Since leaving Tottenham, I have travelled to Brazil, had some nice rest and
played a lot of tennis, but I keep coming back to the thing that gives me
the greatest pleasure, apart from my family, and that is football.
Today, like everyone else in England, I’ll be watching Liverpool play
Manchester United and Arsenal play Chelsea in the best league in the world.
Why is the Premier League the best? Because nobody can be sure what the
result will be in any match. That’s especially true of today. If I had to
put my money somewhere, it would be on Arsenal and Manchester United winning
in two close games. And my title bet? United - just.
These four teams make the Premier League unique. The Spanish league is rightly
enjoyed, but it’s not the best, because you have only 2½ big teams. Seville
challenged last season, but they’re not so good this time. Valencia are
often up there with Real Madrid and Barcelona, but not always. In Italy it
comes in spells. A couple of years ago Inter Milan, AC Milan and Juventus
were fighting for the championship. These are the traditional powers, but AC
Milan have not been as strong in Serie A as in the Champions League
recently, and Juventus are rebuilding after being relegated for
match-fixing. The others in the Italian race, Roma, Lazio, in the past
Fiorentina, Napoli – they come and go.
Only in England is there a Big Four. And if your league has four top, top
teams, how much stronger can you be? United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea
have dominated for five or six years. It’s become structural. People at
Tottenham thought because we finished fifth twice, suddenly we were ready to
be top four, but that’s pie in the sky. It takes years to get the perfect
blend of steel, quality, balance and winning mentality found in the squads
of the Big Four. It also takes the Big Four’s money. I notice the new
manager is saying publicly what Spurs only wanted me to say in private –
Spurs need to spend more to reach the Big Four’s level. It’s the same for
all the ambitious teams.
Liverpool at Anfield are almost unbeatable. Almost. United always do well
against them. In the league Liverpool have lost just once at home since 2005
– but it was to United. Under Rafael Benitez, no Liverpool player has even
scored against United in league football: the only time, in six games, was
through a John O’Shea own goal. A difference for Liverpool is having
Fernando Torres. Wouldn’t you expect a player costing £26m to make a
difference?
At Atletico Madrid some experts said: “Ah, but he doesn’t score enough goals.”
At Liverpool he has already shown that with a team that creates more
chances, he’s prolific. English teams always play with a back four and zonal
marking, whereas in Europe, sides would use extra cover against such a
striker, and that is suiting Torres too. He has got nearly all the
attributes, one of his biggest qualities is avoiding offside and I don’t
think I have ever seen anyone quicker off the mark.
But what truly makes him special is this: nearly every player has not just a
favoured foot but a favoured side and will move in that direction when
making a run. Ruud van Nistelrooy always exploits the space on his right.
You tell your left centre-back that he’s coming into their area when he
turns and goes for goal. I was right-footed like Ruud, but always went to my
left. Darren Bent goes to his left, Jermain Defoe to his right.
Torres is a rare striker who can exploit the space off his left shoulder and
his right shoulder. The centre-backs don’t know where he’s finding his
space. United have Rio Ferdinand, who has fantastic covering pace, so it
will be interesting. Seven times out of 10, through balls for Liverpool’s
strikers come from Steven Gerrard. United are clever enough to know how to
avoid the Torres situation. Their defence will not push so far up and
someone will press Gerrard all the time, on his right foot. Owen Hargreaves
is an ideal player for that, he’s a Hoover. And if Michael Carrick plays,
they have the best in the country at interceptions.
Xabi Alonso could be back. Benitez will want him on the field because nobody
spreads the ball so well. If you can spread it like Alonso, you can get
one-on-ones in wide areas. This is United’s favourite tactic. Sir Alex
Ferguson has never complicated things as a manager. His method is quite
simple – and quite brilliant. His teams spreads the ball quickly, gets
one-on-ones on the flanks, and wide players do the damage. There’s nobody
better at this than Cristiano Ronaldo, who can go outside the defender and
cross or come inside for the shot. Wayne Rooney gives United the link
between attack and midfield, and Ryan Giggs is irreplaceable. He gives them
the brilliance still. Giggs does not always play wide nowadays, but often
operates in the spine, as a No 10. You can say, “Leave him and the
centre-back will pick him up in space” – but that’s a fairy tale. United’s
passing is too good. They’ll find him.
Benitez uses Dirk Kuyt as Liverpool’s link-up. Kuyt is one of my favourite
footballers, such a team player, but I’m not sure that is his ideal role,
and Liverpool do not have as smooth an attacking combination as United – or
Arsenal with Robin Van Persie and Emmanuel Ade-bayor; or Chelsea with Didier
Drogba and Frank Lampard coming from midfield. Benitez will want to be
compact at Anfield, but it’s difficult because your home crowd always want
you to attack. Away from home, when teams come forward, United kill them.
I remember one game at White Hart Lane when we were playing ever so well and
pressing for a goal at 0-0. We got a corner, Edwin van der Sar threw the
ball out, Ronaldo was off, and five seconds later Rooney was tapping into
our net. If there is a flaw in United, it’s that they don’t look as strong
in the spine without Paul Scholes, and they lack a true No 9. But, right
now, these things don’t seem to be affecting them.
I take United to win because of their record against Liverpool. With Arsenal v
Chelsea, it’s different. Chelsea have a great recent record in the fixture,
but Arsenal have an edge. Cesc Fabregas and Alex Hleb are expected to be
back from injury. They are crucial. Arsenal play the best football, their
passing is immaculate and they’re dangerous because of their timing. Their
secret lies on the flanks, where Hleb and Tomas Rosicky come from “out to
in”. Someone, usually Fabregas, plays a diagonal pass along the ground and
Hleb or Rosicky will arrive at just the right moment to receive the ball
facing goal and play the killer ball. Fabregas is a phenomenon. Only top
players are as good away as at home, and he’s like this aged 20.
Chelsea have a problem without Drogba. In their special years, in Jose
Mourinho’s first two seasons, they were unstoppable with Arjen Robben and
Damien Duff providing brilliance on the flanks, Lampard coming as the second
striker and Drogba as the ultimate solo forward. The Ivorian can come and
get the ball, stay up and chase through passes, finish off the team goal and
score out of nothing. Who can replace him? Salomon Kalou is a talent, but
not ready to take that responsibility; Claudio Pizarro was fantastic for
Bayern Munich, but as a No 10, not a No 9; and we all know how good Andriy
Shevchenko is, but in a Chelsea shirt he still lacks confidence.
Chelsea don’t have Robben or Duff any more and they’re not as deadly at
set-pieces as before. Their assets are physical power, defence and a winning
mentality. But how many chances do they create? Things could change if they
do something in the transfer window.
They and Arsenal will be affected badly by the African Nations Cup. There is a
question about the depth of Arsenal’s squad.
Liverpool are yet to show the consistency to win championships. Lacking
brilliant wide men, they’re sometimes a little predictable. But they have
great players and a top manager, so maybe they’ll prove me wrong. You can
never be 100% sure, and that’s the wonder of the Premier League.
Anfield lineups
Liverpool 4-4-2 Probable: Reina; Arbeloa, Carragher, Hyypia, Riise;
Benayoun, Mascherano, Gerrard, Kewell; Kuyt, Torres
Man Utd 4-4-2 Probable: Van Der Sar; Brown, Ferdinad, Vidic, Evra;
Ronaldo, Carrick, Hargreaves, Giggs; Tevez, Rooney
