Editor
11 November 2008 - 11:44
by Nigel Brown
It will go down as one of, if not,the, greatest football match the Premier League has produced in the last ten years. End to end entertaining football played in a chivalric manner between two fierce rivals, Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger, and two mammoth teams.
A great advert
The happy couple even cemented their new found love my indulging in a cup of tea and a digestive before the game, before practically drooling over each other like horny teenagers in the post match interviews. If it was a movie, Saturday morning's game would win an Oscar. The climax to a Hollywood love / hate relationship...But don't rule out a sequal.
The “Special One” changed everything
The impact of Jose Mourinho and Chelsea's roubles pushed Sir Alex and Arsene into a difficult position. Both managers eager to maintain there dominance of the domestic game, unwilling to welcome a third member to an already crowded party as far as both managers were concerned.
Mourinho's two titles saw the two managers rebuild their ageing sides. Roy Keane and Ruud Van Nistelrooy departed, as did the likes of Robert Pires, Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira, as well as Arsenal moving to a new stadium with the intent of eventually matching the richest clubs in Europe. The rivalry became watered down, suddenly Ferguson and Wenger found themselves agreeing with each other, as they were the only war veterans to last over ten years of Premiership football. As Wenger told Tony Adams two weeks ago, “welcome to hell.”
Saturday's showcase showed football fans all over the world what the Premiership symbolises: - free flowing, attacking, technical football, played in the correct competitive spirit, without any handbags. Which had become a token element of any Wenger vs Ferguson confrontation.
What's changed?
It was obviously important that Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger reached a level of mutual respect, dare I say friendship, as the two brand ambassadors for the Premiership were close to total meltdown following the brawl of 2003 and pizzagate in 2004. Adding a third manager of equal status and a bottomless pit of money threw the gauntlet down in a survival of the fittest contest, and the old timers have come out on top.
The two dinosaurs of the Premiership of far from being extinct, Arsenal and Manchester United will be the main competitiors to Chelsea's quest for the league crown, as I believe they have an extra gear of quality that Liverpool do not have outside their talismen Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres.
Liverpool have had a great start to the season, but the Champions League fixture list has favoured them over Arsenal and Manchester United. People may think Fergie and Wenger are moaning or making excuses, but playing away in Europe and then away in the Premiership in the space of three or four days, drains players physically, emotionally and mentally. It is extremely difficult when you then have to play a side which has had a week's preparation for one game. However, I don't think Fergie or Wenger would want it any other way.
Close and closer
I have said it before and I will say it again. This season is a landmark term for the Premier League because the standard of competition has risen on an elephantine scale. For the first time in the league's history a couple of wins, or a couple of draws and you can find yourself either in the relgation zone or challenging for Europe, it is that tight. The big four are still a level above the rest, but there is no fixture in which any of them can be sure of three points. That's why I can assure you, the roller-coaster has only just begun. Until next week...