The Dogfight

First of all, I wanted to take time to congratulate Manchester United for winning the Premier League. I was so pleased for them and so pleased for all of the supporters, especially that it was done at Old Trafford and won in so much style. The players really came out and from the first minute their passing was crisp and quick – and what can you say about that second goal from Robin van Persie? It was one right out of my portfolio!

The one down point was the substitution of Wayne Rooney – he did well enough but I’m not sure his long term future is in Manchester United’s midfield. He was substituted in the second half – not a big deal as players get substituted – but with the growing rumours of him perhaps leaving in the summer, playing him out of position and bringing him off does suggest that the club are perhaps preparing for life without him.

Aston Villa came to Old Trafford with a need for points of their own and they were simply blown away in that first half hour. Having said that, Paul Lambert made some changes and got his team competitive and fighting in the second half which is easier said than done. It might be dismissed as meaningless but when you look at the league and Villa’s goal difference, it might well prove to be an important bold move by Lambert. I’m a fan of what he’s trying to do at Villa Park with young players but he needs time to do it; Villa are a huge club with great tradition but we have seen with other clubs that the game moves on and it is no respecter of that tradition when it comes to a relegation fight.

It’s one that looks like going to the wire and has entertained me more than the Champions League race – there are a number of clubs up to Sunderland who are right in it. Perhaps Sunderland will now benefit from the change in manager and the mentality that seems to bring – their form is on the up and they seem to have pulled away. Stoke’s result at QPR was a huge boost for them but I feel they and Newcastle are still not completely safe. Despite the build up, I’m not totally convinced it will go to the last day game between Wigan and Villa, though what a game it will be if so – Wigan have had a marvelous record of late escapes over the last few years. Someone asked me on Twitter if they’d used all of their nine lives – we’ll see if that’s the case!

It’s a tricky one for clubs at the bottom – overspend and you find yourself potentially in the Championship with players you cannot afford to keep and that obviously then affects your ability to go straight back up. These clubs spend like Premier League clubs when they are in the top division in order to stay there, with QPR being a prime example, and they will pay the price next season quite literally. Unfortunately unless there’s a huge reform in the game there is no way I see it changing – clubs will have to continue to spend big in order to compete.

There are models that can be put in place but the most effective way of managing it at the moment might well be to have managers in place who are used to managing on a budget, responsible custodians for the club they manage who are interested in the long term health of it and its place in the League. I was manager of Chester City when they were almost penniless – I had worked as a Director of Youth in a position where I had to scrape every penny together so I’m well aware of what needs to be done and the responsibilities of a manager.

It’s a fine line between competing and going under – there were dreadful scenes and stories from Stockport as they continued their plummet down the English football ladder, while there are two high profile clubs who will be playing in League Two next season, Portsmouth and Bradford City, two sets of supporters who have had to suffer the heartache of relegation numerous times over in recent years because of the terrible mis-management of their football clubs. The nature of football is that someone wins and someone loses, every club has their day in the limelight, but supporters shouldn’t have to endure a generation of disappointment because of the greed of others who rarely have the best interests of the club in their mind.

It’s something that I am very passionate about and should the opportunity arise I would welcome the opportunity to give my thoughts and advice to these clubs. Something needs to be done before more clubs suffer the same fate.

That’s all from me today – thanks for reading, and I’ll be back with another article soon. Bye for now, Gordon.