Wayne Rooney is leaving Man United...now what?



Guessing on where Rooney is going has gripped the English press

 So I've been off the grid for a while but I'm back and a bit perplexed by some of the events of the past few weeks in the world of Football. From the unexpected purchase of Liverpool by NESV (New England Sports Ventures) owners of baseballs Boston Red Sox, and the subsequent legal battle. To Wayne Rooney's demand to leave Manchester United, there is no shortage of taking points, though for now I'll stick to the ongoing Rooney saga.

Someone today asked me the three most burning questions every Man United supporter (which I am one) Why does he want to leave?  where will he go? and how does this effect United going forward?

The second question is the easiest and most straight forward to answer so I'll start there. In my opinion and as far as I've seen most football pundits agree there are only 4 solid  and maybe 5 clubs in the world that would have the money to buy him and pay his salary demands, which most experts are saying is close to the 200,000 pounds a week level. Those clubs are Chelsea, Real Madrid, Manchester City and Barcelona, the 5th club could be Inter Milan but I'll explain why there are a distance 5th in a moment.

Tuesday Morning Headlines

Enjoy some footy news and highlights/lowlights with your cup of coffee.

• Finally able to get LEGAL highlights of the 2010 Community Shield game between Manchester United and Chelsea from Sunday, courtesy of F.A TV. Pay particular attention to Javier Hernández's goal and how it goes in (laughed my ass off!) View below.

• Aston Villa Boss Martin O'Neill quits 5 days before the clubs first game of the season against West Ham on Saturday. I personally think he's a great manager and should find work pretty quickly if he chooses. I've linked two different opinions I've read about him today, one good, one not so. I've also linked the full story here.
• Italian club Fiorentina announced that star Stevan Jovetic ruled out for eight months with knee ligament damage and needs surgery. (Too bad, kid looked amazing last year in Champions League)
• Bayern Munich manager Louis Van Gaal has hit out at FIFA boss Sepp Bladder regarding the lack of technology in the game- About damn time!
• BBC writer David Bond (Love his work) explains why Fabio Capello's apology to England fans is just not enough.
• New France manager Laurent Blanc is out to revive the national side after a debacle of a World Cup.
• Blackpool players finally get their bonuses from being promoted to the Premier League
•  Chivas Guadalajara make Libertadores final against the odds
• With International friendlies being played this week, there is a air of change with the player rosters for some of the World Cup teams.

Cheers,
Mike

Why play the Community Shield?

As I was watching the last 10 minutes of a thrilling Community Shield game between Man United and Chelsea, I began to wonder why I was so fixated on a match that was in the words of Mark Lawrenson was a "glorified friendly". Even in recent times Manchester United Manager Sir Alex Ferguson has down played the significance of the game by saying "It's always a game we never quite use of a do or die thing, we use it as a barometer for fitness".

Watching the first half of the game you might have agreed with him, it seemed that up until the first United goal, both sides were playing to see where they were at in regards to their development for the upcoming season. Through out his entire time on the pitch it looked like Ashley Cole took it as a training match against local amateurs, Now of course this could have been his "Get me outta here, I want to go to Madrid" plea, but I highly doubt it. However it seemed that once Antonio Valencia fired the Red Devils into the lead, everyone competitive nature came out.

Javier Hernández scores in comical fashion to put United up 2-0

This in my opinion is why the F.A  must continue with the Community Shield game, it is the first chance for the top clubs to really get into competitive mode for the upcoming season. I would have imagined at half time the team talk consisted of not losing face to the other side. As you would expect that United and Chelsea will be in the thick of the title race all season long. Although United brought on 3 subs at half time, you don't bring on Javier Hernández, Dimitar Berbatov and Ryan Giggs on just because they need the run out. You could also tell that this game meant a little something when Ji Sung Park was in the starting 11 for United as he plays in all important games for the club, so make no mistake Sir Alex's intention was to win. The same could be said of Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti who made no changes to his side at half time and eventually brought in Dider Drogba to help salvage the game late on.

It must be said that in the grand scheme of things the Community Shield as silverware in a clubs trophy case is probably the one they will miss the least, however it is still silverware, and the one weakness of all clubs big or small is it's addiction at silver. Having the winning feeling early in a season helps to build on further success during the regular season, Chelsea can attest to this as winning the shield last year was the start of a record breaking year for them.

Some many find looking into the game like this as foolhardy, however the game can be used as a signal of intent for the rest of the league. In this case United showed that it is ready to make a run at regaining it's English crown and chalking up the very significant milestone of 19 league titles. For Chelsea it shows them that repeating as champions will be a very difficult task as the target is firmly on their backs now. The Blues have done it before this decade, but with a fit United, a re-freshed Arsenal, newly motivated Liverpool and the emerging giant in Manchester City; This will be one of the most intriguing Premier League season in quite some time.

So let the games begin.

Cheers,

Mike N 

A time of endless hope in Europe

As we turn the calender from July to August, we in the football world begin the dream.

August signals the start of the European football season, this weekend we saw the start of the English season as league football began its regular season and the Community Shield was played on Sunday. Also France began it's league play as it's top division got started. The beauty of the start of a new season is the amount of endless hope that is in the minds and hearts of supporters.

The beginning of any football season whether it be Europe or South America, North America or Africa, it's a time in which all teams are even. Now of course there are clear favorites before the first ball is kicked, but the pure essence of hope makes the first round of games some of the most exciting. Supporters can now see the new signing in real competitive action, or see old faces take another run at a title. This time of the year is also the best time to see massive upsets in the league. For example tonight Montpellier fans who must have thought they were dreaming after last season's dream 5th place finish in Ligue 1, and qualifying for Europa League in its first season back up, shocked Bordeaux by beating them in the French league opener 1-0. The other surprises were in England's championship where highly rated Bristol City was pumped 3-0 by new boys Millwall, and promotion favorites Middlesbrough were defeated 3-1 by Roy Keane's Ipswich Town.

Now of course the first game of the season never makes or breaks an entire season as the European game is a slow burn towards the spring, but on opening day all are allowed to dream the impossible dream for many of the supporters. For those who have true title aspirations the start of the season is a time to assess what the club has done or not done in the off season. Most of the time supporters are trying the size up what their immediate rivals have done and how much of a threat they really are.

Manchester United 2010 Community Shield winners

You got this sense while watching the Community Shield today between Manchester United and Chelsea. As both teams have been relatively quiet during the transfer window this summer, you felt that at least in the first half both sides were feeling each other out, and seeing what changes and improvements have been made. Although the game ended 3-1 for United, I don't think United supporters are breaking out the Premier League bubbly yet but it makes them hopeful.

And sometimes that's all you really need.

Cheers,
Mike