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If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
Derbies are emotive occasions at the best of times. Rational thought is obscured by a mélange of nerves, tension and anxiety. A concoction of fear and hope intertwine amongst bursts of dread. It's certainly not enjoyable but this one supersedes any other. It is the Manchester derby. And the Premier League title is on the line.
Football is more of a mental disorder than a sport. Its beauty is often too infrequent and the only real certainty it provides is that madness will inevitably prevail.
No transfer has ever had more of the Glazers about it than Owen to United (unless you know of and believe the intricacies and reasoning behind the Bebe deal). It seems absurd that I'm even contemplating this but signing Owen on for another year may well be important for the club's future strikers and seems likely to happen.
There are few things I dislike more than the 'man on the street' and his tendency to hyperbolise everything and anything when it comes to football. ...
Players are employed by their clubs to do a job. They're given outrageous salaries to churn out results, win trophies and gain their clubs further success and revenue. What they're not there to do is to uphold abstract Corinthian values of sportsmanship and fair play.
The assumption with Rooney is that he has to do something special to remind people of his talent - the overhead kick against City or a hat-trick at Bolton for example. Has he truly fulfilled the potential he once showed? Potentially, but not necessarily in the way people expected.
Football often delivers curious cases of Déjà vu and if you are Sir Alex Ferguson then 26 years in the job means avoiding them is impossible.
It was in the dying stages at the end of a feisty affair at Stamford Bridge: that was the defining moment. Up until that split second, his short United career had been obituarised and wrought with doubt, to the point where even the most ardent of optimists had begun wringing their hands.
For fans of Manchester United, last night's 2-0 win away at Blackburn was a cause for delirious joy, taking their team five points clear at the top of the table. For everyone else it was a cause for grudging admiration and jealousy of a side that, despite being incredibly average at points this season has an unparalleled ability to produce results.
United, for all their criticism, have a rather complete and strong squad. So much so, that if every team in the league had to field a fully changed, 'second XI', United's would almost certainly represent the strongest (I'm sure City fans would debate that).
At the weekend, Liverpool footballer and all round douchebag Luis Suarez refused to shake the hand of Manchester United footballer Patrice Evra. What makes this rather childish refusal even more ludicrous is that it was Suarez who was in the wrong in the first place!
There's something inscrutable about Dalglish. He takes straight-talking to Clint Eastwood levels. I like that. No bullshit. There's also a dryness to his humour. That's an understatement, by the way. Dust is damper. And so he decided what his position was on Suarez, his star striker, and stuck to it.
At a time when we need calm and common-sense in the unabating racism in football row, David Cameron has decided that the best way to deal with an already ludicrously escalated sporting drama is to make it a political one as well, by announcing his intention to convene a special summit at Downing Street on the subject.
As Lionel Messi won his third Balon d'or last night, it goes without saying that in a talent pool full of exceptional footballers in La Liga such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Xavi, Iniesta and Ozil, he stands alone as being something extra terrestrial.
The ability to see the effects of racism on a very human level makes one more attuned to the seriousness of the issue. This, coupled with a dedication to punish those who breach the rules, can, is and will continue to change perceptions.
On hearing the news that Manchester United and Scotland footballer Darren Fletcher is taking an extended break from football due to on-going issues with ulcerative colitis, my heart truly sank. Colitis is a terrible debilitating condition that has the potential to be life-threatening.
