Avram Grant was being ridiculed last week as not good enough to manage Chelsea, while referees were getting stick for not coming down harder on dissent.

Cue Grand Slam Sunday — when Chelsea virtually ended Arsenal’s title hopes and Javier Mascherano left Liverpool with 10 men at Manchester United following a quite avoidable red card, clearing the champions’ path in their quest to retaining the title.

Grant made a double substitution that changed the face of Chelsea’s match with Arsenal, who were leading 1-0, with the strategy of twin strikers producing two Drogba goals for a 2-1 victory.

As they put it at EPL Talk: “Avram Grant looks as if he’s starting to understand this whole managerial thing…”

The weekend’s biggest winners, though, were United who, five points clear of Chelsea with seven matches to go, should go on to retain the title after a 3-0 win over Liverpool.

Mascherano may not have been able to prevent United’s victory had he remained on the pitch for the full 90 minutes but Liverpool’s chances diminished with his unnecessary departure for dissent.

Worse still, the end of Liverpool’s seven-match winning streak in all competitions could have a negative effect in the race for fourth place, which includes the city derby against fifth-placed Everton at Anfield next weekend, let alone virtually ending any lingering hope of fighting for the title.

Mascherano was variously called “Mad Masch”, a Muppet and much worse. Liverpool Pies disagreed with the red card but added:

“Can we please stop blaming another Old Trafford defeat on the referee? … He was hardly responsible for a defensive shambles, a midfield that lacked as much fight as it did creativity, and a striker so isolated that he must have wondered whether he was the only one on the pitch.”

The title push is now down to the top three. Chelsea have the easiest run-in on paper but United have their five-point lead. So has the title race already been decided? Give us your thoughts on that in the comments.

PHOTO: Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates his goal against Liverpool at Old Trafford, March 23, 2008. REUTERS/Phil Noble

Javier Mascherano is in a long tradition of strong-charactered Argentine central midfielders going back to Antonio Rattin, and further.

Sadly, his petulance at Old Trafford in Liverpool’s 3-0 defeat by Manchester United on Sunday recalls Rattin’s dismissal against England in the 1966 World Cup quarter-final at Wembley.

Both dismissals were for dissent rather than foul play, although Mascherano had already been booked and so might not have been shown the red card if he had not seen an earlier yellow for a late tackle.

Rattin’s sending-off was the incident that sparked the introduction of yellow and red cards.

He was sent off for repeatedly protesting to referee Rudolf Kreitlein over the German’s decisions for team mates’ misdemeanours, not unlike what happened to Mascherano.

Rattin was not seen in England again and it was, in fact, the only sending-off in the career of an influential and clean player.

Mascherano now risks being a marked man in the eyes of English referees and will need to be doubly careful about his behaviour if he is not to leave Liverpool a man short again.

As a player, he most closely resembles Americo Gallego, the thicker-built number 5 in Argentina’s 1978 World Cup-winning side, absorbing attacks and distributing play.

Sergio Batista, the tall, bearded incumbent in the 1986 World Cup team, was more like Rattin in his quiet, middle-of-the-park dominance, providing the steady holding role and launchpad for the actions of Diego Maradona and his fellow forwards.

Fernando Redondo was the elegant linchpin of the 1993 Copa America-winning side and 1994 World Cup team, a player not out of place making skilled incursions up front.

They all descend from a centre half tradition embodied by Nestor Rossi, a member of the great Argentina side that won the Copa America in 1957 but was badly weakened for the World Cup in Sweden the following year by the loss to Italy’s Serie A of a gifted inside-forward trio that included Omar Sivori, later a European Footballer of the Year.

PHOTO: Javier Mascherano is sent off by referee Steve Bennett during Liverpool’s Premier League defeat by Manchester United at Old Trafford, March 23, 2008. REUTERS/Phil Noble

In the debate over who might finally achieve the seemingly impossible — become a successful manager of Newcastle United — Osvaldo Ardiles has been overlooked.

This is understandable at first glance, given the perception of the Argentine as a manager in England — quite different from his immeasurable impact as a player.

In light, however, of the failure of Kevin Keegan to work his magic again , what price Ossie?

Newcastle fans might consider why Keegan should have been thought of as such a sure-fire choice to revive their fortunes, having confessed on leaving the England job in 2000 that international tactics were beyond him.

With the foreign influence now huge in the Premier League, much greater than when Keegan came close to inspiring Newcastle to the title more than 10 years ago, perhaps Ardiles might not be such a bad choice.

Ardiles had limited success as a manager in England, notably with Newcastle and Tottenham Hotspur, the club he graced as a player, leaky defences undermining the neatness of his teams’
build-up.

But he did well in his two stints back home in Argentina, even if the second with former club Huracan ended prematurely in December over differences with the directors on non-playing
issues.

On the field, his Huracan side finished the Apertura championship strongly. Perhaps English scouts should not just be considering Argentine players — and there is, of course, no language barrier.

Ardiles also fell just short of qualifying for the Libertadores Cup, South America’s Champions League, with Racing Club in the 2003-04 season.

In a recent interview with Reuters , he said: “I would love to come back and work in England again but to be honest I don’t think my chances are very good. I left Tottenham as manager in 1994 and it’s a long time…it’s very difficult to come back.

“England is, today, the place to play and to coach. It’s really great. The football is very well organised,” the 55-year-old said. “I’m open to any offer. The first that comes, I’ll look at it and if I like it I’ll take it.”

FILE PHOTO: Ardiles rubs his eye during a news conference at White Hart Lane, November 1, 1994, following his sacking as Tottenham coach. REUTERS/Russell Boyce

In an era when Argentina teams are usually made up entirely of European-based players, it is gratifying for fans to see them being inspired to Copa America victories by two players from the Argentine league, Juan Roman Riquelme and Juan Sebastian Veron.

It’s true that both have played in Europe and Veron in particular with distinction, winning the Serie A title when he was with Lazio.

It’s also the case that the real Riquelme, not his true self at the World Cup in Germany last year, tends to stand up when he’s in South America.

Together, though, they pull the strings in a team that are showing why they are favourites to win the Copa America in Venezuela and lift Argentina’s first major trophy since Alfio Basile last led them to the South American title in 1993.

The gem in Basile’s crown so far is the 1991 side that won the Copa America in Chile with a majority of home-based players and which was noted for the link play up front of the then little known Gabriel Batistuta and Claudio Caniggia.

Basile lost his way a bit in 1993, turning defensive, and was lucky to retain the title in Ecuador after penalty shootout wins against Brazil then Colombia in the knockout rounds before Batistuta put two past Mexico in the final in Guayaquil.

The coach is showing faith with his attacking instincts in Venezuela and keeps Carlos Tevez on the bench only because he can’t pick 12 for the team.

Perhaps now that Hernan Crespo, whose three goals in Venezuela have taken him past Diego Maradona’s tally of 34 and into second place behind Batigol, is injured, Basile can get the “skilful little men” as he calls Messi, Tevez and Pablo Aimar, together to feed off the passes of Riquelme and Veron.

Rex Gowar, London

Just when Kaka was being talked about as the world´s best player — Cristiano Ronaldo having some way to go yet — Riquelme returns to his best form and inspires Boca Juniors to another continental title, while at the same time saying he’ll return for Argentina too.

Perhaps we will never know just how much that missed penalty against Arsenal more than a year ago affected Riquelme. Argentina´s World Cup hopes a couple of months later hung firmly from his shoulders and although he impressed European observers he never satisfied Argentines. They had seen much better, particularly in the South American context. He has to orchestrate, he also has to play high up as his goals for Boca show.

Riquelme’s return, confirmed on Thursday, is a chance for Alfio Basile to shelve his experiment with Messi in the “media punta” role. Instead, he can rely on Riquleme in the Copa America with Messi coming from deep positions on the right.* With them, plus Tevez and Crespo up front, Argentina could afford a few more of those 4-3 wins like the one against Algeria in their last friendly!

Surprisingly, Riquleme remains unwanted by Villarreal, who loaned him to Boca in February. Tevez, Kaka, Samuel Eto’o, Ronaldinho and Deco are all regularly talked about in the media as transfer targets for Europe’s biggest clubs. Riquelme is rarely if ever mentioned but after this latest virtuoso display perhaps that will now change.  

Rex Gowar, London

* There’s an early look at what the return of Messi will mean at pasion albiceleste.

Lionel Messi has repeatedly said he will never be able to emulate Maradona but he is giving it his best shot, managing near carbon copies of Maradona´s most famous and infamous goals in the same season.
 
First was the run from the halfway line, on the right, skipping past defenders to score against Getafe, then Saturday´s “hand of god” copy against Espanyol, getting his small frame almost to the ball before keeper Carlos Kameni and sticking his hand out to make the extra centimetres.
 
Coach Alfio Basile now sees Messi as the player to lead Argentina to the Copa America title this year.

Basile is trying Messi out as a “media punta”, playing in the hole behind twin strikers. There was a marked improvement in the little genius over the 180 minutes of the recent friendlies against Switzerland in Basel and Algeria in Barcelona.

Messi laid on the goal for Carlos Tevez in a 1-1 draw in wet conditions which favoured the muscular Swiss, and then took out the magic wand to lead his country to a 4-3 win over Algeria.
 
“I hope he continues to convince me to put him in the position in which he played these two matches,” said Basile. ”But he’ll be there somewhere because cracks (geniuses) play
anywhere.”
 
Basile is building his team for the Copa America in Venezuela, starting in less than three weeks’ time. Basile has a good Copa America history, having won it in 1991 and 1993, Argentina’s last major international trophies.

Ronaldinho and Kaka, who on the night of Argentina’s 4-3 win were playing for Brazil in the dour 0-0 draw in Dortmund, will not be there to compare with Messi and Tevez. This is Argentina’s chance to prove they are the entertainers of the moment and that the loss of Juan Roman Riquelme is a minor glitch.

Rex Gowar is a Reuters sports reporter based in London. You can read his recollection of that England-Argentina 1986 World Cup quarter-final here. 

Does Steve McClaren lack passion, an accusation levelled at the England coach’s team by the British press, and certain bloggers, after their dismal 0-0 draw in Israel on Saturday?

At the 2006 World Cup, Germany were led by the effervescent Juergen Klinsmann, winners Italy by the urbane, intelligent Marcello Lippi and finalists France had the mood swings of former actor Raymond Domenech.

Argentina were a well-behaved, impressive attacking unit under Jose Pekerman until discipline fell apart after the final penalty in the Berlin quarter-final when the coach cut his team adrift.

Brazil were under the dour Carlos Alberto Parreira, whose 1994 World Cup team were the least samba-imbued of the five Brazilian title-winning sides.

So could Guus Hiddink or Big Phil Scolari have given this England side the passion, the soul, that commentators saw as lacking in Tel Aviv?

Felipao’s World Cup successes with Brazil and Portugal and Hiddink’s with South Korea as well as Russian and Portuguese results in the Euro qualifiers could be a hint.

Rex Gowar is a Reuters sports correspondent based in London