Adios, Muchachos...Un Fracaso Otra Vez

The above photo should tell the entire story.  RM's PR prior to this match was an all out aerial assault to intimidate the visiting Lyonnaise.  With Ronny's declaration that "in the Bernabeu we rule," and the well-timed presentation of the first Champions League Final ticket in Madrid a few days before the match...quintessential RM smokescreen...but it didn't work.

Going in to this match, the Merengues weren't "ruling" anything, as their antiquated "royal" title would suggest.  Behind on goals 0-1, when Lyon scrapped a goal at home in the first tie, los Blancos were already on the edge of infamy.  So the PR onslaught was pure theatrics without substance.  If you're going to intimidate another side, you have to play to back up the talk.
Tonight, they were silent.

They started out well enough with Ronny scoring in the 6th minute.  The "fans" thought they might provide a comeback like they did against Sevilla last weekend.  Unfortunately for Madrid, Ronny's goal was the only ball to find the net.  With countless close calls and wasted chances, CR became increasingly frustrated, as judged by the photo above.  Higuain shot at an open net and hit it off the post, and Lyon keeper Lloris saved a few sure bets from Madrid.

A slicked-back Ronny slides a greaser through the keeper's legs

You SHOULD be embarrassed...Higuain missing a wide-open net

That was the first half.  The second half was a different story.  In the 75th minute, Serbian striker Pjancic slid a sneaker through the swiss cheese RM defense (four on him) and...game over.  This drew the score and put Lyon up by one on aggregate.  That's where it stayed.

Pjancic guts the useless RM defense (you can only see two here)

In this type of competition, every game must be played as if it's the last.  Whoever wants it most will come out on top.  In this case, Lyon put Madrid's tenth CL title hopes and hosting the Final to the sword.

Now the sharks are circling.  As if RM manager Pellegrini didn't already feel the burn on his toes, the fans who left early from the match (typical RM "fans") have already put in their say.

Double-parked were ya? Fair weather fanaticos

The headline for marca.com was "Adios, Champions...Adios, Pellegrini" and AS.com's headline was more to the point: "Fracaso de Champions."  Jorge Valdano, the devil's advocate, stated that Pellegrini's job is not in jeopardy, but Pellegrini himself answered the job questions with a resolute, "that's up to the directors...I will keep on training until they tell me not to." 
One interesting moment from this "fracaso" occured when Kaka was substituted from the match with Raul taking his place.  As Kaka exited, he flailed his arms in anger.  Most in attendance felt he was voicing his opinion on being subbed.  But Kaka was quick to point out in the post-match interviews that he was merely frustrated by Real's play.  Until.....we were reminded that we live in the age of technology and up-to-the-minute information.  Kaka's financial advisor tweeted to Caroline Celico's (Kaka's wife) twitter that "the cowardly manager takes out players to divert attention from his own incompetence."

Kaka reverting back to his Milan days with a scene from la Traviata

So why DID they lose?
RM's resident prickly, Guti, summed up the loss stoically:
"It's a real shame," he told Telemadrid. "We showed once again that, in the big games, we are unable to go for the kill.

"We should have played more like a team instead of playing like a group of individuals. In the second half, we didn't play as we should.
"They started to attack when they saw that we weren't pressing like we had before half-time. That was the time to be a team. Now, we can only think about La Liga, which is all we have left."

Why do I think they lost?  Flagrant inconsistency, hubris, and too much reliance on history.  When most of the CL trophies you cart out for the public to see in a not-so-veiled attempt to intimidate are from the 1950s....uhhh...I think you need a new plan.

I'm playing with fools who can't finish...

"I wonder if Rog could pick me up from the airport in Manchester..."

"Rooney wouldn't have missed...!#$%! Higuain!!"

Haha...someone is reading my blog:

http://goal.com/en-us/news/174/uefa-champions-league/2010/03/10/1827455/lyon-hero-miralem-pjanic-real-madrids-talk-in-the-media

Thanks For the Memories...DB

OT fans remember the former #7 fondly

David Beckham had another night of mixed emotions in a Milan shirt - disappointment at losing to his old club for a second and now decisive time but delight at his treatment from the United fans.

The home supporters cheered whenever his name was announced on Old Trafford's PA system before the match, but the biggest cheer was reserved for his eventual entrance from the bench in the second half. A chorus of "There's only one David Beckham" rang out around the stadium as he got stuck into the impossible task of pulling the Rossoneri back into the game.
"The reception was unbelievable. I have to say thank you, the way the fans were to me was really incredible. It’s nice to be back," said Beckham.
Nice to see the fans perhaps, less so to see the players - in particular the man who scored twice against Milan, firstly away and now at home.
"I keep saying, everyone keeps saying, Wayne Rooney is such an exceptional talent," admired Beckham.
"I think without doubt, he’s one of the best, if not the best, players in the world. He’s up there with Messi and Ronaldo. They don’t come much better than that."
Rooney's double, followed by goals from Ji-sung Park and Darren Fletcher, ensured Beckham flies home to Milan with nothing but fond memories of his first club match at Old Trafford for seven years.
"It was a disappointing night because we lost the game. But returning here is always special," added the ex-Red.

Playing against former teammate Scholesy and current England mate Rooney

Supplying one of his signature corners, as he did so many times at OT

When his name was announced, the OT faithful gave him a standing ovation!

Acknowledging the warm reception

"Speak Into My Jockstrap..."

March 9, 2010


England caught up in "bugging" row

The Football Association has reportedly ordered an investigation after claims that players and coaches from the England team were secretly recorded in the build-up to last week's friendly against Egypt.
It is alleged that conversations between players and members of the coaching staff were taped ahead of the Wembley fixture and offered to national newspapers, none of which took up the story.
The Times details how the FA's solicitors, Charles Russell, on Monday warned newspapers against publishing details of the recording which it is claimed was obtained illicitly.
England stayed at The Grove in Hertfordshire prior to the Egypt game but a spokesman told the Times the hotel was unaware of any reported security breach.
"We do not know anything about it," said the spokesman. "We have been hosting England for three or four years and provide a very high level of security for them. They also bring their own security team. It would surprise me if they had been bugged here."
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted news the England team has been bugged is a concern.
Ferguson and Manchester United were at the centre of a similar controversy in 2005 when listening devices were found in the home dressing room at Old Trafford after a key encounter with Chelsea. And, ahead of a World Cup campaign, he thinks the latest development is a worry.
"It happened to us once before,'' he said. "I would be concerned about it. You have to be. Preparation involves discretion and secrecy. I haven't revealed one bit of my tactics ahead of the match tomorrow. I haven't been asked. And do you know why? Because I wouldn't tell anyone. Why should I tell anyone?
"Capello may have been discussing some important issues about his team. All of a sudden someone else has got it. It is a concern.''
England have just two friendles remaining before they travel to the World Cup in South Africa with Mexico and Japan the opposition at the end of May.
Capello's provisional squad will be named on May 16 and his final 23-man squad will be unveiled on June 1.
[end story]

If I were these teams, I would use misinformation to teach the culprits a lesson.  I find it sort of hilarious, other than team selection, that a side feels they can gain an advantage on another.  After a few minutes in a match it is painfully obvious what the other team's strategy is.  You have to adjust.  Unlike the United event, where Chelsea was trying to gain advantage, it seems someone in Egypt was merely trying to line their pockets with juicy talk about something or someone. 

This blog will self-destruct in five seconds.

Haha...Once Again, Martin and I Agree

from Martin Samuels of The Daily Mail:

The Red Knights? Manchester United would be better off being run by the Barron Knights. At least there were only five of them.

There were 40 Red Knights at the last count, or maybe it was 60. The list seems to be growing all the time, because fantasies do. They start small - a seat on the board to represent the supporters, perhaps, and end big - 'Hey, let's buy the whole damn club!'
The idea is to assemble a collection of investors willing to put in between £10million and £15m each to oust the Glazers from Manchester United. We are still at the stage in the relationship where the perfect happy ending is possible, but this is a marriage of inconvenience.
The more Knights, the more potential for conflict if the dream is realised: people with different goals, different expectations, different concepts of how the club should operate, different personal circumstances, different hopes of a return.
Laughable: United's Red Knights are as much a parody of reality as 1960s comedy group the Barron Knights.
I once asked a friend in a Premier League boardroom if a football club was the hardest business to run. 'No,' he replied, 'a football club owned by a consortium is.'
The counter-argument is that Manchester United had 35,000 owners when the club was a plc and still enjoyed many successful years. This is not entirely true. The success was there - but then United have been successful under the Glazers, too - although the harmony was a myth.
As a plc, United had about 34,995 investors who were under the impression they were running a football club and five who really mattered, and by the end it was a bloodbath.
Cubic Expression, an investment company owned by John Magnier and JP McManus, controlled 28.9 per cent and ended up at war with the manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, and the board.
Remember those 99 questions? The club fell into the hands of the Glazer family as a result of the conflict. Now times that by 30 and enter the world of the Red Knights. The idea that 60 investors, who are out of pocket by more than 10m GBP each, will sit idly by while Keith Harris and pals call the shots is preposterously optimistic.
Harris, an investment banker with Seymour Pierce, has been looking to get his hands on United for years. One problem: he hasn't got the money. None of the Red Knights has.
Jim O'Neill, chief economist at Goldman Sachs, was actually on the United board. He advised against the Glazer sale but was powerless to stop it. Sir Roy Gardner, a former chairman of United, is also believed to be involved. The same goes for him.
If these people need 60 allies even to get close and, if everybody is equally committed financially, who gets to play the big boss?
Sorry to be a killjoy. The green and gold protest is admirable and if there is a rock solid Manchester United fanatic out there with £1.2billion to spare, he should get to work immediately. If there is a guy who can walk in, write a cheque, tell the Glazers to clear their desks and begin running a debt-free club that afternoon, oh happy day.
The Red Knights - and how presumptuous is that name, considering the status of the manager - are nothing like that. There is no guarantee that within months, this unwieldy collective will not have descended into a squabbling circus, as egos and personal pressures come to the fore.
What about their Red Ladies, for instance? The 60 wives - or partners - of the Knights, who might have an opinion about £15m going up the wall on a football club when the west wing of the estate needs doing.
What happens if a Lady asks her Knight what sort of return he is going to get on such a substantial investment, only to be told he cannot say for certain and, anyway, he is not part of the decision making process. Might there not be a little tension in Camelot?
This is a genuine sentence from a well-sourced report on the Red Knights proposal. One imagines this information comes straight from the top.
'If they (the Red Knights) succeed, they will also need to create a means of catering for the different requirements of investors, some of whom will want a return, while others are happy to hand over their money in exchange for seeing their name carved on a Knights honours board at Old Trafford.'
You've got to love the optimism in that 'some'. Some of the Knights will want a return. Only some, mind you. The others? They're just the sort of guys who sling £15m at a project and don't care if they see tuppence of it again.
Even if they knew somebody else was making a fantastic living off their investment, and being paid a huge salary, someone like - ooh, name at random, Keith Harris - they wouldn't ask for a penny back. They would just tip their hat, say 'Glad to be of assistance, sir' and trip happily on their way.
Oh yes, the world is full of people like that. The world according to Sesame Street.
Still, what about that honours board? That's got to be a winner, don't you think?
'Honey, I'm home.'
'Hello, darling. Have a good day at work?'
'Wonderful. I gave £15m of our money to Manchester United.'
'Isn't that rather a lot?'
'Well yes. We may have to give up the villa in Porto Cervo and I'm thinking those three weeks in Barbuda at Christmas might take a hit, but it will be worth it. You'll never guess what I get in return: they're going to...'
'Let you play centre forward?'
'No, they're going to...'
'Sack Alex Ferguson and give you the job?'
'No, I'm going to have my name...'
'Tattooed on Bobby Charlton's forehead?'
'No, they're going to carve my name ... on a board.'
Get real. You put your name on a board if you want next go on the pool table, not if you are about to hand over £15m. These people are businessmen. They might talk an idealistic game now, but pretty soon that primal Wall Street instinct is going to kick in and they will be playing hard-ball on returns and dividends. That is if they can get the plan past the wife.
My husband, the director of Manchester United, has a certain ring to it. My husband, the name on a frigging board, not so much. By the time all 60 start claiming proprietary rights you won't be able to get a ticket on match days. They'll have to make the Stretford End the Directors' Guests Suite.
Already, there is trouble in paradise. Sources within the self-aggrandising Red Knights have contrived to alienate a very real Red Knight, Ferguson, by claiming he supports the bid and is willing to invest money in it. Ferguson's angry denial now puts them at odds with the most important man at the club.
Also, the very rich do not haggle if they want a deal done, yet the Red Knights are already adjusting valuations of United, claiming it is worth no more than £800m, a bit of a drop from the £1.2bn, even £1.5bn, that was being quoted at the start of last week. Nobody has had to commit one penny and already the hand seems overplayed.
Now the fantasy is in danger of becoming reality, Manchester United's value would appear to be dropping £100m a day. Give it a week and, at this rate, maybe the Barron Knights really will get to have a go. [end story]

I've been saying this exact thing for a month now.  Having that many people run a club will only turn out poorly, especially when they don't agree.  Just look at the two incongruous nitwits at Liverpool.  They can't seem to agree on a single thing...and there's only two of them, not 60.
If the green and gold United "supporters/fans" think they will have one iota of say in the running of the club, well...they've just proved what monumental gits they are.  They are nothing more than pawns in this fiasco.  The Red Knights told them to stop buying United tickets, memorabilita, etc. and to turn their backs on the club.  I would ask...what kind of fan turns his/her back on the club?  Seeing the green and gold in the stands is disgusting enough, especially when the people on the pitch, whom they're supposedly supporting, are wearing red and black.  All of this is taking place while United is fighting for the Prem League and Champions League titles.  Not going to renew their tickets...great!  We don't need namby pamby fairweather freaks like you anyway.  Go across town and cheer for the losing side of Manchester!
The Glazers have already said that they're not selling.  Finito! 

Ten Men, Two Penalties, Two Dropped Points

Bordeaux maintains edge over Montpellier


Bordeaux, France (Sports Network) - Alberto Costa scored in stoppage time, but Montpellier wasted a chance to take over the lead in France's Ligue 1, because Bordeaux goalie Cedric Carrasso saved two penalties in a 1-1 tie Sunday at the Stade Jacques Chaban-Delmas.
Bordeaux, which played the final 58 minutes with 10 men, was saved by Carrasso and his two first-half penalty stops. He denied Costa in the 33rd, and Victor Montano in the 42nd.
Marouane Chamakh fired Bordeaux, which has played two fewer matches, into the lead in the 59th but Montpellier escaped with a point when Costa converted off a free kick in the final seconds.
Bordeaux leads the league on goal differential. Lyon is just two points behind in third.
Michael Ciani conceded the first penalty kick for a foul that earned him a red card, but Costa's left-footed attempt was saved in the middle by Carrasso.
Matthieu Chalme handed Montpellier another chance before halftime when he was called for a handball, but Montano's effort was saved at the bottom right.
Chamakh scored off a right-footed shot in the 59th to the bottom left, and the hosts were in position to earn all three points despite being short-handed.
Montpellier, which was just promoted to Ligue 1 this season, managed to escape with a point when Costa curled a left-footed shot into the lower-right corner. [end story]

94th minute.  I couldn't believe it.  It looked as if Bordeaux would hold off Montpellier, despite being down to ten men for over an hour.  Chamakh's goal (he scored two...first one should have counted too) was fantastic and Cedric Carrasso saving two penalties...priceless!
Bordeaux still have two matches on Montpellier and three on third-place Lyon.  With the matches piling up it will be backs to the wall to win the championship.
Allez, Bordeaux!

Cham fighting against Montpellier

Cham scoring against Montpellier (his first goal was disallowed...inexplicably)

Celebrating with the crowd

Cham finds cuff!

More Chamcuff!!

Awwww...more Chamcuff!

These two should never be separated!

The LFP is as Bad as the English FA

Fixtures begin to pile up for Bordeaux


Bordeaux, France (Sports Network) - When Bordeaux and Montpellier meet up at the Chaban Delmas Stadium on Sunday they will do so with both teams level on 51 points at the top of the table, but with the defending champions having played two fewer games.
A win for Bordeaux on Sunday would give them the chance to put some distance between themselves and their next closest competitors, but having two games in hand at the moment is not necessarily a good thing.
Bordeaux was supposed to play Auxerre two weeks ago, but the league postponed the match to give Bordeaux more time to prepare for its first leg Round of 16 match with Olympiacos in the Champions League.
Manager Laurent Blanc saw his team come away with a 1-0 win over the Greek side, but with last weekend's game against Le Mans postponed due to high winds, Blanc's side must play three games in six days with the Auxerre match being rescheduled for March 10.
Bordeaux is fighting on three fronts at the moment with its participation in Ligue 1, the Champions League, and league cup, and as expected, the club is not too happy with the league for its revised schedule.
"This decision could have serious consequences," a club statement read on the team's official website. "The LFP simply cancels the effect of its initial decision to help prepare the best conditions for the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League.
"Against the advice of the club, clearly expressed, the LFP is giving Bordeaux the worst conditions to prepare for the return match against Olympiacos."
"The situation is particularly unfortunate given that everything suggests the Le Mans-Bordeaux match could have taken place.
"Bordeaux proposed to postpone the meeting a few hours, play behind closed doors, or even shift the game to Monday and play without our international players.
"None of these proposals were heard and the decision to cancel the game was upheld because of the mere fact that Stade Leon Bollee in Le Mans does not meet the requirements of Ligue 1.
"Although bad weather hit much of the country, it was the only ground where a match was not played."
Montpellier is hoping to benefit from Bordeaux's ever-changing fixture list as they could catch the club trying to fight off a bit of rust.
Bordeaux's last two league games have been postponed, and having seen their lead shrink significantly over the past month, the defending champions will be under more pressure than this season's surprise package, Montpellier.

Phewww! A Close One

This time of year the teams with the most to lose usually find their form or buckle under the pressure.  For mid-table teams it's time to just play some footy and hope for next year.  They aren't in danger of sliding into the Championship, and they're too far out of the lead to make a run for the title.
So today saw two teams on either end of the Premiership spectrum.  United, at the top, and Wolverhampton Wanderers (Wolves) at the bottom...a hair's width from relegation.
Sir Alex has always been leery of these matchups because of the potential upset from a team going for broke.  As always, SAF was prophetic.
With Michael Owen sidelined for the remainder of the season, and Wayne Rooney benched after playing nearly the entire match for England on Wednesday (much to the redhot chagrin of his club manager) with a niggling knee injury, United had to find something special to pull off the win.
Thanks to a wily veteran, Paul Scholes, who secured his 100th league goal for United with a clinical finish after a defender failed to properly clear a Nani cross.  0-1 United.  3 points and the lead in the title chase.

Scholesy reacts after his goal, with Carrick and Nani in tow

Valencia take on the Wolves' wingers

Sir Alex revealed that Rooney is a doubt for the CL match against AC Milan at OT this week.  SAF made it very clear that he was unhappy with Wazza for choosing to play, when United were under the impression that he would report for international duty but not play.  The game was an idiot friendly (I hate them for exactly this reason), and it had absolutely no impact on England's WC chances.  If we win on Tuesday, we will be in the CL semifinals...come on, United!