RASHFORD REVIVAL PROVES JOSE GOT HIM ALL WRONG

THE ONLY WAY IS ETHICS, BIELSA

SPYING on opponents cannot be all that common if Frank Lampard is angered by it. As a player, in senior football, Lampard worked under 15 coaches, not including caretakers. He had a lot of opportunity to experience varied working practices. If it was normal to hang around the opposition training ground with a set of bolt-cutters and a periscope, he would no doubt have been rather relaxed about what Marcelo Bielsa was doing. The fact Lampard greeted his Leeds counterpart on the touchline with a face like thunder, after spying on derby’s training sessions had been exposed, suggests otherwise — and no amount of explanation around cultural differences makes it any less reprehensible. Bielsa’s supporters favour equivalency. And yes, teams gain any advantage possible, we know that. Jose Mourinho used training-ground spies at Chelsea, and Lampard would have benefited from this gleaned knowledge. yet that does not mean he knew or approved of the tactic. There were plenty of journalists at the News of the World who didn’t have a clue about phone hacking. Arsene Wenger said one of the reasons he did not socialise with managers after matches is he did not want to become friends with his rivals and be compromised by an old chum ringing him up in the days before they played, trying to find out his team. It happens. one manager, who was good friends with Ron Atkinson, found himself in crisis towards the end of a season. He called Atkinson to see what he intended when Aston Villa visited on saturday. Atkinson obliged, going through the starting XI name by name, finally getting to Tony daley. ‘oh, that’s bad,’ said the boss. ‘our fullback’s a young kid. daley will murder him.’ ‘don’t worry,’ Atkinson assured him. ‘He’s only good for one game in three…’ ‘yes, but that’s too much for us.’ ‘…And he’s just played it.’ Players talk to old friends, to agents, who often have a foot in both camps. Information leaks that way, too. It still isn’t the same as spying. There may be no rule against it, but there is at least an ethical understanding between clubs. It is this Bielsa has broken, the sense of fair play that should underpin the way clubs behave towards one another. There is no rule to preserve it — but, really, there shouldn’t have to be.

THERE is no doubt Jose Mourinho was let down very badly by some of his Manchester United players. But, equally, it can be no coincidence that Marcus Rashford is in fine form, playing in his best position, under a manager who does not turn to the crowd and scowl each time he misses a chance. He’s 21. What did Mourinho not understand about that? Fine form: Rashford celebrates his winner against Tottenham