Will Fergie go down as the greatest?

By Laurie Fitzgerald

Sir Alex Ferguson celebrated an incredible 25 years in charge at Manchester United with a 1-0 win over Sunderland – his 837th win as manager of the club.

The 69 year-old was given a fitting tribute by the United hierarchy for his efforts in the last quarter of a century, with the north stand at Old Trafford renamed the Sir Alex Ferguson stand.

It’s easy to understand just why he is so renowned when you look at the trophies his teams have won during his time in charge; a staggering 37 of them, including 12 Premier League titles, five FA Cup’s, four League Cups and two Champions League triumphs.

Fergie’s success is all the more remarkable when you consider it was widely believed that he was going to be sacked way back in 1990 before they travelled to Nottingham Forest in an FA Cup third round encounter.

Many felt that defeat would have marked then end of the Scot’s reign, but a Mark Robins goal gave them a 1-0 win, they went on to win the Cup and the rest, as they say, is history.

What a history it has turned out to be - and now the biggest question that remains when looking back on Ferguson’s achievements is whether or not he will go down as the greatest manager of all time.

When measuring greatness within football management, one of the biggest factors seems to be where a club’s stature was when they took over to what it became under their guidance.

Bill Shankly took over Liverpool when they were bottom of the old Second Division, and built the club from top to bottom to create one of the biggest clubs in England, and a club now rightly regarded as one of the biggest in world football.

Sir Matt Busby had to do what no other manager has had to do and come back from the unimaginable tragedy of the Munich air disaster, and rebuild the heart of a club as well as a squad to guide them to become champions of Europe just ten years later.

Nigel Clough also took a club from the lower reaches and turn them into the best team in Europe, winning back to back European Cups with Nottingham Forest.

There are also managers that are made great in the trophies they have won to help create the history of a club that fans look back on with such pride.

The likes of Bill Nicholson, Herbert Chapman and of course Bill Paisley won many trophies with their respective clubs that makes them rightly hailed by supporters as great football managers.

Each era creates legendary bosses that either redefined or modernised British football for the better, and have all helped make the game that we love what it is today.

However, looking back on these greats of the game, many of them created one or two great sides that achieved the success that makes them so fondly remembered.

With Ferguson, he has created five or six sides that have won trophy after trophy and has never been afraid to change a team in order to create a new generation of consistent honours.

In 1995, Fergie sold the likes of Mark Hughes and Paul Ince and replaced them with ‘kids’ such as Paul Scholes, David Beckham and Nicky Butt.

These kids went on to win several titles, and it was a team that achieved European Cup success in 1999, the first time that they had been kings of the continent for over 30 years.

Ferguson took over the club with United struggling in the old first division, and the club is now regarded as one of, if not the biggest clubs on the planet.

He has also been able to move with the times; even in the era of modern day football where managers seem to be in charge of a club for about five minutes, Fergie quickly grasped an understanding of the modern-day player and has carried his success well into the 21st century.

For me and I’m sure for many other football fans, Ferguson will go down as the greatest manager that we’ll see in our lifetime. His continued success over such a long period of time is something that will probably never be repeated.

So what do you think? Will Fergie go down in history as the greatest manager of all time? Leave a comment and let us know your views.

How will Di Canio’s bust up with Leon Clarke affect Swindon Town?

By Tony Alvarez

Following Tuesday nights defeat to high flying Championship side Southampton,SwindonTownboss Paolo Di Canio and the clubs recently signed striker Leon Clarke had a bust up on the pitch and again in the tunnel which was caught on camera and has been displayed many times on various news outlets.

Whilst many are asking if a more experienced manager would of handled the situation in a different way, many are defending Di Canio who was as hot headed as they cam during his own playing career which saw him banned for pushing a referee to the floor after being shown a red card.

The situation arose after Di Canio’s fitness coach had informed Clarke he had to come in the next morning for a run despite the striker playing the full 90 minutes, something that clearly enraged the striker.

Reports are now suggesting that Clarke who only joinedSwindonin August will be farmed out on loan next week and then be shipped out permanently when the transfer window re-opens in January.

Clarke joined Swindon after being released by QPR in the Summer,Swindonwasted no time in snapping up the 26 year old front man concluding the deal on the same day he was released fromLoftus Road.

Clarke has played in four games since his move and has yet to find the net for a side who have been very disappointing winning only their first League game before suffering 4 defeats leaving them lying in 21^st place in League Two.

Despite Clarke being shipped out form Swindon who were pre season second favourites for the title and thus expected to gain promotion back to League One, it still remains to be seen how the club can recover from such a public spat and whether the players still have trust in there somewhat legendary but highly inexperienced manager.

Of course there have been many spats between managers and players before which have led to both forgive and forget moments and immediate sales of the players in question.

But reports of problems are always just that reports and never carried out in the public eye, Alex Ferguson has the famed hairdryer treatment but this has always been behind closed doors including him kicking a boot off David Beckham’s head.

If Di Canio displays the mental strength and character he had as a player in the dressing room he will win the players round and get Swindon climbing up the table in no time, however if he shows his hot head and his inexperience as a manager things could go severely down hill for Swindon Town and the managerial career of Paolo Di Canio.

What are your thoughts? Can Di Canio resolve this situation? Are the club right to be looking to offload Clarke? Who is at fault for this situation arising? Leave a comment and let us know your thoughts.

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Who does your club need in the transfer window? Part 3

By Tony Alvarez

In our final piece before our end of season close down Shouts From the Stands will look into who the Premier League clubs need to sign in the current transfer window in our opinion.

Our views on the teams who finished in positions 1-12 in the league in the season just finished can be found on the links below and today is the turn of the 5 remaining survivors and the three new boys.

http://shoutsfromthestands.wordpress.com/2011/05/29/who-does-your-club-need-in-the-transfer-window-part-2/

http://shoutsfromthestands.wordpress.com/2011/05/27/who-does-your-club-need-in-the-transfer-window/

Stoke:

Stoke have had a successful season finishing 13^th thus not getting dragged into a relegation battle and reaching the cup final losing out toManchesterCity.

Although manager Tony Pulis generally sticks with the same type of players, big strong powerful or quick he often does add a touch of class to his side in every transfer window and I don’t expect this one to be any different.

Jon Walters has shocked everyone with his level of performance and goal return the level of Walters debut season will mean that it will be unlikely that Stoke enter the market for a striker although they may pick up John Carew who they had on loan from January on a free transfer.

I think they may add a body to the midfield to give the squad greater depth, someone in the ilk of Scott Parker would be perfect for Stoke although he is not big in stature he covers every blade of grass and gives his all, however if rumours are to be believed Parker has a host of bigger clubs queing up to sign him, Stoke could do a lot worse than looking at his team mate Mark Noble.

Pulis sofar hasn’t shown a good knowledge of the European market but has a great knowledge of the lower leagues and it wouldn’t surprise me if he finds another gem from there.

Bolton:

 With the loss of Johan Elmander Bolton massively need a striker, they would love to be able to sign Daniel Sturridge after his hugely successful loan spell at the club, however due to this Chelsea are very unlikely to let the young Englishman go but there may be a possibility of another loan spell for the former City man.

Boltonmay have set their sights higher than picking up the best of the players from the relegated sides but I believe DJ Campbell would be worth a look at, he would be ideal to run onto Kevin Davies flick ons and knock downs and knows where the goal is. He also wouldn’t cost too much which is always an added bonus.

At the back it is strongly believed that Gary Cahill will not start the season in a Bolton shirt which means a replacement will be needed, it would be easy to link Bolton with someone like Matthew Upson who is available but with the season he has had a don’t think Owen Coyle will go near him unless it was for a real basement price, I believe Coyle will be tempted to enter the market for Roger Johnson as he is the type of no nonsense defender that would suit Bolton’s style of play.

It is my personal believe that Bolton also need a lefty back as for me Paul Robinson is worse than average however last time I said that Bolton fans were not best pleased so maybe there happy to stick with him.

Blackburn:

I can see this being a difficult summer for Rovers, they have a manager that does not really inspire me or anyone else there owners seem to be out of control and the club only survived relegation on the final day of the season, on top of that it looks as though they will lose at least 2 big name players in captain Chris Samba and youngster Phil Jones.

Should these two leave as expected the club will need to spend heavily to fill the void left at centre back, Nelsen and Givet are not bad defenders but they are also not great and it would also leaveBlackburnwithout cover at centre back.

Depending on how much the new owners want to invest in the playing squad will define what type of player the club can try to attract.

In January it was rumoured that world wide super stars Ronaldinho and David Beckham were targets for theLancashireclub.

I wouldn’t like to put a name to that defender as I always seem to end up quoting places from the relegated sides.

Many fans forums link Rovers with moves for both Seb Larsson and Ruud Van Nistelroy I cannot see either coming off, would either really want to a move to a club that seems really unsteady and if they carry on in the same direction will be Championship sides this time next year

Wigan:

 Wiganhave a big battle on their hands, it is expected that they will lose the services of star man Charles N’Zogbia as well as striker Hugo Rodellega and possible midfielder James McCarthy.

Although if these three go it will bring some much needed funds in the club will struggle to replace them as no disrespect to the club butWiganisn’t exactly an attractive proposition for players on the continent.

Manager Roberto Martinez will no doubt try and use his knowledge of the Spanish market as well as his knowledge of the lower leagues inEnglandto try and bolster his squad.

It was quoted during Mondays play off final thatMartinezwas inSpaintrying to tie up some potential deals so we could see some exciting European talent at the DW stadium come August.

I have a decent knowledge of the Spanish leagues but don’t know enough to put names to the playersMartinezis likely to target.

One thing is for certain if the club don’t replace N’Zogbia they will be in trouble and to be honest it will be difficult to find some one with his creative talent with Wigans budget, however Connor Sammon appear to be a find.

 

Wolves:

Wolves are on odd one for me because I actually think there a really good side but the final league table doesn’t lie.

They clearly have a good bunch of players as they have taken points off Man United,Chelsea, Tottenham andLiverpool.

Mick McCarthy is a great man manager and gets his teams playing well as a unit so its hard to judge the individuals.

They have a couple of players who I feel are a bit out of there depth such as Ronald Zubar and George Elokobi, it appears all there fragilities are at the back as most of their attacking talent is more than good enough.

At the back the club have been linked with Roger Johnson who I have linked with many clubs during this article but also Matthew Mills who scored in yesterdays play off final and from what I’ve seen of him looks to be a very good defender whetherReadingwill let him go is a different matter.

 

QPR

  QPR are another team with an odd situation, despite winning the Championship Neil Warnocks position as manager is apparently under threat, as well as this despite being owned by some of the World’s richest men the club appear reluctant to spend money.

This makes them impossibly hard to predict as you do not know what sort of markets theLondonclub will be shopping in.

They have been linked withWatford’s prolific marksman Danny Graham but he is not the type of player that is going to propel them up the Premier League.

Again QPR have been linked with a whole host of players from the sides that have been relegated, players such as Liam Ridgewell and Roger Johnson are believed to be target

In my opinion the main issue for QPR is keeping hold of the star men they already have, Taarabt has been linked with many clubs but there has been no formal offers for the Algerian, they will also hope to sign wide man Wayne Routledge on a permanent basis after he impressed in a loan spell in the second half of the season. Finally keeping goal keeper Pay Kenny Is a must, fortunately he has always been loyal to Neil Warnock and there are no signs of that changing.

 

Norwich:

Norwichas a whole do not appear to be ready for the Premiership and the promotion could of possibly came a year to earlier for the Canaries.

However they are I n the Premier League on merit and Blackpool were getting many of the same doubters this time last year and so wereHullbefore them.

I know I have linked a lot of clubs with the players from relegated teams but it appearsNorwichwill be wholy shopping in that market as well as fringe players form bigger teams and the better players from the lower leagues.

Manager Paul Lambert moved quickly to snap up Everton forward James Vaughan, the striker has always looked promising but has struggled with injury problems, I once remember an Everton fan telling me his talent was unrivalled but his time on the pitch was bettered by everyone.

In the middle they have  battlers such as Croft but I feel to survive they will not some better Footballers along side the “engine room men” in a similar situation to what Blackpool had with Charlie Adam, a few clubs have tried to sign him in the past and personally I would try to prize away Darren Ambrose from Crystal Palace he has Premiership experience an eye for a goal and is an all round good footballer.

At the back you can get away without getting in big names as long as they all work well in a unit together, due to this it makes it anyone’s guess who Lambert is going to try and sign if he tires to sign anyone at all.

 

Swansea:

 Swansea gained promotion thanks to a thrilling victory overReading at Wembley in the play off final.

Anyone who saw this game will recognise the danger of their wide men Scott Sinclair and Nathan Dyer.

Swansea manager Brendon Rodgers knows how to use the loan market a prove with the late addition ofChelseastarlet Fabio Borini to his squad I would not be surprised if he tries to acquire the young forward again.

In all honesty I don’t know much aboutSwansea’s financial position so I don’t know how likely they are to spend.

They have a decent spine however I fear with Darren Pratley no longer a started they lack size and physical presence in midfield.

At Championship level they were a better Footballing side than most of the teams they came up against I am afraid in the Premier League this will not be the case.

Due to this I think they should look to sign a midfield general a towering presence, givenRogersuse of the loan market I will not be surprised if he looks at Arsenal’s youth man Frimpong he may not give the added height but he is a tenacious tackler and then gives the ball simple to the passing machine.

Personally if I was Rodgers I would look for someone with more experience than young Frimpong but this is a notourisly hard position to fill the ideal candidate would be Owen Hargreaves but I very much doubt they can afford his wages and also doubt they would want a injury prone player when they need to dig deep and get stuck in.

Is De Gea the right man to replace Van Der Sar?

By Tony Alvarez

It was announced shortly after Gary Neville’s testimonial that Manchester United are very close to an £18.1 million deal plus add ons for young Athletico Madrid keeper David De Gea.

It is very rare that a manager comes out and talk about a deal if it is still I the balance so it is my belief and for the sake of this article I will take the belief that the De Gea deal is agreed an will be announced as soon as the transfer window is open.

There is no doubting that De Gea is already a very good keeper and has the potential to be one of the World’s greatest in years to come but the question remains is he good enough to replace Van Der Sar now?

 For those of you who do not follow La Liga and have not seen much of De Gea he is a very good shot stopper however despite his size he is often shaky from crosses and is known to make rash decisions, of course these things are likely to improve with age and experience but Manchester United is not the type of club where players go to learn.

There is seemingly little doubt that De Gea will be thrown straight into the first team, Tomasz Kuszczak has looked shaky to say the least when he has been thrust in to the first team in recent weeks and January signing Anders Lindegaard is seemingly below him in the pecking order. It is also noticeable thatFergusonwould be unlikely to spend such a vast sum on a reserve.

It is often mentioned that a good goal keeper can earn a team 10 points a season, at a side like United the keeper does not have much to do but that one save a game could be all important.

Should De Gea’s traits continue it could be an expensive mistake on United’s part, on rash decision or one mistake from a high ball could cost the club valuable points which all add up come the end of the season.

Don’t get me wrong I think De Gea will be come a very good keeper I am just unsure if he is ready for a club on Manchester United’s stature, I can understand that the club made their move early to avoid an inflated price and heavy competition in years to come but I think it would be better for the player to learn elsewhere. Its generally known that keepers don’t peak until there late 20s at the earliest, as long as United stick with him through his learning phase in years to come the could have the worlds best goal keeper.

What are your thoughts? Is De Gea the right man for Manchester United? Is he ready to fill Edwin Van Der Sar’s boots? Will he be a success this coming season or is it an investment for the future?  Would you of gone for De Gea if not who would have been your ideal signing? Are you in agreement that the deal is already concluded? Leave a comment and let us know your thoughts

Are League One and two clubs being robbed of the chance to play at Wembley?

By Tony Alvarez

  Due to the Champions League final between Manchester United andBarcelonabeing held at Wembley the League One and Two play-off finals will be moved from there traditional home and to Manchester United’s Old Trafford.

 This means that either Huddersfield or Bournemouth,Peterboroughor MK Dons in League one andShrewsburyor Torquay andStevenageor Accrington Stanley will miss out on the chance to play at the home of Football.

You may think that if the players get promoted they won’t care where it happens but I can assure you everyone wants to play at Wembley, when they started their careers they dreamed of playing in front of 90,000 people under the same lights that the likes of David Beckham, Wayne Rooney and Kaka have played under.

When Wembley was rebuilt costing all those millions it was meant to be the centre piece of English Football and few will argue there are many bigger games in English football than play off finals, no other games mean as much to a club.

Now I understand that the Champions League brings in big revenue for those at the FA which they may argue is reinvested into the Football Leagues so every club feels the benefit.

I am not against the final being held at Wembley I am not particularly for it, it just doesn’t bother me but there surely must be a way of having the play off finals as well as the Champions League finals there.

Given the chance to play at Wembley I’m sure the clubs involved would not mind playing a day earlier or a day later if it meant being able to say they played at the home of Football.

This isn’t a dig at out Trafford at all I’ve never been and I’m told it’s a good ground and views are decent, but it doesn’t have the same prestige and the same status that Wembley does, even if people still think of it with the towers rather than the arch, Wembley has a history within World Football Old Trafford cant boast that same status.

What do you think? Am I going over the top at the value of playing at Wembley? Will the players be bothered where the final is held? Is there a way they could of played the Champions League and the play offs at Wembley? Leave a comment and let us know your views

Does Eriksson have the recipe for success at Leicester?

By Tony Alvarez

Currently sitting in 11^th in the Championship table you wouldn’t think Leicester would be troubling the play off places come the end of the season. However this is a club managed by a hugely successful and some would say world class manager who is an ambitious character.

Sven Goran Eriksson has spent the whole of the transfer window attempting to land a marquee signing for the Foxes which include illustrious names such as David Beckham if rumours are to be believed.

Although not as big a name as Beckham Leicester today announced they had signed Portugal keeper Ricardo, who so many times thwarted Eriksson’s England sides.

Although Ricardo may not have the quality he once had although at 34 he is not particularly old for a goalkeeper the signing shows ambition and the clubs intentions to move forward onto bigger and possibly better things.

A huge feature in how high up the table the club can climb will be the form of loanee Yakabu, people may often criticize him for being over weight or a bit lazy but it is undeniable that he can score goals at any level when on form.

The signing of defender Sol Bamba has also been massive for the club his signing has coincided with the current run of form and despite being a defender he has notched up three goals since his signing from Scottish sides Hibs.

It would be unfair to say that Leicester are going to propel them selves up the league table based purely on signings as some of the squad that have been there all year have been excellent this term, however the calibre of player being brought in will gives the club a huge boost.

As mentioned before Leicester are currently sitting in 11^th place in the table but are only 6 points off the final play off spot, although a few clubs above them do have games in hand.

The club are also turning the corner in terms of form as well not tasting defeat in their last 4 league outings and also drawing with Man City in the FA Cup before going down bravely in a replay.

With fixtures against lower place sides Sheffield United, Barnsley and Derby County to come the club could make a real push for the place off places and a return to the promise land of the Premier League.

My personal opinion is that due to a poor start Leicester do not have enough to make it into those play off places this season but should they keep their squad together and Eriksson stays around to add his magic touch then the club will be amongst the favourites to be promoted next season

What do you think? Does Eriksson give the club a little bit extra? Can Leicester make the play offs this season? If not do you think they will be strong challengers for the title next season? Let us know

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North London Divide

Fair Play, Theo

By Laurie Fitzgerald

I know this probably isn’t normal for a Tottenham fan to start off something like this, but I thought I would start this piece by saying well done to an Arsenal player – and actually mean it!

Theo Walcott’s admittance to diving to win his side a penalty in the dying minutes against Leeds in the FA Cup on Saturday was a rare show of honesty in a footballing world where simulation is all too easily used and benefitted from.

Of course, there is the argument that Walcott shouldn’t have dived in the first place, and that’s absolutely right. But he was the first to admit that what he did was wrong, and although a punishment from the FA will be deserving, his admittance is refreshing in this day and age – especially after seeing Dimitar Berbatov’s blatant dive against Liverpool and giving a very guilty defence of his actions afterwards.

The main thing I wanted to talk about this week was the agreement reached that allows David Beckham to train with Spurs, but not to play for us due to insurance complications. I actually think this is the best possible deal for us.

Having him train with us for the next month and a half is going to be great for the younger lads in the side, especially the wingers such as Aaron Lennon and Gareth Bale. Having his experience and knowledge of the game will be great for them to learn from.

Lennon in particular can really prosper from this outcome. Knowing that his place won’t be under threat from Beckham, he can learn to really master the art of crossing, something that Becks knows a thing or two about. It can really help the 22 year-old take his game onto the next level.

While it’s great having Beckham here, I’m not sure what he would have brought to the current team with his performances. It always seemed to be more about the shirts he could sell off the pitch instead of the difference he could make on it, but the long-term conclusion to this saga could be finding someone better than the real thing.

 ——————————————————————————————————

We have them running scared again!!!

By Tony Alvarez

A bit of a mixed bag in terms of this article from me this week, I will go in the order that thing happened so it’s easy to follow.

 We drew with City some people may see this as 2 points dropped but for me it is encouraging, a team who has spent hundreds of millions and are supposedly title hopefuls were too scared to come to Arsenal and try and win does this mean we are getting our fear factor back?

 Yes I know we did not get the desired result but I think if City go any where with them intentions they will be very hard to break down and we came very very close. So whilst it was points dropped it was encouragement for everyone involved with Arsenal.

Secondly World beating title challengers (so were told) Tottenham lost at Everton, some how this has all been swept under the carpet not taking anything away from Everton but with the form they are currently in sides like these must be beaten but as per usual Tottenham failed to back up the talking with the action.

Now onto the Leeds game, first off well played Leeds. I’ve been hearing many fans telling me Arsenal deserved to lose, NO. In the sense we scored a last minute penalty we were lucky but if you look at the game as a whole we were the better side.

Finally I have two point about the refereeing of the Arsenal Leeds fixture. Theo dived its wrong well done for holding your hands up but it doesn’t make it alright, however Phil Dowd thought Walcott was fouled (as did I, nothing wrong with that) but let his linesman over rule him for an offside decision that happened after the “foul”. Nothing will be made of this due to Theo’s admittance that he was not fouled but for me this is one of the worst bits of referring I’ve seen in years, how can you change your mind for something that was happened after an alleged foul.

All in all not a bad week for the mighty gunners, we may not have won a game this week but I feel there are more positives than negatives. COME ON YOU GUNNERS!!!!

Leave a comment and let us know what you think are we representing your clubs well. If not send in your own argument and we may just use it for next week.

As regular readers will know this is the 5th edition of the North London debate the links to the previous three are below, take a look and also read the comments the 2^nd week in particular has some good ones.

Week 3:

http://shoutsfromthestands.wordpress.com/2010/12/17/279/

Week 2:

http://shoutsfromthestands.wordpress.com/2010/12/10/239/

 Week 1:

http://shoutsfromthestands.wordpress.com/2010/12/03/the-north-london-divide/

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