Mails: United have turned a corner under Jose

Joe Williams

Send your thoughts to theeditor@football365.com.

 

Please leave Jose alone
I feel the need to offer a (slightly long) defence of Jose.

He’s compared unfavourably with Conte and Pep, both of whom are new to the league and their clubs, and both of whom are doing a lot better. However, there’s a critical difference: both City and Chelsea have very strong, mostly complete, settled squads. They aren’t adjusting to the league, just to their managers and new tactics. I’m not playing that down, but it’s just that much less of a task to put the jigsaw together if you already have the right pieces.

In the last 4 years, United have had 3 managers. The 2 previous to this have ripped out the innards of the club, and then thrown in some supposedly upgraded parts most of whom haven’t worked out and even fewer of which have been actually integrated. Not just players either but critically the backroom staff who have provided stability and consistency.

In real terms for the playing squad, would we rather have:

Fletcher or Schweinsteiger?

Cleverley or Fellaini?

Welbeck or Memphis?

Evans or Rojo?

Van Persie or Ibrahimovic?

Rafael or Darmian?

Add to them, Schneiderlin curiously seems to have no place, while £37m Mata has been of mixed success so far (less than Januzaj under Moyes).

Obvious successes are just Martial, Shaw, Mkhitaryan, Herrera, Blind (ish) and Pogba (no matter what nonsense people say).

That’s 8 meh to 6 yay, and none of them have actually really set the world alight (yet).

Fixing United was a big job. Six months in we’re midway through it, we seem to have turned an actual corner and the manager knows much better who he can keep and who he will ship (rightly or wrongly from our point of view). For the first time in three managers, I think fans mostly feel confident in spite of the results. Fourth place may be realistically out but there’s plenty to play for, including Champions League via Europa success.

So leave off poor old Jose, won’t you?
Guy S

 

No time for Fellaini
Ok i don’t get it anymore the Zorya game maybe a huge stepping stone towards qualifying for the champions league next year and what do UTD do well we drop all other midfield options and give Fellani him of the the one GHB type foul the opportunity to start when he should be playing with the u-23s (actually scratch that he could get them injured) fine carrick can’t play every game, and scweinsteiger is ineligible but why didn’t Scndeirlin travel in his place.

Arrrghhhhhhhhhh
TIMI MUFC (Cue Marouanne causing two penalties that lead to us losing two one and Jose ruing our bad luck).

 

Pros and Cons of Premier League playoffs
Christopher, Gooner, Trumpville
– Your idea of a playoff format for the English Premiership has its good and bad and I’m not here to bash your head in coz you’re from Trumpville and I hated the idea of Crooked Hillbilly bringing her hubby back to the house on the hill where he did the nasty in the Not Circular Office. Anyways, I digress, let’s start with the pros.

Pros
It gives teams within a division better opportunity of finally reaching the heights and sitting at the Big Boys table.
It provides end-of-season excitement as there is nothing as exciting as the NBA playoffs.
Regional rivalry gets extra spicy, which ain’t bad at all.

Cons
Playing 24 matches in a 10-team division means that you have to play some teams in your division more than others, which is unfair.
Some teams may slack off and only start playing when fighting for a playoff spot.
It may take some time for Brexiters to understand why their team isn’t in the playoffs, ha ha

Anyways, I hear Michele Platinni is right now sitting down with Uefa bigwigs and chewing their heads off for not having thought of such a brilliant idea. Someone’s getting their P45 today…
Keg Baridi, Nairobi, Kenya

 

Christopher, Gooner, Trumpville (former known as Washington, DC), USA – I actually think that your idea is a great one and a playoff system in the premier league is something I’ve often found myself imagining, and I agree that the current model is outdated. Because there is no real youth system in the game, like University/College sports in the US that fuels the draft system and helps keep or at least support a relatively even playing field, the game is driven by nothing more than money. When Man City or Chelsea, or Man Utd (Lolz) win the league, it’s very difficult for somebody who is not a fan of these clubs to feel anything other than indifference to the achievement. There is no adoration, no admiration and no respect of the achievement because it has essentially been bought. It can be dressed up as much as you like but 9 times out of the 10 the team with the most money wins.

And on a side note to that, how rubbish must it actually be, to be a Real Madrid or a Bayern fan btw. Their resources are so huge and the limits to their spending power almost limitless that winning the league and to some extend the champions league is essentially akin to breaking even based on expectations and financial input.  That must be actually really rubbish.

Anyway, I digress. As much as I like Christopher’s idea I actually like the idea of an NFL style system. 8 divs of 4 teams (imagine a div of Liverpool, United, City, Everton) spilt into two conferences of 4 divs per conference. Best two div winners make playoffs proper whilst the other two div winners, as well as the next best two teams from the conference play a wildcard card game – and so begins essentially the post season/playoffs. This means that you have both a div title to fight for, a conference title, and then the prem league title which would be like the superbowl. You can keep the cups as well if you like, why the hell not. The money men would love it (imagine the marketing potential), plus it would give fans of all clubs a chance to be properly in the mix.

A further facet that I would add is, like in the NFL draft where the worst performing team of the season gets the first pick of college players for the following season, the worst performing team in the prem would get the biggest share of the combined TV money, giving them a better chance of affording better players to improve their lot for the years ahead.

Could also throw in a relegation playoff for shits and giggle as well if you’d like. The possibilities are endless.

Or we can just leave it as it is. I’m not fussed.
Sean (Freiburg) LFC, New Orleans Saints

 

Regarding Christopher’s suggestion that the EPL establish an NBA/NFL style playoff system: I could not disagree more.

The problem with the NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLB is that the regular season means almost nothing. Almost half the teams in each league qualify for the playoffs at the end of the season. I watch my home-town teams and I like to see them win, but losses don’t mean that much as long as we qualify for the playoffs. And I NEVER watch regular season games that don’t involve my home team. And at the end of each season there is just one winner and all the other teams are losers.

Now contrast that with the EPL. EVERY team has something to play for and EVERY game is important. It is not unusual for me to watch three or four games each weekend. My son and I are big Arsenal fans and we love to see them win, but I also love to see Chelsea lose or draw, and I love to see Manchester City lose or draw, and I love to see Liverpool lose or draw, and above all, I love to see Manchester United lose or draw, especially now that Mourinho is in charge. That Bournemouth winning goal last weekend against Liverpool in stoppage time was so GLORIOUS!!!!

I also love the fact that every team has a chance to win or lose something. The EPL title, the League Cup, the FA Cup, the Champions League, top four qualification for next year’s Champions League, fifth and sixth place qualification for next year’s Europa League, and finishing outside the bottom three to avoid relegation. EVERY game means something to EVERY team. What a great sport!

One of the best days of my life was the day that my son and I decided to go see an Arsenal game while we were in London about 16 years ago. We were curious about this game that the English love so much. We got tickets in the North Bank at Highbury and watched Villa score twice in the first half to lead Arsenal, 2-0. Then we watched Arsenal score twice in the second half to tie, and then Thierry Henry scored in stoppage time to win. From that day we were hooked.
Ron Jeremias (Arsenal), Woodbridge, Virginia

 

I’m quite happy to admit I don’t get the league systems in American sports.  I don’t get how a country of  320miliion has only got 32 NFL and 30 MLB teams.  I don’t get the point of it all without promotion and relegation and I don’t get why rounders became so popular (I can understand why you thought it made more sense to pass the Rugby ball forward though).

Maybe it’s just a British or European thing but I really don’t get play-offs as described by the mail this morning.  I mean that from a sporting perspective, i.e. the best team over the course of a season could lose 1 game and not win the league.  I get the appeal of knock out football of course, but that’s what cups are for.

Again, maybe it’s a peculiar British paranoia but when Christopher(Trumpville yada yada) says that it will “create parity” I can’t help but sceptically think it would do the opposite.  So, for instance, last year Leicester – despite being the best team over the course of the season – would have had to play Liverpool then Arsenal (for arguments sake).  Last season they lost 3 out of 4 to the same sides (including a 5-2 walloping, with the other being a draw).  I can only imagine that a playoff system would mean the chances of a Blackburn or a Leicester reduce to practically zero.

Lastly, why would they play 24 games + 10.  I get the + 10, that’s the team from the other league but how does 9 go into 24?  Do you play each team home and away and then play 6 other teams?  I don’t understand.
Matt, AFC

 

Playoff system – An insult to mid-table teams
Dear F365,

I’m sure there will be a lot of responses to Christopher form Trumpville’s e-mail/trolling, and I’ll leave it to others to point out how offensive it is to fans of mid-table teams, but there is one fatal flaw – as a US sports fan I know that winning your regional division/league means absolutely f**k all when all they are there to do is feed into a bigger and more prestigous match/competition. There are many issues with the domestic game, creating false divisions (literal and metaphorical) and a playoff system just to trick apparently stupid fans into thinking their team is better than it is will not solve any of them, despite what Christopher claims (without explaining how). There doesn’t have to be a pennant or trophy involved to enjoy winning a football match.
Jeff (EFC)

 

Thank the Old Gods and the New for Christopher
Always nice when someone comes in with a new idea and then insults anyone who disagrees with the off the bat.
Obviously the £5.1bn tv rights sale was an indicator that the Premier League needed updating from someone.

Christopher has arrived, thank the Old Gods and the New.

I’m sure many will pick it apart, but I just don’t really understand the numbers he arrived at given 2 x 10 team leagues though (“you play 24 matches against teams within your division, then 10 outside your division”). Surely if your team doesn’t do well then they’ll play 18 North or South Premier League games and then do not a lot else (so 18 league games instead of 38 for 60% of teams). Is this where us Europhile snobs say “thank you”?

That said, I genuinely like the North/South tribalism aspect. So could we split the League Cup this way?

It’d reduce travelling costs for smaller clubs early on and would give us the sub celebration of the semi-finals crowning the Kings of the North/South before the final.
James (I begrudgingly removed some League Cup as Game of Thrones puns, as I really like the north/south idea and they made it sound like a joke) Smythe

 

English football are welcome to Old Firm clubs
Thanks to Steve, Manchester for calling out the Celtic fans from last night. Manchester has seen in recent years what both sides of the Old Firm are all about. As a non-Old Firm fan in Scotland (We do exist), I can speak for the majority of us by saying that the “Ugly sisters” are an absolute burden on Scottish football.

I have been unfortunate enough to see both sides win the league on my teams own turf. Instead of having what you would expect to be something of a carnival atmosphere, there was a lot of hatred and anti-social behaviour. The real elephant in the room is sectarianism. Despite Scottish government legislation to cut this out from the game, sectarianism remains a massive problem. The counter argument is always that it is a ‘minority’ indulging in this behaviour but I can confirm from first-hand experience that it is always the overwhelming majority.

The mainstream media on both sides of the border like to build up the Old Firm derby as the biggest / fiercest / oldest / greatest derby in the whole wide world whilst omitting the key ingredient which is ‘bigoted.’

The English leagues are welcome to them.
Craig (Only DUFC in) Berlin

 

Where has PSG’s team spirit gone?
I expected someone who is better with words to write in this morning but since no one did, I’ll try.
Its about the PSG/Ludogrets match. I watched the match to get a feel of how Unai Emery was getting on at the club and note their progress or lack of it under his stewardship. What however struck me was that there is a lack of teamspirit at PSG right now.
I mean, football is meant to be enjoyed with supposed mates and buddies but PSG played yesterday like they didn’t know each other or better still don’t care for each other. There was no attempt to even celebrate their goals. As an armchair psychologist, I don’t know if Emery is to blame for this lack of camaraderie or its something that’s been there before him. I’d love for someone who’s seen them more write in their observation.
On another note, I don’t get the rationale behind blaming Woodward for Manutd’s woes. If I remember correctly, he’s supported every manager that managed the team and has been proactive in changing managers to stem the slide.
What i honestly think Manutd need to do is get a director of football and it looks like there’s a thought in that direction as there were rumored moves for Monchi and the dude at Atlethico.
The takeaway from Manutd’s struggles is that Sir Alex is a god among men.
Tayo Olaniyan (armchair strategist), Nigeria.

 

And the dislike of Chelsea continues…
Just two final examples of why we hate Chelsea to add to the list..

First, the Man City match: Aguero’s tackle was wild, a brawl breaks out and in the ensuing mayhem, Fernandinho grabs an innocent looking Fabregas by the throat and pushes him until he falls back over the hoardings. Fernandinho red-carded and banned three games.

Now watch the replay again closely and see Fernandinho is actually stepping in to break up the fight and keep the players apart until Fabregas clearly slaps him (and appears to say something to him too) – at which point the red mist descends on Fernandinho and the events described above occur.

Jump forward a few days and read that Fabregas’ deliberate act of provocation, raising his hand to slap an opposition player who was trying to play peacekeeper, is not being punished at all by the FA after a panel of referees could not reach a unanimous decision that it was a red card offence.

Leaving aside the injustice of the decision and the incompetence of the FA panel, history shows that Fabregas and his Chelsea teammates are very good at these ‘dark arts’. This is the same Fabregas who moved his hand to in front of Erik Lamela’s boot in the ‘Battle of Stamford Bridge’ last season so he could claim he was stamped on: luckily for Lamela, he was exonerated by the video analysis. He was also accused subsequently of slapping Spurs players in the groin on the way off the pitch to provoke them into the final brawl after the whistle.

Second, continuing on with that May match with Spurs, their complete unprofessionalism in the title run-in last season: several of their senior players coming out and announcing that they wanted Leicester to win the title when they still had both teams to play, and not just as an aside or a ‘tip’ but a clear statement of choice; which in many ways ultimately led to the chaos of that match.

Honestly, I and most other non-Chelsea fans could give you long lists of reasons from John Terry to Roman’s money; from Mourinho to the most undeserved Champions League win; from Costa’s dark arts which always go unpunished to the dull football they played in winning their Mourinho titles; Ken Bates to the Eva Carneiro treatment; Wayne Bridge’s missus (JT again) to the Ashley Cole tap-up; 9/11 abuse of American tourists; the signing of Jon Obi Mikel; their ridiculous squad size and loan tactics; Bosnich, Mutu and cocaine; their hooligans, their racism (even towards their own players: see Paul Canoville) and the fact that they are the international rival of Man Utd for being supported by legions of glory-hunting fans in far-flung places with no connection to the club…

On the plus side, they have had some nice kits over the years…
James, Singapore 

 

Some interesting reasoning behind the hate for Chelsea, but one thing that I couldn’t get behind was JB’s comment about the racist fans.

Four fans were demonstrably racist to some Parisians and they should rightly be condemned for this. But how does he then get to this being a reason to hate Chelsea in full? All four fans were men so does that mean that all men are racist?

Often the people who condemn Club X for having racist fans are doing the same thing that those racist fans themselves are doing. Taking the actions of a small minority and extrapolating a prejudiced view about the majority.
Oli (Ilkley)

 

I am a Chelsea fan and reading the vitriol and ad-hominem attacks in the mailbox about the club I love made me more than a little sad. Instead of responding on a number of points directly, I wanted to share my own experiences and views of the club and offer a slightly different perspective that I hope some of the mailboxers who seem to hate Chelsea will consider.

Firstly, I am a white Irish guy who moved from Northern Ireland in 2008 to London and was fortunate enough to secure a season ticket. At my first home game (vs. Portsmouth), I met the people I would be sitting beside for the next year. After sharing a beer with them, the matter turned to where I was from and where I was living in London. Here are two of the comments I received : “oh, you are from Belfast but consider yourself Irish? Keep that to yourself around here, there is a big Chelsea / Rangers alliance…” and “You’re living in Harrow on the Hill? Lots of brown faces there, aren’t there?”.  Needless to say, I was shocked, felt incredibly uncomfortable and what was meant to be a really exciting day for me as a new season ticket holder was somewhat over shadowed by my concerns with the warped views of those people I would be sitting beside. I also saw, and still see, “Chelsea Headhunters” scarves being sold outside games and occasionally “Combat 18” memorabilia.

These examples sum up the worst of football support in this country to me and, due to the history of the club it may be that Chelsea fans are worse offenders than others. However, this is by no means unique to Chelsea football club, parts of London or sport in general – there are elements of this deplorable behaviour across society and I have seen equally bad and on occasions worse actions from other clubs.

I try and separate those fans behaviour from the club itself and one of the reasons I fell in love with Chelsea was their willingness to embrace players from all backgrounds, nationalities and playing styles. As a club in the mid 90’s we played a role in leading the way for foreign players to come over and not just play the game, but lead in it – we had Gullit and Viallia as player managers. Ruud Gullit, for example, became the first foreign or non-white manager to win an Englsih Trophy when he lifted the FA Cup 1997. Chelsea has, for the last 20 years or so, been an incredibly multi-cultural team – players like Desailly (French, Ghanian descent), Babayaro (Nigerian) and even Weah (Liberian) all turned out for the club before the turn of the 21st Century and on Boxing day 1999 played the first ever non-British XI in a league game. More recently, our core of players included Essien, Makelele, Drogba, Ballack, Robben, Cech and Carvalho. Currently we also have a female director – I don’t know the stats, but I suspect that we’re one of the few clubs with a woman in a senior leadership position, particularly among the “top tier” clubs.

Yes, Chelsea have had problems in the past but the club has also been progressive in its thinking with regards playing staff, football style and trying to change its image. For example, the club immediately reacted to those fans who were chanted racist songs on the Paris metro both indicating a zero tolerance policy to racism and vowing to ban them.

The nouveau riche criticism is one that I have sympathy with – a billionaire buying your club always raises questions. But I never really understood the criticism of “buying” trophies – every elite level club spends significant money on transfer fees and wages and Abramovich’s early spending really brought the playing staff in line with bigger clubs, rather than ahead of them. For example, they didn’t win the league in the first year he was there and it took 10 years to win the champions league. I cannot speak for Abramovich’s business or political history or “how” he made his money, but given that many clubs have taken sponsorship money from Corporates that have wielded political influence, been accused of tax avoidance, been involved in criminal investigations and even employed sweat shops and child labour, I would suggest that Chelsea are simply more of an easy target in that respect than other clubs. I don’t, for example, see many people raising serious concerns regarding human rights abuses in the UAE given that Manchester City is now owned a member of the Abu Dhabi Royal family in the UAE.

I guess my point is this – yes, there are elements of Chelsea’s history that are embarrassing, deplorable and unsavoury, just as there are for many if not all football clubs. However, there are also elements that demonstrate inclusion and progressiveness and the club has genuinely tried to change. I’ve had negative experiences at football games as a Chelsea fan, but I’ve also had wonderful ones and I don’t let my dislike of Martin Skrtl or Christiano Ronaldo over ride my rationale understanding of what is important in society or the fact that many football clubs are both sources for good, despite their fans.

Hate Chelsea if you want, but recognise the positives and don’t have double standards. Apply the hatred equally across other clubs and elements of society if you can.
Lee