The super-massive, jumbo-sized, wham-bam enormous Grand-Slam Sunday preview
Comment and analysis round-up
Quote of the day: “We had a pivotal moment some years ago when our players surrounded Andy D’Urso. I went off my head with them about that. I thought it was ridiculous and it never happened again. We tell our players to shake hands with the referee at the end of the game. Sometimes it’s difficult, but they have to do it, in the same way that if you lose a game, we will make sure we invite the opposing manager for a drink afterwards. We do these things because it’s important, because life goes on. The other night I saw one of our players swapping shirts with a Bolton player who had fouled him about ten times. We were talking the other week about respect for referees at grassroots level, which I think is absolutely correct. The haranguing of referees is absolutely ridiculous. It’s not right. We see it as an issue and since that issue with Andy D’Urso, we’ve not done anything like it.” – Sir Alex Ferguson.
Runner-up: “If you respect the referee, then you have to respect his decision. We come back to not that the referee made a mistake that I could have made as well. On the tackle, at full speed it’s very difficult to see what Ashley Cole did. But I’m not even sure if Ashley Cole wanted to hit him where he did hit him. It can be a complete accident but you can only see it on replay. But nobody wants technology! The game is less aggressive than 20 years ago. It is faster, but not as dirty as it was. I remember places where, in Europe, there was no television and you went to some countries and ‘good luck to you’. They could not kick a ball properly, you know. That does not exist any more. It’s much better.” – Arsene Wenger.
Today’s overview: Excitement ahead of Grand-Slam Sunday resonates throughout all the papers, as all the talk this Saturday focuses on tomorrow’s meetings between Manchester United and Liverpool, and Arsenal’s visit to Stamford Bridge.
Ashley Cole’s behaviour continues to analysed with Clive Tyldesley accurately pointing out the sharp line between an apology and regret. Tabloid journalism from Paul Hayward (”the day the system failed”) and Mark Lawerson blows the Cole affair totally out of proportion, but comfort is offered to Cashley from The Irish Independent, who report on how Mark van Bommel has been voted the “most hated man in the Bundesliga”.
John Barnes suggests that Liverpool are not too far off being true title contenders, however Jim White and Ian Ladyman – backed up with stats – are quick to lay out Manchester United’s superiority over their Anfield rivals.
Saturday sees the usual collection of interviews, with Elano, Martin Skrtel, Jermain Defoe and Tommy Smith all speaking to the press. And the best of the rest includes Jimmy Greaves’ rant against the so-called big teams of the North-East, Daniel Finkelstein’s study into the ingredients that make national teams successful, and Leo Manns’ top 30 “Black List”.
Reacting to all the hot air surrounding Ashely Cole’s behaviour against Spurs, and the whole ‘respect referees’ debate which has ensued thereafter, Clive Tyldesley (Telegraph) cuts through the nonsense to make some accurate observations. “‘I didn’t mean to disrespect the ref,’ Cole told Chelsea TV, presumably without once turning his back on the interviewer. The necessary follow-up questions as to what exactly he did mean then were not asked. Avram Grant says his player has shown great maturity through his remorse. An official line has now been drawn under the matter. Ashley has said sorry, what else do you want him to do? Apology and regret are two very different things, though.”
In contrast to the level-headed analysis offered by Tyldesley, Paul Hayward (Daily Mail) puts a souped-up tabloid spin on the events at White Hart Lane earlier in the week. “Cole v Riley was the day the system failed. It was the night when football packed its kit-bag for this weekend’s action knowing that the laws of the game are just a sham. They are a book that no one reads. As for the spirit of Association Football, pin a notice on a tree, the way you would for a lost cat. Riley’s acquiescence in Cole’s revolt was a memo winging its way out to every school pitch and park. This is what it said: ‘The referee is a notional figure. He’s just there for show. You can ignore him. If you do something wrong, invert the moral dynamic by chasing and haranguing him. Spout indignation.’”
Staying in the red-tops, Mark Lawernson (Mirror) sticks the knives into Ashely Cole. “Make no mistake that Wayne Bridge is the best player in that position for club and country and has been for more than a year… People tell me he was a nice lad at Arsenal, he was a great defender too and behaved well. But his head has been turned by money and his career has gone into freefall since he left Arsenal to join Chelsea.”
Responding to Alex Ferguson’s claims that United’s players are a model of behaviour, Ian Herbert (Independent) argues that the Scot should follow his player’s lead. “If only Ferguson followed the lead his players set, referees might not find Old Trafford such a forbidding place. He vented his spleen after the Portsmouth match, while his assistant, Carlos Queiroz, retracted comments suggesting Martin Taylor was a violent player.”
In contrast, Henry Winter (Telegraph) supports Fergie’s claims that Manchester United are no longer the main offenders. “Nowadays, United outbursts tend to be individual detonations rather than mass combustions. Linesmen continue to be given the benefit of Wayne Rooney’s wisdom and Anglo-Saxon vernacular. Rio Ferdinand is not short of an opinion. Ferguson, himself, was hardly interviewing for the Diplomatic Corps when he berated Martin Atkinson after the FA Cup defeat to Portsmouth. Yet it needs stressing that, post-D’Urso, United are no longer top of the strops, although tomorrow’s high-octane visit of in-form Liverpool may test their poise.”
Ahead of Sunday, Kevin McCarra and David Pleat (Guardian) survey the strengths and weaknesses of the three big guns in the race for the Premier League title.
Former Liverpool legend John Barnes (Telegraph) believes the Reds’ are not too far off being title contenders. “People always ask, ‘When will Liverpool win the League?’ and my answer this season has been that they are not as far away as you might think. It was unrealistic to think that a team that finished last season 21 points behind United could catch up in one campaign. But Liverpool are moving forward and, although Manchester United are still ahead of them, winning tomorrow will be a big statement.”
Jim White (Telegraph) spells out the extent of United’s recent dominance over Liverpool. “Russell Beardsmore, Diego Forlan and John O’Shea: none of them would expect entry in any United hall of fame, yet all three have been match winners in the virulent battle for north-western supremacy. A battle which always seems to go one way. If Liverpool play well, United win. If Liverpool play badly, United win. If Liverpool need to win to stifle United’s trophy ambitions, United win. Only once, in 1992, when the Kop chanted ‘Leeds, Leeds’ to show they wanted anybody but United to take the League title, did Liverpool manage to knock their rivals off their perch.”
The gulf between United and Liverpool is highlighted by Ian Ladyman (Daily Mail). “Since Benitez assumed control at Anfield in the summer of 2004, United have earned 52 more League points than their great rivals, have won 19 more Premier League games and scored 53 more goals.”
And staying on Merseyside with Andy Hunter, the Guardian journalist also notes how Mascherano is new Keane according to Benitez. Rafa said: “I don’t know if United are happy and I don’t know how interested United were in him, but we are really pleased. Mascherano has a fantastic mentality and is a good professional and he can be a key player for us over the next few years. He could be like Roy Keane. He is the same kind of player, a player with strong character. A leader.”
Dominic Fifield (Guardian) spells out the task awaiting Arsenal on Sunday. “It is over four years since goals from Patrick Vieira and Edu, plundered beyond Neil Sullivan in the home goal, saw Chelsea defeated in front of their own. The west Londoners have gone 77 matches without a defeat at Stamford Bridge since that 2-1 defeat in February 2004, accruing 191 of the 231 points on offer en route, though Wenger has cause for optimism to suppose that sequence is about to end.”
Picking up on the comparison between Ronaldo and George Best, James Lawton (Independent) offers a host of reasons why the Portuguese comes up short. “The best definition of greatness is that it is displayed when the opposition is toughest and the pressure is at its highest. In these strict terms, Ronaldo has nothing in his portfolio that begins to compare, say, with Fabregas’s precocious masterpiece at San Siro recently. It’s true that Ronaldo emerged immensely in the 2006 World Cup semi-final against France – but he did not display a cutting edge… If we do come to praise Ronaldo now, and only the crabbiest of spirits could deny him large bundles of it, we do have to remember that he is yet to fulfil all of the demands we have always applied to the likes of Best and Charlton and Law. ”
Oliver Kay (The Times) quotes passages from Phil Thompson’s autobiography, Stand Up Pinocchi, to show how close Liverpool were to signing Ronaldo. Money quote: “I met the player’s Portuguese agent before watching the game. Ronaldo was quite good, but not as impressive as the first time I saw him. Tony was pushing the boy and saying he was a talent. He was saying, ‘He’ll only cost £4 million. It can be paid over the course of his contract at £1 million a year.’ He also said the player wanted £1 million [a year] tax free. I said, ‘The boy is only 18. That is a massive problem.’ We would have had anarchy if the other players had found out how much we were considering paying for an 18-year-old kid in Ronaldo.”
In contrast to Ronaldo, Oliver Kay (The Times) looks at Wayne Rooney’s current downturn in form. “With Ronaldo winning all the plaudits, it has been a curious season for Rooney, whose tally of eight Barclays Premier League goals is only a third of that managed by his Portuguese team-mate. By comparison, Rooney’s contribution has been understated, more often winning praise for his workrate than for his more renowned abilities with the ball at his feet.”
Contrary to popular belief that Manchester City is a fantastically supported club, Ian Whittell (The Times) notes how Eriksson and Shinawatra are formulating a strategy to get more bums on seats at Eastlands. “The conclusion reached by owner and manager this week is that City must attempt to land a big-name signing this summer in an effort to attract missing supporters.”
And staying with the blue half of Manchester, Ian Herbert (Independent) talks with Elano. Money quote: “I want to be here for the next seven or eight years and then I’ll go back to Brazil to finish my career with Santos… It’s taken some time to find the right place for me outside Brazil but I’m happy with what I’m producing for the club and I think the feeling is mutual.”
Andy Hunter (The Guardian) speaks to Martin Skrtel, the man who has pushed Jamie Carragher to right-back. Money quote: “Obviously I worried about what the fans would think of me, it was not the best first impression, but as far as the critics are concerned I am my own biggest critic. We conceded two goals to a non-league team, one because of my mistake, so I was not happy with myself first of all, but I knew I would get another opportunity to prove to the supporters that I am and will be a better player than that first full game.”
Daniel Talyor (Guardian) meets up with a rejuvenated Jermain Defoe. “There can be no doubt Defoe is currently England’s in-form striker, two months after ending his five-year association with Tottenham Hotspur. ‘I had some good times at Spurs but, when I consider everything that has happened since I joined Portsmouth, I can say without any doubt that I made the right decision.’”
Sue Mott (Telegraph) speaks to Liverpool’s iron-man, Tommy Smith. Money quote: “When I first went there, Shanks said to me: ‘Don’t take shit from anyone.’ From then, I didn’t. If a tackle was to be done, I did it. Shanks used to wince and then give me a wink. It had to be done. I did it.”
The Irish Independent offers some sympathy to Ashely Cole, reporting how Mark van Bommel, “the eternally-whinging Bayern Munich midfielder has just been voted the most hated man in the Bundesliga. German daily ‘Bild’ ran a fan’s poll to decide ‘Der grösste Stinkstiefel’ — which translates as ‘The biggest stinking boot’ — and the Dutchman won 25.28pc of the vote, which is a staggering achievement when one considers that his team-mate is Oliver Kahn.”
Jimmy Greaves (The Sun) blows off some steam against the so-called big teams in the North-West. “This whole idea of the North-East being a so-called soccer hot-bed is a complete myth. The combined achievements of Newcastle, Sunderland and Middlesbrough don’t even begin to compare to Manchester, Merseyside or London. So why everyone got quite so excited when Keegan returned to St James’ Park was simply beyond me.”
The Times’ in-house statistician, Daniel Finkelstein, discovers the degrees to which international football is determined by the population size and GDP of any particular nation. “All this allows us to predict which nation we would expect to be the best in the world, based on its population and its wealth. The answer? The United States, of course. If football ran in the blood there, the team would be very hard indeed to stop. Perhaps we should not be trying so hard to make them take it up.”
Leon Mann, an anti-racism campiagner, has published the top 30 most influential black figures in football in The Times.
