Chelsea rising high on the Marescalator. And other thoughts from the weekend...
Marescalator rising. Chelsea’s high-flying head coach, Enzo Maresca, impresses more and more. He prepares his team well. He handles the pressure and scrutiny well. He made light about Marc Cucurella’s boot mishaps which could have cost Chelsea the game against Spurs. He made quips about not expecting to see Liverpool, City and Arsenal “slide” like Cucurella, who had the most famous shoe fitting since Cinderella. But there is a seriousness behind Maresca’s words, and the point will have been made to Cucurella. Whether it was length of studs or simply poor balance at critical moments, Cucurella cannot be making such mistakes. Maresca may be smiling but he’s tough. The players know who is boss. Maresca can deliberately play down the title talk, keeping the pressure off his players but his Chelsea are in the title race, an unconvincing keeper permitting.
**
Michail Antonio. There is plenty of speculation about the cause of the crash that required the West Ham striker to be cut out of his Ferrari and then undergo an operation on a broken leg. It’s not a time for speculation. That’s for the insurers, the authorities, the club and Antonio to work through and established what happened. It is a time for wishing Antonio a speedy recovery and for thinking of his distressed family. The West Ham family will doubtless show its support for their stricken No 9 at the London Stadium this evening.
**
Dan and out. Many reasons are being floated behind Ashworth’s departure from Manchester United after only 160 days. Was it a disagreement over appointing Ruben Amorim rather than Gareth Southgate? Or was it simply a case of “too many cooks” anyway? It will be interesting to see whether United replace their sporting director with someone so high profile. Jason Wilcox, the technical director, can focus on recruitment and he’s highly regarded within the game for his playing and coaching background. He knows players and can work with Christopher Vivell, an expert on international scouting. Omar Berrada, the CEO, oversees everything, especially the finances. What does Sir Dave Brailsford do? Perhaps bring in his expertise on marginal gains, and elite sporting culture. United look well-covered, and clearly have a decisive leader in Sir Jim Ratcliffe. Having identified an issue, he acted ruthlessly and Ashworth was out. Ashworth should go to a club needing a rebuild. He’s good at building structure as he showed at the FA. And leave appointing managers to others.
**
Club class. Peterborough United acted impressively in standing up for their fans who have been presented with a travel nightmare after the FA and broadcasters put their Cup tie at Everton on a Thursday night. The club pointed out in a very measured statement that there were no trains back and that kids dreaming of going to a Premier League ground also couldn’t go on a school night. The romance of the Cup has taken another battering. It’s just about finance now. At least Posh fans know the club is on their side – unlike the FA.
**
Manchester United’s heart and soul. One of the joys of visiting The Cliff and then Carrington was to see Kath Phipps, the legendary receptionist, a warm-hearted soul deeply loved by players, managers and staff alike. She was friendly and represented the club so well. When the club was being depicted as a global business, Kath was a quiet reminder of its roots and humanity. United did her memory proud with their tributes at the weekend, and also former players like Anthony Elanga laying a wreath when visiting Old Trafford with Nottingham Forest. United’s women team also held their own tribute before their game. The United flag said it all: “THANK YOU, KATH. UNITED LEGEND”. RIP.
**
Official mystery. Anthony Taylor tries to let games flow, especially Derbies, and he remains one of the Premier League’s better referees. But how one earth did he not see Moises Caicedo’s studs-raised challenge into the left shins of Tottenham’s Pape Sarr? For VAR to regain credibility amongst a sceptical audience it has to be responding to clear and obvious errors like Taylor’s. “VAR checked for a potential red card following a challenge by Caicedo on Sarr and confirmed the referee’s call of no serious foul play." That was serious foul play. Players need protecting from dangerous challenges like that. Caicedo went down clutching his ankle as if he, too, were injured in a 50-50. That complicates the referee’s task. Which is where VAR should step in and ensure justice is done. It wasn’t here.
**
Knight Frank. You can see even more why Brentford’s footballers love playing for Thomas Frank from the short clip the club released of his dressing-room speech after their win over Newcastle United. He eloquently and passionately praised players collectively and individually. Those who weren’t starting like Ben Mee, experienced campaigners who came on for three minutes, were saluted for their contribution and leadership. That’s great man-management by Frank. He just needs to address the away form now.
**
The guile council. The moment Jamie Vardy scored with four minutes remaining against Brighton & Hove Albion, he immediately ran back to the halfway line for the restart. His new head coach at Leicester City, Ruud van Nistelrooy, has been telling Vardy and the players “you have to play with your hearts”. And they are. Also their heads. Vardy is a shrewd thinker of penalty-box possibilities, as he showed with his movement for his first and then calmly setting up Bobby De-Cordova Reid for the equaliser. Leicester have more than a fighting chance of staying up because they have fighters like Vardy, fighters who play with their heads as well as their hearts.
**
Where’s there a Will. There’s a way. Hughes at Crystal Palace rarely gets the praise he deserves. Team-mates respect him for his work ethic, and also his passing. He picked out Daniel Munoz for Palace’s first goal and then delivered the inswinging corner for Maxence Lacroix’s header in the draw with Manchester City. Hughes deserves more appreciative headlines than he gets.
**
Yellow lines. VAR can’t intervene on a second yellow. If it could, Rico Lewis would surely not have walked for his challenge on Trevoh Chalobah when it was more a foul on the Manchester City defender. The argument against VAR intervening on second yellows is that shouldn’t it then be for all yellows? That would be chaotic and time-consuming, but the jeopardy is self-evidently bigger with the second. Lewis was sent off, the result could have been impacted and he faces a one-game suspension. IFAB is not for changing and, in fairness, the game needs less interference not more, but it is an understandable frustration when clear and obvious mistakes like this occur and can’t be overturned. The only positive is that Lewis may learn that his first yellow was totally his fault - his inexcusable dissent towards the referee. Lewis has to address this indiscipline to fulfil his huge potential.
**
Coleman delivers warmth. There was a typically heartfelt response from Everton’s captain, Seamus Coleman, to the story of 15-year-old Australian fan Mackenzie Kinsella spending £1,500 of his savings to fly from Sydney to Britain for the final Merseyside Derby at Goodison Park. Storm Darragh intervened. So Coleman intervened, inviting Kinsella to Finch Farm to meet the players. An ill-wind blew some good thanks to Coleman’s compassion.
**
Blowing up. Talking of frustrations, there has been much comment on refs ending matches with a team on the counter. Rob Jones finished the City game with Jeremy Doku hunting the winner against Palace. Andy Madley stopped a promising break by Newcastle’s Alexander Isak against Liverpool. Fans of City and Newcastle, and their players, voiced their annoyance. The refereeing community was united in their support of Jones and Madley (which is not always the way). For Jones, the thinking runs, Doku is fast but he is 70-80 yards from goal with three Palace players close to him. Refs tend to blow up when a ball gets cleared from a corner which is what Jones effectively did. Isak was in his own half, too, as Madley blew. He did run a further 20 yards but some Liverpool defenders had already stopped. There is enough to question officials about with this unnecessary inquisition.
**
Enjoy the week….
Utterly bizarre time to announce the departure of Dan Ashworth, on the weekend the club was celebrating the life of a wonderful club servant, Kath Phipps. May she rest in peace.
I’m not sure marginal gains are up and running here. Perhaps margarine gains would be more appropriate.
Whether the ousting of Ashworth is justified or not, I don’t know, but the optics for the club aren’t flattering. The club continues to lurch from issue to issue.
One of the justifications cited in the press was Ratcliffe’s apparent fury over Ashworth voicing his support for Ten Hag in the media. What was he supposed to do?
For years we have been told the footballing structure at MUFC isn’t right, so yes, it may have been slightly top heavy with the appointment of Ashworth & Wilcox*, however, considering the club’s lack of maturity in this regard, more credible football people is better than less.
*My own opinion on this is the new minority owners didn’t understand the background of each man, and what they were supposed to be doing. Ashworth more strategic and operational than hands on recruitment than is commonly (mis) understood.
As a Blue, one is delighted with the way things are going presently - but it isn't all own to Maresca's management and Cole Palmer's brilliance, not by a long chalk. Other factors are involved, often unseen by many.
On Sunday I watched until Curlilocks fell over for the first time. I sighed wearily, took stock, then turned over and watched the cricket. And we won both games. People simply do not realise that it’s the likes of me that are responsible for CFC’s upturn in fortunes. Subtle but decisive use of the remote is all.