United right where they belong

News filtered through the Twitter-verse this morning that Manchester United might be handed a lifeline into the Champions League knockoutstages. FC Basel’s position in the Round of 16 is in jeopardy because of a battle between UEFA, the Swiss FA, and FC Sion. Now United fans are clinging to the hope of a bureaucratic qualification.

(Before I go forward with my argument I want to say that I understand what I will propose would never in a million years happen, that large sums of money mean far more than anything else in the era of Glazer-nomics and modern football, plus I’m not even sure that UEFA would allow it BUT I’m all for wishful thinking.)

I think that given the opportunity to take a spot in the knockout round because of issues with Sion and the Swiss FA that United should pass on it and continue on in the Europa League. They had their chance to qualify over the last two games of the group stage against teams that should’ve been beaten and they blew it. They are where they deserve to be and just because UEFA creates an opening doesn’t mean that they should accept it.

This is in some respects an ethical issue. If you didn’t earn the spot on the field, in fact you wasted your opportunity in the easiest group in the competition, then you shouldn’t just be handed a ‘get out of jail free card’. Also, how is it fair to Basel who played outstanding in both games against United and earned their place on the pitch? It makes no sense to punish them for the actions of another team in their league.

This is also about needing to accept limitations. While United always seem to pick up steam around the holidays and the second half of the season, there have been very few Champions League-worthy performances. In the league they’ve been solid if unspectacular but in Europe it has been far worse. Constant lineup changes, some forced and some not, have shown the squad's scary lack of depth. This isn’t a time of rebuilding but it’s certainly a transitional period from the team of Giggs, Scholes, Neville, and Ferdinand to the team of Welbeck, Jones, Cleverley, and Rooney. Playing in the Thursday-Sunday schedule of the Europa League may force Sir Alex’s hand to allow more time for reserve and youth players that many fans have been clamoring to see such as Paul Pogba, Will Keane, and the always interesting Ravel Morrison. Taking this pass to the knockout stages will only cover over the need to hasten the transition.

(Case in point, the last time United was knocked out in the group stages they were knocked out of Europe entirely, also in what should’ve been a routine group. That was in 2005, from 2006-11 the team won the Champions League title and made two more finals, one of the best European run in the club’s history. Sometimes a slap is needed to wake everyone up and get refocused.)

This is also about curiosity. With all due respect to the great teams of Europe I’m kind of interested in United taking on Ajax, Athletic Bilbao, Atletico Madrid, or Udinese. For some reason the novelty factor seems really strong, for me at least, to play in the “secondary” competition. The “penalty” of the Europa League is an interesting test with plenty of challenges ahead. Of course there is always the possibility of a Manchester derby in Bucharest in the spring, which is reason enough to say no to sneaking back into the Champions League.

I know that United are not going to say no to millions of dollars, they are on the side of Harry Redknapp who seems to think that a team should either finish in the top 4 or bottom half to avoid the Europa League, and, given the team’s penchant for finding form after the busy Christmas period, there is still the belief that they could win the competition.

In the end this will end up being a moot point, there is no way the Swiss FA hurts itself and Basel by fighting UEFA, but if it happens and United are given that backdoor pass they should have the guts to say, “thanks, but no thanks”.

RSL Come up Short

Real Salt Lake is the best team in MLS. Their record is impeccable (such as knocking off the Revolution with a ‘B’ squad) and they play with a style that Real Madrid could take a few lessons from. There is no question they are the favorites to win MLS Cup this season along with New York and LA.

Unfortunately that wasn’t an MLS team on the field with them last night and when Jamison Olave fell asleep for just a minute and allowed Humberto Suazo to sneak past him the dream of every MLS fan died a painful 45-minute death. The goal started after another giveaway by star forward Alvaro Saborio who had an absolute shocker and made some touches that I would be mad about my Indoor Co-ed Rec League teammates making.

As much fun as it is to watch Will Johnson play there is a streak of Sunday morning Rec League about him too. He never stops working and he can pop up anywhere, but he has no sense of position. He and Robbie Russell made great plays throughout the first half but always looked as though they would follow the ball into the bathroom if that’s where a Monterrey player took it. How many times did Andy Williams and Will Johnson streak across your screen as they tried desperately to get back into position?

This is where RSL missed Kyle Beckerman. They missed his positional sense, his calmness, and his ability to move the ball forward without losing the initial midfield shape. He finds the forwards, Javier Morales, and whoever starts on the right wing without leaving big gaps anywhere on the field. Last night the opposite was true and despite heroic effort RSL never really got themselves in spots to put the ball into the box to someone’s foot. Everything looked congested and mostly lost.

Taylor Twellman made essentially the same point last night when he argued that RSL missed the chance to play the ball out wide and to attack a massed defense, especially in the 2^nd half, at their weakest point. I wonder if this was something Jason Kreis planned or if it was just the style that Williams and Johnson chose. Either way, until late in the game when Monterrey parked the bus, it pinned the 2 outside backs in their own half because there was no cover if they charged forward.

RSL showed unbelievable stores of energy, strength, and talent but they picked the wrong day for some of their stars to have horrible performances (Saborio, Williams, and Alvarez most notably). Monterrey defended well and played as everyone expected with the diving, the time wasting, and the theatrics, but in the end they took their one chance and, as seems to always be the case with American soccer teams, RSL missed.

After last night my disappointment level with American soccer is at an all-time high (Clint Dempsey’s great but 2 goals in a meaningless game don’t take the bitter taste out of my mouth). Judging by an SI article from Grant Wahl and the general response on Twitter to last night’s game I’m not alone.

Real Salt Lake was so close. On the verge of sending an MLS team to Japan for the FIFA Club World Cup, on the verge of beating a Mexican team over two legs to win an important regional title, and on the verge of giving MLS fans the opportunity to watch them take on Manchester United or Barcelona but they came up short.

It feels as though we’ve read this script before at the World Cup, Copa America, and Confederations Cup (except for the big win over Spain which will always make that tournament a mostly happy memory). There are always opportunities for American soccer to push themselves to the next level, the international level, the “You have to pay attention to me now!” level, and unlike Americans in just about every other sport, our soccer teams always disappoint (see Freddy Adu and 2011 U-20’s).

I am furious that I have to watch the most important MLS game in history on an international feed that chooses important goal-mouth chances to go to replay. I am furious that I don’t see even a mention of the game on SportsCenter other than as a passing comment to close the show followed by a lame-ass joke about “needing Kevin Durant”.  I am furious that before El Clasico we get a brand new Fox set and the same old tired clichés and lack of knowledge from the commentary.

Yet until one of our teams exceeds expectations there won’t be the effort on the part of the “Worldwide Leader” to air the games, show the highlights, or treat it with any more respect than they treat curling. But... rather than just being mad at the lack of coverage it’s time for our teams to DEMAND it. The only way to demand it?

Winning.