Three and in – not just another football blog

David Gill has been Chief Executive of Manchester United since 2003. He must know the fans of the club well at this stage. Which makes his comments about the ‘Green and Gold’ protests all the more bizarre. Speaking to the Independent, he said:

The green and gold campaign and the momentum behind that can get a bit tiring. We understand people’s desire to protest and I think it is a minority. It’s a visible minority in the stadium.

Would we prefer not to have them [green and gold scarves]? Yes. I think that minority will go away. A lot of people understand what it means but a lot of them don’t.

Obviously he has to protect the position of the owners but it’s quite clear the Green and Gold protesters are a bit more than a minority protesting at against the Glazer ownership. They’re almost ubiquitous at this stage. There’s nearly more green and gold than red at Old Trafford on match day.

The United fans have seen the Glazers come in, load a club which was previously free of debt and highly profitable with the cost of their takeover and seen promises broken. Gill said they would never use the training ground or the stadium to mortgage the club, they have done just that and should things go wrong on a financial level the foundations of the club are at risk. It’s little wonder fans are protesting.

Gill’s comments are an insult to the fans who care about the long term future of their club and let’s be clear – United’s current level of debt makes that future far more uncertain than it should ever have been.

And what makes it worse is that Gill knows exactly the depth of feeling about the Glazer ownership. It was under his watch that a new club was formed, a breakaway founded by fans who could no longer tolerate the way Manchester United was being run. FC United of Manchester are growing steadily and improving all the time. Yet it should never be underestimated how much it costs people to turn their back on the club they have supported all their lives.

Gill has presided over the slow financial violation of one of England’s greatest football clubs. The idea that they might go under is inconceivable given the supporter base, the fame of the club and everything else, but United’s finances are a disaster waiting to happen.

Not only does he dismiss them as a minority, when clearly they are not, he insults their intelligence by suggesting they don’t know why they’re protesting.

You can’t help feeling Gill has scored an own goal of Andrés Escobar proportions here.

Germany’s Michael Ballack has been ruled out of the World Cup after the ankle injury inflicted on him by Portsmouth’s Kevin Prince Boateng was much worse than feared.

While I have sympathy for any player injured after a bad tackle – and Boateng’s was certainly that – I do wonder if Ballack might now wish the cup final ref, Chris Foy, had been a bit stricter. A few moments before the tackle which injured him, Ballack was involved in an incident on the edge of the Portsmouth box which saw some pushing and shoving as the Pompey players believed the German had slapped Hayden Mullins. It was very much a case of flailing arms and I think Ballack knew he could do that, and possibly make contact without anyone being able to say it was deliberate.

There was then a bit of pushing and shoving and Ballack pushed one of the Portsmouth players in the face. It might even have been Boateng himself. The letter of the law says that if you raise your hands like that it’s a red card. It might have been soft but we’ve seen them given before.

I’m not saying the injury was karma but I bet he’s not as relieved now as he was then to get away with it.

Continuity is a much underestimated quality in football. Chairmen and fans are too quick to seek change when they’d be better off sticking with what they’ve got.

Aston Villa’s owner Randy Lerner confirmed Martin O’Neill would continue as manager next season, saying:

It has already been settled. He and I spoke on a number of occasions in person and over the phone. Yesterday I dragged him out of a series of meetings with chief executive Paul Faulkner trying to get plans for the summer underway.

While O’Neill said:

I think next year will be exciting and worthwhile and I look forward to it.

Getting it sorted early is sensible. Uncertainy over the future of the manager would make doing transfer business very difficult, so Villa can concentrate on that and look to bring in players who will improve them.

I think it’s a good move for both parties. I don’t think Villa have the clout to attract a better quality manager than O’Neill, nor does O’Neill have the quality for a ‘bigger’ club. There was talk of Liverpool but Benitez is still there and the job looks like a step down as long as Liverpool’s financial position is so precarious.

Villa and O’Neill fit each other perfectly right now, common sense prevails.

Stewards can often have a bit of trouble when fans decide to invade the pitch. Not this time though.

Congratulations to Chelsea, the table doesn’t lie and all that, but I can’t help but sit here this morning and wonder about the overall quality of the league this season.

Yes, there have been some stand-out stats. The amount of goals Chelsea have scored for one but that begs its own question – is a league in which you score 7 goals three times and 8 once really competitive?

Does the fact that the smaller teams have beaten the established big teams mean it’s more competitive, that anyone can beat anyone, or is it down to a lack of focus or a measure of arrogance on the part of the big teams? How do you tally Wigan’s 3-1 win over Chelsea with their last day hammering (10 men notwithstanding)?

Liverpool, many people’s tip for the title, ended up in 7th, financially broken and it looks like a long way back for them. The only thing lesson we can take is that pundits, most of whom thought they could win the league, talk an awful lot of rubbish.

Spurs finished in 4th and you can point to the wins over Arsenal and Chelsea as being crucial – they really were, but City could have done it and lacked the bottle, Villa never looked like they wanted it and Liverpool, from a footballing point of view, have fallen on the stubborn sword of Rafa. That Harry Redknapp has been named manager of the year for scraping into 4th tells its own story – and Fulham’s fans will feel rightly aggrieved that Roy Hodgson’s achivements, accomplished without the millions Redknapp has had to spend, haven’t been acknowledged.

At the other end the three worst teams undoubtedly went down but look at those above them. West Ham on 35 points, Wigan on 36, Wolves on 38, Bolton on 39. It used to be a case that you absolutely needed 40 points to be safe, that was the target everyone spoke about, this season you could have survived in 31. Hardly suggests the league is better, does it?

For years the Premier League has been widely regarded as the best in Europe – although I’ve long been of the opinion that the Spanish league’s technical superiority would provide better football and win more matches – but this season’s league, along with the relative failure of English clubs in the Champions League means the tide has well and truly turned.

The product is still glossy, well package and overly marketed, but the proof is in the pudding – there were more empty seats in Premier League stadiums than in any previous campaign. I’m sure that has to do with the times we live in, but like the economies around the world, the Premier League is suffering a football recession.

An incredible end of season game between Motherwell and Hibs. 6-6. Amazing stuff.

Harry Redknapp has accused Man City of being ‘bullies’ in the transfer market. An old story with some quotes from Steve Bruce seems to back him up. Yet Man City have apparently called in their lawyers because of Redknapp’s comment.

Maybe it’s just me but isn’t this a bit like someone getting their dad to come around and have a word with another kid because they didn’t like being called names?

Redknapp’s got a point. Obviously something went down with the Bellamy/Palacios deal, they bullied Everton into selling them Joleon Lescott and with all the money at their disposal they know they can do what they want. They’ve seen Chelsea get away with billionaire funded murder (not actual murder – just need to clarify that. Oligarchs are powerful folk) in the transfer market and are going to behave like the nouveau riche always do, without much class.

From being a club that most people had a little soft spot for, because they were the enemy of my enemy kind of thing, City are pretty soon going to be one of the most despised football clubs in the world. I’d put all their money it.

Another Premier League season draws to a close and leaving aside the actual medal and trophy part of winning, and the getting relegated or being beaten in a final part of losing, here are Three and in‘s top 5 winners and losers of this season (in no particular order, I might add).

WINNERS

1 – Roy Hodgson: He came to a Fulham side in disarray and saved them from almost certain relegation. Since then he’s moulded a side that’s disciplined, tough to beat and who have been on a fantastic European voyage this season. Regardless of what happens in the Europa League final, Hodgson has proved that his previous spell in English management at Blackburn Rovers was a blip on what has been a fine and highly respected career.

2 -Wayne Rooney: Ronaldo’s world record transfer freed up Rooney and his goalscoring record has been quite outstanding. It’s a testament to his professionalism and team ethic that he played wide for United, never complained and let his Portuguese teammate hog the limelight. United are now reaping the benefits of a player who has learned a lot about the game from living Ronaldo’s shadow, his player of the year awards were well deserved.

3 - Darren Bent: Sunderland might have perceived as a step down after his move to Spurs but the former Charlton man showed why the Londonders bought him in 2007. 25 goals, all but one of them in the Premier League, had people talking about an England call up and Capello could certainly do worse. Maybe the £16.5m price tag weighed him down at White Hart Lane and Steve Bruce has certainly managed him better than Harry Redknapp. The boy done well.

4 – Wayne Bridge: He’s not much of a player but there wasn’t a football fan in the world who didn’t admire him for this.

5 – Mick McCarthy: An odd one considering but the last time Mick McCarthy managed a Premier League team they were relegated with a record low points total and McCarthy was fired with 10 games of the season to go (at which point Sunderland were 16 points from safety). Many predicted the same thing for his Wolves side but some canny purchases, not least of which is Irish international Kevin Doyle, and good managing of his resources means he, and they, get to spend another season in the top flight.

LOSERS

1 – Phil Brown: It was clear he lost the dressing room when he sat his players on the pitch to give them a teamtalk. Those who thought Brown added character to the Premier League couldn’t defend his toe curling singing when Hull survived last season. And this campaign it was obvious things weren’t right. Only 5 wins all season, just 4 points away from home, and Brown was put on ‘gardening leave’. It was too late for Hull, Brown’s ego was allowed to run out of control and ultimately it cost them Premier League football.

2 – Arsene Wenger: For the most part Arsenal’s season has been good but once again they fell short. In the title race almost to the end they didn’t so much fall away as implode. Yes, the injuries to key players didn’t help, but in January he could have bought a striker, he could have bought a goalkeeper when it was obvious it was a problem position. Perhaps he’s been hamstrung by money but nearly everyone can tell you what Arsenal need, Wenger seems happy to ignore it. His team have gone down without a fight and that, more than another trophyless season, is what Arsenal fans will remember.

3 – Ryan Shawcross: The Stoke centre-half cried when he was red carded against Arsenal. His tackle snapped Aaron Ramsey’s leg in two. He claimed he wasn’t that kind of player despite evidence to the contrary (3.2mb PDF). Even so, we can all accept he didn’t mean to break Ramsey’s leg, it was simply a consequence of the reckless tackling encouraged by his manager and all those who defended him as ‘not that kind of player’. His place on this list, however, isn’t because of any of that, it’s down to the litany of articles and interviews he gave talking about how tough it had been for him and how he’d somehow managed to cope. As Aaron Ramsey faces 9-12 months out of the game, not knowing if his career will go the same way as Eduardo, Shawcross’s self-pitying drivel was one of the lowlights of the season.

4 – Rafa Benitez: The Liverpool manager has cried foul about the money he never got to spend but he splashed most of what he got for Xabi Alonso on Alberto Aquilani who hardly played at all. He knew he had to sell to buy for a long time. He was prepared to sell Alonso the previous summer to fund a purchase for Gareth Barry. The lack of money is an excuse. He’s bought and sold badly at Liverpool, has seemed too interested in power behind the scenes and ultimately he went into a Premier League season with only Fernando Torres as a recognised first team striker. When you look at the fact that players like Keane, Bellamy and Crouch have been and gone there’s really no way to defend him. It’s true that the owners have caused problems but when it comes right down to it, the owners didn’t make Liverpool play like a mid-table side this season, Benitez and his players did. Clean slate needed at Anfield.

5 – John Terry: Nobody said footballers have to be role models but it helps, especially when you’re Chelsea and England captain. Terry had his worst season on the pitch, and his worst off. There are lines you don’t cross in your personal life, knocking up one of your best mates girlfriends, ex or not, is further over the line than Pedro Mendes ‘goal’ against United. He was stripped of the England captaincy, Capello preferring to give it a man who beats up DJs in bars than a shameless adulterer. Chelsea might win the title, they might win the FA Cup, but it’ll be in spite of Terry more than anything else.

Three and in is a brand new football blog. Yeah, we knows there are loads of football blogs out there but this one is different.

Why?

It just is. You’ll have to take our word for it. We’ll have written, audio and video coverage of football as it happens. From this summer’s World Cup in South Africa to the national ‘three and in’ championships which take place on your side road, your green, your bashed up old hockey pitch, every day of the week.

Looking at football through football tinted glasses, taking no shit, falling for no dives, not putting up with any backchat or crap refereeing decisions.

Three and in – you know you want to play.