6) Colchester’s excellent youth system poses questions
If, as seems increasingly likely, Colchester United are a League Two side next season they stand to be the only club in the bottom tier with a Category Two academy. The club have invested sizeable sums in their youth operation, largely at the expense of their first-team budget, and the results are obvious both in a visit to their training ground and a look at the squad that faced Tottenham Hotspur. Alex Gilbey, an imposing central midfielder who looks cut out for a move higher up the leagues, caught the eye in particular and it is heartening to see another lower-division club follow the development model that Crewe Alexandra continue to embrace so wholeheartedly. It is getting harder and harder: a Category Two operation costs little short of seven figures annually – that is a commitment beyond most below the Championship and some in it. It is easy to understand the concerns many clubs share that, for all the rhetoric about benefiting the English game, the Elite Player Performance Plan has turned out to be little more than a carve-up designed to garland a select few. Colchester are exceptional at what they do and the hope is that they will reap the rewards further down the line; they seem a more logical starting point for a young player than many of the serial hoarders further up the chain and it is just a shame that the system makes it so difficult for other clubs of their standing, many of which have impressive histories of youth development, to work similarly
7) Proximity of goals’ target can help Rooney and United
Manchester United have developed a habit of pulling out a result or two whenever a full-blown crisis appears to be developing and that was certainly the thought after what turned into a comfortable win over Derby. United were good value for the win and it cannot go unnoticed that Wayne Rooney, whose excellent first-half goal was his sixth in as many games, seems to be growing in confidence by the week. Rooney, now six goals short of Bobby Charlton’s club record, has scored 13 goals in a difficult campaign. United have, away from home at least, shown a few signs of packing a greater punch this month and a revitalised Rooney can only bring out the best in team-mates such as Anthony Martial and Juan Mata, both of whom put in encouraging performances at the iPro Stadium. There are greater tests to come but perhaps the proximity of bettering Charlton’s tally will – consciously or not – give Rooney that extra impetus to pull United round.
8) Can Suárez live up to his namesake’s reputation?
Completion of the signing of Mario Suárez, following that of Nordin Amrabat andCostel Pantilimon, means Watford’s supporters can be quietly pleased with the business done during the January transfer window. If rumours are to be believed they missed out on Andros Townsend but the £12m paid by Newcastle for the former Spurs winger represents questionable value, certainly in comparison to the total of £10m paid for Amrabat and Suárez. According to Watford’s manager, Quique Sánchez Flores, Suárez turned down an offer from Valencia to sign a four-and-a-half-year deal at Vicarage Road, and it seems clear their relationship dating from a year together at Atlético Madrid was a key factor. Flores described Suárez as a “pivot” and if he can, as he put it, “recuperate” the player, the midfielder will join the likes of his namesake Luis as one of those January signings who prove outstanding business can be done in mid-season.
9) Pitch quality is no longer the great leveller
Graham Westley has an interesting theory about why there are fewer victories for underdogs compared to previous eras: the lack of bad pitches. “One of the things that has changed from years gone by is pitches are no longer the levelling aspect,” he said after Peterborough’s 2-2 draw at West Brom. “Pitches at all levels are better and therefore quality gets more time to shine. When Wrexham beatArsenal [in 1992], you look at the pitch that day and it made it difficult for highly technical players to get a result. Technical players have a chance to shine wherever and perhaps that’s a factor. Top-level players are top-level players for a reason. Lower-level players are lower-level players for a reason.” Westley was keen to stress his team are no ordinary bunch of lower-league players, though. “The only difference with us is that we have young players who are recruited because they are the best young players in the lower leagues and go on to higher levels. Our players cannot be underestimated”
10) Oxford deserve every success in attempts to provide closure
Named after the former club chairman Firoz Kassam, who still owns it, there is something slightly odd about the Kassam Stadium, home of Oxford United since they moved from the Manor Ground in 2001. Odd in the fact that it is home to as impressive a statue of a muscular bronze ox as you’re ever likely to see, but nobody appears to have noticed that they’re missing a fourth stand. The upshot? Well, quite apart from the fact that it leaves the windscreens of cars parked too near one end susceptible to damage from wayward shots, the absence of that all-important “fourth wall”, while to be encouraged in theatre circles, just makes an otherwise fine stadium look downright unfinished and a little bit weird. In a match that generated few talking points, let’s not pretend this is one of extreme urgency, but under Michael Appleton Oxford appear to be a team that is going places. Should they ascend to the Championship in the next few seasons, as is his stated intention, here’s hoping they can buy the stadium from its current owner, overcome any legal difficulties involving the local council and achieve closure in every sense of the word.
11) One incident should not obscure a special occasion
League Two Carlisle United’s 3-0 fourth round defeat to Everton should be remembered for the indomitable effort of those Cumbrians who somehow, and against all odds,enabled the club to get this game on in the wake of the devastation inflicted on Brunton Park and the surrounding area by December’s floods. Then there was a wonderful performance from Everton’s Ross Barkley and the beautiful, elegant, simplicity of Roberto Martínez’s team’s football. Most of the headlines concentrated on an isolated incident of alleged racist abuse directed towards Arouna Koné and Steven Pienaar after Koné scored the opening goal. It is right there should be zero tolerance towards such behaviour and Carlisle dealt with the matter very well, issuing a public address announcement stressing this was not on. It should not be allowed to obscure the generally generous spirited atmosphere of the home crowd who offered Barkley a splendid standing ovation when he was substituted. As Martínez put it: “Carlisle United deserve incredible credit for getting the game on. They’ve given us all a lesson of how to face adversity in life and football.”
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