Manchester United Vindicate Mancini’s Words, As Balotelli Sees Tevez Tee Up At Norwich

By Akarsh Sharma
13 years Ago

Roberto Mancini’s bizarre version of mind games has certainly been making up for the absence of Balotelli’s general stupidity. Perhaps, it is a defect found in every Italian? But then again, we have come across level-headed Italians, like Paolo Di Canio, so there is no reason to be presumptuous. Mancini’s extremely subtle reverse psychology to counter the veteran mind freak Sir Alex, is certainly less explosive, but equally amusing, compared to Kevin Keegan and Rafael Benitez’s antics in previous title races.

After smashing Norwich City, Mancini insisted that the title race is over even though they were within two points of the champions at the time. It seems that the Italian manager just doesn’t want to go into a war of words with Sir Alex, which is a wise move on his part.

However, Ashley Young did his bit to ensure the title race is over as soon as possible. In doing so, he riled up the rest of the league (and especially, their bitter blue neighbours) showcasing his own niche style of diving in two consecutive home matches now. WhileAi??Drogba and Busquets specialize in the sniped-cum-peak-a-boo style of simulation and Suarez’s diving manual dictates that you remain in a semi-falling position at all times in the match, Ashley Young’s antics end with a graceful breaststroke in mid-air. Of course, Ferguson believes that Young isn’t a cheat and deserved the penalty. One wonders what Luis Suarez makes of all that.

But the man most talked about, after Young, was Carlos Tevez, who in a space of four days showed that had Munichgate not happened, the picture of the title race could possibly have been significantly different. Saturday’s scoreline was harsh on Norwich City who matched the mightier City in most departments till midway through the second half. Naturally, they couldn’t match up to the clinical finishing of world-class strikers Aguero and Tevez, which proved to be the difference between the two sides. Tevez notched up a hat-trick and teed off in celebration. Thankfully, he didn’t look as awkward as Crouch doing so.

Performances against West Brom and Norwich, though, proved that Balotelli’s suspension has been a blessing in disguise. Tevez’s movement suits Aguero and Silva much better as he becomes more involved in the game. In only 63 minutes against West Brom, Carlos Tevez had 77 touches of the ball and made 65 passes (94% accuracy). Balotelli, on the other hand, played the full game against Sunderland and had only 42 touches of the ball, making only 26 passes (69% accuracy). At Norwich, from the passing figures, you wouldn’t have been able to separate Tevez from Silva either; further evidence of Tevez’s level of involvement. Yaya Toure, though, was the man whose introduction turned the screws when Norwich were sniffing an improbable comeback.

Now, when Mario returns from suspension, he neither has the tangibles (statistics) or the intangibles (effect on team morale) in his favour to justify a spot in the starting eleven. City, once again, look like the side that was running away with the title earlier in the season. But is it too late now?

United, on the other hand, returned to winning ways after being thoroughly outplayed by Martinez’s men at the DW Stadium and it was hardly coincidental that Paul Scholes was missing from that defeat. He returned to the side on Sunday to partner Michael Carrick, instead of Ryan Giggs. In terms of ball control and making the midfield tick faster, this made a massive difference as Scholes played the pivot role around which Carrick based his play. At Wigan, Carrick was the pivot and Giggs’ lacklustre performance in midfield didn’t help him. In fact, against Villa, Carrick played the most number of key passes in the attacking third.

But in many ways, Aston Villa were perfect fodder for a hungry United team looking to return to winning ways. Alex McLeish’s side haven’t been known for their adventurous ways this season and with such a brittle defence, conceding 65% possession to their opponents was suicidal. The Villains are six points clear of Bolton in 18th, but do have a tricky run-in. Remember, Newcastle were always “too good to go down” till they eventually did on the final day of the season. Ironically, that came at Villa Park.

Boo boys out at the Stadium of Light, but why?

Sunderland were booed off the pitch after a goalless draw against virtually relegated Wolves. Martin O’Neill was quick to remind the Sunderland faithful that the last time these two sides met, Wolves won 2-1 and went three points ahead of the Black Cats. The tables have been turned ever since. Although O’Neill’s men are without a win in five, they have held Tottenham at home and Manchester City at the Etihad during that period. So, perhaps, the reason for booing lies in Sunderland supporters’ under-estimation of gritty Wolves.

Wolves haven’t been as bad as there recent record suggests. Before visiting Sunderland, Wolves had taken the lead against three of their last four opponents; the other being Arsenal. They’ve struggled to hold on to these leads, letting Stoke, Bolton and Norwich achieve come-from-behind narrow wins.Ai??At the Stadium of Light, although Sunderland missed a few chances of their own, had Wolves striker Ebanks-Blake been semi-clinical in front of goal and Steven Fletcher converted a simple header, the story of the game could’ve been very different.

Wolves had managed an average of over 13 shots on goal every game in the last four matches, easily matching the teams right above them. Against Sunderland too, while the home side piled up 15 shots on goal with only 3 on target, Wolves managed 11 shots with 5 of them on target. While the Sunderland supporters were understandably frustrated, it was largely because they expectedAi??Wolves to lie down and surrender.

No spark(y) in QPR’s away days

QPR’s away-day blues are proving fatal to their Premiership status. You only need to look at their last 6 matches to get a grip of their misery. It reads three home wins and special ones too – a sensational comeback against Liverpool, a dominant performance against Arsenal and a rout against Swansea. But it also reads three away losses – to Sunderland, United and now West Brom. They have only collected 11 points on the road in 17 matches, which is the worst in the League.

Their next match sees the visit of Spurs to Loftus Road in a London derby, which won’t be as bitter as the one on the following weekend against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. On the final day, they face Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium. With Bolton only two points behind having played two games less and Wigan equal on points having played one game less, you could perhaps pencil in QPR next to the ink that says Wolverhampton Wanderers on the relegation sheet.

And finally..

Classy Swansea City stopped the rot. After losing four games in a row and enduring a mini-crisis of sorts, they showed why they belong to the Premier League, fittingly at the expense of a lackluster Blackburn Rovers. You only need to look at statistics to see the superiority in Swansea’s victory. The Welsh club kept an astonishing 73% possession, bombarded 22 shots on goal and their 3 central midfielders (including the attacking midfielder) averaged a passing accuracy of 96%. While Scott Sinclair and Nathan Dyer ran Blackburn ragged on the wings, on-loan midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson continued his red hot form scoring his 7th goal since joining in January. Surely, the man from Iceland will be playing in the Premier League next season as well?

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Categories: COVER STORY, English Premier League
Tags: England Review

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