The Carling Cup quarter finals came to an end this week in what was an all Premier League affair and a forgetful outing for London based Clubs.
Matchday 1 saw a very professional performance from United's youngsters against a Tottenham side comprising mostly of first-teamers. United won the game 2 - Zilch a week after the very same team was bashed for not fitting the grade required to be considered among the elite, after their 0 - 1 loss at home to Besiktas. More on this later.
Aston Villa and Pompey both made a few changes to their squads from their weekend PL clashes and Villa deservedly won the tie 2 - 4 at Fratton Park. Avram Grant made it clear that survival was top priority while Martin O'Neil thought this was a good opportunity for new boy Stewart Downing to be given his first outing as a villain. He duly obliged with a goal that sent Villa on their way to the semi-final.
Matchday 2 saw the "Blue Thunder" lose in penalties to Rovers who will hope this win galvanises the unit and helps them elevate themselves above the relegation zone. The win was made largely possible because Chelsea were reduced to 10 men midway through the second half as striker Salomon Kalou limped off after all their substitutes had been used. Blackburn made the numerical advantage show with 2 goals, the first an equaliser within the allotted 90 minutes, the second to take the lead in extra time. However Chelsea's resilience showed when they scored with the last kick off the game only to lose on penalties and set up a Rovers vs Villains Semi-final date.
The Sky "Blues" were in action as well against Arsene Wenger's squad who again fielded a fledgling XI while City played most of their superstars, including former gunners Kolo Toure and the much hated, scratch that, overrated Emmanuel Adebayor. To further this argument, he missed 2 sitters AGAIN last night, against a very, very youthful Arsenal side. The average age of an Arsenal side in any case is in it's early 20s mostly and this squad was made up off largely the reserves. However, Carlitos Tevez, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Vladimir Weiss compounded on Arsenal's misery from last week as they lost to the same scoreline as they did to Chelsea to ensure the cup will remain somewhere in the Midlands or Lancashire.
This sets up a very intriguing two legged battle in Manchester in January. But first.
Manchester United's production line has given the world the Neville brothers, Paul Scholes, David Beckham and Ryan Giggs. All still playing. All still massively important for their respective clubs. At the given time, when Alan Hansen led Liverpool, he made, what is now a legendary comment on United's crop. "You cannot win the title with kids" predicted Hansen. Fergie won the double that year ('twas 1996).
Once again, a reporter raised a finger at his youth team, he reacted with anger, going on to say that the very same players will be sought after by the paparazzi not too long into the future. And with players like the Da Silva twins, Darren Gibson, Kiko Macheda and Danny Welbeck giving performances like they did in midweek, it's hard not to see why Fergie chose to defend them so vehemently. While not all of the players above have been raised since they were kids by the United trainers, the way they arrived at the club, love it or hate it, is probably the future trend.
Arsenal's young sides have been lauded with praise for many years because of the style of football they play. It is a far cry from Wenger's 1-0 army that he built in his early years as gaffer, now, Wenger's footballing philosophy is echoed in the way his team plays. But, if you want to be a superstar, attain glory, then do it the United way. Most of the youngster's Sir Alex has guided have won titles at a world stage. Maybe Wenger getting all the plaudits is slightly harsh on Ferguson as the world seemed to forget the Sir Alex introduced his reserves to the deep end because these very same youngsters were already household names in the Far East even in the 1990s when the Premier League had just begun it's global branding program.
Today with billions watching football competitions from England all over the world, here is an argument FOR the United way. How many people outside of the Arsenal faithful have heard off Craig Eastmond I do not know, but the whole world has seen Frederico Macheda's winner against Aston Villa last year and now Gibson's thunderbolts against Spurs.
Having said that, Sir Alex's true test will come in January, when his squad takes on the riches of City over 2 legs. What if United are hammered in the City of Manchester Stadium in the first leg, will SAF say "It's a learning experience for a youthful squad" and play the same team at Old Trafford, or will he try and put Sparky's XI in their place and field a strong United squad made up off a few of his reserves. Let's just hope come February, the Cup is retained in Manchester. Coloured Red.
Until then, Bring in the Beers.
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