Make matches matter more

Sir Alex Ferguson can argue the point till he is blue in the face – admittedly a nice change from red – but the truth remains that he sent out a Carling Cup team to play Rangers in last Tuesday’s Champions League encounter.

The Manchester United boss inevitably had one eye on today’s all-important clash with Liverpool and that was the main driving force be-hind his decision to change 10 players from the game against Everton.

But before we all get on our high horses about how his decision was disrespectful to Rangers in particular and the Champions League in general, we have to look at the reason he was able to do what he did.

And that is the current format of the Champions League.

It is now, more than ever, strikingly obvious that the group stage of this tournament is about nothing other than revenue. It serves absolutely no other purpose.

Ferguson knew that, barring a tragedy of biblical proportions, his team will ultimately get through a group that also includes Valencia and Bursaspor.

So, on that basis, why field your full-strength team in all the games, especially if important league matches are coming up?

If common sense and logic were applied by Uefa, the group stage would be abandoned and the competition would return to a straight knock-out like it was in the past.

That would mean clubs would never feel comfortable about fielding a weakened team as victory would always be paramount. And it would mean fans would not have to fork out their hard-earned cash to watch second-rate football.

But, of course, that won’t happen, because dropping the group stage would mean every one of Europe’s big clubs taking a pay cut. And there is more chance of George Michael bumping into the Pope in London this weekend than that happening.

So here’s another suggestion. Why not have the group stage at the end of the tournament instead? Why not make reaching the group stage a proper prize for making it through the knock-out phase?

You could have standard home and away legs throughout the tournament until you whittle the teams down to the last eight. Then, instead of quarter-finals, have two groups of four and the winners of those groups play in the final?

Just think about the quality of teams in those two groups. You would have weeded out most of the minnows – with the possible exception of the annual surprise package – and you would be left with the crème de la crème of the European game. And that would make for some pretty exciting games.

I think it would be safe to assume that the teams in those final groups would field their best 11 players in every game.

There you go, Uefa. For once I have come up with a solution that means everyone wins – the fans, the teams, and the tournament. Even the money counters won’t be too much out of pocket.

Feel free to contact me if you need a consultant to help implement my Champions League revolution.

Roger and out

It seems like only yesterday everyone was talking about the brilliance, longevity and dominance of Roger Federer, widely viewed as the greatest player in the history of tennis.

The Swiss star has been at the top of the game for so long that all we ever heard was how his record of 16 Grand Slams was never likely to be beaten.

But now tennis has a new legend in the form of Rafael Nadal, who won last week’s US open, claiming his ninth grand slam and completing his set of all four major titles.

And as a result, all the talk now is about how Nadal is probably better than Federer and can go on to beat his record and claim the title of greatest ever.

Personally, I think it is a forgone conclusion.

Federer is 29 years old and coming to the end of his career. He may have two of three years of top-level tennis left in him and only a fool would bet against him adding an-other couple of slams to his haul.

But Nadal is only 24, and therefore time is very much on his side. More importantly, there will probably be a good five years for Nadal to keep on playing after Federer has hung up his racket.

Tennis is strange like that isn’t it? How often do we say we will never see the likes of such and such again, only for another, even better player to come along soon after?

The idea that we have even seen the best there is, in any sport, is evidently a flawed one. Evolution, technology and the changing face of all sports means there is always better to come.

Even now, as we all come to terms with the idea that Nadal will probably be the greatest player of all time, there is probably some kid somewhere destined to be even better.

Which reminds me: I have to get my newborn son a racket. Do they make them for two-week-olds?

Crouching tiger

It’s just one shock after another in the sordid world of Premiership footballers.

We’ve had the John Terry and Wayne Bridge girlfriend swapping saga, Ashley and Cheryl Cole’s inevitable divorce and the Wayne Rooney prostitute bonanza.

The latest incident to scandalise fans is that Peter Crouch’s girlfriend, model Abbey Clancy, is pregnant.

But the truly shocking part is that the baby appears to actually have been fathered by the six-foot seven-inch England star himself.

A Premiership footballer having sex with his partner? Whatevernext?

Permission granted

Israeli Avram Grant’s faith saw him stuck in the trickiest of situations this weekend.

The West Ham United boss is a re-ligious man and, as such, requested time off work to observe Yom Kippur.

As expected, the club granted him leave of absence and, as a result, he was set to miss yesterday’s game against Stoke City.

Normally that would not be too big a deal. But going into this weekend the Hammers were bottom of the league and hadn’t gained a single point from their first four matches. And Stoke were just two places further up the table.

If Grant’s team managed to get a result at the Potteries then questions will inevitably be asked about whether or not he is needed and what sort of influence he has on the players. But if they didn’t, then questions will be asked about how wise it was for him to miss such a crucial match at such a critical stage of the season after such an appalling start.

Either way, I still have him down as my favourite to be the first Premier League manager to lose his job this season.

True support

Antonio Valencia’s injury last Tuesday night was up there with the most horrific seen on a football pitch.

It looked like a fairly innocuous challenge, the sort that happens hundreds of times in every football match and hardly ever has disastrous consequences.

But this was one of those freak incidents that left the Manchester United player with a serious break, a dislocated ankle and a bone sticking out of his leg.

It’s hard to find anything even remotely positive about a professional footballer getting badly injured. But if there was one glimmer of light in an otherwise dark episode it was the fans’ behaviour.

Not only did the United supporters give Valencia a standing ovation as he was stretchered off the pitch, but so did the thousands of Rangers fans.

Their passionate rivalry was forgotten for a few minutes as they united to show their sympathy towards the stricken winger.

It’s no consolation for Valencia, who now faces the rest of the season on the sidelines as he undergoes a lengthy recovery process.

But at least it showed rival supporters are capable of rising above their base instincts when the moment calls for it.

Fake expectations

Bizarre story of the week has to be the one involving the fake ‘Togo’ team that played an international match against Bahrain earlier this month.

To all intents and purposes it was just your run-of-the-mill friendly game. Togo turned up at the Bahrain national stadium, took to the field, lost 3-0, had their showers and went home.

Except it wasn’t actually the Togo team but a bunch of imposters.

Apparently, the Bahrain Football Association’s suspicions were aroused by the sheer uselessness of the Togo players.

“They were not fit enough to play 90 minutes. The match was very boring,” Bahrain head coach Josef Hickersberger explained.

The Togo sports minister has now asked Fifa to investigate the incident.

The mind boggles.

sportscolumnist@timesofmalta.com