Sir Alex Ferguson’s exit – a golden opportunity missed

Let’s get it out of the way first. Sir Alex Ferguson was a one-off, a freak of nature who more than earned his 27 years at a powerhouse football club and brought unparalleled joy and glory to the red side of Manchester. There will not be another Ferguson, at least not in this century. He leaves behind a lasting legacy, a stand in his name and a hideous statue that we are told is his.

The appointment of David Moyes was quick, controversy-free and very well-managed. Within a span of 24 hours, the club managed to wave goodbye to the outgoing manager and usher in a new one without much fuss (Roman Abramovich could do much worse than take a cue from this). The replacement was hand-picked by Ferguson himself, and the board concurred with Sir Alex’s recommendation. One Scot out, another one in. So far, so good.

But the more you look at it, the more you feel that Manchester United have taken a safety-first approach to ensure consistency and stability, in the process overlooking far more qualified candidates. The board and the owners seemed to be echoing the fans’ sentiments when they appointed Moyes – “In Fergie we trust”. It’s heresy to question the words of the “provider”, and all and sundry acquiesced to Sir Alex’s final major decision.

The truth is, in David Moyes, Manchester United have signed a manager with little or no pedigree.

Sure, he kept Everton floating on a shoe-string budget. Yes, he has been at the same club for years, and built a rapport with players and fans alike that has elevated him to cult status amongst the Goodison faithful. He shares some of the traits that made Ferguson what he is today. Everyone has nice things to say about him, and he seems like a thoroughly likeable person.

But managing to keep Everton in the top eight of the table in the last 6 years should not automatically qualify him for the top job at Manchester United. That is the same as saying a person who has been running a soda shop in the local market is fit enough to work at the top job in Pepsi co. In theory, it may sound right. But the reality is very different.

No disrespect to Everton, but the reality is that David Moyes comes from a relatively small club, and brings with him the same mentality. He was comfortable in his secure job at Everton, without having to ever venture out of the safe zone. He was not expected to beat teams like Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United away from home, and a point at Old Trafford or Stamford Bridge was seen as a perfectly acceptable result. He had to sell before he could buy, and consequently looked for bargain signings rather than splash his entire transfer kitty on one player. The only times he bought big was after he sold big.

Comfortable mediocrity was the name of the game, for Moyes at Everton.

Then there is the football that Everton play. You would be hard-pressed to find an Everton fan who would classify the football Moyes’s team have played as “beautiful”. No, it’s more functional and mechanical than pleasing to the eye. Against most teams that threaten to take the game away from Everton, Moyes’s philosophy has been for his players to drop into two banks of four and deny the opposition room, with a solitary striker ploughing a lone furrow upfront. Tactics like these could have been seen as par for the course in Europe, but then that is another can of worms as far as Moyes’s track record is concerned.

By replacing a British manager with another, Manchester United have lost out on their once-in-a lifetime-chance to reinvigorate the club with fresh infusion of modern methods. Most continental managers have ditched the almost-obsolete 4-4-2 and moved on to three-man midfields, false nines and sweeper-keepers.

In Italy, three-man defences are showing a rising popularity, Germany’s top clubs employ possession-oriented or transition-based counter-attacking football and Spain has the two best individual footballers and systems designed around them. Fiorentina, under Montella, are currently playing breathtaking football, while Dortmund’s exploits are well known and admired – modern teams under progressive managers keen to implement something out of the ordinary to bring about a revolution in football.

Can you imagine David Moyes ever signing a versatile player like Mario Goetze and then knowing what to do with him?

There’s the question of the quality of the current squad as well. 5 years ago, Manchester United had a team that was playing mesmeric, jaw-dropping football with numerous flair players that fit into various systems with ease. Ferguson was never known to be a tactical genius, but he always managed to keep up with the changing times. This season, the team has hardly set the world alight with its play; it’s been more result-oriented football than anything.

Suffice to say there has been a noticeable dip in the quality of Manchester United’s first eleven in recent years, and Sir Alex has to take the blame for that, regardless of the Glazers and their apparent lack of transfer funds. It’s not a champion team any more; it’s a team that gets the job done without ever threatening to mesmerise – a far cry from the heydays of Ronaldo, Tevez and Rooney.

Now, the same side is being inherited by a manager who neither has the pulling power of Guardiola nor the charisma and man-management abilities of Mourinho. Why would Lewandowski or Gareth Bale want to work with Moyes when the likes of Guardiola and Klopp are around? In effect, there is very little chance of Manchester United being able to sign a genuine world-class player with Moyes at the helm. Sir Alex was their trump card, but he has been replaced by a man who paid 2.5m pounds to bring Darren Gibson to Everton.

Adding quality players to the squad may turn out to be an insurmountable obstacle for Moyes, especially when competing with the likes of Mourinho, Guardiola, Klopp and Ancelotti for a player’s attention.

In employing David Moyes, the higher-ups at Old Trafford (Sir Alex included) have missed a trick. In their quest for “long-term stability”, they have allowed a manager with no tangible qualifications, no pulling power and almost no outstanding characteristics to take control of the biggest football club in England, all in the hopes that continuity and familiarity will breed success in the long run.

Sir Alex’s presence will still be felt at Old Trafford in various capacities, as director and ambassador for the club. But it’s the manager who runs the team on a daily basis. And managers don’t change overnight. They continue to fall back on things that have worked for them in the past. David Moyes will get to work with better players at Manchester United, but that does not guarantee better football or better results.

A functional team is set to start work with a functional manager next season, and only in that respect are David Moyes and Manchester United a match made in heaven.

In all other aspects, David Moyes is not the right man to take Manchester United forward. Not yet anyway.

So, it has finally happened, and the inevitable has come to pass. The grand old man of football has decided to close his office door and walk out once and for all, so that he can finally get to living the life of a grand old man with no worries. Football is all he has known thus far; after all, he has been a major part of professional football since 1957, first as a mildly successful player and then as a very successful manager. For Sir Alex Ferguson, it’s been more than 50 years of Sunday afternoon kick-offs, dressing room arguments, intense preparation, mountains of responsibilities and coming out of all this with heaps of silverware.

It’s an understatement to say that Sir Alex has earned the right to make the call that David Gill, and indeed Manchester United fans, must have been dreading the past few years – the call that proclaimed Sir Alex would be stepping down as manager of Manchester United at the end of the season, and thereby bringing down the curtains on the career of one of the most decorated individuals in football. Half a century of service to the game surely earns him the right to decide his last day at work.

True to form, Sir Alex has ensured that his final major decision as manager of Manchester United is in the interests of the club. With just two games left in the season, including the home game against Swansea four days from now, the time was right for the announcement. The players were informed of the decision by members of the coaching staff on a golf trip on Tuesday. Major networks had cleared their air times, in anticipation of the impending verdict. The squad, having already been victorious on the domestic front this season, is in good shape and brimming with talented youngsters ready to set the world alight. There are potential replacements in the market, as the recent caricatures of an excited Jose Mourinho waiting by the phone suggest.

There were clear signs that this year is the year to bow out, and Sir Alex has created a scenario which will ensure that the club will not collapse in the absence of its longest serving manager. True to form, the master planner has meticulously planned his exit this time around, after the fiasco following the first retirement announcement in the 2001/02 season.

The tributes will flow in, as they should, and together with the profiles of potential replacements, fill the back pages of newspapers for days to come. It will probably go down as one of those “where were you” moments, and the decision to step down and its ramifications will be discussed for eternity. The news will bring about mixed reactions, with the grief of Manchester United fans on on side and the joy of rival team fans on the other. But no one will be happier than the referees that ply their trade in the EPL. Their chief tormentor will not be breathing down their necks come next season, so there’s a relief for the men in yellow.

What are we going to miss most? The aura of the man. With him, Manchester United scaled the biggest heights, becoming the most dominant English side on the domestic circuit. With Sir Alex, Manchester United FC ceased being a football club and became a dynasty, a footballing juggernaut that kept on rolling and mowing down oppositions left, right and center with sheer force of will. Manchester United have always had great players; talent was never the issue. But with Sir Alex, Manchester United became untouchable, and winning domestic campaigns often became a matter of when and not if.

His ideals, methods, virtues and philosophies have rubbed off on generations of players and personnel, together making the club more than the sum of its parts. The countless last-minute victories, the monumental comebacks against all odds, the aggressive style of play, the huge personalities that have entranced audiences inside Old Trafford – they are all branches of the proverbial tree that is Sir Alex. Without Sir Alex’s protection, Manchester United will be just another successful club that has lost its ace in the hole, for good. Coping with this loss will be the club’s most intense challenge in a long time. Change is not something the club is used to.

The words “end of an era” have been grossly misused in recent times, but in this case, it seems right. How else do you classify the end of the most successful period in the history of a club as big as Manchester United? For a section of the fans, it will be a numbing experience, watching the man they have associated with the club for most of their lives, leave. For the past 26 years, Sir Alex and Manchester United have been replaceable terms. Change is not something the fans are used to.

The gum-chewing, referee-baiting, watch-tapping “mind games master” will not take his seat in the dugout next season, that is certain. It is said retirement is a form of death for people who have spent their entire lives dedicated to serving a cause, as they will never again be connected to the cause in the same way as they were in their pomp. Perhaps that is the reason Sir Alex’s “death” has been met by an out-pour of grief from fans all around the world. The club will never be the same, neither will football.

They said it when Cantona left Manchester for good, but one suspects that it applies to Sir Alex Ferguson equally well. “The King is gone, Long Live the King. “ 

A team comprising of female footballers from Jharkhand and set to appear in a tournament in Spain, is allegedly facing abuse from local officials asking for bribes in return for the players’ birth certificates.

Yuva Football Club, a football team based in Ranchi, comprises of poor, tribal girls aged 12 to 14, but that did not stop them from being on the verge of history by becoming the first Indian girls to play in Spain in the week-long Donosti Cup that begins on June 30. But to be eligible for getting visas, the girls had to submit their birth certificates. Most of the members of the team, hailing from Ranchi, were not born in hospitals but at home, and consequently do not have birth certificates.

And so when the players approached the local panchayat office for birth certificates, instead of being welcomed with open arms, the were slapped, abused and made to sweep the office floors by a panchayat sewak.

“I have been going to the panchayat office for the last three months, but am yet to get the certificate,” Rinki Kumari, 13, Yuva captain said on Tuesday.

She said panchayat sewak Dinesh Sau had told the players, “Jitna jyada paise degi, utna jaldi certificate milega (The more money you give, the earlier you get your certificate).”

Rinki added, “I have given him Rs. 200. He wants more. A few days ago, I pestered Sau to get the work done. He slapped me.”

Teammate Sunita Kumari, 13, said, “Apart from slapping me, Sau also made me sweep the office floor.

It is reported that atleast 9 other players suffered a similar fate.

The club’s coach, Franz Gastler, an American, expressed his disgust, ”They will be the first Indian girls to play in Spain. The team is all over the tournament website, even covered on Spanish TV. Yet, they get no respect here,” he said.

Ranchi zone inspector general of police MS Bhatia said, “If the girls write to us, we will take stringent action.”

It remains to be seen whether any action will be taken against the panchayat sewak. Most of all, one hopes that the girls’ dreams of playing in Spain are not shattered by greedy officials looking to make a quick buck.

Disclaimer: This is a fake FB wall, not to be confused with a real one.

On Francesco Totti‘s 20th anniversary of his Serie A debut, Juventus captain and close friend Gigi Buffon sent a message to the Roma star, congratulating him on his historic feat and shedding light on the on-field rivalry between the two.

“Dear Francesco, you have made ​ Italian football history,” said Buffon in a statement to news agency ANSA.

“Twenty years in Serie A, what an achievement… I still have the image of your first goal in my mind, it was a Roma-Foggia tie.

“We’re friends, you know how much I care about you. We started together with the Under-15 side, we had some splendid years together in the national team and we continue to meet as opponents in Serie A.

“You often score against me (10 times to be precise, that’s how many goals you have netted) like a champion who has forgotten our friendship…

“Then, at the final whistle, there are smiles between us again, like when I saved a penalty that I feared you would chip – it saddened me that was you.

“We are from a fortunate generation. It’s true that every season after the age of 30 is worth seven, but you seem to go back in time instead of ageing.

“You’ve written the history of Italian football, with the present and the future – you are a player who can not be doubted.

“And, for me, you’ll always be an Azzurro. An embrace from your friend, Gigi.”

On a night that promised so much to so many and with folks all over the world tuning in with aspirations of catching a competitive match, Barcelona proved their superiority to one and all with an emphatic performance to dump AC Milan out of the Champions League and seal their place in the quarterfinals, all the while living up to the proverb that a wounded tiger is to be feared the most.

It took Barcelona all of five minutes to cut the aggregate deficit into half when Messi slotted home to send the home crowd into delirium and set the agenda for the rest of the game. A precise one-two with Xavi allowed Messi the time to curl the ball past Abbiati and put the home side in front. With that goal, Messi also demolished that one statistic that had been doing the rounds of the internet, the one which said he hadn’t scored in open play against the Italians. And that was to be the start of a miserable night for the visitors as wave after wave of Barcelona attacks pinned them back in to their own box and left them gasping for air. Minutes later, Barcelona had a penalty shout denied when Pedro was bundled over inside the box in the 12th minute.

In the very next minute, Abbiati pulled off a stunning save from an Iniesta half-volley just when it looked as if Milan’s lead was going up in smoke. There was no respite for the Italians, save for a corner and a couple of half-hearted forays into the opposition’s half. Abbiati was forced into launching aerial balls in the general direction of Niang, but those too were dealt with by Pique and Mascherano. Only once did the Barca centrebacks lose track of their man and the ball, when in the 38th minute Niang was through on goal with only Valdes to beat. And beaten Valdes was, but Niang’s shot crashed against the post, much to the dismay of Allegri and his men. The miss was to prove costly only two minutes later, when Ambrosini, in an attempt to win the ball and start an attack, was caught out by Iniesta, who drove straight at the defense and passed it to Messi on the edge of the box. A second later, Messi was wheeling away in celebration after firing in an unstoppable shot past Abbiati and restoring parity on aggregate. Half-time couldn’t come soon enough for Milan, although there was still time for yellow cards to be dished out to the bandaged Flamini and the rampant Pedro.

The pattern of the match didn’t change and Barcelona started the second half with the same belief they did the first, the belief that the first leg result was an aberration and that victory on the night belonged to them. And it took them 3 minutes from the restart to test Abbiati, who got down well and kept Messi’s shot out. Mexes was the next to go into the book in the 54th minute for tripping Messi who was relishing the space afforded to him by the constant movements of Villa and Pedro. The incessant pressing from Barcelona bore fruit yet again as Mascherano won the ball back when it seemed Milan were starting a counterattack. With players out of position in anticipation of the break, Milan were caught turning back towards goal. Not wasting any time, Xavi played a delightful ball to Villa on the edge of the box, and the Spaniard stepped inside and curled it with his left foot to put Barca ahead for the first time in the tie. The time was 55 minutes, the scoreline read 3-0 and Barca had wiped out Milan’s lead and put one more on the board, all within the hour.

Allegri responded with two substitutions, Robinho replacing Niang and Ambrosini making way for the goalscorer from the first leg, Sulley Muntari. The substitutions did not have any visible impact as Barcelona continued their passing carousel. It took Milan till the 68th minute to create something of note, as Abate’s run and cross from the right wing caused commotion inside the box till Pique cleared the ball to safety. Such was Barca’s dominance even in the second half that at one point the possession read 75-25 in Barca’s favour. Milan did show some urgency to get that all important away goal that would force Barca into scoring one more to win the tie on aggregate. But there was no way out and they were forced into cynical fouls outside the box, more out of frustration than malice.

In the 74th minute, Villa made way for Sanchez and Puyol came in for Mascherano in the 77th as Barcelona started the process of strengthening their backline. But it was Pique and Alba who saved Barcelona’s bacon with vital challenges as the match entered the last 10 minutes of regulation play. Bojan’s jinking run and cross found Robinho, but Alba’s brave and possibly reckless challenge cleared the danger. Milan started throwing more and more men forward at set-pieces in search of that elusive away goal, and in the 92nd minute they paid the ultimate price as from a Milan freekick, Barcelona won the ball back and countered through Sanchez who centered for the rampaging Alba to put the ball into the net and make the scoreline 4-0.

It was thus that history was created by Barcelona as they became the first side to overturn a 2-0 deficit from the first leg and progress further in the Champions League.

Final Score: Barcelona 4 (Messi (2), Villa, Alba) – 0 AC Milan

Olympic Silver medalist Vijay Kumar has shot his way to glory by occupying the top spot in Asia in the recently published shooting rankings. As of March 1st 2013, Vijay Kumar is the top ranked shooter in Asia in the 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Men’s category with 2321 points, more than 300 points clear of second-placed Ding Feng of China.

The top spot in Asia comes as a deserving reward for one of India’s finest athletes.

There’s another reason to cheer for Vijay Kumar, as he is now ranked second in the World shooting rankings for the 25m Rapid Fire Men’s category. He has 2197 points, second only to Cuban athlete Pupo Leuris’ 2806 points.

What will SAF do to keep Ronaldo at bay?

It must have been a proud moment for Sir Alex, watching the Portuguese run rings around the same opposition that out-passed and outclassed his Manchester United side in the 2009 and 2011 Champions League finals. No doubt he must have had a smile on his face, watching this boy of his, who has now become a man of his own making. At the same time, he must be marvelling at the transformation that Ronaldo has undergone since moving to the Bernabeu. If the Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United was an infuriating dribbler who turned into a special player and carried his team to a League title and European Cup double, the Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid is an altogether different force of nature, capable of hair-raising moments of genius in the allocated 90 minutes, with the singular mentality of scoring goals. If the Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United was a winger who slowly evolved into a forward, the Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid is a hybrid of the two, as likely to destroy the opposition fullback as any other member of the defence, and someone whose location on the field at any given time is as unpredictable as the English weather. If the Cristiano Ronaldo that left Manchester was a player on the verge of greatness, the one that will arrive in Manchester on Tuesday for the second leg is the finished product; a lethal cocktail of speed, aggression, power and timing mixed with game intelligence, technique, laser-guided strikes and supreme bravado. The one thing the two versions of Ronaldo have in common is the ability to single-handedly decide the outcome of a match of football.

And therein lies Sir Alex’s biggest dilemma. To figure out a way to stop the man that he knew would rule football one day. Ronaldo’s headed goal in the first leg at Bernabeu must have evoked memories of that great night in Moscow 2008, when Ronaldo towered over Michael Essien to bury Wes Brown’s left-footed cross from the right flank past Cech and put Man United in the lead against Chelsea. And Ronaldo displayed enough of his new powers in the first leg for Sir Alex to have an uneasy sleep on the eve of the second leg. The free-kick in the first half that cannoned in to the Man United wall may not have been a Ronaldo special, but the follow-up half-volley with his left foot was outrageous to say the least, and De Gea’s prayers were answered at the time as the ball shot past his right post and went out for a goal-kick. Too close for comfort, too much quality to disregard; and for Sir Alex, too risky a player to leave unattended.

Who can stop the marauding runs of Ronaldo?

Sir Alex has famously said that the only two players he ever man-marked were Zinedine Zidane and Gianfranco Zola; two artists who were not allowed the freedom to roam the field without being shadowed by a Manchester United player, usually Phil Neville. But man-marking a player like Ronaldo is futile, and is an action more likely to upset your own team-structure than the Portuguese’s well-greased hair. Phil Jones did a good job shielding his defense against the marauding runs of Ronaldo, but that too is not a foolproof way of stopping him. This time Sir Alex may not be able to turn to Phil Jones and ask him to reprise his role from the first leg when the Los Blancos come to town, as Jones is in danger of missing the tie due to injury. Anderson could take his place, but then that would a gamble, as the Brazilian himself is prone to positional errors and overeagerness to join in when his team attacks. Who else could do the job then? Cleverley is a passer and a runner and ties the team together with short passes and a tireless work-rate, so instructing him to solely focus on stopping Ronaldo is not making full use of his abilities. Rooney? Too much quality to waste on a purely man-marking gig, and he will most certainly reprise his role as a makeshift wide player, tracking Ronaldo up and down the right flank in tandem with Rafael. Carrick? Not agile enough to keep up with Ronaldo, and United would miss Carrick’s distribution from the center even if he managed to nullify Ronaldo. Maybe we will see Valencia get a run-out, but then he can’t follow Ronaldo when he eventually switches flanks and has a go at Patrice Evra on the left. Questions galore for Ferguson, with the answers not too forthcoming.

All the talks of a repeat of the treble-winning ’99 season are a bit premature. Man United still have to go through Real Madrid and more importantly, Ronaldo. He is stronger, faster, wiser and swats most teams aside like a barbarian. He wants the Champions League, La decima. And even if he needs to decimate the team that is closest to his heart, led by the man he calls his “second father”, you can bet he won’t bat an eyelid. There will be a hug and a cheer waiting for Ronaldo at the end of the match regardless of the outcome, but it would take a very brave man to bet against Ronaldo making it his night come Tuesday, 5th March. Because if Ronaldo shows up at the party wearing his best party hat, Manchester United’s treble could be over before it even begins.

Is it talent or money that has ensured Barcelona’s domestic success this season?

A quick look at the points tables of major European domestic leagues paints a picture not in keeping with tradition. If we talk of the 3 self-proclaimed best leagues in the world – the EPL, La Liga and Bundesliga – there is clear daylight between the leaders and the rest of the pack. In the EPL, Manchester United are 12 points clear at the top with 11 games remaining. Barcelona lead second-placed Atletico Madrid by the same margin in La Liga, albeit with 13 games still to be played. The Bundesliga, with its conspicuous 34-game seasons, sees Bayern Munich way out in front with a 17 point lead over defending champions Borussia Dortmund. Barring a meltdown of epic proportions for either on of the aforementioned clubs, they will all coast to the title; athough Manchester United and Sir Alex will probably not take their foot off the gas and will likely plough ahead with the same vigour till the title is a mathematical certainty, if only to ensure that last year’s Devon Loch-style collapse was only an exception and not the rule.

It’s an extremely rare scenario that the top-tier leagues of England, Germany and Spain are nothing but one-horse races where the spectators are only waiting for the inevitable to happen. Italy’s Serie A stands out in that respect, with Juventus’ 6 point lead over second-placed Napoli not being enough for the bookies to start paying out early on the Old Lady retaining the crown. The Italian league has a reputation of being boring and uneventful, but currently it’s the only major league which has anything of note to offer as far as the title race is concerned. The EPL, La Liga and Bundesliga, all three are seemingly done and dusted, and that is something we expect in late April or early May, but never as early as March.

So what to make of this aberration? Is it a sign of the growing disparity between the top teams and the rest of the league, or simply a case of three teams in near-perfect form? Have Manchester United really been 12 points better than City this season, or is the points gap just down to the exploits of the rampant Dutchman in their ranks? Bayern Munich’s recent Champions League masterclass at the Emirates has marked them out as one of the favourites for the competition, but can one honestly say they are 17 points better than Dortmund, a team that has been equally impressive in Europe and topped the “Group of Death”? Barcelona certainly don’t seem to be missing Guardiola; if anything, the departure of ‘Pep’ has been a breath of fresh air for a side that many declared had peaked last season, and the Blaugrana have been simply ruthless in their domestic campaign, having dropped only 7 points in 25 games.

Transfer Dealings: Compare and Contrast

The comfortable positions occupied by each league leader also highlights an issue that is now at the heart of any success experienced by big clubs – that of transfer dealings. Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp had pointed out in November that his side, despite winning the league in consecutive seasons, could not be expected to spend as much as Bayern, and that the Bavarians remained the moneybags of Germany. The official transfer figures show the massive contrast between the two clubs in terms of money spent on new players. Bayern Munich spent close to ₤62 million in the summer of 2012 to bring in the likes of Javi Martinez, Xherdan Shaqiri, Mario Mandzukic and Dante, whereas Dortmund’s transfer outlay in the same window was roughly ₤23 million, of which ₤15 million was spent on Marko Reus, a player bought to replace the England-bound Shinji Kagawa. Taking into account Kagawa’s ₤14 million sale and the ₤13 million earned from selling Ivan Perisic and Lucas Barrios, Dortmund effectively made a profit of close to ₤5 million pounds in the summer transfer window, while replacing quality with quality at the same time. Overall, Bayern Munich spent ₤60 million more than Dortmund before the season began. So the question needs to be asked – just how much of that excess money is responsible for the 17-point gap between the 2 clubs? The spine of Mandukic, Martinez and Dante has certainly added more quality to an already good Bayern Munich; some would go as far as to say that the trio have made the Bavarians a complete team.

Mario Mandzukic and Dante have been key players for Bayern this season

Spain also throws up the same equation. Barcelona’s net spending in the summer transfer window was ₤28 million, with Jordi Alba and Alex Song being the major acquisitions. Real Madrid had a big money signing of their own in Luka Modric, with the Croatian making his way to the Bernabeu and ₤26 million going the other way to Spurs. But Madrid also sold quite a few players, most notably Esteban Granero to QPR (₤7 million), Lassana Diarra to Anzhi (₤4.5 million), Sergio Canales and Fernando Gago to Valencia (combined fee of ₤10 million) and Hamit Altintop to Galatasaray (₤3 million). Overall, Real Madrid broke even in the transfer market, a clear deviation from their usual transfer strategy. Here too, the team that spent more in the summer is the one running away with the league title.

Robin van Persie – money well spent

The situation in England neither corroborates the theory nor disputes it. Man United spent ₤52 million in the summer of 2012, of which ₤41 million accounted for 2 players that went straight in to the playing eleven – Robin van Persie and Shinji Kagawa. The rest was spent on Nick Powell and Alexander Buttner – one a future prospect and one apparently bought to simply scare Patrice Evra straight – so it would be prudent to only take into account the figure of ₤41 million for the sake of consistency. Proceeds from the sales of Berbatov and Park to Fulham and QPR respectively total ₤7 million, bringing United’s net spend to ₤34 million. Man City’s net spend is also in same region, as acquisitions of Javi Garcia (₤17.5 million), Matija Nastasic (₤13.5 million), Jack Rodwell (₤13 million), Scott Sinclair (₤6.5 million) and Maicon (3.5 million) bring the total to ₤54 million, but the departures of Adam Johnson (₤11 million), Adebayor (₤6 million) and Nigel de Jong (₤3 million) bring down the net spend to an estimated ₤34 million. The two Manchester neighbours spent more or less the same money; it’s just that one had better returns on the investment than the other in the form of league points. And who’s to go against the tide and disagree with the consensus that Robin van Persie was always going to be of more value to United than Rodwell, Garcia et al were to be to City, and hence, render the comparison moot? Man United simply made a high-percentage signing more likely to offer immediate benefits, whereas City’s signings smacked of desperation and panic and, in hindsight, did not have near enough the same impact.

Plausible conclusion

Perhaps this is a simplistic way of looking at the situation. There must be other variables that contributed to the respective teams being at the top of their tables, and transfer dealings are just the tip of the iceberg. In a day and age where teams giving away the GDP of a third-world country on “buying” football players is a common occurrence, an extra ₤30-odd million should, in theory, not make a big difference. If the difference between winning the title and finishing second was how much more you spent on players than your rivals, then Chelsea should have wrapped up the title by now, considering the fact that they had a net spend of ₤88 million, more than double that of the Manchester giants. Maybe Roman Abramovich’s habitually ill-timed manager culling decisions offset Chelsea’s transfer largesse.

Reductive logic it may be, but the numbers add up and the theory holds true, atleast for time being. This season, when we talk of the EPL, La Liga and Bundesliga, the clubs that spent more money on players before the start of the season are the ones in pole position in their domestic campaigns. Who knew that there was actually value in the transfer market all along? Jokes aside, here’s hoping Napoli go against the odds and debunk the theory that in football, money wins you titles and that all you need to bring home a trophy is to have deeper pockets than your rivals.

*Transfer figures from http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/en/. Only summer transfers have been taken into account.

Robin van Persie (L) of Netherlands comes on for Ruud van Nistelrooy of Netherlands during the Euro 2008 Group C match between Netherlands and Italy

Manchester United fans were left glum-faced when the Dutch maestro Ruud van Nistelrooy cut ties with Old Trafford in the summer of 2006. Nistelrooy had become a clear fan favourite, and was a dependable striker after scoring 150 goals in 219 games. Apart from Wayne Rooney’s 34 goals in both the 2009-10 and 2011-12 seasons, and Ronaldo’s magical 42-goal season of 2007-08, no other Manchester United player has managed to score 30 or more goals in all competitions in a season since Nistelrooy’s departure in mid-2006.

So it was only natural that the fans lost their collective heads when Robin van Persie signed for United in August 2012; as all the signs suggested that the new striker  was the second coming of the Dutchman who had enthralled them for the last time more than 6 years ago. Certain similarities between the 2 strikers were more obvious than others – name, nationality, physique – and parallels were also drawn between their goalscoring exploits for both club and country. The fact that RVP was coming off his best season yet was the matchstick that lit the fire of excitement among the fans. Another dependable goalscorer had been added to the ranks, and the fans were expectant of yet another bonanza season.

And the new guy hasn’t let the fans down, with his 23 goals in all competitions helping the club fight on many fronts. Slowly but surely, he is erasing the memory of Nistelrooy from the fans’ minds, and replacing them with his unbelievable performances and unique way of interpreting the striker’s role. And that is where the similarities with Nistelrooy end. Nistelrooy was a pure poacher, lurking about the in the final third, ready for anything you threw his way and then able to create space for a shot. The penalty box was his domain and he rarely ventured outside that comfort zone, unless absolutely required to.

When it comes to playing style, there is more to appreciate about van Persie.

Deadball expert:

Robin van Persie brings more to the table for Manchester United. He can finish chances just as well as Nistelrooy, but that is only one of his many skill sets. His other skill set that United have benefited from is his dead-ball deliveries. With Ashley Young in and out of the side with sporadic injuries, and Wayne Rooney’s corner kicks not being the most reliable, van Persie’s left-footed curlers have given Sir Alex another card to play with.

Last season, United were often unable to clear the first opposition defender with their corner kicks, thereby robbing the team of a scoring avenue. This season, things have been much different, and it is no surprise that someone like Evra has scored more headed goals from set-pieces than he did in all his previous seasons at Old Trafford. They finally have someone to whip the ball in, low and quick, into the danger area. There is a palpable sense of danger when anyone of Vidic, Evans and Ferdinand come up for a corner or a long free-kick, and that is down to van Persie.

Intelligence, positioning and link-up play:

Another aspect of his play that has perhaps surprised United fans, if not Arsenal fans, is the fact that even when not scoring goals, van Persie still manages to contribute to the game in a positive manner. All his touches and movement seem to be purposeful and often put United in a better position. Even though he is the man with the midas touch in front of goal, the Dutchman seems to relish setting up chances for his team-mates just as much. 7 assists in the league from your top goalscorer is an added bonus.

Lately, Sir Alex has been fielding the front four of Rooney, van Persie, Kagawa and Welbeck. Now while this system is supposed to allow for players interchanging positions and exchanging flanks, it requires the players to have the technique and nous to actually pull it off. Such a system would have probably not succeeded as much with strikers like Nistelrooy or Berbatov, who are more used to staying central, but van Persie has proved that he has the maturity and understanding to leave his centre forward position and drift wide when need be.

Target man:

Didier Drogba was, and probably still is, the best target man that the Premier League has seen in the last few years. Short quick passes, or long balls, crosses from the flanks or neat one-two’s with Lampard – Drogba did not seem to mind and had no favourites when it came to receiving the ball. Just lump the ball in his general direction and he would invariably come up with a first touch or a flick to set himself for a shot on goal. He was a complete striker, comfortable with anything and everything. In an age of specialists, he stood out for his multi-faceted abilities.

Tactically speaking, van Persie allows United the same options when it comes to receiving the ball. Although not the same intimidating physical presence as the aforementioned Ivorian, in his short time at United, van Persie has shown that he can be entrusted with the lone striker role. He is deceptively good in the air, can hold the ball up, play with his back to goal and keep the opposition central defenders occupied. So, when the defense or midfield is under heavy pressure, he becomes their out-ball. He can buy those precious few seconds for his team, allowing the defense to re-organize or simply catch its breath.

Experience 

Robin van Persie was quite the problem child in his earlier years and had the reputation of being a troublemaker. Indiscipline was rarely a problem at Arsenal for the Dutchman, but he was, and remains a hot-headed player. So it’s heartening to see that apart from a few minor arguments (for example, his reaction to Ashley Williams’ attempts to “kill him”), he has stayed free of controversy, cards and referee trouble. His age was used as a stick with which to proverbially beat the transfer, with fans worried about signing a 29-year-old with a notorious injury record. But apart from his ever-excellent fitness levels, this season there seems to be a genuine attempt on van Persie’s part to stay clear of any issues. He simply wants that Premier League winners’ medal, and his commitment to the cause is commendable.

Sir Alex was recently quoted saying RVP was approaching the level of Ronaldo and Messi. While rival fans were quick to mock the Scot’s comments, a look at the bigger picture reveals the logic behind Sir Alex’s boisterous claims. van Persie has many attributes, and his impact at United, the skills that he brings with him, make him just as valuable to his team as Ronaldo and Messi are to theirs.

At present, he is the talisman for United, and that is because of his capacity to contribute in more ways than one. Even on his bad days, when he is unable to get a shot on target for one reason or the other, the incumbent Dutchman can rely on his secondary skills to help his side edge closer and closer to that elusive 20th league title.

David Beckham has finally completed a move to Ligue 1 side PSG. Beckham moves to the French side on a 5-month contract.

Beckham, a free agent since he left LA Galaxy in December 2012, links up with former AC Milan manager Carlo Ancelotti, who was his manager in his first loan spell with the Italian giants.

Beckham, no doubt, will be looking to help the current Ligue 1 leaders PSG to the domestic league title.

“I’m pleased to be able to welcome David Beckham to our club,” PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi told a packed news conference, adding: “He will be joining us for five months until June 30.”

“I chose here because I can see what the club are trying to do, the players they’re bringing in,” said Beckham, wearing a charcoal grey suit, white shirt and grey tie, predicting PSG would have “a lot of success in the next 15 to 20 years”.

Father-of-four Beckham, whose family will remain in London, revealed that he would donate his salary during his time in the French capital to a local children’s charity.

France coach Didier Deschamps on Thursday said Beckham could provide a much-needed filip to Ligue 1, which lags other major European leagues for star power and this January has seen a glut of transfers to English clubs.

Deschamps, who played for Chelsea in 1999/2000 while Beckham was at Old Trafford, described it as a “very, very good thing for the media profile of Ligue 1″.

“He’s a player whose personality goes beyond football like Zlatan Ibrahimovic. It gives a greater visibility to our championship internationally,” he added.

“We have the same hair-dresser. I lit him on fire…you know, for fun.”

Is this what the world of football has come to – there are no major departures from one big club to another, no sagas to keep us occupied, no major club getting destabilised? Fabregas to Barcelona, Ronaldo to Real Madrid, Hazard to the highest bidder – that is real football, off the pitch and into the boardroom. It is fascinating to watch the mud-slinging, the poop-throwing, the name-calling that big clubs resort to as they look to sign-off a deal; but sadly, it has been absent this time around. Dammit, even the Balotelli transfer was quietly done. What, no firecrackers to signal the end of an era? No burning houses or mowing people down? Where’s the love for the fans, Mario?

2) No crazy spending sprees

Remember when Arsene Wenger, that prude who refuses to spend more than he earns (seriously, when has not living on credit worked for anyone?), signed 5 players on deadline day? That was a brilliant day. While everyone was busy drawing up a list of candidates, researching for months for that perfect signing, Wenger was relaxing by the poolside, oblivious to all the chaos around him. And then like that ass**** at school who never studies in his life but goes through an entire library in a matter of hours and scores more than you – that beacon of light who had been studying all along – Wenger awoke from his slumber at noon, did a bit of business by evening and went back to sipping on his Long Island Ice Tea by nighttime. That is how business is done.

But  it seems that there nothing of the sort will happen this time around. What a waste of a transfer window! Maybe it’s time the transfer window was shortened to one day instead of one whole month. Maybe then we could see some fireworks (seriously Mario, how could you do that to us? Fireworks was our special thing).

3) No value-for-money signings

‘Oh yeah! Totally worth 35 million!’

Andy Caroll’s transfer from Newcastle to Liverpool for 35 million pounds was the last time someone we witnessed a value-for-money signing. What, that ponytail alone was worth 20 million! This time, we have been forced to watch clubs blow big money on average players. Tottenham spent an extra 1.5 million pounds to bring Lewis Holtby in this window, instead of in the summer. 1.5 million? On a player who can do this, and much more? Wow, I am the only sane person left on the planet it seems.

4) No silly rumours

I tell you, the best part of my day is waking up, loading up my favourite transfer website and just going through the silly transfer rumours on there, just for s***s and giggles. But this time, even these websites have decided to remain honest, and that just makes me mad. I mean, that is a crucial pass-time for me; and if I don’t get to read those wacky rumours, those deals that make no sense whatsoever; you know, like Man United looking for a midfielder or Arsenal hanging on to their star players. What’s the point of this anymore? Because let’s be honest, we don’t really watch football for goals or titles. I mean, who has time for that? We pretend to watch it so that we understand things when it’s time for the transfer window. Then we get to pass our “expert” opinion on the value of a player, arguing the sense in buying player X for 10 million when he is actually worth 8. And this comes from people who have never even seen a million dollar figure, except perhaps on their virtual poker accounts.

Clueless folks passing clueless comments on a transfer no one has a clue about. That’s the transfer window I like.

Disclaimer: This opinions stated in this article are as real as that “awesome girl” that you are going out with. Save it buddy, we know it’s just your other hand.

Former Indian cricketer-turned-commentator Rahul Dravid is set to be honoured with a Padma Bhushan award, the third highest civilian honour. The 40-year-old Dravid, the third highest run-getter in Test cricket, scored close to 25000 runs in international cricket before calling it a day late last year. The Padma Bhusan is yet another feather in the cap for the cricketer dubbed “The Wall”.

Apart from Dravid, Mary Kom has also been chosen to receive the prestigious Padma Bhushan award. The boxer had this to say,”Although boxing is going through difficult times, personally this has been a great achievement and I feel elated that all my efforts have got the recognition.”

Olympic heroes Vijay Kumar and Yogeshwar Dutt are also set to be awarded for their medal-winning performances, with the duo set to receive Padmi Shri awards. Vijay Kumar won silver in the 25m rapid fire pistol shooting event, where Yogeshwar Dutt  won a bronze in the 60kg free style category.

Michael Laudrup’s Swansea drew 0-0 with Chelsea in their second leg of the Capital One Cup, and the first leg result was enough to send them into the final, where they will face League Two giantkillers Bradford City. It was a momentous night for the Dane, as he guided his Welsh side in to the final of a domestic cup competition in his very first year at the club.

It’s a splendid matchup, and one that should give other teams hope. Victory for either side will see them qualify for the Europa League, a great incentive for teams like Bradford City, and indeed Swansea.

But instead of talking about a potential windfall for either club, the media is choosing to focus on Eden Hazard “kicking” the ball-boy, an incident unworthy of such scrutiny. Overreaction is perhaps not the right word, but it’s the first one that comes to mind.

Are we idiots? Have we finally lost ourselves in the quest for ultimate coverage of the game? On a night when we should be hailing Laudrup’s side for going the distance and upsetting a side that was one of the favourites, on a night Arsenal put four past West Ham in a blitzkrieg that lasted barely 10 minutes, and on a night the much-maligned Olivier Giroud scored two goals, we are discussing the morality in “kicking” a ball-boy who wasn’t even doing his job right.

Put yourself in Eden Hazard’s shoes, metaphorically. There’s a little more than 10 minutes left on the clock, your side is trailing 0-2 from the first leg, the Swansea goalkeeper is already wasting time with his goalkicks, tensions are running high and time is of the essence. And then a ball-boy, who’s only job is to put the ball back into play as quickly as possible, decides to smother the ball and play dead, so that more time is wasted and his team gets a much needed breather. Hazard, no doubt already stressed, has to decide whether to wait for the young man to finish his love-making act with the ball, or just kick it out from under him so that play can go on. A simple decision for a professional footballer, and I think it’s clear from this footage that he was careful  not to hurt the boy, but simply get the ball out from under him. All good, game on then? No, hardly. There’s still a red card to be given, and Hazard has to take the walk of shame for doing something that the commentators referred to as “indescribable, indefensible and unforgivable.”

The last time someone used those words to describe a situation wherein a footballer went mad was when Eric Cantona kicked that hooligan. And this is what Cantona had to say about those who described his momentary lack of control as “unforgivable”.

Apt, isn’t it, what Cantona has to say? Not the swearing, but how things are blown out of proportion by those who we entrust with the responsibility of providing us with information about the game and its events.

Footballers are people too. Just like the rest of us, they have every right to express their emotions. The only difference is that most of the time, they cannot and don’t, for fear of sullying their or their employers’ reputation. Eden Hazard has had to put up with a lot of crap, fans booing and swearing at him, journalists calling out for a 5-game ban – all for having the audacity to get the ball back into play, back where it belongs.

And all this is ignoring the fact that the “boy”, a fully grown 17-year-old, had intended on doing this exact thing, even going as far as to tweet what he was going to do. One pre-match tweet on his account reads: “The king of all ball boys is back making his final appearance #needed #for #timewasting.” The fact that he is the son of a Swansea director only adds to the conspiracy, that somehow Swansea had decided beforehand and told their ball-boys to waste as much time as possible.

Ridiculous. The things we say and do to sell papers, get more clicks and grab more eye-balls. Football happened last night, and amidst all that, one idiot had his 15 seconds of fame, and some more idiots chose to fixate on that moment, completely ignoring the show but focusing on the backstage altercation. The only silver lining is that there are sane individuals, and those are the ones who will laugh off this minor incident and will remember the football on display.

Here’s a more realistic roundup of the day’s matches: Swansea held on for a memorable draw that sees them reach the League Cup final, Arsenal thumped West Ham 5-1, with Giroud scoring twice, and fans all around the world were left disappointed when Hazard mildly kicked the ball-boy who was acting like a total prick. The fans think the ball-boy got off easy, and wished they too took could kick the boy up his backside to restore sense and parity in the world of football.

Trademark: Spurs coach Andre-Villas Boas sits pensively by the touchline.

But his time at Tottenham has been markedly different. For one, there are no rumours of dressing room bust-ups or shouting matches, no egos being trampled, and no one breathing down his neck with advice on who to play as the centre-forward. There seems to be  genuine team spirit running through the squad, exemplified by the last-minute comeback against Manchester United and the ensuing celebrations. AVB has learnt his lesson, having worked on his man-management skills to foster a healthy atmosphere at the club.

Secondly, his tactics seem to suit Spurs. The same high defensive line that was put in place at Chelsea and quickly abandoned because certain players could not adjust to it, is serving Tottenham well in their quest for Champions League football, albeit with a few tweaks.  AVB has proven that he can be flexible as well, and is not the dictatorial and tactically stubborn manager he was made out to be. He has done well in a competitive league with a decent squad on a decent budget. Daniel Levy will be happy, but certainly not ecstatic. In fact, Mr. Levy will probably be a bit subdued, wanting to smile but holding back due to the memories of last season, when Spurs collapsed spectacularly and managed to scrape 4th position, although Chelsea’s Champions League victory rendered their attempts futile.

AVB has also managed to shoehorn his new recruits into the side, and will be pleased with Dempsey’s equaliser on Sunday. Even though it wasn’t his best performance in a Spurs shirt, Dempsey showed a willingness to work hard for the vacant second striker role, now that Adebayor is at the AFCON. 7 goals is still a decent return from the American, who has taken time to settle in at a bigger club with bigger demands.

In midfield, Dembele has been in sublime form, and Spurs missed him when he was out injured. The defense has seen some re-shuffling, but it would be fair to say that Vertonghen has done well and has kept his place in the first XI on merit. Caulker and Dawson are forming a burgeoning partnership, and with Gallas as a back-up and Hugo Lloris behind them, the defensive triangle is rock solid. Bale and Lennon have provided ammunition down the flanks with Defoe’s 14 goals upfront completing the equation. It’s a well rounded team, with team being the operative word.

It’s well documented that Spurs have a wafer-thin squad and that they rely heavily on certain individuals to play in their unique style of moving the ball quickly, looking to pin the opposition in their own half, while their defenders move up to the halfway line to prevent open spaces in the middle. They are genuinely exciting to watch, because almost every player in their side seems to be the quickest player on the pitch, no matter the opposition. Walker, Bale, Lennon, Defoe and Naughton could give Theo Walcott stiff competition in the fastest players in the EPL race, if there ever was one.

And as paradoxical as it may sound, Tottenham’s strength could end up being their biggest weakness. An injury or loss of form for any of their wingers or fullbacks could lead to the whole system breaking down, which relies on players covering up for their overly attacking instincts by raw pace. Kyle Walker is not a stable defender by any stretch of imagination, but it’s his agility that bails him out of trouble when he has over-committed in attack.

Gareth Bale has been almost unplayable this season, but because Lennon stretches play on the other side as well, Tottenham find it easier to create gaps in the opposition third even if Bale is being double-marked. The two wingers are hunting as a pair at the moment, and their sum is greater than the parts. However, if that partnership were to be broken, Spurs would lose more than just winger; they would lose their effectiveness down the wings altogether.

And Bale does more than just running down the wing like a man trying to outrun a swarm of vengeful bees. Defoe and him have been shouldering the goal-scoring burden, and collectively, they have scored 25 of the team’s 40 goals, a classic case of over-reliance. And with Defoe being the only recognized striker at the moment, an injury to either him or Bale could be catastrophic for Spurs’ season target of Champions League football. A new striker is the obvious solution, but after having spent good money on Dempsey and Sigurdsson, two attackers noted for their goal-scoring abilities, AVB will find it difficult to convince the chairman to dip in to the market for a proven goalscorer.

Nemesis: Summer signing Clint Dempsey has scored on both occasions vs Manchester United this season.

In spite of what the table might suggest, Tottenham are not in the clear at the moment, and danger is lurking around the corner. They have done exceedingly well so far, but run the risk of their main players burning out due to lack of equally good options on the bench. Sandro is out for the season and Scott Parker, hardworking as he is, fails to provide the same security and calmness as the Brazilian. For the moment, AVB’s perfect little world has been invaded by the injury monster, and if the situation is not addressed, more first team players could be joining Sandro on the treatment table.

It’s been a great start, but February and March are notorious for derailing league campaigns and destroying carefully created plans. If every one in the first XI remains fit, Spurs will hold on to 4th place, and maybe even snatch 3rd. But then, if everyone remained fit all the time, Arsenal would have won at least one league title in the last 7 years. If Tottenham are serious about their hopes of finishing 3rd, then they will not leave that to chance. They need to ensure that they do not get engulfed in their own fiery start, and instead, extend it for 15 more games.

This is AVB’s acid test. Can he do what Redknapp couldn’t last year and take Spurs back to the promised land?

Ramos was shown a second yellow card following a dangerous tackle on Celta Vigo’s Augusto Fernandez in the second half, and is alleged to have used abusing and threatening language towards the referee Miguel Angel Ayza Gomez, who mentioned the incident in his post match report.

“As soon as he was shown the second yellow card, Real Madrid’s No. 4, Sergio Ramos Garcia, addressed my person in the following terms: ‘You are a shameless scoundrel (sinverguenza),’ repeating that phrase three times and saying ‘You have spent the whole f***ng day f****ng us’, repeating that phrase twice,” the report read. “Later, when he arrived at the bench, he addressed the assistant referee in the following terms: ‘Always the same. What shameless scoundrels you are’, repeating this phrase twice.”

As per the Spanish League’s disciplinary code, “insulting, offending or showing an offensive attitude towards the referee & is punishable by a suspension of between four and 12 games.”

Since Ramos already faces a 1 game ban due to the red card, the minimum punishment he could face would be 5 games, meaning he would be missing the following games: 3 in La Liga against Osasuna, Getafe and Valencia, and both Copa del Rey quarter-final legs against Valencia.

Ramos did make amends of sort with an apology on Twitter. ”I regret the incident with the ref. These are moments of tension produced by my sending off,” he wrote. “We say things that afterwards we are sorry for.”

It still remains to be seen whether the apology will be enough. Whatever the outcome of this saga, it’s a worry Jose Mourinho could have done without.

Update: Ban Confirmed: The Spanish Football federation (RFEF) has confirmed the 5-match ban for Sergio Ramos. Ramos will now miss the La Liga games against Osasuna, Getafe and Valencia, and both Copa del Rey quarter-final legs against Valencia.

So Lionel Messi won the Ballon d’Or again, huh? It’s getting old now. Everyone expects it, so it’s not really a major surprise any more. Messi wins, Ronaldo comes second, and the latter has to put up a brave face again, clap in a dignified manner and watch his rival walk away with the trophy for yet another year. Ronaldo himself makes a big deal out of this annual circus, and is blunt about it. The Portugese star wants, and possibly needs, to be crowned the best player in the world, perhaps to stoke his ego, or to write his name down in the history books, so that people remember him. Because Messi will be remembered, for sure. But what about Ronaldo? Is he going to fall through the cracks of time? Will people only remember Messi and dismiss the perpetually-doomed-to-finish-second Ronaldo?

Here’s a list of football players who, like Cristiano Ronaldo, finished in second or third spot for 2 or more years, as far as the Ballon d’Or, or however it was named then, is concerned:

Frank Rijkaard, Dennis Bergkamp, Paolo Maldini, Andrey Shevchenko, Oliver Kahn, Xavi Hernandez.

Anyone you recognize?

If Ronaldo is worried about people forgetting him, then history will provide the answers. The world just doesn’t forget great footballers. We remember all of them, and players like Bergkamp and Maldini are still revered in this day and age. The heart grows fonder in absence. Not winning the Ballon d’Or did not affect their status as genuine legends of the game. It’s what they did on the pitch that mattered in the end. Great players are not forgotten, nor are their great acts. And no one will think less of Xavi Hernandez because he finished in third place for 3 years in a row.

If it’s his ego that Ronaldo wants to cater to, then losing out on the award is not worth crying over either. He still has his medals, goals, ridiculously good looking female companions, loyal fans, gleaming cars, big mansions and a blessed life to look back on. If that can’t cheer him up, then nothing will. But Ronaldo’s had a highly successful career and is a top-level athlete – we have to assume that he is far too advanced to lose his head over the shiny bauble that is the Ballon d’Or trophy, something probably worth less than his diamond-crusted wristwatch.

The fans, unfortunately, don’t have such luxuries to fall back on, so they will vent their frustration. The mud-slinging, whining and bickering will go on for weeks, perhaps till the time the next award comes out. He deserved it; no he didn’t. FIFA conspiracy – the same old crap that we are forced to hear on social media platforms and websites and blogs. It can really get to you, all this nonsense. It is hard to believe that there are educated fans who cannot seem to wrap their collective heads around the fact that this is a cosmetic, superficial and trivial ceremony that has no real significance in the real world. The award show, and it is indeed a show, promises to be over quickly, but instead forces you to waste precious hours of your life on finding out what you already knew. One of 3 supremely gifted footballers will win, people will go crazy and find a way to fight over it.

Who cares, honestly? Is watching Lionel Messi (in a mildly amusing attire) trudge his way up to the collect the trinket more exhilarating than watching him dribble past half the opposition? Is Xavi Hernandez going to forget how to pass-and-move because he had to settle for third place? Will Ronaldo become an average footballer overnight, devoid of his powers because Messi won yet another award? No, no and no. They are all still excellent players, and great fun to watch. And they will probably do many more great things, as they have done in the past.

We should save all the debates for later, when they retire and we no longer get to watch them in the flesh. Players matter, goals matter, titles matter – real football matters. What the hell is all this other mumbo-jumbo?

The breakdown of votes for the FIFA Coach of the Year award was also released as Vicente Del Bosque won the award with 34.51% of votes ahead of Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho who was voted by 20.49% of the jury.

Pep Guardiola stood third with 12.91% while the Champions League winning coach Roberto Di Matteo was ranked fourth with 12.01%. Sir Alex Ferguson completed the top five with 5.82% of the total votes.

Another explanation put forth is that Tchuna was the name of a Dutch linesman who was “kicked to death” by a bunch of teenagers in a youth game a few days back. However, if the Daily Mail is to be believed, the real name of the departed linesman was Richard Nieuwenhuizen, a 41-year-old officiating in a match his own son was part of.

Mystery still surrounds RVP’s cryptic message, and only he can shed more light on this. In January of 2012, RVP  had revealed a t-shirt bearing the message “Happy 91st Opa Wim”, believed to be a tribute to his grandfather.

Update: (12:12 AM IST, 30 dec 2012) – According to the Dutch media, Tchuna is a friend of Robin van Persie’s who passed away in Rotterdam yesterday. Sky Sports later confirmed the news. It appears the mystery has been solved.

At Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson always sets out milestones to be hit over the course of a season, to keep the team on track on the twisting and unruly road to the English top division league title. And since it’s traditional for Manchester United to perform better in the second half of the season as compared to the first 19 games, Sir Alex usually wants his side to be within earshot of the top of the table by Christmas, preferably within 5 points of the team in first. So one can imagine he will be sitting in a comfy chair at home, a glass of wine in hand, sporting a beaming look when he glances at the league table. Far from being knocked out by last season’s last-minute hammer blow by Sergio Aguero, United have come out swinging from their corner and blitzed the field, sitting pretty in first place with a comfortable gap of 7 points separating them and the chasing bunch.

In league matches this season, Sir Alex has sent out a team consisting of two proven goalscorers up front, two direct wingers that like to stretch the play, two central midfielders that like to pass and move forward, 2 attack-minded fullbacks who are more likely to be found in the opposition’s half and two central defenders who are comfortable in possession and like to bring the ball out from the back. And behind all of them is a goalkeeper who saves the most difficult shots in an outrageously acrobatic manner but lets in the easier ones.

It has made for a ridiculously cavalier side, a team that seems to value goals more than clean sheets, and one with a disdain for slow, possession based football and a penchant for the chaotic, gung-ho, I-will-score-more-than-you philosophy. This Manchester United team is the classic example of trying to fit in more attackers and more attack-minded players than permissible in to a football side, and then sitting back and watching with fingers crossed what comes out at the other end.

Miraculously, the experiment has been a runaway success, and Manchester United have failed to score in only 2 of 19 matches and have won 15 in the league so far; proof that a team can be both attacking and successful at the same time. Arsenal have, under Wenger, averaged more possession, but have often been guilty of overplaying and not converting possession into goals. The Chelsea sides that Jose Mourinho led to the title played dour, safety-first football at times, and although successful, never attacked in the same breathtaking fashion as the United side of this season. Jose Mourinho would never allow 2 of his fullbacks to attack at the same time and leave the central defenders one-on-one with the opposition forwards. But Sir Alex has overlooked such gambits, and has in fact encouraged his defenders to contribute to the attack. And the stats back that up – Evans, Evra, Rafael and Buttner have between them scored 10 goals so far this season. By comparison, Man City, Arsenal and Chelsea defenders have contributed 3, 2 and 9 goals respectively.

A lot has already been said about the glaring weaknesses of this Manchester United side – a fragile midfield, a leaky defense and an overrated, inexperienced and error-prone keeper, among other things. They also have a winger incapable of using his left foot for anything other than balancing himself (Valencia), a centre back who till last season was their best defender but has just returned to first team action following a lengthy injury lay-off (Vidic) and a hardworking midfielder who is in his first season back after a life-altering disease (Fletcher).

To add to that motley of ‘misfits’, their most dynamic winger Nani is also missing in action, having played only 7 games so far in the campaign, with talks of a potential transfer to Italy and Russia doing the rounds after a falling-out with the manager and teammates.  Suffice to say, Manchester United don’t have the greatest of squads, yet they find themselves better off than all of their more affluent rivals. Fans moan when both Giggs and Scholes are in the starting line-up, but the manager’s hand is forced in that department. If Carrick and Cleverley have played a game 3 days ago, then by natural squad rotation, Giggs and Scholes are the only midfielders left to select. Fletcher is clearly raw and will take time to come back to his usual, buzzing-all-around-the-park style of play. Anderson is never a guaranteed starter because of his injuries. But still, in spite of all these restrictions, the team wins more often than not.

The strikeforce has been excellent all season, and the newly acquired forward from Arsenal has been an instant success. Among them, Van Persie, Rooney, Hernandez and Welbeck have scored  27 off the team’s 48 goals this season in the league. In all, United have 14 more goals than their nearest rivals, and 11 more goals than the second most attacking team, Chelsea. With 46 points after 19 games, United are on course for a record 92 points, second only to Chelsea’s 95 points in the 2004-05 edition of the EPL, which the Londoners won with a yawning gap of 12 points from second-placed Arsenal. It’s obviously too early to say this, but the stats don’t lie – at this rate, the Red Devils will have secured the title by April.

It’s an odd scenario, and a scarcely believable one. Logic suggests Manchester United should have found it difficult to compete with the Hazard-ous Chelsea and the flush-with-success Manchester City. Arsenal too had a busy transfer window, with top-tier players arriving in Cazorla and Podolski, and were widely expected to launch a title-challenge inspite of the sale of their chart-topping striker to the current league leaders. This was supposed to be the most competitive season for a while, yet at the moment it looks like a one-horse race.

The other side of the argument is that other sides have not lived up to their billing, and all of them have problems, more severe than a weak defense and a slow midfield. City have found out the hard way what a burden it is to bear the ‘Champions’ tag, with opposition teams choosing to sit back and protect their goal than have a go at the best team in the country. Arsenal have been up and down, winning gloriously one week and going down in flames the next, and the team is still far from convincing its fans of a genuine title challenge. Chelsea have been true to form, with yet another season of managerial musical-chairs and off-field controversies; issues that have been holding the club back everytime they have had a squad good enough to be champions. The current Man United squad is not unbeatable and is infact vulnerable, yet their competitors have not only not managed to take advantage of the situation, but have also given them a headstart with their kamikaze tendencies. At the start of the season, it was widely believed that Chelsea or Man City would set the benchmarks of attacking football in the EPL, yet it seems they have already blown their chances.

Football is likened to chess for a number of reasons, the most pertinent being that he who controls the centre of the field (or the board), controls the fate of the contest. It is common practice to sacrifice a piece if it leads to more control over the centre of the board. Manchester United are doing the exact opposite – willing to include one less central midfielder in favour of one more striker in the team. Sir Alex has seemingly re-written the rules of the game, choosing to sacrifice midfield superiority for more control over the outcome of a game. And in doing so, he has quashed many age-old beliefs of football. No longer is it crucial to hold the ball in the middle, knock around 5-yard passes and starve the opposition of possession. Nor is it a compulsion to keep your defenders in place and attack with fewer players. The style of football that Manchester United are currently playing is the most direct since the heydays of Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez in tandem.

From back to front in the blink of an eye, from defending their penalty box to scoring at the other hand – it’s been a relentless display of vertical football, choosing to send the ball 30 yards forward in one pass rather than five. Players, even defenders, are given the freedom to bomb forward and overload the opposition through sheer numbers and bravery of position, in the hopes of scoring whenever possible. It’s madness, and at times, the plan will go up in flames, the 1-0 losses to Everton and Norwich being prime examples. But in the long run, the team stands to gain a lot more than it loses, and that’s why it makes for a viable solution. It’s ok to concede 28 goals in 19 games (average of 1.4 goals a game), the most in the top half of the table, provided you compensate by scoring an average of 2.5 goals a game. Simple math will tell you that games involving the Red Devils will produce lots of goals, but Man United will emerge victorious by a one-goal margin.

So I guess this is exactly what Sir Alex had in mind, when he chose to sign Robin van Persie and Shinji Kagawa in favour of the defensive midfielder that the fans were crying out for. Top of the league, most goals scored, more attacking outlets, a more lenient team structure and a top-heavy side that is likely to run away with the title. All the talks of the club being in crisis due to the number and manner of goals that they have conceded, is blinding people from the obviousness of the situation. The Red Devils are halfway to the title, and are pulling away from the teams chasing them. At present, City and Chelsea are specks of black in Man United’s rear-view mirror, and if Fergie’s men stay true to their style, then the chasing pack will disappear from the mirror altogether by the time spring comes around, paving the way for a stroll to League Title No. 20. Guess the grand old man of football still has a few tricks up his sleeve that the audience doesn’t know of.