In a little over a week, Man Utd lost to Chelsea and more or less conceded the premiership title to their arch rivals. A few days later they inexplicably blew a 3 goal lead in the second leg at home to Bayern Munich which brought their participation in the Champions League to an abrupt end. The national media attached a lot of the blame for their loss to Bayern on the decision to play Wayne Rooney when he was clearly not match fit, and to a lesser extent on the sending off of their young Brazilian full back, Rafael. They were admittedly mitigating factors in the result, but to my mind the real problem was Utd’s inablility to defend responsibly.
The rot set in when they committed a schoolboy error by conceding a goal immediatley before halftime. This understandably lifted the Germans who had been completley outplayed in the first half. I’m sure Van de Saar was disappointed in allowing a shot to pass him from such a sharp angle and Michael Carrick was left wondering what happened to the much vaunted center back pairing of Ferdinand and Vidic.
Utd came out for the second half displaying a body language which intimated they were no longer up for the task. From the kick off the Germans grasped the initiative while Utd adopted the tactics of defending their precarious lead. If this was their intention they needed Ferdinand and Vidic to be at the top of their game but they were diabolical. When Rafael was sent off, Utd made a couple of substitutions to bring on John O’ Shea as a replacement at full back. O’Shea was returning from a long injury and understandably was clearly off the pace.
Utd couldn’t get to grips with Bayern’s tactics of Ribbery and Robben attacking from deep positions along the flanks. They didn’t attempt to beat Utd’s defenders along the byelines but merely played cross balls in front of Utd’s back four which were constantly picked up by Bayern’s midfield. Robben was completely unmarked when he scored Bayern’s decisive second goal. He and Ribbery continued to give Utd’s defence nightmares who seeemed oblivious to where Bayern’s attacking threat was coming from. Ferdinand’s appears to have slowed since his back injury and Vidic looked disinterested at times which is quite a transformation from last season when they formed the cornerstone of Utd’s successful campaign. The Carling Cup could be the only silverware sitting in Utd’s trophy cabinet at the end of the season.
In contrast Lee Westwood didn’t blow his lead on the final day of the Masters; Phil Mickelson won the tournament by executing strokes of genius to shoot a 67. Mickelson’s second shot from the pine straw under the trees was magical. From 200 yards he landed the ball 3 feet from the pin with a six iron while his birdie putt on the par 3 twelfth was an indicator on who would be adorning a green jacket at tournament’s end.
Historically, Mickelson would be viewed as a “cavalier” to Westwood’s “roundhead.” Westwood may concede that he attempted to play safe to protect his lead, and by comparison to his first three rounds there could be a case to answer. Nevertheless he keeps knocking on the door at major championships and a first major could be within his grasp. However, he is a member of a current generation of English golfers which include Luke Donald, Ian Poulter, Paul Casey and Justin Rose, who seem destined never to win a major because they lack the nous to put four good rounds together.
A word on Tiger Woods. His fourth place finish was truly remarkable considering he hadn’t played competitive golf in over five months over which time his personal life and reputation had been ripped to shreads. I have never liked Tiger as a person or supported his attempt to surpass Jack Nicklaus’s total of 18 majors. I also resent the media stuffing Tiger mania down our throats at any given opportunity, but I respect the golfer Tiger Woods; nothing more.
Some concluding thoughts on The Masters: elitism rears its ugly head once a ball is struck in Masters week. I’m not referring to the ninety odd millionaires that play on the PGA tour every week, but it’s the sancitmonious bunch of windbags that make up Augusta’s organizing committee that get my goat. Who elected Billy Payne Morals Protector of The South? There’s a saying in America that every man is created equal, but it does help if you come from old money. Augusta is the epitomy of a class society which supposedly doesn’t exist in America. The only difference in the class culture between America and Britain would be bloodline superseded by a money line and lots of it. Why are spectators called patrons at The Masters? Why does CBS persist in piping in music from a cheap funeral parlor and why do they dress the caddies in white overalls making them look like a bunch of painting contractors. Finally why does Jim Nantz deem it necessary to talk in a cathedral hush? Answers please on a postcard. See you at Augusta next year.
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