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| Photo by Jacob Boetter |
Thoughts and Ramblings:
o The Premier League is more wide open this season than ever before. Anyone who writes off Spurs' chance of winning the title -- or better yet, Arsenal's or even Liverpool's -- is kidding themselves. Okay, maybe the ones writing off Liverpool aren't kidding themselves.....
o But back to our point. Yes, we believe City and Chelsea will strengthen as the season grinds on and their respective Managers get a better grip on their side's talent, as well as that of the competition. And it's not so difficult to imagine that David Moyes' Manchester United will show some kind of flicker of life still to come; after all, even his Everton sides did that season after season. But with the supposed 'big boys' of English football dropping points left and right early on it's going to be a wild fight to the finish. And it's not only the Premiership that's up for grabs: any one of the top 6 or 7 teams could be in the race for a Champions League spot, as well. Interesting times, indeed....
o But back to our point. Yes, we believe City and Chelsea will strengthen as the season grinds on and their respective Managers get a better grip on their side's talent, as well as that of the competition. And it's not so difficult to imagine that David Moyes' Manchester United will show some kind of flicker of life still to come; after all, even his Everton sides did that season after season. But with the supposed 'big boys' of English football dropping points left and right early on it's going to be a wild fight to the finish. And it's not only the Premiership that's up for grabs: any one of the top 6 or 7 teams could be in the race for a Champions League spot, as well. Interesting times, indeed....
o David Moyes needs to close his mouth. One the one hand, it's admirable that the Scotsman is a straightforward, honest guy. But on the other and, a leading Manager does not -- nay, should not -- come out in September and say his squad does not have the quality to win the Champions League. Did Chelsea have the quality in 2012?! First off, the Champions League is not always won by the team in Europe with the best quality; it's a knockout competition, and the team with the best talent on any particular day can and will win. Second, what message is this candor sending to your team, the men you are being paid to motivate?
o Patrice Evra's day at Old Trafford are numbered. First came all the heavy petting with Leighton Baines. Next came losing his starting spot to Alexander Buttner for two straight games. Perhaps Moyes thought he was rewarding Buttner for a job well done mid-week against Bayer Leverkusen; perhaps he thought he was resting Evra for the long rosd ahead. Regardlesss, the move backfired. Evra is one of the few 'older' players at United that does not seem to need a rest -- unlike Giggs, Ferdinand and Carrick. Evra is like the Energizer Bunny; you wind him up and he keeps going...and going....and going.
o Additionally, playing Buttner in a home League game that the team really should have won was slightly naive, and showed that Moyes hasn't quite gotten the hang of this rotation thing yet. It's a funny old world. Two seasons ago, many United fans were reasonably questioning whether Evra was 'past it.' Looking for a replacement at that time would not have been out of the question. But actively scouting a new left back after the season that Evra had last year strikes us as particularly odd. Could it be that left back is the position the club are in most dire need of at the current time? And replacing a 31 year old with a 29 year old doesn't scream youth movement, either. Color us scratching our heads....
o Additionally, playing Buttner in a home League game that the team really should have won was slightly naive, and showed that Moyes hasn't quite gotten the hang of this rotation thing yet. It's a funny old world. Two seasons ago, many United fans were reasonably questioning whether Evra was 'past it.' Looking for a replacement at that time would not have been out of the question. But actively scouting a new left back after the season that Evra had last year strikes us as particularly odd. Could it be that left back is the position the club are in most dire need of at the current time? And replacing a 31 year old with a 29 year old doesn't scream youth movement, either. Color us scratching our heads....
This is farlieonfootie for Sepetember 30.
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