When Saturday Comes, 246

Rezension


When Saturday Comes
The Half Decent Football Magazine
Issue 246, August 2007
46 S.





Ein Bericht der August-Ausgabe von WSC widmet sich anläßlich von Adrian Goldbergs Film Manchester Disunited and other football feuds dem FC United of Manchester, der als Fanprojekt aus Protest gegen Verkommerzialisierung von Manchester United anläßlich dessen Übernahme durch den Amerikaner Glazer 2005 gegründet worden ist. Trotz Erfolge in der Unterklasse haben sie damit Man Utd natürlich nicht erschüttern können - The fact is that the refuseniks, though growing in number, are still a minority subculture. "If [the Glazers] supply the money and let Fergie buy who he wants," shrugs one southern-accented Old Trafford loyalist, "then that's it, innit?" WSC-Autor Pete Green meint This need not remain the case. While the iniquities of the Premiership and its parasites are now well documented, football journalism is ripe for a killer text that explicitly links the ruination of our game to the devastating logic of the global free market. Das würde mich zwar wundern, aber sehr freuen. Doch glauben kann ich's nicht.

Schön eine Geschichte über die Rückkehr von Antonín Panenkas Bohemians Prag in die erste Liga und eine über das spanische Cupfinale.

Ein arges Déjà-vu hatte ich bei der Geschichte Grame of Truth über die Zeit von Grame Souness als Trainer bei Blackburn, einem Auszug aus Joachim Førsunds 2004er Buch Berg über den mittlerweile auch schon nicht mehr spielenden Norweger Henning Berg. Blackburn-Sunderland, 2001:

Souness came into the dressing room. He had one message. "We're going with three at the back," he said. "It's 3-5-2, not 4-4-2." Henning Berg couldn't believe it. Souness had never been a tactician. He had never won games through tactical master-strokes. He played 4-4-2 and told them to be aggressive in midfield, tough in the challenges, win in the air and try to get around on the flanks. That was the kind of thing Souness said. Not much more than that.
He had changed to three at the back on previous occasions, but it had never worked. The players in the dressing room weren't really sure what it implied. Did he want the central midfield to lie deeper, or did he want the wingers to play as full-backs when Sunderland attacked? Now he was standing there with three fingers in the air.
Blackburn were played off the pitch by Sunderland. They were all over the Blackburn defence and drove cross towards the tall Niall Quinn and the short Kevin Phillips. Henning was in the middle shouting while trying to fend off the attacks, but after 17 minutes Quinn popped up at the far post and scored. Henning ran towards the bench with four fingers in the air. Four at the back! We have to revert to four at the back! He wanted to win this game.
Blackburn continued with three at the back. Sunderland continued to get around on the flanks. After 32 minutes Quinn headed his second goal of the game, and Henning ran towards the bench with the same four fingers in the air. Graeme Souness was sitting in the stands. He always did. He saw what everyone saw - that Henning Berg was unhappy with his defensive tactics, that he claimed to have a solution to Rovers' defensive problems. And that he was indirectly criticising his boss in the presence of the home crowd. Henning was substituted at half-time. He didn't protest, but he didn't try to hide his displeasure either. Blackburn lost 3-0 and, although Henning remained at Blackburn for another season and a half, his relationship with Souness was strained, to say the least. He played the odd game, but had lost his status as a certain starter in central defence.

Oh, wie ich mir so eine Aktion wie von Berg etwa von Hiden gegenüber Pacult für vorgestern in Mattersburg gewünscht hätte. Und bei uns war ja schon nach 2 Minuten offensichtlich, daß die Dreierabwehr nicht funktioniert, noch dazu wo sie ja bei uns bei den Versuchen zuvor genausowenig funktioniert hat. Auch die Beschreibung von Souness' Coaching-Methode erinnert doch auch sehr an Peter Pacult. Schade, daß es für den Spieler natürlich nicht gut ausgegangen ist, aber Hut ab für so eine Courage.