Liverpool winger Ryan Babel has been fined 10,000 pounds and warned over his future conduct for his Twitter outburst earlier this month.Babel, 24, was hit with the fine by the Football Association after he posted comments and images on his Twitter page concerning referee Howard Webb.
The comments came in the wake of Liverpool’s FA Cup third-round exit to Manchester United at Old Trafford, with a digitally altered photo showing Webb wearing a Manchester United kit.
Webb awarded a controversial penalty in the match in favour of Sir Alex Ferguson’s side and also sent off Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard.
Babel accepted a charge of improper conduct and was hit with the fine at a Regulatory Commission hearing on Monday.
“Social network sites, like Twitter, must be regarded as being in the public domain and all participants need to be aware, in the same way as if making a public statement in other forms of media, that any comments would be transmitted to a wider audience,” the Regulatory Commission Chairman Roger Burden said.
“It is their responsibility to ensure only appropriate comments are used.”
Meanwhile, Manchester United defender Rafael da Silva has also been charged with improper conduct.
The Brazilian defender was charged after his outburst at referee Mike Dean in Sunday’s goalless draw against Tottenham at White Hart Lane.
Da Silva was sent off for a second yellow card and vented his disgust at Dean after his decision.
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“Manchester United defender Rafael da Silva has today been charged by the FA with improper conduct,” an FA statement read.
“The charge relates to the player’s conduct towards match official Mike Dean following his dismissal in Manchester United’s fixture at Tottenham.”
Da Silva has until 6pm GMT on Tuesday to respond to the charge.
Liverpool are ready to make an offer for Parma striker Fabio Borini, according to The Daily Mail.
The Reds are eager to bolster their playing squad this summer, with new boss Brendan Rodgers keen to bring in a few new faces to freshen things up at Anfield.
One of the main reasons for the Merseysiders’ poor eighth-placed finish in 2011-12 was the lack of a clinical edge, with a new centre forward thought to be firmly on the club’s wishlist.
Borini spent last season on loan at Roma, but is owned by Parma, and will return to the Stadio Ennio Tardini after the capital-city side decided not to make the attacker’s move permanent.
Rodgers knows Borini well, as the sprightly forward spent time on loan at the Liberty Stadium in 2011, scoring six goals in nine games for the Welsh side.
The new Liverpool boss is eager to use that link to bring the hitman back to England, however there are thought to be a raft of other interested parties.
Borini is currently on international duty with Italy at Euro 2012, but has had limited chances to play.
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Former England captain David Beckham has expressed his disgust at his nation’s failed attempt to win the rights to the 2018 FIFA World Cup.England’s bid team – consisting of Manchester United legend Beckham, England Prime Minister David Cameron and Prince William – managed only one vote, losing the bid to Russia.
Beckham, who plays for Major League Soccer side Los Angeles Galaxy, said he felt ‘sick’ that England’s bid failed to attract more than the solitary vote.
“The situation we see now leaves a sick feeling in your mouth,” Beckham told the Daily Mirror.
“We were happy with the bid we put forward and it gives you a real sick feeling not getting it.”
“There was so much hard work that went into that bid. Nobody could have done any more.”
“When you factor in that we also had the weight of the Prime Minister and the future king of England (Prince William) behind us, it doesn’t get much bigger and better than that.”
Beckham, who has not retired from international duty despite having not appeared for England since October 2009, said he was still feeling good about playing club football with the LA Galaxy, and that he had plenty of life in his career yet.
“One, maybe two more years, I still feel good, I still feel healthy and I’m still enjoying getting up in the morning to go to training,” he said.
“Until I get up and don’t feel the same, I’ll continue. I still have to play at a certain level, but I think I can continue to do that.”
“I’m just going to have to see how my body feels at the end of this year. I had my (Achilles tendon) injury last year and I’m getting a bit older now.”
“We’ll have to wait and see but if I carry on enjoying my football, then I want to continue.”
Yes, it’s the Christmas season and joviality should be flooding the air, but thanks to recent results, Arsenal fans may have little reason to be ‘jolly’. Manchester United’s 1-0 victory over the Gunners at Old Trafford was further evidence that all is not right with this Arsenal squad. There may be no quick fix for all these problems, but I believe that with a few, tweaks and changes, this squad could genuinely challenge for honours. As it’s the season of giving, I scrawled a quick letter to Santa to see if he can redress some of our problems. My Christmas wish-list has five items:
1. Some big-game nous: It’s a well established fact in recent times that Arsenal simply cannot handle the bigger teams. Last season The Gunners dropped all 12 potential points in games against Chelsea and Manchester United. This season Arsenal have already lost to United and Chelsea. If Arsenal want to win the League, they’ll have to start chipping points away from their fellow title contenders. More important than the points, is the message that beating big teams sends out to the rest of the League. The message has to be: “We are good enough to take United apart and we’re going to fight tooth and nail for this title”. At the moment, the message eminating from the Emirates is that Arsenal are brittle enough to break when pushed too hard. So, please Santa – grant the Gunners a backbone.
2. A cure for Fabregas’ hamstring problems: Arsenal’s talisman hasn’t been able to play for large portions of this season. Had he been fit and ready to go against United, I have no doubt that it would have changed the landscape of the game. Unfortunately, his mysterious hamstring injury meant that he could only afford 30 minutes of game time during which he didn’t really appear at the races. Get well soon Cesc – Arsenal need you.
3. A fresh start between the posts: I’m still not convinced that Fabianski has what it takes to be Arsenal’s number one goalkeeper. For every good game he’s had this season, there’s been another game where he’s committed a howler. He doesn’t inspire confidence in front of an already shaky back-four. Wenger must work to address this. 20 year-old Wojciech Szczesny is the perfect man to fill his gloves. He was thrown in at the deep end against Manchester United, but performed admirably (especially the Schmeichel-esque save against Anderson). We know from his performances in the Carling Cup that this wasn’t just a one-off. It’s time for him to get a run of games in the first-team.
4. A pair of unbreakable legs for Robin van Persie: Chamakh has had a good start to his Arsenal career, but it’s Robin Van Persie who can provide Arsenal with that ‘something special’ upfront. Whilst Chamakh excels in out-and-out goal-scoring, Van Persie can change a game with a moment of magic. Very little needs to be said about his talent and technical ability – what Arsenal really need now is for him to get a long run of games in the squad.
5. A trophy: This one goes without saying. Winning breeds winning. A trophy could reinvigorate this club. It’s been a long wait for Arsenal fans and it’s time to pick up some silverware. Arsenal are still in the running for the Premier League, FA Cup, Champions League and are favourites for the Carling Cup. There can be no more excuses.
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As the new England manager, many questions are being asked of Roy Hodgson prior to his leading of the team into Euro 2012. Who will lead the line of attack in the absence of Wayne Rooney against France and Sweden? Will Gerrard and Lampard be given another chance together in midfield? Is John Terry’s inclusion going to be turbulent to everyone else in the team? Will they be raving?
There has already been plenty of speculation during the first month of the former West Brom manager’s England reign. From surprise squad selections to the inclusion of Gary Neville as part of the coaching team, there is plenty to talk about. Past England managers have had plenty of problems with team antics, and players from Aston Villa and Sunderland have proven the dangers of gallivanting whilst in the public eye this season. It was something that Fabio Capello was always very strongly against, and to some extent worked to his disadvantage. Roy Hodgson will be hoping to avoid the same fate, by taking his team out for some much needed bonding this week, ensuring everyone is on the same wavelength by June 11th.
After all, what better way is there to prepare your team for a major tournament? All the teams are doing it, but just what does this team bonding consist of? A tranquil trip to a museum perhaps, maybe a spa session, or even a relaxing day on the golf course? Well, Paddy Power’s recent advert shows what England’s team bonding may consist of prior to the European Championships in Poland and Ukraine, and it certainly isn’t anything as relaxing as that!
The advert is based on the viral sensation ‘Russian Forest Rave’ and shows some of England’s key players raving it up and having a whale of a time in a Ukrainian forest. Whether or not this is what Roy Hodgson had in mind with his team bonding this week, this video has already become very popular.
The new England boss has demanded his team are on their ‘best behaviour’ in Poland and Ukraine this summer, and this is probably the sort of thing he wouldn’t have had in mind. We all know what Ashley Cole, Wayne Rooney and co. are like though, and this video shows just the kind of bad behaviour you would expect Hodgson to be wary of.
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Whilst we would all like to see a united England team this summer, there are probably better ways to ensure it than a techno rave in a Ukrainian forest!
Luka Modric, Jordan Henderson, Phil Jones, Ashley Young, Kevin Nolan: those are some of the names we have constantly been seeing and hearing when reading, watching and listening to the press go to work since the season’s end, but there is, I feel, one glaring name missing from that array of player’s. And that is the man they call Tiny Tim on Merseyside, Tim Cahill.
The free-scoring midfielder with the bullet for a header would be a great acquisition for most football teams, but there has been less than even a mere hint of a whisper regarding the player who would, on recent and past evidence, benefit any side looking to improve themselves.
Maybe it is because or appears that he is so settled at Everton that clubs do not find it worth contemplating a move for him for the time it would inevitably waste. This hasn’t deterred clubs in the past or indeed now: now more than ever, what with the often interfering ‘gremlin’ by their side and voice in the head.
Or agents as they are commonly known, telling them that the ‘grass is greener on the other side’, a philosophy that can divert the player’s gaze away from the ‘gutter’ that the millionaire has made for himself, to a view of ‘paradise’ behind him. This often occurs with modern-day athletes especially as their ‘gremlins’ (agents) get a cut of the deal. When a player’s head is turned to seek pastures new, it doesn’t take long to reach football’s grapevine, but this is a situation that seldom crops up in the transfer window regarding Cahill despite his undoubted ability.
The presumption that he is firmly settled with the Toffee’s, thus them not being approached with a view to signing him, is much like that of ‘Fergie’s Fledglings’ at Manchester United whom would not be hounded by other club’s – not so much that it reached the press anyway – in acquiring the services of their home-grown first team regulars such as the newly retired Paul Scholes , a player of immense quality who would have been in with a chance of breaking into virtually any side in the world.
But because he was a local boy plying his trade with one of the best team’s in the land, there was hardly any talk of other club’s making bids to offer him their services because it would more than likely result in nothing but a waste of time. There is a difference between this and Cahill’s situation – one being that many people would hold Scholes in higher esteem than Cahill – but there’s also the fact that United are bigger than most clubs which means that there are not many other ones that could persuade a first team player to leave the Theatre of Dreams in order to better themselves.
Everton are often regarded to be top or at least close to the top of the mini league that has been created outside the top six and, whilst being one of England’s most successful clubs, they are not in the sort of position where it would be considered ‘mad’ for a top first team player to leave for a club lower than them in the table; not like, say, Nemanja Vidic quitting the Red Devils for David Moyes’ current Everton side.
That would be a shock, but it wouldn’t be such a shock if Cahill decided to quit the Toffee’s and went to a lower placed side like Newcastle United even though Everton are in historical and modern terms a far bigger club, because sometimes, stature doesn’t come into the equation if the price is right for both player and club. I am surprised the Magpies have not been linked with the dynamic midfielder what with the substantial windfall of finance generated by the sales of Andy Carroll and Kevin Nolan .
The Australian international would be a good replacement for the latter and a welcome addition despite his 31 years. He still plays as if he’s in his mid-twenties, covering all areas of the pitch to defend and attack, often popping up with an impressive array of goals along the way. Again, it could be that Cahill and his representatives quash all talk of him leaving straight away or simply do not let the processions get out of hand, ones that would normally be scurried to the press in no time.
It may be because of Cahill’s age, but as he showed in the first half of last season, he can still do a very thorough job in the top-flight. Before his excursions with the Australian national side in order to compete in the Asia Cup in January, he was the top scoring midfielder and one of the leading marksmen in the Premiership with nine league goals up to the end of December.
After such an exhibition which resulted in fatigue and a slight injury, his season was affected, but had he not gone away for international duty, missing twelve games in the process plus the ones from February that were caused by the experience, he could very well have won the Golden Boot, needing just eleven more to have been level with twenty goal winners, Carlos Tevez and Dimitar Berbatov , not to mention the numerous assists he provided for his team-mates.
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Newcastle was just an example of the job he could do for a club with or without them selling one of their prized assets, but if they, like other team’s, find it hard to agree terms with a younger playmaker that they’ve got their eyes on then Tiny Tim could do a great job for a few more years yet. But again, as I said, he’s a ‘young’ 31 so teams from high and above would no doubt benefit from his experience and youthful exuberance I feel.
Read more of Ricky Murray’s articles at This is Futbol
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Down the years Celtic have acquired some pretty awful players, today, we take a look at 10 of the worst.
10. Adam Virgo – Virgo arrived from Brighton In July 2005, the move came as a surprise move to most Celtic fans. He cost a reported £1.5 million. Virgo endured an indifferent start to his Celtic career, being substituted in his first starting appearance after conceding a penalty. Subsequently Virgo lost his starting place in the team and never really got it back.
9. Martin Hayes – Hayes joined from Arsenal in 1990. Hayes only played seven matches for Celtic and never had a lengthy spell in the team. Due to Hayes’ lack feature such a measly amount of times he defiantly deserves his place in this top 10.
8. Jeremie Aliadiere – In the summer of 2005 Aliadière was sent on loan to Celtic for the entire 2005–06 season in order to play regular first team football. Despite his limited appearances, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger had stated he had a future at Arsenal, but was being kept out of the side by the form of Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp. In the end, he made just two substitute appearances for the club, one in each leg of Celtic’s loss to Artmedia Bratislava.
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7. David Hannah – Hannah moved to Celtic in a £650k deal. Hannah went on to make over forty league appearances for the Bhoys, picking up a League winners’ medal and a League Cup medal during the 1997-98 season, and completing a clean sweep of domestic honours. This said Hannah never oozed Celtic class and was never really taken into the hearts of the faithful. Well, less so than others ever were.
6. Henri Camara – Camara joined Celtic for 1.5m during the 2004-2005 season and although he didn’t have a bad scoring record it was always evident that the club had a bad apple in their ranks. From the onset Camara was never going to settle at Celtic. “Camara claimed in the press that he would replace Henrik Larsson, who had just left the club. He also requested Larsson’s squad number 7 which he had had at a previous club as well, but was instead given number 27.”
5. Ramon Vega – Vega only spent 6 months at Parkhead and was reasonably successful during his short stay. However, the Swiss was never going to be a Celtic favourite having rejected the club 6 months before he eventually joined the Glasgow giants. Vega was quickly forgotten after his short spell at the club and it is more than fair to say that we didn’t really miss the towering defender.
4. Paul Telfer – Telfer spent just under two seasons with Celtic but never really found great form. Although playing in some high profile matches, it was always evident that Telfers career at the club was going to be limited not only due to his ability, but his age too.
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3. Du Wei – At Celtic Du wei made several appearances on the bench before he finally made his debut in the Scottish Cup third round tie against Clyde on 9 January 2006 in a shock 2-1 defeat. “His uninspiring first team debut saw him substituted at half time by Celtic manager Gordon Strachan, with his display seeing him being outplayed by the opposition and being at fault for Clyde’s two goals. After that display he was dropped from the team and his loan was cut short with him returning back to Shanghai.”
2. Tony Cascarino – Cascarino had a nightmare spell at Celtic Park. The striker could barely hit a barn door. In 24 appearances Cascarino only netted 4 times. For a man who played 88 times for his country, his spell at Celtic was shocking.
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1. Raphael Scheidt – There is no doubt that Scheidt is Celtics worst ever transfer mistake. It was rumoured that Celtic’s manager John Barnes had signed him without anyone at the club having seen him play, and given the reports of just how bad he actually was this is most probably the case. Horrified by the cold, wet, Scottish winter, baffled by talk of deep fried Mars bars, and hampered by injuries, it’s no wonder he struggled to settle in.
So there you have it, inevitably I will have missed quite a few shocking transfers such as Ian Wright and Dion Dublin. Why not comment and bring them to light!
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While the NFL is coming off the extremely heavy punishment handed out to the New Orleans Saints, their head coach Sean Payton and other members of staff for their participation in the bounty program, the FA are steamrolling in the other direction and avoiding justice in any ridiculous way they can.
Sean Payton and the New Orleans Saints have been punished due to their participation in a bounty program which saw Saints players receive rewards upwards of $10,000 for targeting and injuring players, and specifically those with serious injury in their history. The Saints head coach has been suspended for the entire upcoming season, while similar punishments have been handed out to other members of the organisation who took part.
In unbelievable comparison, the FA have completely ignored violent play, rather looking to uphold the authority of their referees, who show nothing but incompetence. This has absolutely nothing to do with player safety or stamping out violent challenges, it’s simply the FA doing their best to avoid undermining their officials. And once again, they’ve done absolutely the opposite of the right thing.
The FA’s decision to avoid punishing Mario Balotelli following his ridiculous, undisciplined and violent attitude against Arsenal players on the weekend, specifically the challenge on Alex Song, is beyond laughable. So Martin Atkinson has admitted to seeing the challenge but not deeming it worthy of a red or even yellow card. Forget the almost unanimous cries for video technology, assaults such as this is where the governing bodies need to start doing their job. Sadly, players’ comments on Twitter seems to take priority over any important matters.
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Again, this is nothing to do with wanting to uphold the laws of the game; any referee with a bit of sense would have sent Balotelli off, as would his manager, the Arsenal manager, as well as any of the large number of players and former players that were sitting on both benches. The FA were rather seeking to avoid the hysteria created by the media and fans and simply look the other way. Well honestly, who cares if Martin Atkinson is undermined and his judgment called into question? He’d still be able to walk, which is more than could be said for Song had his leg been planted in the ground.
As well as this, the Shaun Derry incident sparked more than one debate, rather than just the single foolish misjudgement from the officials. Where was the outrage for Ashley Young conning the referee? Or to put it in language they’d understand, “Young was looking to ‘deceive’ the referee.” The ridiculous language used to describe Eduardo’s penalty incident against Celtic a number of years ago in the Champions League. Well that aside, the FA have once again got it so obviously wrong. There’s no concern for a club fighting relegation—no, no, they prefer to fine clubs for fielding ‘weakened sides’—instead, they’re simply looking to uphold the judgment of their referee, despite him and his assistants being wrong.
In a time where the National Hockey League hand out anything up to and beyond 10-game suspensions for hits to the head, and the National Football League being persistent with their initial punishment towards the Saints despite appeals, the football world, headed by FIFA, need to start taking similar acts to ensure player safety. Unfortunately, leaders of governing bodies like Sepp Blatter are more interested in creating talking points from the game and offering fans a number of topics to engage in discussion. Despite the dislike—a very polite term in this case—for the NHL’s commissioner Gary Bettman, he, nor any of the league managers would stand for such nonsensical notions against their game.
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Last week it came to light that the MLS had suspended three players for violent conduct upon review. How embarrassing must it be that a league so far down the pecking order in quality such as the MLS is light years ahead of where the FA and English football should be with regards to player discipline.
In the off-season, Premier League footballers go off on their holidays, but that doesn’t stop the rumours linking them with various different clubs.
Arsenal are no exception, and while Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri are linked with possible exits, Arsene Wenger is of course looking to bring players in. He’s looking for players to compliment the likes of Robin van Persie, and it appears that the Dutchman is doing some scouting of his own.
Here’s RVP with former Brazilian international Ronaldinho, but is he trying to get Ronnie to move to the Emirates?
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This week you can win a copy of Arsenal: The Double 70/71 on DVD!
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the 1970/71 Double winning Arsenal team and to celebrate a special DVD is being released so that you can relive that season in all its glory, or see it for the first time if you’re a young Gunner. Arsenal: The Double 70/71 allows you to take a trip back to the days before the Premier League and relive the season that has gone down in Arsenal’s history and will always be remembered.
Click here to read our review of Arsenal: The Double 70/71
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Last week’s winner: Liam – click here to see all entries
Article courtesy of our friends at Stretford End Arising
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To paraphrase Sir Alex, 4-4-2 is the best formation in order to move the ball with speed from back to front but increasingly 4-2-3-1 has become the shape of the “noughties”, and for good reason. Jonathan Wilson in 2008, discusses with greater aplomb than I the rationale behind the collective shift here The Question: why has 4-4-2 been superseded by 4-2-3-1?, but the main premise is simple: playing with four forward players supported by a structured defensive shape is more conducive to sustained attacking play, and encourages greater cohesion in general. Ferguson, an underrated tactician and fully aware of the pitfalls of both systems, must be reflecting of late on the catastrophic defensive flaws which have been all too frequent on the domestic front – and thinking, justifiably, of a reversion to the 2008 ECL-winning formation – the formation he continues to use in the majority of European games and in the bigger domestic fixtures.
I will happily admit that I was in favour of the tactical change which sought to revert to the swashbuckling attacking dynamism which was the blueprint for success in the 1990’s (seemingly stemming from the purchase of Berbatov, the replacement for the less refined Tevez). The 4-4-2 on paper was in reality a 4-2-4 or at the very least a 4-4-1-1 in which Valencia was recruited as your typical wide right midfielder, able to hug the touchline and take up some very useful attacking and crossing positions; and with Giggs or Nani utilised on the opposite flank, memories of the Beckham Keane Scholes Giggs era came flooding back. But although United remain unbeaten (and joint top of EPL), the system (and the performance level) has raised more questions than it has given us answers. In short, United look devoid of fluidity, shape and direction and must alter their approach soon to stop this awfully abject season descending into an anti-climax.
The problem United have with 4-4-2
4-4-2 is a system in fairness that has served United well in the last 2 decades or so. Actually Ferguson goes to great lengths in fact to stress that he has never actually played a strict 4-4-2 and with the deep lying striker a symbol of his success: Yorke, Berbatov, Hughes, McClair and of course Cantona are fine examples. As with all tactical discussions and coaching instruction, it is the player’s ability to interpret the message on the field as part of the collective assignment which is essential.
However, due to injury and largely inconsistent rotation by Ferguson, United have yet to look at their tantalizing best; This season has seen the team performing in a lackluster manner with collective lapses in concentration (starting at Fulham and continuing on the road) typifying our frustrations. United have often been forced to chase the game either looking for that winning goal or as versus Bolton, Stoke and Villa of late, searching for that vital equalizer. For me, United simply do not have the right midfield dynamic to apply the 4-4-2 with a parallel high pressing game; The net result being that United have been hugely vulnerable to the counter-attack when committing men forward (goals from Cahill, Petrov, Elmander, Tuncay, Ebanks-Blake spring to mind, as does the counter for the penalty for Liverpool and the Fletcher chance for Wolves to kill the game at 1-1 recently).
The problem is two-fold: Not only do the vast majority of top European clubs (including Chelsea, Arsenal, {City}) not utilise this system – meaning that Ferguson often adopts a 5-man midfield when against such teams – but that the destructor/creator model implicit in the 4-4-2 does not suit the abilities of the central midfielders available to Ferguson; Scholes can no longer consistently apply the creative finesse (and high up the pitch); Fletcher whilst having a fantastic engine and passing range is no Roy Keane or Bryan Robson just yet; and although Carrick is invaluable to United’s defensive shape and has a fantastic football brain Michael Carrick: Midfield Genius his abilities are more conducive to the first band of midfielders within the 4-band system.
Take Barcelona’s front six with Xavi, Busquets, Iniesta, Messi, Pedro and Villa performing with such elegance (and dominance) in recent times; Mourinho’s Madrid, with Khedira and Alonso sitting in, Di Maria, Oezil and Ronaldo interchanging beautifully behind Higuain. The system is coached to perfection and there is no reason why Ferguson (with Phelan), cannot try to replicate this model once again (Ferguson had his very own unique brand of this formation when he and Queiroz conquered Europe with Ronaldo, Tevez and Rooney leading the line).
Why 4-2-3-1?
One of Valery Lobanovskyi’s famous quotes is: “I don’t like players having positions. There is no such thing as a striker, a midfielder, a defender. There are only footballers and they should be able to do everything on the pitch.”
Now whilst this appears to be a sleight against tactics per se, upon reflection the implication seems clear: Players must proactively seek to improve the balance of the system and act with autonomy given any circumstance. Lobanovskyi actually talked about an “energy system” which can ebb and flow during a game, but which must be able to capitalise in a timely fashion. 4-2-3-1, applied in an astute manner is the most obvious formation which allows this energy to system to be most effective. Indeed it is no coincidence that the vast majority of the World Cup competitors utilised this system, with FIFA making this point in its technical report stating: “Of the four semi-finalists, only Uruguay played in a formation that resembled 4-4-2, although the position occupied by Diego Forlan merits further examination. In effect, Forlan had a free role and was always looking to keep play moving before driving forward.”
One benefit to United would be control of the ball and thus the systematic attacking “pressure” elicited which is defined by the formation; Another positive being that if the energy system dictates that the players adopt a 4-2-2-2 shape for example, Rafael and Evra would attack the space in front of them to provide the much needed width. With Berbatov, Rooney, Hernandez, Nani, Valencia, Giggs, Macheda, Obertan and Park all able to adapt individual roles and function in a fluent attacking front four Ferguson could benefit in three key areas: 1. Improve overall motivation of squad by increasing the game-time of the forward players in question and 2. Improve the overall efficiency and attacking potency by encouraging the players to develop and hone their forward play. And 3. Release the attacking energy and enthusiasm of a certain Wayne Rooney (at least until the summer!), allowing him to play off the front man and interchange with the other members of the quartet. Adopting this system would also give the elusive Anderson and youngsters such as the promising Cleverly a chance to shine, as well as allowing the vastly improved Nani the freedom to work across the line and maximise his creative output. It goes without saying that crucial to this system would be the positional maturity of Carrick and Fletcher, the former fantastic at intercepting the ball and the latter able to contribute both defensively and combatively in the middle third.
Which leads us to the role of the much unloved Dimitar Berbatov. For all his detractors he has still scored 6 goals in 14 games (so 1 in 2) and has been crucial to the side in recent performances, not least the Manchester derby. Whilst it is true he has not played particularly well since the Spurs game, it is pertinent to state that he is no more a “failure” for a few off games than Rooney is for not scoring from open play since March 2010. It is perhaps the right time however to experiment with the Bulgarian, and many are now asking the question as to whether he can build on his impressive false 9 role in behind Rooney, creating chances and maintaining vital possession, and then keeping that position (see Formation A below) which would take the onus off him in terms of “hitting the box”. See here for Berbatov-Rooney starting positions/movement:
It is certainly unlikely, but given his creative abilities it is one that Ferguson can not fail to have thought about. (Here, we can see the forward’s influence on United’s overall performance, the team winning far more games when he is a starter than when a substitute: Berba’s century.
Continued on Page TWO
The options:
Formation A
—————— Carrick——————-Fletcher————-
Nani————————- Berbatov—————————-Giggs
——————————- Rooney———————————-
Formation B
—————— Carrick——————-Fletcher————-
Rooney———————— Scholes—————————-Nani
——————————- Berbatov———————————-
In Summary
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There are benefits of both the 4-4-2 and 4-2-3-1 systems, with the former allowing Ferguson two decades of success, especially on the domestic front. What is clear is that despite the differing descriptions of tactical application, United have to improve their defensive shape, meaning that 2 of 6 forward players must keep their positional discipline and provide much needed defensive solidity and cover for the back four. With International teams also prospering with the system (at England’s expense!), and many successful teams now engineering it’s next phase of development, now is a very opportune time for United to revert back to it.
Perhaps it is due to the youthful nature (though ferociously talented) of United’s squad that Ferguson has delayed in imposing a system which requires concentration and intelligence; Or simply that the 4-4-2 is more suited to the spontaneity, freedom and attacking verve on which Manchester United has based its footballing principles. Either way, United have the players to adopt an attacking 4-2-3-1 and the system should now be adopted as United seek to stay at the forefront of dynamic and entertaining football as we edge ever closer to that elusive 19th League title.
Written By Nik Storey (www.twitter.com/Sleepy_Nik)
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