Review Of United's Win Over Southampton

I start off briefly with the defeat to PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League. The overriding sentiment is one of sympathy, sorrow and shock at the nasty injury picked up by Luke Shaw. He has made those kind of rampaging runs before this season and was stopped but was never injured to this extent. Our well wishes go out to him and his family. Hopefully he bounces back from this stronger and better than ever. Hopefully, this episode doesn't destroy him. On the match itself, we played decently to be fair. We scored a great goal through Memphis, conceded a deflected goal and then got hit on the counter. We threatened an equaliser but we didn't capitalise when we were in the ascendancy and building a head of steam. Our flow was disrupted and we never regained it. This has happened in other matches last season as well when we have been chasing a lead. Our away form remains dodgy. What followed was another away game, away to Southampton in the league.

Southampton are no pushovers. They beat us last season at Old Trafford and we were lucky to beat them at St.Mary's. It was one of our rare victories away from home. This season we have beaten Aston Villa and lost to Swansea City away from home before our visit to St. Mary's. We got off to a stinker. We were slow and Southampton swarmed us and took a deserved lead. It was the poorest we had played all season and very nearly fell two goals down. We were lucky Graziano Pelle's shot hit the post. We then slowly regained composure by keeping possession for longer periods and got a lucky break when Juan Mata was not flagged offside in the build up to Anthony Martial's goal. Slowly, we started dominating the match and grew in composure and confidence. It was almost all too easy as we went into a 3-1 lead but then inexplicably allowed Southampton a glimmer of hope by not picking up Pelle in the area, who planted a free header past David De Gea. We held on for a 3-2 win to record out 2nd away win of the season and move to within two points of our neighbours, Manchester City.

On the performance of the team, we were poor at the start of the match as we were evidently second best in everything. Southampton were buzzing and fizzed the ball about. They were not giving United time on the ball to build from the back or from midfield through Michael Carrick. Daley Blind, has been constantly picked out as the weak link in our defence but so far, he has held firm (more or less). However, coming up against Pelle, he was brushed aside too easily and couldn't even get a foot in to challenge. It exposed a weakness in United's backline which has been forced to reshuffle in view of Shaw's injury. Marcos Rojo lacks match fitness and it was evident as he hoisted too many balls forward aimlessly. He got better as the match went on. On Blind, perhaps it would be wise for Louis Van Gaal to not play him in certain matches especially away from home in England when the hosts will try and come out full pelt at United, throwing everything they got. It's also interesting to see how this United manages to play every 3 days after largely playing only once a week last season. It is no easy feat to play every 3 days but there is enough experience in the squad and management staff to cope with it. Van Gaal has so far favoured starting players on merit so I am a little concerned with that as we cannot afford to do that and wait for a player to get injured, suspended or lose form before replacing him. There is nothing wrong with picking your first eleven based on form and what you see in training but he has to mix and match the squad with the team playing every 3 days now. Thus far, he has only shown a willingness to rotate his central midfield pairing. My believe is that he has to keep the core of the team as stable as possible and then rotate players around it.

David De Gea made only his third start of the season and against Southampton he displayed why we are grateful his transfer to Real Madrid didn't go through. If it wasn't for him, the result would have been different. We have to regain our solidity in defence though. We are getting caught out by rapid attacks down the flanks or around the back of the defence. Our midfielders are also getting caught out but not tracking their runners. We have to start defending better as a team. Mateo Darmian looked a tired figure and it's only expected as he has started all games so far including matches for Italy in the European Championship qualifiers. The pace of the game in England is quicker than it is in Italy and he would need time to adapt. However, I have noticed that he isn't bombing forward as he used to do while playing for Torino or Italy. I am not sure if he is just playing cautiously or following the instructions of the manager. He can be an added weapon if he starts going forward more often. I believe it is a tactical decision as Mata doesn't quite have the pace to recover and track back if Darmian is caught out going forward. Antonio Valencia came on to put in a good shift in place of Darmian.

Carrick, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin have all performed very well in central midfield. I have been impressed with what I have seen so far but they have to go back to providing greater cover for the defence as well as starting attacks from midfield. Memphis looks like he is beginning to form a promising partnership with the man of the moment, Anthony Martial. There have been glimpses of inter-play between the two to suggest that. On Martial, the boy with the bewildered look, he has made a great start to life as a Manchester United player. A lot of fans have complained and whined about signing an unknown youngster for a huge sum but he has responded very well. He has looked exceptionally calm in his finishing but it is too soon to say anything more about him. In today's world, everyone is quick to hype up a player after a few good performances and quickly run him down if he starts putting in some poor performances. Do not forget that we are talking about a 19 year old kid who can get better with age and is by no means, the finished article. Consistency is key for him and he would be judged on that. We would want to see him grow and get better. He needs to achieve the consistency of delivering high level performances week in, week out which is no easy feat. It will take time and we should give him time and space to develop. On the third goal we scored, it was a superb passing move that actually lead us forward patiently instead of going sideways and backwards. It was a team move and a real pity that Memphis didn't get on the score sheet with the first shot as he showed good skill to create space to get his shot away. Credit to Mata for being alive to the rebound. It was a great team move which would be raved to no end if it was achieved by Barcelona but because it was United, not much was said.

Next up, we have got Ipswich Town in the League Cup. If you are old enough, you would remember the 9-0 trashing United handed them in the 1994-95 season. A lot has changed in the football world since then and in the fortunes of both clubs. This would be a great opportunity for Van Gaal to play players that have played lesser this season and allow some players to take a breather. It is a Cup competition and we should take it seriously as it gives us a chance to win silverware if we do well enough to progress further in the Cup. Do not get forget that this is a team in transition. It is not quite a settled team looking at the number of players bought and sold over two summer transfer windows. Therefore, any chance at a silverware, we should take it.

Finally, I would like to have my say on the Diego Costa-Gabriel spat. I don't know how on earth was Costa not sent off for putting his hand into Laurent Koscielny's face and pushing him first with his hand and then chest bumping him to the ground. Gabriel then stood up for his team-mate and got yellow carded for it together with Costa but that is where it should have ended. He shouldn't have engaged in an argument with Costa. He shouldn't even reply to him. Costa was obviously riled and he made the most out of a soft flick of the boots from Gabriel and got him sent off. It is purely gamesmanship which the English can't accept as part of the game but very common in the Latin countries. Gamesmanship goes against the culture of the English game. It is ugly to see but it happens. Gabriel gave the referee Mike Dean a reason to send him off by just flicking his boot back into Costa's direction. It might be soft but something as soft as that can be construed as violent conduct. A different referee might have got both captains to speak to their respective players or he would have warned the players himself to cut it out before he sends them off. Mike Dean did neither but he was not wrong in what he did. He was merely applying the letter of the law instead of using a more rational method. If Gabriel had been an English player, this matter would never escalate this far as Costa can't speak English so whatever he says will sound foreign and easily ignored by the player.

Boring, Boring Internazionale!

After watching Inter extend its winning start to the Serie A season which equals the previous best start to a season (under Hector Cuper in the 2002-03 season), a penny dropped in me on what to expect of Inter 2015-16. I found contentment at the end of the match replacing the frustration and dismay I felt since pre-season. It was like I had reached enlightenment. We shall go through more of that later but first my views on the match.

As an attacking force, Inter offered little. It was nothing more than what we have seen in the previous matches, some dangerous forays into the opponents half and some nearly moments. I struggle to think of any clear-cut chance we created until the goal before half-time. It was a goal scored by my enemy in my colours and that too with a hint of luck as the ball could have very nearly not got through to him. It wasn't exactly an inch-perfect pass but Mauro Icardi deserves credit for making the most of it to score. That goal just epitomises his talent in the box. Geoffrey Kondogbia deserves the credit for picking him out. It wasn't Pirlo-esque but efficient. I was pleased to see Inter score and take the lead but honestly, the identity of the scorer didn't leave me feeling pumped. Defensively, we were rock solid and steady especially in the second half when we didn't give Chievo even a sniff at our goal. Samir Handanovic had an easy outing. In the absence of Joao Miranda, I would have preferred to see Andrea Ranocchia given a chance to play and stake a claim in the side but the performance of Gary Medel in the last two matches vindicates his inclusion as a centre back. Medel was brilliant in his defending and especially his reading of the game. Murillo put in a more solid performance than he did against Milan but had to retire from the match earlier than expected due to an injury. Ranocchia did finally make a appearance as Murillo's replacement but he looks like a player short on confidence and feeling sorry for himself. If I could, I would just like to say to him that this is not the time to feel sorry and wallow in self-pity, it's time to prove the manager wrong and the only way he can do that is to be brilliant in every moment he gets on the field. He might just finally get his chance this midweek against Hellas Verona with Miranda and Murillo likely to be out injured.

How Felipe Melo was not even yellow carded in the game it beats me, pun intended as that was his objective. He was aggressive throughout,sometimes a bit more so and one day, someone will notice it and it could land the team into trouble if he is not careful and is more interested in kicking lumps out of his opponents. To be fair, he wasn't very dirty against Chievo. He was fine except on a few occasions but I still feel he could have got a yellow card for at least one of his challenges. I was most impressed by him when he went over to Stevan Jovetic, who looked frustrated and unhappy at being brought off, to calm him down so that he doesn't speak out of turn to the manager or displays an ugly behaviour in public. That was a mark of a leader and a strong character. Kudos to Melo for that but I am not impressed by his footballing ability. Ivan Perisic went on a great run in the second half, bursting with pace and leaving defenders in his wake, to remind us why he was bought. I hope to see that more often because that was the most exciting thing an Inter player did all game in the attacking third. Jovetic, looks a little lost and frustrated with what is expected of him tactically which is a shame as a player like him needs to be free to create and be a thorn for the opposing defenders. Kondogbia, has gone about his job quietly but for a player that was bought for such a high fee, he is offering little. What is he supposed to do on the field? I haven't fully figured that out. He looks like a box-to-box midfielder but hasn't made the impact expected of such a player. He wears the look of a man that is just there to do his job as well as wearing a quizzical look on his face almost wondering what is he doing there and how did he get there. It doesn't look like he speaks much and commands much on the pitch but that could be down to the lack of proficiency in the Italian language. I still feel he is over-rated especially for the price we paid for him. Maybe he has been made to wear the proverbial tactical shackles and if he is unshackled we will see an explosive player. At the moment we are seeing a tame and timid player. It was nice to see Palacio play a cameo role and do well. It's wonderful to see Santon doing well, oddly enough (or not), the only Italian in the starting eleven for the first 4 matches of an ITALIAN club. I would want to see Adam Ljajic play and from what I have read of him, he is not someone who will take kindly to being left on the bench for long so man-management is going to be important here for Roberto Mancini and the good of the squad.

Now back to the point of enlightenment, Inter 2015-16 is not built to excite with its style of play. It is build to grind out results. It has been built to be dogged and determined. It has been built to be solid at the back first. It is meant to be efficient and muscular which is why players like Melo and Kondogbia were bought. It also explains why Guarin starts over Brovozic and why Kovacic was sold instead of Icardi. Excitement of any kind going forward will be provided by Perisic, Ljajic, Jovetic, Biabiany and Palacio. It looks like any major threat going forward and the most beautiful pieces of play will come down the flanks and not through the centre. When Roberto Mancini won the Scudetto post-Calciopoli, he had built a muscular squad then that played to the strengths of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Icardi doesn't have the talent of Ibrahimovic to win matches on his own with a piece of magic but it looks like he is building a muscular side again but this time to feed Icardi with opportunities to score.

The challenge Mancini would face is in keeping the players motivated, fresh and to keep spirits high in the dressing room. Besides involvement in the Serie A, Inter would only be involved in the Coppa Italia and that in itself will ensure Inter is fresher than its opponents as they have only one game a week to prepare for. Mancini is right not to rotate the squad too much and to retain the players in the starting line-up base on merit but with the quantity and arguably even the quality in the squad, it will be difficult to keep everyone motivated and happy if he doesn't rotate players around a bit. It might have a negative effect on the team as well as it could cause someone to upset the apple-cart, causing friction in the dressing room. Rotating would also help keep everyone on their toes as well. Spirits are high in the dressing room because the team is doing well now. We will only see the true spirit, strength and character of the squad of when the chips are down.

So far Inter have been grinding out results without looking particularly pleasing to the eye but the objective doesn't seem to be to entertain but just to win. However, Serie A is a tactical league and before long, the team's tactics will be figured out and if there is no Plan B, it could backfire very badly when the flaws of the system had been found out by the opponents. It's tough for me to see Inter just grinding out results for the rest of the season. We have been winning by the odd goal in matches by creating little. Inter cannot go on creating little if they are to win football matches because there will come a time when Inter has to chase the lead or break the deadlock and by creating little, Inter will not be able to achieve either. It is still a team settling in but I hope the team starts creating and scoring more soon. I doubt the team will be pleasing to the eye and exciting to watch though but it still needs to do more going forward.

I wouldn't say I am delighted with the direction Inter is taking despite my enlightenment. I still feel it is not the right way to go about it but if Inter win the Scudetto in May or at least wins the Coppa Italia, I would have lesser to complain. For now, while they are still successful, all hail Boring, Boring Internazionale!

On Roberto Mancini, he had built exciting sides when he first took charge of Inter in 2004-05 and 2005-06. However, the lack of Scudetto successes (courtroom awarded Scudetto notwithstanding) and a multitude of draws has lead to a more pragmatic approach. He builds teams to win by buying players. He doesn't exactly patiently develops players as youngsters which is not exactly the kind of profile of a manager I would employ. Unfortunately, I am not Erick Thohir and I am not rich enough to buy over the club and run it my way. I am just a fan voicing my views through my blog.

Back On Top But I Remain Upset

Internazionale vs AC Milan, the Milan derby, known in Italy as the Derby Della Madonnina used to be a match that showcased some of the best players in the world. It is a derby unlike any in the world. It is probably the only derby in the world where the fans arrive and leave together on derby day with a rivalry and intensity that lasts for 90 minutes only. It is not uncommon to see Inter and AC Milan fans go back to the same home after the game. It is a derby characterised by a majestic show of choreography by the fans in the stands before the match mocking each other in a good natured manner.

Sunday saw Inter play the role of hosts in a stadium shared by both teams. Inter had won 2 out of 2 and Milan had won 1 and lost 1 in their respective first 2 matches of the season. Both teams have had a number of mediocre seasons and had undergone major rebuilding during the summer transfer window to promise a return to their glory days in the near future. Most of the match was contested in the midfield and in all fairness, a draw would have been the most deserving result. Inter had a nervy start with new signing Jeison Murillo in particular making some mistakes to allow AC Milan a glimpse at the goal but Samir Handanovic pulled off a couple of great stops to keep Inter in the game as he had done for a lot of the last two seasons.Overall, AC Milan had created clear-cut chances albeit capitalising from mistakes made by Inter. Inter in contrast lacked creativity and fluidity to create any chances. The nearest they got to scoring was a long range effort from Stevan Jovetic. Inter started to threaten more in the second half and Fredy Guarin had a couple of half-chances, one saved by Diego Lopez and another headed over before scoring the only goal of the game out of nothing with a shot from distance. Milan didn't threaten an equaliser until the introduction of the enigmatic, moody but talented Mario Balotelli who had a free-kick saved by Handanovic and another effort that crashed off the bottom of the post. Inter won 1-0 relying largely on a gritty performance and moments of individual quality at both ends of the field.

I have a lot to be upset and even disillusionised with the current Inter squad and the summer transfer dealings of the club. I am even losing my connection to the club and it is a testing time for me at the moment for my allegiance and loyalty to the club. I describe myself as an unique Inter fan. I don't know many Inter fans personally and I doubt they would share or understand my sentiments now and from listening to me, you might think I am a fan of a club that has started the season poorly. Inter might be top but we have won all matches so far by a slender margin without playing particularly well. Looking at it positively, winning this way is a sign of a champion team and champions have to be able to win without playing well. However, if this continues, Inter will get found out and get caught, the bubble will burst and when that happens, it will all come crashing to the ground. At the moment, almost everyone of Inter persuasion and allegiance is on the moon and excited at the start we have made but honestly, I feel we have been lucky. Results matter the most in Italy thus the optimism and excitement. For me, results and performances are equally important. I don't mind losing by playing well because sooner or later, we will start winning and when we start, we would be difficult to stop. I understand that it is impossible to play well in every game of the season and there could be matches where you would need to eke out results but playing well is important. I understand that this is a new Inter team that has lots of new arrivals and would need time to gel and maybe then we will see Inter playing well. It's great that Roberto Mancini recognises that the team has not achieved anything and not reached its maximum potential yet. It is expected of someone with his experience. Let's see if the performances get any better in the coming weeks

Back to the issue of my disillusionment and lack of connect with the club. Let me just briefly state the points. First, I have been upset for many seasons now at the lack of Italian representation in the first team. We have not signed many Italians and many Italians have not made it into the first team through Inter's youth team via loan spells elsewhere. It just feels that Italians are purposely marginalised and foreigners are favoured in the club's signing process. I am a fan long enough to know that the club's foundation is based on the concept of internalisation thus the club name and accepting foreigners into the team but it remains an Italian club and it needs to have Italians in the team.

Secondly, was it really necessary to sign and sell all these players in the summer. The sale of Xherdan Shaqiri and Mateo Kovacic in particular were upsetting and I feel they were totally unnecessary. We have replaced Shaqiri with the signing of Ivan Perisic, Stevan Jovetic and Adem Ljajic but Kovacic has not been replaced and we might suffer from the lack of creativity in midfield. Perisic, Jovetic and Ljajic are creative but none of them operate as midfielders. Signing Geoffrey Kondogbia was fine but for the sum that he was signed for, considering the club is in debt, I feel was excessive. He hasn't set the world alight yet with his performances and has looked pretty ordinary. The signing of Murillo has been a good decision but he should have been paired with Andrea Ranocchia. Joao Miranda has done well too. Nemanja Vidic, with all due respect and fondness I have for him, could have been an option to be sold not Marco Andreolli. Martin Montoya looks like he was signed to be an understudy which is fair enough because he was signed on loan and Inter needs cover at right back. Was the signing of Alex Telles really necessary? Maybe it is because the manager doesn't have faith in Yuto Nagatomo, who for all my fondness for him, should have been sold. I agree with the sale of Joel Obi, Ruben Botta and Hernanes. Perhaps Fredy Guarin should have been sold too if we needed more cash to reduce debts.

Now to my main beef from the summer transfer dealings, the signing of Felipe Melo and not selling Mauro Icardi. Why was Melo signed for? The real reason would be that he adds experience in centre midfield, brings personality and character to the team and dressing room and has the faith of the manager. He did do a good job in midfield until Balotelli came on but I don't have faith in his qualities and after selling Kovacic, signing another defensive midfielder who is mainly going to kick lumps out of his opponents is not the way to go. Gary Medel our number 1 defensive midfielder can kick lumps out of his opponents and is intelligent enough to read the game well. We should be looking to sign a deep-lying playmaker. In the first place, we shouldn't even sell Kovacic. If there was someone that we should have cashed in on for a big sum, it would have been Icardi. He finished last season as Capocannoniere but he is not a striker that can get goals on his own. He needs the supply to score. This season he has looked very ordinary having played one full game in the pocket of Alessio Romagnoli and another for a short while after he got injured minutes in the first half. If the creative talents of Perisic, Ljajic and Jovetic work, he would get chances to score if not, he would been starved and ineffective. A striker that relies solely on chances created for him to score can be replaced easier than a creative talent like Kovacic thus making it wiser to sell Icardi instead of Kovacic. To add salt into my wounds and to rub it in for me, he has now been made club captain. MAURO ICARDI! THE CAPTAIN OF INTER?! It is an absolute disgrace that the captaincy that was worn with great honour by great men not just footballers like Giacinto Facchetti, Giuseppe Bergomi and Javier Zanetti is now worn by an immoral man like Icardi. It is a disgrace! At the moment, the jersey still remains the best thing about this season. It is testing for me but I will keep pledging my allegiance to the club.

Possession, Possession Man United

Manchester United vs Liverpool, a match keenly felt all over the world. It is felt as passionately in Manchester, Liverpool or wherever I am based, Singapore. Manchester United and Liverpool are the two most widely supported English clubs outside of England or at least in this part of the world. They are the two most successful English clubs and for fans of either side, it is an absolutely gut-wrenching and horrible feeling to lose this one and not to mention the banter from opposing fans to just rub it in further. As a Manchester United fan, it is always horrible to lose a match because you would not only receive stick from fans of the team that beat us but from fans of other clubs as well who can't wait to rejoice at our failure. That feeling is multiplied by a thousand (or million) times for defeats against Liverpool. Matches between Manchester United and Liverpool are normally feisty and fiery encounters and that leads me to the next paragraph.

What did we witness in the first half last night? From Manchester United's perspective, we did very well to press Liverpool to force them into making mistakes and misplacing their passes, we did very well to keep possession but we were awful in the final third. We hardly created anything. It was frustrating to watch. We were totally dominant and it was almost too comfortable for us but we hardly did much to press home the dominance. If I viewed the match as a neutral, I might have fallen asleep or got distracted because I can understand how boring it was to watch that. Liverpool were content to sit back and seemed happy to get a point, United were not challenged hard enough and it was so comfortable that they started messing about in the final third. It seemed like no team really wanted to win it. The fire that people have come to expect from previous encounters of these two teams was missing. The blood-and-thunder was missing.

In the second half, for the neutrals, the tempo of the match picked up and perhaps the first goal was the catalyst for that. The match opened up, there was a second goal and two great goals shared by either side within two minutes. From a Manchester United perspective, it is always sweet and great to beat Liverpool even if we win ugly. The feeling is not to be under-estimated even if we have won the last 7 out of 9 encounters against them. We were dominant throughout and we thoroughly deserved the victory. Michael Carrick and Bastian Schweinsteiger won the match for us in midfield but we were still disjointed going forward. It was frustrating to get into great positions in the final third and not capitalise on being in that position or for our supremacy. It is frustrating to watch us hardly create any chances or have any shots at goal. Aside from his performance in the first leg of the Champions League qualifier against Club Brugge, Memphis has not quite performed as well as many would have expected from him but I don't feel it is fair to judge him harshly. He was never the finished article and can certainly develop further. He is only a young man and it is not easy playing and adapting to the demands of the English Premier League. Fans have to be patient with him and Louis Van Gaal got to start rotating him with Ashley Young who provided greater verve and impetus going forward and taking the opposition on. Perhaps some matches on the bench might get a positive response from Memphis.

Due to our strange and bad end to the transfer window, we are effectively relying on Wayne Rooney as our main and only striker which is why despite the poor start he has had to the season, I was worried when I heard that he was not fit enough to play any part in the match. I had written previously that I can't see Marouane Fellaini playing as a Number 9 and his performance yesterday proved me right. Tactically, he seemed lost and it looked all throughout like a case of slotting a square peg into a round hole. I can give him the benefit of the doubt that he is making his first start of the season and was lacking match fitness but I am not convinced of having him play as a striker. We can employ him as a striker when we are chasing a match but he cannot start as a striker. Playing Fellaini there just makes it puzzling why we sold Javier Hernandez or are even contemplating to let James Wilson leave on loan. He could have started as an orthodox striker and I had thought maybe Rooney's injury would force United to rethink the decision to loan Wilson but he wasn't even on the bench let alone starting eleven. We were toothless up front.

Anthony Martial came on and scored a sublime goal which was reminiscent of goals Thierry Henry would score in his heyday but in today's day and age, people are very quick to build someone up and equally quick to destroy them. All eyes were focused on him whenever he would make his debut at some point during the game. Everyone wanted to see why did he deserve such a high transfer fee and what was he all about. I would say he did well displaying pace and strength on the few occasions he did get the ball and he did score a great goal but its too soon to liken him to Henry. Please give him his own space and time to develop and grow as a player to create a name for himself. Like Memphis, he is only young and is far from the finished article. Hopefully he will get better with time and at the moment, the promise seems there.

Daley Blind scored a splendid goal as he has shown he is capable of last season but the biggest contribution he made was to clear off the line from a Liverpool corner with the score was still at 1-0. Overall, we were very comfortable until we scored and then we allowed Liverpool back in and Liverpool started threatening a bit more. David De Gea did play his part to make a couple of great saves in his return. He wasn't as busy as he was in the corresponding fixture last season but did well when called upon. Back to Blind, he did really well to make up for a couple of mistakes against Swansea before the international break to even upstage his centre back partner, Chris Smalling who has been in great form so far this season. One piece of action in the first half when he eased off the challenge of the stronger and taller Christian Benteke to get to the ball was an epitome of the kind of match he had. He gets pulled out as the weak link in our defence weekly by pundits and perhaps even opposing managers but it's largely been a case of so far, so good for the versatile Dutchman at centre back.

Moving forward, we have got PSV Eindhoven in our return to proper Champions League action. I feel Van Gaal's tactics are probably better suited to our European matches and we could probably get more joy in Europe than in England. Let's see if I am right on that account. I would like to be wrong if it means we win something this season. We would still need to improve our performances though and it is quite clear that we are capable of doing more and going up a few gears. Fellaini cannot play as a striker and I hope we are wise enough to retain Wilson. Besides that, I feel we are lightweight up front because I think the Wilson deal is almost complete. Maybe the presence of another top striker might keep Rooney on his toes and get him to perform better but it is too late for that now with the transfer window closed. We can only do the best with what we have got.

Finally, credit where its due, Benteke scored a great goal. I feel he has upstaged Mata's scissors kick effort at Anfield for the way he has caught it.

Focus On The Italian National Team

It was international weekend last week which for most is seen as a hindrance as that would mean a weekend without any "meaningful" football from your favourite leagues and club teams. Most football fans are mainly excited by international football only when it reaches the final stage of a tournament not the qualifiers or friendlies but the international teams would need to qualify for these international or continental tournaments and would need friendlies to fine tune their playing style as well as experiment and try out new players and systems which is why these weekends are important to the international team managers. During this kind of weekends, most fans would just pray that the international players from their favourite club or clubs do not return to club duties with any injuries. The good news is that the international weekend is now over and the bad news is that inevitably, someone did get injured.

I am an Italy fan and have been one for the longest time. It was the first-ever team I supported and I feel for the Italian national team very strongly. I am not an Italian citizen, have no Italian ancestry and never ever been to Italy but I support Italy like it is my national team. It is the number 1 international team for me. Heading into this round of European Championships qualifying matches, I was quite worried over the state of the national team seeing that from a recent study, the Italian national team's manager, Antonio Conte has only 36% of Italian players to choose from Serie A for the national team. Italian players have left Italy due to the lack of faith and trust in them as well as the lack of space or are in Serie A but don't play often enough. Moreover, the atmosphere in Italian football can be very stressful and poisonous due to the violence, demands and expectations placed on teams by fans.

Italian clubs have been very territorial in their approach, focusing only on the good of their respective club sides and discounting the greater good of the national team. From what I have read, qualifiers and friendlies are not taken seriously in Italy which is why you see the national team losing friendlies and doing the bare minimum in qualifiers to qualify for an international or continental tournament. Once they have qualified for the World Cup or European Championships, everyone would leave their club allegiance aside for one month at the end of the season to support the national team and get upset when things go wrong and Italy do not win the tournament as they are expected to by most fans. In fact, Italy tends to do better in the World Cup or European Championships when they have been written off and not given a chance. History would suggest so. Personally, I love it when Italy approaches a tournament and is completely written off before a tournament because I know that is when Italy will be at its most dangerous.

Back to the topic of lack of Italian players in Serie A, I don't understand why Italian players are not given space, trust and faith in the Italian clubs. My favourite Italian club, Internazionale is one of the main culprits of doing so. There have been an influx of foreigners into Italian football not necessarily for the better. Some of these foreigners occupy a space that could be occupied by an Italian player without offering more in terms of quality. There have been suggestions that Serie A is on its way back to its glory days again due to the foreign names it is attracting but if you analyse it carefully, most of the foreign players are either rejects from big clubs in other leagues, players formerly from the Serie A who can't find space in foreign clubs or players in their career's final lap. Some do well and can provide a boost to a team's quality while some others falter to deceive.

On the topic of Italian players, is there not enough talent in Italian youth players? I think so looking at the results of the youth Italian teams. The Under-21 team were unlucky to have got knocked out in the group stage of last year's U21 European Championships. Italian players do not lack talent. What they do lack in is confidence to express themselves fully without fear of failure and suffer from inexperience. Italian football is such a stickler for success and the end result that any small mistake made and the player would be annihilated by the press and fans. Due to this fear of making a mistake, young players play with an iron ball around their ankles and do not dare to express themselves fully. There is too much pressure placed on players. Due to the lack of space afforded to these youngsters in the first team, the youngsters lose out in terms of experience playing in Serie B or lower or worse still, in the Primavera against teams of similar ilk and experience whereas German and Spanish players play regularly in the highest division of their league.

Italy have suffered two embarrassing exits from the World Cup. In both cases, they were eliminated in the group stage itself. There was a brief blip of joy and positivity when Italy finished second in the 2012 European Championships and third in the 2013 Confederations Cup. The strength of Italian football lies in the tactical discipline that has been passed on from generation to generation as well as the win-at-all costs mentality.These two factors have enabled Italy to punch above their weight and surprise the odds even when on paper, they have seem to possess a squad lacking in quality but this lack of quality is also the reason why Italy hasn't been able to take the leap forward and win a World Cup or European Championship after winning the 2006 World Cup.

The Italian FA's controversial President, Carlo Tavecchio has commented on the issue of foreigners in Italian football but has done little to address the issue. Former Italian national team manager, Cesare Prandelli has also commented on it as has other big names in the game but no-one in a position of power has exerted any influence or their power to address the issue. It could be due to the fear of upsetting the club Presidents who have only got the greater good of their club side in mind. There have been allegations raised that Tavecchio is a puppet for Lazio's President Claudio Lotito and doesn't act independently.

Italian football needs to be refreshed with new ideas and fresh faces in the management positions at club and national level. By management, I mean management in the administrative level. Stadiums need to be renovated and club-owned. Violence and hooliganism needs to be eradicated. Fresh ideas need to be brought in at all levels of the game starting from the FIGC to Serie A, Serie B and so on. Primavera teams should be allowed to compete in the lower leagues of the Italian league system with promotion to Serie B as their ceiling of progression. All clubs should universally agree to focus on developing young Italian players and giving space to Italian players in their first team. The Italian national team should be the Number 1 team in Italy not Juventus or Roma or AC Milan or Inter. Knowing the selfishness of Italian clubs which comes from the traditional win-at-all costs attitude in the game, perhaps a restriction needs to be introduced to force Italian clubs into fielding a certain amount of Italian players as part of their starting eleven and a certain amount of Italian players as part of their match day squad per week. I don't think a lot of these Italian clubs realise the talents they have on their hands as they are so blinded by foreign players, Inter being the prime example.

There have been complaints in the recent past over the inclusion of Oriundi in the national team but what is Conte to do when there are so many foreigners and so little Italians to choose from? It is slowly becoming more common now for Italian players to move abroad to find playing time and to play in a better atmosphere where they can focus on football and lead a normal life without the fear of being harrassed by fans after losing a match or being under too much pressure during the entire week. Not many have made a successful transition with Marco Verratti developing at an eye-catching and consistent rate. Graziano Pelle, has been abroad for a long time now but has only gained prominence now playing in the English Premier League. Matteo Darmian has made a good start to life at Manchester United and Salvatore Sirigu was first choice at Paris Saint Germain until he lost his place this season. Sebastian Giovinco is enjoying a new lease of life and is full of confidence in Major League Soccer. If Italian players continue to find themselves marginalised in their own countries, more Italian players will continue to move abroad and Italian football would suffer from the talent drain. If foreign players continue to be preferred over Italian players, then it would be better for Italian clubs to compete in foreign leagues instead. I do hope one day soon crooks like Lotito and puppets like Tavecchio are removed to allow for someone younger and fresher to revolutionise Italian football. I don't mind taking up the mantle but I don't speak or understand Italian and I am afraid I lack the expertise to implement the changes and ironically, Italians are sceptical of having foreign owners for their clubs and foreign players representing their national team. I don't think they would take too kindly to having a foreigner trying to revolutionise Italian football. Hahah.

In this round of European Championship qualifier matches, Italy won both matches 1-0 at a time when Italian players haven't exactly hit full form in terms of match fitness. I feel the team collected good and important results on the path to qualifying for the European Championships. I didn't get to watch these matches so I can't comment on the performances but being an Italian fan, I know that all that matters now is to win and qualify. It would be nice to see or hear of Italy winning comfortably by a bigger score-line but I read that Italy were profligate in both matches and the standard between the big teams in Europe and the smaller teams has reduced over the years. It is no longer a walk in the park for big teams against smaller teams. We'll accept the goal of qualification any way it comes. Due to these wins, Italy have moved up the FIFA standings and most importantly moved a step closer to qualifying. Win against Azerbaijan next on the 11th of October and Italy would go through. Achievable goal but what about the future of Italian football? I hope more is done and lesser is said about what needs rectifying in Italian football for the sake of the national team.

The Tragedy & Humiliation Of The Malaysian National Team

Dollah Salleh is a Malaysian football legend. He did well as a player for the national team and Selangor but his career as a coach will forever be tainted after his resignation from the post of head coach for the Malaysian national team. Preceeding his resignation, he had overseen the nation's heaviest defeat in its history, a 10-0 whopping at the hands of United Arab Emirates (UAE). His resignation or sacking whichever came first was inevitable. The results have been abysmal for some time now. To be fair, Malaysia punched above its weight and over-achieved in the AFF Suzuki Cup last year. They relied on the experience of the squad from Datuk K.Rajagopal's successful SEA-Games gold winning and AFF Suzuki Cup squads as well as the experience of Shukor Adan and Indra Putra Mahayuddin without any or many young players in the squad to freshen things up alongside the experienced ones.

Dollah Salleh has to take the blame for the poor results but the players have to shoulder the blame too. According to me, I feel the players from that successful era of 2009-2011, have lost the hunger to succeed. I feel they have become too comfortable and have grown too big for their boots. The other issue is that the conveyor belt of youth has stopped. There are not enough talented youngsters coming through. The Malaysian Super League is one of the best leagues in South East Asia but take the foreigners out and there are not enough Malaysians playing a key role in the centre back and centre forward positions for example.

There have been talk about introducing naturalised players to represent Malaysia after the experiment worked well for Liverpool's pre-season visit but that would be a short-term, stop gap solution and personally, I don't ever favour the concept of naturalising foreigners to play for a national team unless there is some family lineage or the player has migrated into the country since he was a child and has become a citizen. At present, even if Sir Alex Ferguson is convinced to coach the Malaysian side, he will struggle to sufficiently revive the fortunes of the Malaysian national side. The only solution I see is to go back to the basics and invest into the youth, making sure there is a larger pool of talent to choose from across all races in all parts of the country and these youngsters have a pathway into the club sides and then the national team. Patience and careful planning is required to restore the pride of Malaysian football but I have my doubts time will be given and that the right plans will be made and if they are made, I doubt it will be implemented efficiently and with success.

Post-Brugge,Swansea & Transfer Policy - Manchester United

I have finally found the time to pen my thoughts. I have my thoughts and views on different topics but let me start with Manchester United in this article. Let's revisit the Champions League qualification clinching match against Club Brugge in Belgium. It was a convincing performance as reflected by the score-line which could have been more. We had a couple of scares which we just about dealt with in defence. However, I felt that as much as United should be credited with the performance, Brugge should have to take responsibility for delivering a below-par performance at home. They had virtually let us play and dictate the tempo of the game. I felt Swansea would have provided us with a bigger and stronger test last weekend and my prediction came true. Swansea not only provided us with a stronger test but they made a mockery of our excellent defensive record till then. However, truth to be told, if United were sharper in front of goal, we could be talking about another United win and not about Swansea emerging as our bogey team. We had chances at 0-0, we certainly played with more confidence after going 1-0 up and then it all fell apart like a house of cards in the space of 5 minutes. We got caught on the counter attack for the first goal and then conceded a rather soft second goal which Sergio Romero has to take the blame for. We could have equalised for 2-2 but didn't manage to and that led to the usual meltdown all over social media among United fans.

Since Sir Alex Ferguson has retired, I feel United fans have become twitchy. Perhaps its the legacy of David Moyes' time with the number of bad results and performances we suffered from causing a lasting psychological impact among fans. It is annoying to read as a fellow fan because the reactions are extreme and not balanced enough. As a fan, I am never happy to lose a competitive match and my mood can be affected for days or weeks depending on the magnitude of the match and/or identity of our opponents but it is important to bring some balance and subjectivity to the matter after we regain our composure and calm down. First thing I feel all fans should realise is that our great club can never win it all forever even if that is what we aspire and expect. Football goes in cycles and ours ended when Sir Alex left. We have to be patient and can only hope the club makes the right decisions in terms of signings, manager appointment and planning and that our cycle will return soon or at the very least we will achieve some Cup success. Secondly, United fans should focus on Manchester United not Manchester City or Liverpool or Chelsea or Arsenal. I don't mind taking some joy in seeing or hearing of our rivals dropping points or losing. I am especially delighted to hear of Liverpool or City losing but please don't mock their fans. I know a lot of fans have been doing it for years when we have been successful and are continuing to do so. I understand the exchange of banter between rival fans but at the very least, if you want to do it, wait until the season is over because it can always come back to bite us in the same weekend or during the course of the season. We are not immune to dropping points and losing, no team is no matter how strong they are and we certainly are not in a position of strength now to be able to mock and banter confidently. Thirdly, the meltdown from United fans have made us sound like fans of our rivals who we have ridiculed in the past. All that is required is some intelligence of football. We have lost under Sir Alex too and suffered heavy defeats. We have gone seasons without winning anything or anything major. Before Sir Alex and Manchester United became successful, we went many years without winning anything. It can happen. Just calm down and put things into perspective.

There was another meltdown from fans on the last 2 days of the transfer window. I admit, I got as irritated as anyone reading about what was going on in the transfer window but after a few days, I have calmed down. Fans seem to think nowadays that the solution to our lack of success or poor performances lies in the transfer market. It seems to me that fans' solution to our problems are that we need to sign some big name player or the other at an astronomical sum and sell X,Y,Z from the team. Regular buying and selling of players in big quantities will not guarantee success. During our period of success, at most we have only signed 2-3 players and sell not more than the same amount. In two seasons, last season and this, we have bought at least 5-6 players and sold about the same number in each season. The lack of stability is hardly a recipe for success. What fans don't realise is that this is not fantasy football or Football Manager. This is real life and players are human beings who need time to adjust to a new league and new country if they are joining from overseas. They would also need to adjust to the manager's requirements too. Some take a faster time to settle in and some take a longer time. It is also one thing to play for a smaller club and another to play for a club the size of Manchester United. Patience is needed if we are to see results. We need a settled team not one that keeps chopping and changing every season.

On the transfer market this season, I feel we had done pretty well until this week. We signed Memphis, Matteo Darmian, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Morgan Schneiderlin and Sergio Romero early. Memphis, Darmian, Schweinsteiger and Schneiderlin had the benefit of going on tour with team and that has helped them settle in but nothing beats actually playing in competitive matches and in that respect, they are still adjusting. Romero came the latest and was thrown straight into the first team due to David De Gea's frame of mind from the uncertainty surrounding his future and Victor Valdes' falling out with the manager and he is playing catch-up due to the lack of proper pre-season training. All five have done decently well so far. What I do not understand is the decision to send Adnan Januzaj out on loan to Borussia Dortmund. I guess no-one saw that coming. He was playing regularly in the first team in the last 3 matches before missing the matches against Brugge and Swansea. Louis Van Gaal had said that he would not entertain any offers for him so why the change of heart now? I am puzzled by the decision. We hope the experience at Dortmund would do him good and he can return with greater confidence and experience. Javier Hernandez was another who at the start of the season was seen as one of the three strikers in our squad seemingly set to stay. Was the change of heart due to that penalty and open goal miss against Brugge? It was put to me that his fate was probably decided after the miss against Newcastle. I feel he could have still done the job if he was trusted and shown the faith the way Sir Alex did. It's sad to see that since Sir Alex left, Hernandez no longer plays with a smile on his face and his enthusiasm has reduced too. He looks lost. Hopefully he rediscovers his confidence, enthusiasm and joy in Germany.

The most controversial piece of business would have to be the signing of Anthony Martial from Monaco for a 36 million euros and the price can rise further if he becomes more successful with us. With all due respect, unless you watch Ligue 1 regularly, most would not have heard of him and it came as bolt from the blue for all as nobody saw this coming. What has made it controversial was the price United paid for an unproven teenage Frenchman. It is not the player's fault that he was bought for that amount but undoubtedly he will be under pressure from the start due to the price tag. We can only hope now that he turns out to be a good signing and we can only support him as a Manchester United player. David De Gea, as widely expected was on the verge of joining Real Madrid in exchange for Keylor Navas but due to an administrative error, the move fell through. I hope now that his future is settled albeit not favourably for him, he can be fully focused on giving his all to the club. We might have some sympathy for Victor Valdes who has been left out since pre-season due to a fall out with the manager. Maybe he shouldn't have refused the orders of the manager or could have done so tactfully. It's a pity as he could have been playing in the first team from pre-season onwards due to De Gea's state of mind. To be fair, Romero has done well when called into action except when he has the ball at feet or against Swansea but there is a feeling that fans would rather see Valdes play having seen him as an adversary who won a lot even at our expense in the past. However, this saga should have ended by the end of the transfer window. He should have been sold and if he wasn't then I feel it is only fair that Valdes apologises and is given a chance to stake a claim.

My final words in this article would be on Louis Van Gaal. We have seen him work for a season now and to be fair to him, he hasn't had a settled squad yet. I feel the squad he has this season is better than what he had last season. Our midfield is as strong as ever. The options are plentiful but he has to start rotating the squad. Memphis is still young and adapting to the English game. He needs to be given a breather and taken out of the limelight from time to time to keep him fresh and hungry. Wayne Rooney has had a poor season so far outside of the night in Brugge in the Champions League. Van Gaal should have the courage to drop him even if he is our captain which is where Hernandez would have come in handy or maybe Van Gaal could try and rotate Rooney and play him as the Number 10 instead which again could be where Hernandez would have come in useful. Fellaini is back but I can't see him start games as a number 9. He can play off the number 9 and having him in the side would enable us to play in a different way which so far during Van Gaal's reign has been the most convincing and dominating style. However, that style of play can be easily read and nullified. With the options we have, we can play with different players offering different options and style. We have the potential to play free-flowing football with an exchange of players in the forward positions but I have seen that the players have played tentatively and within themselves which is disappointing. There is no use keeping all that possession when most of it is away from the box and is just being recycled without penetration or causing any threat. He has to realise that we got to play faster and press harder from the front. It doesn't come bigger than the match against Liverpool on Saturday to put things right and I hope we do.