Inter kicked off its 2015-16 season yesterday against Atalanta who in the past have proved to be a bit of a bogey team for us especially when we travel to play them in Bergamo and have beaten us in the San Siro in the recent past too. I was disappointed and upset to see Mauro Icardi as the captain of the side. I feel it is an insult to all the great Inter captains that came before him that this immoral man was chosen as captain. I can't stand seeing him in our colours and now he is our captain?! Roberto Mancini, what were you thinking?! Samir Handanovic, Gary Medel, Rodrigo Palacio and even Juan Jesus were better placed to be captains than Icardi.
I was happy to see the back of Icardi after 10 minutes and our new number 10, Stevan Jovetic came on. I feel he has the right attributes to inherit the number 10 jersey. What ensued before Jovetic came on, after he came on and until the moment he scored was a boring spectacle. I am watching the match from 2.45am, in the wee hours of the morning. What I saw just lulled me to sleep several times during the game. We played better last season in certain games and lost. Geoffrey Kondogbia, big fuss was made of signing him like as if we had signed the reincarnate of Ronaldo, was not worth the fuss. Thus the title of this article. I could be harsh and I know I am. It's only one game in, I expect him to take his time to adjust to the country and the Italian game. He is still relatively young and I can't expect him to be consistent yet. It is no fault of his that Inter's directors were silly enough to spend so much of money to sign him despite knowing that the club has Financial Fair Play to adhere to. No fault of Kondogbia. I still feel the fuss was created because we beat Milan to his signing but that's nothing to be overjoyed about. We should be beating Milan on the pitch and in the standings not in the transfer market. The midfield was crying out for creativity, creativity that was lost from the silly sale of Mateo Kovacic. It is not silly for the money Real Madrid paid for him. In the financial sense, it made sense but seeing it from the football side of things, it is silly.
Did we really need to sell him and Shaqiri? Mancini had said as much that the club were forced to sell Kovacic and Shaqiri because they needed the money and for what? Because we had paid a huge amount of money for Kondogbia among others. We had Medel. We can give Gnoukouri space to play. He had a poor game but he is a youngster, he is bound to be inconsistent. He can only grow. We should have kept Marco Benassi and brought back Thiago Motta for his experience and winning mentality. We could still sign him though. If there were anyone we should have sold it would have been Fredy Guarin and/or Hernanes. Anyways, I can't undo whatever has been done but clearly the midfield was lacking creativity. Marcelo Brozovic was clearly our best player. He did well again but I guess he is missing his Croatian team-mate, Kovacic as I have seen him to have played better than he did. The club had said they would not sell Icardi and Kovacic. I am not naive to believe whatever the club says. I know if needed, they would be forced to sell someone and they would but the smarter option would be in selling Icardi. You can always replace him with another striker that can score goals. He is no world-beater. Icardi is no Ronaldo, no Ibrahimovic, no Milito or even Adriano in his prime. He is a good finisher who relies on supply. He can't create chances on his own.
Our defence was largely untroubled so I can't say much about it. All I can say is that Miranda and Jeison Murillo have added quality to the defence. It looks like a good battle now for the other central defenders in the first team. Personally, my pick is on a Ranocchia-Murillo partnership but that's just me. I am not one of the technical directors at Inter, I am not the owner at Inter, I am not the manager at Inter. I am just a fan that has lost his connection with the players on the field. I love the club and would still support them even at 2.45am but I got to get used to accepting the players on the pitch wearing the Nerazzuri colours. As a fan, I just got to get behind whoever that is wearing our jersey on the pitch hoping that they do well for the club regardless of my personal opinions on them. Like many other fans, I would like to be in a position to make big decisions at the club but that is just an unreachable dream. My marriage with Inter is that of compromise with a tinge of unhappiness and despair. The best thing this season so far one game in is still the jersey.
By the way, I am glad Juventus lost and happy Milan lost too but I don't take much joy from Milan's defeat especially after watching an awful performance from us. If it was Fiorentina that played us instead of Atalanta, we could have lost too. Maybe all the expectations around the Milanese sides are false ones to have and both sides still have a long way to go before they return to their majestic best.
Monday, August 24, 2015
Saturday, August 22, 2015
How Did We Not Score Let Alone Win That?!
As the title suggests, I am bewildered at how we did not manage to score a single goal in a game where we had at least 20 attempts at goal. We could have scored one legitimately through Wayne Rooney only to be wrongfully ruled offside. Pre-match, there was a lot of talk of United eking out wins without creating chances and to be fair, we created more and played better against Club Brugge in the Champions League in midweek. We played better and created more against Newcastle than we did in the last 2 Premier League matches against Tottenham Hostspur and Aston Villa.
In my opinion, I feel we were unlucky especially on Rooney's "offside" goal and on Chris Smalling's header that crashed against the post. With better luck and on another day, Michael Carrick's deflected shot at the end would have ended in the back of the net but not yesterday. Instead, it spun just wide for a corner. Our bad luck would have been compounded if Newcastle had scored through Aleksandar Mitrovic's majestic header that crashed against the bar or through one of their counter-attacks. You can also argue that on one of our many forays forward, the ball didn't drop favourably for us.
Luck aside, we got to be guilty of some bad decision-making when in good positions in the final third. We got crosses wrong, dallied on the ball too long, didn't pass the ball earlier and got the passes wrong. However, it is wrong to be overly critical of youngsters like Memphis and Adnan Januzaj. They were exuberant and provided dynamism but with all youngsters as we have seen in the past with Cristiano Ronaldo for example, they would need to improve on their decision making in the final third and that would come with time and experience.
Credit would also have to go to the Newcastle backline especially Fabricio Coloccini for resolutely facing United's attacks and throwing their body on the line. Tim Krul made a couple of good saves as well to keep Newcastle in the game. Our finishing did not help our cause too. Juan Mata forced Krul into a good save but then blazed over when well set up by Rooney. Javier Hernandez was denied by a good save. We had some shots straight at Krul, some shots that weren't powerful enough and some over. It just adds to the argument that we need a striker. The potential is there in the squad to score goals but it is not being fulfilled at the moment.
Bastian Schweinsteiger started his first match as a Manchester United player and he has been used in rotation with Michael Carrick and that was the case in this match too but I feel both players are not similar in style and can co-exist. Schweinsteiger is more willing to push forward and join the attack than Carrick while Carrick would be content to sit in front of the defence and let the ball do the work with his passing. However, at the moment it would be harsh to drop Morgan Schneiderlin on current form. The defence and goalkeeper largely unchanged from day one of the season have been a positive so far this season.
I feel people have been overly critical of the team and the attackers. Granted, we were dull going forward in the first two games of the season but since then, we have played better. We are creating more chances and having more attempts at goal which is a progress. The football is more free-flowing but not exactly perfect. It is disjointed but we are at the start of the season, four games into the season to be precise. We have gone through seasons where we have gone four-five games without winning or playing well only to win the title at the end of the season. I am not saying we will win the title this season. I just feel that the fans got to be more patient and balanced in their expectations. We are no longer a team under Sir Alex Ferguson's tutelage. In two summers, we have sold and bought a lot of players. The squad is being rebuilt and expecting everything to click immediately is silly. Signing players for big fees does not guarantee immediate success. Sir Alex had the benefit of time on his side to build a team that slowly started to win it all. It was a largely settled squad with a settled system.
I don't expect anything from pundits, so-called "experts" and commentators who are quick to shoot us down. They are just chomping at the bit to shoot us down. For that reason, it makes it sweeter when we actually win trophies and click into gear. It's good when we are treated as underdogs and criticised. Personally, I enjoy it the most when that happens.
In my opinion, I feel we were unlucky especially on Rooney's "offside" goal and on Chris Smalling's header that crashed against the post. With better luck and on another day, Michael Carrick's deflected shot at the end would have ended in the back of the net but not yesterday. Instead, it spun just wide for a corner. Our bad luck would have been compounded if Newcastle had scored through Aleksandar Mitrovic's majestic header that crashed against the bar or through one of their counter-attacks. You can also argue that on one of our many forays forward, the ball didn't drop favourably for us.
Luck aside, we got to be guilty of some bad decision-making when in good positions in the final third. We got crosses wrong, dallied on the ball too long, didn't pass the ball earlier and got the passes wrong. However, it is wrong to be overly critical of youngsters like Memphis and Adnan Januzaj. They were exuberant and provided dynamism but with all youngsters as we have seen in the past with Cristiano Ronaldo for example, they would need to improve on their decision making in the final third and that would come with time and experience.
Credit would also have to go to the Newcastle backline especially Fabricio Coloccini for resolutely facing United's attacks and throwing their body on the line. Tim Krul made a couple of good saves as well to keep Newcastle in the game. Our finishing did not help our cause too. Juan Mata forced Krul into a good save but then blazed over when well set up by Rooney. Javier Hernandez was denied by a good save. We had some shots straight at Krul, some shots that weren't powerful enough and some over. It just adds to the argument that we need a striker. The potential is there in the squad to score goals but it is not being fulfilled at the moment.
Bastian Schweinsteiger started his first match as a Manchester United player and he has been used in rotation with Michael Carrick and that was the case in this match too but I feel both players are not similar in style and can co-exist. Schweinsteiger is more willing to push forward and join the attack than Carrick while Carrick would be content to sit in front of the defence and let the ball do the work with his passing. However, at the moment it would be harsh to drop Morgan Schneiderlin on current form. The defence and goalkeeper largely unchanged from day one of the season have been a positive so far this season.
I feel people have been overly critical of the team and the attackers. Granted, we were dull going forward in the first two games of the season but since then, we have played better. We are creating more chances and having more attempts at goal which is a progress. The football is more free-flowing but not exactly perfect. It is disjointed but we are at the start of the season, four games into the season to be precise. We have gone through seasons where we have gone four-five games without winning or playing well only to win the title at the end of the season. I am not saying we will win the title this season. I just feel that the fans got to be more patient and balanced in their expectations. We are no longer a team under Sir Alex Ferguson's tutelage. In two summers, we have sold and bought a lot of players. The squad is being rebuilt and expecting everything to click immediately is silly. Signing players for big fees does not guarantee immediate success. Sir Alex had the benefit of time on his side to build a team that slowly started to win it all. It was a largely settled squad with a settled system.
I don't expect anything from pundits, so-called "experts" and commentators who are quick to shoot us down. They are just chomping at the bit to shoot us down. For that reason, it makes it sweeter when we actually win trophies and click into gear. It's good when we are treated as underdogs and criticised. Personally, I enjoy it the most when that happens.
Thursday, August 20, 2015
Something On United
I have not written anything on Manchester United since the review of the 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur. Since that win, we have won one more match and more importantly we have won an away match which was so hard to achieve last season. That is the positive with another being the clean sheet. Two games, six points and zero goals conceded but going forward we have looked like boring ,boring Man. United. To be fair, if Memphis Depay had stuck his chance away, we would have got a second goal to slightly inflate our goals scored column but it was dull going forward. We hardly created any chances and hardly had any shots on goal despite bossing possession. Football is not won on possession statistics alone but in this case we did score one more than the opponent. Defensively, much maligned and criticised as our weak point, has stood strong and solid so far although some might argue that we have not been really tested yet. Let's see when we are really tested how strong our defence really is. Chris Smalling and Matteo Darmian have both stood out in defence. Daley Blind and Luke Shaw have not done too bad and Morgan Schneiderlin has contributed in front of the defence.
Post-Villa, we had our return to Champions League action where we conceded our first goal of the season. In this match, we have looked a little shaky at the back but Smalling has continued his good form and strong performances. He seems to be stepping up to the plate to be United's first choice centre back. All he needs to do is avoid getting injured. His injury record is his Achilles heel, pun unintended. We looked much better going forward against Club Brugge.
It was like the goal we conceded woke us up to attack more and we did. It is not quite free-flowing yet but it was much better than seen in the first two matches of the season. Wayne Rooney has been poor up front. He hasn't looked quite as sharp up front on his own all pre-season and has continued that form into the season. To be fair to him, he has lacked support and the link up play with Memphis and Adnan Januzaj playing off him has not been good. The understanding has been lacking but he has also got his touches wrong most notably against Aston Villa.
Michael Carrick is another that has looked a bit off the pace. He hasn't quite been as influential as you expect him to be but if you study him closely over the seasons, you would notice that he always starts the season slowly and gets stronger and better as the season goes on. Nothing to worry about that.
In the last 2 games, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Ander Herrera, Javier Hernandez and Marouane Fellaini, when his suspension is over, have staked a claim to start.
It's nice to see Hernandez back playing for us and perhaps having him play up front with Rooney behind him could be the answer to our disjointed attack. It would do both players a world of good too in terms of goals and confidence.
I feel when we play teams that come to Old Trafford and put men behind the ball, it would be fine to sacrifice Schneiderlin and play Carrick or Schweinsteiger at the base of the midfield and introduce a player like Herrera who can get forward and support the attack. The manager has done well to shift Memphis to the left and he has looked better playing there. Adnan Januzaj has started the last 2 matches and he has done decently. He has skills. All he needs is to bulk up and to play more games to build his match fitness and confidence. The manager has lots of options available to him now. It's a matter of finding the right ones to fit the system as well as rotating the squad to keep everyone fresh. We can't play with the same team every 3 days.
We have missed out on supposed transfer targets Sergio Ramos, supposedly Nicolas Otamendi and Pedro too. Sergio Ramos extended his contract, Otamendi joined Manchester City and Pedro joined Chelsea. Were these three really transfer targets? Sources say they were but you can be never too sure. However, I would say that for good or bad, I am contented with the squad that we have. We could do with another central defender perhaps but its not a catastrophe if we don't get one. The same goes to a winger or a striker many fans have asked fo. The reaction I read on Twitter from fans on the failure to make more signings have been ridiculous. We have made some significant signings already and the manager has a lot of options available to him. Have faith and patience! We can't keep going on buying players to try and win us titles. It is only a matter of finding the right combination of players to click and the goals will arrive. There's lots of attacking potential throughout the team and goals can come from everywhere. The most important one that we need to sort out is the future of David De Gea. I would love for him to stay but it looks inevitable that he will leave. It is only a matter of time. If he does stay on this season, I do hope he gets back into the team and performs to his best as he did last season. He is still young and can still develop further. The progress of his career shouldn't be stunted if he does stay on at United. I just hope this matter is resolved conclusively soon.
Post-Villa, we had our return to Champions League action where we conceded our first goal of the season. In this match, we have looked a little shaky at the back but Smalling has continued his good form and strong performances. He seems to be stepping up to the plate to be United's first choice centre back. All he needs to do is avoid getting injured. His injury record is his Achilles heel, pun unintended. We looked much better going forward against Club Brugge.
It was like the goal we conceded woke us up to attack more and we did. It is not quite free-flowing yet but it was much better than seen in the first two matches of the season. Wayne Rooney has been poor up front. He hasn't looked quite as sharp up front on his own all pre-season and has continued that form into the season. To be fair to him, he has lacked support and the link up play with Memphis and Adnan Januzaj playing off him has not been good. The understanding has been lacking but he has also got his touches wrong most notably against Aston Villa.
Michael Carrick is another that has looked a bit off the pace. He hasn't quite been as influential as you expect him to be but if you study him closely over the seasons, you would notice that he always starts the season slowly and gets stronger and better as the season goes on. Nothing to worry about that.
In the last 2 games, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Ander Herrera, Javier Hernandez and Marouane Fellaini, when his suspension is over, have staked a claim to start.
It's nice to see Hernandez back playing for us and perhaps having him play up front with Rooney behind him could be the answer to our disjointed attack. It would do both players a world of good too in terms of goals and confidence.
We have missed out on supposed transfer targets Sergio Ramos, supposedly Nicolas Otamendi and Pedro too. Sergio Ramos extended his contract, Otamendi joined Manchester City and Pedro joined Chelsea. Were these three really transfer targets? Sources say they were but you can be never too sure. However, I would say that for good or bad, I am contented with the squad that we have. We could do with another central defender perhaps but its not a catastrophe if we don't get one. The same goes to a winger or a striker many fans have asked fo. The reaction I read on Twitter from fans on the failure to make more signings have been ridiculous. We have made some significant signings already and the manager has a lot of options available to him. Have faith and patience! We can't keep going on buying players to try and win us titles. It is only a matter of finding the right combination of players to click and the goals will arrive. There's lots of attacking potential throughout the team and goals can come from everywhere. The most important one that we need to sort out is the future of David De Gea. I would love for him to stay but it looks inevitable that he will leave. It is only a matter of time. If he does stay on this season, I do hope he gets back into the team and performs to his best as he did last season. He is still young and can still develop further. The progress of his career shouldn't be stunted if he does stay on at United. I just hope this matter is resolved conclusively soon.
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
Goodbye & Good Luck Kovacic
Kovacic will have a better group of players to play with now but not everyone can cope with the pressure of playing for Real Madrid. Some fail badly. Unfortunately for Kovacic, he doesn't have Carlo Ancelotti to coach and manage him. He would have a Fat Spanish Waiter as his manager. I can only wish him the very best of luck in pastures new. At least he will have his compatriot Luka Modric to learn from and play alongside.
Inter 2015-16 Preview
It's not official yet but Mateo Kovacic would be sold to Real Madrid. The news is disappointing to hear. Very disappointing for me personally as the Croatian was fast becoming my favourite player at Inter. He was worthy to wear the number 10 jersey that was once worn by one of my all-time favourites, Roberto Baggio and that was last worn rightfully by Wesley Sneijder. The only consolation for me is that he is not going to Liverpool like Coutinho did. This as well as the signings made in the summer so far epitomises the lack of planning and strategy in Inter's transfer policy. You can say it's typical of Inter to buy quick and fast and lack patience and/or to buy and then not plan on how to manage the resources and squad size.
This season onwards, Serie A squads have been capped to only 25 players per squad and it was no secret. The directors knew it all along but yet before they could sell, they bought and they bought a lot. They now face the predicament of offloading players. All summer, the club has struggled to sell players especially with players turning down moves elsewhere. Finally, at long last, the club managed to offload Xherdan Shaqiri after he was offered to many different clubs. He was sold to the first club that he was offered to, Stoke City after failing to agree to a move there earlier in the summer. Shaqiri only lasted 6 months at the club. He had come to Inter with aplomb and amidst great excitement. He started off well but then tailed off. It's too soon to sell a player that had just been bought 6 months ago unless there was a falling out of sorts with the manager Roberto Mancini. On top of the squad cap, the club had to adhere to UEFA's Financial Fair Play rules which has been something the club started doing since they won the Treble as it tried reduce its debts. It has resulted in significant weakening of the squad without signing replacements of sufficient quality.
Why did we sign Shaqiri, a player with obvious quality, in the winter on a 4 year contract only to sell him 6 months later? I just can't understand it at all unless the player himself wanted to move or he fell out with the manager. Santon too was signed in the winter. He had hardly played at Newcastle before his move to Inter and understandably after a strong start, he would tail off due to the lack of fitness just like Shaqiri and he was also offered to other clubs. Why, oh why? His performances in pre-season have been jittery but he deserves time and faith for at least one full season. Danilo D'Ambrosio played well under Mancini last season and he is transfer listed. Why?! Beats me! Martin Montoya who was signed from Barcelona in the summer hasn't quite set the world alight with his performances. D'Ambrosio deserves his spot at right back. Signing Jeison Murillo looks like a very good decision and the decision could be vindicated if all goes well. However, I am not too sure on the signing of Miranda. We'll see how that turns out. I'd rather have him as back up. It's sad though that captain Andrea Ranocchia has been kept out of the starting lineup. He has had some shaky performances I admit but on his day he can be as good as anyone. I would prefer to see the pairing of Murillo-Ranocchia at centre back. Nemanja Vidic had a bad season. He did redeem himself somewhat in the closing months of last season but I wouldn't be surprised if he was sold. There are rumours Juan Jesus could be sold. He is a good back up to have at centre back and an option at left back but not great in both positions so I wouldn't mind if he is sold. I would rather keep Marco Andreolli at centre back as cover because to be fair, he has always done well at centre back when he has played. He doesn't deserve to be sold. Yuto Nagatomo could be sold and it would be sad when that happens as he has always given his best when he has played and a favourite with fans and team-mates but I understand the reason for it when it happens. He is under-rated slightly and as an Asian, I am proud to see a fellow Asian playing at one of my favourite clubs. Ezequiel Schelotto and Dodo are two players clearly surplus to requirements as well.
In midfield, a big deal was made out of the signing of Geoffrey Kondogbia. He is not the best player in the world. Let's be honest, we didn't sign Andres Iniesta. He is still a relative youngster and has a huge price tag to live up to as well as having to adjust to playing in Serie A which might not be the easiest thing to do so please give him time and pipe down on your expectations of him. Thank God we have kept Gary Medel so far. He did well and the best he could last season in his position. Marcelo Brovozic is growing into an influential player in pre-season and would be one to watch out for. Thank God we did not sign Felipe Melo because that would have been the most unnecessary signing of the summer. Assane Gnoukouri, a product of our youth academy is getting opportunities to play in the first team and that is nice to see. Hopefully more would follow. I am disappointed to see Marco Benassi leave for Torino. He did well there last season in Serie A, the Europa League and for the Italy U21s at the Euro U21. He would have been good to have in the squad. I certainly would not mind seeing Fredy Guarin, a player that has frustrated me and lots of fans with his inconsistent displays, leave. Another player I don't mind seeing leave would be Hernanes. We have only seen the best of him in flashes which is something you do not expect from an established player who is not new to Italian football. There's also forgotten and unwanted man Saphir Taider who had a strong start to life at Inter under Walter Mazzari to be sold as well. The imminent departure of Kovacic is another disappointment. I hope and pray for a miracle and the move falls through.
Up front, I would have made the brave decision in cashing in on Mauro Icardi. He might have been top scorer last season but I feel he is over-rated. I do have a moral vendetta against him for what he did to his best friend, Maxi Lopez which could cloud my judgement but the lack of goals in pre-season seems to vindicate my point. We would have got lots of money from his sale and I feel he is less integral to Inter's present and future plans than Kovacic. Rodrigo Palacio is getting on in age but always gives us more than 100% in every game. He might be losing pace but I hope he stays injury-free because he can be really dangerous when he is sharp. The signing of Stevan Jovetic is a good one. I am excited to see him play and its been a long time since I have been excited by Inter signing an attacker. I just hope he can rediscover his Fiorentina form and that he hasn't become a talent spoilt and wasted by Manchester City. We have re-signed Jonathan Biabiany who last season was so close to joining AC Milan. He came through our ranks, we had him with us in the first post-Treble season (2010-11), sold him to Parma after some less than impressive displays where he did very well and is now back with us. Most importantly, I hope he is in good health after his health scare and then I hope he can cope with the pressure of playing for Inter. He will certainly be useful to Mancini's plans to play with wingers. I would have kept Samuele Longo so I am disappointed to see him go.
On potential signings, there has been a lot of talk all summer on the chase for Ivan Perisic. If he fails to arrive, I wouldn't mind signing Dries Mertens and no-one else really. No way can I see Diego Perotti as a player worthy of Inter. There's talk of signing Thiago Motta and it would be nice to have him back to bolster the midfield after the imminent sale of Kovacic and also a left back. Between Fabio Coentrao and Domenico Criscito, I'd rather see us sign Criscito as he is an Italian and its very unlikely Coentrao would sign for Inter. In a nutshell, just for the sake of selling players to reduce debts and squad size, I wouldn't mind selling Vidic, Nagatomo, Guarin, Hernanes, Taider, Schelotto, Icardi (maybe Juan Jesus too) and return Dodo to Roma. I would have kept Benassi, Longo and Kovacic at the club. We would then need to sign a striker (how about Berardi or Immobile if we had "sold" Icardi earlier), Criscito and Perisic or Mertens. In case you are wondering why I have not mentioned goalkeepers, it's because even Inter are not that crazy to sell Samir Handanovic after the seasons that he has had. There was a threat of that happening when he hadn't extended his contract and if he did leave, I believe we have a good replacement ready in Francesco Bardi (only if the club keeps its eyes open to Italian players).
The results in pre-season have been far from impressive. I have watched some matches in pre-season and we have not played as badly as the results suggest. What has been telling has been the lack of sharpness in attack. We have been toothless. I know results in pre-season don't guarantee you a great season and I hope we have a better season than the last one and the one we are suggesting to have so far. The best things in this pre-season has been our new kits.
Since the Treble and Jose Mourinho, Inter has changed 7 managers in 5 years! That is certainly not a recipe for success. The club has lacked stability at all levels. The sale of the club to Erick Thohir has contributed to the instability experienced at the club. As fans, we are aware of the need to sell before signing. It doesn't help if we keep missing out on qualifying to the Champions League. We don't have a stadium of our own like Juventus. It takes patience and careful planning if Inter are to return to glory days again but I seriously doubt we will ever see that. The longer we go without winning anything, the more twitchy the club will get. We have seen it before in the past and I wouldn't be surprised if it repeats now and lessons from the past are not learnt. Fingers crossed for a better than expected season. Inter is really Amala Inter!
Monday, August 10, 2015
Relief & Apprehension - Man. United
Manchester United kicked off their campaign on Saturday at primetime in Singapore which is more often than not an ideal time to watch a 'live ' match featuring Manchester United (or any of my other teams). All throughout the day, my thoughts were on last season's nightmare defeat on the first day of the season. It was good nervous energy to have because I would rather feel that than feel supremely confident we would win. It's just one of the superstitions that I have.
On the match itself, it was an abysmal start to be honest. Tottenham are no pushovers or to be taken lightly and with all due respect, they are a bigger team than Swansea. We couldn't keep the ball for long and Tottenham had the better of possession and even chances. All of a sudden, on a counter-attack, it opened up for us and we scored inspite of Rooney's best efforts at messing the chance up. I felt that he should have taken it first time instead of choosing to control it. Unluckily for Kyle Walker, he intercepted the ball thanks to Rooney's control but only succeeded in prodding it into the net. What luck for us and them! The game then changed and we started controlling more of the possession and created a bit more (we had created almost zero before the goal). As the match wore on and the longer it stayed at 1-0, Tottenham started taking more risks going forward and caused lots of panic at the back for us. Somehow, we saw off the threat and kept the slender lead as well as the crucial 3 points.
The team didn't play particularly well. There were only sporadic moments where we really threatened. We held possession well at certain periods in the match but a lot of times we held on to possession for too long without finding the penetration needed to create more chances and score. Matteo Darmian had a great game at right back. He was solid defensively, always at the right place, at the right time, mopping up the danger. He was rightly voted as the Man Of The Match by the United fans. If there is a slight criticism I would have of him it would be that he doesn't take on his opposing full back enough and get down to the by-line to put in crosses or get involved in attacks.
I am surprised that he was brought off and it made a big and nearly costly difference as Antonio Valencia wasn't quite switched on mentally immediately. Sergio Romero had some shaky moments with the ball at his feet but he made up for it with some crucial saves and interventions at the end when the pressure was intensive. The manager made a good point on it being his first match with the team. He has to learn English quickly because it will help him communicate better with the back line and he would be more confident.
Chris Smalling keeps surprising me. I had always seen him as a calm but at times lightweight player, a laid-back character but he was solid on Saturday. He made good tackles and won his one-on-one duels.
Daley Blind, I feel would be targeted as the weak link as long as he plays in the centre of the defence. He is great with the ball at his feet and at interceptions but as the commentator of the game has rightly pointed out, he could be exposed if he comes up against speedy attackers or big, tall attackers that like the ball in the air more than at feet. Let's see how he does. We do hope he copes with it as it serves us well.
Morgan Schneiderlin had an average, mixed match. He did well with his tackles and interceptions but lost possession or got caught on it at other times. I was surprised at the substitution of Michael Carrick who wasn't at his best but had a decent match nevertheless. Carrick traditionally needs games to get into groove and the more he plays the better he gets. Bastian Schweinsteiger came on and tried to make a difference. He had something different the other central midfielders didn't have and that was looking to go forward to join the attack.
Memphis had an average game. We didn't see much of his speed or too many dangerous attacks and combinations with players around him. He was trying too hard to impress I feel. I feel maybe he is better off and would be far more effective and dangerous playing on the wing.
Ander Herrera came on to bring something different to the game but unfortunately the ball was not in our half too much for him to make any telling impact. He did try though.
Next for United is an away trip to Villa Park. Under Sir Alex Ferguson, Villa Park was like a second home to us but our away record has been so poor last season that we got to start the game feeling cautious and apprehensive. Our away record has to improve this season and it has to start this Friday or Saturday morning, if you are staying in the same time zone as me. I feel the team will be tweaked further before we get a system and starting team that allows us to express fully as a team.
On the match itself, it was an abysmal start to be honest. Tottenham are no pushovers or to be taken lightly and with all due respect, they are a bigger team than Swansea. We couldn't keep the ball for long and Tottenham had the better of possession and even chances. All of a sudden, on a counter-attack, it opened up for us and we scored inspite of Rooney's best efforts at messing the chance up. I felt that he should have taken it first time instead of choosing to control it. Unluckily for Kyle Walker, he intercepted the ball thanks to Rooney's control but only succeeded in prodding it into the net. What luck for us and them! The game then changed and we started controlling more of the possession and created a bit more (we had created almost zero before the goal). As the match wore on and the longer it stayed at 1-0, Tottenham started taking more risks going forward and caused lots of panic at the back for us. Somehow, we saw off the threat and kept the slender lead as well as the crucial 3 points.
The team didn't play particularly well. There were only sporadic moments where we really threatened. We held possession well at certain periods in the match but a lot of times we held on to possession for too long without finding the penetration needed to create more chances and score. Matteo Darmian had a great game at right back. He was solid defensively, always at the right place, at the right time, mopping up the danger. He was rightly voted as the Man Of The Match by the United fans. If there is a slight criticism I would have of him it would be that he doesn't take on his opposing full back enough and get down to the by-line to put in crosses or get involved in attacks.
I am surprised that he was brought off and it made a big and nearly costly difference as Antonio Valencia wasn't quite switched on mentally immediately. Sergio Romero had some shaky moments with the ball at his feet but he made up for it with some crucial saves and interventions at the end when the pressure was intensive. The manager made a good point on it being his first match with the team. He has to learn English quickly because it will help him communicate better with the back line and he would be more confident.
Chris Smalling keeps surprising me. I had always seen him as a calm but at times lightweight player, a laid-back character but he was solid on Saturday. He made good tackles and won his one-on-one duels.
Daley Blind, I feel would be targeted as the weak link as long as he plays in the centre of the defence. He is great with the ball at his feet and at interceptions but as the commentator of the game has rightly pointed out, he could be exposed if he comes up against speedy attackers or big, tall attackers that like the ball in the air more than at feet. Let's see how he does. We do hope he copes with it as it serves us well.
Morgan Schneiderlin had an average, mixed match. He did well with his tackles and interceptions but lost possession or got caught on it at other times. I was surprised at the substitution of Michael Carrick who wasn't at his best but had a decent match nevertheless. Carrick traditionally needs games to get into groove and the more he plays the better he gets. Bastian Schweinsteiger came on and tried to make a difference. He had something different the other central midfielders didn't have and that was looking to go forward to join the attack.
Memphis had an average game. We didn't see much of his speed or too many dangerous attacks and combinations with players around him. He was trying too hard to impress I feel. I feel maybe he is better off and would be far more effective and dangerous playing on the wing.
Ander Herrera came on to bring something different to the game but unfortunately the ball was not in our half too much for him to make any telling impact. He did try though.
Next for United is an away trip to Villa Park. Under Sir Alex Ferguson, Villa Park was like a second home to us but our away record has been so poor last season that we got to start the game feeling cautious and apprehensive. Our away record has to improve this season and it has to start this Friday or Saturday morning, if you are staying in the same time zone as me. I feel the team will be tweaked further before we get a system and starting team that allows us to express fully as a team.
Sunday, August 9, 2015
Ras, The Inter Fan
I have been an Inter fan since 1992. For those that are new to this blog, please refer to the Introductory post that has a very concise paragraph on how I became a fan. I would describe myself as an unconventional and unique fan. I hope to address that later in this post.
As a new and young Inter fan, I didn't get to watch too many Inter matches because Inter were struggling and the Indonesian channels (Singapore didn't broadcast any "live" Serie A matches at that time) which were the only ones broadcasting "live" Serie A matches at that time in the region, hardly broadcasted any Inter matches. I would constantly check for their results on the Teletext and watch highlights of the matches on the weekly highlights show and would get sad looking at the poor results. In those days, I was in awe looking at AC Milan and Juventus' supremacy. I was particularly impressed and shocked to hear of AC Milan's trashing of Barcelona in the Champions League. That just created an air on invincibility around Milan in my mind. I was glad too as Milan were representing Italy and Italian football. Barcelona were a pompous bunch too under Johan Cryuff. Juventus had Roberto Baggio who had became another of my favourite players so that is reason enough to watch them closely and got delighted watching Baggio. At that time, the rivalry between Inter & Milan or Juventus hadn't kicked in yet. Moreover in Singapore, it is easier to feel the intensity and rivalry between Manchester United and Liverpool due to the popularity and exposure towards the English League here. I don't remember knowing any other person who supported an Italian club.
I started disliking Juventus when Baggio's time came to an end there rather acrimoniously and as for Milan, I got bored of watching them constantly winning and was quite delighted to hear of Ajax beating them in the 1995 Champions League final. That is how my dislike for both of our rivals grew. As an Inter fan, I experienced a lot of anger, frustration and heartbreak. The first of which was a disappointment felt at losing the UEFA Cup final against a supposed inferior opponent, Schalke 04 on penalties in 1996-97. Next was the dismay and fury felt from the injustice of having a legitimate penalty turned down amongst other decisions that went against us in a crucial title decider against Juventus which began the hatred towards Juventus.
Juventus 1 - Inter 0 1997-98
Next was the most embarrassing defeat suffered as an Inter fan, the 0-6 defeat to AC Milan in the 2000-01 season and the following season, 2001-02, I experienced my first real heartbreak as an Inter fan. Inter were in the driving seat to win the Scudetto for the first time since 1989, they had a few stumbles near the end of the season but went into the final day of the season still top. All Inter needed to do was win against a Lazio side that had nothing to play for and had fans supporting Inter because an Inter defeat could open up the door for their hated rivals, Roma to win the Scudetto. Inter collapsed and lost in that match to cause trauma and heartbreak for all Inter fans. 5th May 2002 will forever be a dark day in Inter's history.
Now let's recount the happy moments. The 1993-94 UEFA Cup triumph was the first success I experienced as an Inter fan followed by the 1997-98 UEFA Cup triumph which was memorable for the comprehensive and resounding manner with which we won it culminating a great season we had.
The Coppa Italia triumph of 2003-04 was a huge relief and lifted some pressure off us after the traumatic collapse of 2001-02 Serie A season. That brought great joy after 6 years of a trophy drought.
The Supercoppa Italiana of 2004-05 was sweet as we beat Juventus to win it and the Coppa Italia of 2004-05 provided us continuity of winning silverware after long absences between our previous trophies.
Then it would undoubtedly be the historic and unforgettable Treble that is unmatched by any Italian side till date and finally, the World Club Cup which culminated the good work of Jose Mourinho the previous season and our final trophy triumph till date, Coppa Italia triumph of 2010-11.
I have consciously left out the Scudetto awarded to us in the courtroom in 2005-06 and the ones won on the pitch in 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09. Why? Because firstly, I rather win the Scudetto on the pitch rather than get it handed to us in a courtroom. We were third in that season and the top two were implicated in Calciopoli which meant that we were the next best team that was not implicated. There is no joy in that because I believe titles are won on the pitch and even if the top two, Juventus and Milan were guilty of trying to influence the appointment of referees to influence the matches in their favour, I would prefered it if we had finished top on the pitch after 38 matches. As for the other Scudetto wins, I was happy to have won it but truthfully it was always a matter of formality because we won it without any strong rivals that ran us close. We had taken advantage of Juventus' relegation very well by signing a talismanic player like Zlatan Ibrahimovic who could win games on his own in Italy but the lack of a serious rival was telling when Inter played in Europe and we struggled to impose our superiority there. Roma were our only rivals but they finished miles apart. If anything, us taking our foot off the pedal and losing focus allowed them back in a bit and gave them more of a chance like in 2007-08. I would have got more joy if we had won the Scudetto in 1997-98 and/or 2001-02 because then we would have come up against strong rivals and won it on the pitch for football reasons not in the courtroom or with severely weakened rivals.
Massimo Moratti made us dream with the signings he made every season since he took over. He showed us what he was capable of when he first signed Ronaldo for a record transfer fee and would then break that record to sign Christian Vieri.
It was exciting to have a fantasy football style approach, signing the best players in the world and trying to make them fit in as a team. However, Moratti didn't get the balance right in his signings and was guilty of not being patient enough with his managers. Luigi Simoni should never have been sacked so soon into 1998-99.
Hector Cuper suffered from the trauma of 2001-02 like the rest of us. He was never quite able to replicate the success of 2001-02.
Marcello Lippi had seemed liked the right choice as a manager having been a serial winner at our arch-rivals, Juventus but sticking with him after barely scrapping into the Champions League was the wrong decision to take. Signing lots of players over one summer to replace an outgoing bulk was also not the right decision to make because it disrupts the stability of the team as is the lack of stability in the manager's position. The blame of that would have to be shared by the technical director and Moratti himself (as much as I love the man, he has to take the blame for it). Probably our biggest mistakes would be not getting the best out of Andrea Pirlo, Clarence Seedorf and Fabio Cannavaro while they were at Inter. All three would go on to enjoy much success at our arch-rivals AC Milan and Juventus. The folly of our transfer policy can be exemplified by the swap deal of Pirlo and Seedorf for Coco and Guly. Evidently, we got the worse of the deal.
Until today, the transfer policy and dealings continue to frustrate and annoy me. The best we did on the transfer market was to take advantage of Juventus' relegation and signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Prior to that, we had already been building up a decent squad with the signing of Dejan Stankovic, Adriano, Juan Sebastian Veron and Walter Samuel.
Lesser known players like Julio Cesar and Maicon were also signed as was the signing of Esteban Cambiasso, a bargain buy who turned out to be an integral and valuable signing.
In the summer of 2009-10, Jose Mourinho made signings to allow us to take the next step up in Europe with the signing of Lucio, Samuel Eto'o and Wesley Sneijder.
The signings of Thiago Motta and Diego Milito were shrewd.
What was particularly important was the swap between Eto'o and Ibrahimovic. If Ibrahimovic had stayed, Inter would never have won the Treble and would never have been able to rise above the underachievement in Europe.
I know the club has its origins in giving foreign players a chance to play. The club is built on that. I am well aware of that. However, in the last few years, the number of Italian players in the Inter team has decreased. As an Italy fan as well, this fact irks me. I would like a nice mix of Italian and foreign players in the team. Besides, being an Italy fan, Inter is an Italian club and it needs Italian representation in the team outside of the coaching staff. The club needs local identity and flavour. I know people will argue that the Treble and all the success before that was achieved largely by a squad filled with foreign players and that Inter is a big enough club internationally for players to understand what it means to play for the club. We have had foreign players who knew what it meant to play for Inter but the club should never lose its identity and representation of Italian players and I would want to see more Italian players playing for Inter.
The next thing I would like to see Inter do more of is to give more space for the youngsters from the youth team to play in the first team. In my time as a fan, I remember Giovanni Pasquale, Obafemi Martins, Mario Balotelli and Davide Santon who made the progress from the youth team into the first team but for one reason or another none of these players have stayed long enough at the club. Santon is back for his second innings at the club but could be sold in the transfer market as the team looks to reduce the squad size. Marco Andreolli and Andrea Ranocchia returned to Inter after some time out elsewhere and the former has been transfer listed. At a time when the club is in debt and have the Financial Fair Play to comply with, it makes greater sense to be self-dependent on players created in the club, players that have been brought up by the club, have the club's colours in their heart and know very well what it means to play for the club. Generally, there is little patience and space for youngsters from the youth rank in Italian clubs but Inter can be revolutionary in this aspect by giving youngsters space and path into the first team. The club has done well in recent years in the youth sector so there is definitely talent in the club's youth sector. I understand that the youngsters lack exposure of playing against adult teams and would need to be loaned out to gain experience but there's no use doing that if they are only sold because the space in the team has been taken by a young South American or a more established player.
I still remain an Inter fan and regardless of what the club does in the transfer market, I will keep supporting them. Am I an unconventional and unique Inter fan? I think I am but maybe I am not. You be the judge on that :-)
As a new and young Inter fan, I didn't get to watch too many Inter matches because Inter were struggling and the Indonesian channels (Singapore didn't broadcast any "live" Serie A matches at that time) which were the only ones broadcasting "live" Serie A matches at that time in the region, hardly broadcasted any Inter matches. I would constantly check for their results on the Teletext and watch highlights of the matches on the weekly highlights show and would get sad looking at the poor results. In those days, I was in awe looking at AC Milan and Juventus' supremacy. I was particularly impressed and shocked to hear of AC Milan's trashing of Barcelona in the Champions League. That just created an air on invincibility around Milan in my mind. I was glad too as Milan were representing Italy and Italian football. Barcelona were a pompous bunch too under Johan Cryuff. Juventus had Roberto Baggio who had became another of my favourite players so that is reason enough to watch them closely and got delighted watching Baggio. At that time, the rivalry between Inter & Milan or Juventus hadn't kicked in yet. Moreover in Singapore, it is easier to feel the intensity and rivalry between Manchester United and Liverpool due to the popularity and exposure towards the English League here. I don't remember knowing any other person who supported an Italian club.
I started disliking Juventus when Baggio's time came to an end there rather acrimoniously and as for Milan, I got bored of watching them constantly winning and was quite delighted to hear of Ajax beating them in the 1995 Champions League final. That is how my dislike for both of our rivals grew. As an Inter fan, I experienced a lot of anger, frustration and heartbreak. The first of which was a disappointment felt at losing the UEFA Cup final against a supposed inferior opponent, Schalke 04 on penalties in 1996-97. Next was the dismay and fury felt from the injustice of having a legitimate penalty turned down amongst other decisions that went against us in a crucial title decider against Juventus which began the hatred towards Juventus.
Juventus 1 - Inter 0 1997-98
Next was the most embarrassing defeat suffered as an Inter fan, the 0-6 defeat to AC Milan in the 2000-01 season and the following season, 2001-02, I experienced my first real heartbreak as an Inter fan. Inter were in the driving seat to win the Scudetto for the first time since 1989, they had a few stumbles near the end of the season but went into the final day of the season still top. All Inter needed to do was win against a Lazio side that had nothing to play for and had fans supporting Inter because an Inter defeat could open up the door for their hated rivals, Roma to win the Scudetto. Inter collapsed and lost in that match to cause trauma and heartbreak for all Inter fans. 5th May 2002 will forever be a dark day in Inter's history.
Now let's recount the happy moments. The 1993-94 UEFA Cup triumph was the first success I experienced as an Inter fan followed by the 1997-98 UEFA Cup triumph which was memorable for the comprehensive and resounding manner with which we won it culminating a great season we had.
The Coppa Italia triumph of 2003-04 was a huge relief and lifted some pressure off us after the traumatic collapse of 2001-02 Serie A season. That brought great joy after 6 years of a trophy drought.
The Supercoppa Italiana of 2004-05 was sweet as we beat Juventus to win it and the Coppa Italia of 2004-05 provided us continuity of winning silverware after long absences between our previous trophies.
Then it would undoubtedly be the historic and unforgettable Treble that is unmatched by any Italian side till date and finally, the World Club Cup which culminated the good work of Jose Mourinho the previous season and our final trophy triumph till date, Coppa Italia triumph of 2010-11.
I have consciously left out the Scudetto awarded to us in the courtroom in 2005-06 and the ones won on the pitch in 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09. Why? Because firstly, I rather win the Scudetto on the pitch rather than get it handed to us in a courtroom. We were third in that season and the top two were implicated in Calciopoli which meant that we were the next best team that was not implicated. There is no joy in that because I believe titles are won on the pitch and even if the top two, Juventus and Milan were guilty of trying to influence the appointment of referees to influence the matches in their favour, I would prefered it if we had finished top on the pitch after 38 matches. As for the other Scudetto wins, I was happy to have won it but truthfully it was always a matter of formality because we won it without any strong rivals that ran us close. We had taken advantage of Juventus' relegation very well by signing a talismanic player like Zlatan Ibrahimovic who could win games on his own in Italy but the lack of a serious rival was telling when Inter played in Europe and we struggled to impose our superiority there. Roma were our only rivals but they finished miles apart. If anything, us taking our foot off the pedal and losing focus allowed them back in a bit and gave them more of a chance like in 2007-08. I would have got more joy if we had won the Scudetto in 1997-98 and/or 2001-02 because then we would have come up against strong rivals and won it on the pitch for football reasons not in the courtroom or with severely weakened rivals.
Massimo Moratti made us dream with the signings he made every season since he took over. He showed us what he was capable of when he first signed Ronaldo for a record transfer fee and would then break that record to sign Christian Vieri.
It was exciting to have a fantasy football style approach, signing the best players in the world and trying to make them fit in as a team. However, Moratti didn't get the balance right in his signings and was guilty of not being patient enough with his managers. Luigi Simoni should never have been sacked so soon into 1998-99.
Hector Cuper suffered from the trauma of 2001-02 like the rest of us. He was never quite able to replicate the success of 2001-02.
Marcello Lippi had seemed liked the right choice as a manager having been a serial winner at our arch-rivals, Juventus but sticking with him after barely scrapping into the Champions League was the wrong decision to take. Signing lots of players over one summer to replace an outgoing bulk was also not the right decision to make because it disrupts the stability of the team as is the lack of stability in the manager's position. The blame of that would have to be shared by the technical director and Moratti himself (as much as I love the man, he has to take the blame for it). Probably our biggest mistakes would be not getting the best out of Andrea Pirlo, Clarence Seedorf and Fabio Cannavaro while they were at Inter. All three would go on to enjoy much success at our arch-rivals AC Milan and Juventus. The folly of our transfer policy can be exemplified by the swap deal of Pirlo and Seedorf for Coco and Guly. Evidently, we got the worse of the deal.
Until today, the transfer policy and dealings continue to frustrate and annoy me. The best we did on the transfer market was to take advantage of Juventus' relegation and signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Prior to that, we had already been building up a decent squad with the signing of Dejan Stankovic, Adriano, Juan Sebastian Veron and Walter Samuel.
Lesser known players like Julio Cesar and Maicon were also signed as was the signing of Esteban Cambiasso, a bargain buy who turned out to be an integral and valuable signing.
In the summer of 2009-10, Jose Mourinho made signings to allow us to take the next step up in Europe with the signing of Lucio, Samuel Eto'o and Wesley Sneijder.
The signings of Thiago Motta and Diego Milito were shrewd.
What was particularly important was the swap between Eto'o and Ibrahimovic. If Ibrahimovic had stayed, Inter would never have won the Treble and would never have been able to rise above the underachievement in Europe.
I know the club has its origins in giving foreign players a chance to play. The club is built on that. I am well aware of that. However, in the last few years, the number of Italian players in the Inter team has decreased. As an Italy fan as well, this fact irks me. I would like a nice mix of Italian and foreign players in the team. Besides, being an Italy fan, Inter is an Italian club and it needs Italian representation in the team outside of the coaching staff. The club needs local identity and flavour. I know people will argue that the Treble and all the success before that was achieved largely by a squad filled with foreign players and that Inter is a big enough club internationally for players to understand what it means to play for the club. We have had foreign players who knew what it meant to play for Inter but the club should never lose its identity and representation of Italian players and I would want to see more Italian players playing for Inter.
The next thing I would like to see Inter do more of is to give more space for the youngsters from the youth team to play in the first team. In my time as a fan, I remember Giovanni Pasquale, Obafemi Martins, Mario Balotelli and Davide Santon who made the progress from the youth team into the first team but for one reason or another none of these players have stayed long enough at the club. Santon is back for his second innings at the club but could be sold in the transfer market as the team looks to reduce the squad size. Marco Andreolli and Andrea Ranocchia returned to Inter after some time out elsewhere and the former has been transfer listed. At a time when the club is in debt and have the Financial Fair Play to comply with, it makes greater sense to be self-dependent on players created in the club, players that have been brought up by the club, have the club's colours in their heart and know very well what it means to play for the club. Generally, there is little patience and space for youngsters from the youth rank in Italian clubs but Inter can be revolutionary in this aspect by giving youngsters space and path into the first team. The club has done well in recent years in the youth sector so there is definitely talent in the club's youth sector. I understand that the youngsters lack exposure of playing against adult teams and would need to be loaned out to gain experience but there's no use doing that if they are only sold because the space in the team has been taken by a young South American or a more established player.
I still remain an Inter fan and regardless of what the club does in the transfer market, I will keep supporting them. Am I an unconventional and unique Inter fan? I think I am but maybe I am not. You be the judge on that :-)
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Manchester United 2015-16: Preview
The new English Premier League season is upon us as are several other European leagues within this week and the month of August. No more boring weekends for football lovers. No more pre-season friendlies to watch. No more flipping channels to kill time and complaining that there's nothing to watch even if there are a multitude of channels on offer. My focus here as it is every season is on my favourite club, Manchester United with their new Adidas kit and players smashing up screens with huge tridents. In Juan Mata's case, the trident was bigger than he is and in the case of Phil Jones, we got to view our most photogenic and popular contributor to the meme world in the jersey with the trident doing his thing. Mind you, he has a hot girlfriend with a face like that so don't you go laughing at him. He is laughing back at most people because he is in the position to do so.
United went to the United States for pre-season as they did last season. They didn't win the International Champions Cup this time but did win all their matches there baring one. Hopefully not winning the Cup and having lost a game in pre-season is a good omen for the season and the start of it. Unlike last season, most of the transfer business was done before the team departed for the US of A but doubts linger over David De Gea's future. Maybe one or two more might be offloaded before the window closes. I certainly hope Jonny Evans is one of them. He has been very disappointing as the most senior central defender after the departures of Ferdinand and Vidic and has been shambolic in his defending and first touch.
Nani has left. I had thought maybe he had another chance to impress the manager but it was not meant to be. He has frustrated us all because we have seen what he is capable of when he is at his best. He has just not produced his best often enough and not been consistent enough for us. Perhaps his best seasons for us were in 2009-10 and 2010-11. I wish him well.
Rafael left today. By all accounts, he seems to have been a popular member of the changing room but his defending has just been rash and again another player that was not consistent enough. He is an all-action figure and fans appreciate him for the endavour he puts in as well as playing with his heart and the goals he has scored have been few but have been screamers, well not all but he has only scored 5. If only, he had played using his head more often than with his heart and learnt to be cooler in defending. If only, he had stayed injury-free. If only he had been more consistent. I wish him well too.
"Always Going To Be A Favourite If You Score Against Liverpool"
Victor Valdes has got on Van Gaal's bad books and it looks like there is no way back for him. Haven't we seen that before from a favourite manager from our past? No not Moyes, you anti-United fans! That's YOUR favourite manager not ours! I meant Sir Alex Ferguson! No-one is bigger than the club Sir Alex has said that before and Van Gaal is following suit by placing Valdes in the dungeon for refusing to play a game for the U21s. A pity because with De Gea's uncertain future, Valdes could have done without this issue and gone on pre-season with the team and even put in a strong claim to start against Tottenham on Saturday. We have only seen him play twice for us! A pity really. Angel Di Maria is moving on as well and he has been disappointing in his behaviour and mentality or lack thereof. He came to the club like a breath of fresh air. Fans were crying out for a world-class player and we got one. He was doing well, scoring goals and assisting them. Then his form dipped, he got injured and he hasn't look the same since. You can see that his confidence has been shaken up and he isn't the same player he was earlier in the season. However, instead of knuckling down and fighting back as he had vowed to do while on Copa America duty for Argentina, he is now off to Paris St. Germain, seemingly forcing his way out of the club by refusing to train. Professionally, it's not going to do a player that is out of form and low on confidence any good to not train at all. He can't expect to walk straight into the Paris St. Germain team without any pre-season training under his belt. The truth behind his reason to leave is open to much speculation. Could it be the decision of his partner? Advice of his agent? Or that he has bottled it? Whatever the reason is, he has been a failure and is not leaving on good terms.
Falcao left at the end of the season as expected. He went on to do perform the same way he did with us with Colombia at the Copa America and is still doing the same with Chelsea. You can see he is trying his best and trying hard but it is just not coming off for him as it used to before the nasty injury he picked up. Our best wishes are with him as well. Robin Van Persie left to join Fenerbahce. He helped get us the 20th league title, the final one under Sir Alex, could be the final one in a long while who knows....Did well that season and hasn't quite replicate the form in that season thereafter. He did get a decent number of goals but without Sir Alex, he hasn't quite looked the same. There were hopes he would be revitalised under fellow Dutchman, Louis Van Gaal but he actually got worse. Good luck though Van Persie. Thanks for your contribution towards title number 20.
Now on to what we have left in the squad. We have bought 5 players and if the rumour mills are to be believed, a 6th in the form of Pedro would join too. Let's see on that. I never trust transfer rumours. Is the present squad good enough to win the title or at least a cup? Time will tell. Trophies are not won on paper or in pre-season. They are won on the training ground and on the pitches when the season has started. I am glad with the signing of an Italian player (because I support Italy) Matteo Darmian. So far, he is performing as I have expected of him, like when he was at Torino and with the Italian national team. Morgan Schneiderlin has surprised me. I was opposed to signing him as I didn't feel a need to have a player of his profile as I felt the emphasis should be on an understudy for the most important player in our team, Michael Carrick but Schneiderlin has done well enough to push for a starting slot in the team. I was excited at the signing of Bastian Schweinsteiger but he has to prove that he is fit enough and has to adapt to the pace of the English game as does Darmian.
Pre-season matches are played at a different pace and it lacks the physicality you get in the English game. I hope he comes good. Memphis Depay has caught the eye more for his sideburns and bonding with his team-mates than his performances on the pitch which have been lukewarm. Let's see how he copes with the pace and physicality of the English game.
Another important aspect Darmian, Schweinsteiger and Depay have to cope with is seeing the ball go over their head quite a lot especially when they play away and playing during Christmas without a mid-season break. Romero has started for Argentina at the World Cup and Copa America and in both cases, he hasn't been a starter for Sampdoria. Let's see how he does when he is given the chance to play.
Daley Blind has played as left centre back for United in pre-season and that can be a concern because of his lack of pace. He has the ability to bring the ball out of defence and can distribute it well but could well get caught out against pacy strikers. It's good to see Luke Shaw stay injury-free but do remember he is still developing and is not the finished article yet. He will make mistakes and will be inconsistent. The right centre back position is up for grabs between Chris Smalling and Jones but Jones has not done his chances any good with his performances in pre-season. Could a centre back be signed before the closure of the transfer window? God knows! If someone is signed, Jones and/or Smalling would need to worry about their future at the club although they have formed a good partnership together at the back end of last season. I am puzzled on why they haven't been paired in pre-season. We have also got Marcos Rojo who has to play catch-up after missing pre-season due to his involvement at the Copa America where Argentina went all the way to the final. I reckon he is a better choice at left centre back than Blind and better at centre back than he is at left back. Antonio Valencia was touted as a starter at right back by Van Gaal but Darmian's performances in pre-season seems to have suggested a chance in opinion and he has to fight for his place but his versatility is such that he can play further forward as a right winger if needed too.
In midfield with the options available to Van Gaal, it could be exciting for United fans if the right combination is found and players are allowed to play with freedom of movement. The midfield could be fluid with players inter-changing positions, if they are allowed to do so. However, it could be pretty rigid if we play with 2 holding midfielders/deep-lying playmakers without anyone bombing forward to join the attack which is why I feel the role of Ander Herrera is important as he always gets into good goal-scoring positions in and around the box from the midfield position which is something we don't see from Schneiderlin, Carrick and Schweinsteiger. Fellaini as the go-to guy is a good variation to have but not an option for all matches. The emergence of Andreas Pereira and re-emergence of Jesse Lingard from his loan spell is exciting and I hope both get more playing time this season.
Andreas Pereira's Goal In Pre-Season
With all the midfielders we have and the variety of options we can play with, it's no wonder that we wouldn't sign another forward. I know United fans are worried that we are under-manned in this department but if the team is allowed to play with fluidity, we can expect goals from everywhere not just the forwards. Depay is only young and is still honing his skills. He is by no means the finished article and can only grow. Wayne Rooney has to find his sharpness and scoring touch. To be fair, the forwards need chances created for them too. It's lovely to see Javier Hernandez back with us but because of his injury, he has to play catch-up though in terms of fitness and match readiness as he missed most of the pre-season and finally we have the young and exciting James Wilson. The only way I see us signing a forward would be if we let Wilson go out on loan. Otherwise I would be surprised if we signed a forward. Adnan Januzaj has looked a threat playing in the "Number 10" role in pre-season.
Adnan Januzaj's Goal Against Barcelona In Pre-Season
A final mention is on David De Gea. He is either sold this season or he chooses to extends his contract and stays with us or stays with us this season and leave for free next season. In the last pre-season match against Paris St. Germain, we could see he was distracted. It beats me why he would want to go back to Spain and play for Real Madrid having been an Atletico Madrid boy. I can understand that he would want to go back to be closer to his family or for the weather as the Manchester weather is too awful for his girlfriend but looking at the way Real Madrid and its fans treat their players, I can't understand why anyone would want to go there aside from the glamour and prestige of the club. Whatever the reason, I still hope De Gea stays even if it looks unlikely. If his stay is temporary for only one season, I hope he stays focused and professional and gives us his best until he goes just like Cristiano Ronaldo did.
How well do I feel United would do this season? I am not sure. It could go better than expected or terribly. I don't know. I just hope for the best every game and take it one game at a time. You should too. Don't be pompous. Never under-estimate your opponents whoever they are and hope Liverpool and City have terrible seasons. That's what a good United fan should do every season. Football goes in cycles. Maybe we had a blip that lasted 2 seasons and are coming out of it now. Maybe we are still in transition for a few more years. I just hope it will not take us 26 years for the next league title to arrive. Good luck to everyone except City and Liverpool. If we don't win it, I don't want to see either of those teams win it.
United went to the United States for pre-season as they did last season. They didn't win the International Champions Cup this time but did win all their matches there baring one. Hopefully not winning the Cup and having lost a game in pre-season is a good omen for the season and the start of it. Unlike last season, most of the transfer business was done before the team departed for the US of A but doubts linger over David De Gea's future. Maybe one or two more might be offloaded before the window closes. I certainly hope Jonny Evans is one of them. He has been very disappointing as the most senior central defender after the departures of Ferdinand and Vidic and has been shambolic in his defending and first touch.
Nani has left. I had thought maybe he had another chance to impress the manager but it was not meant to be. He has frustrated us all because we have seen what he is capable of when he is at his best. He has just not produced his best often enough and not been consistent enough for us. Perhaps his best seasons for us were in 2009-10 and 2010-11. I wish him well.
Rafael left today. By all accounts, he seems to have been a popular member of the changing room but his defending has just been rash and again another player that was not consistent enough. He is an all-action figure and fans appreciate him for the endavour he puts in as well as playing with his heart and the goals he has scored have been few but have been screamers, well not all but he has only scored 5. If only, he had played using his head more often than with his heart and learnt to be cooler in defending. If only, he had stayed injury-free. If only he had been more consistent. I wish him well too.
"Always Going To Be A Favourite If You Score Against Liverpool"
Victor Valdes has got on Van Gaal's bad books and it looks like there is no way back for him. Haven't we seen that before from a favourite manager from our past? No not Moyes, you anti-United fans! That's YOUR favourite manager not ours! I meant Sir Alex Ferguson! No-one is bigger than the club Sir Alex has said that before and Van Gaal is following suit by placing Valdes in the dungeon for refusing to play a game for the U21s. A pity because with De Gea's uncertain future, Valdes could have done without this issue and gone on pre-season with the team and even put in a strong claim to start against Tottenham on Saturday. We have only seen him play twice for us! A pity really. Angel Di Maria is moving on as well and he has been disappointing in his behaviour and mentality or lack thereof. He came to the club like a breath of fresh air. Fans were crying out for a world-class player and we got one. He was doing well, scoring goals and assisting them. Then his form dipped, he got injured and he hasn't look the same since. You can see that his confidence has been shaken up and he isn't the same player he was earlier in the season. However, instead of knuckling down and fighting back as he had vowed to do while on Copa America duty for Argentina, he is now off to Paris St. Germain, seemingly forcing his way out of the club by refusing to train. Professionally, it's not going to do a player that is out of form and low on confidence any good to not train at all. He can't expect to walk straight into the Paris St. Germain team without any pre-season training under his belt. The truth behind his reason to leave is open to much speculation. Could it be the decision of his partner? Advice of his agent? Or that he has bottled it? Whatever the reason is, he has been a failure and is not leaving on good terms.
Falcao left at the end of the season as expected. He went on to do perform the same way he did with us with Colombia at the Copa America and is still doing the same with Chelsea. You can see he is trying his best and trying hard but it is just not coming off for him as it used to before the nasty injury he picked up. Our best wishes are with him as well. Robin Van Persie left to join Fenerbahce. He helped get us the 20th league title, the final one under Sir Alex, could be the final one in a long while who knows....Did well that season and hasn't quite replicate the form in that season thereafter. He did get a decent number of goals but without Sir Alex, he hasn't quite looked the same. There were hopes he would be revitalised under fellow Dutchman, Louis Van Gaal but he actually got worse. Good luck though Van Persie. Thanks for your contribution towards title number 20.
Now on to what we have left in the squad. We have bought 5 players and if the rumour mills are to be believed, a 6th in the form of Pedro would join too. Let's see on that. I never trust transfer rumours. Is the present squad good enough to win the title or at least a cup? Time will tell. Trophies are not won on paper or in pre-season. They are won on the training ground and on the pitches when the season has started. I am glad with the signing of an Italian player (because I support Italy) Matteo Darmian. So far, he is performing as I have expected of him, like when he was at Torino and with the Italian national team. Morgan Schneiderlin has surprised me. I was opposed to signing him as I didn't feel a need to have a player of his profile as I felt the emphasis should be on an understudy for the most important player in our team, Michael Carrick but Schneiderlin has done well enough to push for a starting slot in the team. I was excited at the signing of Bastian Schweinsteiger but he has to prove that he is fit enough and has to adapt to the pace of the English game as does Darmian.
Pre-season matches are played at a different pace and it lacks the physicality you get in the English game. I hope he comes good. Memphis Depay has caught the eye more for his sideburns and bonding with his team-mates than his performances on the pitch which have been lukewarm. Let's see how he copes with the pace and physicality of the English game.
Another important aspect Darmian, Schweinsteiger and Depay have to cope with is seeing the ball go over their head quite a lot especially when they play away and playing during Christmas without a mid-season break. Romero has started for Argentina at the World Cup and Copa America and in both cases, he hasn't been a starter for Sampdoria. Let's see how he does when he is given the chance to play.
Daley Blind has played as left centre back for United in pre-season and that can be a concern because of his lack of pace. He has the ability to bring the ball out of defence and can distribute it well but could well get caught out against pacy strikers. It's good to see Luke Shaw stay injury-free but do remember he is still developing and is not the finished article yet. He will make mistakes and will be inconsistent. The right centre back position is up for grabs between Chris Smalling and Jones but Jones has not done his chances any good with his performances in pre-season. Could a centre back be signed before the closure of the transfer window? God knows! If someone is signed, Jones and/or Smalling would need to worry about their future at the club although they have formed a good partnership together at the back end of last season. I am puzzled on why they haven't been paired in pre-season. We have also got Marcos Rojo who has to play catch-up after missing pre-season due to his involvement at the Copa America where Argentina went all the way to the final. I reckon he is a better choice at left centre back than Blind and better at centre back than he is at left back. Antonio Valencia was touted as a starter at right back by Van Gaal but Darmian's performances in pre-season seems to have suggested a chance in opinion and he has to fight for his place but his versatility is such that he can play further forward as a right winger if needed too.
In midfield with the options available to Van Gaal, it could be exciting for United fans if the right combination is found and players are allowed to play with freedom of movement. The midfield could be fluid with players inter-changing positions, if they are allowed to do so. However, it could be pretty rigid if we play with 2 holding midfielders/deep-lying playmakers without anyone bombing forward to join the attack which is why I feel the role of Ander Herrera is important as he always gets into good goal-scoring positions in and around the box from the midfield position which is something we don't see from Schneiderlin, Carrick and Schweinsteiger. Fellaini as the go-to guy is a good variation to have but not an option for all matches. The emergence of Andreas Pereira and re-emergence of Jesse Lingard from his loan spell is exciting and I hope both get more playing time this season.
Andreas Pereira's Goal In Pre-Season
With all the midfielders we have and the variety of options we can play with, it's no wonder that we wouldn't sign another forward. I know United fans are worried that we are under-manned in this department but if the team is allowed to play with fluidity, we can expect goals from everywhere not just the forwards. Depay is only young and is still honing his skills. He is by no means the finished article and can only grow. Wayne Rooney has to find his sharpness and scoring touch. To be fair, the forwards need chances created for them too. It's lovely to see Javier Hernandez back with us but because of his injury, he has to play catch-up though in terms of fitness and match readiness as he missed most of the pre-season and finally we have the young and exciting James Wilson. The only way I see us signing a forward would be if we let Wilson go out on loan. Otherwise I would be surprised if we signed a forward. Adnan Januzaj has looked a threat playing in the "Number 10" role in pre-season.
Adnan Januzaj's Goal Against Barcelona In Pre-Season
A final mention is on David De Gea. He is either sold this season or he chooses to extends his contract and stays with us or stays with us this season and leave for free next season. In the last pre-season match against Paris St. Germain, we could see he was distracted. It beats me why he would want to go back to Spain and play for Real Madrid having been an Atletico Madrid boy. I can understand that he would want to go back to be closer to his family or for the weather as the Manchester weather is too awful for his girlfriend but looking at the way Real Madrid and its fans treat their players, I can't understand why anyone would want to go there aside from the glamour and prestige of the club. Whatever the reason, I still hope De Gea stays even if it looks unlikely. If his stay is temporary for only one season, I hope he stays focused and professional and gives us his best until he goes just like Cristiano Ronaldo did.
How well do I feel United would do this season? I am not sure. It could go better than expected or terribly. I don't know. I just hope for the best every game and take it one game at a time. You should too. Don't be pompous. Never under-estimate your opponents whoever they are and hope Liverpool and City have terrible seasons. That's what a good United fan should do every season. Football goes in cycles. Maybe we had a blip that lasted 2 seasons and are coming out of it now. Maybe we are still in transition for a few more years. I just hope it will not take us 26 years for the next league title to arrive. Good luck to everyone except City and Liverpool. If we don't win it, I don't want to see either of those teams win it.
Saturday, August 1, 2015
Exception: Rant Against Indian Reality TV Shows
A diversion from my usual football talk. This is my rant at Indian Reality TV Shows :-). Firstly shows like Roadies and Splitsvilla are all about aggression, swearing and violence. The aggression and violence doesn't seem natural. It seems like something they do just to get an increase in TRPs. Scripted, maybe? Are they portraying that young Indians are aggressive, rude and foul mouthed and it's cool to be so? Maybe that's what they are. I wouldn't know for sure. I have never been to India or know any Indians in that age group personally.
What is insightful though is the mentality of the men especially. It can be disgusting and narrow minded. I cringe hearing them speak their mind on women and sexuality. For a show like Splitsvilla where it's based on single men and women getting to know each other and dating, I can accept that the back stabbing and politics in the show are part of the game and part of entertainment. The testosterone on the show lead to fights among the men and the jealousy among the ladies lead to cat fights but from what I have seen on the show, the quality is so bad that I don't understand what are they even fighting about?! I can't imagine a show of similar theme in an European/South American/North American country displaying such poor quality on TV. What were the producers thinking when they cast these girls and guys? Or were they not much options available to choose from?
An annoying aspect of these shows would be the background music in these shows. Why do you need music from Bollywood films and songs as background music for an adventure/task based reality show ie Roadies and on a dating based reality ie Splitsvilla (Even if romance and Bollywood are intertwined)? Why can't they get someone to provide original background score instead?
Next we come to dance based reality shows. It's dime a dozen as are music based reality shows. I don't watch music based reality shows so I can't comment on them so I would reserve my comments on the dance based reality shows that I watch a bit of. Granted India is a country with lots of passion and talent for dancing, singing and films but on the subject of dance shows, it is annoying that on every dance show, the participants perform to the same set of songs. When it comes to performances of regional dance forms, why can't they perform on authentic regional songs instead of dancing on Bollywood songs or on the same regional song repeated a million times over different shows. When performing to a Michael Jackson song, why can't they just perform to a Michael Jackson song instead of mixing the beats of a popular Michael Jackson track on a Bollywood track?
Finally on comedy shows, granted it is scripted and not reality based but is beating and slapping someone really funny? Does that tickle the funny bone of an Indian? Beats me, pun unintended. Comedy Nights With Kapil is very popular and well-received the world over amongst the Indian/South Asian diaspora but I feel the best portions on this show are the portions when Kapil does the stand up comedy and when the guests come on the show. The sketches in the show are too repetitive to be funny anymore. It has become annoying to the point that I feel the show is over-hyped. The other show I watch is Comedy Classes. It is funny as long as it is acted well and the sketches are well-directed. Otherwise the mimicry on the show can get lazy and repetitive. Can't they be more creative on the mimicry?
Rant over.....The next post will be on football I promise :-). Sorry no pictures on this one :-D
What is insightful though is the mentality of the men especially. It can be disgusting and narrow minded. I cringe hearing them speak their mind on women and sexuality. For a show like Splitsvilla where it's based on single men and women getting to know each other and dating, I can accept that the back stabbing and politics in the show are part of the game and part of entertainment. The testosterone on the show lead to fights among the men and the jealousy among the ladies lead to cat fights but from what I have seen on the show, the quality is so bad that I don't understand what are they even fighting about?! I can't imagine a show of similar theme in an European/South American/North American country displaying such poor quality on TV. What were the producers thinking when they cast these girls and guys? Or were they not much options available to choose from?
An annoying aspect of these shows would be the background music in these shows. Why do you need music from Bollywood films and songs as background music for an adventure/task based reality show ie Roadies and on a dating based reality ie Splitsvilla (Even if romance and Bollywood are intertwined)? Why can't they get someone to provide original background score instead?
Next we come to dance based reality shows. It's dime a dozen as are music based reality shows. I don't watch music based reality shows so I can't comment on them so I would reserve my comments on the dance based reality shows that I watch a bit of. Granted India is a country with lots of passion and talent for dancing, singing and films but on the subject of dance shows, it is annoying that on every dance show, the participants perform to the same set of songs. When it comes to performances of regional dance forms, why can't they perform on authentic regional songs instead of dancing on Bollywood songs or on the same regional song repeated a million times over different shows. When performing to a Michael Jackson song, why can't they just perform to a Michael Jackson song instead of mixing the beats of a popular Michael Jackson track on a Bollywood track?
Finally on comedy shows, granted it is scripted and not reality based but is beating and slapping someone really funny? Does that tickle the funny bone of an Indian? Beats me, pun unintended. Comedy Nights With Kapil is very popular and well-received the world over amongst the Indian/South Asian diaspora but I feel the best portions on this show are the portions when Kapil does the stand up comedy and when the guests come on the show. The sketches in the show are too repetitive to be funny anymore. It has become annoying to the point that I feel the show is over-hyped. The other show I watch is Comedy Classes. It is funny as long as it is acted well and the sketches are well-directed. Otherwise the mimicry on the show can get lazy and repetitive. Can't they be more creative on the mimicry?
Rant over.....The next post will be on football I promise :-). Sorry no pictures on this one :-D
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