Don’t listen to Euro sceptics
THERE is a classic episode of The Simpsons where Bart, Lisa and friends participate in a focus group for the Itchy & Scratchy Show. They are meant to talk about what they would like from a children’s cartoon and, inevitably, their responses are entirely self-contradicting.
They want a show that deals with real-life problems like the ones they “face every day” and a show with “far-out situations involving magic robots”. Eventually, the producer storms out and says: “You kids don’t know what you want because you’re stupid!”
Some of those who moan about the Champions League are cut from the same cloth. They complain that the competition is devalued because, unlike in the glory days of the old European Cup, it is not a knockout tournament limited to champions.
OK, fine. Leaving aside the obvious point – a knockout competition limited to champions would feature fewer games, fewer good teams and fewer sponsors and end up generating a heck of a lot less cash for the clubs (which they likely would not be happy about) – those European “glory days” were also filled with one-sided hammerings far worse than the ones we have today. And that was back when the gap between the Maltese or Icelandic champions and, say, Bayern or Barcelona was far smaller than it is today.
In fact, while Matchday One did offer some predictably gaudy results, it also featured plenty of tight games. Paris Saint-Germain were held by Arsenal and Juventus by Seville. Real Madrid, the defending champions, came within a few minutes of losing at home to Sporting Lisbon. Tottenham lost at home to Monaco, Porto were held at home by Copenhagen.
Over the past five seasons, more than a quarter of the first and second seeds were eliminated in the group stage. The idea that it’s all a predictable, foregone conclusion is simply a myth. But, of course, that’s part of the problem, too. When the big boys go deep into the competition, the moaners complain it’s predictable. And when they go out early, it’s a rubbish tournament because the supposedly lesser teams advance. Just as they did back at the Euros when they turned up their noses at the fact that Iceland, Wales and Poland all made it to the quarter-finals.
The simple fact is that – other than seeing the team we support win it – we don’t really know what we want. Is it upsets and new faces or is it brand-name stars and the elites advancing? Is it high-quality football – which often comes at the expense of scoring – or is it exciting, ebb-and-flow goalfests?
The truth is, we have no clue. And maybe it doesn’t matter. Because the Champions League, for all its flaws, might not be the tedious exercise some grumpy nostalgics consider it to be. At least not judging by factors like its ability to attract viewers and sponsors. The majority of fans seem to like it and it generates money – lots of it. Isn’t that enough?
IT’S pretty much guaranteed that, should Manchester United slip up today away to Watford, folks will suggest that Jose Mourinho’s Old Trafford honeymoon is over. Defeat at Vicarage Road would make it three consecutive losses in all competitions.
It doesn’t sound like a lot, but then you consider that for all the doom and gloom of the David Moyes/ Louis van Gaal eras, it only happened once per season in the three years since Sir Alex Ferguson left the club.
And as we have learned in his third seasons at Real Madrid and Chelsea, the Mourinho-under-pressure narrative sells as well as the all-conquering Special One trope. Especially when it may be fuelled to some degree by grumbling stars and their entourages.
A more sensible reading is that Mourinho is still rebuilding this side and figuring out how the pieces fit together. He has a squad stocked with attacking midfielders and light in other areas. And he has made some dubious choices, like throwing Jesse Lingard (who hadn’t played in a month) and Henrikh Mkhitaryan (who was rushed back from injury) into the deep end of a Manchester derby and effectively throwing them under the bus when they were poor.
TheMkhitaryan/Lingardmovewas the kind of strongman decision that solidifies Mourinho’s power when it works and leads to more unwanted questions when it does not. Which is why today at Watford could be more important than people realise.
JURGEN Klopp’s folk-hero status only grew on Friday night under the lights when Liverpool put Chelsea to the sword at Stamford Bridge. The German has his doubters and there are some who feel like his hyperactive schtick is wearing thin.
However, if a manager’s job is to make his XI add up to more than the sum of its parts, there is evident progress at Liverpool. Chelsea were comprehensively outplayed for much of the match. While one Liverpool goal was the result of horrendously poor set-piece defending, and the other was a long-range wonder strike from Jordan Henderson, Chelsea were either compressed in their own half or seeing their attacks broken up well outside the opposition box.
Antonio Conte’s team got back into it, thanks to Diego Costa who is playing about as well as he ever has in his Premier League career right now. But there was no question who won the tactical battle: Liverpool’s supremacy was never in doubt.
Klopp’s “heavy metal football” (his words) looks impressive when the front men stream up the pitch at pace and pepper the opposing goal.
But where they made big strides at Stamford Bridge was defensively. Henderson, Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren and Joel Matip snuffed out most of whatever Conte threw their way for most of the game. When you consider the amount of criticism the first three attracted in their early years at Anfield and the fact the other was a free transfer, one thing becomes obvious: Klopp is making his players better. That’s what a high-end manager does.