Left field

City v United is fitting climax to Premier League title race

Three weeks ago it seemed the Manchester derby would be little more than a dead rubber after City’s 1-0 defeat at Arsenal left champions United eight points clear at the top, in a commanding position to clinch their 20th league title and their fifth in the last six seasons.

But a rollercoaster Premier League title race produced yet another twist after United’s 1-0 loss at lowly Wigan, followed by a rip-roaring 4-4 home draw with Everton in which they threw away a two-goal lead late in the game, let City back into the title race after they had squandered a seven-point lead over United with their own dip in form.

Fans who will cram into City’s stadium on Monday and millions watching the showdown on television throughout the world could not have asked for a more thrilling finale, with local pride and bragging rights as well as the league title at stake.

United are three points clear of City with three games left. They will be almost assured of retaining their crown with a win and a draw would also leave them in the driving seat. City, on the other hand, will go top on goal difference if they win and that outcome would perhaps force their shrewd manager Roberto Mancini to concede the title race was wide open.

Since United went eight points clear, Mancini has repeatedly stated that City’s title challenge was over and refused to make a U-turn even after his team closed the gap to three points.

A master in tactics, motivation and beating his rivals to the finish line, Ferguson appears to have finally met his match in mind games as the pressure, for once, seems to have rattled his team and not the opposition.

Two trophies may still prove too little for Liverpool

By Phil O’Connor

Andy Carroll’s winner in the FA Cup semi-final against Everton might have put Liverpool on course for a second trophy, but even if they go on to win the competition it will still represent a poor return for the season.

In most major football nations, the national cup competition comes in a very distant second to the league in terms of importance, but for years England bucked that trend and the FA Cup retained huge prestige.

Since the dawn of the Champions League, managers in England have been more focused on achieving fourth place in the league than Wembley glory, but it still retains a special place in the hearts of English fans.

The same might not be said for Liverpool’s American owners, the Fenway Sports Group – having spent a rumoured 300 million pounds to buy the club, they will have expected an awful lot more than two trips to Wembley for their money.

Despite their huge investment, it quickly became apparent that this Liverpool team weren’t likely to bring an end to the club’s 22-year wait for a league title. Their dismal league form has knocked them out of contention for the Champions League spots, and even if winning the League Cup and qualifying for the final of the FA Cup represents some success, it’s hardly what the red half of Merseyside recalls from manager Kenny Dalglish’s time as a player.

Back when he played centre forward for them in the late 70s and on through the 80s, the diet of league and European success was almost constant as Liverpool dominated the English game. Their last league triumph came with him at the helm as manager in his first stint in charge.

Could Pardew take Champions League spot and England job from Redknapp?

By Phil O’Connor

Unheralded and unpopular when he took over at Newcastle United, Alan Pardew has led them into the upper reaches of the English Premier League, and within touching distance of a Champions League place.

The question is whether he can beat Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Redknapp to fourth spot and the last Premier League place in football’s top club competition – and make himself a contender for the England manager’s job at the same time.

Pardew replaced Chris Hughton at the helm of Newcastle in December 2010. It wasn’t an easy task; Hughton, popular with players and fans alike, had brought the Geordies back to the Premier League on a shoestring following the ignominy of relegation.

Selling striker Andy Carroll didn’t help his cause, but this season has seen Pardew’s side climb almost unnoticed and return to the heights they enjoyed under Bobby Robson.

Between his team and a place in the Champions League is a Tottenham side managed by Redknapp, who was installed as favourite to succeed Fabio Capello as England manager from almost the moment the Italian resigned.

Since then, Tottenham’s form has suffered and the clamour for Redknapp has receded somewhat, but there is still a strong preference for an English manager from fans and the FA alike.

English plight in Europe is no fluke

Anyone who might have assumed the deteriorating form of English clubs in Europe since Manchester United won the 2008 Champions League resulted from a convergence of misfortunate circumstances such as tough draws or mounting injuries to key players has been emphatically refuted.

Come Thursday, the Premier League might be left without a single club to represent it in either the Champions League or the less fancied Europa League, where Manchester rivals City and United were not just beaten but also played off the park last week by rivals many of their fans will have considered second-class opposition.

Especially unimpressive were Manchester United, who can consider themselves lucky to be taking only a 3-2 deficit to their return leg clash at Spanish side Athletic Bilbao, whose fans did all the singing at Old Trafford as the Basque outfit outplayed the English champions on their own turf like no other team in recent history.

“We were well beaten and they were the better team,” said United manager Alex Ferguson after their Spanish goalkeeper David de Gea produced a stellar performance to give his team a glimmer of hope they can overturn the tie in the cauldron of Bilbao’s San Mames stadium.

I can’t remember Ferguson heaping so much praise on any European opposition that visited Old Trafford in the last two decades, including the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid, AC Milan and Bayern Munich.

Like United, stuttering Chelsea and their caretaker manager Roberto Di Matteo also face a daunting task of overturning a 3-1 first leg deficit in their Champions League last-16 clash with Napoli, who geared up for the trip to Stamford  Bridge with a 6-3 rout of Italian Serie A rivals Cagliari on Friday.

Premier League leaders Manchester City are in the best position of the three to progress as they have only a 1-0 deficit against Sporting Lisbon to overcome at their stadium. But an away goal for the visitors – who are fourth in the Portuguese first division with only a theoretical chance of winning the title - could mean more European disappointment for City, whose Champions League debut ended in a group stage exit at the hands of Bayern and Napoli.

Is Van Persie the Premier League’s best ever ‘volleyer’?

By James Illingworth

Robin Van Persie’s stoppage-time winner at Anfield on Saturday was not the most spectacular goal of the Dutchman’s career but it could go some way to confirm his status as the best volleyer the Premier League has seen.

The Arsenal hit-man notched his 31st goal of the season when he latched onto Alex Song’s lofted through-ball to guide a side-footed volley past Jose Reina at the Liverpool stopper’s near post.

And while Van Persie faces up to some stiff competition in the history of the Premier League’s best volleyers, his ability to strike the ball in mid-air with power and precision on such a consistent basis could mark him out from the rest.

Looking back at the early years of the Premier League since its inception in 1992, former Manchester United and Chelsea striker and current Queens Park Rangers boss Mark Hughes was renowned as a fierce volleyer of the ball.

The league’s all-time leading scorer Alan Shearer also owns an impressive catalogue of strikes for Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United with his 20-yard screamer against Everton in 2002 living long in the memory.

And when the topic of the Premier League’s greatest goals is discussed it is hard to find a more spectacular effort than Paolo Di Canio’s rocket against Wimbledon in 2000 when the Italian met the ball with both feet in mid-air to crash it past Neil Sullivan.

Who next for Chelsea hot seat?

Arguably the hottest of hot seats in soccer is vacant yet again after Chelsea’s ruthless Russian owner Roman Abramovich removed Andre Villas-Boas on Sunday.

The callow Portuguese lasted just 256 days at Stamford Bridge before “the project”, as he usually referred to the task of revitalising the west London club’s ageing squad, was aborted.

The 34-year-old became the sixth coach to be axed since the Russian oligarch bought the club in 2003 and he will probably not be the last.

Accepting the Chelsea job is fraught with danger and rarely ends in a warm handshake — however much silverware is added to the trophy cabinet.

Jose Mourinho, the most successful manager in the club’s history, was jettisoned after losing a battle of egos with the big boss and Carlo Ancelotti fell out of favour just a season after landing the league and FA Cup double.

Avram Grant came within a John Terry penalty miss of handing Abramovich the Champions League he craves.

Only Guus Hiddink, whose role was always a temporary one from February 2009 to the end of that season, escaped the wrath of Abramovich — leaving with a friendly pat on the back after winning the FA Cup.

Arsenal finally tackling their problems

By Phil O’Connor

Perhaps stung by criticism from the likes of Patrick Viera and Emmanuel Petit, Arsenal’s stunning 5-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur was built not just on pretty passing but on solid tackling too.

Viera and Petit provided the steel in midfield for Wenger’s first great Arsenal side, and both have recently been critical of their slide towards mid-table mediocrity.

Suddenly the likes of Tomas Rosicky and Mikael Arteta – more known for silky skills than tough tackling – were flying into challenges against Spurs, winning the ball and providing a platform on which to build.

With the labouring Andrei Arshavin shipped back to Russia, Arsenal seemed to have a new sense of purpose, and even when they went two goals behind there was still a sense that they could salvage something from the game.

Arsenal upped the tempo, Bacary Sagna’s header header bringing them back into the game before Robin Van Persie curled the ball into the top corner beyond Friedel.

Not for a second did Arsenal look like settling for a draw either, and Rosicky’s lung-bursting runs were rewarded when he netted his first goal in 50 Premier League matches.

from Reuters Soccer Blog:

Why Chelsea should keep Andre Villas-Boas

Three Premier League defeats in four games and Champions League last 16 qualification compromised. The last few weeks have been very tough for Chelsea coach Andre Villas-Boas.

Previous managers Jose Mourinho, Luiz Felipe Scolari, Avram Grant and Carlo Ancelotti were dismissed seemingly for less by ruthless owner Roman Abramovich.

Ancelotti won a league and cup double but was axed after the following season while Grant moved on despite being a John Terry penalty slip away from winning the Champions League.

However, there are several reasons to believe Villas-Boas may stay in his post long-term despite Wednesday's 2-1 loss at Bayer Leverkusen.

The first is the 13 million pounds Abramovich shelled out to Porto so the Portuguese could move back to Stamford Bridge in the close season. It may seem like peanuts to the Russian billionaire but he also has business sense. Then again, Villas-Boas mentioning this as a reason to be kept on probably isn't so wise.

Another factor is the merry-go-round of managers at Chelsea has to stop at some point. Alex Ferguson's success at Manchester United and Arsene Wenger's achievements at Arsenal, including pulling them out of their recent rut, demonstrate the pluses of longevity.

Chelsea invested in AVB for a reason and that reason can not have been completely destroyed by a bad patch of form less than halfway through the season.

from Reuters Soccer Blog:

Have City knocked United off their perch?

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini was quick to say that his team’s 6-1 mauling of arch-rivals United meant little more than another three points in the bag, but the Italian must surely be hoping it could signal a shift in the balance of power.

Having knocked Liverpool off their perch when they won a record 19th league title last season, United now face the prospect of playing second fiddle to City in England and Manchester, should their heaviest defeat to their neighbours in 56 years prove to be more than just a temporary setback.

Ferguson and several pundits wasted no time in pointing out United were undone after central defender Jonny Evans was sent off for a professional foul early in the second half.

But City were already on top at that point and earned their extra man on the pitch by carving United open with a defence-splitting pass -- which left Evans only with the alternative of letting Mario Balotelli run through on goal.

Fielding his unpredictable compatriot Balotelli instead of Edin Dzeko up front turned out to be a masterstroke by Mancini, much like his entire strategy which worked to devastating effect.

Any hopes of a trademark United comeback when Darren Fletcher made it 3-1 vanished after late substitute Dzeko scored a brace to throw the blue half of Manchester into raptures, prompting Ferguson to adopt an unfamiliar line in his post-match reactions.

“We just kept attacking. It’s alright playing with the history books but common sense has to come in at times. With the experience we had at the back, we should have realised that and settled for what we had when it went to 4-1,” Ferguson told the club’s official website (www.manutd.com).

from Reuters Soccer Blog:

Who can Arsenal actually buy?

With Cesc Fabregas gone and Samir Nasri possibly on the move too, there is a lot of gloom around Arsenal at the moment and Saturday's 2-0 home defeat by Liverpool did nothing to help the mood.

Arsenal fans are for the first time questioning the stewardship of Arsene Wenger and have demanded some top signings to prevent yet another trophyless season.

But who could Arsenal actually bring in? Would a really top player want to go to a club resembling a sinking ship? The Gunners also don't have the same financial clout as Manchester City, United, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and even Liverpool nowadays. (The Italian clubs are worse off though).

Valencia winger Juan Mata seems destined for Chelsea after Arsenal's initial interest but even he is not the wow signing Arsenal fans want to ease the pain of Fabregas going back to Barca.

But Wenger's great strength has been buying near unknowns and making them great. Vieira, Henry and of course Fabregas.

There is no value in the market right now and really top players are not available. Trying to develop Jack Wilshere and Co into the new Fabregases looks like Wenger's only option.

Fans will give him the season to prove he can work miracles again but come this time next year, the rumblings of discontent in north London could be full-blown protests.