Donal Benson
Pensioner
THEY say that a week or two is a long time in politics, but I can assure you that is just as long in football. Two weeks ago, Manchester United would have fancied themselves to capture the Champions League and the Premiership title.
I said that if Rooney got injured it would be very difficult for United. The 0-0 draw with Blackburn is a big setback for United, and if Chelsea win four of their five remaining games, they win the title.
Although I fancied Chelsea to beat Aston Villa in the FA Cup, there was no way that I expected Portsmouth to beat Spurs. Full credit is due to Portsmouth for reaching the cup final the day after their relegation to the Championship. To play like they did renews my faith in these players who put pride before personal gain. All the Portsmouth squad are up for sale by the administrator and the likelihood of bonuses must be slim.
I made my annual visit to Old Trafford for the Chelsea game and came away immensely satisfied with the result. But Ferguson’s antics when he loses leeave a sour taste. He blamed the officials for not pulling Drogba for offside, and yet never mentioned the fact that Macheda handled the ball for his goal a la Thierry Henry. Then when they went out of the Champions League (having led 3-0), he made a racist remark about Germans even though the player he was criticising is in fact French.
The most unmannerly thing he did was to be interviewed by Sky Sports in front of millions chewing gum. I spoke to two teachers (both Man Utd fans) and they were horrified. They told me that chewing gum is banned from most schools, and if a pupil was chewing gum while conversing with a teacher, they would be chastised.
I have always said that Rooney is a great goalscorer, but the media have set him up to be way ahead of everyone else in the Premiership. The leading goalscorers in the Premier are Rooney (26), Drogba (25), Bent (22) and Tevez (22) – and Drogba was away for the Africa Cup of Nations for six games.
The big problem with United is that they only have Rooney and Berbatov in the top 25, while Chelsea have four – namely Drogba, Lampard, Malouda and Anelka. Man. City have three – Tevez, Adebayor and Bellamy. These stats are all the more puzzling for United when you think that they never replaced Ronaldo and Tevez.
Like millions of viewers worldwide, I had the pleasure of watching the Messi Show. This kid is only 22 and even at this stage in his career, he is up there with the best ever. He scored again at the weekend against Real Madrid to put Barcelona three points clear. Will Mourinho have a plan to stop him in the Champions League semi-final? I have my doubts, and expect Barca to retain their title as the kings of Europe.
Despite not having a great team and a bad manager, if Messi and Tevez catch fire, Argentina could win the World Cup.
Cheer up Man Utd fans – you did well to win the Carling Cup – or was it the ‘Tea Cup’ that Sir Alex called it a few years ago? Come on ye Blues.
