A left-field contender for Man Utd, in defence of Qatar

The Mailbox forwards Stephen Kenny for the Man Utd manager’s job, defends Qatar’s human-rights record, and takes you on the road in the Championship.
Get your views in to theeditor@football365.com…
Kenny for Man Utd
Ireland playing with identity and purpose for the first time in a long, long time. Stephen Kenny just managed a 2-2 draw against the current world number 1 team, Belgium.
If he can manage that with a mix of league 1, Championship and a few premier league player, imagine what he could do at Man Utd. He’d be quite cheap too.
On the other hand, as much of a basket case as the FAI has been the last few years, it’s nothing on the goings on at Old Trafford.
Please stay Stephen. I’m actually enjoying watching Ireland play for the first time in a long time. I may have to sit on the couch instead of behind from now on.
David, Ireland
Top ten players who have gone backwards the most this season
In defence of Qatar
Of course everybody is entitled to their opinion on Qatar hosting the 2022 World Cup.
For clarity I have a vested interest as I work here and enjoy an expat lifestyle however, I don’t think Qatar should have been awarded the WC but the blame for that lies with FIFA and not with Qatar.
The 6500 deaths provided by Amnesty International relates to deaths of all migrant workers over a 10 year period and is not related solely to the construction of World Cup stadiums. As such the figures will include retail staff, domestic help, office workers, hospitality workers and of course construction workers. These unfortunates will have died from a number of causes and will also possibly include Western expats who have died in car accidents, domestic accidents, natural causes etc.
Qatar has not worked 6500 slaves to death on World Cup stadiums.
It is far from perfect here but this continued misrepresentation of the statistics is not helpful to anyone trying to form a legitimate argument and before the less well balanced of the F365 readers (comments section) jump all over this, I am not defending anyone or any actions.
Plato (MUFC)
…There seems to be a lot of criticism about Qatar hosting the World Cup this year. Some of it justified and some of it not. Some people saying that it can be a driver for change other people saying it’s just sports washing. Maybe both is true. But what people don’t seem to think about is the conditions that these workers survive in, in their own country. They see coming to Qatar as an opportunity to provide for their families and hope their children can get an education. The standard of life they are able to provide has to be better because they came to Qatar. They might not have chose to come work in Qatar, it might have been their only option. So as much as we criticise Qatar, we must also look at the wider problem of world hunger and poverty. And why the world enables situations like this to arise.
Just a thought.
Anonymous, Expat, Doha.
Restructuring contracts
Forget worrying about dirty money in football, it’s time to change the transfer market and a restructure of contracts.
While playing football manager the other day, I was wondering how to sell Mbappe. I didn’t need the cash, but I had young players I wanted to progress and no one was willing to put the money up to buy him. This Mbappe, at 28, entering his very peak.
It made me think about players like Pogba, Lingard and the countless others that leave on a free. They wait, “run down their contract” and sign a nice fat deal with another club without the outlay. It strikes me that rather than it be considered being mercenary, it should be the future of the transfer market. No more of players signing extensions at clubs they don’t want to be at, while they bide their time for a bigger club to take the chance or being held against their will by a club that doesn’t want to sell.
The whole thing about contracts is a bit bonkers anyway, a throwback to God knows what. As if a company can own you for x years.
The way things are now, only a few clubs can sign the biggest players. Only the very very rich (only a handful of which are rich by being good businesses) – or those with very friendly Spanish banks / governments – can pay those fees. If transfer fees were no more, even better if there were caps on wages too, that would bring more equality than any number of impossible rules about earning or ownership.
Throw in maximum contract lengths, say 2/3 years. Or banded by age (e.g only over 24, so teams are encouraged to develop youth).
At the lower levels of football, players often sign up to 1/2 year contracts because there is no security, and players transfer for free.
As a contractor myself, it’s the nature of the gig. Higher pay, less security but you work to the end of your contract and if you’re good at your job there’s always another contract. If I want to leave, I give notice and go. The employee stays as long as it serves both parties. And generally the human has more rights. Surely that’s a better approach?
Clubs then don’t have to worry about putting money aside to buy players, the business side just about balancing income from merchandising, match day revenue etc vs wages and other regular outgoings. More investment in coaching, in grounds, in youth.
It also means clubs like Everton or Villa are just as able to attract players as anyone else with deeper and more dubiously lined pockets, depending on the competitions they are in, the style of football they play etc with players paid more equitably. Players have more reason to be loyal.
Might also impact the cockroaches that are agents too, which would be good.
Seems like an improvement to me. Now please tell me all the reasons I’m wrong.
Badwolf.
Champo away days
Here is a bit of classic international break fluff. A few years ago when Bournemouth were first promoted to the PL I wrote a long rambling email about the joys of a day on the road watching your team, generally lose.
A lot has changed since then, importantly wife and son now often come with me in addition to the in-laws so thought I’d do a quick tour of the Championship grounds I’ve been to this year for the family fan.
Hull – went in summer. Sat outside a pub for a decent lunch in the centre. Watched England lose at cricket on the TV. 0-0, nothing happened, ground only half-full. The first of three times I have watched Grant McCann start time wasting seemingly 10-15 minutes before kickoff this year. Hull is a long way from Bournemouth.
Reading – night game. Decent pub on the A33 towards Basingstoke. Worst home atmosphere in the league, home fans fighting themselves. Won 2-0 and was the last decent Bournemouth performance for months. Parking pretty easy when the stadium is barely half-full.
Derby – made a weekend of it. Nice hotel and went to the Bakewell Christmas Market – recommended. Fully enclosed stadium means good noise and home fans friendly. Lost 3-2. Easy to park and get away.
Millwall – night game. Had to get there on the train but the walk from South Bermondsey is nothing like the scare stories. Home fans on the train from Peckham were friendly. Cavernous stands but the Millwall Roar is a unique and atmospheric sound. Great pies and shortest catering queues I’ve seen. Drew 1-1, coach home took ages. Go by train!
QPR – day after Boxing Day. Parked by a tube stop a bit out of town and made a day of it in London. Minor family row in the M&Ms store not helped by the long walk round to the away turnstiles from the main entrance to the ground. Tight to the pitch even in the upper tier, bit like the away corner at Stamford Bridge so a really good view. Rained a lot. Weird floating ‘pod’ for home hospitality customers near away fans was novel. Beer was good, pie mediocre. Won 1-0, stopped at Heston services on the way back and were treated like the first customers that month. Which we might have been, to be honest.
Luton – not a great town, if we’re honest. Parking was easy but Starbucks by the station was the limit of our adventure. Away end is exactly what you expect, seats bolted on to terracing, pillars and a very low roof. Lost 3-2, saw Jefferson Lerma at Fleet services on the way back. Didn’t book him.
Blackpool – just go there! Was February so the Irish Sea wasn’t exactly the Bahamas but it was quiet and the 9yo loved the arcades and Madame Tussaud’s. Couldn’t go up the tower, too windy. Best ground for home noise and the away stand was just like Dean Court. Try the Seasiders beer, was really good. Won 2-1 (daylight robbery really) and the hotel was so good we might use it again for Blackburn away next month.
Huddersfield – last week. Warm and sunny except for the stand in the shade and you can guess which spectators sit there. Stadium is really good, cheap tickets for this one so was full. Kidzone was the best I’ve seen since Anfield two years ago, accuracy shooting, radar gun goal, climbing wall etc. Home fans boisterous until Bournemouth took the handbrake off for the first time in months and scored two quick goals. Shame the Gas Club is shut but there are one or two decent coffee shops and restaurants in the town, notably a Lebanese. Stayed in Brighouse, right on the M62 for getting home. Recommended.
Tried to be objective but winning does sometimes cloud your judgement!
Andy J, Bournemouth
Palace and England
There are caveats: it was a friendly, one of them is a loan player, one of them came through another club’s academy, none of them are actually my relatives; even so, I did feel a glimmer of pride at seeing an England team containing three Crystal Palace players, something that only grew when post-match reports suggested they all played well.
It shouldn’t matter more because it’s England. The current Palace squad has amassed a total of 331 international caps for Belgium, Cote d’Ivoire, Denmark, Ghana, Netherlands, Scotland, Senegal and Serbia, all of which are just as important, if not more in some cases, than an appearance for England. And yet, at the same time, it can be argued that getting into the England men’s squad while playing for a club like Palace represents a more significant act of breaking through a glass ceiling than it would for many other national teams: for too long it felt like England judged players on their clubs’ performances or status instead of how well someone played within those teams, while countries seemed to have greater success than England because they recognised that a star player on a lesser team might play well with better players.
There are very few long-term conclusions to be drawn from England’s victory over Switzerland. It was the international equivalent of an early domestic cup game, where a club looks to the fringes of its squad in a way that league fixtures don’t allow them to. Even allowing for injuries, there was no point in picking the same team as would play in a competitive match, but neither was there merit in making wholesale changes to only pick those in good club form. In starting seven regulars and four new(ish) faces, I think Gareth Southgate got the balance right. Marc Guéhi played well, but it’s unlikely he’ll start a World Cup game in a back three where Conor Coady is the most experienced player, or at least that won’t be Southgate’s first choice plan. However, he played well enough to suggest that he could be a part of the World Cup squad if he continues to impress.
From the very start of his reign, Southgate made it clear to players that he wanted young players to be playing regularly and taking every opportunity to improve themselves. Several years later, he can pick a squad containing 13 players from midtable (or lower) Premier League clubs, including three from Palace, two from Aston Villa, and even one each from Tottenham and the Arsenal.
Ed Quoththeraven
United’s process
Chris, not sure if you didn’t read my words properly, didn’t understand them, or are purposefully misconstruing what I said to bolster your point. But either way I’m not frustrated that we haven’t appointed a new manager yet and I didn’t say I was. If you’re a regular reader of the mailbox you’ll know that only a few weeks ago I had a mail published suggesting United stick with Ralf for another season if we’ didn’t get top 4.
I also didn’t say that it was arrogant for United to not appoint a manger currently in a job, which is a particularly ridiculous notion as I’m sure you’re aware. In fact the lack of appoint was never mentioned. I said I thought the club lacked identity other than arrogance. I love United and will defend it to the hilt but after 10 years of falling standards, performance, and results the club still acts and portrays itself to be the global powerhouse it formerly was. An exaggerated sense of your own importance sounds like arrogance to me.
As for the briefings, its been an open secret for many years just how forthcoming club management figures are with the press. If you were unaware of this then fair enough but still it’s terribly naive to simply say ‘journos just invent stuff’. Though I’m sure some do invent stories and many others embellish what they are told the source for ‘insider club stories’ is usually someone working at United and it happens so often that it can only be a purposeful strategy. Woodward even hired Neil Ashton to manage the flow of information from himself
My letter and my issue is with the process, how public it is and the scattergun approach. It’s like the Wan Bissaka signing, the club couldn’t wait to let everyone know they’d assessed 804 right backs before spending £50m of a player with fairly obvious limitations. They think if they are seen to be ‘doing it the right way’ then they are absolved of responsibility when it all goes to shit. I don’t think that.
Dave, Manchester
Farewell, Defoe
Spurs fans will always love Defoe, some wholeheartedly, others with the caveat of ‘yeah, but’
I sit in the middle of the two camps; Defoe was a tremendous striker. He could take the leather of the ball with his power, and yet that often seemed to be his failing too; he seldom placed the ball but just spanked it. I remember once he said he’d been studying Greaves’ goals for Spurs, well few of those required the net to be restitched.
Defoe had a childish sense of joy that was contagious. He played like WHL was Hackney Marshes, and was often deadly, so much so his goals total has him amongst some incredible company.
But for the five against Wigan, there were barren spells. For the incredible goals, thinking West Ham and Arsenal for a start, there were many, many head in hands moments too.
A gloriously fun player, and a tremendous ambassador for many charities. A player who I can’t shake the feeling was always an almost, ‘if only’ one.
Which is why he’ll always find a home at Spurs!
Dan
Gerrard went down easily
I’ve just seen the challenge on Steven Gerrard that resulted in a penalty for Liverpool Legends vs Barcelona Legends. Tell you what, he wants to toughen up that lad.
Andrew (Thought he could barely move with all those screws in his body?)
What could’ve been
Very interesting question posed by Thomas about “What Could Have Been” careers but based on an attitude level not injuries and the like, a few names that come to my own mind are:
Royston Drenthe – He broke out in the 2007 U21 Euros and he was the hottest property on the European stage and signed for Real Madrid and then fell out with everyone and anyone, he did it at Madrid, Hercules and Everton, he even admitted himself his attitude ruined his career, digging out his highlight reels he really had a lot of potential.
Ricardo Quaresma – Hard to believe but when he joined Barcelona he was considered on a level playing field as Cristiano Ronaldo out of Sporting CP, both of those players as we know certainly took off in different directions and yet again another player who admitted that it was his attitude that caused this, i quote “Talent alone is not enough to have a great career,” and “i had an idiotic attitude at Barcelona”
Mido – Everyone’s favourite Championship Manager wonderkid, a must for any save, he certainly showcased his talents but sadly had no work ethic and his attitude came to the surface at Spurs, he nearly signed in 2010 for Kayserispor in Turkey but they pulled the plug on the deal and stated that he was a good player but arrogant with serious attitude problems.
Pierre van Hooijdonk – my final pick and what a pick, the amount of 20+ goal league campaigns he has had in his career is something, ten of them to be exact, from 1999 till 2004 he never scored less than 19 goals in a league season yet he was often accused of having a poor attitude and being something of a mercenary, infamously whilst he was at Celtic he rejected the clubs contract offer saying and again i quote “£7,000 a week might be enough for the homeless to live on, but not an international striker.”, his move to Nottingham Forest brought goals but another issue when he went on an 11 game strike, complaining that his teammates weren’t up to standard and those teammates never really forgave him as you can see when he scored against Derby County and none of his teammates celebrated with him, oh dear.
The Admin @ At The Bridge Pod
…One name instantly springs to mind and that is Paul Gascoigne. With his talent, and without his demons, he could have become one of the all time greats…
Phil (exiled in Brisbane) Chiz