F365 Opinion

Personal agendas put ManYoo out on top...

Winners

Manchester United
On a day that ought to have been headlined by United's inexorable march to yet another title, it was the petulance of two of their players removing themselves from the united cause to prioritise their own personal agendas that overshadowed all else. In its own little way, the preening and posturing of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez was a notable commentary on the state of the modern game: the diminished status of the team in football, the undiluted self-adoration of its protagonists, the personal motivations of sportsmen turned employees. Preening and posturing - just par for the course these days.

The response of Sir Alex Ferguson said plenty too as he stoutly defended Ronaldo and offered a rather less flattering appraisal of Tevez. "The fans love a trier," was all he could muster in the Argentine's favour. Ferguson knows what side his bread is buttered and who will keep buttering it. Ronaldo is United's future and Tevez is history.

Not so long ago, a hissy fit of the sort that Ronaldo produced would have prompted a boot-kicking eruption from the United manager. But these are different times with a different sort of superstar now in vogue. "You know what he's like," said Ferguson. We do. He is a player whose stardom is dependent on a supreme self-confidence that often overflows into arrogance and petulance. It comes with the territory and while Ferguson ought to have been embarrassed by Ronaldo's reaction to being substituted, it is just as understandable that he chose to forgive and forget. So what if Ronaldo cares more about himself than his team when his selfishness is so successfully serving a united cause?

In a similar vein, Tevez's display of personal rebellion was only to United's benefit. He had a point to prove and United collected three as a result of him proving it. In its own little way, Tevez's contribution in one of his final cameos for the club revealed precisely why United remain the dominant force within the modern game. Their strength in depth is unparalleled to such an extent that they can turn a deaf ear to a player who would improve every other squad in the country. He's not good enough for United but he's good enough for everybody else.


Liverpool
It has become difficult not to admire Liverpool in recent weeks with their style of football - never before in the club's history has one of its teams scored three or more goals in six consecutive fixtures - almost as refreshing as their refusal to throw in the title towel. The likelihood remains that United will have secured another championship by the time Liverpool face West Brom next weekend but there will be no disgrace in falling short. Losing just two games along the way, Liverpool have progressed considerably and gone further than anyone outside of Anfield could have expected or predicted. They're getting closer and that matters not merely in terms of massaging their self-esteem: only one side in the past ten years has won the Premier League title having finished lower than second in the previous season.

To close the remaining gap, Rafa Benitez will spend his summer seeking a superior version of Robbie Keane to act as forward cover. Perversely, Liverpool could ask for nothing more next season than another Keane-esque failure so long as it's the result of inactivity. In Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard, Pool possess the two players closest to Ronaldo in the superstar stakes and the most potent partnership in the league. It took them just two minutes to unlock the West Ham defence on Saturday and vindicate the captain's post-match boast that "there is a confidence when we are both on the pitch that we can win football matches".

Confidence and realisation. Gerrard and Torres have started just 13 games together this season; doubling that number may be all it takes to push Liverpool into forgotten territory.


Chelsea
This is why Big Four matches matter most. In demolishing Arsenal, Chelsea secured their position as the third-best team in the country. And why are they not first or second? Because in their four matches against Liverpool and Manchester United, they collected just a single point.


Fulham
David Moyes, having guided Everton to a cup final and either fifth or sixth place, has the greater claim, but Roy Hodgson's candidature for the Manager of the Year award isn't as outlandish as it might seem. He has transformed Fulham from the apparent relegation certainties of last season into a tidy, efficient unit that could qualify for Europe. Whatever else he deserves, how about some acknowledgment that experienced managers with an astute knowledge of the game are better suited to top-level management than recently-retired footballers?


Tottenham Hotspur
As he's in the news at present...

Tottenham's record this season without Ledley King: Played 14, Won 3, Drawn 4, Lost 7.

Tottenham's record this season with Ledley King: Played 22, Won 10, Drawn 5, Lost 7.


Stoke City
As Philip pointed out on Friday, Stoke's achievement in avoiding relegation is one of the few unusual features in an otherwise predictable season.


Losers

Arsenal
Lulled into a false sense of optimism and status in a 20-match unbeaten run against mediocre opposition, the Gunners' real standing amongst the elite has been ruthlessly exposed in the past 20 days. Lightweight, soft and fundamentally flawed, Arsenal look to be in a league of their own, stuck in a void between the also-rans and the Premier League's big three. Five times Arsenal have faced Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool since the middle of April and five times they have failed to win. It is, some might care to note, precisely the same set of results that spelt the sack for Luiz Felipe Scolari three months ago at Chelsea.

According to the Brazilian's interim successor, Sunday's mauling may yet prove a blessing. "It might be a considerable blow and show them what they have to do," mused Guus Hiddink. If only. Wenger's delusion is so entrenched that it would be foolish of even the most optimistic Arsenal fan to believe that some good may come of this exposure. It's a heavy statement for a heavyweight newspaper to make but The Times' response to the Frenchman's post-match defiance - 'Arsene Wenger loses his grip on reality' - should be the epithet of Arsenal's miserable month.

Wenger's refusal to see fault in his side - "It was not a 4-1 defeat today. You can be very positive or very negative. It's a major disappointment to lose 4-1, but going forward we had a very interesting game and created plenty of chances. That was never a 4-1 game" - is all the more worrying for the club's long-term health because none of the flaws on show were new. Arsenal have long trademarked the art of conceding soft goals and failing to convert superiority. Given their respective recent history against Chelsea, selecting Mikael Silvestre ahead of Johan Djourou was lunacy while not even insanity could explain Wenger's persistence with Abou Diaby.

The Arsenal manager says his team are learning but there's scant evidence to suggest such comfort. Set-pieces are still undefendable, an 'injury crisis' remains their default, Theo Walcott still doesn't appreciate that tracking back is an occasional requirement, and wastefulness in front of goal can be written into the match report before the game is played. When will they learn? When their supposedly myopic manager finally spots their nasty case of déjà vu.

In the face of his defiant refusal to even acknowledge a problem, it's no wonder that faith is ebbing away at the Emirates. The early departure of Arsenal supporters in the week caused a considerable stir but the really remarkable thing is that so many believers still remain.


Aston Villa
The collapse keeps on collapsing. Villa's pursuit of fifth place has somehow been written up as proof of progress but the fact remains that they have fewer points after 36 games than at the same stage last season and their overall tally from 2007/08 can only be bettered with victories in their remaining two games.

Oh for the days of February when a two-goal lead against Stoke drew the announcement on Match of the Day that "Villa are in the Champions League". Since then, they've collected just six points from nine games. Opportunity blown.


Everton
Playing their way out of form, Everton's prospects of winning the FA Cup final are receding with every passing week. In their last 13 league matches, the only teams Everton have beaten are West Brom, Middlesbrough, Stoke, Wigan and Sunderland.


West Ham
David di Michele: the new Morten Gamst Pedersen?


Manchester City
Mid-table mediocrity matters for Mark Hughes. The word emanating from Eastlands is that the Welshman's position at the club is still under review, with a host of alternatives already apparently lined up in case the club's backers decide on change.

As a 2-0 defeat at Old Trafford provided neither persuasive reason for dismissal or retention, what Hughes can't afford if he is to save his job is defeats in City's remaining matches away to Tottenham and home to Bolton. The warning from history is there to be heeded: After all, it's only because Sven-Goran Eriksson's City lost their final three matches of last season, culminating in a scandalous 8-1 thrashing at Middlesbrough, that Hughes was offered a job to take over.


Wigan
The new Charlton. Ever since another year riding the Premiers League gravy train was guaranteed, Wigan have been at a standstill. Having begun the year in seventh place, they've scored just seven goals in 15 games and taken just a solitary point from their last five matches.


Hull City
The story of the first half of the season, Hull are poised to suffer from an unexpected twist in the tale if either Newcastle or Middlesbrough win tonight.


Pete Gill