From Stoke to Manchester...

"Football. Bloody hell."
"I want to knock Liverpool off their f***ing perch."


Two famous quotes by Sir Alex Ferguson. Unless anything truly remarkable (and unprecedented) happens, United will clinch Ferguson's 12th and their 19th league title at Blackburn on Wednesday; Chelsea will finish second, and Arsenal third.


Arsenal
I certainly didn't predict that result. Stoke, to all intents and purposes, are focused purely on the Cup final, their biggest game for decades. Who would have said anything if they'd taken their eye off the ball and produced an insipid display, mirroring Bolton's abject performance at Wembley last month? However Tony Pulis is too clever and smart to let that happen. He's clearly created an atmosphere of competition in the squad, and challenged them to prove that they should be playing at Wembley. They've got a smart outfit, and if Manchester City perform like they can, Stoke could certainly shock them. I promise to blog later in the week on the appalling schedule of the Cup final!


Wenger's side demonstrated what the casual observer has known for years. They have a soft underbelly. Although they can pass most sides off the park (amusingly Stoke fans taunted with "boring, boring"), they really aren't up for the fight. A few seasons ago this was typified by defeats at the Reebok, St Andrews', etc, but these days it appears that any decent side away from home can cause them problems.


What next for Wenger? He won't be sacked, as he's given too much to Arsenal over the past 14 years. Anyway, why sack him in 2011 when Arsenal are in the same situation as 2008, 2009, 2010? To give him the credit he deserves, he has balanced the books and maintained a league challenge, and Champions League football, during the transition from Highbury to the Emirates. He should be contented that he's not located at King's Road, however, as surely the under the Russian Dictatorship run by Roman Abramovich, he would have been out on his ear by now.


A simplified observation would be this: Arsenal need a new goalkeeper, central defender, and a leader. Most importantly, the Fabregas/Barcelona doesn't look like it will be solved quite yet. Cesc hasn't exactly had a storming season, and with the emergence of Busquets to accompany Xavi and Iniesta in the Barcelona midfield, his value to the Catalans has certainly diminished.


If I was Wenger I would be looking to shift a few of the underperformers. I'd take £10-15 million for Arshavin. Flashes of brilliance shown across the season do not legislate for his general attitude on the football pitch, which is one of indifference at best. A disruptive influence who doesn't like England, mainly for the tax rates!


However, with a full season of Vermaelan on the pitch, would Arsenal have won the league? He's certainly a leader, chips in with a good number of goals, and seems to add that solidarity that was missing at the Britannia. Another interesting pre-season beckons at the Emirates. They were close, but just not quite close enough.


Manchester United
Their critics call them "the worst United team to win the league". Can they be that bad if they have just beaten their nearest challengers who were on a fantastic run of results? If there is a more convincing 2-1 game, please do let me know - United were clearly the better side.


This is an insult to Sir Alex, mainly due to the continual evolution and revolution which he undertakes every few seasons. This side doesn't have a Ronaldo, a Tevez, a Keane, a Bruce, a Cantona, but what it does have are incredibly reliable performers. Cantona was brilliant - he led the line outstandingly at times - but he could go AWOL (especially in the nascent European days). How many of the current team would you put in Sir Alex's All-time United side? An interesting consideration, and one that I'm not going to try and answer, but put the best two players in each position over his tenure, in my opinion (and I'm sticking to a 4-4-2)...


Schmeichel or van der Saar?


Paul Parker or Gary Neville?
Nemanja Vidic or Steve Bruce?
Rio Ferdinand or Jaap Stam?
Denis Irwin or Patrice Evra?


Ryan Giggs or Ryan Giggs?!
Paul Scholes or Bryan Robson?
Paul Ince or Roy Keane?
David Beckham or Cristiano Ronaldo?


Wayne Rooney or Andy Cole?
Dwight Yorke or Eric Cantona?


Apologies to Teddy Sheringham, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (a great substitute) and the numerous others.


My point here is that there are a number of current players in the top two for each position, especially at the back. In fact, what with United's fantastic defensive record in Europe this season, would it be inappropriate to suggest that this is their best back five ever? Other than the transition for right-back (where I fully expect the excellent Rafael to mature into the world's best in the next three years), this could be one of their greatest defensive sides (certainly squad), which is even more remarkable considering the injury problems experienced by Vidic, Evra and Ferdinand over the past eight months.


The next evolution will be the replacement of Scholes and Giggs. Nani and Anderson should be able to replace Giggs, but I feel that Modric may be Ferguson's answer to Scholes. He has the vision and can still time a challenge!


cp