The new restructuring puzzle

Did Di Matteo deserve to be sacked after winning Champions League with Chelsea? Did Ancelloti deserve the boot from Real Madrid a year after winning La Decima? No, the exits were untimely and uncalled for to say the least. By winning the greatest prize in club football, they had achieved what the club and its fans were seeking for a long time.  They had justified their employment and should have enjoyed 2-3 years of stability at the club.

However, the same cannot be said for these two gentlemen - Louis Van Gaal and Brendan Rodgers. Not at the moment at least. Another season without silverware and they’ll definitely deserve the sack. Why? These guys have taken team restructuring to an altogether new level. In less than two seasons, they have “bought” themselves a new team of 11 players. In doing so, a lot of money has changed hands and also caused major reshuffle in the squad.

This was not about getting a group of guys ready for a Sunday league match. The clubs wanted a quick fix solution and provided them with a blank cheque book. So instead of performing a minor non-invasive procedure, they went in for major surgery.

Players bought by LVG since taking over – Milinkovic, Herrera, Shaw, Rojo, Di Maria, Blind, Valdes, El Fitouri, Falcao, Depay, Darmian, Schneiderlin, Schweinsteiger, Romero. He has in all spent 221 million GBP on players.

Players bought by Rodgers since selling Suarez – Lallana, Lambert, Can, Markovic, Lovren, Origi, Manquillo, Moreno, Balotelli, Gomez, Bogdan, Ings, Milner, Clyne, Firmino, Benteke. Since taking over, he has bought 31 players for 289 million GBP.

Mind you, most of the players mentioned above walked straight into the first team. They were not selected for reserve team action and probable place in the first team. That means that the managers had some role in their mind at the time of purchase, which in some cases never reached fruition.

Gone are the days when minor tinkering was enough to get the squad ready for the next season. Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho have made wholesale purchases in the past. However, all they did was add 2 or 3 players to the main team to mount a serious charge across all fronts. Rest of the additions only made the fringe. They knew when to buy and whom to buy and rarely got it wrong.

LVG took a year to understand his existing players. Got rid of a few of them but is still not sure of his best team. The team looks out of rhythm and their play is workmanlike. Instead LVG has been good at deflecting criticism away from himself and putting it on Di Maria not settling well or Van Persie being past his best.

Rodgers made the cardinal sin of not keeping Gerrard at Liverpool. He was an icon at the club like Giggs and Maldini and letting him go was the wrong move. Rodger’s saving grace is that Suarez and Sterling moves have brought in a lot of money and therefore brought the cost down. However, the current lot includes many average players who don’t have it in them to reach top 4.

Manchester United and Liverpool are not just clubs but institutions of English and world football. With 38 league titles between them, the fans and the clubs demand silverware every season. If after two seasons of major purchases the managers have nothing to show for it, then the shortest farewell will be the best. Adieu! (The Maltese Falcon, huh?).

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A matter of respect

Respect is slowly going out of the modern game. 

By respect, I mean respect for the club, for the fans, for the manager and for the players.

Youngsters, brainwashed by selfish football agents, are willing to switch clubs for quick money and fame. Stable players are ready to join arch rivals in the hope of ‘game time’ and ‘medals’. Former players, once celebrated, are booed by fans on their return. Players celebrate goal against their former teams. Manager’s neck seems forever on the line in the wake of unrealistic expectation from the club and fans.

A hot topic over the last few months has been Raheem Sterling and his contract saga at Liverpool. This is surprising and befuddling at the same time. Anyone who grew up in the 80’s and 90’s would give a limb to play for an institution like LFC.  So Sterling’s decision is surprising. The great season that LFC enjoyed was mainly due to the menacing presence of Luis Suarez and not due to Sterling or Sturridge or even Gerrard in his quarterback role. Sterling was “nobody” before he signed for the Merseyside club and many would suggest he is still “nobody”. They offered him an improved contract but the kid is unwilling to sign on the dotted line. This befuddles me.

Whom does he want to play for? Madrid - Even Bale is finding it tough there. Barca - Where would he fit in with the Trinity? City - Has he forgotten what good time a promising Everton youngster Jack Rodwell had at City for two years? At such a young age, why would anyone compromise guaranteed playing time and settle for time on the bench? Many good players have moved to bigger clubs in the hope of silverware and glory and all they end up doing is get a fat pay check and grow frustrated. Just recall how well Pienaar, Sidwell, Adam were doing for their clubs before making the jump to Spurs, Chelsea and Liverpool respectively?

What is common to Van Persie, Tevez, Figo, Laudrup? Other than they are/were good players and demigods at their clubs, they controversially switched to rival clubs. I just cannot understand such moves, even if these moves carried the blessing of their former manager. These guys are nothing but footballing mercenaries. Show them the money and they are willing to die for you. Club loyalty in my eyes has always been sacred.  Even if one has to part ways with a club, it should be to another club which is not a direct rival of your existing club. Go to a smaller club in the same country or go to a different country. Matt Le Tissier was chased by the who’s who of English football but decided to stay at Southampton and he was some player! Do you remember Buffon and Del Piero going to second division of Italian league with Juventus rather than opting to sign for any other club?

Players leave their clubs for various reasons. Many a times the club itself wants to get rid of them. However, the fans have no right to jeer the players on their return.  They served you well during their time here and now deserve the same respect that was once accorded to them. We have seen numerous instances of booing during this current season and I think there is no place for such behaviour. Similarly we don’t want to see antics similar to Emmanuel Adebayor’s most asinine reaction after scoring against Arsenal.

It is impossible to comprehend what was happening at Chelsea and is happening at Madrid for many years? Yes, I am hinting at the constant managerial changes. What more could Ancelloti or Grant or Di Matteo have done during their time at Chelsea? Not much. Still they were shown the door for no reason. For all his cockiness and confidence, I don’t think Mourinho will be able to stay there if he has two barren years. However, in this regard, Madrid is the mother of all clubs. Nothing is guaranteed to a Madrid manager except a piece of footballing footnote as lots of managers have found out.

 
Just as in life, most things related to football even out over a long period of time. Clubs, managers, players will go through ups and downs and all they need is for us to show is a bit of R-E-S-P-E-C-T (Aretha Franklin, huh?).


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