Here’s to the next Decade… (and the return of Mourinho)

by Steve Candy

Standing in an ex Kwik Save turned oversized hostelry with my father being two among four hundred revelers swilling from plastic beverage conveyances. One of my top five players of all time had looped in an equalising header, only for the opposing side to take a lead again.

A man that had run himself into the nation’s affection, his redemption almost complete, was standing by the ball in stoppage time. We were a few seconds away from failure, a summer of eventual disappointment destined to be taken away from us. The big screen at one end died, leaving at least two hundred people swinging around desperately to the screen at the other end just as the set piece was delivered to the back of the net. Hysteria and a lager shower followed.

David Beckham getting us to Japan-South Korea 2002 is up there with my greatest moments of 2000-2009. When I think back to these moments not one involves a big money transfer, takeover of a club or refereeing mistake. It is always moments of the game itself that stay with me. I enjoy nostalgia and reflection as much as anyone but I thought I would make my last column of this decade one that looks forward to next year and my hopes for football:

The End of the Top Four

At the time of writing it looks like we could be in with a chance of a team breaking the monopoly of the perennial Champions Leaguers. It would be good for the Premier League and club football as a whole if Aston Villa, for example, could keep going and achieve what Everton did four and a half years ago. There are clubs that seemingly have the ability to challenge and the football season would be a lot more exciting if seven or eight teams had a chance of winning the title than just the usual subjects. Thinking about Aston Villa, does it seem that this Anglo-centric team that Martin O’Neill is successfully building could be a well planned and exciting pre-cursor to him taking over the England job after Mr. Capello steps away at the conclusion of Euro 2012?

England to do well in the World Cup

I hope for us to do well rather than win because I am still clinging steadfastly to my policy of not getting my hopes too high. The draw has been as good as expected, Mr. Capello got the training camp he wanted and Emile Heskey has scored three times in the league by Christmas. I do worry that we are going to take the group stage too lightly, Wayne Rooney is going to injure himself badly in April and The Sun will continue to publish headlines like they did when the group was drawn (England Algeria Slovakia Yanks) and stir us into a beer throwing, fight starting frenzy.

Expectations need to be realistic and focus needs to be sharp. The tournament has the potential to be fantastic and it would be great if we could contribute to that. On the other hand if we get to the final I think we’ll win 3-2 after extra time. Also, the public house where I watched us qualify for 2002 has been turned into a ridiculous R&B;, Funky House, WKD Blue sipping establishment. I am on the lookout for an atmospheric, friendly place that I can watch the game in. Any suggestions would be gratefully welcomed.

An excellent FA Cup Final

This year’s final was by no means as soul destroying as the 2005 or 1996 events but it was also not a patch on the previous London vs. Merseyside encounter in Cardiff 2006. The contest between West Ham and Liverpool has been the best F.A. Cup final I have watched and I hope the domestic season is capped by an equally brilliant game.

I still find it heart warming that we hold the Cup in high regard as shown by our resistance to the attempts of the Football Association and Manchester United to destroy its credibility. A crude formula to highlight the chances for a great final could be written out as follows:

I think Aston Villa vs. Arsenal could give us something close to this.

No new leagues being created

I understand why Rangers and Celtic are looking to ply their league trade elsewhere. It is also understandable why the rest of the SPL may want them to do just that as well. I would love to hear from anyone who can come up with a convincing and fair proposal for their inclusion in the English club setup. I just don’t see how it could work for the benefit of anyone.

The idea of a league comprising the giants of Denmark, Belgium and Scotland is more interesting because it’s been talked about less and more laughable because I’m not sure how many away trips to Scandinavia the Scottish fans can make over the course of a season.

The only way to stop the Glasgow clubs from continuously ‘exploring’ options is for another Scottish club to win the league. Although if we did get the likes of Brondby vs. Celtic and Anderlecht vs. Rangers every year then Phil Gartside might drop his idea for a two tiered Premier League with no relegation from tier two. I know Rugby League is big in the North West but surely we can take something else from Rugby Union’s pretty sister than the fencing off of the ‘licensed teams’. To conclude these thoughts ominously; the biggest shadow over football at the moment is the prospect of the European Super League. If in the next decade that becomes a terrifying reality then we know that football is not for everybody anymore.

The Return of the ‘Special One’

My final hope for next year is for Jose Mourinho to come back and manage in the Premier League. It is quite obvious that the Italian League wants him as much as Nick Griffin wants a United Colours of Benetton poster. He has made it clear in recent interviews that he wants to come back and manage in the Premier League again.

If he does return he needs more of a challenge than the Inter Milan job has presented (domestically anyway). Because of this stepping into the shoes of Benitez or Ferguson isn’t appropriate. I feel that Mourinho requires a big club that is need of consolidation and rebuilding. He needs to work at a club that likes to worship big personalities and whose owners need to do something drastic to repair their image and push them into the periphery. With the greatest of respect to Chris Hughton I do not think he would thrive as a Premier League manager. Would it be so awful to see Jose Mourinho appointed manager of Newcastle next year?

As usual I would really be interested to see your responses to these realistic/ridiculous requests. I will be back in 2010, after the F.A. Cup third round (that I imagine will see Aston Villa and Arsenal eliminated).

(photo credit: PA Photos)

David Beckham, England, FA Cup, Glasgow Celtic, Glasgow Rangers, Jose Mourinho, Scottish Premier League, Steve Candy