THE FRUITS OF MELLON
I HAVE so much admiration for what Mickey Mellon has done at Tranmere, and what his team did in the first half against Spurs on Friday night.
Class and fitness told in the end, of course, but you could see before the interval their manager had got them ready, got them organised for what they were facing.
Mickey (above) came and did a presentation on the course when I was doing my coaching badges, and he was really impressive, both in his knowledge of the game, and the way he communicated and related.
It was a bit of a cruel blow the goal going in just before half time, especially as it was a big deflection, because it killed off Tranmere.
But I know it was still a huge night for the club, because of the tv money which will help them develop even further, after the impressive job Mickey has done in getting them back into the Football League.
I’m a massive fan of the FA Cup, and that’s one of the reasons why. Supporters at places like Tranmere get to see stars like Harry Kane close up – and what a moment when he came on – and their clubs benefit.
There is something special about occasions like that, and I know, because I played at Prenton Park for Liverpool in an FA Cup quarter-final back in 2001... and it was a hell of a game on a difficult pitch.
We won 4-2, but they really put us through it. It was a proper cup tie, and the Tranmere fans were brilliant. They chanted songs about Scousers (they weren’t complimentary) when three-quarters of their team were from Liverpool!
I can tell you now, Jurgen Klopp noticed.
And he will be using it to inspire and motivate his players in the title race from here on in.
I know it was a huge game, and a huge win for City. When you win like that it means so much, but the scenes at the end were still remarkable.
To see possibly the best team in world football celebrate with such relief was telling.
Liverpool lost, but Klopp will be urging them to take massive confidence from how a side as big as City reacted when beating them. He will be saying: “That’s how good we are now.”
On one occasion when I played and won at Old Trafford, the players were celebrating like crazy at the final whistle, but I didn’t.
Afterwards, our manager Gerard Houllier, had a go at me for not joining in, but I told him straight It’s far too early to talk about Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as the permanent manager of Manchester United, but there is something that excites me about him. I’ve been banging on in these columns about man-management being an important element of modern day football – how coaches still need to ‘manage’ the mentality and emotions of their team.
United’s players look motivated and inspired. That’s where the man-management comes in. I’m a big believer in getting the right went in – that they are two great teams playing at an incredibly high level.
Liverpool had control for a lot of the game, and maybe learned the first lesson of top-class football – when you play the very best sides, you need to take your chances, because if you don’t, they’ll always hurt you.
But I don’t think Klopp’s team bottled it, and I don’t think one defeat suddenly makes them vulnerable. The way they played, fought their way back into the game and created enough to win says exactly the opposite.
What I do think though, is City are a great team who have the players to go on another long unbeaten run, which means Liverpool will have to do the same. And that’s tough for a side who haven’t been there before, who
haven’t won the atmosphere, setting the right mood in training for match-days, and getting your players to buy into what is required – and also tuning into what they need.
Solskjaer has clearly done that, and whether or not he’s the top class coach that United need - in terms of first team tactics and the league. I spoke to Ryan Giggs about it, and he said of all the league titles he won with United, the first was by far the hardest.
When you’re there, in touching distance, in a position to win, pressure grows, expectation rises, and you feel every moment of it.
It’s human nature, and it’s difficult to switch off. Every game your opponents win, you feel like you can’t make a single mistake.
City know how to deal with that, Liverpool don’t. So their manager has a huge role in trying to keep them as calm, and focused merely on the gameplan, as possible.
Klopp’s been there before and knows how to do that.
And he will start by telling his side just how big a compliment City paid them on Thursday – and just how much sides fear this Liverpool team now. wider implementation of a modern approach over the whole club – he certainly is the manager they need right now.
Results are everything. And if he carries on as he’s started so far, keeps winning, then he’s going to make it incredibly difficult for his board to look elsewhere.