backtrack
Welcome for united fans and fans of football - probably a more accurate summation. Who doesnt like seeing Rooney and Young in full flight?
Thereās something perverse about the EPL model that a Liverpudlian like Rooney ends up playing in Manchester. Its like a Cork hurler going to Kilkenny glory hunting. If Rooney had real ambition he would have stayed at a progressive club like Everton under a progressive manager like David Moyes and emulated the truly great Goodison Number 9ās like Dixie Dean, Alex Young, Joe Royle and Graeme Sharp and delivered a league title. Under the EPL model though, the concept of building a championship winning team outside of 2/3 super franchises with a disproportionate amount of financial muscle just doesnāt exist.
Once a blue, always a blueā¦
Steven Gerrard gets slated for not moving away from his boyhood club in order to collect a winning medal. And look at the exodus from Arsenal in recent seasons, a champions league regular. It kinda ties in with the article chewy posted the other day and the top two teams of individuals versus the next tier relying on a system, but Itās a continuous opposing cycle where the top teams pull teams apart with their financial muscle.
Will the financial fair play rules break this cycle?
Will we ever see a championship winning team built in the fashion of Liverpool in the 70ās, Forrest/Villa/Everton in the 80ās Leeds and Utd in the 90s?
Surely of the current crop, Brendan Rodgers has the best chance to fulfill this. He is turning a bunch of kids, bit by bit, into a group of men. Will he be given time and some financial backing to bring in the final pieces of the jigsaw tho? Holding onto future superstars such as Sterling, Suso and Ibe may be his biggest challenge.
Contrast Rooney to Alan Shearer. Shearer turned his back on Man U and guaranteed success to take on a real challenge of delivering a league title for unfashionable Blackburn.
Rooney is one of the better players in the EPL but heās very overrated. After a reasonable Euro 2004 has flopped for England in four consecutive finals and his European club record when the heat is really on is modest.
He was a lot more than reasonable in 2004 in fairness. He was unstoppable and had he not gotten injured England would probably have won that tournament.
Itās the same the world over, money talks the other walks. A Liverpudlian employed by an organisation in Manchester is hardly perverse or groundbreaking
The onset of the oligarchs in the EPL has funded title winning sides at clubs like Chelsea and City and ruined the competitiveness of the league.
Not too long ago the likes of Newcastle were challenging for the title and Arsenal were
regularly winning it. Disappointing that it seems those days are done.
What gets me is that players are quite happy to leave starting positions in decent sides to be a bit part player at the likes of City. James Milner being the case in point. He was starting to develop into a very good centre midfielder for Villa before he left. Goes to City and he is a average wide man and a bit part player. Pretty much putting his career development on hold for 20k or so extra a week. Suppose people in all forms of life change jobs for more money but surely footballers want to improve
villa dont play in europe or win things mate- no reason to stay there
Villa have won more in Europe than City. Johnny come lately fans like yourself probably wouldnāt know that
Taxi for Pardew
Shearer went to Blackburn because they offered him more money. He went to Newcastle because of a combination of a desire to play for his hometown club and a distinct lack of ambition.
Both Shearer and Rooney were/are second rate footballers
+1. Rooney more so than Shearer.
The 8 year contract will come in handy now.
I always rated Joe Cole :lol:
Only 4 points off the champs league spot.
Yes, sadly thatās the reality of professional football today and thereās no going back. The achievements of a Brian Clough who guided two provincial town teams in Derby County & Nottingham Forest to the summit of the English game and indeed in Nottingham Forestās case, to two European Cups will never be replicated. The winning and indeed competing now is confined to super franchises like the two Manchesters and Chelsea and the rest are just cannon fodder.
Still, people seem happy with this model. How else do you explain how in this county something like 700,000 people pledge allegiance to Manchester United. Of a choice of 92 clubs in the English football league, with presumably in almost all cases no geographical or familial links, the overwhelming choice of a team to support is the arch establishment side and almost perennial winners, Manchester United. Fans it seems are no less discerning than the likes of Mr Rooney in chasing the medals and the glory.
[quote=āManuel Zelaya, post: 681333ā]
Yes, sadly thatās the reality of professional football today and thereās no going back. The achievements of a Brian Clough who guided two provincial town teams in Derby County & Nottingham Forest to the summit of the English game and indeed in Nottingham Forestās case, to two European Cups will never be replicated. The winning and indeed competing now is confined to super franchises like the two Manchesters and Chelsea and the rest are just cannon fodder.
Still, people seem happy with this model. How else do you explain how in this county something like 700,000 people pledge allegiance to Manchester United. Of a choice of 92 clubs in the English football league, with presumably in almost all cases no geographical or familial links, the overwhelming choice of a team to support is the arch establishment side and almost perennial winners, Manchester United. Fans it seems are no less discerning than the likes of Mr Rooney in chasing the medals and the glory.[/quote]
You seem to be implying that Brian Clough built both teams from local players which of course is horseshit.
Professional football was around before the inception of the EPL.
Why didnāt Johnny Giles stay loyal to his club Stella Maris, was his trip across to Manchester in the 50ās glory hunting?
What a nothing argument, what brings a Brazilian to the likes of Zenit.
When was the last time a small regional club won the league in Spain, Italy, Germany, France or Scotland?
Montpelier are the reigning champions in France and Lillle won it in 2011 for the first time in over half a century. Thatās as regional as you get.
Wolfsburg, population circa 100,000 won the German Bundesliga in 2009.
La Coruna from Galicia won the Spanish league back in 2000.
In Italy and Scotland, youāre going back to 1985 in both cases, Verona & Aberdeen.
[quote=āMullach Ide, post: 681334ā]
You seem to be implying that Brian Clough built both teams from local players which of course is horseshit.
Professional football was around before the inception of the EPL.
Why didnāt Johnny Giles stay loyal to his club Stella Maris, was his trip across to Manchester in the 50ās glory hunting?
What a nothing argument, what brings a Brazilian to the likes of Zenit.
When was the last time a small regional club won the league in Spain, Italy, Germany, France or Scotland?[/quote]
I do agree with your post but you could have done without mentioning France. Montpellier didnāt have much of a national pedigree before winning the championship last season