When Apollo cursed the Bridge – is it just Greek myth?

If we cast our minds back, few would have predicted that the winds of change would be blowing over Stamford Bridge instead of Old Trafford. When the Glazers bought Manchester Untied, many were roaming the media world preaching predictions of doom in a way not even Cassandra herself would have dared. In order to ensure these rumours were not believed the Glazers appear to have reacted like Apollo and put in place a curse that has already taken care of the errant fan, who with no one now believing their doom-mongering stories have retreated to the hills to live a sheltered and distant existence. But the curse seems to have stretched to London and, for the present time, settled over Stamford Bridge.

Firstly the curse struck Shevchenko who in front of expectant millions could only resemble the Cossack statue in Odessa – confused and unable to strike having fallen from his horse in public. Then came the serious injury to Petr Cech, only to be followed by injuries to Cudicini and John Terry. And just when things seemed bad enough in the dressing room, the curse spread onwards and upwards up the Chelsea hierarchy. Stories were produced that seemed to ensure Mourinho was linked with a move away to Real Madrid. Then the curse struck their billionaire owner, with his love of Chelsea being too much for his wife, and his love of Shevchenko allegedly causing the breakdown of his relationship with the manager, having the knock on effect of the manager falling out with the clean shaven Rasputin (formerly known at Kenyon) and the child snatcher (Frank Arnesen) – whose major input appears to have the kidnap saga and expensive pursuit of John Obi Mikel – that made Manchester United £12m (oh great and gifted Apollo) and ended the enthusiasm of the once great Makelele.

In contrast, Sir Alex has appeared more relaxed than ever and is settled for another few years. The purchase of Michael Carrick has worked out better than expected, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes have been rejuvenated and even the departure of goal machine Van Nistelrooy has resulted in more goals being scored. And the special one status of one Portuguese man has also moved from Mourinho to Cristiano Ronaldo – who in a season of bewildering ability and football fantasy has been compared to George Best.

Perhaps I have over cooked the curse story a little but when you consider in the just the last few days, Frank Lampard has his wrist fractured by a shot from Wayne Rooney, you start to think, is there really more going on than meets the eye…

From Larsson to Berbatov?

It seems a strange time to be looking ahead to next season with so much still to play for in 2007. However, with the latest rumours suggesting a potential summer swoop for Berbatov, it led me to wonder what Fergie may get up to in the summer?

United’s strike force was given an injection of brilliance this season when Sir Alex Ferguson captured Larsson on loan in January. The Swedish striker’s contribution was about more than goals. It was certainly about influence. But was it also an insight in to United’s plans for the summer? Was it the beginnings of an outline of a question mark over the futures of Solskjaer, Smith and Saha?

Solskjaer is 34. The injuries this guy has suffered surely cast a doubt over his future. There is little point going into the stats of the “baby faced assassin” but for anyone in doubt about just how happy he really has made United fans feel, the record of 126 goals in 357 appearances (that’s an average of 2.8 a game despite 145 appearances coming as a sub) is there to be admired. Also, take a look at the banner held by the fans in the Stretford End reading 20 Legend. That says it all. I suspect this prolific marksman will only ever be known for missing one thing, and that will be life at Manchester United. Verdict: Gone

Saha turns 29 in the summer. Signed in 2004 for a fee of £12.8 million he has only just signed an extension to his contract in December 2006, tying him to United until 2010. He has 13 goals this season and averages just better than 1 in 3 since joining. Blighted by injury, brilliant against defenders. Verdict: One more season

Alan Smith, bought for £6m in 2005, is 26 and has a goals to game average of roughly 1 in 5. Most of 2006/07 saw him perform as a central midfielder but there still remains doubts over his goal scoring amongst fans. Like him yes, admire him, well... In eight seasons of top-flight football he has only managed to net double figures four times. Suggesting his role at Old Trafford will never be greater than 3rd or 4th choice striker. Verdict: Gone

Dong Fangzhou has just turned 22 and is at the beginning of his career at United. He may or may not be good enough for United but the signs are he will figure in and around the first team squad more next season. Verdict: Staying

Giuseppe Rossi has just turned 20 and clearly has a promising career ahead of him. He is contracted to United till 2010 but playing at Parma, where he has scored 2 goals in 5 appearances. In the 2005/2006 season Rossi made 12 appearances for United, scoring 4 times. This 1 in 3 average is something expected after his prolific goal-scoring record in the reserves. The only blight on his time so far came during his recent loan spell at Newcastle, where 13 appearances failed brought only 1 goal. What remains to be seen is whether his ability to play Premiership football is as black and white as we thought, when he was scoring freely in the reserves. Interestingly, Lupoli at Arsenal, the other starlet plucked from Parma, is due to return to Italy in the summer. Verdict: Staying

So what does this all mean? Well, of course only Manchester United truly know but for me the issue is this. If Rossi returns to Old Trafford, either a surprise sale of Saha will happen either with or instead of the more expected sale of Smith – with Everton and Aston Villa possible destinations. Only if Rossi is sold will both Smith and Saha stay. But United will make a move for a new striker and that striker will likely be ranked second in the pecking order, behind Wayne Rooney.

So I expect United to have the following options as strikers next term: Rooney, Saha, Rossi, Fangzhou + one more. However, who is out there that has the ability to come in and cement their place as one of United’s first choice strikers?

The first and most recent suggestion is Berbatov of Spurs. Cynics have already replied to this rumour by saying he is only heavily linked because he is poorly paid. However, it is clear to all that he has the attributes and goal scoring record in the Premiership to be a success at Old Trafford, and don’t Spurs know it. (Likelihood: 7/10). Another is Eto’o of Barcelona, who seems to either stay or move depending on the week. Heavily linked by the media to Arsenal he is undoubtedly talented. (Likelihood: 4/10). Next comes, Fernando Torres who was rumoured to have been the subject of a bid from United in January. The rumours have been so rife even his Coach appears to have resigned himself to losing this star of Spain. This guy is young and top quality but has not played outside of Spain. (Likelihood: 8/10).

Underneath these more obvious three can be found Huntelaar, who has scored 17 goals in 27 league appearances for Ajax this term and looks set to continue to impress. (Likelihood: 5/10) Then there is Fred: Aged 23 and contracted till 2009 this Lyon forward has 10 goals in 17 league appearances but with Mancini the pick of their players and the fact that Lyon demand silly money it’s a long shot. Likelihood 3/10. Then the mercurial Tevez who at 23 with Premiership experience makes some sense. He is incredibly talented but his confusing contract with West Ham was enough to put United off last summer and may keep their distance once again. Tempting though. Likelihood: 5/10

A quick look around also brings up the names of: Kone (PSV), Babel (Ajax) Adebayor (Arsenal), Defoe (Spurs), M Owen (New) and Ashton (West Ham) but these seem unlikely.

For me the smart money is on Torres or Berbatov, with Tevez and Huntelaar good outside bets. Over to you Fergie…

Liverpool 0 v United 1 - A review

Normally when John O’Shea comes on you sense Fergie has decided to shut up shop. So to see O’Shea perform like the artful dodger and pinch three points in front of the Kop was more than just a moment to remember. The result effectively ended Liverpool’s domestic season and gave United further belief that this is their year. Beneath the wild cheers of the travelling support you could clearly hear the groan of Liverpool fans. Fainter still – but still significant – was the sound of disappointment coming from West London.

Once again United emerged with 3 points from a game that had suggested a draw. Last week it was Ronaldo’s moment of individual brilliance. This was O’Shea’s moment. Liverpool could scarcely believe what had happened as John O’Shea span away to celebrate.

Football can be a cruel game. But it hands out pleasure in equal doses. Liverpool can and will consider themselves unlucky. But it was concentration that cost them. Ronaldo’s fierce strike from the freekick was well watched by Reina, particularly as Saha had come across him and the ball had moved on its way. In fact he did well to prevent it going straight in. But it was his team-mates that decided to simply stop and watch as O’Shea knocked in the simplest of chances. And that was the difference. That is not about luck. That is football.

Liverpool fans will point out that the momentum had long been with their team, that they had more possession and so have a right to feel aggrieved by the loss of all three points. Although Liverpool managed to the put the ball in the back of the net, which was rightly ruled out for offside, it couldn’t have escaped the attention of their supporters that Benitez’s team still lack a finisher. Wasn’t it strange that Benitez came out to describe Fowler as the best finisher at the club? Not because it was said of Fowler, but if he believed that why didn’t he do something about it rather spending so much money on Kuyt and Bellamy? Kuyt is a good player and has 10 goals this season but arguably Benitez may have been wiser to go for Berbatov who has scored 16. And Bellamy has scored 8 goals this season. That is 10 less than his replacement (McCarthy) at Blackburn. It is also two less than Ole Gunner Solksjaer. In fact, Crouch was for every reason Liverpool’s biggest threat on Saturday and he started on the bench, despite having scored 13 times this season.

Bellamy did cause United some problems by drifting into the space between Evra and Vidic. And he did well to drag Vidic out of his comfort zone and at times exposed the Serbian’s lack of pace when in the corners. But with Kuyt also dropping deep to receive there was little left in the penalty area to have a chance on goal. And when it finally did come it was generally well looked after the magnificent Rio Ferdinand and Edwin Van der Saar.

This was the best game I have seen Ferdinand have for some time. He was commanding rather than casual and decisive rather than deft with his touch. He was very well supported by the impressive Van der Saar who pulled off a number of important catches when the crosses entered the area at height and speed. He also pulled of a wonderful save to deny Peter Crouch and deny Liverpool a way back in to the match.

If we compare Liverpool’s wingers to Ronaldo and Giggs it is clear that both Pennant and Gonzalez come up short. Neither looks capable of that bit of brilliance. Whereas Giggs has shown it on and off for a staggering 700 games and Ronaldo continues to show it week in week out this season. Therefore, it was no surprise that it was Ronaldo who demonstrated in one move how lethal he could be when running direct at Liverpool. After skinning Riise with an outlandish nutmeg he raced at Liverpool’s penalty area and with one step over at full speed left Agger in his wake only for his shot on goal to be thwarted by the outstretched leg of Carrigher. No Liverpool player appeared to have the ability to do something out of nothing.

I was impressed with United’s ability to cope with the pressure Liverpool and the occasion put on them. But I was disappointed at how often our attacks fizzled out when a better final ball was needed. All too often Rooney’s flick or Larsson’s touch was not what it should have been. Admittedly a lot was asked of them when the game plan was too deploy Scholes and Carrick in front of the back four, meaning there was a bigger gulf than normal between midfield and attack. The gap certainly made it difficult for Larsson to have a real impact, although his technique and ability was demonstrated in an instant with a beautiful and clever back flick to lay the ball off for Ronaldo to uncharacteristically waste.

The Guardian saw fit today to describe United’s midfield as ‘porous’, a strange comment given the achievements of the season and the success in this game. But then they also gave the Man of the Match award to Jamie Carragher rather than Rio Ferdinand, despite Carragher’s nasty challenge (which incidentally failed to spark a millennium style fight) on Rooney and despite Liverpool losing. Carragher played well but was not better than Ferdinand or Van der Saar.

United’s midfield sat deeper but you are mistaken if you see this as anything other than tactical. Very little in Liverpool red got through it. Scholes and Carrick soaked up stray passes – particularly from Sissoko – and got their foot in when required. They also found time to retain possession when under pressure and fed Ronaldo and Giggs with well placed passes. Ultimately, their game plan cancelled out the supposed threat of Sissoko and Alonso. In fact the danger for United were passes out wide to Gerrard, who caused Evra a number of problems when driving forward on the inside right channel. Fergie saw fit to rectify this by bringing on the more defence minded Silvestre (what must Heinze be thinking). Fergie then moved Rooney out wide and instructed Giggs to operate in the centre of a 5man midfield. He also replaced Larsson with Saha as a direct response to the changes made by Benitez.

It wasn’t long before Rooney made a burst down the left flank, raising his foot to reach the ball before Carragher – whose mistimed and ugly challenge saw him catch Rooney around the knee and ended the young player’s involvement in the game. As Rooney hobbled off, O’Shea prepared himself to come on. As a substitution it appeared to have 0-0 written all over it.

John O’Shea is accepted as a Manchester United player but not loved. Indeed people next had earlier been asking me why he was even on the bench in the first place and why Fergie so often sees fit to play him in midfield. Sometimes it is difficult question to answer – after all, his ‘natural position’ is in defence. He is generally seen as ‘make-do’ option when he comes off the bench and is often greeted with a mix of concern and condemnation when he starts in central midfield. But there comes a time when we should praise a player that works his bollocks off for the team and the manager and accepts his role at United. And on Saturday, John O’Shea got his reward. And he got it by scoring in front of the Kop. Does it get any better?

To see the goal, click here

Player ratings: Van der Saar 7, Neville 6, Ferdinand 8, Vidic 6, Evra 6, Ronaldo 7, Scholes 7, Carrick 6, Giggs 6, Rooney 6, Larsson 6

Man of the match: Rio Ferdinand