Extra Time

As the corporation that is Manchester United lurches inevitably towards yet another Premiership crown, one cannot help but wonder how different their progression to the title, simple as it appears, would have been, had they been held to the same standard of refereeing as the rest of the league.  That's not to say United have not had decisions go against them but over the balance of the season, it's very accurate to declare that they have benefited from the vagaries of football refereeing far more than they have been victims.

Let me be clear.  United have shown desire, hunger, confidence and belief in spades.  Those four attributes when allayed with their not inconsiderable pool of talent, make for impressive performances.  And they have been far more consistent and dogged than other teams in the league, most notably Arsenal (more on them later) and Manchester City.  However, despite all that, football is a game that hinges on moments - singular episodes where slight actions can make all the difference.  And when those episodes are judged, United have gotten off far more lightly than they would have you believe.

Look, a win is a win and a title, no matter how contrived in appearance, is still a title.  However United's win this season, with a team that borders on the ordinary and has scarcely inspired, even their own fans; has gotten this far, and will possibly win the lot, through key refereeing decisions going for them.  It's a well admitted fact that big teams tend to get more decisions in their favour and United is the biggest of them all, a behemoth, even amongst the titans in the European football.  But this season has seen a succession of arbitration rule in their regard, week in, week out.  Possessing British talent, the league's most successful manager and the nation's great hope should not mean that everyone must bend backwards to accommodate them.  A league is meant to be an even competition where all incumbents are given a fair crack of the whip.

But while Darren Fletcher barges the referee and goes unpunished, Wayne Rooney almost breaks James McCarthy's face, in an ice hockey like hit in open play.  Violence breeds more violence and the only thing more damning, is the apologetic inability to do anything about it.  United are hardly the new Juventus, of Calciopoli fame, but their treatment and behaviour certainly merits a comparison.

Perhaps United's confidence and winning attitude comes from knowing that far more often than not, their players and manager will get away with actions that other teams will be punished for.  It is their league to lose, not only for their dynasty of success, but for their stranglehold on the officialdom.  Fans may point to specific weekends when a key result decided the title in United's favour.  But it was delivered on February 26 2011, when Mark Clattenburg hugged Rooney, fresh from his assault on McCarthy, instead of sending the striker off; an official endorsement of preferential treatment.

United own the league, in more ways than one.

In the wake of manager Arsene Wenger’s latest comments, the time has come for the end of excuse-mongering at Arsenal.  This season, while far from being disastrous, has proven once again (perhaps for all) that Wenger's experiment has failed.  Not because of its execution and delivery, but because of his own innate stubbornness to support and reinforce it.  Despite clearly possessing a solid core of talented players who play an effervescent attacking system which can beat most teams, he refuses to allay it by eschewing tactical development, defensive instruction and purchasing readymade proven talent for certain crucial positions.

Just what is the point of being able to score if you let them in at will at the other end?  For the last six years teams have known that they can score against Arsenal with their first and often only attack of the game.  In addition, despite some improvement in recent seasons, the Gunners suffer from being both anaemic and porous at set-pieces.  They can’t score off of them often enough and concede from them far too regularly.  Now, in addition to these weaknesses they lack a killer instinct, an inability to rise to the occasion or concentrate for extended periods of time, while being devoid of leadership when captain Cesc Fabregas is absent.  So what exactly is Wenger doing?  Intangibles are what teams, dynasties and legacies are based on.   The team flatters to deceive, is good but ineffective and seems to have basically stopped whilst being forever being close to the finish line, oddly in a way, strangely mirroring their very style on the pitch.

But wait, Arsenal are loaded in both youth and potential, have a negative transfer spend over their 6 barren years, have eased their debt from their stadium move to a very reasonable amount and play an attractive brand of football the way it is supposed to be played; all the while carrying an astonishing amount of injuries and suffering from an almost curse like run of bad luck.  So all is not grey and if this is indeed a transitional period, perhaps it is one of the best transitional periods for any club ever.  At least the team is forever in the knockout rounds of the Champions’ League.  Surely a few more players and a top class defender is all they need?  If only it were so simple.  Wenger is a creature of habit whose stubbornness undoes all his economic, creative team development.  Two steps forward, two steps back.  Top four finishes, annual Champions League football, the highest ticket prices in England, rinse and repeat forever.  Even Arsenal fans, for long some of the most patient in the world, are beginning to vote with their feet and voices.

Good does not mean effective and winning is what people remember.  No one polarises a fan base like the Frenchman, whose unique blend of brilliance and inspired self-serving has made Arsenal stand still.

Finally, a word of support and encouragement goes out to Lille, top of the league in France and Napoli, second in Italy.  Rudy Garcia and Walter Mazzarri, respectively, have built exciting teams who are exciting, competent and fun to watch with a smattering of top level talent mixed in with hard working domestic experience.  Both teams are amongst the lesser lights in their domestic leagues and have fought hard to attain and maintain their loft league status.  Their potential appearance in the Champions League next season is already making many salivate at the prospect, but only if they hold on to their players and not cash in their stars.  Watch this space.