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Rule Changes For Football...
So Sepp Blatter wants to consider some changes to the rules? Here are my suggestions:
* In all leagues where there is a point system it should still be 3 point for a win, 1 point for a scoring draw, and 0 points for a nil-nil draw, that should push teams to score at least one, than sit back.
* For competitions with group stages (Champions League, World Cup etc) they should follow the above, but also with one extra point awarded for every goal scored
* As with the previous World Cup, but applied to all competitions, the whole squad should be available for the final (only barring a red card in the semi)
* For two legged ties, I like the away goals rule, however if it does go into extra time, I think then the away goals rule should not be used. Why should one team have an extra 30 minutes to score and away goal than the other?
* This one is a bit contentious, but i think that in the event of extra time, teams should be allowed a 4th substitute, only to be taken at the restart, it's a-use-it-or-lose-it rule. Hopefully that means that teams wont be afraid to use all 3 subs to change the game in the 90, rather than keep one back for ET.
I think these would make the game more attractive, and possibly even up some parts of the game I disagree with.
Neerav, AFC Supporter
Dear Matthew From Belafast...
I've been reading the mailbox for a few years now and have never come across a letter that I felt compelled to write in myself about. That is until this morning when I read the nonsense spouted by you, Matthew from Belfast.
You start off okay by saying Carrick and Neville need to be replaced, fair enough. I personally wouldn't get rid of Carrick as he can be a solid squad player, but I can certainly understand why you would want rid. Neville for obvious reasons.
Unfortunately it's all downhill from there. You go on to list seven different players that need to go, and label Ferguson 'downright stubborn and ignorant' for not being of the same opinion.
The players you believe need to go are 'not the future of Man United'. Included in said list is one Chris Smalling. The same Chris Smalling who is 21 years of age, joined in the summer for a sizeable fee, has played roughly eleven times for us this season and has impressed in all but maybe one or two of those games. Quite why he 'isn't the future' I have no idea.
Also in the list is Bebe, another youngster who joined in the summer from complete obscurity. I can understand why you'd want rid though, I mean if a player who's only professional experience is playing one season in the Portuguese second division doesn't instantly come into the first team squad at Man United and blow us all away within six months then what chance has he got for the future? Quite.
Other names that feature in the list - Park (one of our best big-game players, and isn't exactly old at 29) and Scholes (still arguably our best CM, has a good year or two left in him, and was being mentioned as a potential PotY earlier in the season). Also lucky enough to be mentioned is VDS who is still one of the best in the league, and seems set to retire at the end of the season anyway!
Just to complete the mail in spectacular fashion you state we need a 'world-class right back, a world class left winger and a world class creative midfielder.' He then goes on to list his desired starting XI for next season with Bougherra at RB. Now I'll admit I watch very little SPL but is Bougherra really 'world-class', better than Rafael who has been in superb form this season and is starting to look like a fantastic player? I notice Nani doesn't make it into your starting XI despite being our best player in the past 12 months... and you want Kaka for £30mil! I'm not even going to start on where you're proposing we raise the £68mil needed for your spending spree.
You're a madman.
Richard Kerslake, MUFC, Kent
...Not sure I've ever seen more clueless drivel in one email from a United fan as that from Matthew, Belfast who I assume is about 12 or had his head firmly wedged up his backside.
In no particular order.
1. Michael Carrick has been an important part of a successful United squad. He's no midfield kingpin but with question marks over Gibson and Scholes due to go in the coming years he's worth hanging onto even if reinforcements are required.
2. Gary Neville has played 3 matches in the league this season. Rafael has quite clearly taken over as first choice with O'Shea as back up. No need to panic.
3. Park has to go? Our form player for December and you're binning him.
4. Smalling has to go? He's looked top drawer for his age. He's a young lad and physically immense. Rated by Fergie, Woy, Capello & Wenger. Give him time
5. Scholes and Van Der Sar stay as long as they want for me. Top top class once in a generation players.
6. We have a potential world class right back in Rafael. He is already as good as anything the Premiership has to offer and getting in the Brazil squad.
7. Assuming he doesn't agree - how to solve the world class right back problem? A Rangers centre half?! FFS
8. He wouldn't have Nani in the United team next season then? There's your world class winger to play with Valencia.
9. Kaka in a 442 in central midfield. When has this ever happened. We'd get absolutely run ragged. Will never get him in a million years under the Glazer regime anyway
10. There's about as much chance of Liverpool selling Reina to United as there is Torres or Gerrard absolute non-starter.
Fergie is no mug. He knows his hands are tied for players so he's getting every last drop out of his legends before replacing them. Anderson & Nani will replace Giggs and Scholes with the likes of Welbeck & Cleverley coming more and more into contention leaving a keeper and replacement for Hargreaves on the list. Quick whip round for Neuer and Rodwell, job done.
Disgruntled James
...Oh dear Michael, Belfast, you seem to have got very bad decisions confused with very good decisions. I have taken it upon myself to point out your greatest folly dear Michael, thusly:
GK: Reina/Neuer (£15 - 20m Liverpool/Shalke04) - Liverpool's new owners would not let Reina move to United, it would be PR suicide - why don't we ask them if we can have Torres while we're at it? Neuer however is actually a reasonable target and a good 'keeper.
RB: Bougherra (£8m Rangers) - 8 f***ing million for Bougherra? Besides, in case you haven't noticed, Rafael has become a rather good right back and is improving rapidly.
RM: Valencia - Is Nani not good enough now?
LM: Alexis Sanchez (£15m Udinese) - Well for starters Nani can also play on the left, although admittedly not as well as on the right. We could do with a natural left winger but Alexis Sanchez? Did you know he is more of a Ronaldo style forward? Don't forget, Nani is fulfilling the Ronaldo role pretty well.
CM: Kaka (£30m Real Madrid) - I agree with you that we need creativity from the centre (along with some tough, effective tackling) but paying £30 million for a midfielder with an appalling recent injury record has a tinge of madness to it. Alberto Aquilani was a lesson for us all. Also, I would worry about some Brazilian footballers' tendency to become s**e and injured as soon as they get anywhere near 30.
Lastly, You want to get rid of Park? He may not be ooze class but he is a very effective squad player and precisely the kind of guy you want for a long campaign.
We are not an average side, we are a good side playing averagely. We do need a couple of quality players, as I and many others have suggested many times on this site and in the mailbox, but we do not need to strip the side of our squad players and buy Kaka, this is not Football Manager. Engage brain, then type.
Smyth, MUFC
...In reply to Matthew from Belfast's email this morning about Man Utd needing changes for next season I'm inclined to agree with his sentiments about United having soft centre and Gary Neville being utter tosh. The rest of his mail however was on a par with the Nevillers recent performances - abysmal.
You want to axe Smalling? The young English prospect who made one mistake against Stoke but who has looked very solid in every other game he's played? I'm sure Johnny Evans would be delighted if you were manager it would slide him another place back up the pecking order until Wes Brown was fit again.
The future signings are the icing on the cake though, stunt Rafael and Fabios growth by buying an above average defender doing well in Scotland and an overweight, injury prone Brazilian who's already turned his nose up at joining us on more than one occasion. Pairing Kaka with Anderson is also a stroke of genius on your part, rather than having two sort of defensive midfielders we'll just have none instead?
You also seem to be forgetting the sparkling performances being put in week in week out by Welbeck and Cleverley who I'd rather see in a United shirt than Owen, Park, Obertan and Gibson in a heartbeat. We're top of the league by being very average but the home-grown youth we need is there, we just need to continue their promising development.
An out an out defensive midfielder is what we need and have done since being town a new one by Barcelona in 2009.
Dave B (Yes MC I took the bait but I don't care)
...Dear Matthew the Football Manager extraordinaire,
You say we need a world class player in every position? Genius!
Hey, what shall we do with our most promising young right back? He must obviously be replaced by Bougherra from the second best side in the 2 team Scottish league. Oh vey, the brilliance!
How should we strengthen the squad? Sell 7(+) players and bring in 4 replacements. That's a good one, tell me more!
O Sir Matthew from Belfast (I'm just going to assume you Knighthood is a matter of time ala Fergie Fergs), what about Nani, probably our best attacking player this season? Replace him with the bloke from the World Cup who run really really fast but never looks up. Oh joy! Our problems are solved!
It is fans like you that give the rest of us a bad name. The type that calls for SAF's head after every loss, the type that wants Benzema/Dzeko everytime someone shoots wide, those who pretends you've watched the match instead of admitting you just watch MOTD. Yes, I am generalizing. Thats because you lot have no individuality. I'm sure every team has this type of dickhead fans but I'm pretty sure United has more than most.
KKT, MUFC, sunny Singapore
Analysing Stoke's Equaliser
In response to Brian Gleeson's comments on Stoke's goal, the way I saw it was that the three United defenders in the box should all have marked the man who they were in front of - as there wasn't a man over to double-mark Jones. That would make Vidic responsible for Whitehead. That Rafael WASN'T back to close down the man puts some doubt on whether he (or Fletcher, who was presumably tasked with covering the Brazilian's forays forward) should have been there - but that's not Smalling's fault either.
It was a very interesting comparison, to note how effective stoke were in that 3-on-3 situation, and to compare it to the numbers they had in their own box every time United attacked. Obviously, Stoke don't go in to games to attack, but it is worrying (and symptomatic) that United without either of Ferdinand and Van Der Sar look somewhat disorganised at the back. Any new keeper is going to have to have real good organisational skills imo.
Regarding Gibson, I thought he looked fairly solid last night (although he was generally given oodles of time and space). His long balls and more ambitious passes were not quite spot-on, but I think he may well develop in to a pretty good player. Considering Nani is now officially good, and Anderson is showing some good form, what chance both he and Obertan will turn in to decent players [I deliberately left Bebe off that list]?
And finally, of course, if Jurgen Klopp moved to Liverpool, and failed to prevent Liverpool's players from gettting Beatles haircuts, you could have 'Kop swap Klopp in mop-top stop flop'...
Chris, Old Trafford
Hmmmm
As pointed out by Irwin, MUFC, Dublin in this morning's mailbox PJ, LFC really needs to get some perspective and realise that, regardless of where Liverpool finished in the past 10 years, they are now considered a mid table club by many a football fan and pundit.
As I was bored during my lunch break I decided to use PJ's logic and apply it to the newly promoted Blackpool. If you were to trawl through Blackpool's archives of the past 10 years and convert their final league standing into a number of where they finished out of all the leagues, i.e QPR would now be 21st, then you would get the following overall league positions: 73rd, 60th, 57th, 58th, 60th, 63rd, 47th, 39th, 36th, 26th. This would give you a mean of 51.9, which would round up to 52. Therefore, using PJ's logic Blackpool would sit right between Peterborough and Hartlepool in 8th position in League One. Instead, they are currently level on points with PJ's beloved Liverpool and they rightly deserve their current league standing, as do Liverpool.
Jason N, Manchester
How To Score A Mailbox Hat-Trick
Good Afternoon MC
I too noticed the brace in the mailbox and immediately relived the day some years back when this happened to me, unnoticed at the time, or certainly not worthy of recognition. Strangely both of my mails that day had nothing to do with Everton (one was about John O'Shea FFS!). Perhaps with the blinkers off I am a sage, but unfortunately i cant keep them off for long enough to make a decent point on the Blues.
As an aside, the commentator on a recent West Ham match mentioned that Carlton Cole scored his first ever brace against Fulham. I find this incredible that a Premier League striker had never notched 2 in a match. But then reality hit home and I realised that I have been watching Everton all season and that strikers and lack of goals go hand in hand.
Bit of a pointless mail but would be nice to get off the mark after a surprise
inclusion in late December.
JDigga, EFC
...And that's the second, nestled in the top corner...
JDigga, EFC
...GOOOALLLLL...He's done it!!!!
It's the Hat Trick!
JDigga, EFC (Yak, Saha & Beckford take note!)
How A Mailbox Hat-Trick Should Be Scored
Dear Everyone,
In reply to mailboxer's multiple appearances, in my eyes the perfect mailbox hat-trick (left foot, right foot, headed goal) is having a 3 mails printed over any amount of mailboxes)
1 at the top of mailbox > Excellent mail, a new well thought out subject to
provoke reaction or else a 'way out there' opinion.
1 in the middle > Good solid mail, topical points made either in reply to
previous mails or points also made by others in same mailbox.
1 at the bottom > The flare mail, the funny mail, the one that most readers
will remember due to its use of bad puns or perfect riposte.
Well done to all who have achieved the perfect mailbox hat trick. I may have
done it but think I used a nickname on one of the mails so mailbox dubious
goals panel would probably take it away.
Here's hoping this one may give me the hat trick.
David Howell - Dublin