The Sporting calendar

After years at the top of English football, Manchester united’s reign as the title/cup winning favourites, is coming to a slow and painful end, in full view of the world’s media.
As a Liverpool fan, I know only too well how this pans out.

The successful teams I have watched through the years in English football, Early 70s Leeds team, Liverpool through the 70s and 80s, Everton in the 80s, Nottingham Forest of the late 70s early 80s, Ipswich Town’s cup winning team, etc, have all had several things in common – making unknown players famous.
Once a club forget what put them in their dominant position, the unknown names that run through the core of their teams, and starts paying big money for “talent” then their days as the top club are numbered.
Liverpool’s best days consisted of teams made up of players from lower leagues and even gaelic football, the big money signings came much later, which slowed the fall from the top.
Nottingham Forest went from the old second division to European champions in a few short years with names such as Gary Birtles, John Robertson, Viv Anderson, Archie Gemmill, John McGovern, etc, all grafters from outside the top circle of footballing stars.
Manchester United tried for decades to buy the title, a succession of managers and big money stars passed through the club, Ferguson was himself close to being sacked, when injuries forced him to put out a young relatively unknown team of players, Beckham, Scholes, Giggs, Neville brothers, etc, and he struck gold.

Any line up of players brought in from outside the top tier, taught to play in a certain way, at the core of the team, can dominate English football. It is what makes our league unique.
This is why English teams are so successful in Europe, the pace and passion is rarely matched abroad. (Hence why, when we have international matches, where the play is slower, more methodical, we struggle – where as if we played as a league team, Capello has already stated this, we become close to invincible!)
Wayne Rooney is no different from Kevin Keegan, star of the Liverpool show, or Graeme Souness the midfield power house wanted by clubs around Europe, or even Ronaldo and his bizarre exit from Old Trafford.

Man Utd should simply sell him off for big money to any club stupid enough to pay big money for him.
Arsene Wenger knows all too well how much damage to a club can be done by holding on to players when they don’t want to be there.
Although I admire Rooney for sticking to his guns, I can’t help thinking we have seen all this before.

The difference this time, is that Ferguson is trying to justify his position by playing to the media. No manager should do this, the old Fergie would have kicked Rooney into the reserves for a couple of weeks or left him on the subs bench for weeks in full view of every fan.
Personally, if a player states they want to leave my club, then I don’t want to see them in the first team again.
Liverpool are seeing now, how damaging the promise of first team football to get players to join or stay can be to a club.

Before you start messaging me saying Chelsea are buying the titles they have won, just take a look at how long they have been playing together!
Big names they maybe, but the core of the team have been together through four different managers over 5,6 even sometimes 7 seasons.
Occasional additions are added with the odd injured player leaving. The example of Joe Cole is a stark one.
Seemingly a great pick up from Chelsea, as he is not offered a new contract, but watch him play, he’s lost a yard of pace, he’s trying to play a central role without the engine, he’s now too slow to do damage on the wing, he’s no longer a special talent.
Chelsea were right to let him go, Liverpool were wrong to pick him up, especially if, as it appears, he’s been offered a guarantee of first team football.

To be a top club you require hungry players, who are always looking over their shoulders, knowing that one or two bad games could see them out of the first team for at least three or four games.
No individual is ever bigger than a successful club.
Until Liverpool get back in this habit they will remain a mid table side with the occasional decent season, Man Utd are about to realise the exact same thing happening to them.

To listen to all the “pundits” over the past four or five seasons, you could be forgiven for thinking that the most important aspect of the premier league, in deciding the league title each season, was the mini league between the four top clubs.
Last season for example, I witnessed constant analysis about how Liverpool had won more matches against the other top four clubs and that this was a factor in their climb to finish runners up.

In fact, the opposite is true.
The top four “mini league” is not a major factor in deciding where the premier league title goes each season.
What decides a team of champions, is a little more complex.
New teams playing in the premiership:
Last season, the top flight of English football witnessed a dramatic change.
Liverpool of the late 70s/early 80s had Ipswich Town and Nottingham Forest to contend with, (ie, teams with managers that cared not one instance for the dominating clubs) and in the late 90s Liverpool had the Wimbledons and Leeds Utd teams that swam against the status quo tide.
Last season we had Hull City and Stoke City, not possible title winners, but teams who are just as dangerous in causing damage to the big clubs.

They both have managers that don’t care for the “in club” of the well known, established managers. They show respect to other teams, but don’t feed off the back of the bigger clubs.
They have the ability to be unpredictable and dangerous, to encourage other teams to do what they do, have a go at the big clubs. For English football, they have been a breath of fresh air!
Last season we saw Hull City come to Anfield and terrorise Liverpool. They repeated this at Manchester Utd, they won at Arsenal they destroyed Newcastle in their own back yard.
The pundits said they were freak results, the pundits were wrong.
Stoke City held Liverpool home and away, to a 0-0 draw. They upset some of the stale middle league teams by beating them and, in a small way, contributed to the downfall of Newcastle and Middlesbro, sending them to relegation.
But there is a more damaging aspect creeping up on the big clubs, the end of Alex Ferguson’s control and influence!

What Fergie has done over recent seasons, has been no different from Shankly and Paisley’s boot room.
A cunning trickery that has benefitted Man Utd each and every season.
Instead of the “boot room” Liverpool used to have, Man Utd’s manager has “shared a bottle of wine” after every game.
The cosy club of Sir Alex Ferguson visiting a little ground and a manager who is fighting tooth and nail to survive in the premiership, in awe of this “great man” trying to learn from him, inadvertantly giving away titbits of information, that only end up benefitting Manchester Utd in their chase for yet another title.

Prior to Hull City and Stoke City arriving in the premiership, it was a cosy closed shop. The more they became chatty with Fergie, the more unlikely it became that these smaller clubs would cause Manchester Utd any problems on a wet wednesday night in the harsh British winter games.
Mistakes would happen, long runs of a lesser team not getting any points from their games with Man Utd would occur.
Look at Steve Bruce, in his games against his old club, he has gone 18 games without a win against them. Middlesbro’s record against Man Utd under Steve McClaren and Bryan Robson, who used to be at Man Utd, was abismal, yet when Arsenal or Liverpool came to town, they would get draws or even beat them.

The information Fergie gets from his discussions over a bottle of wine, with the lesser teams, is invaluable.
The managers of lesser teams see it as a bonus for them, they get to speak to “the great man” they may get a favour or two as regards the loan of a player, whilst Fergie gets information on how the smaller club prepares/plays their games. He gets insight into where the strengths and weaknesses of their team is.
Fergie also gets valuable information on exciting players these clubs plan to sign. He has been known to step in and buy them, but not play them, just to stop smaller clubs getting an advantage?
“Loose talk sinks ships” so said the old wartime saying, never has it been more apt than in the world of football.
One smaller club that didn’t subscribe to this “cosy club” was Southampton. They would regularly thump Man Utd, taking points from them, in one instance when they thrashed them 6-2 at the Dell, Alex Ferguson refused the BBC permission to use highlights of the game, once it had been aired on match of the day.

Stoke City and Hull City last season, kicked sand in the face of the big clubs and I hope they continue to do so this season.
With Burnley not yet being part of Fergie’s little gatherings after a match, they too caused an upset, beating a very average Manchester Utd side.
As the number of new clubs appearing in the premiership grows, so the big clubs dominance dwindles.

Fergie’s cosy little club is shrinking, which explains why we had such an open league championship last year.
It has not gone away though, which shows that no matter how the “top four league” do against each other, the title is won and lost against the smaller clubs.