Coaching For The Brave

Our new Saviour? It's great to see Roy blooding some new talent in this weeks friendly against Sweden. Our "Golden Generation" needs replacing. However, I have a couple of problems with one of those about to be blooded. Step forward Mr Wilfried Zaha. Our new, self appointed saviour. Zaha is indeed a very exciting prospect and one who I hope goes on to fulfil his potential and I love a player who is confident in his ability but who on earth does he think he is? Rather than accepting his call up with humility, his first act is to let everyone know how good he feels he is.  "I want to come up against defenders who will properly test me," he said to the Guardian. Well he already is being tested week in week out. After his 17 starts this season he's scored a measly 4 goals. Maybe he should try to test himself first. "I'd never look at someone and think he's better than me, unless it's Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi. When I ...

Mancini with his reward This is why we love Football and this is why we love the English Premiership! Manchester City have been crowned champions of England after an unbelievable afternoon of high drama. Back in August 2011 many pundits backed the title race to be a contest between United and City but no one could have imagined how close that contest would have been.  For years the Premiership has been labelled as predictable and  boring and when fans look back at 2012 they'll just see the headline: League Champions Manchester City but the days events, the twists and turns and the knife edge outcome should not be forgotten.  Anyone who tuned into the TV or radio broadcasts will have sat riveted as Football gave us the very best it has to offer. At the start of the day most opinions were clear cut. QPR were woeful away from home and City awesome at the Etihad Stadium. A home win was assured. So with that result sorted we also knew were the league wa...

I know there's a lot going on and its the business end of the season but one small issue seems to be passing everyone by. Firstly, there is a real chance that a team GB Olympic team could go further in their competition than England could in their European Championships.  Secondly, has anyone realised that that David Beckham could get his wish and play in a final major competition! The amount of goodwill and sentiment that follows Beckham is unbelievable. Unfortunately, the fact that Beckham is still on Stuart Pearce's short list seems entirely down to these 2 factors. Goodwill and Sentiment. The picture above will give you the biggest clue as to why he should not be included in the final squad. Beckham has spent the whole of this season warming the LA Galaxy bench. Now, no disrespect, but if team GB are to progress in the Olympics they will need to be far better than Galaxy. A team that Beckham has played for only 6 times this season. Yep, just 6 times...

Tonight’s Manchester Derby is tantalising for various reasons. Possible title decider, local bragging rights and Top Dogs against Noisy Neighbours. It’s also a great example of Fergie’s long-standing problem, his Central Midfield.  Take a look at tonight’s team sheet and you will see, in black and white, a problem that has haunted United for years and is due to get worse as the years drag on. Whereas City’s Centre Midfield will look strong and dependable with touches of genius, United’s will look old slow and at least 5 years out of date. United’s monumental success over the last 20 years has been built on the stability and quality of his midfield schemers. Namely Paul Scholes and Roy Keane. This was supplemented with able recruits Nicky Butt and Michael Carrick.  The sheer force of nature that these two players were almost guaranteed United points and Championships.  Fergie knows he was lucky to have the 2 together for such a long time. However, he has ne...