Leeds United and Ipswich Town both floundered in their mission for glory, seemingly competing for the worst team in Premier League history mantle. Leeds won that, finishing with a grand total of 8 points – coming from 1-0 victories home and away over, ironically, Ipswich and two 0-0 draws with Arsenal and Bolton. Ipswich weren’t much better, finishing with 11 points. Where from? Victories over Spurs at home, Wolves away and Cardiff at home. Two draws in the final two games put some daylight between the Tractor Boys and the bottom club, with 1-1 draws against Aston Villa and Chelsea giving them the honourable achievement of finishing second bottom, rather than rock bottom The top of the league wasn’t much tighter, with United going through the season unbeaten, only dropping five points all season – draws home and away with a spirited Wimbledon and away draws with Spurs, Sunderland and Liverpool. There were some notable wins though – 7-1 over
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Leeds United, 6-0 over Ipswich and an 8-1 FA Cup win over Manchester City. And talking of City... Their plummet into financial meltdown began with Balotelli-gate, with their talismanic Italian striker demanding a move in the summer of 2013, after he reportedly punched Roberto Mancini in the face, breaking three bones in his cheek
Balotelli, though, wanted his move and he got it – Real Madrid handed over £29 million for his signature. Key departures followed... and forcing Sheikh Mansour to take action. And action he did take, sacking Mancini for ‘provoking’ the striker and issuing an open apology to the player. Balotelli, though, wanted his move and he got it – Real Madrid handed over £29 million for his signature. Key departures followed – Edin Dzeko, Carlos Tevez, Yaya Toure, David Silva and Joe Hart all departed for pastures new and City tumbled down the league – finishing in 18th in 2015. Administration followed and a ten point deduction. League One awaited and that’s
where they ended up – and that’s where they were when a Rooney-inspired United thumped eight past them at Old Trafford. Oh, how sweet that tasted! Europe was something of a roller-coaster in 2018/19, Barcelona going out in the group stages was the story of the year, although Real Madrid’s controversial 11-0 victory over Hannover saw Jose Mourinho accused of match-fixing, for which he was later cleared, and Manchester United made some real progress following their humbling 2011/12 Europa League exit to Athletic Bilbao. For six years the semifinals awaited, but 2018/19 saw United go one further – they reached the final, and a showdown with Bayern Munich, 20 years after their last gasp 1999 triumph. Bayern went in favourites, having won their semi-final 5-0 on aggregate, but they were 1-0 down in 5 minutes after a Wayne Rooney freekick sent the United fans into raptures. The Germans equalised on 80 minutes, but a corner was won in the 90th minute by Ross Barkley. Mario Gotze took it and Phil Jones got his head on it and flicked it on. Wayne Rooney stuck out a boot, and the Champions League was heading back to Old Trafford. And the FA Cup? Why don’t you decide?!
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A MONTH IN FOOTBALL EUROPA LEAGUE Leg 1
Un City Spu
United 2 Athletic Bilbao 3 Europa League 8th March 2011 THE STORY United were left facing an uphill battle to progress in the Europa League following a dismal home performance. Rooney put United ahead before Llorente equalised just before the half time break. De Marcos and Muniain gave Bilbao a two goal cushion before Rooney scored a late penalty, however it seemed as though the damage was done before the away leg.
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TH fou of t on for Oc sio We Ro line ing Un mo aga sec riv sho def
P W D L Pts
nited y urs
28 21 4 3 67 28 21 4 3 66 28 17 4 8 54
EUROPA LEAGUE Leg 2
P W D L Pts
P W D L Pts United City Arsenal
29 22 4 3 70 29 21 4 4 66 29 17 4 8 55
United City Arsenal
30 23 4 3 73 30 22 4 4 70 30 18 4 8 58
United 2 West Brom 0 Premier League 11th March 2012
Athletic Bilbao 2 United 1 Europa League 15th March 2012
Wolves 0 United 5 Premier League 18th March 2012
United 1 Fulham 0 Premier League 26th March 2012
HE STORY United und themselves top the Premier Leauge a Monday morning r the first time since tober after a profesonal victory over est Brom. Wayne ooney stole the heades once again, scorg another brace. nited barely had to ove out of third gear ainst the Baggies to cure top spot, as als City were ocked into an away feat to Swansea.
THE STORY Somewhat expectantly United crashed out of the Europa League following an impressive Bilbao performance at the San Mames. Llorente and De Marcos scored their second goals against United in a week as the visitors failed to learn their lessons from the first leg. Rooney thumped a consolation goal late on but it was Bilbao who progressed.
THE STORY Sore from their second European exit of the season United had a point to prove against struggling Wolves. Jonny Evans netted his first United goal whilst Nani, Welbeck and Hernandez (2) also added to the scoresheet. The impetuous visitors drove the game forward as Wolves offered little competition in a match that took United four points clear.
THE STORY Once again United laboured to a lacklustre victory over Fulham at Old Trafford. Rooney scored his 29th goal of the season just before the half time break and whilst United dominated in terms of attacking possession they were unable to find a way through Fulham’s resilient defence. Nevertheless as City dropped points at Stoke, United maintained their lead.
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OLD TRAFFORD SINGING AREA UPDATE Prior to the Fulham game on Monday, representatives from the various groups behind the Old Trafford Singing Section met with senior Manchester United Officials to discuss the Singing Section proposal.
If you’re interested in moving to the singing section email: otsingingsection@hotmail.co.uk stating your name and your current season ticket location.
As Manchester United had already decided to relocate away supporters to North Stand Tier 3, a decision made by the club before the singing section proposal was submitted, this has left an empty space within Old Trafford. Manchester United are very keen for a fans’ lead initiative to be implemented within Old Trafford and the manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, himself is keen for an improvement in the Old Trafford atmosphere. Manchester United will trial the movement of away fans to North Tier 3 for the Aston Villa home game, if this trial is successful, then all away supporters will be moved to tier 3 next season, for all games. Should this move be sanctioned by the local council and authorities after the Aston Villa game, then the current away fans area will be empty for next season. Manchester United have offered this area for the proposed singing section and as a result, this has been accepted. This area will incorporate blocks E230, E231, E232 and E233 and will give fans approximately 2,698 seats. The current price bracket of these seats are £37 and £38, putting them in line with the current prices in Stretford End Tier 2.
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IN TRANSITION By Jack Harvey
“They’re going through a transitional period.” There’s a phrase you would have heard quite a few times throughout Sir Alex Ferguson’s tenure as manager of Manchester United. But what does it mean? How is it best managed? How long does it last? And, more pertinently, are Manchester United going through another transitional phase this season?
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Chelsea are a perfect example of a side who have suffered through not fully undergoing the transition process. In short, a transitional period is when the core of a football team changes and evolves through the acquisitions and departures of players. That’s not to say two players coming in and two moving on constitutes as “transition“ - it is dependent on not only the number of changes but the quality and age of the relevant players. It is also important to stress that transition does not mean wholesale changes. In Manchester United’s case, players like Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs, and Gary Neville to a lesser extent due to injuries, have played a huge part in four or five different sides. Their individual roles, too, have altered over the years. Chelsea are a perfect example of a side who have suffered through not fully undergoing the transition process. Jose Mourinho was appointed as manager in 2004, was given a considerable amount of money to spend in the transfer market and built a very good, titlewinning side. But they haven’t moved on since. That’s not to say they should have immediately got rid of key players (see Scholes and
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Giggs), and players like John Terry and Frank Lampard absolutely have a role to play at Stamford Bridge. But through the constant changing of manager, the Blues saw all of their best players (Terry, Lampard, Cole, Drogba, Anelka, Ballack) grow into their 30s together. Arguably, they are entering the transition phase now. Ramires, David Luiz, Fernando Torres, Juan Mata, Raul Meireles and Gary Cahill have all been bought in the last two seasons and have an average age of 25.3. However, they were acquired for a combined £132M (average £22M). Had Roman Abramovich kept faith in one manager, not only would this process have been cheaper, but they could have overseen transition while still remaining competitive for trophies which brings me perfectly on to Manchester United. One of Sir Alex Ferguson’s greatest strengths is his ability to lead United to trophies during transition. It is a skill which requires excellent judgement, timing and ultimately, Ferguson’s
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winning mentality. There can be little doubt, however, that he benefits from his job security. The fact that he knows his job is completely safe allows him to plan years in advance - buying and selling players not on a whim, but with a clear goal in building his next great team, and he sets about the task methodically. If you were to ask a Manchester United supporter which are the best sides Ferguson has built in his 25 years at Old Trafford, which would they vote for? The ‘94 team with the defensive wall of Pallister and Bruce? The midfield steel of Ince, Keane and Robson, and the flair of Cantona? Maybe the ‘99 treble winners, who boasted one of the best four-man midfields ever, together with the attacking options of Yorke, Cole, Solskjaer and Sheringham? Or perhaps the 2008 double-winning side, known for its wonderful, fluid attacking football with Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez in sync, not to mention Ferdinand and Vidic in their prime? They were all excellent teams in different ways - but they all have one thing in common. They took time to build. For both football and financial reasons, a manager can’t just buy eleven new players at the start of a season and get success. Transition has to be gradual. Sir Alex always plans for the future, whilst dealing with the present.
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Is the current Manchester United side in transition? In a word, yes. To see why, and how Ferguson is going about this transition, we go back to the beginning of the 2010/11 season. Sir Alex was very much concentrating on winning a record 19th league title for United, as well as trying for a fourth European Cup. While the present was his priority, he never took his eye off the future. He is constantly ensuring he has the right blend of youth and experience, two players in their early 20s, Chris Smalling and Javier Hernandez, joined before the season started. While those two each played a reasonable number of games throughout the campaign, gaining valuable experience in the Premier League, two academy graduates were doing the same elsewhere. Tom Cleverley and Danny Welbeck, having previously been loaned out in the Championship, were given a taste of first-team Premier League action at Wigan and Sunderland respectively. In August 2010, the idea that those four players would amass a combined 65 appearances by March in the 2011/12 season (and it would have been considerably more if not for injuries) seemed unlikely. While supporters always hope youth products can make it to the first team, there was no real fuss made of Welbeck and Cleverley before their loan
moves - Macheda was probably seen as a brighter talent than Welbeck while Cleverley hadn’t really been near United‘s first team. Hernandez was relatively unknown, while Smalling wasn’t expected to feature as often as he did in his maiden season. Fast forward to this year, with youngsters David De Gea and Phil Jones, as well as Ashley Young, enjoying their first seasons with United, and it’s safe to say this current side is in transition. The club lost a lot of experience too - with Edwin Van Der Sar, Gary Neville, John O’Shea and Wes Brown leaving in the summer. Europe was clearly a disappointment, but both the 1999 and 2008 sides had lessons like this before being crowned champions of Europe. In 2005, a United side including a young Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo also failed to make it out of a fairly straight-forward group stage, while Gary Neville has discussed the problems the treble-winning side encountered along the way. The promising sign for the current group is that they are still challenging for the league, and that tradition will continue for as long as Sir Alex Ferguson remains in charge.
@Harvey_91
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BORN AN This month we have put the website’s very own match anaylsist Holly Chaggar into the Born & Red hotseat as she discusses Ronaldo (the fat one), and David Moyes as United manager? Name: Hollie Age: 24 Occupation: Student Where do you reside? Fleetwood, Lancashire. How did you become a United fan? Through my Grandad’s influence we used to watch games together. First match you attended? It was United vs Blackburn in a League Cup semi-final. I can’t remember the season exactly but it was a draw 1-1. Preferential seating area at Old Trafford? My current seat in the Stretford upper, although I would like to move further into the centre.
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Favourite ever United player? I’d have to go with Paul Scholes, a fantastic player and model pro. Favourite current player? Pre-Scholes comeback I would have said Antonio Valencia. Signing you were most excited by? Ruud Van Nistelrooy and he didn’t disappoint! Least liked United player? Carlos Tevez Are you an away match goer? I have just recently started going to away matches. Best away ground? I haven’t been to enough away grounds to make a judgement yet.
Best away experience? I have only just started going to away matches, but so far it is the 3-1 win away at Tottenham a couple of weeks ago. The atmosphere amongst the travelling fans was brilliant and the result was obviously fantastic. Are you a shouter or a thinker at matches? Both, I regularly lose my voice after matches. Best and worst things about the club? Obviously the worst is the debt! The best thing about the club is the character, we always keep playing until the very last second. Who do you want as the next United manager? I don’t think there is an outstanding candidate, but Mourinho tends to bring success wherever he goes and once he returns to
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ND RED England I think he is looking for a long term project, which would be ideal. David Moyes could be the dark horse. Any experiences with players to share? I bumped into Gary Neville last year but I was so surprised I couldn’t actually speak to him. Best match you've ever attended? The 4-3 win over Real Madrid in the Champions League. We may have gone out but it was a brilliant match and the team fought until the end. Ronaldo was on another level that night.
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Favourite piece of United memorabilia? I have a few programmes with signatures from players such as Ronaldo, Solskjaer, Keane, Scholes, Giggs and Beckham to name a few. Biggest rivals and why? Its still Liverpool given the respective histories of the two clubs. Best moment as a United fan? 19. Worst moment as fan? In my lifetime United haven’t experienced many low
moments, but I would say the Glazer takeover. Biggest prick in football? Sepp Blatter. Sum up United's last season in ten words or less: We knocked the Scousers off their perch. Your best United XI? I’m going to choose from the players I have actually seen so: Schmeichel, G Neville, Vidic, Ferdinand, Irwin, Ronaldo, Scholes, Keane, Giggs, Van Nistelrooy, Cantona.
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DEATH OF THE GAME? Football Agents, Bloody Hell By Alan Monger Alright, so Fergie didn't exactly say "Football agents, bloody hell!" but in the light of recent events concerning a certain young French Manchester United player, who would actually be surprised if he slightly revised his famous post 1999 Champions League final comment? Agents eh? Greedy bastards the lot of them, who are slowly killing the game by their apparent singleminded objective of completely pushing the limits of what can generally be perceived as reasonable financial demands in respect of the players they represent. And demands not just for these clients, but for themselves too. Ok, ok, perhaps a tad unfair to tar ALL agents with the same 'greedy bastard' brush. After all some have been shown to be decent, and not all raise the hackles in the same way as say Paul Stretford, who Fergie has described as "not the most popular man in the world, certainly at our club," in light of his dealings with several United players, most
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notably Wayne Rooney. A bit unfair yes, because an agents main objective, I'd hope, when all is said and done is to secure the best deal for his clients, and in the grand scheme of things, considering the minority of contract negotiations actually come to public scrutiny, so I guess, by definition, a fair number of agents must be doing jobs that are satisfactory to their clients. To illustrate, down the years I've rarely read anything about Scholes' or Giggs' agents, for example, banging down doors demanding ridiculous amounts from United in exchange for their signatures, with veiled threats of them leaving if the terms aren't met etc. Whilst obviously not believing negotiations to be as simple as the players just walking into a room and signing what was put in front of them, they've still been pretty much low key affairs considering the high key nature of the players involved. And in a slightly similar vein, how refreshing recently to read that Antonio
Valencia had actually dispensed with his agent. Not to get another one no, but purely because he deemed he no longer needed one. So happy does the winger feel at United that he felt he didn't need anyone to help broker any deals elsewhere. Quite simple really eh? Why pay for a service you just don't require? By way of a contrast however, to our young Frenchman. As it happens, Paul Pogba turned 19 on the day that I started writing this. A great age yes? An age when you know exactly what's what in life, an age when every decision you make is inevitably going to be the right one. An age when you know on which side of the fence the grass is greener. Yes? Erm, that'll be no. Actually 19 is an age when you need all the help you can get, an age when you need to be well advised, to be assisted, and to be pointed in the right direction. And hell, I'm only talking about your average 19 year old here. Not someone who possibly, just possibly, might be a
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actually pick up £1.6million for his 'efforts'. Efforts? Um, that'll be unsettling the lad, turning his head, telling him he'll be better off elsewhere I guess then, yes? Jeez, nice work if you can get it, eh?
prodigious talent in the making, a possible star of the future. But enough of Ravel Morrison... Paul Pogba by virtue of his age and his undeniable talent is, I grant you, needful of an agent. What he is perhaps NOT needful of, not at this early stage in his career anyway, is an agent who by virtue of some spectacular dealings has come to be known as a 'super-agent'. Enter Mino Raiola, for yes, this is the man who now appears to hold the keys to Pogba's future. Mino Raiola counts Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Marek Hamsik, Mark van Bommel and Mario Balotelli amongst his clients. He is undeniably successful, and seemingly stops at nothing to raise awareness of his clients. Some at this point may label him unscrupulous. I could not possibly comment. Other than to say that back in 2004 when Juventus apparently rejected a €70million bid from Real Madrid for Ibrahimovic, it later transpired that it was actually a publicity stunt by
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Raiola purely to increase the market value of his player. For 'Pogba and United fans' at this present time, read instead 'Balotelli and Inter fans' back in 2010. Once Inter fans became aware of Raiola being Balotelli's agent so they feared the worst, and sure enough in less time than it takes Mario to put a bib on, so Raiola had engineered a deal satisfying Balotellis desire to leave Inter. So, there you have it really. Raiola seemingly has the power to pretty well manufacture a move for any player, once he has got his claws into them. Sorry, 'signed them up as clients'... Did I mention them being greedy so and so's? Back in 2004, Paul Stretford was apparently paid £1.5 million as part of the £27million transfer of Rooney from Everton to United. An extraordinary amount indeed. Move on just eight years though and rumours abound that if Pogba leaves United for Juventus, securing a £1m per year salary (£20k per week), Raiola will
No wonder the likes of Fergie would love to return to the days when signing a player was simply a case of convincing him that he wanted to play for his team and promising him that with time so the rewards would materialise. Famously, although offered more to sign for Blackburn, Roy Keane chose to join United. He acts as firm proof of Fergie's belief, and Sir Matt Busby's before him, that 'by sticking with United so the money will follow you'. He proved himself to be invaluable and ultimately United paid top dollars to keep him. For what it's worth, I'd love to see Pogba stay. But time will tell which path he chooses. If he leaves, he'll becomes the latest in a long line of cash cows for Raiola and his ilk; if he stays, he'll undoubtedly have secured an improved contract with the promise of more to come. Either way, the ongoing saga offers further incontrovertible proof of the dominant role of certain agents in football now.
@Almanuman
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END OF A GENTLEMANLY REIGN? By Rachel Turney Last season’s joint top scorers in the Premier League have barely been in their teams starting XI this season. Probably not what either expected around this time last year. How quickly things can change in football. The main difference is Tevez stopped wanting to play for City, but what about Berbatov? At the time of writing he has played in only ten league games for United this season, starting just five. He has still however managed an impressive nine goals, seven of which have come in the league. Not a bad return given his lack of first team opportunity. The tally makes him currently joint third top scorer at the club.
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Given these stats, it’s hard not to feel sorry for the Bulgarian but at the same time you can’t really argue with Sir Alex’s decision making when we are sat at the top of the league. Berbatov has not been helped by the excellent progress shown by Danny Welbeck this season who has nine goals himself, albeit from more games. Hernandez is also ahead of Berbatov in the pecking order, with ten goals this term. No one needs me to remind them of Rooney’s brilliant form of late either. One criticism that always seems to fall the way of Berbatov is that he scores a lot of his goals against the lower placed teams. This season for instance five of his goals have come in two games against Wigan and Blackburn. Last season he obviously hit five against Blackburn, making up a quarter of his league total. Although he also scored a very memorable hatrick against Liverpool. This season his others goals, apart from those against Blackburn and Wigan, have come against Aldershot, Benfica, Fulham and Stoke. None of the topteams in the league but then it is hard to score when you’re not getting on the pitch. He has failed to come on in any of our league games this term against Liverpool, Tottenham, Arsenal or City. He came on as a substitute against Chelsea. He has therefore had almost no chance to make an
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The final nail in the coffin for Berbatov and maybe a sign of things to come, was that he didn’t even make the bench for the Champions League final.
impact against the top teams, but again, given the points we have taken off most of these teams, it’s hard to complain. So what next for Berbatov? In his defence he hasn’t sulked and continues to perform when called upon. Even recently when he has spoken out about his sadness and pain at being left out he has also spoken about his desire to keep helping United. "I'm ready and waiting whenever the boss gives me a chance to show my quality and deliver. I want to do as much as I can to help us win the title”. That said Ferguson has recently indicated that this could be Berbatov’s last efforts for the club. "His concern is not getting firstteam football," said Ferguson. "At 31, he is looking at first-team football. It is difficult for me to guarantee that so it could lead to him looking elsewhere." It is
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likely that United would trigger a clause in the Bulgarians contract to extend his contract until next summer, but only so they can get some money for him if he is sold this summer. The reds will want to avoid him going on a free if possible having stumped up £30 million to get their man from Tottenham four years ago. With Rooney aged 26, Hernandez 23 and Welbeck 21 it is with these three that United’s future in attack lies. Even in United’s recent Europa League tie against Athletic Bilbao, a competition of course seen as second to the Premier League, Berbatov didn’t even make the bench. Even more surprising considering United needed a minimum of two goals to make it through the tie. It is going to be very difficult for Berbatov to change Ferguson’s mind, if that’s what he wanted to do, when he can’t even get on the pitch in games like that. When Hernandez was brought by United in the summer of 2010 it seemed he would be one for the future, being so young and inexperienced. He obviously settled quicker than anyone expected, scoring 20 goals and leaving Berbatov starting less and less games. The Mexican made it almost impossible not to start him, forming a wonderful partnership with Rooney. The final nail in the coffin for Berbatov and maybe a sign of things to come, was that he didn’t even make the bench for the Champions
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League final. All his before Welbeck returned to United from Sunderland this season. It seems that everything has worked against Berbatov. Unfortunately you can only have so many strikers playing at one time. As much as I like Berbatov, I’m not sure which of the other three I would leave out instead if it came to it. People have said that Berbatov has never reached the heights he did at Spurs for United and maybe they have a point but we have won the league two of the three seasons he has been with us, which come May will hopefully be three in four. Of course he hasn’t done this singlehandedly but he has certainly played a part, making over 30 appearances in the league in each of his seasons with the club before the current one and scoring a total of 48 league goals in total to date. I did however see stats today that in his first season he started 94% of the league games he appeared in but this season he has started in just 50% of his ten league appearances. All pointing to the fact that United are relying on him less and less.
understand why he would want to leave given his age and lack of first team chances but where does he go from United? It seems his former club Bayer Leverkusen are interested as I imagine many other clubs would be. I’m not convinced it’s really his decision anyway. If he does leave I hope it’s at least with a hatrick of Premier League winners medals and that he is remembered fondly for what he has helped us achieve not for how much better some believe he should have done.
@Rachel_jj2011
Personally I would like to see him stay, however unlikely this now seems. I can
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I’LL HA PLEASE
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AVE AN RVP E FERGIE…
he fantasy conversation, rival’s players would you o the United line-up? Turns don't come as easy as you might think. By Steph
Although the sheer thought that any of Manchester City’s mercenaries could ever put on a United shirt quite frankly scares the living daylights out of me, sometimes you have to look at what is best for the club. I got thinking on an idle Friday afternoon, what if we took one player from each of our rivals, and by that I mean: City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Spurs. (NB: I didn't include Liverpool because I’m referring to league rivals rather than hated Scouse racist rivals but for the record, I’m not sure I’d pick any of them over our current team). Not one to shove my own opinions right down your throat and expect you to just swallow it, I took to Twitter to ask my lovely followers their opinions, so alongside my overriding (naturally) decision, I will also give you an indication of what the rest of you thought. And if I’m honest, my decisions weren’t quite as clear cut as I first thought they might be. Do I go tactically and think who will fit best in our squad, or do I just pick my preferred player from each team. Oh decisions, decisions...
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MANCHESTER CITY Nearest rivals both geographically and in league standings. Possible the hardest decision to make out of all four teams. Whilst the natural hatred I harbour for Manchester City makes this a difficult decision, the fact they have the best squad of our four closest rivals also makes matters slightly more challenging. Joe Hart, currently the best ‘keeper in the league in my opinion could be a decent shout if it wasn't for the fact we have David De Gea. Whilst it’s up for debate which shot stopper many would prefer in their line up, I wouldn't halter David’s progress by bringing in the England Number One. Aguero could be an obvious choice but I’ve already signed a striker (guess who) from another team so for me, he’s a no-no. Silva has a number of merits working towards him and certainly the vote from “the people.” Other notably shout outs include Vincent Kompany, although I think our centre -backs are more than adequate at present and Micah Richards. Then there’s Yaya Toure. The one position I think we’re still missing, a defensive midfielder. But that’s not enough for me. I’m going with Silva: talent, flair and creativity. My choice: David Silva The people’s choice: David Silva Silva: 50% Kompany: 12.5% Yaya: 12.5% Hart: 8.3% Aguero: 8.3% Richards: 4.1% Dzeko: 4.1%
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CHELSEA ARSENAL For me there were really only two candidates from the current Chelsea squad, Juan Mata and Daniel Sturridge. Mata has had an excellent first season in a struggling side and will no doubt win plaudits for their Player Of The Season. His goal against United was enough for me to think the guy is fantastic!
Let’s be honest for just a moment, in reality there is only one Arsenal player that most of us would really want in United’s current squad. Their captain and talisman, Robin Van Persie. It was no surprise that 83.3% of you picked RVP as your choice and no real shock that he is also mine.
SPURS A few contenders for the Spurs crown, notably: Modric, Bale, Parker and Walker, all of whom warrant their own merit. Modric would be on obvious choice seeing and had I not picked both Mata and Silva, no doubt Modric would have been my number one Spurs choice. Bale is another one not picked for similar reasons, an excellent winger who has a fantastic career ahead of him but for the time being Spurs can keep the Welshman.
Sturridge has also shone this season and is Chelsea’s top returning striker with 11 goals—behind only Frank Lampard as the club’s top scorer. At just 22 he will no doubt be one for the future and should be on the plane to Euro 2012 in the summer.
The Dutchman would fit very nicely into the United front line alongside Rooney, Welbeck and Hernandez (that’s presuming Berba and Owen don't make it until next season), although perhaps Fergie’s most difficult decision will be which two become his main strikers.
Ramires, Drogba and Torres (yes, really) all got mentions from you guys but the Spanish winger wins it for me.
Other mentions included Song and Wilshere but there was only one man winning this poll.
For me, Scott Parker would be brilliant. A quiet enforcer. A defensive midfielder who does his job with almost a nonchalant attitude. Many laughed at the prospect of signing him in the summer. I’m sure now many changed their minds.
My choice: Juan Mata The people’s choice: Juan Mata
My choice: RVP The people’s choice: RVP
My choice: Scott Parker The people’s choice: Luka Modric
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Thank you for taking the time to read Issue 14 of Football United Fanzine.
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ISSUE 14, Issue 15 is out on Saturday 5thAPRIL May 2012