The Head Can Be Used For Other Purposes

I'm not going to get embroiled in yet another Messi v Ronaldo debate, but...

The Sunday Supplement on Sky Sports has a journalist arguing that Ronaldo is the better player, and one of the reasons he gives is that Ronaldo is taller, and is therefore better at heading the ball. I guess that puts Ronaldo ahead of Maradona and Zidane too, since he's better at heading the ball than either of those two were. What a silly argument. Surely footballers shouldn't be judged purely (or even primarily) on physique. I mean that's what makes the game beautiful - the fact that the small guys can compete with and outclass the big guys. Players like Andres Iniesta and Paul Scholes can be considered great because they are thinking players who can read the game better than most.

Eamon Dunphy said that if you don't get Messi then you don't get football. My argument for thinking Messi to be "better" than Ronaldo is simply that he embodies much more of what football is about than Ronaldo. Ronaldo has the power, the height, the absolutely frightening shot. Messi has the close control, the dribbling skills, the deft touch, the incisive passing. The ball and Messi are one. His skills are shown with it at his feet. For Ronaldo, his skill is shown when the ball has left his foot and thundered into the net from impossible distances. At this point it becomes a thing of preference, but what I don't understand is the suddden shift that has taken place in football. It used to be that the ball players were the most admired - Zidane, Bergkamp, (Brazilian) Ronaldo - but now there are many who place the emphasis on being some kind of footballing behemoth a la Cristiano Ronaldo; someone who can "terrorise" defences by being a sort of dormant threat than can just explode in an instand and do something out of nothing. I appreciate such a potent weapon of course, but best in the world? Really?

My great disappoint with the game today is that if Zinedine Zidane -- the most naturally gifted footballer of the past 20 years -- were in his prime today, he probably wouldn't be considered the best player since he doesn't score enough goals or "isn't as good with his head as Ronaldo is". What the Sunday Supplement journalist failed to mention is that the head can be used for other purposes in football - purposes far exceeding the one employed by Ronaldo. I don't think Messi is on the same level as Zidane when it comes to the mental aspects of football (and I don't believe he will ever be), but he is far closer to that level than Ronaldo is. So is Ronaldo's teammate Wayne Rooney. The question then becomes do you prefer/place more value on footballing brains or footballing braun? For me it's brains every time. It's the reason I love the sport.

Branded As An Idiot

I've been critical of Ronaldo in the past, but yesterday he was quite something. It just goes to show you the importance of working for the team and how that effects your own individual display. That said, in the F365 mailbox Man Utd fans are coming out saying things along the lines of "People who said Ronaldo is a big game bottler are idiots". A couple of points on that:

1. I haven't read anything suggesting Ronaldo as a big game bottler in quite some time.

And

2. Ronaldo most certainly did underperform in big games, and so him stopping doing that doesn't make people who once pointed out the obvious idiots. That's like one person saying Martin Skrtl hasn't scored all season, and then when he does score another person turning around and saying "You're an idiot. See, he has scored!"

Many of the other things I've written may justifiably see me branded as an idiot, but not this one.

Huh?

"Messi is the best. What he does is from another world.

"He is exceptional.

"After watching Arsenal against Manchester United, I insist Cristiano Ronaldo is one thing and Messi is another.

"There is no comparison. Messi deserves to win the Ballon d'Or this year."

- Thierry Henry, November '08


"When Messi is playing well, he can do things that no-one else can.

"I honestly understand why there are those who compare him to Maradona but I repeat: at least right now, Cristiano Ronaldo is the best. In the future... we will see."

- Thierry Henry, April '09

So Messi used to be the best, but since he has gone on to score over 30 goals and Ronaldo has gone on to perform quite poorly, Ronaldo has become the best again?

Me thinks Henry is playing mind games of some sort. Fergie would be proud.

Maybe I Can Be the Manager That Changes Him

"I think that he's had temptations and I think there have been periods when you've seen the effect of it..."

"He's lucky in the sense that people here can tell him the truth and be straight with him and he appreciates that, and he has responded to that."

"If it stays with him and changes him as a person then you have a problem..."

"Fortunately Ronaldo has good human qualities. He's a good guy.

"He knows when he's gone too far and he draws back in after that."

An extract from an interview with Ronaldo's girlfriend Alex Ferguson. What a load of absolute nonsense. Can you believe that one of the best football managers of all time is saying such things about a football player?

Sick.

Timing

I picked a good time to have a go at Ronaldo, eh? I think the game on Sunday sums him up. Not especially good for most of the 90 minutes, but capable of producing things out of nothing. Two great strikes, and scorer of perhaps United's most important goal this season (I know Macheda got the winner, but you kind of knew that was coming once Ronaldo scored the second, right?). Is all of his prancing about actually worth it when you know he can score goals like he did yesterday? I don't think so, but I could understand a United fan who does.

As for Nani, I don't expect we'll be seeing him in a United shirt for much longer, or perhaps ever again. File him under the same category which includes Kleberson, Djemba Djemba, Bellion, etc. A truly woeful player who is barely Premier League standard not to mention Big 4 standard. And the worrying thing from a United point of view is that in terms of wingers they were only missing Ji Sung Park yesterday.

In fact it's not just United who have trouble out wide. Chelsea also struggle in that department, with Malouda starting on Saturday and perhaps even set to start on Wednesday. Oh dear. Right now Arsenal have by far the most talent when it comes to the wide players in a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1 or 4-5-1 or whatever you want to brand it. Their selection (when all fit) includes Arshavin, Walcott, Nasri, Rosicky, Eduardo, Eboue, Bendtner, Vela - all of whom I would rate higher than Nani and Malouda (Yes, even Eboue). It is for this reason that the Gunners are in with a shout of winning the Champions League, even if that means beating United in the semi-final. As Villa showed in Sunday, decent wingers will cause United trouble, especially if you have a target man who can head the ball (see John Carew and Emmanuel Adebayor).

Below the Surface

So according to the Guardian there is a deal in place to take Ronaldo to Real Madrid for £75m in the summer. Given what I think about Cristiano Ronaldo (I think he's the most despicable person in football) it should come as little surprise that in my opinion this would be excellent business for Manchester United. But not only because they'd be getting rid of a prat, but they'd also be getting rid of a player who could be replaced by something more effective.

Now I'm sure some United fans are protesting, saying that Ronaldo has 17 goals this season, and is joint second highest scorer in the league (though this must be qualified by adding that he has just two goals more to his name than Kevin Davies, so how much do goals really tells us?). A closer look at his goal scoring exploits also reveals the misleading nature of certain stats:

His first goal of the season in the league was a penalty against Bolton at home. His second goal was the second of a 4-0 rout against West Brom, again at home. His third and fourth came against West Ham in a 2-0 home win. His fifth and sixth came against Hull in a 4-3 home win, which brings us up to November. His next two goals came against Stoke at home in a 5-0 thrashing, one of them scored at the start, the other right at the end. That was on the 15th of November. He had to wait until the 27th of January for his next league goal, with this and another being the fourth and fifth of a 5-0 away win against West Brom. He scored a penalty at home against Everton in the next game, a freekick at home against Blackburn, and completeing his league haul thus far he scored a penalty at home against Liverpool three weeks ago.

There are a few repeated words in the above paragraph - home, West, Brom, penalty. In fact Ronaldo's only away goals this season were the two against West Brom, and by then United were 3-0 and cruising.

To make things clearer, here is a list of the teams he has scored against from open play: West Brom (20th), Stoke (16th), West Ham (8th), Bolton (12th), Hull (13th). It shouldn't go unnoticed that three of those teams are the promoted teams from last season, and the games against these three teams comprise of 7 of his goals.

Ronaldo's other goals were scored in the three cups. 1 against Derby in a 4-1 win, 1 against Middleborough in a 3-1 win, and a penalty against Derby in the second leg of the Carling Cup semi-final. He also scored a header againt Inter at home in the Champions League.

Maybe it is unfair of me to do this with Ronaldo, but a look below the surface of his goals tally reveals a player who has contributed little to United's cause, and has only really showed up at home...against promoted teams. And that's not even taking into account each 90 minutes he has spent on the pitch, seemingly unable or unwilling to take on opponents, and more concerned with kicking shins rather than by kicking the ball into the net. The superb irony in all of this is that he was crowned "Best player in the world" during these awful performances, while a little Argentine in Spain was showing the world what a truly great player might look like.

Forget about the argument "But Ronaldo has scored 17 goals this season". He has been largely useless since May, and if it weren't for the United defense they would find themselves in deep trouble coming into the home stretch. To get £75m for him in the summer would be incredible business, and would help Man Utd fund the overhaul that they need (a new striker, a new central midfielder, two new wingers). Will Fergie be willing to start over again? Possibly not, but I think he will need to if United are to continue their dominance. Of course I say that as United are on course for winning the quadruple. Tis a funny ol' game.

World's Apart

I used to spend googles of energy deriding Cristiano Ronaldo and applauding the actual best player in world football, Lionel Messi. As juvenile and pointless as it may have been, I gotta tell ya, it feels great to be justified. This individual competition has never been won over one single game, and it never will be. It's impossible to pick out the exact moment when Messi surpassed Ronaldo, because to be honest, that moment doesn't exist. Messi was born a better player, and will forever be the superior player. That's just the way it is, no matter how many goals CR7 scores.

Having just watched Messi score a delighful hat-trick against Atletico Madrid, you could be forgiven for thinking that such a magnificent performance "proves" he is better than Ronaldo. However, that's not the full story. What truly illustrates the gulf in class between these two much lauded players is the fan reaction after their recent respective withdrawels. Ronaldo has been taken off to a chorus of boos and hisses in the games gone by, and I wouldn't be surprised if some of these came from his own people during that famous "self-substitution" incident against Sunderland. Messi, however, was given a standing ovation by the opposing Atletico Madrid fans as he exited the field (something Ronaldinho received from Real Madrid fans of all people a couple of years ago). I can only dream about how damaging it is for Ronaldo's ego to see Messi playing as he is and receiving all of the praise so effortlessly. And just to rub salt into the wound, Messi left Ronaldo out of his Team of 2008. I love you Lionel. No, really, I do.

Another Year Over

Since it's that time of year, I thought I'd compile a list of some memorable football moments over the past 12 months. This is a totally subjective list, so bear that in mind before leaving angry comments about the exclusion of so-and-so. I don't doubt that I've left out some footballing nuggets, but these are what came to mind in the 10 minutes I spent thinking about the year gone by. I'll try and include relevant Youtube clips where possible, because that's the kind of guy I am. And also, the list has no order. So without further adieu...

Fabregas v Milan

It was the second leg of the first Champions League knockout round. Milan had gotten a slightly fortuitous 0-0 draw at the Emirates, where Adebayor somehow managed to miss a header roughly 7 inches from the goal line. Most people thought Arsenal had blown their chance. The old dogs of Milan were said to be too wily to let this youthful Arsenal side get the result they needed on Italian soil. Cesc Fabregas and co. proved most people very wrong.

It was a team effort of course, with even Philip Senderos playing well for a change. But it was the little Spaniard that ran the show from beginning to end. His tackling was tenacious, his workrate second to none, and everything we've come to expect from Fabregas -- his impeccable decision making, his precise passing, his ability to control the tempo of a game -- was on song. He had been quite laboured in the weeks that led up to this game, and quite laboured afterwards as well, but in these 90 minutes he was the complete midfielder, showing the once imperious Pirlo how it's now done.

Discovering Football Weekly

I can't quite remember when exactly I discovered Football Weekly, but I know it was some time in 2008, so that's good enough for it to make the list. I've championed this podcast on the blog already, but I have no problem doing so again.

To put it plainly, my football experience is not complete until I hear the opinions of "the pod" on Monday afternoon and Thursday evening. For anyone who says that football is their favourite sport, Football Weekly is practically required listening. If you haven't yet discovered the joy of it, then do so as soon as possible. There will be a new podcast up on Monday the 29th. I strongly encourage you to listen to it.

Arsenal v Liverpool

Another Arsenal related moment. This time the Gunners were faced with a tricky tie against Liverpool at Anfield (Liverpool in the Champions League and all that jazz) after coming out of the first leg at the Emirates with an unjust 1-1 draw (it should really have been 2-1, with Bendtner blocking a goal bound effort from Fabregas, and the referee denying Hleb a stone wall penalty after the Belarusian had danced his way into the box with his patented nimble footwork). Arsenal had to score at Anfield, and boy did they do just that and then some.

They completely dominated for 30 minutes, playing some of the best football of the season. The goal came from a neatly worked move, and at that point it almost looked like it was just a question of how many Arsenal would score. But then the Senderos factor kicked in. Having completley lost one of the most dangerous aerial threats of the last 10 years in the form of Sami Hyypia at a corner, Senderos then went on to give about 3 yards of space in the box to one of the most potent finishers in the Premier League, and Torres accepted the gift by guiding the ball into the top corner.

The game seemed to just drift away from Arsenal, until Theo Walcott produced a moment of unbelievable brilliance. Never did I think him capable of such things, but he proved me and a host of other people very wrong. It was just incredible to watch, and a moment worthy of winning any tie. Unfortunately for Walcott and Arsenal, it wasn't sufficient to win this tie. In keeping with their season, Arsenal managed to overshadow their attacking prowess by switching off mentality, and allowing Liverpool to go straight back up the field and win a (soft) penalty. A fourth Liverpool goal followed, and Arsenal's Champions League dream was shattered.

Still though, this was easily the game of the season for me, and one that will live long in the memory. If I did have an order to this list, this game would probably be at the top.

Terry Penalty

England's lion heart. England's war hero. Chelsea's rock, their heartbeat, their captain fantastic. John Terry has received all sorts of praise over the years, but in my opinion he has been vastly overrated. He is a good defender, but he's not even the best at his own club. That honour goes to Ricardo Carvalho, and it seems that it is the Portuguese defender's absence which is alerting people to this fact ironically enough.

Terry's missed penalty has of course nothing to do with his defensive capabilities, but you can forgive me for taking a certain amount of pleasure from seeing him completely fluff the chance to win Chelsea that much coveted Champions League trophy. Why he was the designated fifth penalty taker I do not know. The nasty part of me thinks that he just wanted the chance to be a hero, and selfishly decided to step up to the plate rather than letting someone with actual penalty taking abilities to the job. But then maybe no one else wanted the pressure, so JT took it upon himself when all else cowered at the chance.

Either way, he missed, and at that point you just knew who was going to go on and lift the trophy. The only disappointment was that had he scored the penalty, then Ronaldo would have been to blame for United's loss, and on a schadenfreude measuring device, I don't think anything could top that.

Messi v Ronaldo

When Man United and Barcelona were pitted against each other in the semi final of the Champions League, football fans' collective mouth began to water. The games themselves didn't quite work out as people thought they might. They were supposed to be end-to-end affairs, feasts of attacking football, but instead they were slightly cagey, with Barcelona having most of the ball and United defending superbly.

However, the subplot in this tie was equally intriguing. This was billed as 'Ronaldo vs Messi', the battle to see who really is the best player in the world. Of course all of this was sheer hype, and the best player in the world was never going to be decided during the course of two games. But that didn't stop people from getting worked up, with many probably seeing this as the chance for Ronaldo to show that he is the superior footballing specimen.

Well, he did nothing of the sort. If this was indeed Ronaldo vs Messi, then there was only one clear winner, and it wasn't the player who plucks his eye brows. Messi had been out for a month or so before the two games, but he was a constant thorn in United's side over both legs, producing some vintage 'Messi' moments along the way, some of which you can see here. There was a priceless piece of play in the first leg when Messi faced Ronaldo with the ball, waited for the pristinely groomed playboy to make a tackle, and just jinked by him in the blink of an eye. It served as a microcosm of the duo's battle.

The good news is that finally, after many, many months of hearing about Ronaldo's status as best in the world, people have woken up to the fact that the Camp Nou is the home of the world's best football player. The irony is that this realization was only cemented in popular belief around the time Ronaldo picked up the Ballon D'Or. That must really hurt the winker's ego..No wonder he's lashing out at everyone in sight.

Spain

It's very rare these days that the team who play the best football win a major trophy at international level. Since France's victory at Euro 2000, there hasn't really been a team worthy to be considered the best in the world/Europe. In 2002, Brazil won what was a distinctly average World Cup, 2004 saw a resolute but technically limited Greece side lift the European Cup, and the same can be said about the victorious Italian side of 2006, who were excellent in defense but quite laboured in the final third of the pitch. In each of these tournaments the quality was subpar, and only the Argentine team of '06 sticks out as being truly world class.

Euro 2008 broke the curse of dodgy international football, and it saw Spain break their long lived curse of being supreme under achievers. In truth, I think Spain have been vastly overrated in previous tournaments. Players like Etxeberria, Albelda, Baraja, Luque and Joaquin were getting games in 2004, but they were not really good enough to ever win anything. Compare them with Xavi, Iniesta, Senna, Villa and Fabregas and it is clear that the Spain team of 2008 really was a much better team than those of previous years. This was a team with genuine talent, a team that could have been justifiably branded as having under achieved by getting knocked out in the quarter finals.

However, this was to be their year, and never has a team so richly deserved to lift a trophy. They played the best football in a tournament full of good football, and I don't think there is any football fan who would begrudge them their victory. The defining moment of their tournament has to be the win over Italy in the quarter finals. This would usually have been the point for Spain to exit stage left, and having outplayed the Italian's for 120 minutes it seemed all set up for Italy to snatch victory courtesy of a penalty shootout. However, Fabregas was given the chance to exorcise a host of demons, and the former Barcelona prodigy made no mistake, cooly slotting the ball past one of the best goalkeepers ever to grace the sport.

This monumental win lifted the heavy burden off of Spanish shoulders, and they went on to dispatch Russia by playing their best football of the tournament, and ended proceedings by completely outclassing Germany in the final.

Euro 2008 was not only a victory for Spain though - it serves as a victory for football in general. The Spanish team didn't contain any immense physical specimens like Drogba or Cristiano Ronaldo. This was a victory for brain over braun. A victory for intelligence over physicality. Spain showed that playing football the way it should be played, the way that makes it the beautiful game, is the best way to win things. They have set the bar when it comes to international football, and given the relative youth of the side, it could be a while before they are knocked off their perch.

Barcelona v Athletico

There is no doubt as to which is the best club team at this moment in time, despite what the Fifa Club World Cup (or whatever it is called) might tell you. Barcelona have won 13 of 16 league games, scoring 48 goals and conceding only 10. If they were in the Premier League, they'd be third, 4 points behind Liverpool and 1 behind Chelsea, with four games in hand. As it is, they are first in La Liga, a massive 10 points clear of their nearest 'rivals' - hardly surprising given that they are averaging 3 goals a game, and have just beaten four of the best teams in Spain by an aggregate score of 11-1.

I've watched a lot of their games, but the one that stands out is the tie against Athletico Madrid. While Athletico were missing a few players, what Barcelona did to them was just catastrophic. The Catalan giants were 3-0 up after seven -- yes, seven -- minutes, and 5-1 up after twenty eight. It finished 6-1 in the end, but only because Barcelona didn't want to embarrass their opponents.

At the beginning of the season when Barcelona had lost and drawn their opening two fixtures, the ever excellent Sid Lowe (who will be in the pod today on Football Weekly) said that it's only a matter of time before Barcelona start clicking and beat someone 24-0. Well, they haven't quite managed 24, but they have won 6-1 (x2), 6-0, 5-0, 4-0, 4-1, and have generally looked unplayable.

While people are saying that Barcelona pose the biggest threat to another Champions League of Anglo domination, it seems more correct to say that the English teams pose the biggest threat to Barca domination. A slightly shakey defense still leaves a large question mark looming over their Champions League-winning credentials, but if they continue on this form in the new year and get past Lyon in the last 16 of the CL, then they will be the team that nobody (not even Liverpool) wants to draw.

Abu Dhabi Group

The comical tales of Messi and Kaka going to City aside, this takeover could well be the start of something very serious in world football. While Manchester City hover in and out of the relegation zone, the events of August 31 await their fulfillment in the January transfer window, and in the summer ahead. Nobody quite knows what's going to happen. Who will move to the Eastlands? Will players such as David Villa want to go? Or will City just end up buying the Shevchenko's of this world - former great players who are looking for a hefty retirement package?

There is talk of players like Bellamy, Defoe, and Parker moving to City, but if the Abu Dhabi group and Manchester City are serious about getting into the Champions League then they must overlook such third tier players. They need to look outside the Premier League for the players that they need, starting with Diego of Werder Bremen. A striker will most definitely be sought after, but Defoe and Bellamy don't represent good options. City should be looking to play a 4-2-3-1 formation (all the cool kids are using it these days), and I don't think such a formation will suit Defoe, and if Bellamy wasn't good enough for a bad Liverpool team then he shouldn't be good enough for a side looking to eventually break into the top 4. He's a mid-table player, nothing less and nothing more.

By signing Robinho, City have set the standard pretty high. I had my doubts about him -- some of which remain -- but you can't deny that he is a first or second tier player; his wonder goal against Arsenal and his last minute strike against Blackburn prove as much. But he needs good company (no pun attended). Will the Abu Dhabi group be able purchase the required personnel? We await with baited breath.

Ireland's goal v Hull

While Robinho has been quite the success story for City this season, he has actually been eclipsed by a 22 year old Irishman in the form of Steven Ireland. The former Cobh Ramblers youngster has been nothing short of excellent so far this season, and if the award for player of the season was given out now, he might well be the favourite to pick it up.

He has had many great moments in a City shirt so far, a personal favourite of mine being his performace against Hull on Boxing Day when he scored one and assisted three, giving me 38 points in Fantasy Football since I had him as captain.

However, the moment that encapsulates his season so far is his second goal against Hull back in November. He controlled the ball outside the box, and as it landed to the ground he just guided it into the bottom corner on the half-volley. It was a Robinho-esque piece of magic, and yet it was produced by someone who can play for the Irish national team. Speaking of which, if Steven Ireland isn't in the next Irish squad then Trapattoni needs his large head examined. At the moment he's the best Irish player I've seen since Roy Keane, and if we are to acheive anything then Steven Ireland must be reinstated, no matter how many grannies he's killed off.

The Shame Of It All

Fill in the blank: Figo, Ronaldo, Zidane, Ronaldinho, Cannavaro, Kaka, ______?

Well, there's no right answer to that question, but I think it's safe to assume that one Cristiano Ronaldo will be the next name added to that list, and what a shame that really is. I'm not saying he shouldn't be voted World Player of the Year. However, his triumph will be more of a reflection of the dip in quality that world football suffered this past year than a reflection of Ronaldo's supreme status as the best footballer on the planet.

Cannavaro aside (though some may disagree), you could comfortably argue that each of the names listed above were the best around at that particular time - not just in terms of form, but in terms of talent and overall footballing pedigree too. They were magic to watch, and true stars of the game. Granted some of them had their flaws -- ranging from severe temper issues to consorting with male prostitutes -- but on the football field they were the creme de la creme. To question their place on a world XI would be foolish. These were professional footballers who made the game a delight to behold, a thing of beauty. They didn't go out to put on a show, but the sublimeness of their talent made it impossible not to be entertained and dazzled. (I'm aware that some of these players are still playing by the way. In fact Zidane is the only one who isn't now that I think about it.)

And then we come to Cristiano Ronaldo.

For me, Cristiano Ronaldo's case for winning the award is as strong as van Nistelrooy's would have been in 2003, except unfortunately for van Nistelrooy all of the good players hadn't just finished up their careers or gotten injured or played for a team in disarray, so he didn't really stand a chance, and rightly so. Horseface managed a staggering 44 goals that season, with the winner of the award Zinedine Zidane posting a not especially impressive 15. However, did anyone dispute Fifa's decision? Do we scratch our heads today and wonder how in the world 15-goal Zidane managed to beat 44-goal van Nistelrooy to the award? No, we don't. We wouldn't care if van Nistelrooy scored 74 goals that season, because that's not the point. That's right - goals aren't the point when it comes to watching football. That's the beauty of the game. There doesn't have to be a single score in a match , yet it can still be of the highest quality. And on the flip side, you can watch a 4-3 "thriller", yet it can absolutely abysmal. Sounds strange, right? 0-0 being better than 4-3? Well we all know it's true in terms of matches, but so it is with players also.

I mean if goals were all that mattered, then why don't we see Pippo Inzaghi popping up on the "best player in the world" lists of yesteryear? And where was Andy Andrew Cole's name when Roberto Baggio won the award in '93? The bottom line is that in the grand scheme of things, goals don't mean a whole lot when it comes to the "best in the world", and they are certainly not the measuring stick of success. Zidane or Figo where nowhere near as prolific as Lampard or Gerrard are today, yet the former were unquestionably better players in their time and did more for the beautiful game than either Lamps or Stevie G ever will.

Back to Ronaldo. He scored 42 goals last season, an astonishing feat for anyone, not to mention a winger (although we must bear in mind that he was a winger who took more shots than anyone else in the league, and probably even more than the whole Arsenal team combined). However, if all other things were equal, I wouldn't let him touch the award for World Player of the Year with a barge pole. Fortunately for the modest winger, all other things were not equal. Messi was injured, and when he wasn't, he was playing for a shambolic Barcelona side (the same goes for Xavi and Iniesta). Kaka also suffered an injury, and din't regain his form of old. Ronaldinho continued his downward spiral, Henry officially started his, and football outside of England was just a mess in general. To put it simply, there has been not one truly worthy candidate to win the award save for the 42 goal "genius". Unlike the big scorers of recent times, Cristiano Ronaldo's goals will actually be enough to see him crowned as the world's best, because the rest of the world decided to put its feet up for a year. However, was he the "best player in the world", and is he now? In my opinion the answer to both of those questions is "No". I still think he should get the award, but it should come with a giant asterix attached to it and a footnote that explains the above.

The players illuminating football (or with the potantial to illuminate football) today are Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Villa, Zarate (I can't believe nobody in the Premier League picked him up), Del Piero (the old dog still has it in him), Xabi Alonso, Deco, Lampard (to a limited degree), Fabregas, Van Persie, Benzema, Senna, Kaka etc. Cristiano Ronaldo would have to feauture somewhere on that list for the goals he continues to get, but he's not the joy to watch that some of the rest are.

In any sane man's books, Messi is the best player in world football right now. He's still got some improving to do, but the pocket-sized Argentinean really is a class above the rest. The two players who play behind him - Xavi and Iniesta - are a close second and third (which, incidentally, is why Barcelona are beating everyone 6-0). They both enjoyed an exquisite Euro 2008, and have continued that form on into the new season. So in other words, discounting January-May, these would be my 1-2-3 for World Player of the Year. You don't have to agree, but I think you'd be doing well to find three more consistent performers who play the game as it should be played. Cristiano is just not at their level in terms of footballing ability, intelligence, and professionalism. For example (and this is petty I know, but still) would any of them - or even any of the previous winners - have said the following:

"I think I did everything that is necessary to win and I want to continue doing even more."

This isn't the only time Ronaldo has backed himself (yes, backed himself) for the award, and it just sums him up really. When you couple this off-field nonsense with his on-field antics of diving, giving out out to his teammates, complaining to the referee, and showboating, he makes for a poor excuse for the best that football has to offer. Yes I'd give him the award, but I would do so with a large degree of shame weighing me down.

Mixed Bag

Having posted about the decline of Arsenal right before they beat Man Utd in a thrilling contest I felt a bit silly. I was going to write another post saying I've got it all wrong, but I honestly didn't believe that. This weekend proved to me that the Man Utd game was not the rule but the exception to the rule - the rule being that Arsenal are indeed going backwards. Big four clashes involving Arsenal will still be pivotal with regards the title race, but they will only be pivotal for Arsenal's opponents. The Gunners will be doing well to hang on to fourth spot, but it may not be well enough to keep hold of their stars. Third wasn't last season, so there's no reason to believe fourth will be this time around.

In other news, it's good that Del Piero was given a few more lessons by Cristiano Ronaldo on how to take free kicks. The last hundred or so that crashed into the wall probably didn't do Alessandro much good (though he may well have learned that it's probably not the best idea to shoot at goal from virtually any position in your opponents half. Just at thought Cristiano). In case you didn't know, according to Sky Sports it was Ronaldo who taught Del Piero how to take a direct free kick, and I can only imagine that it won't be long before we hear that it was also Ronaldo who taught Oliver Bierhoff how to head the ball and Diego Maradona how to dribble.

While Ronaldo's free kicks were OK (although when you see the 99 that he misses you realise it's just mostly pot luck when they go in), you'll be doing well to find a better worked free kick scored over the weekend than this gem by Xavi/Messi/Everyone on the Barca team besides Valdez. Just watch it a few times and you'll see the meticulous set up no doubt conjured up by Pep. It's not rocket science of course, but it was the x factor that Barca needed in order to secure a valuable three points.

A Premier League handicap table consisting of Robbie Keane, Cristiano Ronaldo and Frank Lampard? Not sure about Keano, but the rest seems about right. Well done Paddy Power for telling it like it is.

Keep It Up Messi

Does anyone else really want to see Lionel Messi continue this rich vein of form and pip Cristiano Ronaldo to the World Player of the Year award? Kaka does anyway. Oh man I'm getting giddy at the thought of Cristiano's face if it's announced that Messi is the winner. I actually wouldn't be surprised if he burst out crying, such is his similarity to a teenage girl. Forget about whether he deserves it or not - read this and tell me you want him to win it.

Watching Messi's winning goal last night just reminded me about how much better a player he is to watch than Ronaldo. Of course, it's highly unlikely he'll win the award this year. Ronaldo scored 42 goals, blah blah blah. Messi will have his turn though. In fact Messi will have his fair of turns, and you can be damn sure he won't be saying he deserves it.

Ginger Ail

"Paul Scholes was the best player on the pitch before he went off" - Graham Souness - Premier Soccer Sunday

How someone can make such a claim is beyond me. I'm a big fan of Scholes, but it seems to me like the RTE panel are holding onto memories of yesteryear when analyzing his play. He did precious little in today's game against Chelsea, and he did even less against Liverpool last week. He still has something to offer this United team -- his performance against Portsmouth is proof of that -- but in the big games, I would honestly be more inclined to start Fletcher than Scholes, and that's saying something.

The RTE panel talk about him being the cool head and the guy who will keep hold of the ball when the chips are down. Against Chelsea, Scholes was anything but a cool head, basically wandering around the pitch looking to get sent off as quickly as possible by executing a series of vintage Scholes tackles. In fairness to him, he wasn't giving the ball away cheaply, but that's only because he rarely had the ball. He doesn't have the legs to get around the pitch when faced with a team like Chelsea, so the supply coming to him is extremely limited because he's never in enough space to receive a pass.

Against Liverpool and Chelsea, United regularly had to resort to the wings for attacking threat, and without Ronaldo (and even with him today), their wings aren't very threatening. When the big games come, they're finding it hard to go through the centre, and this is where United are most effective. Gone are the days of Becks whipping crosses into van Nistelrooy. Man Utd need the ball through the middle, and unfortunately Scholes doesn't seem to be able to provide that link when the big games come around. And even more unfortunately for Utd fans, they don't appear to have anyone who can serve that purpose.

Fletcher has been surprisingly competent this season, but he's not the solution. Neither is Carrick or Hargreaves or Anderson, good as they might be at various other things. What Man Utd basically need is Cesc Fabregas. I mean can you imagine their potency if the little Spaniard lined up in their midfield every week? He's exactly the kind of player that they need, because he's basically Paul Scholes minus 10 years or so. Until Ferguson finds a suitable replacement for the Ginger One, he's going to have to hope that Ronaldo scores another truck load of goals this season, otherwise United could be playing catch up to Chelsea for the rest of the campaign.

Before I go, I can't help but pass comment on Ronaldo today. Without wanting to sound biased, his presence cost Man Utd dearly. Fergie took a gamble, and it didn't pay off. Ronaldo left his teammates scratching their heads, with Rooney even coming over to the touchline to ask Ferguson just what they heck they're supposed to be doing in terms of positions. Ronaldo was just running all over the place, and of course doing very little tracking back, which gave Chelsea the chance to build things up from midfield.

And then there was the dive. Just shocking really. But, you know, he did score 42 goals last season so nothing else matters and we must all cherish him and welcome him back with open arms. Just wait until he leaves Man Utd. Then we'll see how much love they have for him and his greasy boots and his greasy hair (I meant to type 'green boots' but 'greasy boots' actually turned out better).

An Angry, Self-Righteous Rant

Supporters can be so fickle.

I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but there was a little story involving Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid during the summer. It was fairly low key so it mostly flew below the radar, but the gist of it was that no sooner than Ronaldo had won the Champions League, he was knee deep in speculation about him moving too Madrid, largely because he wouldn't hush it.

As the summer progressed, more and more ridiculous things were emanating from the Bernabeu, chief of which being Calderon's claim that Madrid would be honoured to have Ronaldo on their team. Honoured!? Ronaldo did what any self-respecting footballer would do of course - he continued to fuel the speculation by remaining largely silent, saying only that he would announce his future plans after the European Championships.

Well, having massively underperformed in the game that saw Portugal crash out, Ronaldo's moment to set the record straight and clear up all this nonsense from Calderon came, and he took the opportunity with both hands by saying that he desperately wanted to move to Madrid and was just waiting on United and Real to settle the monetary issues (with the figures being thrown around more closely resembling a GDP than the price of a slave footballer).

To cut a long and painful story short, Ronaldo didn't get his dream move, because United would rather have left him rot in the stands than sell him. Doesn't that just sound like a lovely club to be a member of?

My point here is that Ronaldo had seemingly no regard for what United have done for him. If it wasn't for Ferguson, he'd be another Queresma, and that's not a good thing. It didn't seem to bother him in the least that he'd be moving away from the club that made him who he is. Had United accepted a bid, he would have been out the door before you could say 'arrogant tool'. He treated the club like dirt, and the only reason - the only reason - he's still there is because Ferguson is the most stubborn man alive.

My question is, what kind of fan reaction should a man like Ronaldo get? A man who considers himself a slave; a man who displays not an iota of loyalty to his club? Well, judging by tonights game against Villarreal, such a man should be applauded when he warms up, and cheered without hesitation when he steps onto the pitch.

The only conclusion to be gained from such a reaction is that fans can be so fickle, so hypocritical, that it makes me wonder what supporting a club really means to anyone.

If you really loved a club and everything it stood for, you wouldn't want someone like Ronaldo at it, no matter how many goals he scores. You see, if all you care about is your club winning, then that's basically saying that all you care about is you winning. You don't care about integrity, you don't care about the means by which something is done - you just care about winning. Why? So you can feel good about yourself and the team you somehow chose to 'support'. If an uncommitted, disloyal person helps you to achieve that goal, then so be it - applaud him onto the pitch, cheer him as he runs up and down the touchline, go wild when he scores another 'surprising' header. It doesn't matter. He makes you feel good after a game, and that's all that counts.

I don't mean to sound on a high horse here (actually, I kind of do), and I'm certainly not painting all fans with the same brush. But if you support a certain team, ask yourself why? Why do you want to see them win? (and saying 'because I support them' is not an adequate answer).

Maybe disloyalty and non-commitment are things that you can tolerate. Maybe you justify that toleration by claiming to care so much about a team that you're willing to forgive those traits so long as the person in question helps your team to win games. Well to that, I would say that you're not a fan of a club - you're a fan of winning, with the club being the means by which you yourself win. There's of course nothing wrong with that. I love winning as much as the next man. But to truly love a club and be a fan has to mean more than just seeing them win at all costs. If it doesn't, then what's the point?

Ronaldo will, in all likelihood, score in a coming game and kiss his shirt badge or something silly like that. Many United fans may rejoice in that moment, but I'll just take a few minutes to be thankful for the fact that I don't support a club, and therefore I don't have to embrace nonsense like that. And honestly, I really pity those who do.

Deh Roo Ron Ron

Pat Dolan -- who's doing for the wig this year what he did for the waistcoat last year -- wrote a quite shocking piece in today's Irish Star (I didn't buy it...honest). I can't really remember specific quotes, but the general idea presented is that Wayne Rooney is rubbish. OK I'm exaggerating, but he basically said that Wayne Rooney isn't even near as good as he's made out to be. The headline of the piece was something along the lines of 'Rooney Myth is as Big as Loch Ness Monster'. I'm sure other possible headlines eventually canned were 'Roo Are Not That Good', 'Ron is Better Than Roo' and others of the sort.

The main thing that struck me is that Pat thinks Rooney isn't intelligent enough to be considered world-class, whereas Ronaldo is. He says that he admires Rooney's work rate as opposed to Ronaldo's, but Rooney is not a defender, so it doesn't really count for too much. Pat complains at length about the English media also, saying that they're deluding themselves into thinking Wayne Rooney is something he isn't, and that there is only one great player at Manchester United - Cristiano Ronaldo.

I of course disagree with much of this, as I do with much of everything Pat Dolan says. Rooney may well be an idiot outside a football stadium. He may well have the IQ of a small child, or Paris Hilton. But when it comes to playing football, he possesses without doubt a good footballing brain. You can't explain it, you can't teach it, but I can safely say that Rooney has it. There are varying degress when it comes to footballing intelligence of course -- Zidane being at one end, Kuyt at the other -- but in my opinion Rooney is up there with the more intelligent players plying their trade today.

In fact footballing intelligence is right now pretty much the one thing Rooney actually has on Ronaldo, so Pat is well off with this remark. Ronaldo may be a lot of good things, but he's not an intellligent player. He's basically Theo Walcott with a better shot, better physique, and less sideburns. That makes for quite the effective player no doubt, but it doesn't make for a 'genius' of the game, which is what Gary Megson and many many others have called him without considering what the word really means.

However, one thing Pat is right about is the hyping up of Rooney from the media (though the media are just as guilty of hyping up Ronaldo too). Rooney really hasn't done it for United since his arrival. He's scored some goals, he's put in the work, he's showed flashes of excellence, but he hasn't been a consistent performer. He hasn't really dazzled or stood out like a Cesc Fabregas for Arsenal, and that should set United and England fans ill at ease.

His form wasn't great all of last season, culminating in a woeful performance in the Champions League final. And worryingly, he's continued that form on into the new season. Tevez is basically everything Wayne Rooney should be, but isn't. In Ronaldo's absense, it's Tevez who has stepped up to the plate, and if things stay as is, it's Tevez who should be starting ahead of Rooney if that's what it comes down to.

While certain aspects of Rooney's play annoy me, I can appreciate that he does have something speical about him. However, if he's not showing that week in week out, then it's foolish to have him on a team sheet without question. By merit, he should not be starting for England next week. If hard decisions like this are made, he will hopefully get the required kick up the backside, and his career will stop spiraling downwards. However, if his mediocrity goes unpunished, then he will have no reason to rise above it, and his 'potential' will never be fully realised, which would be a shame.

The New Zidane?

Talk of 'the new so and so' annoys me to some extent, and I'm sure it annoys the players who receive the comparison. If you're Argentinean, talented, and under 5ft tall then you are automatically labeled 'the new Maradona' (I'm waiting for the day when Argentina fill an entire team with former 'new Maradonas'). And what's worse, some minute Argentinians are actually being called 'the new Messi'. The new Messi? Is Messi already so old that we need a new version of him? Can't we just enjoy the 'old' Messi while he's still playing instead of just frantically looking for the next Argentinian midget we can proclaim as his successor? How easily bored a society are we?!

This brings me to France, and the quest for 'the new Zidane'. Unlike with 'the new Maradona' however, there doesn't appear to be any physical prerequisites in order to be considered a potential Zidane. You don't have to be tall, balding, or anything of the sort. You merely have to be French and a midfielder - and in the cases of Anthony Le Tallec and Bruno Cheyrou, you don't actually have to be a particularly good midfielder; in fact you can even be a bit rubbish.

The most recent candidate that has been burdened with this impossible task (and impossible task it is, because not only is Zidane the best player I've ever had the pleasure of witnessing, but he's also truly unique, as all the great players are) is Samir Nasri. Or at least he's the most recent I'm aware of. As I said at the beginning, these kind of tags annoy me to some extent, but at the same time they intrigue me. If someone is being tauted as 'the new Zidane' or 'the new Maradona' then there must be at least some good reason as to why. I mean these players must be doing something right, and I want to see it.

In Nasri's case, all I really had to go on was Youtube clips. Now I'm well aware of the dangers of Youtube, and that you have to treat what it shows with extreme caution. After all, you could make John O'Shea out to be a midfield general, or Dirk Kuyt to be a slightly-above-average striker by showing some of their highlights from the past few years, but we all know the harsh truths about these two very poor players. And by 'we all' I mean everyone but Rafa Benitez, who should be instantly sacked on the grounds that Dirk Kuyt was still on the pitch long enough to shin the ball into the back of the Leige net - though admittedly that does seem a little ironic, or at least slightly non-sensical if you don't know the full story, which we all do, except for Rafa Benitez, who...(oh wait, I did that rant already. Neeext).

Anyway, I watched almost every Nasri clip I could get my hands on, and I was impressed. I didn't look at him in terms of Zidane, because he's not that type of player. At least not yet. But from what I saw on Youtube, he looked quick, composed, creative, and very skillful indeed, so when Arsenal were inevitably linked with signing him (he is young and French after all - which I think Wenger like to call 'the jackpot'), I very much wanted the move to happen. Not because I support Arsenal (which I don't really, though I like to watch them play), but because I wanted to see Nasri week in week out. Heck, he could have joined United and I'd have been happy.

Well, as you know, he did sign for Arsenal (eventually), and after only two and a half games I must say I'm very impressed with him. There are still big question marks of course. Though he may not play exactly like Zidane, he still needs to have that same big-game mentality that separates the Lionel Messi's from the Cristiano Ronaldo's. At 21 he obviously has time on his side, so it remains to be seen what his confidence is like in a pressure cooker situation.

He looks to be made of all the right stuff though, with many things boding well for the future. The list I wrote eariler after seeing him on Youtube still stands, with a few extras thrown in for good measure. Much like Hleb, he's a very good dribbler of the ball, but he can also pick out a pass (which is something Lionel Messi has been doing a lot more of recently, thus making him even more threatening...if that's possible).

Another very impressive attribute -- and one that likens him to Zidane in my opinion -- is that he's quite comfortable on his left foot as well as his right. In fact I can't even say with 100% confidence that Nasri is right-footed, and that's not because I'm an idiot. This trait is invaluable, as it gives him so much more time and space than most players. Defenders don't know which side to press him from, therefore they're forced to stand off him for fear of being made a fool of, which gives Nasri all the time he needs to make a decision. Also, when he's shooting, he can employ the dummy effectively, because he knows that he can get off a pretty good shot with his left foot if needs be. And when defenders learn this, they of course won't go charging down his shots in a mad rush at the risk of being dummied, thus giving his right-footed attempts a good chance of reaching their destination undisturbed. Embarrassingly few players posses this kind of two-footed ability. Nasri is one of them, and over the course of the season it will become more and more advantageous to him.

I don't want to go overboard on my praise of course. It's still early days, and there are still plenty of games to go before accurate descriptions can be made. Nasri has a lot of potential though. A truck load more than someone like Theo Walcott has, because unlike Walcott, Nasri has in his head a footballing brain. He's the kind of player I enjoy watching, and I sincerely hope he continues to improve, though not at such a rate that there will be young French players called 'the new Nasri' before he reaches his 22nd birthday. Let's not forget that Zidane didn't join Juventus until he was 24, and he didn't join Madrid until he was 29, so it's important to give players time. I said it before in a F365 mail, and I'll say it again - Our society today wants to proclaim greatness now, instead of waiting patiently for it to truly emerge. This is one of the reasons Ronaldo is proclaimed as 'the best in the world', which is part of the reason his fellow countryman Deco has been relatively ignored. Now I'm not implying that Deco is in fact the best player in the world. But in the Portugal team that played in Euro 2008, Deco was their main man. He was the one whom Portugal looked to in order to create something. He was their best player, but people will have you believe that Ronaldo is better than him. He isn't, and I'll have...

OK this has very quickly turned into a Ronaldo rant, so I'll stop. Anyway, keep an eye on Samir Nasri...or something.