Kings of the Wild Frontier

I'm tempted to start by commenting on the humorous nature of the Chelsea equaliser last night, but I shall refrain, and instead, before moving on to the big match previews, I bring this story to your attention:

A week after officiating at Blackburn's Premier League game against leaders Manchester United, referee Rob Styles will be in charge of Saturday's League Two match between Shrewsbury Town and Chester City.

Demotion. An admission if ever there was one that we absolutely robbed on Saturday. The report also includes perhaps the most inaccurate sentence in history:

Styles turned down two United penalty appeals and cautioned Wayne Rooney when he complained about a challenge by Steven Reid.

It was three absolutely cast iron penalty appeals, and even more bizarrely, Rooney was booked for an awful lunge which, even in the kindest interpretation, couldn't really be considered a complaint about Stephen Reid.

But anyway.

To the big match.

The Ronaldo v Messi thing is attracting some attention. This "debate" in The Guardian is laughably bad, Gerry Armstrong who purports to defend the motion that Ronaldo is better than Messi has this to say:

He has matured; when he first came to Manchester United he was only a kid. His biggest weakness, besides the mental attitude to tackles coming in at him, used to be his heading ability. He is a tall lad and he was not as good in the air as he should have been but all that has changed as he has adapted to the Premier League and now it is another skill he has mastered.

This is just plain wrong. He's always been a good header of the ball. Didn't he score (at least?) two headed goals in Euro 2004? I remember one towering header, but I'm fairly sure there was one more at least.
Trevor Francis forgets completely what he's meant to be saying (No, Ronaldo isn't a better player than Messi) and just has a go at Ronaldo. Take this for example:

Ronaldo is having an outstanding season but I don't fall into the trap of believing that because he is having a good nine months playing in the Premier League he is the world's best player.

We do tend to get a bit carried away in this country when we are praising players. Since I became involved with England in the 1970s we have always
had good players but I don't understand why in the past three to four years
those players have gone from being described as good to being described as
world class. Those so-called world-class players have then not performed at a world-class level at major tournaments.

Trevor Francis, it turns out, and let's face it, it's not a well kept secret, is an absolute idiot. Look at that "I" in the first paragraph - how arrogant? "All you people have been fooled by Ronaldo! Not I! So he's played well for nine months - does that make him world player of the season? No. For obviously the season lasts ... ummm... ah! the Euros! Ha! He's obviously rubbish because he's not proved himself in those championships that have not yet happened - how very ordinary of him!" Here I have to skip ahead to The Telegraph's Ronaldo v Messi article, which I'll look at next, to prove Francis a prick: "Have his detractors forgotten Euro 2004, where his performance as a 19-year-old took Portugal into the final against Greece and earned him a place in the team of the tournament?" Yes, they have forgotten, willfully. They've also forgotten his performances in the 2006 World Cup where he was the best player on the pitch in the semi-final. The other point that Francis seems to forget is that he's comparing Ronaldo to someone younger than him so his argument really is nonsensical - "Ronaldo isn't as good as Messi because he hasn't [even though he has] proved himself in a major championship", something that Messi obviously has done then Francis? Idiot. The idiocy continues when Francis, who has spent much of the article arguing that Ronaldo has "potential" but has yet to prove himself (and again the stupidity of saying the younger Messi is therefore better is plain to see), finishes with, "[Messi] has not had the opportunity to show as much of what he can do." So what you're basically saying Francis is that Messi is better at the moment than Ronaldo, who only has potential, even though we haven't yet seen what Messi can actually do? Are you actually right in the head?

The Telegraph's version is wholly more interesting, bearing as it does some resemblance to reality. It includes an interesting theory as to why Ronaldo's performances suffer in Europe:

Ronaldo has only to escape the shackles of his manager's European thinking to pin his name to the door marked 'all-time great'. Sir Alex Ferguson is obsessed with the idea that to win a match on foreign soil some kind of tactical masterstroke has to be pulled, hence Rooney as lone striker, or Ronaldo himself in Rome.

More often than not Fergie's tinkering emasculates his team in Europe, and as a consequence takes the wind from Ronaldo's sails. Messi does not have that problem. The continental sides do not defer to the opposition. Frank Rijkaard will send out his side to tear United's house down home or away, giving full rein to Messi's mesmeric gifts.

I think there is a kernel of truth to this, I have often argued that our performances in Europe are sometimes too cautious, something our results away from home confirm, but can't subscribe to fully simply because Ronaldo is the Champions League top scorer this season.

This by Done Howe in The Telegraph is allegedly a look at the tactics of the big game, but is actually a cliche-ridden pile of drivel - I'm not quoting it, I'd feel dirty.

This tactical view by David Pleat is much better:

Barcelona against Manchester United thrusts together six of the world's most outstanding forwards. The skills and natural ability on show will be lavish, but these sides will lean on different lines and angles of attack to unsettle their opponents.

For United Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez produce greater endeavour and work-rate than their opponents. Samuel Eto'o does not forage like Tevez, even if he offers as big a goal threat. Thierry Henry, if he shrugs off his fever, is not currently as threatening as Rooney. Ronaldo and Lionel Messi hold the key. Who will mesmerise us and produce the moments of major talent that separate the outstanding from the merely brilliant? Instinct suggests United will shade it.

This in The Times brings together quotes by Sir Alex and Vidic from the press conference yesterday:

“We were not ready for last season’s game [against Milan in Italy], but I am far more confident now,” the United manager said. “I think the winners will stand a great chance in the final.”

This, by Martin Samuel in The Times, looks at Torres's comments mentioned here previously,suggesting Ronaldo "carries" us, and only really suffers from superfluously bringing in an Arsenal-are-amazing argument. I won't bother quoting from it either but this one is at least worth a read.

Richard Williams in The Guardian has praise for our defence:

In the 51 matches Sir Alex Ferguson's team have played in all senior competitions this term, they have conceded only 29 goals and kept 28 clean sheets. Only five teams have scored twice in a match against them, and no opponents have managed three or more.

Take a bow, then, Edwin van der Sar, Wes Brown, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra. Congratulations should also go to their occasional understudies, but the first-choice quintet - with Brown deputising all season for the injured club captain, Gary Neville - have surely earned themselves the right to be mentioned in the same breath as the defensive line-up on which Ferguson's long era of success was founded.

Good to see him singling out Wes Brown for praise as well. Brown may not always be the most convincing but he's certainly done a good job this season.

I finish with this slightly mercenary look at the game from The Mail:

Barcelona's players stand to lose bonuses of up to £20million if they are knocked out of the Champions League by Manchester United.

The salary structure at the Nou Camp means 35 per cent of all player wages is related to win bonuses. With an average salary of £3.2m and the bonus system heavily weighted towards winning the Champions League, it means the whole squad could lose more than £1m each.