Welcome to England, Van Gaal. Leicester City 5 - 3 Manchester United

It was a defeat every bit naïve, comical and farcical even by the low standards set under David Moyes last season. As far as I can remember the record books, Manchester United never lost a league game under Sir Alex Ferguson after having a 2 goal lead. That is a small matter to 1000 odd games we are talking about. Today United let go 0-2 and 1-3 leads to eventually get beaten by 5-3. There were some atrocious refereeing decisions, of which more later. 

United started as the brighter side and raced to a 2-0 lead with goals from Robin Van Persie and Angel Di Maria. The first from an excellent curving delivery, which RVP headed in, from Radamal Falcao and the second from an absolutely delightful chip from Angel Di Maria, after exchanging passes with Rooney who started behind the 2 strikers. Leicester got one immediately back, from a delivery which should have been called out. Ander Herrera’s goal in the second half restored United’s 2 goal lead but what happened after that was disastrous. 

On 1994, exactly to this day, a red haired wiry youngster made his debut for Manchester United against Port Vale and scored both the goals in a 2-1 victory. Over the course of the next 18 years Pauls Scholes became a living legend and one of the best in Europe, who controlled the Manchester United midfield with conviction. It is debatable that, with Scholes on the pitch, United would not have suffered the meltdown they had today, but I am pretty sure that he wouldn’t have allowed the complete lack of recovery which was on show today after Leicester took control. Once the 3^rd goal went in from Esteban Cambiasso, United players went into panic mode and the foxes took in charge.

Tyler Blackett had started every Premier Leage game this season, and he has been solid, to say the least. Today he made a bad decision for a last ditch tackle towards the fag end of the match when Leicester was leading and sent off for a professional foul with a penalty awarded too. While this was a correct decision, Mark Clattenburg’s other 2 decisions which had a greater impact on the game were abysmal.  Even with Howard Webb on the scene, I have no doubt in my mind that Mark has been the best referee in the League for the last 3 seasons. He has been decisive, authoritative and correct on most of the occasions, coming to this season. That doesn’t mask the fact that he had a completely off day today. First he failed to spot the ball going out, which he should have done considering that he was closer to the ball than the linesman, and the resulting delivery went in for the first goal. Then, United leading 1-3 and threatening more, he failed to award a foul on Rafael and then proceeded to award a penalty against him for a nonexistent foul. That, in my opinion, changed the complexion of the match though the panic and meltdown followed was entirely United’s fault.

Louis Van Gal looked every bit downcast after the match and understandably so. Until now he did not have a welcome to England the way he wished, and going by today’s performance it will be a long time before it comes.

IPL - The great Indian circus!

Watching the final day of the first Test match between England and New Zealand reminded me of the reasons why i fell in love with the greatest game Man has ever created on earth, Test cricket.There were no DLF maximums, no strategic timeout and no half naked cheer girls, but still I am sure, not a single sane minded person wanted to take his eye of the action. It was the plain white clothes, old school swing and the serene Lord's which made it attractive. And more than anything else there was a genuine battle going on, the essence of cricket or for that matter the essence of any sport.

it will be asking too much to expect the IPL organizers to take a cue from this but they will do well to do so. The only surprising thing from all the spot fixing stories which have come out this week is that everyone seems surprised with it. From the outset, it was bound to happen sooner rather than later. IPL, the best scripted drama ever, is made specifically for external elements to thrive over the real sport. First and foremost, the shortest format of the game, where a wrong short or a mis-field carries more weight compared to other formats, gives the best opportunity for bookies. That is what makes them to be able to allegedly offer as much as 60 Lakhs for a single over. To put things in perspective,a premier Test bowler doesn't make half of that money from a 3 Test series.

Then there is the artificially created excitement and drama, where the onus is to drag every game to a last over finish so that more advertisements can be stuffed in and more TRP rating can be gloated about. The financial spending cap, imposed over each team during the players' auction (which itself is as ugly to watch as the nether region of a transgender) is specifically for that purpose. While it creates a level playing field and better competition, it doesn't produce excellence. Excellence is when Dale Steyn bowls to Sachin Tendulkar on a Newlands green top for a 12 over spell, not when Chris Gayle smashes a god-knows-who third rate bowler out of the park. That is why more sixes are hits, more records are broken and more wickets are taken, just as the organizers wished. The financial equality among teams makes sure that, all teams are equally matched which in other words, converts to the match, almost always, being played into the last over.

As much as BCCI despises Lalit Modi presence now, it was his novel idea to involve Bollywood also in this great circus. He foresaw the potential of combining India's two most lethal entertainment powers, Cricket and Films, a marriage made in heaven. Each match in the IPL now becomes the perfect platform for them to market a new movie or endorse a new brand. During the first season of IPL, viewers were treated to more air time of SRK's face than KKR's games. Combined with the after match parties, where Bollywood and Cricket unceremoniously copulate, this 6 week circus has grown bigger than the game.

When IPL began 6 years ago, starting with its name, the ambition was to match the enormity and fan base of English Premier League (And CSK is now being called the Manchester United of IPL. I strongly think that it was one of the reasons behind Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement !!). But what they conveniently forgot was the fact that the fan base for the English League is built over intense competition and geographic rivalries over a period of 150 years and for them, following their team is a family tradition built on fierce loyalty. The men at Sky Sports who powered the Premier League era, starting from 1993, had the brains to milk it without compromising on the values of the game. For IPL to generate such an innate feeling of belonging among its supporters, it needs to clean up and start afresh. It has to project a reputation based on integrity and fair play.

IPL's original projected intention was to make a cricketing platform where the best in the world can compete, which will in turn help India to produce a capable talent pool. It, and much more, still can be achieved if wholesome changes in approach and mentality can be brought in. Until then, real cricket lovers will be prepared to wait for those beautiful sunny afternoons from far away Lord's and MCG.