Have you learned anything from Sir Alex, Arsene?

[Karl]

Have you learned anything from Sir Alex, Arsene?




By Piers Morgan On Sport

Last updated at 8:56 AM on 15th May 2011

This was the season when I was utterly convinced that Sir Alex Ferguson's 24-year reign of despotic terror was over. And all the signs pointed to his imminent extinction when, after losing his two best players, Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez, in the summer of 2009, he looked like he was going to lose his third, Wayne Rooney, earlier this season, too.


United looked poorer than any of us could remember from August to November and Ferguson's numerous enemies began rubbing their hands in undisguised glee at what seemed to be his inevitable demise.


Then, against all the odds, he won his desperate fight to keep Rooney. And in that moment, United's season kick-started again and their manager regained his mojo.






Turning point: Sir Alex Ferguson convinced Wayne Rooney to stay earlier in the season


By contrast, Arsenal went through a reverse scenario.


Arsene Wenger's young guns played out of their skins for the first seven months of the season and by February 27, seemed destined finally to end our six-year trophy drought.


We were in the final of the Carling Cup, riding high in the league, marching on in the FA Cup and had just thrillingly beaten Barcelona in the first leg of our Champions League encounter.


Then BOOM - one of the worst meltdowns I've ever seen from an Arsenal team. A cataclysmic capitulation so bad that it still almost defies belief.


The tipping point was losing that Carling Cup final to Birmingham. I watched that game with a mounting sense of unease that our glorious charge to silverware had just hit the buffers - hard. I just didn't see winners in those Arsenal shirts. I saw a bunch of wondrously gifted footballers with no idea how to close a deal. And, even worse, I saw a manager who had no apparent idea of what to do about it.






Meltdown: Arsenal inexplicably lost to Birmingham City in the Carling Cup final


Just when his precocious stars desperately needed some Churchillian-style inspiration, Wenger went missing. While Ferguson fired himself up for the business end of the season, Wenger sulked, moaned, chucked bottles and made excuses.


His mood seemed deflated as much by events off the pitch as well as on. From the moment his bizarre affair with a French rapper was alleged, Arsenal insiders say he lost weight, lost his sense of humour and, frankly, lost the plot.


This is not a great United side. Even their most die-hard fans would admit that. But whatever you think of Ferguson, one thing he has always been able to do is get the very best out of his teams. And he turned this fairly average United squad into champions through sheer force of his personality - and astute leadership.






Experience: Ferguson has kept faith in older players such as Rio Ferdinand (left) and Paul Scholes (right)


If you ask me the key difference between Arsenal and United, it's that Ferguson understood the necessity of having older, experienced men in the dressing room like Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Edwin van der Sar and Rio Ferdinand.


Arsenal have none. And that's Wenger's fault. He got rid of them all - great players like Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, Freddie Ljungberg, Robert Pires, Sol Campbell and Gilberto were all sent packing long before they needed to be.


And with them went the winning mentality you need to grab silverware. Wenger swapped the Invincibles for the Vulnerables and that was a big strategic error which continues to haunt us.


Sir Alex Ferguson has scored surely the greatest win of all his 12 titles.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/foo...#ixzz1MRhct0x8

[Karl]

Sir Alex certainly managed his BoyU squad far better than Wenger did my GUNNERS.

We started the season pretty well but even when we were winning cracks started to appear and Wenger either missed them or could not fix them.

There were players who were playing for self and not TEAM and it continued too long. There were players rounding form who were dropped...or given too minutes.

It was noticeable that Sir Alex could always keep his players match ready...whereas my GUNNERS had players going off the boil and then returning looking to use matches to return to match fitness/match readiness. Is it any wonder we lost some of those matches and drew some.

It also appears some players were too big for their breeches.

---

For starters I would let go Nasri, Diaby....and of course, for my GUNNERS, the useless Bendtner...

[Gamma]

There were players who were playing for self and not TEAM and it continued too long

RUBBISH if anything we played too much team in trying to make the perfect pass to score the perfect goal!

yuh love conclude and den reason backward eh? ....that is not a healthy nor productive method and it does not allow for growth!

[Paul Marin]

"This was the season when I was utterly convinced that Sir Alex Ferguson's 24-year reign of despotic terror was over."

I am no Piers Morgan fan, but the use of the term "despotic terror" was spot on. Slurgueson now has a more difficult chapter ahead of him than ever(I admit I said that last year). It is to be seen how he compensates for potentially losing Scholes and Giggs experience (and ability) as surely they can't be relied on next year as heavily as they were this year - can they? Nah!

And while I believe that Manu** truly have a challenge the unfortunate bit of the story is that none of Manu**'s rivals are in a strong enough position to capitalize on Manu**'s retrenchement and challenge for the title; with one exception. City.

Everyone else is going to have to go through a summer "transformation" whereas City is positioned to build on strength. Their performances against the top 5 this year were to be desired, but after winning the FA Cup, qualifying for Europe and holding on to their best players, it is not hard to see them turning the screw by adding even more depth at a time when everyone else in the top 5 will be dealing with some sort of rebuilding effort.

While I reserve the option to revise my position after the summer transfer window closes, my prediction is that the scrap for the title next year will be between City and Manu**, while Spurs, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea fight for the Champions League spots.

Interesting times.

[Rockman]

Park and Fletcher are elders too.
There were those obstacles this season,and I am sure there will be next season,it should serve as a warning to those self professed emerging contenders.

[Rockman]

Agreed,some times individual brilliance is needed when team will not do.
The better read on the net all say what you have said from the get go.

[Jamaica2099]

I will play devil's advocate here. And say my Young Gunners had more dubious calls against us this season.
The Blackburn game specifically comes to mind. Didn't today's game had a similar feeling, Karl.

[Assasin]

Wenger fi buy two Samba, that is all. If he had two defenders who played and give everything on the pitch and a decent goalie, they would have been a much better team, plus a less injury prone Van Persie, Fabregas and Walcott.

[Paul Marin]

Park and Fletcher are elders too.
There were those obstacles this season,and I am sure there will be next season,it should serve as a warning to those self professed emerging contenders.

Park and Fletcher are not the same kind of "elders" as Scholes and Giggs. They both have many years left ahead of them whereas Giggs and Scholes really (for the sake of their future chiropractic bills) should really hang it up. Park is 30, Fletcher is still only 27, so they have a few years well ahead of them. The one "obstacle" that you may have next year is an able replacement for Berbatov. While he was noticeably absent down the stretch, he turned in crucial performances in the season. How unu cope with that will be interesting (if he leaves).

STILL _ CITY CITY CITY!! You are - along with the rest of us - going to see a much stronger team from them next year.

[Lazie]

"despotic terror " .... is that the losers word for WINNING?

[Paul Marin]

"despotic terror " .... is that the losers word for WINNING?

Lazie, you remind me of some of my American friends who dismiss any suggestion that America, despite its world super power status, is guilty of many transgressions that have aided them in achieving that position.

[Karl]

There were players who were playing for self and not TEAM and it continued too long

RUBBISH if anything we played too much team in trying to make the perfect pass to score the perfect goal!

yuh love conclude and den reason backward eh? ....that is not a healthy nor productive method and it does not allow for growth!

You have a very short memory. You were also not very observant.

a) When the anti-TEAM behaviour by some players were raring its head, I posted on it here. I am not now coming up with phantom observations.

b) You see many passes and fail to see, for example Nasri, holding the ball and them making the pass when it is late.

Look in this game of movement and passing the passes are to be mostly one or 2-touch passes done swiftly.

It cannot be about often making the 2-touch a late touch...or making that pass after touching the ball so often that when released to your teammate he does not have the luxury of receiving it with God as the only entity in a position to closing him down/pressure him.

It makes no sense playing in a manner that increases the level of difficulty your team has in doing "good things" with the ball.

Nasri is much too often guilty of that.

Others within the numbers of players I listed have that same fault.

Let us see if you can take you mind's eye back to 2 wonder goals Nasri scored in the early days. Both those goals had him twisting and turning for "ages"
before he took his wonder strike...there were extremely easier passes with his teammates in excellent positions who he ignored when he went for personal glory. In the euphoria of the moment, you were blind to the faults.

Football takes the same thinking as that when you are running a business. When things are being successful the managers must be dispassionate and look out for the seemingly small things out of wack that if not corrected will 'bite in the arse' down the road.

Sir Alex had no such problem. Things would be seemingly going well...and he would step to the sides and raise hell. I can remember on occasions when for example he pulled some players wthout so much as a glance when to the casual observer they would not have seem that the player had just bruked one time too much or one time too often ignored the simple pass (been anti-TEAM).

Boss, managers have to be cold and dispassionate when they look at the game and as they do their real time analyses of the action on the field.

As an observer of my GUNNERS and football matches generally...I try. That is why I also try as best as possible to when the action is in one area of the field...see the whole movement and action of the entire TEAM (set of players). I want to know who is not doing the right thing in his area when the play is no-where near...what needs fixing. Who needs a talking to...to be reminded of job.

When things are going great...look out for the faults and correct...look out for potential future effects of current actions and move to have correct actions...such that the perceived possible future 'bad things' do not occur.

Arsene Wenger let me down this year. In the last few matches it shows he 'lost' some of his players. They were not performing as he coached. They tuned him out.

He needs to recapture the entire unit...regain his authority. Some of the supposedly stars must go. Nasri heads my list. He is closely followed by the indisciplined - Abou Diaby.

The TEAM = the business unit floundered. Little things that needed attention and changing were not addressed. ...or if addressed did not produce the desired result. To me that says - failure to do the necessary day-to-day attention to details.

As in business, often it is not the big things per se that cause the problems but the little things not addressed adequately (timely and appropriately) that lead to big problems.

[Assasin]

how you mean Sir Alex have no such problem? You seen Nani sometimes?

[Lazie]

Lazie, you remind me of some of my American friends who dismiss any suggestion that America, despite its world super power status, is guilty of many transgressions that have aided them in achieving that position.

... and what transgressions he committed? By making his team one of the best in the world? Stop the hating Paul. Fergie look out for his team, its not his fault you choose to support a losing team.

[Paul Marin]

... and what transgressions he committed? By making his team one of the best in the world? Stop the hating Paul. Fergie look out for his team, its not his fault you choose to support a losing team.

Lazie, don't let your loyalty blind you. There is a well documented history of Slurgie's shenanigans and those of us who believe in conspiracies really have to wonder how somethings have been allowed to happen. Have you ever noticed how things don't go the way those who challenge Manu** need them to go many times, yet it is not the case the other way? Here's a list for starters (keep in mind the references to non-Manu** games are with those who have been their closest challengers). This is an excerpt from someone else's post on another forum who says it well enough for me (even though I don't agree with everything he says)
=========================================
You can go through the years and you will innumerable instances of a penalty given to Man U or not given against Man U. This goes for fouls, cards, free kicks close to the box, etc., etc – goal scoring chances. Please note I am not talking about a foul in the middle of the pitch – a player sent off/not sent off. Though such decisions alter the game they are not definites – we have seen many a ten man team holding off a eleven man team! The depth of this corruption can be understood when you see similar favours are granted to any team that is playing against a close competitor of Man U in that season. It could be Liverpool that suffers in one year, the next year it could be Arsenal, then Chelsea the following year. Therefore there is no clear trail of decisions against any one team, making it complex. However, if you watch closely it is the rival of MAN U in that year, which bears the brunt! Such game changing decisions are written off as human errors, part of the game, you win some – you loose some, yeah there are inconsistencies – part of life, a referee cannot have his eyes everywhere, etc. etc. However, for some strange reason Man U does not get the wrong end of the stick – especially if they are league contenders, or if they do they are three/four goals up already! If the “mistakes” were genuine “mistakes”, then some action needs to be taken (disciplinary or otherwise) against those who take a call on such game-changing decisions!

Those who stop clubs from winning a fair game, kill the career of players and managers continue to do it with impunity – no punishment for the inefficiency because it is not an inefficiency but deep-rooted corruption. After all the FA admits that foreign players are needed to get the league global (and that they are far better then the English “rugbyish football” players) and that they don’t have an Englishman, good enough to coach the English Football (or Cricket) team – not that anyone can do much with the current bunch of footballers, but we’ll come to that later. So why not admit that there are not enough good (leave alone excellent) English referees around, and get some foreign referees to run the EPL. When the English gentleman refereed the World Cup Final (I was in the stadium that day) he could not take the whistle off his mouth – the standards are different there, they wanted Football on the field, not just kicking – he too must have noticed. Lets’ take a few instances of “mistakes” in the best league in the world – the great enthusiasm about the greatest soccer league of the world is almost a mockery!

1. Last year Owen is a hero in the Man Derby scoring well after the extra time, this year the whistle blows when Everton were about to shoot!
2. Last year Wenger was shown a red card because he kicked a water bottle – how many times has “Sir” Alex bad mouthed a linesman/referee – did you notice him the other day against Wolves when a Wolves player fouled a Man U player!
3. Scholes scored a bizarre goal VS Totenham – Nani sat with the ball in his hand, gets up, passes and Scholes scores!
4. Saha’s goal against Arsenal this year – off side by a mile!
5. Tottenham gets a penalty against Fabregas but a replica – Arsenal VS Wigan (the defender jumps, raises his hand and handles) is not a penalty.
6. Mikhel get a yellow card for just about touching a Liverpool player – Chelsea don’t get a penalty when their player is bundled over by Johnson – without intent to play the ball. (you must remember that this season Chelsea, not Liverpool, is a greater threat to Man U)!
7. Handball by Liverpool inside the box is not a penalty – remember the Arsenal defender on the floor and Nani kicking the ball to his hand – not many would, because Rooney blasted it over!
8. Noticed Rafael’s armed clearance, inside the box VS Wigan!
9. Chelsea do not get a penalty VS Liverpool when a player is bundled down but Newcastle get two VS Arsenal – see them again! I would rather not speak about Fletchers charge on Arshavin last year!
10. Mikhel’s yellow card is for barely touching a Liverpool player – Barton, with his background and history, goes for Diaby not even a foul! In fact he was to get a yellow card for an earlier challenge – this should have been red!
11. Diaby gets a red card for raising his hand on Barton and Nolan – but not even a yellow for what the pair do to the Arsenal Goalkeeper after the first penalty!
12. Scholes scores VS Wolves with his hand and gets only a yellow – Giggs kicks out at a Wolves player off the ball – no card?
13. Neville’s challenge V WBA before he retired!

I guess I made my point – compare this against the soft decisions that go for Arsenal and Chelsea and you will get the Maths. Each of these decisions impacted or could impact the final result – that Rooney blasted the penalty kick over the bar is another matter. Even David Moyes plays his part to see how he can contribute to the Man U welfare fund – I heard Fabregas saying something disgusting – cant say it but I can b____h about it! Get him banned, if not for this match atleast for the next match!

The Arsenal-Newcastle match was a match of two halves – the first half there was football and the winners were clear. The second half there was refereeing and not much of football – joint winners, but the winners of that half were clear too! During the break, Newcastle team was told to show passion, pride, the killer (instinct), go for it, kick something atleast – if not the ball at least the man – playing football as it is played in most part of the world was never a part of the strategy. Newcastle came out firing! They were told to needle Arsenal, go for leg breaking challenges – you give away a penalty or get a red card – no worries, after all we are down 4-0, how much worse can it get. Newcastle gambled in getting it right “went for the challenge, touched the ball and the momentum did the rest”. As the coach said it was “a honest tackle and he got the ball”. What he failed to see was that Barton got the ball because Diaby took his leg away – three leg breaks in three years would be a record of sorts! The result was as discussed in the dressing room – break a leg or similar and Arsenal will react! React they did! I don’t know what the referee was given to drink – he seemed to see the red of Arsenal and the angelic white of Newcastle. That shows all that is wrong with English Football. England play a different brand of football, closer to rugby – the rest of the world does not play it. England can get anyone as the coach but as long as they want to play the Newcastle way (not to mention the cheering and chest beating with pride watching that brand of football) – and that’s how England currently play it will not go anywhere in World Football. They have not had anything noticeable since 1966 – lets not get into how that was achieved! The English team had all the God’s of EPL over the years – all that they have had are a few freak wins but those were and will continue to be accidental without any degree of consistency. Besides, the physicality is just not allowed in this sport outside that tiny country, love to see Joe Barton challenging Fabregas or Tores in the World Cup in the same manner as he challenged Diaby. Therefore if England feels that Arsenal must go play basketball in the EPL, England has to learn to play that same brand of basketball outside of England. With the current brand of football that the English like playing (and an average English spectator dies to watch) even a place in the Semis in Euro and Quarters in the World Cup could be a dream – even if Jose Mourinho takes over as coach!

What I wrote above holds true for Man U too – great club, great players but within that small island! Scrutinize their records outside that small island – not much to show (Champions League1968, 1999 and 2008). This club, the greatest in the World, which has been the chief contributor to the National Team of England and Wales provides players that cannot perform at the World Stage for certain clear reasons. “Sir” Alex knows the limitations – the technical limitations of the players as well as the absence of numerical superiority – 14 V 11 in EPL with the Officials VS 11 VS 11 outside the tiny island. Therefore he says that MAN U is not focused on the Champions League – neither does he want to be the National Coach of England. Can you think of another reason for him to refuse to be the coach of the country that has given him so much, even the ultimate respect – “Sir” – I cant and probably he cant too! As for Chelsea and Arsenal – sorry you will have fourteen players, (of which 11 will play “rugbyish football” and the other three will guide them to your goal), to contend with if you are playing with another English Club, while outside England some of the teams playing against you just play better football – such as Bayern, Barcelona, Real Madrid. The Owner of Chelsea is right – concentrate on the Champions League – you don’t have a hope in hell to win the EPL – winning consistently VS 14 with 11 is impossible.

The FA must investigate this corruption – it has been there for years and is growing with impunity – all said and done this is very much a public funded sport and it is important to be honest and transparent with your real supporters. If you assure us that there is no corruption then please demonstrate that you take steps – punitive or otherwise, against the inefficient referees – they are fined and ultimately thrown out of the EPL if their “inefficiency” continues. Let’s not talk of Fair Play where it does not exist or is not allowed to exist!

An Update – the Arsenal-Sunderland match on March 5! Different rules for a penalty or an off side. One mistake by a referee in the Chelsea Man U match is now rectified by two on the following day – because Alex had barked after the Chealsea Match – referee changed the game, what a soft penalty – my God!