by : Stephen Orford
A goal in the 4th minute, skillfully turning makeshift central defender Paulo Ferreira inside out before lashing the ball past Petr Cech, makes a start for a strong case for Kuyt as MOM. Endless closing down of the weakened Chelsea back four, pulling defenders out of position, and having two other fine chances to add to his early goal combine to put Kuyt into Man of the Match boots in an ideal selection world.
Some room for disagreement with the Liverpool/Chelsea MOM selection, then. Gerrard played well, but never stood out as having a game-turning effect in the same way that either Carragher or Kuyt did. On to the next match in the so-called Grand Slam, then, where we might see if the Gerrard MOM was a one-off mistake.
United scored a goal from a deflected header, then proceeded to shut up shop for the rest of the match. Had they won, would the scorer of that goal, one Wayne Rooney, have been named MOM? Almost certainly, for precisely the same reason that the eventual winner was selected, because of his name rather than his overall contribution. Thierry Henry’s selection as Man of this Match casts the whole exercise into severe doubt, for other than scoring a match-winning goal in extra-time, Henry did little other than berate his teammates for not placing the ball precisely where he wanted it, engage in his usual visual chastisement of the match officials, and stand around for long stretches while the leather-lunged, enthusiastic Emmanuel Adebayor got on with the work and running for two striker positions.
Ah, but the purists might argue that it is these very moments of individual brilliance, the skill to finish in stoppage time to defeat United and throw the chase for the Premier League title open among four clubs, that make a player worthy of Man of the Match honours.
Bunk and balderdash. Fill in the other common expression starting with the letter “b” at your leisure.
Henry took up a good position for the game-winner, but the skill in that finish was provided by the Eboue cross, placed so precisely that Henry would have had to work to miss it. And the “assist” on the Van Persie equalizer was in fact a missed back-heel flick attempt that was finished by Van Persie’s clever continuing of his back post run. The fact is that while Gerrard might have at least been defensible for recognition as Man of the Match, the selection of Henry for the same honour bordered on the farcical. Wandering about the pitch in disinterested fashion for virtually the entire match then nodding home your teammate’s exquisite cross should not be recognised as any sort of laudable performance. The running, tackling, prompting, and sophisticated display from Cesc Fabregas, or as already noted, the lungs-burning, work-of-two-men display from the indomitable Adebayor were both far superior football exhibitions than that from Thierry Henry. Indeed, Henry’s international compatriot Patrice Evra would have been a better choice as Man of the Match; safe to say that, had United won, he would have been denied the increasingly dubious “honour” just like Cesc and Adebayor were.
Of course, this nonsense has been going on for years, and has increased in frequency with the coming of SkySports and the need to promote football as entertainment rather than an athletic contest. Can’t have the treasured, glory-hunting supporter watching the Man on the Match ceremony and not knowing who the player is, can we? And how are we to make the breathless jester hat brigade sit through strings of commercial appeals before finally recognising the De Facto Corporate Shill of the Match if we don’t pick a “name” player?
Time to recognise the Man of the Match award for what it has become rather than what it should or used to be, not the acknowledgement of a superior footballing display but instead a vehicle for the selling of corporate football to the casual telly consumer…
It’s been eight years since Tottenham Hotspur last won a major trophy, and another opportunity may have slipped by after Wednesday night’s Carling Cup semi-final first leg draw at home to Arsenal.
The result will almost certainly feel like a defeat for Martin Jol’s side, who led 2-0 after little more than 20 minutes of a free-flowing encounter. The Dutchman then saw Arsene Wenger’s scratch outfit roar back, with two Julio Baptista goals handing a definite advantage to Arsenal ahead of next week’s second leg at the Emirates Stadium.
Jol was predictably critical of his players afterwards, pointing out that they need to learn how to close out matches in which they have such control. Yet the Spurs boss must take some if not most of the responsibility for the defeat, having foisted a degree of tactical paralysis on his players in reaction to Dimitar Berbatov’s unfortunate injury.
The Bulgarian hit-man had looked Tottenham’s best player in the opening exchanges, with much of the good work from the home side going through him. His groin injury was a twist of fate that Jol could have done without, but it was the manager’s reaction which ultimately cost Tottenham a first leg lead. Despite having Egyptian striker and one time cult hero Mido on the bench, Jol chose instead to send Robbie Keane into the action.
Keane is a marvellously skilled individual, one of few players who most agree is worth the bloated entrance fees of the modern day. Yet he was not the man for this particular assignment, especially not given the task he was asked to perform by his befuddled boss. Keane was deployed in a left-midfield role for the most part, as Jol adopted a hold-what-we-have mentality at just the wrong time. Along with the equally diminutive Jermaine Defoe, Keane struggled to hold possession against a more physical opponent. This prevented creative influences like Steed Malbranque from getting fully involved in the game, with only Aaron Lennon offering a consistent threat throughout the night.
The England winger was in sizzling form, running the proverbial rings around the inexperienced Armand Traore. Yet even the former Leeds United man could not do enough to haul his team back onto the front foot in the face of a dazzling second half display from the visitors. It was a second half dominated by Arsenal’s young stand-ins, for whom Baptista was once again the hero. Yet it was the performance of Cesc Fabregas in central midfield which proved the catalyst for the fightback. The Spaniard seized control of affairs during that second stanza, as Malbranque, Keane and Tom Huddlestone watched on in admiration.
Wenger has promised to give his second string another opportunity to shine in the second leg, and it is one that they richly deserve. Trips to West Bromwich Albion, Everton, Liverpool and now Tottenham in the Carling Cup have yet to yield a defeat for Wenger’s New Kids On The Block. There is every reason to believe that they can continue that fine record when Tottenham hop across north London for the return. While some predicted that Jol may have to contend with Thierry Henry, Tomasz Rosicky, Gilberto Silva and company in the second leg, it is Baptista, Fabregas, Theo Walcott and Denilson that will be providing the most concern for Jol.
At the time of writing (January 25) the extent of Berbatov’s injury is unknown. Since Jol has shown an unwillingness to use the controversial but effective Mido from the start, he will be crossing every available digit in the hope that the former Bayer Leverkusen star will be ready in time. It is very difficult to see how a Berbatov-less Tottenham will cope with Arsenal’s rampant reserves at the Emirates, and the Bulgarian could be the key to Spurs chances of ending their trophy-less spell.
By Stephen Orford
25 January 2007
