The firing of Mancini is madness

Manchester City's decision to fire Roberto Mancini, exactly one year after City won the League for the first time in ages, seems crazy to me.  No club can expect to win multiple trophies every year, and if City's owners think they can find a manager who can guarantee such success every year, they are badly mistaken. Not even Sir Alex could guarantee that.  Most football fans will agree that Mancini has done a fairly good job at City, with considerable resources at his disposal.  Mancini also has a record of success from Italy, and will no doubt soon land a job with another top club.  City's decision to sack Mancini reminds me of Chelsea's decision to sack Mourinho a few years back - a decision Chelsea soon came to regret.  It is also a stunning display of the unrealistic expectations of some wealthy owners in today's football.  If City and Chelsea continue like this, at least one of those two clubs will change manager each season, as there will not be enough trophies to go around to satisfy their respective owners (I, of course, hope that most of the silverware will continue to end up in Man United). 

Thank you, Sir Alex!

We knew it had to happen at some stage, but nevertheless, Sir Alex' retirement came as a bit of a shock to many United fans.  How will our club fare now, without him at the bench?  Sir Alex is among the most successful managers of all time in the world of football, and managers like him only come around once a century.  So at the outset, we know that he can't be fully replaced.  We can also safely say that Sir Alex successor will likely not be as successful as him, as this is nearly impossible.  However, the successor may still be very successful!

I believe David Moyes is the right man for the job.  If United wanted instant success, then somebody like Mourinho or Ancelotti (if they are available) would perhaps be better.  However, none of them would be likely to stay at the club for more than 3-4 years.  Moyes, on the other hand, will likely stay for 10 years or more (unless he is sacked - let's hope that does not happen!).  I believe the right question should be: which manager would bring the most titles over the next 10 years, while taking Sir Alex' philosophy in terms of youth development etc. forward?  The answer, in my opinion, is Moyes.  Let's cross our fingers for a good start to the next season.  He'll need it!

Finally, Sir Alex' retirement means that all bets are off with respect to players coming and leaving the club.  I wrote earlier in this column that Rooney would stay at the club.  However, with Sir Alex leaving and Moyes arriving, I am no longer so sure.  Further, would Giggs and Scholes play for another year with a new manager?  What about Rio Ferdinand?  And, if there is any truth to the rumors about Ronaldo, would he want to come back if Sir Alex is not there?  We'll find out over the next couple of months.

The season is over

After United secured their 20th league title against Aston Villa, their performance has dropped markedly. The home game against Chelsea (1-0 loss) looked a bit like a Charity Shield match, with players from both teams seemingly taking it easy. Yet when the fixtures for this season were first released, this game looked like one that might decide which of the two teams would win the title.  In the end, it was a rather boring game.  United deservedly lost, but nobody seemed to care. It was particularly sad to see players like Anderson and Cleverley, who really needed this game to show their potential for next season, underperform.  Who could argue that we don't need another midfielder after watching this game?  Who would have thought United would end the game with the following midfield: Rooney, Giggs, Buttner?

I am already looking forward to next season, to be honest.  The last two games, against Swansea and West Brom, are likely to also be more like pre-season friendlies, with little at stake for either team.

Champions!

With the 3-0 win against Villa, United won their 20th league title.  It is United's 13th league title in 20 years!  Wonderful!  We knew it was coming, but nevertheless, this is a day for us United fans to celebrate and be proud of our team.  The match itself was good fun, and 5-1 would probably have been a more fitting result.  Robin Van Persie showed once more what a fantastic player he is, with a hat-trick.  If Suarez is voted Player of the Year ahead of Van Persie, there must be something seriously wrong, say no more.  I think Liverpool fan too would rather have Van Persie than Suarez in their team, even though they may not want to admit it. 

This United season has had two halves, in some ways.  In the first half of the season, our attackers often bailed out our defenders, who were even called "clowns" by some observers.  However, since Vidic's return in January, our defense has been outstanding.  It has been great to watch de Gea grow into the role of United's goalkeeper.  He is still very young, but already among the best goalkeepers in the world.  With more experience and confidence, his consistency will grow further.  Rafael has also made great progress this season. And Kagawa and Jones have shown great potential, despite injuries.  All in all, we have a young, winning team, which is well positioned to further improve next season, also in Europe.

Rooney is not leaving

The media is full of stories these days about Wayne Rooney leaving United over the summer, possibly to PSG. I do not trust these dubious reports, whose main purpose is to generate more income for the media. News about Rooney leaving United sell well, of course, but that does not make it true. Remember all the media reports a couple of years ago about Wesley Sneijder coming to United? The stories generated a lot of interest among fans, and were good business for the media, but turned out to be false, or at least misleading.

Rooney has not had a good season, this is true. However, as recently as last season Rooney was probably United's best player overall (together with Valencia, whose form has also dropped this season). And the season before that he was outstanding. What concerns me most, is that Rooney's  fitness level seems lagging. In fact, he is one of the few players who looked fitter before joining United than afterwards (most players have the opposite experience). It makes you wonder: is he eating, training and resting well, like a top athlete should? To make matters worse, Rooney is also picking up frequent injuries these days. He is no longer the "hothead" that he was earlier in his career, and is booked less frequently now. However, this change is a dual-edged sword, as Rooney also  seems to play with less passion and motivation now than before.

Can Rooney recover his top form?  I do think so, and hope that we will see signs of this even before the current season is over.  Picking up another Premier League will also be good for his confidence and motivation.  I also think Rooney is aware that leaving United may not be a boost to his career, rather the opposite. Is it that great to sit among the substitutes on the PSG bench? Probably not. Better for Rooney to stay in United and work his way back into top form, with the world best manager, Sir Alex, fully behind him.

Vital point at West Ham

Before the game at West ham, United needed seven points to be champions. Well, now they need just six points, with five games still left to play. So things are still looking good. To be fair, the West Ham game was quite balanced, and 2-2 seemed a good result. West Ham fans will feel that the Van Persie goal should have been disallowed for offside, but we United fans would retort that Carroll should have been sent off for his attack on de Gea late in the first half. As such, the game was balanced even in when it came to refereeing mistakes. West Ham were very aggressive, and made it difficult to play good football. In my view, Vidic, Kagawa and van Persie stood out among the United players. But our midfield struggled. Where was Anderson and Cleverley? I wish they would get the chance to play more often, including against Aston Villa next Monday. With a win at home against Villa, we will be extremely close to our 20th league title. Come on you Reds!

Solid performace against Stoke

The 2-0 win away against Stoke neatly sums up this United season, at least the Premier League part of it. United were solid once more, and Vidic proved what a positive impact he is having on the other players around him. United were certainly not brilliant, but did not need to be. Stoke never looked likely to score. Van Persie scored again, finally, and now that the bad spell has been broken, I would not be surprised if he follows up with more goals at West Ham. All in all, it was a satisfying game for United fans, as every win at this stage is a huge step towards the trophy. However, I admit that for a neutral observer, the game was probably a bit boring, with few chances created at either end.