City shopaholics while Wenger has garage sale

Well, our “small time” neighbours in Manchester are really going all out this summer aren’t they? You have to wonder how Roque Santa Cruz feels at this point. He joined expecting to be spear-heading Man City’s rise to global domination and has been subsequently supplanted by two of the most lovable(!!!) chaps in football, Tevez and Adebayor. Then you have the likes of Craig Bellamy, sour faced at the best of times. Who shall feel the wrath of his infamously misguided golf club when he notices how far down the pecking order he is? Maybe that shiny pack of Titleist Pro V1s will finally meet their maker as their owner realises the true use of his hitting stick. 

No one can blame ol’ Sparky for playing Footie Manager in the real world, who wouldn’t? Sadly someone hacked his game and gave Real Madrid more money than him. Well, I say money but I really mean gravitas. Not that I can say much as our own beloved Cristiano Ronaldo at last got his much publicised trip to the Spanish  capital. We’ll chalk that one up to the old Iberian link and say that the lad wanted to help out poor old Real, struggling in the shadow of big, bad Barca. Still, if Real wanted to illicit a response with their wacky spending, they managed to send heads in Cataluña into a spin as the supremos at the current European Champions (that still hurts) found it necessary to swap Samuel Eto’o, £40m and Aliaksandr Hleb for Zlatan Ibrahimovic. They’ve basically swapped the better player and more cash than you could wipe your arse on as well as a more than capable midfielder for a player who weakens them. Baffling. On the other hand, a great bit of business by Jose Mourinho who spoke out this week and confirmed one of the worst kept secrets in football by saying he wants to take over when Fergie decides it’s time to step down. Is that a good thing? Yes, please. I firmly believe that had Roman’s trigger finger stayed itchless, we may not be sat here today as thrice winners in the past three years. Is he attacking enough? If not, we’ll make him. You don’t get by as a manager here without an attacking mentality, even if it is to our detriment!

It’s still too early to tell where the main contenders stand but Arsenal fans will have the most cause to worry as another summer is slipping by without necessary additions being made. In fact, the opposite is happening as Wenger is failing to keep players from the temptations of Eastlands. How many trophyless seasons must pass before the majority realise that Wenger isn’t the great manager people think he is? Does it really matter if he’s a master at spotting youth when he lacks the ability to keep senior players happy and attract big names in the transfer market? A manager must be a more complete package than that and Wenger has failed to move with the times as England plays a bigger part (some would say now the biggest, given the last few years in the Champions League) across Europe. That isn’t to say it’s an easy transition. We ourselves struggled in the early part of this decade as Ferguson sent out baffling, frustrating formations in Europe and it appeared to take some coaxing from Carlos Queiroz and a LOT of tweaking to get it right. I think it would be a good for both parties should Wenger and Arsenal part ways. Controversial? Nah, not at all. He doesn’t win things. He can’t build a strong squad. Sentimentality is now all but lost in modern day football and this is one occasion it shouldn’t be retained.

Audi Cup final tonight. Hands up who couldn't care less?

Pre-season football and Michael Owen?

It’s been a while. I’ve left the new style for the site to someone else and he seems to have disappeared off into the sunset. Liverpool supporters, eh?

Strange times. Michael Owen’s banging them in on our Annual Fund Raising Drive pre-season tour while Man City are using posters of Carlos Tevez doing the one good thing he did all last season as propaganda pieces.

The Michael Owen transfer is a strange one. When he was being linked with Everton I was defending him to a Toffee, pointing out that he doesn’t actually miss many games (plays more than Torres, for example) and will score goals for any team who gives him the service. Then he goes and signs for us and I’m less than enthused. I’m also not disappointed. Is he better than Tevez? In my mind, yes, or at least he is much more in line with what we need; a goalscorer. If he plays, he’ll get a decent return of goals but he isn’t the player that was superb for Liverpool and Real Madrid. Don’t let people tell you he was bad at the Bernabeu, he had an excellent goals/min ratio and was a victim of the Galactico ethos.

As for Tevez, well I wish I could say good luck to the fella but I can’t. I’m disappointed in the magically changing attitude of many fellow Manchester United fans who have now decided that he’s not a great player and that his attitude does in fact stink. A shame it took Tevez to be so blatant with his repugnant behaviour but they got there in the end, no?

Anyone have the misfortune of seeing our first game against Malaysia XI? What a woeful spectacle that was. I don’t think I’ve ever seen two teams pass the ball directly to each other as often in my life. It looks like Nani is getting his chance. Anyone who watched that game will be crying over that statement. A goal doesn’t hide his overall ineptitude.

I’ve got a choice tonight between watching today’s game replayed on MUTV and Ronaldo’s debut for Real against Shamrock Rovers. The joy! I’ve already been told Owen has scored again but I’ve avoided finding out the exact result. I’m on tenter hooks.