The Decline of Western (Great Manchester) Civilization

[Florida Blue]

Found this a good read, with another City reference to City's glory hunting:

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=833741&sec=englandopinion&root=englandopinion&cc=5901

Ferguson still swimming against the tide

By John Brewin, Senior Editor
(Archive)

October 19, 2010

"Once a blue, always a red," rings out the Old Trafford terrace anthem in tribute to Wayne Rooney. Or at least, it did. Rooney's clear engineering of a stand-off with Manchester United will likely have made him into just another greedy footballer in the eyes of his current club's supporters.

Sir Alex Ferguson: An impassioned depiction of the Rooney saga has swung the media agenda

Sir Alex Ferguson: An impassioned depiction of the Rooney saga has swung the media agenda

Any previous kissing of the badge is now a gesture made hollow and, if he is to stay on English soil after departing United, he will be returning to the colour blue, with only Manchester City and Chelsea capable of meeting his ambitions in terms of salary and trophy-winning opportunities.

Even less impressed is Sir Alex Ferguson, judging by the delivery of his side of the Rooney story. A man criticised for his relationship with the media has chosen to open up the drawbridge and betray his disappointment at a desire to "want away" in a style rarely seen in 24 years at Old Trafford.

There looked confusion in the eyes of Ferguson as he spoke of how Rooney was "adamant" that he wanted to leave, and in a breaking of the usual protocol of slash and burn, a leaving of the door open for the situation to change. The admittance that this saga had been going on since August 14, and by extension perhaps lay as the root of the club's current on-field malaise, was a lifting of the usual code of gritted silence. Is Ferguson finally a man out of time, caught out as unable to understand the mind of a man 44 years his junior and the machinations of his agent in effecting a move away from a club which had seemed his home for a footballing life?

Or was this a classic bravura Ferguson performance that will guarantee that public opinion swings back to him? Should Rooney play again at Old Trafford for United then he can surely expect the coldest shoulder of boos. Ferguson's choosing of a public arena rather than the cries and whispers that have served the tabloid tales of the past two days place his as the more credible account. But the public pronouncement may only serve to paper over cracks and may even be construed as something approaching a last stand.

Few will warm to Rooney's seeming inability to admit to his own lack of both decorum and performance but the reasons given by sources close to him - for that, read his agent - for his disquiet would seem to point to the root cause of all of the club's problems. And all roads here would seem to lead to the Floridian mansion of one Malcolm Glazer.

Missing pieces of the jigsaw: Tevez and Ronaldo are no longer around, with Rooney set to follow

GettyImages

Missing pieces of the jigsaw: Tevez and Ronaldo are no longer around, with Rooney set to follow

Manchester United used to be known for their money, their ability to spend big and a healthy bank balance that allowed them to retain their stars and buy the best young prospects. It has taken five years but the full effects of Glazernomics are now being felt. Once in the black, now deeply in the red, it is thanks to the depths of resources that United once had that only now is true decline setting in. Ferguson faces the prospect of a tarnished legacy by presiding over it, yet allaying the fall of United for as long as he has may well be among the greatest of his many achievements.

Still reliant on a geriatric trio of Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Edwin van der Sar, United have lurched into mediocrity this season, with a series of draws reflective of a squad no longer capable of putting teams away, with defensive problems key to the slide.

Where once Rooney defended from the front, and bellowed encouragement at colleagues, he has cut a sulky dash, lost in his own inability to replicate his best form, a once golden touch a memory and his demeanour worryingly close to that on a soggy night in Cape Town. Only a hard-working showing against Liverpool, the type of game he can always raise himself for, has been on the credit side in club colours.

It is said that Rooney, who carried the team for much of the 2009-10 season, is unimpressed by the quality of reinforcements brought in to support him. Javier Hernandez, Chris Smalling and the mysterious Bebe may equal 'value', the new Old Trafford watchword, but they are barely credible as players to enrich a squad well short of Chelsea last season and who exited the Champions League at the quarter-final stage.

Finalists in the Champions League in consecutive years just 18 months ago, United have weakened into also-rans, with Rooney now likely to follow Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez into the ex-players' lounge. Only the most hopeful United fan will hope for a superstar replacement in the light of the dealings of the last two summers. After all, Ronaldo and Tevez were replaced by Michael Owen, Gabriel Obertan and Antonio Valencia.

Rooney will sit out the Bursaspor game with another knock to his ankle

GettyImages

Rooney will sit out the Bursaspor game with another knock to his ankle

The secrecy of the Glazer regime does not help. What we know of them comes through financial reports and the picking through of their various deals. It is left to chief executive David Gill to proclaim that upwards of £700 million of debt is not a problem - to barely credulous reaction - and Ferguson to sully relations with fans by praising his paymasters while they themselves fund an ailing team.

Ferguson's intimation that he has been blindsided by Rooney and his agent further confirms that he is swimming against the tide, despite his claims that United can and will offer an unmatchable deal. Those pointed press conference remarks about United's gloriously decorated history were clearly aimed at Manchester City, a nouveau riche neighbour said to be the favoured suitor and now infinitely more powerful in financial terms.

Rooney's departure seems ever more certain, given he is clearly going to dislike further dirty linen being aired. We have been granted the rare sight of Ferguson opening the door on club business, but the helplessness of his words betray what looks a bleak future for Manchester United.

[john68]

Thanks Flo Mate, That was an interesting read.
I agree that taggart has done well holding back the tide against him. I think the damage to the rags was done quite a while ago and I fully expected them to start to fail much earlier than they seem to have done. I thought the initial loss of the Trannie would mean failure but Rooney stepped up last season and baled tham out on too many occasions. Over the last few years the rags record hasn't been a fair reflection of their abiltiy. Often playing badly...drawing or losing, only to have an individual goal save their day and points. Without either of their iconic players, they are looking denuded and frail.

Although results and league record may seem to contradict this, we overtook the rags last season. To use a decorating analogy, Their wallpaper looked great but the walls behind were in dire need of replastering. At CoMS, our walls had been rebuilt but the wallpaper hadn't yet been finished. It was during the close season and all we needed was to wait for the paint to dry. Now their wallpaper is beginning to peel off the walls....and the World can see it.

[mr_nool]

Thanks Flo Mate, That was an interesting read.
I agree that taggart has done well holding back the tide against him. I think the damage to the rags was done quite a while ago and I fully expected them to start to fail much earlier than they seem to have done. I thought the initial loss of the Trannie would mean failure but Rooney stepped up last season and baled tham out on too many occasions. Over the last few years the rags record hasn't been a fair reflection of their abiltiy. Often playing badly...drawing or losing, only to have an individual goal save their day and points. Without either of their iconic players, they are looking denuded and frail.

Although results and league record may seem to contradict this, we overtook the rags last season. To use a decorating analogy, Their wallpaper looked great but the walls behind were in dire need of replastering. At CoMS, our walls had been rebuilt but the wallpaper hadn't yet been finished. It was during the close season and all we needed was to wait for the paint to dry. Now their wallpaper is beginning to peel off the walls....and the World can see it.

that's a little bit like us this season, with Tevez bailing us out. the main difference of course is that we have a new team, just getting stronger and stronger, whereas United are moving in the other direction. Oh, how sweet life is!

[ashton287]

Thanks Flo Mate, That was an interesting read.
I agree that taggart has done well holding back the tide against him. I think the damage to the rags was done quite a while ago and I fully expected them to start to fail much earlier than they seem to have done. I thought the initial loss of the Trannie would mean failure but Rooney stepped up last season and baled tham out on too many occasions. Over the last few years the rags record hasn't been a fair reflection of their abiltiy. Often playing badly...drawing or losing, only to have an individual goal save their day and points. Without either of their iconic players, they are looking denuded and frail.

Although results and league record may seem to contradict this, we overtook the rags last season. To use a decorating analogy, Their wallpaper looked great but the walls behind were in dire need of replastering. At CoMS, our walls had been rebuilt but the wallpaper hadn't yet been finished. It was during the close season and all we needed was to wait for the paint to dry. Now their wallpaper is beginning to peel off the walls....and the World can see it.

It gets your point across but fuck if thats not a boring analogy, like watching paint dry you might say.

[brite blu sky]

The Decline of Western (Great Manchester) Civilization.. all for a pint of horse jizz ;o

i bet this beats the Romans.

[TonyM]

United decline is underway because their greatest asset is fading away. That is ... Fear. Most teams expect a battering by United and almost bring it on themselves. Is give United players a confidence that would not exist otherwise. This season more and more teams are simply not giving up when playing them. If United score first, it's not over. This snowball will growm imo until by the end of the season most United players are shadows of their former selves and many will be looking for a way out. Vidic and Evra will be gone. They will be still a decent team with VDS,O'Shea, Rio, Park, Fletcher, Berbatov, some oldies and some very decent kids. But this will be somewhere about Villa's or Everton's or Liverpool's level. They'll get Uefa for another few seasons most likely but perhaps the slide will be worse once it begins.

But... we've predicted their fall before and not only did it not ocur but they actually did well (other than still falling further into debt). I just hope that this year is the real deal. They will fall one day. It has to happen. Why not now.

[Florida Blue]

Thanks Flo Mate, That was an interesting read.
I agree that taggart has done well holding back the tide against him. I think the damage to the rags was done quite a while ago and I fully expected them to start to fail much earlier than they seem to have done. I thought the initial loss of the Trannie would mean failure but Rooney stepped up last season and baled tham out on too many occasions. Over the last few years the rags record hasn't been a fair reflection of their abiltiy. Often playing badly...drawing or losing, only to have an individual goal save their day and points. Without either of their iconic players, they are looking denuded and frail.

Although results and league record may seem to contradict this, we overtook the rags last season. To use a decorating analogy, Their wallpaper looked great but the walls behind were in dire need of replastering. At CoMS, our walls had been rebuilt but the wallpaper hadn't yet been finished. It was during the close season and all we needed was to wait for the paint to dry. Now their wallpaper is beginning to peel off the walls....and the World can see it.

It gets your point across but fuck if thats not a boring analogy, like watching paint dry you might say.

Ash. while your pun was horrid, you are right, John needs to step up on the analogies. I think something like having a really nice house from the outside, only to walk in and see that all the furniture has been repossesed and the house is empty.

[john68]

Don't patronise that Ashton Flo....fuclin smartarse...I think I'll dump on his head...big as he is.
Not even he'd hit an old man.

[london blue 2]

Thanks Flo Mate, That was an interesting read.
I agree that taggart has done well holding back the tide against him. I think the damage to the rags was done quite a while ago and I fully expected them to start to fail much earlier than they seem to have done. I thought the initial loss of the Trannie would mean failure but Rooney stepped up last season and baled tham out on too many occasions. Over the last few years the rags record hasn't been a fair reflection of their abiltiy. Often playing badly...drawing or losing, only to have an individual goal save their day and points. Without either of their iconic players, they are looking denuded and frail.

Although results and league record may seem to contradict this, we overtook the rags last season. To use a decorating analogy, Their wallpaper looked great but the walls behind were in dire need of replastering. At CoMS, our walls had been rebuilt but the wallpaper hadn't yet been finished. It was during the close season and all we needed was to wait for the paint to dry. Now their wallpaper is beginning to peel off the walls....and the World can see it.

It gets your point across but fuck if thats not a boring analogy, like watching paint dry you might say.

Ash. while your pun was horrid, you are right, John needs to step up on the analogies. I think something like having a really nice house from the outside, only to walk in and see that all the furniture has been repossesed and the house is empty.

Or a hot chic with a beat up beaver...