by Paul Large

When Alex Ferguson retired, a void was left in the Premier League. A big part of the theatre of the League would go missing, the rivalry between managers and the psychological jostling would not be as evident as undoubtedly the king of mind games was no longer around. It appears we have a new master.

Jose Mourinho has stepped up to the table as the de facto mind games master. Given that he is also the best manager in the league sometimes it is hard to distinguish what is achieved through  managerial skill and what has or has not been aided by mind games. For instance going to Man City and getting a win at a time when City looked impregnable can be attributed to a brilliant game plan and the players executing it more than anything else. Mind games alone do not win the battle. But it certainly helps.

Ever since Mourinho's first stint in the Premier League, he has successfully taken the pressure away from his own players. When he first arrived his ego alone could achieve this, this season he has used a horses analogy, which no one has bought given that people are no longer unaware to his motives. 


Should Managers Respond?

Only after Wenger rose to the bait, did Mourinho brand him a master of failure. Rising to the challenge, Wenger essentially put himself in the firing line for a war of words. Which is not wise given Mourinho lacks respect! The last time a manager rose to a masters bait in a title race, was Rafa Benitez when Liverpool challenged Man Utd for the title in 2009. That was effectively the end of Liverpool's title challenge. Arsenal's title challenge this season has gone the same way.

Though truthful, the master of failure comment broke a boundary of respect between managers. What is more alarming however is that Arsenal as a team did not rally after these insults where levelled at themselves and their manager. They went to Stamford Bridge and rolled over.

Mourinho left before the final whistle at Stamford Bridge and did not shake Wenger’s hand. It is clear he has no respect for Wenger. Mourinho may well have had some ribs at his favourite joint, Frank Underwood style as he devoured his opponent with words off the pitch, then with actions on the pitch.

Remember when Fergie used to praise and say nice things about another manager. We knew this meant that Fergie perceived  those managers to have no threat to him whatsoever. Let’s just look at some of the things Mourinho has had to say about Moyes this season.

Man Utd have struggled and it is clear Mourinho does not view them as a current or future rival, this is epitomised in the sale of Juan Mata.

Pellegrini takes a defensive stance in his comments, and the Mourinho comment from 2010 can not be taken into context, however the timing of its release (before the first fixture) was uncanny.  After the 1-0 loss at home, one would be influenced to think, is this manager good enough to take City to the title? The nature of the comment raises doubt in Pellegrini's ability and if a squad's morale and belief is not high, comments such as this sustained over a period of time and mixed results can derail a side. The timing of the 2010 comment resurfacing definitely worked in Mourinho's favour.

A slice of luck and an opportunist Fernando Torres decided the first game whilst the second game saw Chelsea stake their claim to the title and outplay Man City at home, something that had not previously been done all season. Make no mistake this win was pure brilliance from Chelsea from preparation to execution. Mourinho talked the talk and his players executed his plans.

No team has leveraged their position of power better than Chelsea this season. They have put their Champions League position, and finances (the two things which make them powerful) to wonderful use. If we look at Man Utd in contrast.

Man Utd's power stems from their ability to pay top salaries and prices for players, and the fact they are genuinely one of the biggest clubs in world football. There is a certain prestige of being able to call yourself a Man Utd player. But rather than being put to good effect, these points have been exploited.

Marouane Fellaini has and will continue to be a feckless use of 25 million. Rooney has been indulged with a new contract, and Van Persie looks set to follow. Whilst Mata was ruthlessly dismissed and bought for what now looks like an extortionate fee. Time will tell for Mata as he is still a quality player, such an action serves as an example to the rest of the squad. No Chelsea players will be under any illusions that they are bigger than they are. The same cannot be said at Utd.

Earlier in the season Jose claimed indirectly that Liverpool where the kings of winning penalties. He can only have said this as an outright moan, or to raise awareness that Liverpool win a lot of penalties. In the hope that general awareness of this reduces the amount of decisions Liverpool get. Leading to referees thinking twice the next time they are faced with the decision of awarding a penalty. Reputations carry a lot of weight and a few seasons ago Luis Suarez couldn't win a penalty to save his life given his reputation of diving. If Liverpool were to gain a reputation for winning a lot of penalties this undoubtedly may influence a referee's mindset.

A few games later, Liverpool are awarded 3 penalties at Old Trafford. So this clearly failed. Or Jose could simply have been moaning. But don't be suprised if Mourinho ignites more penalty talk coming up to the Liverpool game.

Mourinho has won both home and away against Pellegrini whilst taking 4 points from Arsenal. There is a strong correlation here given he has engaged with these managers the most from a mind games perspective. He definitely sees them as his biggest rivals, maybe less so Arsenal and more so Liverpool now. Given Brendan Rodgers is a good friend and was once an understudy. It would be interesting to see how their relationship develops next season when Liverpool may be genuine contenders from the outset.

I have probably lead the chorus of Arsenal fans singing for the resignation of Arsene Wenger in the past few seasons. His allies have defended him with unwavering confidence and belief. I've been told to 'stop complaining' and that 'fourth place is a trophy'. Arsenal as a football club have been an international laughing stock as a result of consistent failure across all areas concerning football. But throughout the club's dark years, Le Prof has remained a respectable figurehead due to his transformation of Arsenal and the English Premier League since arriving at Highbury in 1996.

The past decade has seen Arsenal win nothing of value (the Emirates Cup is nonsense), however Arsene has seen his stock rise amongst his peers. Gunners' head coach voted World Coach of the Decade in 2011 by FIFA. In the past decade Arsene's fans have heaped praise on him for his fiscal management and competing at the highest level without paying the big bucks. The man has made himself a god at the Emirates, the stadium which never fails to vindicate him from his transgressions when his critics question his ability.

Arsene continues to fail in the transfer market. The kids he's put his faith in for the past 10 years continue to let him down. The real winners and champions in his team always leave and find glory elsewhere. He finally spends some money on a 'star' and decides to sign one of the few Germans who can't take penalties. The man has deployed the same tactic for the past 10 years and had no joy but the only one who doesn't realise it is a time for change is him. The whole world predicted Arsenal would capitulate at March, low and behold they did. Other managers are starting to show their disrespect for him now. Jose Mourinho accurately describing Arsene as a 'specialist in failure' has firmly got the Arsenal coach in his pocket after that 6-0 humbling his Chelsea side delivered to Arsenal. The respect is all Arsene had left and there is none of that anymore. 

At this point in the season Arsenal should really just try to secure fourth place however the humiliation continues as they failed to beat struggling Swansea at home. What a shambles it would be if they dropped out of the top four after leading the pack in the New Year.

Arsene Wenger has lost it. All those who continue to defend him need to be tested for narcotics. There is no coming back for him. The league can no longer respect him, his players can no longer respect him and he should just walk away with the remaining dignity he has left. I am tired of being ashamed to tell people I support Arsenal. I don't see any reason why this perennial f*ck up should continue to lead the club. It makes absolutely no sense to me that the fear of 'who will we bring in?' should condemn us to a future damned in the hands of this man. For the past 10 years we have done nothing and made no progress - how much worse could it be?

Arsene's contract expires this summer and the story coming out of the rumour mill is that if Arsenal don't win a trophy this season Arsene will not sign a contract renewal and call it time at Arsenal. Even if by some miracle Arsenal win the FA Cup, Arsene should still leave the club. He has fallen from grace and there's no way back for him or the club now as long as he is at the helm.


Arsene Wenger has fallen and he can't get up.

Yakzinho

David Moyes is not a bad manager. I know some of you will read that and laugh out loud but that's a serious comment. We're talking about a man that was considered one of the most feared managers in the league. He took a team that was fighting relegation to 4th place in the league! His teams were tough and determined. They fought for their manager. Moyes is no Benitez style tactician, he created an aura of fear and loyalty. Remind you of anyone? Ferguson has been recently criticised by players he upset who claim that the former United boss knew little about coaching and that he didn't do much tactical work with his players. It explains why his record is much better for the periods where he had an assistant manger. He "managed" the club by having the right staff around him and creating a winning atmosphere through his ruthless, hairdrying ways. This similarity in management style, a proven track record to rebuild a team over time and Glaswegian roots are the reasons Moyes was hand picked for the job by his predecessor. The transition could have been seamless. But its not, it has been a bigger disaster than anyone would have dared to predict. 

The writing was on the wall on day 1 of the managerial change. Moyes removed the coaching staff in favour of his own. Phelan and Meulensteen in particular should have been retained at all costs.The terrible fact is that Phelan was fired! Rene left by his own accord. This caused bad feeling and unfamiliarity among the players so Moyes would have to be strong and tough to retain their loyalty.

This is where Moyes has shot himself in the foot. He has been naive and meek from the get go. He has been starstruck by the players, by the club and overly honest with the media. This has made him look a fool in public during the transfer window when he couldn't land any of his targets. His image has worsened with comments blaming bad luck for the teams poor form and admitting he didn't know what to do to turn things around. When your manager is saying he doesnt know what to do you're hardly going to be confident things will turn around. What he needed to do is recreate the aura of respect and fear among the squad that made his career a success. 

He finally started to do that in January where he was clear that everyone is playing for their futures at this club and he will be forcing people not up to standard out of the door. Anderson and Fabio were made examples of. He sounded like a man you don't want to mess with. But with poor form on the pitch he could not keep that act up and meek Moyes came back with a vengeance. 

It is now so bad that yesterday when a Greek journalist, in the pre-match press conference, asked him "How do you think Olympiakos will play, to keep possession or on the counter?", David Moyes replied "Both.". I watched that press conference live and when I heard him say that my heart sank. Keeping possession and counter attacking are mutually exclusive tactics. He eventually rectified his comment by saying that Olympiakos this year have generally had less possession in all of their games and so he expects that to continue - so he HAS done his research. But his confidence is so brittle now that he can't even answer such a simple question with authority. This lack of authority is why most of the players have lost confidence in him. 

Ferguson was desperate to pick and back a manager to avoid his club turning into Chelsea style club where players have so much power they could approach Abramovic directly to get AVB fired. He succeeded. These players know better than to question Sir Alex personally, they still fear him, so their lack of confidence in the manager is reflected in their football and their decision on the future. But this makes the players feel helpless, they lack respect for the new staff but can't do anything internally to influence it. They don't want to baby sit their manager as he learns how to manage a larger project. So they do the only thing they can do, they either plot their exit or their retirement plan. 

Vidic did this over the new year and I don't think it is coincidence that the performances of the entire team have nose dived since then. The other 2 "leaders" at the club, Patrice Evra and former England captain, Rio Ferdinand, have not committed their futures either because they're looking elsewhere too. These players are the Scholes and Giggs of the last generation, the leaders that define the winning culture of the club. When they give up, it doesn't matter whether it is Moyes or any other manager, the club will mentally fail. 

Wayne Rooney's ridiculous demands have ensured he will have an easy retirement. He will coast through the rest of his career and go down as a "legend" of the club. Call me cynical but Robin van Persie's surprise desire for a new contract stinks of the same thing - to take advantage of a club lacking options. Don't be surprised if he will demand £300k a week as well, a figure he will not get elsewhere at this age. 

The quality of this squad is being question by many right now and that is ridiculous. The area of the field where there is a lack of quality in central midfield. In other areas we have players that are still good enough to play for this club (all be it there do need to be changes for the future). But when your central midfield is failing it makes everyone look worse and that is what has happened. It is easy to beat Man United these days, play 3 central midfielders and your job is 70% done. David Moyes has to start playing 4-3-3 / 4-5-1 while this midfield is rebuilt but Wayne Rooney's power over his manager means he is not allowed to put him anywhere other than up top. The manager keeps saying he is doing everything that is possible, and doesn't know what to do other than see his luck turn. That is not true, his formation has been rigid for the entire 6 months he has been putting a team out. It needs to change.

This club will only survive at the top level if this summer goes well in one of 2 ways. The first is that deals for crucial players are done before and announced on June 1st. This means we have the right players already and do not need to compete with other clubs. If that does not happen then we are exposed to clubs that will steal players from under our noses like Willan and Salah were stolen by Chelsea. It doesn't matter who you are, without Champions League football you will not be first choice for a top player. 

If we do not have the right players already lined up and there is no upturn in the on field fortunes before the year ends we must replace Moyes. Sorry but there is no other option. We have to put someone like Hiddink in place - a top name that himself will attract players to the club. Someone that commands instant respect. We can't afford to drop to a non-champions league level for another transfer window. Players such as Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville should be on the staff and learn from the boss and in time one of them take over the club. 

Until then we must trust in Moyes. 

-Maz Saleem

by Paul Large

For the first time since I have been a supporter, Liverpool went to Old Trafford with a better defence, midfield, attack and manager, all of these without a shadow of doubt. And came away with a result and performance that truly reflected all of these things.

Liverpool defended in a way that suggested Man Utd would require something special to beat them that day, the only clear chance I can recall fell to Rooney, whose shot was saved well by Mignolet, but the following block by Skrtel demonstrated the commitment on display.

Gerrard ran the game from deep, Henderson covered every inch of grass and did not let the Utd midfield settle. Allen supported and Sterling is a star in the making.  

The current 11 are good enough to challenge for the title. What is fabulous and must give Liverpool fans genuine excitement, is that Sterling, Henderson, Coutinho and Flanagan are all going to improve. 
 
Sterling has maturity and technical awareness that far exceeds his two seasons in the top flight. I was one of his doubters when he got a new contract his form dipped. I put this down to the modern day footballer having their priorities mixed up. But he has since proved me wrong and now looks like with Champions League experience
next season, can develop into a truly world class player.

Jordan Henderson only just came of age in 2014. Hard work and application got him there. I still cannot believe the
transformation as he was for a very long time our worst midfielder. With injuries to Gerrard, Lucas, Suarez and Sturridge at different times this season, we have proved we can cope. I never thought I would say this but Henderson is the one player I would be most concerned with if injured because who else could put in the shift he puts in, which is now integral to the way we perform.

Dirk Kuyt had industry no doubt, but he was not a game changer or a match winner. Ironically he had just had his best season when Kenny came in and decided Hendo was going to play right wing and take his place.
Henderson was complete and utter bollocks back then, he was being played out of position to be fair to him but I am convinced he would have been just as crap had he been played in position. There is a trend with young players who have been bought for big money tending to struggle for varying reasons. (Zaha, Rodwell, Lamela, Carroll), But I empathise with Dirk Kuyt, who at the time was a senior player who had just had the best season of his career at Liverpool, benched for an unproven youngster who wasn't ready at the time. This one incident was one of many things wrong with Liverpool at the time.

Next season Liverpool will be in the Champions League, their summer objective will be to buy Champions League quality players so the squad will be able to rotate effectively whilst maintaining another title challenge. Even though the squad is currently extremely light, we have handled injuries extraordinarily. When Gerrard was out Hendo stepped up. When Suarez was out Sturridge carried the goal scoring duties admirably, and vice versa. Our entire
1st team back four has been out, hence the creative defending in recent games, but that has gone now that Agger and
Johnson are back we can keep a clean sheet again. Jose Enrique and Glen Johnson’s best years are definitely past them, I doubt Jose Enrique could get his place back with Flanno there now but we could definitely use some
young talented technical wing backs who can defend.

No one was bought in January yet we haven’t lost in 2014. Which is a fabulous testament to the current 11. Less is more. Till Henderson gets injured anyway.

Manchester United visited The Hawthorns and won a Premier league game by 3 goals for only the second time since the opening day win at Swansea. That was 28 games ago. What makes this even more significant is that in the last month the leading two in form teams, Liverpool and Chelsea, were both held 1-1 here. Good achievement then, but what did we learn and what does this mean for the crucial month of March?

Robin is looking more frustrated with every game and it’s easy to see why. The ONLY reason for him leaving Arsenal was that he was no where near winning a medal despite turning 29. It was not personal, though many Arsenal fans took it personally, and still do. He had offers from Juventus and Man City but after 3 Champions League finals in 5 years, United would always be the most attractive. But now United are not only out of the league this year but will miss out on the Champions League next year. That is not acceptable for a 31 year old. Every year matters now and this is why he will do everything he can to leave in the summer. Again, we need to understand, this is strictly business. Not a reflection on United. Not a reflection on Moyes.

The second reason I believe we stuttered is a lack of pace. Mata, Rooney, RvP and Januzaj are all skilful players but they are too similar. All 4 of them have great ball control and balance but not a single one of them would really scare a defender with their pace. You have to have players running behind and stretching a defence to create space for the number 10’s to operate. A live working example of that is Arsenal with Ramsey, Walcott or Oxlade-Chamberlain and without. This is why we played better when Welbeck came on for RvP. The short sharp passing that created the last 2 goals comes from the space created by defenders dropping deeper knowing that they must always be mindful of the pace in behind.

Both Moyes and Woodward have taken a lot of stick for the signing of Fellaini. First over the price and then over the lethargic performances that defined his early United career. Myself, I’m a fan. I believe his commanding box to box performance yesterday is exactly what we have been missing since we lost Hargreaves, Anderson and Fletcher to long term health problems. We saw him in the opposition box, back protecting our defenders with his power and even saw a couple of classy flicks and passes. He may not have the deftness of pass that Yaya Toure, 30, does but apart from that I believe the 26 year old will develop to be just as influential as him to this side.

Just a word on Juan Mata who again we saw playing on the right. I’m one of the few that does not mind this given that I am comparing this with the tactical style of playing Silva, Zidane, or Iniesta on the left. They all operate as number 10’s from the wing and rely on full back to create space for them with the overlap. Yesterday this created the second goal and I believe that as long as it is an in form Rafael at right back and not Chris Smalling, it can work. The other combination David Moyes should try is to put Rooney on the left, Januzaj on the right and Mata in the hole. With Fellaini providing solidity in the central midfield we no longer need Rooney supporting that part of the pitch and can afford to give him the Silva/Zidane role. This is the way Barcelona and, more recently, Man City set up their sides. This structure is the future for United.

March. The month that can destroy your hopes and dreams in a flash. We have seen extreme examples of this in recent years with Arsenals Fabregas/Nasri era where they consistently dropped out of 3 or 4 competitions at this time of year after so much promise. United host Liverpool, Olympiakos and Man City at Old Trafford this month and I think the first 20 minutes against Liverpool will not only define our month, but our season.

Old Trafford is a scary place to play for our players these days. As hard as we try to avoid it, the nerves and anxiety kick in creating an extra pressure on the players when we are not starting quickly. Liverpool this year love to start fast and catch you cold. We probably can’t keep a clean sheet against Liverpool but we can beat them. Their back 4 are just as entertaining as their front 4 this year, all be it for different reasons. We need to press them high and mark Gerrard out of the game which will leave their front 4 struggling for possession. We need to come out of this game with a positive performance. It is the kind of tie that can repair the Old Trafford fortress and give us a chance against Olympiakos and City. But just as possible is Liverpool bulldozing the fortress ruins down to rubble and condemning us to a Champions League exit and the July Europa league qualifying round. 

Make no mistake, it is now or never.

Maz Saleem

This seasons relegation fight is no doubt the most exciting and unpredictable in years, with no team in the bottom half realistically safe until it’s mathematically certain.

For me, West Ham have shown just how topsy-turvy this season is. They were 2 points from safety after doggedly drawing 0-0 away at Chelsea on January 29th. A month and 4 games later- they were 4 wins better off and now lie
10th in the table. Good on Big Sam, because if he was sacked I don’t think they would have found anyone better or for that fact, stayed up. This goes to show that anyone could get relegated this season, but there are a couple of teams that look more certain than others for failure.

Shahid Khan doesn’t seem to have much luck in sports teams. Not only have Fulham been poor, his NFL franchise Jacksonville Jaguars likewise had a disappointing campaign in the NFL. Surely this man deserves a half decent club, if anything, for that magnificent moustache? Anyway, the fact is that Fulham have an awful defence, which leaks more goals than 90 of the 91 other clubs in England’s top four divisions (62). Only Crewe (63) have leaked more. Their midfield and attack aren’t too shabby however, plus Felix Magath has pedigree as a manager. I’ll take my hat off to if he pulls the great escape off, it may take some Roy Hodgson like magic from a few years back, the memorable 3-2 win away at Man City. IF (big if) they beat Cardiff, the momentum swings, because they weren’t too bad against Chelsea last weekend. I still believe Fulham will go down though. 

We wave goodbye to the 2013-14 Football on the 11th May, but who will go down? I did say that I didn’t know, but I’ll give it a go. Assuming Cardiff and Fulham are dead and buried at this point, it leaves one position to be discussed.

At the date of writing this (4th March) Sunderland’s last four away games are Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea and Man United, with their game away at Man City yet to be arranged. Ouch. I’ll be interested to see how they cope with
extra fixtures, both due to postponements and cup responsibilities. Should they beat Hull in the 6th round of the FA cup, you wonder where the priority lies for Poyet. I’ve already said I think Poyets done brilliantly, but his task will be very tough. However if they can take 5 wins out of home games against West Brom, Everton, Crystal Palace, West Ham, Cardiff and Swansea, the 40 point landmark is within touching distance. The other team, in my opinion, is West Brom. I still don’t understand how Pepe Mel is a better alternative to Steve Clarke- the man doesn’t speak English! How can you get your point across to your players if you don’t speak the language? (saying that, Pochettino hasn’t done badly). It just all seems to be going wrong at West Brom, results wise and off the pitch. They may just have enough in the tank, but this season has been extremely poor, especially after last year’s campaign. It’s a tough call, but I’ll stick my neck out on the line and say Sunderland to go down. Norwich and West Brom to finish just above them.

So there you go- Cardiff, Fulham and Sunderland to go down. Nice and boring considering they’re the current bottom three. Thanks for reading.

Birdy