Love Nowadays

I read an article today on love and it resonated with me. I notice that it's become very convenient for couples to break up and divorce without trying to properly work things out. I stuck by my last 2 exs for 2 years trying to work things out but it didn't work out. I really feel that if it had been someone else in my position who was just like me, they would have left sooner. People nowadays seem to want to be loved fully and wholeheartedly but are afraid to reciprocate. From my experience, some would blame it on bad past relationships which is a convenient shield to hide behind, others are always looking for someone "perfect" or someone "better" and not willing to give their all to someone even if they feel it's right.

I had a bad relationship before where I gave my all and was left feeling like a fool, dejected, depressed, in a mess but with the benefit of hindsight, it did bring me dividends as it made me stronger mentally and emotionally. In the case of some, they do learn from bad relationships but it only leads to being cold and building a protective wall around their heart. It takes a positive and brave person to come out of a bad relationship, learn from mistakes made, take the positives and move on without generalising, judging and becoming bitter. Whatever you did for one person was not appreciated and recognised but it doesn't mean that whatever you did was wrong. It could just mean that you met the wrong person at that time.

Sometimes people come into our lives in this manner to teach us something and help us grow. Take it as that. People tend to think that they have this person and he or she is fine but let's keep our options open, let's not commit to anything because there could be someone better. There would always be someone better. Someone who looks better or has a better body or better bank balance or is a better human being but it doesn't mean the person is the perfect one for you. We all have checklists I suppose of what we look for in a partner but it is impossible to find someone who ticks off all the boxes in the checklist. You need to prioritise for what is most important and as for the rest, you can just learn to accept your partner as he or she is or look to improve him or her with their consent. Do remember that you are not perfect either and there could likely be things that your partner has to accept of you or is looking to improve in you.

I used to tell my ex that if there was ever a machine where I can input all the criteria I was looking for in a woman and that woman would appear before me and be mine, I wouldn't be with her. Of course, I didn't stay on with her and I said it in jest because I knew there was no such thing and there can never be anyone perfect. I met and decided to marry the woman I met after her and that's not because I had found the perfect woman. I made that decision because she was perfect for me. We just need to find someone that is perfect for us and not the perfect person because what is perfect for us might not be the perfect package.

On the grass is greener on the other side issue, our mind gets caught in this puzzle as it occasionally visits a decision you made in love. What if I had given someone else a chance? Would things turn out differently now? Would he or she have really changed? Maybe the other person would have been better for me? We would never know so it's best to stop such thoughts and focus on the decision you have made and stick to that decision which in this case is the person you chose to be with. Every decision you make in life has it's pros and cons. In this case, whoever you choose to be will not be able to guarantee a smooth-sailing journey, as in all relationships, you are bound to face some ups and downs. The lesser downs you face the better of course but rocky times can help a couple grow if they see through it together by being mature, communicating with each other and through understanding.

We don't have to break up the moment we start having problems. If there are problems, try and fix them. A problem can only be fixed if both parties talked amicably without getting into heated arguments, spoke maturely and most importantly listened to each other and understood where the other was coming from. A common ground can always be found and an understanding can always be reached. Both parties cannot be expected to give only or take only, someone has to give some and take some and the other got to do likewise. I read that people are divorcing because they feel the love is getting lesser which is why it is important to pace yourself out in a long-term relationship and not choose someone based on lust only. A long-term relationship is a marathon and not a sprint. If you give too much, too soon, it will fizzle out. It's important to give your all, give love and receive it too but not all in one go. Pace it out. It is important for couples to have their personal space as well so that they can indulge in their own passion and/or hobbies away from each other. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. It is also important for couples in a relationship to keep things spiced up in a relationship and not slacken off just because you are in a long-term relationship. That's no excuse to slacken off. To keep the interest going and the fire burning within you, is the hardest thing to do I reckon in a long-term relationship but possible I feel.

United In Review 2015-16

I had wanted to write my review on United's season but that has been overshadowed by recent developments involving our now ex-manager, Louis Van Gaal. Van Gaal has been sacked in the aftermath of leading Manchester United to their record-equaling 12th FA Cup but before I delve further into that matter, let me summarise my review on United's 2015-16 season.

United like many of the big clubs had an underwhelming and inconsistent English Premier League campaign. At one point of the season, United were even top but couldn't hold on to that position for long. United missed out on the minimum target I presume for a club the size and stature of Manchester United, Champions League qualification. They finished the season level on points with Manchester City but for the second time in four years, United lost out to their neighbours on goal difference. This season, United improved defensively but just didn't score enough. United have almost always dominated on possession but in most games, they have not capitalised on superior possession with chances created or shots on goal. The emergence of Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford as well as the signing of Anthony Martial made some difference as the team showed greater verve, tempo and directness in its play when all three played. There were games where United produced football expected of United, swift attacking football with lots of chances created and goals scored but it didn't happen often enough.

In the Champions League, United had a disappointing campaign. United won all it's home matches except one and didn't win any of their away matches. They crashed out of the Champions League in the group stages itself which was an embarrassment but remained in European competition as they were demoted to the Europa League where United disappointingly exited to Liverpool in the Round of 16. It is never nice losing to Liverpool in any competition and it wasn't nice getting knocked out by them in the Europa League. In the League Cup, United survived longer than they did in 2014-15 season but were dumped out deservingly on penalties by Middlesbrough at home. The FA Cup as everyone knows was a saving grace for United's season.

Going into 2015-16, I am of the opinion that this was still a team in transition. It cannot be anything but that after another summer with lots of new signings and sales. United had failed to build on the squad built in 2014-15 and with this lack of stability it is unreasonable to expect a season where United would be challenging for the major honours. I understand that a team like Manchester United should always aim to challenge for every trophy available and rightly so but it doesn't mean it will be possible all the time like it is impossible to expect United to forever win trophies. A lean spell here and there should be expected because you can't win all the time. United just got to make sure the lean spell doesn't stretch into decades. Spending money to sign players doesn't equate to immediate success either. United would have done very well to have had a season where they challenged for the major honours deep into the season after signing 6 senior players and selling or loaning an equal amount of players or more.

Van Gaal was under increased pressure this season from the fans because they were not witnessing the kind of football they were used to or expected to witness. With the brand of football Van Gaal employed, he would have fans on his side as long as the team was winning, the moment the team so much as drop a point, they would all be against him and the moaning would get louder with a defeat. The fans were largely by his side in the previous season as it was his first season. They understood the transition and United had ended the season well to finish in the Champions League qualifying position. The end to 2014-15 was promising. In this season, they expected him to build on that and really challenge for the title but that didn't happen. The writing was already on the wall with summer transfer activities. It was going to be another brand new squad for United. In December, he faced his toughest time as an United manager after United were dumped out of the Champions League and didn't win a single game in the Premier League in that month. December was when the rumours started and grew louder of Van Gaal's sacking and potentially Mourinho's appointment. It didn't happen until the season was over.

Van Gaal to his credit did solidify United's defence. United ended this season with the best defensive record in the Premier League. People say that teams no longer fear coming to Old Trafford but in his two seasons in charge, Old Trafford has actually become a fortress for United. Based on home form alone, United finished at least top two in Van Gaal's two seasons at Old Trafford. For all the complaints people have of Van Gaal and his football, he has actually helped United finished higher than they did under David Moyes and won a trophy to go along with it. I agree United should not be aiming to finish fourth and fifth but it is still better finishing there than in seventh. There are fans who discredit him for the emergence of youngsters but the fact that he purposely kept the senior squad size small was to give youngsters the possibility to play in the first team. If he had kept the squad bigger, United would have more senior players to rely on when they faced injuries and these youngsters would have no space at all irregardless of whether his hand was forced to field them due to injuries or not. He had also the vision to sign Anthony Martial, someone not many had heard of and frankly many of us were sceptical of when he was signed especially at the fees we paid for him. I am firm believer that the fruits of Van Gaal's work would only be savoured after he has left. The youngsters were thrown into the deep end where they had to sink or swim and many did very well to swim. It would serve them very well in their development, maturity and mental strength.

What went against Van Gaal was that I felt he couldn't get to grips with English football especially when United travelled away. When teams get into United's faces, close them down early and go at United at 100 miles an hour, United struggle to cope with it. Another area United struggle to cope with is when teams played direct football. He had this issue in his first season and for a manager of his experience, he should have noted this aspect and worked on it for this season but he failed to rectify it. Van Gaal has an arrogance and stubborness about him and that worked against him. He felt that United could play the same way against anyone and at wherever they played which is fine but his failure to adapt to his opponents led to his downfall. Sir Alex had the same approach too but he was able to adapt to the opponents. If United had to battle, he made sure United won the battles on the pitch. To win the league, United cannot be pretty all the time and certainly can't play the same type of football all the time. They got to be ready to get down and dirty and that was something Van Gaal couldn't comprehend and cope with. In England, more so than in other parts of Europe, smaller teams would be looking to make up for their lack of quality available by trying to engage physically, play direct football and make it really tough for their more illustrious opponents to get into their rhythm.

In modern football, big teams constantly rotate their players and the requirement to do so is more in England than anywhere else in Europe because there are more matches played during a season with no winter break in between. If Van Gaal had his way, he would play the same eleven that did well previously week in, week out. I have noticed that if a line-up works in one game, he would keep employing the same line up unless there is a suspension, injury or drop of form. He didn't have the ability to rotate the players to keep everyone involved and fresh, rotating with a purpose and that is to play players with characteristics that can exploit your opponents' weakness. These are areas I feel he has been found wanting and led to his downfall. It didn't help too when he played players out of position. Last season, he played Wayne Rooney in centre midfield and with the form of Robin Van Persie and Falcao, many wondered why Rooney was playing there. This season, Rooney struggled as a forward and it was blessing in disguise that he got injured as it allowed Marcus Rashford to emerge. Since returning from injury, Rooney has vindicated Van Gaal's decision to play him in midfield last season. Sir Alex actually had the vision to play him in that position in his last season but there was a fall out between them on this matter. However, playing Juan Mata on the right wing, Jesse Lingard as a playmaker and Ashley Young as a forward is not quite a good idea. He did successfully convert Antonio Valencia into a right back from a right winger, Young did do well playing as a left back or wing back but not as successfully as Valencia and the versatile Daley Blind has done very well in centre back this season.

I feel Van Gaal deserve lots of credit for coping with the constant rumours surrounding his future since December 2015. Despite these rumours and constant pressure, with a young squad, he has managed to guide United to a cup triumph and a joint fourth placed finish (to look at it positively). However, I don't feel that he will tweak his ways and beliefs and that would result in more disappointment as it is not easy to play in England or the modern game holding on to old beliefs. Sir Alex tweaked his as the years went by to stay relevant and Van Gaal should have done the same. It has been a great career for Louis Van Gaal, it didn't quite work as planned in England in the short term but I believe his work will be noticed in the long term. I wish him a happy retirement and all the best in his future endavours.

Inter 2015-16

Inter's season ended last, last Saturday (7th or 8th May) with the 3-1 win over Empoli at San Siro which confirmed Inter's passage into Europa League 2016-17. Last night/early yesterday morning (14th or 15th May)'s match against Sassuolo was nothing but a dead rubber. By the way, after two 7-0 wins over them in 3 matches, Sassuolo have now beaten Inter for 3 consecutive matches.

Inter started the season very well, exceeded expectations, made fans dream and then tumbled down from the top but managed to control it's fall to finish fourth. Fans are disappointed at the decline in form and results in the second half of the season. However, I would just like to point out that Inter had a similar kind of a decline under Andrea Stramaccioni and Walter Mazzari in their first full season in charge. In both cases, Inter's decline in form and results were far worse than they were this season. Therefore, all things considered, Inter have actually done better than they have in recent seasons. It's not ideal for a club of the size, following, prestige and stature to be glad with qualification into the Europa League but under present circumstances, it is acceptable.

In my personal opinion, based on performances, I feel Inter has done very well to finish fourth. The football we have witnessed has been awful. Imagine waking up at 2.45/3.45am and watching that. Your passion and love for the club aside,your body will naturally give up and your eyes will close shut. I tried to sit through such matches in the early part of the season but I really struggled to stay awake. I gave up watching Inter play "live" at those hours unless it's a big game against Milan or Juventus. I did record the repeat telecasts of matches that I missed to catch up.

The previous paragraph just leads me to question the manager, Roberto Mancini. As a player, he was an attacker with flair and creativity. As a manager, he played some of the best, most attacking football I have witnessed as an Inter fan in his first 2 seasons in charge. Then as a rival at Manchester City, I had witnessed him play attacking, open football. What possessed him to bring back Catenaccio to present day Inter? Inter bought attacking players, Stevan Jovetic, Adem Ljajic, Ivan Perisic and Jonathan Biabiany but for most of the season they spent most of their energy defending rather than attacking. I agree and understand that in modern football, every player has their share of defensive work to carry out on the pitch but I feel our attackers had to be more concerned on what the opponents did and were going to do rather than focusing on the damage they can inflict on their opponents. It's no surprise that aside from Perisic and to an extent Biabiany, Palacio and Icardi, none of Inter's attackers flourished in the present tactical set-up.

Mancini had organised the team very well and made them tough to break down in the first half of the season. He did very well to fully utilise the squad and keep everyone on their toes and he kept the opponents guessing on how they would line up but again that was in the first half of the season. In the second half of the season, mistakes crept into their game. Our defenders were losing focus, the lack of a playmaking midfielder was painfully obvious and teams were wisening up to our tactical set up. Interestingly enough, Inter played more openly in the second half of the season and started creating more but were profligate in their finishing too.I know due to Atletico Madrid, the gritty, dogged, defensive game is in vogue but that was something Italian football used to do for ages. Italy pioneered Catenaccio in the 1960s and Inter were one of the main contributors to that style of football. However, since then, Arrigo Sacchi changed the playing style with his Milan of the 80s and 90s and Italian football has moved on from those days. Atletico's football is not attractive to watch which is why I am not in the favour of Diego Simeone taking charge at Inter even if he was a great player for us in his playing days.

I guess the writing was already on the wall when Inter agreed to sell Mateo Kovacic and Mancini so desperately wanted to sign Felipe Melo like as if he was Socrates. We have seen how Melo plays from his time at Juventus, Fiorentina and the Brazilian national team. He loves cracking bones more than creating chances. He was a ticking time bomb and it was clear to see but yet Mancini was desperate to sign him. We have already got a defensive midfielder who can offer a lot more than Melo in Gary Medel. I understand that Inter were tempted by the amount Real Madrid were willing to pay for Kovacic, influenced by the need to observe Financial Fair Play rules but it was a move that has not benefited the player or Inter in the footballing side of things. Kovacic hardly features at Real Madrid and Inter lacks creativity in its midfield. It would actually make sense for both parties to try if Inter re-sign him even if its on loan during the summer.

A lot was made of the signing of Geoffrey Kondogbia. Fans crowded to welcome him but I didn't quite understand the hype around him. We weren't signing a player of the calibre of Ronaldo. I hadn't watched him play before so I couldn't understand the hype. After watching him this season, I still don't understand the hype around him. I felt the hype was largely a victory of ego as we beat AC Milan to signing him but based on the season that has just passed, I don't feel Milan regret not signing him. He has lost his place in the French national team after joining Inter and that's an indication of how bad it has been. A signing has to be made to reinforce the team and boost the quality of the squad. From the signings at the start of this season, only Miranda, Jeison Murillo and Ivan Perisic has positively reinforced the team and this is an area where Inter has proved to be inadequate resulting in the lack of results on the pitch.

Inter lacks proper planning and scouting. Instead of spending 29 million Euros on Kondogbia, it would have been wiser to have spent much lesser to purchase Marco Benassi and Alfred Duncan, two players who were part of our Primavera, know what it means to play for Inter, the weight of expectations that come with it and have youth on their side. They are also familiar with Italian football and wouldn't need much time adjusting to the rigours of it. We could have kept Kovacic too. Medel is a strong enough leader to lead the midfield. This is an Inter team that had no midweek European commitments. They had a lot of time on their hands to prepare weekly for a Serie A match. Instead of signing Jovetic, we should have kept Xherdan Shaqiri. He had only spent half a season at Inter, he hadn't properly adjusted to Italian football yet and Inter sold him for a profit of 1 million Euros. It would have made greater sense to have kept him and let him play in Jovetic's role and not spend on 3 million Euros for signing Jovetic on loan. Quite simply, if Inter reduce its need to sign players, we don't need to sell too much and can keep the squad intact for longer to reap its benefits. Everyone would just need to learn to be more supportive and patient to see its rewards. The Inter youth set-up has been doing well for some seasons now but not much faith is placed on these youngsters. It seems like the loan policy is to just loan them out to anyone who is interested. There doesn't seem to be a follow-up on how they are coming along and there is no great faith placed in them which is exactly what Inter should not do if they are trying to cope with Financial Fair Play and trying to balance it with the expectation of success on the pitch. On top of these youngsters, it would be wise to sign quality players with experience, winning mentality and character. This would help the team take the next step when challenging for major honours. The case in point being Miranda. We need to make more clever signings like him, players aged between 26-32 with experience, maturity and winning mentality.

It would also help a great deal if Mancini just broke the shackles off the team and decide to take the game to the opponents. Against most opponents, a team with the quality of Inter can take on teams on the front foot. In certain cases, I understand the need to be more cautious and defensive. I understand the need to be gritty. You can't win league titles by playing attacking football and being positive all the time. There will come moments in the season when a team is required to grind out 1-0 wins. That's the mark of a champion team, the ability to win when not playing well but it doesn't harm anyone if Inter looked to take the game to their opponents more often than not. A lot of Inter fans are stuck in the past, myself included, we just need to face the reality that Inter can no longer afford to sign the best players in the world like we used to. In general, Italian football no longer holds financial muscle in European football and has lost its appeal. The Serie A has become a league for players to come to nearing the end of their career or when they are at the beginning of their career. That is the reality. I understand the reality but I reminisce because Inter excited me a great deal in the past even if we did suffer lots of disappointment and under-achievement. At least the team played much better than they are doing today.

Another area I feel Inter has to look into is signing more Italian players. The Italian players that are currently at Inter play a bit part role. Danilo D'Ambrosio is the closest to a first teamer amongst all the Italian players in the squad. Eder is a naturalised Italian and he was signed during the winter transfer window but has not had the desired effect because he is doing a lot of defensive work which leaves him blunted as an attacker. Davide Santon has declined in form since he was discovered by Jose Mourinho. He has never looked the same since Mourinho left. He had a brief renaissance at Newcastle but not been the same since. Andrea Ranocchia's errors has led to the signing of Miranda and Murillo and his departure albeit on loan to Sampdoria where he has not set the world alight either. I understand that Inter in its formation was a club that included foreigners into the team and has always been welcoming for foreign players but with Italians, they understand what Inter as a club means, its expectations and they understand Italian football much better. You reduce the need for a player to adapt to Italian football and Italy when you sign an Italian player. I admit there isn't a big enough talent pool like there used to be of Italian players but Inter can always look to develop on their own.

Those who know me, know that I hate our captain, Mauro Icardi. I hate him for personal reasons and not what he does on the pitch. I started disliking him after he stole his best friend's wife and his class-less reaction to it. I felt it was all in poor taste. It is true that whatever anyone does in their personal life is none of our concern as fans and we cannot judge because we do not know the full extent of the story and that is something I am coming to terms with now. However, if I take the moral equation out of it and judge him primarily as a footballer, I don't feel that he has what it takes to captain the side because he doesn't seem to have natural leadership qualities and he is not a great striker. He has a great conversion rate and I got to acknowledge that and he is a very good striker but he is ill-fitted in Mancini's current tactical set up. In general, Mancini's tactical set up suits no attacking player but for a player like Icardi who has no pace to outsprint a defender, no power to bulldoze past a defender, no body strength to hold up play and no skills to dribble past an opponent, it is not ideal. He relies on chances created for him and he is most dangerous in the box. There is nothing wrong with that but it's rare to find a modern attacker who is only a goal poacher that comes to life only in the box which is again nothing wrong but for a player like that to be effective, you need the entire team to play proactively and feed him which is what they are not able to do this season.

For next season, I am pretty sure Mancini would remain Inter's manager unless he receives an offer from the Italian national team or has a falling out with the owner and/or director or has a general change of heart. I just hope that if he stays, he brings back attacking football. I have no faith that Inter's directors would take my heed and start putting faith in players developed at Inter but I do hope they have the sense to try and re-sign Kovacic. Handanovic seems likely to leave after being reportedly unhappy at Inter not qualifying for the Champions League, which is a pity because he has been our best player for so many seasons now. Inter should get some good money if they do sell him and I hope Mattia Perin is signed in his place. I hope Icardi is removed as captain and hopefully sold but I doubt either would happen. I would just need to make peace with myself on Icardi. I hope more Italians are signed. Jovetic is another player that is reportedly unhappy and could leave and something just doesn't seem right in the dressing room with a lot of reportedly unhappy players. More than Icardi, I hope Felipe Melo is sold. We'll see now what unfolds during the summer. I do hope as well that if Mancini stays, he doesn't get desperate to sign more of his former players who are now over-the-hill (eg. Yaya Toure). Stop acting like a lover that misses his ex Mancio.


The best thing about Inter in 2015-16, Inter's home and away jerseys. :-)

Inter That No Longer Excites

When news broke of Alvaro Recoba's retirement from football, I was surprised to hear that he was still actively playing professional football and then later when I viewed highlight videos of his goals while with Inter, I was reminded again to the quality he possessed which was unfortunately not fully utilised and unleashed. In those videos, I was also reminded of the kind of players Inter had from his time at the club. I reminisced back to a time when it was actually exciting to watch Inter play. Inter didn't want many trophies and faltered to deceive for many seasons but they still excited through the signings made by Massimo Moratti. The managers in that period chose to play more expensively rather than sit and wait for the opponents to make a mistake or look to hit on the counter attack.

As a Singaporean Inter fan, it has become increasingly agonising with each passing season to watch Inter play and to look at the squad we possess with much excitement. Imagine waking up in the wee hours of the morning at 2 or 3 in the morning and watch this Inter play. I tried it in the early days of the season and I struggled to stay awake. Slowly, I gave up watching matches that kicked off late making the exception for matches against Juventus and Milan. I resorted to recording these matches and only watching those matches that kick off early at 6.25pm, 7.25pm, 9pm or 10pm. It hurts me as a fan because I feel I am betraying my club by not watching all their matches "live", if possible and supporting them albeit from afar. I feel increasingly detached from Inter. It feels like a period of separation from the Italian club that I love the most but not quite at the stage of divorce yet as there is still love for the colours and the club.

How the owners and directors tolerate the current style of football is beyond me. I understand that Inter is no longer able to attract big names like they used to in the past due to the club's current financial situation but the least they can do is to play good football and excite the fans. Inter's precarious financial situation wasn't a sudden bolt out of the blue, it was apparent from the aftermath of the historic Treble of 2009-10, that Inter needed rebuilding and to reduce its debts. With greater foresight, the club should have started to invest more in the youth academy so that quality players are scouted and developed. Italy is famed for not having faith and patience in youngsters as every mistake made is magnified a hundred times. To counter this issue, Inter should have been clever enough to allow players to leave on loan with an eye to bringing them back into the first team when they are ready. There are examples to follow in Europe of teams that go into debts and then rely on youth players from their academy coupled with shrewd signings made to become champions and competitive again. Case in point, Borussia Dortmund. Inter had the opportunity to go on that path which would have been unique for an Italian club but they didn't. With patience and perseverance, a player like Philippe Coutinho could have developed further at Inter. Jonathan Biabiany, went a full circle, out to Parma, very nearly sold to Milan and then back to Inter on a free transfer. Alfred Duncan at Sassuolo would have done a much better job than Felipe Melo is doing. Marco Benassi who is now at Torino could have done likewise and both these players could have done more. Inter were wrong to sell their young players like Coutinho and Mateo Kovacic. I understand they did it to raise funds to strengthen other areas of the team but they could have raised funds by sacrificing an older player. With smarter investment and transfer dealings, Inter could have overcome their financial problem to construct a team that excites and challenges for major honours every season.

On paper now, Inter has many attackers in the final third that either play on the wings, as playmakers or forwards but the team doesn't play beautiful football and excite because it is restrained from a leash by Roberto Mancini. I had supported the appointment of Mancini but what he has done this season in terms of tactics and strategy is perplexing and contrary to what we have seen from his first stint at Inter and later at Manchester City. I didn't expect him to play so defensively and cautiously. It's atrocious. I understand that in Italy results matter first followed by performance but Inter need not follow that mould. They can choose to achieve results by playing a beautiful brand of football and setting a good example to follow. Napoli, Roma, Fiorentina, Sassuolo have played some of the best football this season. The former two are in Champions League positions now with Inter trailing in their wake. Napoli are just 3 points away from the top and I hope with all my heart they win the Scudetto because that would mean upstaging Juventus which would give any Interista immense joy and the victory of good football. Perhaps then, more teams in Italy will start to be more courageous in the way they play.

I have been upset for many seasons at the path Inter has taken post-Treble. Initially, I had thought maybe it would be good for Inter to have a new investor in the form of Erik Thohir and he would be able to pump in greater investment into the club so that we do not need to keep losing our best players but I now feel I am wrong. All he talks about is increasing revenue which is important for the club if they want to compete in Italy, Europe and the world. A club of Inter's stature and prestige should always aim for the best so the increase of revenue in the club's coffers is vital but the Indonesian owner is severely lacking in the football department. I would be delighted if Massimo Moratti or his son Angelomario oversaw the footballing aspect of the club and let Thohir handle the business portfolio. I feel this would be an ideal solution. However, I know my opinions and thoughts are limited to this blog article and has no power to even shake a leaf in the tree of Inter's hierarchy. I am helpless as I start drifting away from my beloved Inter but with a heart still full of love and care for Inter. I hope one day soon, Inter begins to excite us all again with the signings made, an attractive style of football and a solid developmental program for the youths in the academy so that they can find space in the first team.

I end by listing down the names of players that I have excited me as a fan since I started supporting Inter: Nicola Berti, Ruben Sosa, Wim Jonk, Paul Ince, Maurizio Ganz, Marco Branca, Benito Carbone, Javier Zanetti, Roberto Carlos, Gianluca Pagliuca, Youri Djorkaeff, Ivan Zamorano, Ciriaco Sforza, Diego Simeone, Francesco Moriero, Ronaldo, Alvaro Recoba, Roberto Baggio, Nicola Ventola, Andrea Pirlo, Clarence Seedorf, Luigi Di Biagio, Adrian Mutu, Christian Vieri, Stephane Dalmat, Cristiano Zanetti, Sergio Conceicao, Emre Belozoglu, Mohamed Kallon, Obafemi Martins, Marco Materazzi, Hernan Crespo, Kily Gonzalez, Dejan Stankovic, Adriano, Julio Cruz, Francesco Toldo, Matias Almeyda, Edgar Davids, Ze Maria, Juan Veron, Esteban Cambiasso, Giorgios Karagounis, Luis Figo, David Pizarro, Santiago Solari, Maxwell, Julio Cesar, Maicon, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Mario Balotelli, Davide Santon, Lucio, Thiago Motta, Samuel Eto'o, Wesley Sneijder, Diego Milito, Goran Pandev, Christian Chivu, Philippe Coutinho, Giampaolo Pazzini, Andrea Poli, Fredy Guarin, Samir Handanovic, Rodrigo Palacio, Antonio Cassano, Danilo D'Ambrosio, Mateo Kovacic, Gary Medel, Marcelo Brozovic, Jonathan Biabiany, Ivan Perisic, Adem Ljajic, Yuto Nagatomo

A special mention to the solid defenders we had who don't excite as much but are very much appreciated for the jobs they have done or are doing: Giuseppe Bergomi, Ivan Cordoba, Nicolas Burdisso, Walter Samuel, Miranda and Jeison Murillo.

Dr Jekyll Mr Hyde Man. United

I didn't watch the match against West Bromwich Albion because I was very sick. I had every intention to soldier on despite my sickness but my ailments overpowered me. When I checked the score in the morning, I was unhappy to find out that United had lost but I wasn't surprised. It has become common for this version of Manchester United to unexpectedly lose when you least expect it and to win spectacularly again when least expected. You just never know which United would turn up from one match to the other. Gone are the days when we could expect United to go on a long winning or at least unbeaten run, where defeats would be few and far between and a losing run would not last longer than at least 2 matches. I can't comment on the performance against West Bromwich because I didn't watch the match but it was a defeat United could ill afford as they needed to stay on the coat-tails of Manchester City, who have a game in hand. After that defeat, whatever chance United had of qualifying for the Champions League through their league position has now got slimmer.

The reaction of our fans to the defeat to West Bromwich is ridiculous, extreme and embarrassing. Post-Arsenal, many fans was buzzing about the possibility of entering the top 4 and finishing higher than 4th in the league. Some overly optimistic dreamers even started tipping United to mount a late and unexpected title surge. It was tough to find anyone stating LVGOUT and/or WoodwardOUT etc. Post-defeat to West Bromwich and the same number of fans (almost), are down in the dumps suggesting that United could peter away and end the season in a mid-table position. It is embarrassing because many fans have spent so much time mocking fans of other clubs that express such extreme reactions but are now as guilty as fans of our rivals for displaying similar outbursts.

In today's day and age, you don't get that many fans who understand football and are realist. This is a phenomenon that exists with fans of other big clubs too, Liverpool and Arsenal come to mind as their fans have displayed equally dramatic opinion changes. I feel before anyone supports a club or even when they decide to support a club, they should first understand and analyse football before they make crazy declarations that are synonymous of someone who could be suffering from a bipolar disorder. It is easy to get excited and carried away on the waves of success but before anyone opens their mouth to talk or in today's world, access their keypad to type, they should first calm down and think carefully using logic and keeping emotions aside. United were successful for so long because the manager and players didn't focus on gloating over one or two wins, they focused on the bigger picture and celebrated when they achieved it. They didn't spend time rubbing it in the faces of their adversaries, they focused on doing it again and again like a machine. That should be the attitude our fans should take. Even in those successful times, there were seasons where United fell below expectations and had poor seasons, the team made the best they could of the season and responded. United fans should take a leaf out of the mindset of our successful teams and apply it in their role as a fan of the club. It's small talk to label a person as a plastic fan or non-plastic fan. A real plastic fan is someone who only supports during the good times and goes missing in the bad times. As fans, everyone is entitled to their opinion, everyone has their right to express their disappointment and joy in whichever way they like but one should always rationalise before forming an opinion and then expressing it.

Post-Arsenal, I felt that United did achieve a significant result and were on a good run after taking into account the comfortable and morale-boosting wins in the FA Cup against Shrewsbury Town and in the Europa League against Midtjylland. They continued it albeit fortunately and in gritty fashion against Watford in midweek but they needed more than 2 successive league wins. United needed to keep winning and go on a run, keeping pace and putting the pressure on Manchester City in 4th place with the derby yet to be played, winning the derby will definitely aid their hopes and any other slip-up from City along the way could be taken advantage of by United. That was the task at hand. It is disappointing but qualifying for the Champions League has become the club's "Premier League title" now. The reality is that United desperately needs to qualify for Europe's elite club competition. It is the bare requisite after yet another disappointing season. However, United have hardly been consistent for most of this season and it is one of the major reasons why United find themselves in a below-par season. With that in mind, it would be an achievement for this side to go on a long winning run almost till the end of the season to qualify for the Champions League. The task at hand was huge and it became mammoth with that defeat to West Bromwich. United now find themselves behind Manchester City and West Ham in 6th place, 3 points behind Liverpool who have a game in hand. Mathematically it is still possible to target for the 4th place in the league but considering the way the team has played and how inconsistent it has been, the task is almost impossible now. It will require a miracle and that miracle is called positive consistency of results.

I dreaded being drawn against Liverpool in the Round of 16 of the Europa League because firstly, I would rather play against a European club side since this is an European tie after all and secondly, after the last encounter against Liverpool at Anfield where United got a smash-and-grab win, I was afraid, it could come back to bite us as that win could have just papered over the limitations of United against Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool. I hate losing to Liverpool but I approached this match feeling less intense than usual for a match against Liverpool. It was odd to face them in an European tie and that too in a two-legged tie and not the final itself. The fact that United have beaten them in the last 4 competitive matches, led me to be lulled into complacency and not knowing what to expect just left me hoping that United would not play as poorly as they did in their previous league encounter at Anfield. My worse fears were realised as soon as United conceded a rather soft penalty. Overall, I got to admit that it was a deserved win for Liverpool and United had another poor outing at Anfield against Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool who are set up in a different way compared to Brendan Rodgers' Liverpool. The German used the same tactics and strategy that he had employed in the January encounter. The only difference is that Liverpool scored this time albeit with a touch of good fortune but they deserved their good luck.

United lacked creativity going forward, they lacked intensity, it seem like they were just going through the motions and had their thoughts elsewhere. Normally losing to Liverpool would leave me filled with rage and sour my mood for days but having seen how poorly they can play, I am no longer surprised at the performance and the score-line to feel the rage. I knew it could have been worst had it not been for the heroics of David De Gea again so to only lose 2-0 after a performance like that is a very slight positive to take from the result. The unpredictability and inconsistency of the team's performance is astonishing and remarkable.I am lost for words and tired to explain and rationalise the performances and inconsistency that has blighted the season. It's far too easy to blame injuries or the manager alone for this. Everyone from the players to the manager has to take their share of the blame. I was very surprised by the selection of Marouane Fellaini. He had just returned from injury and before he got injured, he was playing very well but normally Van Gaal likes to build his returning players' fitness by letting them play part of matches and not throw them directly into a match situation. Fellaini not only played, he played for 90 minutes and was as poor as anyone of the outfield players. It seems that the strategy was just to lump the ball long to him which is a strategy one one would use late in a match when chasing a result not from the first minute. Frustrating and very disappointing. It could be a blessing in disguise if he is banned for the second leg.

What will happen of United now? Your guess is as good as mine. The match against West Ham on Sunday in the FA Cup will not be easy at all even if United is playing at home. It is not beyond West Ham to beat United as it is not beyond United to suddenly play very well and win. Can United overturn the result against Liverpool in the return fixture at Old Trafford in a week's time? Yes and no. Again, it will depend on which United turns up.

Troubles At My Club: Inter

Inter is free-falling and rather dramatically. There's no signs of arresting this slide despite the occasional glimpse of promise when there is an odd win to interrupt the run of draws and losses. It is particularly depressing because the run that has seen Inter drop from top to 5th and 13 points behind current leaders and champions, Juventus has included resounding defeats against arch-rivals AC Milan and twice against Juventus. This alarming slump of form in the second half of the season is not a new phenomenon though. It happened in 2012-13 under Andrea Stramaccioni and 2013-14 under Walter Mazzari. Stramaccioni couldn't keep his job and was sacked at the end of the season while Mazzari did just about enough to ensure Inter qualified for the Europa League and keep his job for at least one quarter of the following season. As Inter approached the end of the first half of the season on a high, I was interested to see if Inter could bring this form into the second half of the season or collapse the way Stramaccioni and Mazzari's Inter did. At the moment, it is proving to more of the latter than the former.

Roberto Mancini was given an almost free reign in building a squad with the ultimate objective of qualifying for the Champions League in mind. Inter had a rather impressive transfer campaign and the team did well for the first half of the season but the reality was that the football on display didn't match the results achieved by the team. For most parts of the season, Inter relied on dogged defending, defensive organisation, brilliant goal-keeping by Samir Handanovic, a mixture of clinical finishing, mistakes in the opposition defence, great goals and set-pieces to win matches. Inter displayed great determination, team-spirit and resilience to get their results. It was not beautiful to watch and widely-criticised by the media but most importantly, as far as Inter were concerned was that they got the wins and were on a run. Their confidence was on the rise and the noise emanating from the Inter camp was that of who cares about the style of football as long as we are winning. As a fan, the football was not enjoyable to watch at all. I struggled to stay awake to watch late kickoffs and gave up watching late matches "live" altogether except for big matches against Milan and Juventus. I could understand the rationale if it had been to bring about stability and get on board some positive results and go on a positive run to give a newly formed team some confidence. However, as the season went on, it became apparent that Inter's strategy is only to play defensively and kick lumps out of their opponents.

The strategy employed by Mancini was backward and perplexing at the same time. I wasn't in favour of it then and now it is getting exposed. I am perplexed because in Mancini's first 2 seasons at Inter, he had Inter playing some of the most exciting and entertaining attacking football seen at Inter in recent times. He became rather one-dimensional and physical in his approach in the post-Calciopoli era but it was still more attacking than what we have witnessed for most parts of this season. At Manchester City, he had them playing attacking football too and had always imposed their style on their opponents which is why I do not understand why he had imposed such backward and cowardly tactics. He is not only getting his team to play defensively but he is also looking to mirror the opponents' formation to counter them. These were tactics and strategies that belonged to the foregone days of Italian football. Football has moved on since then and more Italian teams now look to impose their style of play onto their opponents and play a more expensive brand of football. Inter, being a big club and like all other big clubs, should be looking to impose their style of play. If Mancini is not able to be progressive in his tactics and strategy, he could at least match the norms of modern football. Granted that in the first half of the season, he had successfully implemented the tactic to mirror the opponent's formation but in Italy, where almost every coach is tactically astute, you can't get away with a single approach and tactic if it is not overly dominating and powerful.

In the first half of the season, he had successfully rotated the squad without any European football but he is not able to get the best out of his players now as the players playing are no longer able to match the levels of the first half of the season and in the case of some players, they have either not shown their true value yet or are getting their limitations exposed now. On the matter of the squad he has built, I don't understand why he has built a midfield that is devoid of creativity and based it entirely on physical strength and on players that have greater interest in stopping a player than creating play. Felipe Melo brought character, leadership and a winning mentality but he also brought in a world of trouble. At the age of 31 or 32, he has still not learnt how to tackle and how to tackle cleanly. He has still not learnt when to be aggressive and when to stand off. He is a ticking time bomb and Mancini chased him like as if he was after a midfield God. Inter's decision to offload Mateo Kovacic is biting the team badly and this is a point that I have raised repeatedly in previous posts. I understand the decision to offload him was to raise some money for the signing of other players but the decision not to replace him with a player of similar ilk is a bigger folly. When Inter signed Geoffrey Kondogbia, it was heralded like as if we had signed Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo but honestly, who is Kondogbia? I have never seen him play before so I was not excited at all about signing him and after watching him this season, I don't understand what the hype was all about. I felt the hype was more about beating Milan to his signature but if there's anything we need to beat Milan on it would be results on the pitch and not signings made off the pitch. At the moment, it looks like once again we have made a big blunder in the transfer market and made everyone at the club look like fools especially those that negotiated the transfer and the manager that wanted him and Milan have come up trumps once again. Inter bought creative, attacking players in Stevan Jovetic, Adem Ljajic and Ivan Perisic. All these players play further forward or on the wings. Jovetic showed promises of rediscovering his form at Fiorentina but has fallen out of favour now because his performances has not picked up or been consistent enough. Ljajic started the season slowly but slowly got stronger and he too has fallen off the boil in recent games. As for Perisic, we are still waiting to see the Perisic we saw at Wolfsburg and Croatia. He has looked a pale shadow of his normal self.

Jonathan Biabiany was re-signed and has not been used quite as often. He was devastating against Sampdoria but didn't start against Juventus. He hasn't played often enough for me to pass a judgement on his performances this season. I understand the need to ease him back into playing competitive football after his heart scare last season. Joao Miranda and Jeison Murillo were our signings of the season in the first half of the season but both have looked out of form since the turn of the year and mistakes have crept into their game which has resulted in Inter dropping points and conceding goals. However, they still remain Inter's best signings. Martin Montoya was so awful and out of favour that he was sold during the January transfer window and Alex Telles hasn't quite looked good enough. Our best full-back is still Danilo D'Ambrosio, who I feel is under-rated. In the case of players like Jovetic, Ljajic and Perisic, I feel the manager's tactics and strategy is not conducive and helpful for attacking players to perform at their best. In the case of Perisic, he might not have fully adapted to Italian football. Jovetic has lost touch, spark and confidence after his unsuccessful spell at City. He would need to be humble to rediscover himself. Ljajic, I feel is having a blip in form. He has been excellent for most of the season. Inter added Eder during the January transfer window when wisdom would have dictated the need to sign a creative midfielder as the priority. I am not opposed to signing Eder as he is a good forward that can give us a hand and offers something different to the forwards we have but we needed a creative midfielder first to provide the attackers a platform to attack and score. Eder has worked really hard as has Rodrigo Palacio but their hard work in doing their defensive duties and in building up play has somewhat blunted their attacking prowess.

Marcelo Brozovic has been our most attack-minded midfielder and he has gone off the boil too but there is no-one else to take over the mantle from him after the sale of Fredy Guarin who was the other attack minded midfielder. Kondogbia has the built of Patrick Viera, Paul Pogba or Yaya Toure but has the influence of neither on the game. He looks perpetually like a lost tourist on the pitch. The examples of illustrious players like Michel Platini and Zinedine Zidane have been given of other foreign players (coincidentally French) who struggled in their first season and then exploded. We shall see if that is indeed the case with Kondogbia. Mauro Icardi is a player I hate for moral reasons but as a player he is ill-suited to play in the present tactical system. He is not strong enough to hold up the ball on his own, he is not fast enough to get past his man, he can't dribble past his man and he is not capable of doing the extraordinary out of nothing. He is a plain poacher that relies on chances created for him. I don't rate him too highly as a player as well but my judgement of him as a player could be clouded by my opinion of him as a man and it is very embarrassing and an absolute disgrace to see the captain armband on him. Objectively, I can't see him as a leader or possessing any leadership qualities.

At the moment, with the way the team is built and the players at Mancini's disposal, the rest of the season looks doomed and we would be lucky to even qualify for the Europa League let alone the Champions League. Milan's rise is in direct contrast to Inter's fall and theirs is the triumph of good football as they persevered and stuck to their manager who adapted to the squad at his disposal and turned their form around. Good football always prevails and that is my belief. I don't think a week of ritiro will help, rest of the season in ritiro might help. Mancini has to find the answers to arrest this slide and get the team to win again. It's ironic but at times like this, a string of hard fought, backs-to-the wall 1-0 wins would help restore confidence. However, my fear is that if that happens, all will be treated as good again and as fans, we would need to endure some terrible football for a long time. Mancini's second coming has been very disappointing. He has keep calm and get the players to calm down on the field and not get tied down with hounding the referee over every refereeing decision against the team. That just adds to the image of a team that has been built to intimidate which I feel is unbecoming of a big team like Inter and a waste of energy.

My final word is on the owner Erik Thohir. I feel he is more a businessman than an Inter fan. He claims to support Inter but does he really understand football? He is looking almost entirely at the business aspect of the club. I don't feel the passion for the club the way I felt it from Massimo Moratti who we felt is a fan like the rest of us. He made some bad choices and mistakes in the past in terms of his hirings, sackings, signings and sales but all is forgiven because whatever he did, he did it almost firstly as a fan. At least during his reign, he brought fantasy to the fans. I understand and agree that Italian football is no longer what it was in the 90s and doesn't have the financial muscle to compete with other leagues and as such Moratti can't bring fantasy to the fans like he used to but at least he was like one of us and we felt it. It was a big mistake to completely remove Moratti from his role as the owner. It was progressive and humble of the great man to move aside but for the club it hasn't been a great change. One other thing, the team needs identity. We don't have identity if we keep signing foreign players who don't understand what it means to play for Inter and the jersey. We need to have Italian players who understand what it means to play for Inter and to play in the Italian league. It's one thing to say in press conferences that "it is your dream to join Inter", "I know/love Inter" and rattle off names of legends but another to actually know what it means to have the jersey on your back when you step on the field.

The Troubles At My Club: Manchester United

It has been a dismal season for Manchester United thus far. Before the defeat against Sunderland, I had predicted that United would need to win at least 95% of their remaining league fixtures to finish in a Champions League position. I had no hope at all of United challenging for the title despite the optimism of the manager and some from the United camp. As far as I am concerned, that objective was over a long time ago. After the defeat to Sunderland, I feel United need to win a 100% of their remaining fixtures which include matches against the current top 4. Is it possible? Anything is possible in football but with the squad's current form, injury situation and inconsistency, I feel it isn't possible. Wayne Rooney and Louis Van Gaal sounded downbeat about the team's chances of qualification to the Champions League through their league position. The best route to the Champions League now lies through winning the Europa League and that is not a given either with some really strong teams still in the running for the Europa League.

United were playing much better and getting good results in their last 3 matches before the second half collapse against Sunderland and therein illustrates one of our problems this season, lack of consistency. United take 1 step forward and 2 steps back. It's like being in constant tango. However, the lack of consistency is not something I will address first. I will address the number 1 reason why Manchester United have not reached the heights of previous seasons since Sir Alex Ferguson left, the lack of stability at the club. For over 2 decades, Sir Alex managed the club and built winning teams. He has had periods of struggle at the start of his time there and periods of transition in between the successful years but he was the pulse of the club. He made the team tick and gave the team the calmness to play their game. The level that United were left by Sir Alex Ferguson was at a very high level and expectations of, at and around the club are now much higher than it was when he took over in 1986. I would be selfish to say this but I would say that for the good of the club, perhaps Sir Alex could have better planned his retirement. When he decided to retire, Jose Mourinho had already decided to go back to Chelsea, Pep Guardiola had already signed for Bayern Munich, Jurgen Klopp and Carlo Ancelotti were happy at Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid respectively and current United manager, Louis Van Gaal was preparing the Dutch national team to qualify for the 2014 World Cup. In my opinion, a poor decision was made in hiring David Moyes. He did a good job keeping Everton in the Premier League since he took charge, leading them to Europe albeit not consistently and he had built a solid and stable team but with all due respect, managing Manchester United is a different kettle of fish to managing Everton. With David Gill also leaving that season as a the CEO of the club, all of a sudden, United were faced with welcoming the new season with a new manager and a new CEO. As a fan, one would hope they did well but I always felt it was a big risk hiring Moyes. The writing was already on the wall after the embarrassing saga around the chase for Cesc Fabregas and the eventual deadline day signing of Marouane Fellaini for an inflated transfer fee. On the pitch, United struggled in pre-season. I shrugged it off as pre-season friendly results that didn't count for much but my fears were confirmed in actual competitive matches as United allowed many teams to break their winless duck against them that season.

With the benefit of hindsight, it would have been clever to keep Sir Alex's backroom staff to guide Moyes along but he perhaps wanted to reward the men who were with him during his coaching career at Everton and rightly so but it would have been practical in taking the former decision. Next, the team had finished the previous season as champions by a sizeable margin. There was a need to find long term replacements for the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra, Ryan Giggs and a permanent replacement for the newly retired Paul Scholes. He had already inherited a squad which included Chris Smalling and Phil Jones as potential replacements for Ferdinand and Vidic. He was chasing Fabregas as a replacement for Scholes but perhaps the Spaniard still had something against United from his time at Arsenal or wouldn't want to play for an untested manager at a high level like Moyes or both. Too much time was wasted in the chase that other possible targets were lost. I believe another reason for the failure to sign a big name player would be that the appeal to play for Manchester United had gone down since Sir Alex's retirement. Foreign players were unsure on the capability of the new man in-charge and in some cases, probably hadn't even heard of him. Tom Cleverley was unfortunately never going to be Scholes' replacement and Sir Alex left his predecessor short in this department. There were no British players of the calibre of Scholes either. However, besides not being able to sign players he identified, he didn't need to change United's playing style too drastically to what Sir Alex had imposed. If it ain't broken, don't fix it. He meddled unnecessarily and caused lots of confusion and unhappiness. The performances and results on the pitch was there for all to see. Had he had the assistance of Sir Alex' backroom staff, he would have been guided in the right way and would be rightly assisted in the management of the players. Moyes was clearly out of depth and it was a risk that didn't pay off. United finished outside of the top 4 four for the first time in the history of the Premier League, they ended the season trophy-less and without European participation the following season.

Then Van Gaal came to replace Moyes and there was a wave of enthusiasm as he had led an unfancied Dutch team to a respectable third place finish in the World Cup. Now, United had a big name manager with the experience of managing and winning at other big clubs in Europe. Pre-season results led to greater enthusiasm and it reached orgasmic stage when United bought Angel Di Maria, Radamel Falcao, Daley Blind, Ander Herrera and Luke Shaw in the summer transfer window. All high hopes came crashing down when United lost their first league fixture and not long after were trashed 4-0 by MK Dons in the 2nd round of the League Cup. A whole host of departures followed. United had a decent season albeit another trophy-less one and a strong finish saw them qualify for the Champions League. It bode well for the future that after having spent a season in-charge and with the addition of new signings in the summer transfer market, the players would have bedded in, understood what Van Gaal expects of the team and Van Gaal would have understood the rigours of English football to kick on for the following season and challenge for major honours again. The signings came but so did the departures again. For a second season in a row, United had lots of signings and lots of sales and loans. How can one expect to achieve stability with such turnover of players? It is regularly pointed out that United spent X amount of money on players over two transfer windows but no-one points out to money recouped in the sale over both transfer windows. For the team to be properly stable, Van Gaal should have kept the squad as intact as possible making some signings to strengthen the team and cope with the demands of playing in 4 competitions including a physically demanding league that is the English Premier League. He chose to keep a small squad so that he could blood youngsters when needed and he has not been shy to do so. It's credit to him that he has kept the United tradition of promoting youngsters to the first team but they have been blooded under intense pressure when results haven't been good, performances have been poor and confidence is low. In the long-term, such experiences should toughen up the young players and expedite their maturity but in the short-term, it would only lead to inconsistent performances individually and as a team.

Van Gaal's reluctance in rotating the squad only leads to fatigue and injuries. To be fair to him, a lot of the injuries sustained by players this season have not been muscular but have been joint,bone injuries sustained during matches or training. With a squad that lacks depth, United is always going to struggle to cope with an injury crisis. There is too much undue pressure on the youngsters to deliver and the lack of depth doesn't exactly stimulate competition for places for the seasoned professionals. This is where I feel Van Gaal is at fault. Another area he has failed to cope with is the intensity of matches in England especially in away matches. United struggle to cope against teams that get into their faces, press high, are aggressive and play long, direct balls. More often than not, United don't seem to be up for a battle and lose out. The lack of preparation and anticipation to deal with this aspect after one full season in England is not acceptable. In England, he can't expect his team to just dominate every game. The team needs to be ready to go into a battle especially away from home where for a smaller club, every match against a big team like Manchester United is a cup final. It is ironic that Arsenal were accused of having a soft underbelly for many seasons and United would always get the better of them by being aggressive and this season Arsenal gave United a dose of their own medicine. On paper, United could easily field a dynamic and exciting front four similar to the Ronaldo-Rooney-Tevez axis of the 2007-08 season but United's style of play for most of the season have been dour. You do see bits and pieces of promise, flair and dynamism in parts of matches or in the entirety of some matches but it is not consistent enough. Blame has been leveled at the manager for the style of play but I feel the players got to take the blame as well.

On the issue of players, I feel United shouldn't have sold Shinji Kagawa, Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez or even Nani and Darren Fletcher but if they weren't given much chance and didn't have the faith of the manager, then it was the right decision for them to leave and play elsewhere happily. If Sir Alex Ferguson had stayed for one more season, Wayne Rooney would have surely been sold and all three or at least 2 out of the 3 above-mentioned players (Kagawa, Welbeck, Hernandez) would have a more prominent role to play in the first team. I am not sure if Di Maria left because he chickened out and left to get a better pay cheque at Paris St.Germain or was sold by the club. My feeling is more of the former than the latter which is a pity and an act of cowardice from the Argentine. Players can have a good game or a bad game and in a team with so many young players, the older, more senior players have to stand up and be counted when the going gets tough in a game and drag the team out of a mess and nick a result if needed. That hasn't happened enough. By his own admission, Van Gaal has said the players have been too nice with each other in the dressing room and that is something that can't be accepted in a team that is expected to always win. Over the weekend, when I saw the players losing out to second balls, being second to challenges and messing with possession, I don't see anyone tearing into the players to keep them on their toes and cut out the mistakes. In years gone by, one would have seen players like Bryan Robson, Paul Ince, Steve Bruce, Peter Schmeichel, Roy Keane, Mark Hughes, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra, Darren Fletcher, Gary Neville have a go at the players. I understand that society is different nowadays and the younger players are sensitive to such telling off but sometimes there is nothing better than a strong telling off to get a player's act together and keep his focus. Rooney was a player capable of lashing out at his team-mates but he has mellowed tremendously and lost his spark. Only a couple of players like Eric Cantona and Paul Scholes could get the message across without raising their voice and these were gifted players who let their aura and talent speak for themselves. The lack of strong leadership on the pitch is another reason behind United's struggles. I don't know what goes on in the dressing room and training ground but it doesn't seem like much good is going on there in terms of leadership. The team lacks strong leaders. United cannot win anything or aim to recapture it's previous height of success without having strong leaders in the team.

Another significant point on players is the fall out between Van Gaal and Victor Valdes. The fall out escalated to an embarrassing level when Valdes was completely left out of the first team and not allowed to share the dressing room or train with the first team. Sir Alex has had his fall outs before but he has always made it a point to quickly move the player on to another club. The Van Gaal-Valdes saga was embarrassing for the club and showed a lack of respect and class towards the player. Valdes was also a key figure in the dressing room for the Spanish speaking members of the team and he was a winner from his time at Barcelona and Spain. A player of his experience and leadership could have been a vital component in the dressing room and training ground even if he wasn't expected to play much as an understudy to De Gea. The fall out had an effect on the players in the dressing room as the team had bonded so well at the end of the previous season. Van Gaal should have moved him on quickly after the fall out and not let it fester or he could have tried reconciling for the good of the club.

Final point, is on the CEO, Ed Woodward. He seems to me to be a person with greater natural inclination and ability towards the business, commercial side of the club rather than the footballing side of the club. That is all well and good but it is only good as long as the team remains successful on the pitch. Without success on the pitch, the club will lose it's commercial partners and with it, its revenue and appeal. The club's partners might be riding on past success and the fact that the club still remains one of the most successful and widely supported English clubs around the world. Woodward though doesn't seem to have his pulse on the football side of things. Since United's poor run of form in December, Van Gaal's future has been in doubt but he has not come out to decisively deal with it one way or another. He has left the manager to fend for himself against the constant rumours over his future at the club. His current stand just seems to suggest that there could be more than an iota of truth in all the rumours surrounding the manager and it could have a de-stabilising effect on the team. It does seem from the outside looking in that the manager doesn't have the support of the board or CEO contrary to what Van Gaal claims. I believe that if Woodward wanted to sack Van Gaal, he would have done so in December but he didn't. I am of the opinion that Woodward would keep Van Gaal in the job as long as there is a chance of at least qualification to the Champions League either through their league position or winning the Europa League. I feel Woodward is stalling on sacking Van Gaal probably due to the compensation that he would need to pay for the early termination from his contract. Whatever the reality is, Woodward has to come out to deal with this matter decisively. I get the impression that on the football aspect of running the club, Woodward takes inspiration from Real Madrid. He sacked David Moyes 10 months into his job, I feel rightly so and he hasn't exactly come out in defence of Van Gaal with his future under constant scrutiny and speculation. I feel English clubs are going to be given an inflated quote for players they are after due to the increase in revenue of English clubs and in Woodward's case, he has shown a willingness to pay whatever he has been quoted without batting an eyelid. Anthony Martial became the world's most expensive teenager when he was signed just as Rooney was when he was signed about a decade ago. At the moment, he is justifying the price tag but not everyone might be worth the price we pay and he has to be more shrewd in his dealings.

Football Managers

My article today is on managers. Last night, Gary Neville's Valencia were humiliated and embarrassed at Nou Camp by Barcelona. He was already under pressure before this game and with this defeat, the pressure has well and truly intensified on him. There is lesser patience shown on managers in Europe but the saving grace for Neville is that the owner is not Spanish and is his friend. I would argue that Peter Lim, Valencia's owner is more of a businessman than a football fan so that works in Neville's favour in the sense that he would not make a hasty and abrupt decision a fan would make. In fact, if Peter Lim was a fan, he wouldn't even hire Neville as the manager of Valencia. It was a challenge from the start for the Red Devils legend as he would need to learn a new language, adapt to a new country, a new league and deliver results for the club in his first-ever managerial post, inheriting a squad in mid-season. It's a tough ask and from the start, the odds were stacked against him. He had done a great job previously as a pundit but punditry and football management are two different worlds. He has been assisting Roy Hodgson with the England national team too but being an assistant and a manager are two different things too. I just felt from the start that it was a wrong move to make and he should have cut his teeth in England in the lower divisions or at a Premier League club that doesn't have huge expectations. I feel his sacking is inevitable. It is only a matter of when rather than if. This experience should stand him in good stead for the future and if he does return to punditry after this experience, it would enlighten him to see things from a different perspective. Good luck to Gary Neville. It would be truly remarkable and much to his credit if he can turn things around quickly in the very near future.

On Monday, it was confirmed that Pep Guardiola would be the new Manchester City manager from the 2016-17 season onwards. The rumours linking him to City have been strong since he announced his intention to leave from his current position as Bayern Munich manager at the end of this season. There were reports linking him to other top English clubs but they weren't as strong which is why it wasn't a surprise to hear of the news. I had hope it would not be true and as a Manchester United fan, I dread the news. It would mean our arch-rivals and neighbours would be bolstered by one of the best managers presently available. Earlier this season, another of our arch-rivals, Liverpool hired Jurgen Klopp, a manager we would have loved to have at our club to replace Sir Alex Ferguson or David Moyes or Louis Van Gaal now. Unfortunately, he was not available when there was an availability at the club. Some fans are having a case of sour grapes by downplaying Guardiola's achievements at Barcelona and Bayern Munich. I don't feel that is fair. He took over a very good Barcelona team that had lost its way somewhat after winning the La Liga and Champions League in the 2005-06 season under Frank Rijkaard and made them one of the best ever club sides of all time. He achieved it having only had experience managing the Barcelona B side and guiding them to promotion to the Segunda Division in Spain. By doing so, he made it a trend for clubs to hire ex-players and legends with minimal coaching/management experience but no-one has even been able to achieve a quarter of what he has done proving my theory that he is one-off and Barcelona were lucky to get him. There were other external factors that aided to the success of the club too but I leave that for another day. He deserves all the plaudits, credit and respect in the world for what he did at Barcelona.

His achievements at Bayern Munich has paled in comparison. He took control of a side that were Treble winners and has maintained their status as one of Europe's best teams and Germany's dominant side. However, the Champions League has eluded him in his time at Germany despite domestic dominance. One might argue that to join City would be an easy move to make as the club can spend its way to glory and it would be a greater challenge if he had taken over Manchester United, Arsenal or even Chelsea. From a United fan's point of view using a Catalan metaphor, joining City is like joining Espanyol only that City is a wealthier version of Espanyol. Taking my United hat off and putting a subjective one on, I would ingest that managing in the English Premier League is quite unlike managing elsewhere. He can speak English so getting his ideas through to the players and speaking to the media shouldn't be a problem. However, it is a known fact that there are more matches played in English top flight football than any other country in Europe and teams play on during the Christmas and New Year. It would be interesting to see how he manages his squad in view of the increase in the number of matches played and having a season without a mid-season break. Next, he would need to contend with some bad weather conditions that can influence matches. English teams play at a frenetic pace and are aggressive which would be another challenge to contend with together with the increase in the number of matches played. With Barcelona and Bayern Munich, you get a feeling that teams lose the battle before playing and these teams won most matches easily. I doubt teams in England will just roll over to allow City to win, it goes against the English never-say-die attitude. Moreover with increased funds available to English teams, any of the English clubs in the Premier League can strengthen significantly to pose a serious challenge to the big teams. On paper, Guardiola's appointment is not good for United and other rivals for the title in England and it is something we got to be fearful of but reality is very different. His tiki-taka style might not work or might not always work when he plays teams that get into their faces and play direct long balls not allowing his team to settle and play the ball on the ground. It would be very interesting to see how he does. We would certainly hope he doesn't do well. :-)

Finally, over at United, it has been two wins out of two and both were achieved in a manner that is much like the "Manchester United way", fast, swashbuckling football with lots of goals and chances created. It might feel like the pressure has eased on Louis Van Gaal but I feel it is still looming around like a spirit that refuses to be exorcised. One draw or defeat is all that would take for the pressure and brickbats to be on the Dutchman and with it, rumours and "reports" from "sources" on his sacking and Ryan Giggs or Jose Mourinho's impending "arrival". This story pushed along by the media is like that of the boy who cries wolf. No-one should believe them if it happens again unless it is announced by the club officially. United's transformation in result has been sudden and unexpected but I feel it is still too soon to feel totally contented and pleased for they have achieved nothing but 2 wins. Van Gaal would need United to go on a great run of results in all competitions if he is to truly and fully win over the fans.

Assessing Inter's Rough Patch Of Form

It is never ever acceptable for Inter to lose to Juventus in any match regardless of its nature and the 3-0 humbling Inter took from their arch-rivals away from home will not be easily digested by Inter fans the world over. The defeat just underlines and increases focus on Inter's poor patch of form. It's the first time this season that Inter have hit a rough patch.

All throughout the season, Inter hasn't received much plaudits for their style of play or the manner with which they achieve results. I feel it is fair criticism for Inter have not played very well for much of this season and yet have managed to scrap out wins to reach the higher regions of the league table and for a period of time were top, closing 2015 in top position. In this period, Inter were very solid, tough to break down, determined and united. However, there were also games where Inter played more freely to get their wins by and large though, Inter's football this season have not been pleasant to the eye and it's tough to imagine a side that largely scrapes it's way to the league title in modern football even in a country renowed for tactical football like Italy. Granted, a team worth its salt in emerging as league champions would be one that is solid in defence and is able to scrape out wins or results when the going gets tough and that is a vital component in emerging as champions of Serie A. In those aspects, Inter are on the right track but I personally don't feel a team can play like that for most of the season and win the league title.

The positives that were prevalent in my previous post on Inter. Defensively, Inter are still solid and hard to break down. Inter still remain very well organised and tenacious. Mancini has rotated his squad well and kept everyone on their toes. He has made the side a chameleon, rotating formations to match their opponents. However, individual mistakes are creeping into the defensive third which is one factor why Inter have been dropping points and not winning matches. In the match against Sassuolo, they had to face up to a stupendous display by Antonio Mirante in goal. Inter had enough chances and shots on goal to win two football matches but it wasn't to be in this one. They were caught out on the counter attack as they tried desperately to get one goal at least to win the match, the otherwise excellent Joao Miranda giving away a penalty in stoppage time for Sassuolo to score and condemn Inter to their first defeat of 2016. In the match against Atalanta, Jeison Murillo, another excellent acquisition scored an own goal before Inter grabbed an equaliser ironically through an Atalanta own goal. The team offered little going forward to warrant a win or score a second goal and had the heroics of Samir Handanovic to thank for the win. Inter then beat the impressive Napoli in the Coppa Italia quarter finals for only their second win of 2016. In the match against Carpi, Inter had a good first half where they were in the lead but were slightly lucky that Carpi's first chance of the match was pulled back for a perceived foul on Murillo. In the second half, Roberto Mancini's change of formation disrupted the team's flow and they couldn't adjust as they struggled to create anything of note. A further change to the formation did little to help Inter rediscover it's attacking purpose. Despite that, Inter did create some clearcut chances and there was a particularly clear chance that fell to Mauro Icardi who took too long to get his shot away. Carpi then hit Inter on the counter attack deep in stoppage time to grab an equaliser and set up a variety of puns that were born out of the name of the Carpi goalscorer, Kevin LASAGNA. Finally, there was that heavy and sickening defeat to Juventus in the Coppa Italia semi finals.

Mistakes are creeping into Inter's defence and for a team that has largely depended on its defensive solidity and the excellence of their goalkeeper to win matches, it is proving to be costly mistakes as Inter can't seem to win matches or hang on to leads. The second contributing factor has been apparent all season and that is the lack of creativity in midfield. Mancini had built the midfield to be gritty and workmanlike in the summer. In this aspect, Gary Medel has done very well and he has even dropped back to be an auxiliary centre back with equal comfort and excellence despite the presence of centre backs like Andrea Ranocchia and Juan Jesus in the squad. Felipe Melo has done well as long as he has his head screwed on but unfortunately he has shown to be a ticking time bomb that can explode at any time. Geoffrey Kondogbia who arrived amidst much fanfare in the summer, has been disappointing. I didn't understand the hype over his signing then having not seen him play much previously and I don't understand it now having seen him play. Marcelo Brozovic has been the most potent attacking threat from midfield while Fredy Guarin has just been his usual hit and miss self. Inter has desperately missed the drive and creativity of Mateo Kovacic, who I always felt was going to be a big loss to Inter as he wasn't adequately replaced in the summer. The decision to have a workmanlike, gritty and tenacious midfield is now coming back to bite Inter.

In the attack, Ivan Perisic hasn't looked like his normal self. He has only displayed glimpses of what we know of him in terms of assists, getting past his man and getting shots on target. He has down well in his defensive duties though. Stevan Jovetic started the season explosively but has fizzled out. He is not a number 9 and his natural tendency is to drop back into the number 10 role but yet Mancini plays him as a number 9. He has not developed a good partnership and understanding with Icardi. He did little in the match against Atalanta where he was used from the start but played a crucial part in Inter's Coppa Italia quarter final win against Napoli. His form has been inconsistent and he is not having the impact that is expected of him. Adem Ljajic has been a revelation. He played little early in the season and looked like he was on collision cause with the manager at one stage but he has performed very well recently. He has created a lot of good opportunities for his team-mates and himself and not neglected his defensive duties. Jonathan Biabiany hasn't featured much for me to give an opinion on him, Rodrigo Palacio is the best striker we have got to play the number 9 position offering greater mobility and dexterity than our current number 9, Icardi. Icardi is an over-rated striker. I had stated over the summer that I would have rather Inter cash in on him. He doesn't offer much except waiting for the ball to come to him and that too he is making a royal mess out of getting his shots away or on hitting the target. It has been so frustrating watching Inter squander chances that Mancini offered to show his strikers how it is done and I reckon even at 50, Mancini would be the team's best centre forward if he played.

Overall, the defence is making individual errors, the midfield is not creative enough and the attack is toothless which is why Inter have reach a rough patch. Out of these factors, two factors existed from the start of the season. Inter's midfield was built not to be creative and the attack was always toothless because despite last season's Capocannoniere, Icardi is not a good enough forward to get goals on his own like Ronaldo, Hernan Crespo, Adriano, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Diego Milito were in the past. He plays an old-fashioned game where he needs chances created for him on a platter and it doesn't suit him to play in this team for this Inter is more focused on keeping out their opponents than imposing their game on their opponents and creating their own chances. It's inexplicable why Inter are resorting to play in such way and I have bemoaned the fact all season. I believe football matches are won when you take risks, go forward and create chances to score. It is out of fashion for a team to play ultra-defensive, looking to hit their opponents on the counter and forcing them to make mistakes to score. Such approach is not suitable to be used in modern football and certainly not the way a big team like Inter should be playing. I believe in each season, each team has it's fair share of luck that eventually evens itself out at the end of the season. Inter has used a sizeable chunk of its luck to get to where it is now and it is equalising itself now. Moreover luck favours the brave and if Inter are not brave enough to go forward and create chances, how do they expect to get a little lucky when trying to force a result?

At the onset of the second round of fixtures, I was of the opinion that this would be Mancini's real test this season as Inter tend to struggle in the second half of the season in recent seasons. Inter had a great first half to the season in Andrea Stramaccioni's first full season in 2012-13 and Walter Mazzari's first season in 2013-14 but they struggled badly, failing to qualify for Europe in 2012-13 and just about qualifying for the Europa League in 2013-14, in the second half of the season. It has not been a great start for Inter in the second half of this season so far and you would think that the present squad has more quality than the ones Stramaccioni and Mazzari possessed and would pull through it soon but football is not won on paper. This is the first real challenge for Mancini this season and he has to steady the ship and rediscover the team's form to qualify for the Champions League. Anything short of that would be a failure. All throughout the season, the manager and the Inter hierarchy has downplayed Inter's Scudetto hopes and that should be help to avoid placing more pressure on the team in this rough patch but the team's free fall has seen them slip out of the Champions League positions albeit on goal difference. Time will tell if this is only a temporary blip or a permanent slump and the teams need to win more than one game to be able to get back into the position it wants to be.

In the winter transfer window, Dodo has left to joined Sampdoria on loan which is a valid move because the left full back position has at least 3 options for Mancini to choose from and it could do him some good to get game time elsewhere. Ranocchia's time at Inter was up when Medel was favoured over him in the early parts of the season in some matches when Murillo or Miranda were missing due to injury or suspension. He too has moved on to Sampdoria on loan in his bit to regain his place in Italy's squad for Euro 2016. I feel at this point where Miranda and Murillo are going to be missing through suspension and mistakes are creeping in the defence, he could have been able to lend a hand in shoring up the defence especially with a point to prove in his mind. Guarin has finally left Inter after going close to an exit for the past few transfer windows but there has been no indication at all that Inter would sign someone creative to replace him in this transfer window. There has been talk about signing Roberto Soriano but it doesn't look likely to be concluded in January. Inter is expected to invest on the amount received from Guarin's sale on signing Eder, a signing if it is successful, I would be excited about as Inter would finally get a modern centre forward that can score goals on his own and works for the team (and an Italian international albeit an Oriundi).

Inter has another big match coming up against AC Milan and both teams head into the derby in indifferent form. In such matches, form goes out of the window and this match has draw written all over it on paper. It is a big match for Inter on the back of their poor form. AC Milan needs the points to stay within reach of their objective of at least qualifying for the Europa League and grab some bragging rights as well. Let's see what the derby throws at us.