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Good Riddance To Ince
Our season starts on Saturday against Stoke now Ince has been relieved of his duties. I'm hugely relieved by his relief. It's been inevitable since last month now and if anything the board could've justifiably acted sooner.
The real turning point was against Sunderland at home. They were on a poor run and a win would've lifted us into the pack with all the other strugglers. What followed was the meekest, most piss-poor performance I've ever seen in my 14 years at Ewood. How he couldn't get the players fired up or choose effective tactics to trouble a mediocre Sunderland side made it apparent he was a dead man walking.
When Ince was first appointed I was pretty optimistic. I though his experience in the lower leagues stood him in good stead and he seemed enthusiastic and driven in his media appearances. A great win at Goodison followed. Since then though my confidence has been eroded on pretty much a weekly basis. His constant assertion that we'd been playing well and deserved more was embarrassing. His tactics and player/position selections were worse. It was like he put everyone's name in the half-time tombola machine: Warnock in midfield while Vogel was sat at home, the left-footed child-physiqued Villanueva on the right, Fowler anywhere near the fucking stadium.
On the Sky Sports News post-match interview after the Wigan game Ince claimed something along the lines of 'I can't do much, this is the squad I am stuck with until January'. The same squad - minus Bentley and Friedel - that finished a comfortable 7th last May! Surely he could've achieved at least lower-midtable mediocrity with that?! That
Hopefully we can start to turn it round with Allardyce/Grant/Souness/Tugay/anyone in charge. It is utterly miserable watching your team struggle in the Championship (as we did in 1999/2000) and I really don't want to do it again. Oh my christ I am worried.
Ian, BRFC in Manchester
Blackburn's Board Are To Blame, Not Ince
You have to feel for Paul Ince. He has paid the price for the Blackburn board's mistake in appointing him in the first place. I think Ince can become a top flight manager again, but will now have to drop back down the divisions to earn a few more stripes first and I'm sure there will be a few takers if Ince wants to jump straight back in the saddle.
My main gripe is why Blackburn fast tracked him to their job. Ince did well at Macclesfield and MK Dons (where he had the best squad and most money to help) but 2 seasons worth of 4th division management was deemed enough to replace Mark Hughes.
I'm all for clubs taking a punt on young managers rather then rotating the same obvious names around, and I am not saying it can't work in the top division. Gareth Southgate seems to be making a fist of it; Coleman should arguably never chop at Fulham, who knows about Adams. One thing these guys have in common though is they have the knowledge of how their clubs work(ed) before taking other. Ince was walking blind with little practical experience gained at 4th tier level.
What do the likes Of Gary Johnson (Latvia manager, Conference promotion, League Two & One promotion, Championship Play-offs) have to do to get a crack at a top job, when the usual suspect are banded about and the like of Ince and Roy Keane get appointed because of name value with little or no experience?
Blackburn took a chance on a young, English manager, but he got it because he was Paul Ince, not because he was the best that was available. Gary Johnson is that man, and does it pain me to say it.
Simon (Gashead, not sure he's really written this) Bristol
No Defence For Slow-Downed Berbatov
In reply to Aaron (take me home Utd road), I would actually like to say that I think that Berbatov actually has had a detrimental effect on the United team, mainly in his attitude on the pitch.
I've been a United fan for over 25 years and the biggest change that I have seen with the introduction of the Fergie era is the pace of our counter attack. I have lost count of the number of times that I have seen the ball go from our penalty area to the opposition net in under ten seconds (not through a long ball either) and it was this attribute that put fear into opponents and meant that they committed less players for corners etc.
What I have noticed this season is that Berbatov's 'plenty of time, no hurry' body language on the ball has transmitted itself to the rest of the team. Against Spurs on Saturday, there were four or five attacks that were flowing at pace until Berbatov picked up the ball, then all the urgency went out of the attack and Spurs got men behind the ball. Ronaldo looked a shadow of his former self (and don't give me that crap about fitness, he's been back for weeks) and wasn't running at pace with the ball at all.
I think United are at their best when playing frenetic counter attacking football, we are not an Arsenal team who like to pass round opponents and we never will be, although certain players are capable. Last season we were fast paced and dangerous on the break, this season we are lethargic and less effective.
Paul Milton, Man Utd
Giving The Morning's Comparison A Kicking
John Barber et el, if you tackled a random punter in the street, cleanly, with no studs showing, it would still be something the police might be interested in. Likewise if you landed a football right on someone's head as they walked along with their shopping, even if you were 50 yards away and used your weak foot, it would still not be appreciated. Can people please stop saying "if you did that on the street you'd be arrested" - the consequences of what someone does on the street and what someone does on a football pitch are not really comparable, only in the most extreme of cases, and even then usually not
As for the Rooney/Ronaldo incidents. As a Man U fan I may be biased but there's no way to be certain he meant to stamp on the player. He was stumbling backwards and it quite easily could have been an accident. He definitely meant to get the 2nd lad, whose calf he lunged at whilst the player was running away from him, so maybe the media should have perused this one
Third paragraph. Ronaldo's flick at Dawson. Every week there's people on here bemoaning the way the modern game has gone, thats it too soft, theyre all big girls etc. And Ronaldo flicks out a feeble kick at Dawson's shin that barely connects and what happens? Everyone's up in arms to have him charged with violent conduct. Having previously only seen the incident replayed during the match, I seen it again on SSN last night and laughed.
From the angle behind you can hardly see any attempt at a lick, and from the other side you can see what a poor and half hearted effort it was. I'm not saying players should be kicking out at all, but get over yourselves people, it was a nothing incident, and if it had been a young lad from the Boro youth system or a similarly non household name it probably wouldnt have even merited a replay during the match, let alone a referral to bloody UEFA. Get a grip people
Birdy, Ireland
...Ignoring the fact that Ronaldo's pathetic kick wouldn't get you a conviction in any court in the country, I'd love to hear what John Barber thinks would happen if he took a football into his local pub and kicked it as hard as he could (well, as hard as a real man could) at someone near him, perhaps dressed in a goalkeeper's shirt. I think you might find yourself up in court. Perhaps football isn't analogous to going to the pub, you big fanny.
Tom Yates
Laughing At Spurs
They say the secret to comedy is timing...does that mean Tottenham's new stadium is an excellent joke?! To deconstruct....£400 million stadium plan announced the day after Harry 'bare bones' was told there was no money for transfers, and about a month after the global credit system went into complete meltdown! They'll have to tighten the purse strings and stop buying shiny new toys like Abel Taraabt and new knees for Ledley King.
Good luck chaps, I smell a Christmas turkey...or is that Damian Commoli's ears burning?!
Tom, Wales
Hang On! No More Unfair Laughing At Spurs
Love Mediawatch, but don't really see what you're getting at when you say there are "many, many things" wrong with this excerpt from the description of Spurs' new Naming Rights Stadium:-
"Stylish flowing roof which will evoke the the stylish flowing football associated with the Tottenham brand"
Are you pointing out, quite rightly, that "stylish, flowing roof" is a ridiculous phrase? Or are you saying that good football isn't associated with Spurs? If so, i assume you're having a dig without bothering to look at the facts.
After all, outside the top 4, what side can claim such exciting footballers over the past couple of decades as Berbatov, Ginola, Klinsmann, Sheringham, Gascoigne and more? What side can claim to have played (more or less, in the Ardiles days) five up top? What side has put four or more goals past Arsenal on three occasions? What side has thrilled the neutral by getting beat from 3-0 up on two occasions?
Would any of that apply to a club that didn't try to play flowing football (most of the time, anyway).
Have a dig at Spurs by all means, we've been a laughing stock for half of my 20 years as a fan, but don't try to take good and exciting football from us, that's just mean.
Rob Davies
There's Quite A Size Difference Though
I read on your site that Real Madrid want to sign Lassana Diarra to fill the gap left by Mahamadou Diarra being ruled out injured for the rest of the season.
Will Lassana share Mahamadou's kit?
Pete, Sarf London Gooner
Mark Cohen Is Not A Popular Chap
Read Mark Cohen's mails, the responses and his response to the responses with interest and came to the following two conclusions.
1) Chelsea will win the league. No stats to back that up. 92% of stats are made up anyway !!!
2) Mark Cohen is a patronising ****.
Andy Bull
...I did statistics at school; it formed part of our "maths" curriculum. It was taught by a gentleman known affectionately as "Beaky" Hamphlett who had a honking, monotonous voice reminiscent of a sea lion. So little interest in the subject did he drum up in his poor unfortunate students that he kept us all in one evening to resist a mid-year exam because none of us managed to score more than 50% first time round, and this was not a class full of thickies.
However, even his double maths lessons on a Monday morning were more interesting than Mark Cohen's last two e-mails. I just wanted you to know that.
....Wow - I'm a Liverpool fan but you really are a condescending Twunt. Ah well, should keep the next couple of mailboxes interesting.
Marc Booth
We Do Love A Well-Written Email With 'Sir' As Its First Word
Sir,
I read with interest comments yesterday by former Scotland manager Craig Brown who is leading a charge for individual representation of the four home nations at the 2012 Olympic tournament. I considered his paranoid rant completely uninformed and delusional.
His first assertion is that, despite the fact that the British Government has received specific confirmation from FIFA to the contrary, the presence of a combined Great Britain football team will lead FIFA to declare that the era of separate representation for the home unions is over. In his words, "there are 208 countries in FIFA, it would streamline their operation a wee bit", as if the reduction from 208 to 205 would make the slightest bit of difference.. He then goes on to suggest that rather than arrange a playoff between the nations, which would lead to too many matches, all four should be represented without qualification.
For the unitiated, the European U20/21 tournament doubles as qualification for the Olympics with usually a top 4 finish required, a position that Scotland has not reached since 1996. I find this approach staggeringly arrogant, as if the entire football world will be willing to forgo their own qualification places at a large international tournament in order to accommodate a football association and government completely wound up by their own paranoia.
I am a New Zealand football fan who witnessed our side qualify for, and compete at, the Beijing Olympics this year, our biggest football tournament since we qualified for the '82 World Cup. While the tournament may not register with the British public, it is an important one for many smaller nations including my own giving valuable exposure to our players on the world stage and an opportunity to compete with some of the best players in the world. The are specially important in Sth America where it remains an obsession for Brazil (the last international tournament they have not one).
In short, there is no way that any other nations will accept cuts to their places in the tournament.
While I do not agree with the Scottish analysis of FIFA's plans for the future of the home nations, it is their prerogative to safeguard their own national identity. But to attempt to change the entire structure of the tournament to suit themselves at the expense of other sides who have qualified shows a complete lack of knowledge of the football world outside Europe, is disrespectful to those countries who have been taking the competition seriously for years and is embarrassing for Scottish football, at the same time completely ignoring the fact that the home nations do not compete at the Olympics.
The Olympics have been fine without the home nations for many years and if the scots do not want to compete they should stay out and shut up.
Jonathan [NZ is 180 minutes away from Sth Africa 2010] Norman
