Sunday 30 August 2009

The penalty paid for playing Old Trafford

Keeping a half-interested eye on the old League Division One - where, as usual, four teams dispute the top prize while the odd arriviste over-spender or cannily-organised XI try to crash the party - I find that this year, as most years, my neutral's vote is cast in favour of The Arsenal: the discerning qualities of Arsene Wenger's teams are plain for all to see, even though they have little to do with Highbury or Islington. Like Terry Collier, I hate Chelsea and everything they stand for - though I find I hate them less in the absence of the Special One; whereas for as long as Mourinho was pratting about the touchline like some B-movie Joe Cool I found that I could tolerate Man United - yes, that erstwhile boozy cup team with a penchant for buying crap strikers, until a Glaswegian martinet straightened them out, just in term to hit Premiership paydirt.
Said tolerance has now run out again, particularly in light of yesterday's existential injustice at Old Trafford. The iniquities of how penalties get given or not given on Man U's home turf need no analysis from me. The refs just have to live with themselves. But no partial set of statistics can save the Red apologists: when push comes to shove, Man U just get away with more. The beauty of Arshavin's goal was that the strike fizzed with fury over the spot-kick he'd been denied; and yet the player himself was delightfully insouciant after bursting the net, as if sure that truth and beauty would out. Sadly, ugly reality in the shape of Wayne Roooney was lurching round the corner...

2 comments:

bergkampgenius said...

From my perspective across the pond, I can draw a number of parallels between Manchester United and the Yankees, two clubs with worldwide fan bases and their own
mythologies. A large portion of each fan base consists of those who know nothing about the respective sports, but know a winner when they read about one (never mind HOW they win, through colossal earning/spending power, referee's decisions, or pure luck).

Every sports mythology requires several elements, including: a human tragedy (Munich/Gehrig), a rise from the ashes after a low period; a pantheon of heroes; but above all, a mystique of manifest destiny, helped not a little by the media.

To bring myself up to date (and to declare myself), Saturday's result at Old Trafford was appalling, however typical it was. Arsenal did everything right, they were the better team, but not better by enough goals, since any team visiting ManU must be a clear 2 goals better to leave with any result at all. This is necessary in part to overcome the officiating, which when measured in terms of the allocation of penalties given over the years, can only be judged as biased. Arsenal were merely one goal better on the day.

Like Wenger I shall continue tilting at windmills, with slight faith remaining that the beautiful game will prevail in the end. In the meantime, thugs, bagmen, pimps, and (worst of all), marketers appear to have the upper hand . . .

Richard T Kelly said...

Dear Bergkampgenius (that's one hell of an ident...):
Thanks for your thoughtful contribution. I had supposed, without knowing for sure, that US baseball had its equivalent to the latterday Red Devils of Old Trafford... And even as a top-flight neutral whose own team is top of the league (league division 2, that is...), I'm still sharing your pain on that dastardly result. I hope Arsenal 'bounce back'...