The Beautiful Game

                                    ‘His performance levels consistently for 20 years have been unbelievable. And you’d have to say, I do go along the line of, “Be careful what you wish for”                 It seems nigh on incredible to me that the most outspoken, forthright defence of Arsene Wenger, has come from possibly a man who played much of his football engaged in a bitter, rancorous duel with Wenger's creation : modern­-day Arsenal.              Gary Neville was frequently described, bluntly, as being a player rather short on talent in his formative years, a fact that he too recognized. His response to this was single­minded and determined : graft. Years of effort that dovetailed in a glittering career, trophy­-laden at Old Trafford with his boyhood cl...

     Amidst all the furore over a certain contract extension at Manchester United, lost in all the lines devoted to money exchanging hands has been the news that the rock on which Sir Alex Ferguson built his most recent successes is all set to leave the club. And for someone so committed to the side of football we so rarely appreciate, it seems only fitting that Nemanja Vidic leaves the Red Devils sans any fuss whatsoever, just a man who feels his incredible work at Old Trafford has well and truly come to an end. Football has two very different sides to it, the pleasing spectacle that the likes of Lionel Messi typify, and the hard-fought, battle-like approach that truly great defenders like Vidic bring to their game. If there was ever a man who epitomised the ugly side of football, the determination necessary to restore a certain order to the sheer chaos of defending, it has been the tall Serbian. Fundamental to United’s success for the better part of the las...