Alec Fenn's Recent Posts

Manchester United set to unveil the final piece of their jigsaw

Alec Fenn — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 07:35:55 +0000

Football FanCast columnist Alec Fenn looks ahead to Berbatov's unveiling and debut at Old Trafford today and wonders if he is the final piece of the jigsaw.

As Dimitar Berbatov prepares to make his Old Trafford debut today, there is a growing belief amongst the united faithful that the Bulgarian may well be the final piece in the Manchester united jigsaw.

To those on the outset, it may seem absurd that a side that claimed both domestic and European glory last term is bereft of firepower.

But in securing the premiership and European cup last term, united were heavily reliant on the incredible 42-goal contribution of a certain Cristiano Ronaldo. In contrast, the combined goals tally of both Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez, fell 3 short of the solitary efforts of the Portuguese winger.

With an added gunslinger to his artillery, Sir Alex Ferguson now has a new dilemma to solve. Through the introduction of the Bulgarian, Ferguson now has a front quartet of Ronaldo, Rooney, Tevez and Berbatov, not to mention Angolan forward Manucho. Saving a dramatic change in formation it will surely be one out of Carlos Tevez and Wayne Rooney who makes way for the new £30million purchase. Given his impressive start to the season, it would appear unlikely if not a little harsh if the axe was to fall on the Argentine, As a result, it may well be Rooney who makes way as Ferguson shuffles his pack.

Indeed, many could and have argued that United have lacked a true goal scorer since the sale of Ruud Van Nistelrooy to Real Madrid. Under closer scrutiny, this may well explain United's somewhat abysmal away record in Europe in recent years. A record of just three victories in their last 18 away ties makes last year's triumph all the more remarkable.

The likes of Louis Saha and Alan Smith have moved on to pastures new, having failed to emulate the goalscoring exploits of the prolific Dutchman. But in the capture of Dimitar Berbatov United now have a first-class goal scorer to add to the abundance of quality at their disposal. As it stands, the Bulgarian had the most prolific strike rate of any player at international level, with a tally of 28 goals in just 47 appearances.

Despite his emphatic goals record, Berbatov is not an archetypal poacher that made legends out of the likes of Lineker and Van Basten. His ability to drop deep and link play and produce moments of breathtaking brilliance adds a dimension to his game unrivalled by any other striker in Europe.

But whilst his ability is undoubted, one criticism often aimed at Berbatov is his lack of work-rate and team ethic. It is possible that his languid style and laid back demeanour are miss-construed as work- shy and lazy. And of course it is not the first time such a claim has been made towards a player of his quality. United legend Eric Cantona was often lamented for his apparent lack of effort and work rate, something largely attributed to his cool, laid-back style, not dissimilar to Berbatov. Yet few can question the impact of the Frenchman as he transformed United from perennial underachievers into an untouchable domestic force.

So as Berbatov embarks on is Old Trafford debut this weekend, the football world watches on to see if United's latest purchase can follow in the footsteps of a long-list of legendary number 9's and become the final piece in the Manchester United jigsaw.

Manchester Utd and Arsenal fall victim to the modern day attitude of footballers

Alec Fenn — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:18:31 +0000

Football FanCast columnist Alec Fenn looks at the modern day footballer, where the pound sign is king and loyalty is nothing more than a passing thought.

In the age of the modern footballer, two things are guaranteed, big wages and even bigger transfer fees. The days of the one-club footballer are long gone; the likes of Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs are a dying breed of player that have remained loyal to their clubs throughout the entirety of their careers.

This summer alone has highlighted a growing trend of footballers seeking to leave their clubs just months into lucrative long-term contracts. The cases of Cristiano Ronaldo, Emmanuel Adebayor and Alexander Hleb are just three of countless examples of players involved in protracted transfer sagas this summer. Yet the problem is not exclusive to the Premier League, take for example West Brom's Martin Albrecthsen, who chose to double his money at Championship side Derby County rather than sign a new deal with the Premiership newcomers earlier this summer.

In an era where agents have an increasing stranglehold on player's lives, football clubs have become accessories to footballers who seek to increase their own celebrity status. The likes of Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and David Beckham are icons in their own right, endorsing anything from pens to designer sunglasses. Footballers are no longer solely reliant on the wages paid by their clubs for their incomes, often demeaning the club's stature in the eyes of the player, resulting in the transfer merry-go-round we've become accustomed to, whereby long-term contracts are no longer worth the paper there written on.

The roles of agents are undoubtedly significant in the increasing disloyalty within the modern game. With agents standing to make millions from potential transfers they must surely be influenced by such large sums of cash as they seek the best deal, not only for the player but for themselves. So-called super-agents Pini Zahavi and Kia Joorabchian are now multi-millionaires as a result of their involvement in high profile transfers. The example of Jorge Mendes, Cristiano Ronaldo's agent, who stands to make a reported £10million from a potential £70million transfer to Real Madrid, highlights the obscene amounts of money within the modern game and also the increasing numbers of people looking to make a cut from the sport.

In addition, the influx of foreign owners over the past two years has seen over a third of the Premiership's sides now under foreign ownership. The knock-on effect of billionaire owners has seen the likes of Roman Abramovich spend hundreds of millions on transfers as well as new records on wages. But whilst many of the top sides benefit, the injection of cash has and will continue to damage the moral integrity of the sport as more and more players move clubs on a purely financial basis, as ageing stars look to make one last big buck from the game before they hang up their boots.

Yet whilst agents and chairman take much of the blame for the increasingly cut-throat and disloyal nature of the game, the buck ultimately stops with the players. Although the £120,000-a-week carrots that dangle above the likes of Ronaldo, Adebayor and Hleb in sunny Spain, surely the fans are owed just a touch of loyalty in return for their over-inflated season tickets, as they fund the ever increasing wages of football's ‘superstars.' The price of an average season-ticket in the top flight has increased by 500% since the advent of the Premier League in the early 1990's with many clubs charging upwards of £40 to watch 90 minutes of football. With attendances in the Premiership down on average by a 1000, fans are clearly tiring of the prima donnas and mercenaries that dominate the English game. Whether or not the trio above move on to pastures new this summer it is sad that in a sport once touted as ‘the people's game', an old phrase has never been as apt as in the modern era - ‘money talks.'

Have Manchester United unearthed the talisman that will fire them to glory?

Alec Fenn — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 09:19:20 +0000

Football FanCast columnist Alec Fenn marvels in the recent performances of Carlos Tevez and feels they have a player capable of firing the champions to domestic and European glory.

Amidst the splendour and glamour of Cristiano Ronaldo's performances this season, another talisman has emerged alongside United's prodigal son. With his shaggy hair and robust frame he is undoubtedly the antithesis of the slick, swaggering Portugese wing-wizard. But in Carlos Tevez Manchester United have a player capable of firing the Premier League champions to both domestic and European glory.

Indeed the Argentinean's impact was no more crucial than in the weekend's defeat of Liverpool. With both Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney guilty of glaring misses to kill the game, the introduction of Tevez provided the injection of quality that proved terminal for the Anfield side. A piece of virtuoso brilliance from Tevez gave Ronaldo the chance to finish the game, but his effort was tipped onto the crossbar. His goal from the resulting corner gave him another day on the back pages of the nation's tabloids, but it was the impact of the boy from Ciudadela that proved key.

One question that continues to dog Ronaldo is his ability to deliver in games of vast magnitude. This is certainly a claim unlikely to be aimed at Tevez. In his debut season with the Old Trafford outfit he has bagged goals against two of the ‘big four' as well as key goals in Europe, not least his last-gasp equaliser at the Stade de Gerland; in the first-leg, quarter final tie against Lyon.

This is a point with which many West Ham fans will empathise as Tevez's ice-like nerve steered the Hammers from relegation to the Championship. Coincidentally it was a goal of real class at Old Trafford, in front of his future employers, that saved Alan Curbishley's men on the final day of the season and possibly sealed a dream move to United.

It appears upon closer inspection that the Argentine's career has been blessed with success of Midas-like proportions. Voted South American Player of the Year three-times at only 24, Tevez can count the Copa Libertadores, The Intercontinental Cup and an Olympic Gold medal amongst his achievements to date. As well as this his goals record for a second striker is impressive with 15 goals in 37 appearances to date.

A further bonus for Sir Alex Ferguson has been the telepathic partnership that has formed between Tevez and strike partner Wayne Rooney. With strike partnerships a rarity in the modern-day game the ability of the pair to forge a successful partnership has been imperative to the side's success so far this season and a testament to
the footballing brain of Tevez that has drawn comparisons with Eric Cantona. The spark between the pair could well be the missing piece of the jigsaw in the side's quest for European honours this season.

He may not have the diamond earings or the movie-star looks of the Portuguese wonder, but come the end of the season, it may well be the impact of Ferguson's ‘lion' that proves most telling as United look to sweep all before them.

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