Post by Macmoish on Oct 10, 2010 9:20:34 GMT
Posted on... 10-10-10
Snippet re QPR from Rodney (but nice snippet)
Expess - RODNEY MARSH: I HATE THE WAY MANCHESTER CITY PLAY BUT LOVE THE WAY THEY'RE WINNING
By Jim Holden, Chief Sports Correspondent
THEREâS a twinkle in his eyes as Rodney Marsh savours the fact that his two great loves in football, Queens Park Rangers and Manchester City, are now owned by the two richest men in the foot world.
Billionaire money is bringing success to both clubs this season, with QPR top of the Championship and Man City second in the Premier League.
Marsh, the striker who became a legend at both clubs as a showman and entertainer in the 1960s and 70s, has watched both sides recently on a visit over from his home in America â and his verdict is typically strident.
âI enjoy watching QPR, but I canât say the same about City,â said Marsh.
âRangers play a lovely open, attacking style of football; itâs a treat to see them at the moment.
âAnd I canât duck the issue. I donât like how City are playing. They are playing in a negative way. They set up their team not to concede goals and not to get beaten.
âItâs not what I want. Itâs not how Iâd like to see them play. But it is winning football. It is going to be successful, and I admire Roberto Mancini for that because I want Manchester City to win the Premier League.
âIâve been to the last two home matches against Chelsea and Newcastle. I didnât enjoy the football, but I thought Man Cityâs organisational performance against Chelsea, from a structural and tactical point of view, was perfect.
âThey played the perfect game. I didnât enjoy it because I prefer free-flowing football like Arsenal and Barcelona.
âArsenal take my breath away sometimes. City were staccato, the play stopping all the time. But they did the ugly things so well. And if youâre going to win the league you have to do the ugly things as well.
You have to applaud the results that Mancini is getting. I donât like it. I donât enjoy it, and I can understand why someone like Carlos Tevez is frustrated by the style of play and moans to the manager.
âIf it was me, I would be completely frustrated and upset. Strikers donât want to live on scraps.
âMancini wonât change, though. I donât think City can win the league playing any other way. They donât have the midfield players for it, someone like Cesc Fabregas or Frank Lampard, and theyâll definitely need that if they have ambitions to be a top Champions League side.
âNevertheless, the way they are now, City will still be the strongest challengers to Chelsea this season.
âI would be thrilled if thatâs the case, just as I will be delighted if QPR win promotion to the Premier League.
âI had to smile when I saw that Rich List the other day. QPR were number two with an owner worth ÂŁ17billion and City were top with ÂŁ20billion. Boy, I wish I was still playing today.â
Which of his teams would he choose if that were the case?
âI had a love affair for four years with Manchester City fans when I was at the club, and I still have now when I come to watch them,â said Marsh. âBut QPR are the team closest to my heart. They took me from the wilderness, and we won the League Cup and I won an England cap as a Third Division player, which is unheard of. It made my life; it was a fairytale really.â
Marsh is fondly remembered at both clubs, and by older supporters at many other teams, as a footballer who played with panache and irreverence.
He, along with his old pal George Best, was one of the entertainers who wanted to make people smile when they came to a ground on a Saturday afternoon.
It was an approach that took him into countless scrapes, many of which are recalled in his new book published this week.
He can talk forever about the fun of the game, but his eyes stop dancing when the question turns to the ferocious tackle by City midfielder Nigel De Jong last weekend that left Newcastle opponent Hatem Ben Arfa with a double leg break.
Now there is steel in the glare of Marsh. âIt was a bad tackle, no question,â he said.
âA bad tackle. But I hate what happens afterwards and Newcastle start demanding extra punishment. I donât like that.
âThe game now doesnât have any more tackles like that one than it did in the past. Itâs just that they get highlighted more.
âWhat you have to remember is that football is a manâs game. Youâve got to take care of yourself; youâve got to protect yourself. You have to to protect your team-mates. It will always be that way; it will never change.
âThe minute players start pulling out of tackles, thatâs when the game is going to die. You have to go in. Weâve all committed fouls; Iâve elbowed people in the face and Iâve had my fair share back.
âI donât like the sterile approach and people who say, âLetâs cut out all the contactâ. I hate that.â
Whether you agree with him or not, itâs clear that Rodney Marsh remains as outspoken as ever. But while he appreciates, if not enjoys, what an Italian manager is doing for Manchester City, itâs not the same with Fabio Capelloâs leadership of England.
âOur national team should be managed by an Englishman,â said Marsh. âIt has to be someone who understands our football.
âI wasnât surprised when England were so dismal at the World Cup. In fact, I hoped they wouldnât win the tournament.
âIt doesnât seem any better now. Look at the latest squad. He has picked Kevin Davies, who will be 34 next year. Are you mad? Itâs just amazing.
âWhat it shows that we donât have enough players, and I think it will only get worse. Have we got a great young English central defender coming through? Have we?
âIt is crisis time for English football. In five years our national team is going to implode because there will be no English players coming through. It will implode.
âPeople also ask me who should be the English manager instead of Capello, and the truth is I donât have a clue. I honestly think there isnât anyone good enough.
âI look around. Sam Allardyce? Not for me. Even Harry Redknapp? Not for me. And I love Harry. It is an indictment of the game in this country.
âWe will have nowhere to go. We are going to be leaderless, rudderless, and without players. I know itâs doom and gloom, but thatâs how I see it.â
* Rodney Marsh, I Was Born A Loose Cannon (Optimum ÂŁ19.99).Says football legend
www.express.co.uk/football/view/204579/Rodney-Marsh-I-hate-the-way-Manchester-City-play-but-love-the-way-they-re-winning
Snippet re QPR from Rodney (but nice snippet)
Expess - RODNEY MARSH: I HATE THE WAY MANCHESTER CITY PLAY BUT LOVE THE WAY THEY'RE WINNING
By Jim Holden, Chief Sports Correspondent
THEREâS a twinkle in his eyes as Rodney Marsh savours the fact that his two great loves in football, Queens Park Rangers and Manchester City, are now owned by the two richest men in the foot world.
Billionaire money is bringing success to both clubs this season, with QPR top of the Championship and Man City second in the Premier League.
Marsh, the striker who became a legend at both clubs as a showman and entertainer in the 1960s and 70s, has watched both sides recently on a visit over from his home in America â and his verdict is typically strident.
âI enjoy watching QPR, but I canât say the same about City,â said Marsh.
âRangers play a lovely open, attacking style of football; itâs a treat to see them at the moment.
âAnd I canât duck the issue. I donât like how City are playing. They are playing in a negative way. They set up their team not to concede goals and not to get beaten.
âItâs not what I want. Itâs not how Iâd like to see them play. But it is winning football. It is going to be successful, and I admire Roberto Mancini for that because I want Manchester City to win the Premier League.
âIâve been to the last two home matches against Chelsea and Newcastle. I didnât enjoy the football, but I thought Man Cityâs organisational performance against Chelsea, from a structural and tactical point of view, was perfect.
âThey played the perfect game. I didnât enjoy it because I prefer free-flowing football like Arsenal and Barcelona.
âArsenal take my breath away sometimes. City were staccato, the play stopping all the time. But they did the ugly things so well. And if youâre going to win the league you have to do the ugly things as well.
You have to applaud the results that Mancini is getting. I donât like it. I donât enjoy it, and I can understand why someone like Carlos Tevez is frustrated by the style of play and moans to the manager.
âIf it was me, I would be completely frustrated and upset. Strikers donât want to live on scraps.
âMancini wonât change, though. I donât think City can win the league playing any other way. They donât have the midfield players for it, someone like Cesc Fabregas or Frank Lampard, and theyâll definitely need that if they have ambitions to be a top Champions League side.
âNevertheless, the way they are now, City will still be the strongest challengers to Chelsea this season.
âI would be thrilled if thatâs the case, just as I will be delighted if QPR win promotion to the Premier League.
âI had to smile when I saw that Rich List the other day. QPR were number two with an owner worth ÂŁ17billion and City were top with ÂŁ20billion. Boy, I wish I was still playing today.â
Which of his teams would he choose if that were the case?
âI had a love affair for four years with Manchester City fans when I was at the club, and I still have now when I come to watch them,â said Marsh. âBut QPR are the team closest to my heart. They took me from the wilderness, and we won the League Cup and I won an England cap as a Third Division player, which is unheard of. It made my life; it was a fairytale really.â
Marsh is fondly remembered at both clubs, and by older supporters at many other teams, as a footballer who played with panache and irreverence.
He, along with his old pal George Best, was one of the entertainers who wanted to make people smile when they came to a ground on a Saturday afternoon.
It was an approach that took him into countless scrapes, many of which are recalled in his new book published this week.
He can talk forever about the fun of the game, but his eyes stop dancing when the question turns to the ferocious tackle by City midfielder Nigel De Jong last weekend that left Newcastle opponent Hatem Ben Arfa with a double leg break.
Now there is steel in the glare of Marsh. âIt was a bad tackle, no question,â he said.
âA bad tackle. But I hate what happens afterwards and Newcastle start demanding extra punishment. I donât like that.
âThe game now doesnât have any more tackles like that one than it did in the past. Itâs just that they get highlighted more.
âWhat you have to remember is that football is a manâs game. Youâve got to take care of yourself; youâve got to protect yourself. You have to to protect your team-mates. It will always be that way; it will never change.
âThe minute players start pulling out of tackles, thatâs when the game is going to die. You have to go in. Weâve all committed fouls; Iâve elbowed people in the face and Iâve had my fair share back.
âI donât like the sterile approach and people who say, âLetâs cut out all the contactâ. I hate that.â
Whether you agree with him or not, itâs clear that Rodney Marsh remains as outspoken as ever. But while he appreciates, if not enjoys, what an Italian manager is doing for Manchester City, itâs not the same with Fabio Capelloâs leadership of England.
âOur national team should be managed by an Englishman,â said Marsh. âIt has to be someone who understands our football.
âI wasnât surprised when England were so dismal at the World Cup. In fact, I hoped they wouldnât win the tournament.
âIt doesnât seem any better now. Look at the latest squad. He has picked Kevin Davies, who will be 34 next year. Are you mad? Itâs just amazing.
âWhat it shows that we donât have enough players, and I think it will only get worse. Have we got a great young English central defender coming through? Have we?
âIt is crisis time for English football. In five years our national team is going to implode because there will be no English players coming through. It will implode.
âPeople also ask me who should be the English manager instead of Capello, and the truth is I donât have a clue. I honestly think there isnât anyone good enough.
âI look around. Sam Allardyce? Not for me. Even Harry Redknapp? Not for me. And I love Harry. It is an indictment of the game in this country.
âWe will have nowhere to go. We are going to be leaderless, rudderless, and without players. I know itâs doom and gloom, but thatâs how I see it.â
* Rodney Marsh, I Was Born A Loose Cannon (Optimum ÂŁ19.99).Says football legend
www.express.co.uk/football/view/204579/Rodney-Marsh-I-hate-the-way-Manchester-City-play-but-love-the-way-they-re-winning