Since when has it become a crime for team-mates to have a go at each other on the pitch, even with a bit of swearing.
I was gobsmacked by the reaction to Harry Maguire and Marcus Rashford digging each other out during Manchester United’s terrible 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace.
We are in danger of telling our footballers to become robots: passionless and emotionless in pursuit of perfection.
Do we want our game to become so sanitised that everyone is in perfect harmony during matches? I don’t. I’d rather human beings are allowed to show their emotion.
Clearly we all know lines that shouldn’t be crossed but the two United players having a pop at each other out of frustration is fine, probably even healthy because it shows they care.
Any successful team has to demand the best from each other and sometimes that means things can boil over. Arguments happen and so four-letter words will be used on occasion.
Stevie Gerrard was my room-mate at Liverpool for years, a close friend, and I remember having a lively fall-out with him at Leeds.
I gave the ball away, he didn’t like it, I had a pop back which he didn’t take kindly to and he put me in my place with some harsh words in front of everyone. It wasn’t pleasant but he was still my mate afterwards – he was right by the way.
Paul Ince was my captain for one of my first Liverpool games, at Old Trafford. My first touch was a bit loose and he tore strips off me, made me feel I wasn’t good enough or that he even liked me.
It was done to raise standards and I got man of the match.
There is no reason for incidents like that to linger if players respect why the emotion comes out and I’d think United fans are glad there is a fire in the belly in Maguire and Rashford, that they realise the performance at Selhurst Park was not good enough ahead of Sunday’s Manchester derby.
Most players are working-class lads who played every day well before they became professional and you are judged on a desire to win. That stays with you throughout your career.
PEP HAS ADAPTED
Anyone who considered Pep Guardiola a one-trick pony must be feeling very foolish. No manager has adapted better to this unique season with its condensed fixture list and lack of fans.
Yes, Manchester City have a talented squad but that alone wouldn’t have led to 21 victories in a row. Pep has proven he is a wonderful strategist besides his many other qualities.
I feared for City after their Champions League defeat by Lyon in the summer appeared to lead to an early hangover this season. I shouldn’t have had any doubts that Pep knows what he is doing.
The first thing he showed was a tremendous strength of character to believe in his methods when results were shaky and the team struck down by injuries and Covid. He was able to tweak the methods that made City so successful over the past three years.
He has been more defensively minded, restricting the overlapping of his full-backs and playing them in midfield instead, making them more solid and allowing Ilkay Gundogan to break forward.
It’s something he has done before but it’s far more obvious this season. In previous title-winning seasons, City have tried to press and win the ball high, dominate that way. But they lost nine matches last season and now they don’t mind slowing the game down and dropping off.
The possession stats of the opposition are higher but City are now controlling games without being a hundred miles an hour. It’s easier because the lack of crowds creates a slower tempo, which Pep has capitalised upon with his gifted players.
But let’s not think just because you have the best players, you win. They also have a world-class coach. This season will be his triumph more than anyone else’s.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com