FOX Soccer's lead analyst reflects on the latest news in and around English soccer.
We are really getting into the grind of the season now, and we have some big Champions League games coming up on Tuesday and Wednesday that I hope you can join us for. This was also a very emotional week for football in England, as tributes to Gary Speed at all grounds were quite moving. I only wish he were here to see how many people truly loved him.
Top-class Citizens look unstoppable
I’d like to start with Manchester City, who won again in an impressive fashion. I know we’ve been saying this now for the past few weeks, but it bears repeating: they are playing with real style, confidence and are just magnificent to watch. I was reading Yaya Toure’s comments after the match about the club’s focus on winning the Premiership. At this point, if we’re honest about it, there is no one that can stop them. They just keep winning games and that loss column still remains at ‘0.’
Let’s give Roberto Mancini credit: He was too defensive, if not downright negative, during his first few games at City and quickly turned it around. He won the club’s first trophy in 35 years, by taking the FA Cup, and gave his club the freedom and determination to aspire for bigger and better things. The acquisitions have been huge, too. Sergio ‘Kun’ Aguero’s given them that spark that is needed to succeed. I remember when David Ginola joined us as at Newcastle, you knew that this guy was the type of player who could break a deadlock in the tightest of games. Aguero’s that player for City, if not better, and that’s exactly what happened against Norwich.
His goal was just a great bit of improvisation. It’s funny, in the modern game we talk about all different sorts of tricks, but that was an old-fashioned toe-poke — exactly what we all teach kids not to do when they’re starting out. I think that really showed how natural a finisher he truly is and you could just see how much confidence that strike gave City. It remains to be seen if the Citizens can continue this impressive run during the second-half of the season.
Manchester United must show mental fortitude
United didn’t have as good a week. Losing Dimitar Berbatov earlier in the week was a big blow and it was devastating to lose at home against Crystal Palace, in a competition that they certainly wanted to win. Then, they lose Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez on Saturday, and that’s massive. When I was a player — and I was very lucky not to have this happen — it was the non-contact injuries you had to worry about. I remember seeing that happen, and it was really scary because when you see a guy get tackled and there’s an impact, you think, right, that’s the cause. What happened to Hernandez and Jermaine Jenas in the same game, you just shake your head and appreciate your good fortune.
Chicharito is a key player for United and he’s going to be hard to replace. He can score critical goals and he needs only one chance to get on the board. He’s going to have to work through this setback and come back from it. Jenas was of course a colleague of mine, and his current obstacle, an Achilles injury, is a huge concern. He’s not had a great run these last two years, just dogged by injuries, and something like that is very hard to come back from. I just hope he does because he is so young and deserves better.
Speaking of injuries, seeing my old team losing two key players was tough. Steven Taylor and Fabricio Coloccini have been great all year long, and now I think the club has no choice but to go into the transfer market and retrieve some players on loan or on a permanent basis. They have been very good until this point, and you don’t want the season to be a disappointment; you want to keep a positive attitude going in your clubhouse so that you can build on it.
Confidence play brewing for London clubs Arsenal, Tottenham
Belief is something that Harry Redknapp has brought to Tottenham in spades. We’ve talked about how he did last year, but I think this year may even be better. Bringing in Scott Parker and Emmanuel Adebayor were shrewd moves, and I think Spurs are now a legitimate top five contender. I don’t think the title is realistic, but they are right there now with Arsenal and Liverpool, muscling their way into the old “Big Four.” He’s done a great job, especially when you consider the mess he inherited from former manager Juande Ramos.
Now, we all know Harry wants to manage the England side. I have to say that would be the country’s gain and a big loss for the club. We would love to have him as our manager, but I would be concerned for the club.
Finally, Arsene Wenger said it earlier this week, that there’s now a sense of maturity in his Arsenal club. I’m sure fans wish he had made these moves two years ago, but Mikel Arteta and Per Mertesacker are playing their parts and you see what a nice partnership Robin van Persie and Gervinho have. It’s great seeing the Gunners play their style of football, because there’s none better at going forward than Arsenal and it’s lovely to watch.
As always, you can keep up with me on Twitter at @warrenbarton2 and ask questions for this column at @FoxSoccer. Thanks for joining me again here this week and I will see you Tuesday for the Champions League.
