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by
Gracian Tukula, 19 March 2004
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13:02:21
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Providing the context
Before I discuss anything else, let me put it on record that I wish Bakili Bullets all the best in Caf Champions League first round second leg match in Kampala. I have a few friends there who feel confident that SC Villa will offset the 2-1 deficit and proceed to the next round. While that is a possibility, experience tells me it is not that easy.
Which reminds me of another Champions League elsewhere. A team which shall remain anonymous if only to preserve my good relationship with George Kasakula, also thought that the first leg away goal they got would help them at home as they would only need a goal to go through.
They got that goal and just as they were starting preparations for what was considered a routine quarterfinal, the other team managed to get an away goal of their own and there was little time to do anything about it. That shock exit was followed up with a painful derby loss to a side that had hitherto only won twice at home that season. So Bullets have their noses in front and should not look back.
I have been quoted elsewhere as predicting the end of Manchester United. I want to put that in contest. My feeling that the team’s days of dominating the English soccer scene are almost over is not purely based on United’s own form. What happens at Old Trafford has to be weighed against what is happening elsewhere.
Arsenal are consolidating and maturing and I don’t see them letting up in the next year or two. Chelsea are also emerging as a force and they seem better placed to get the runners-up slot this season. With former United chief executive Peter Kenyon on their books they should improve both on and off the pitch in the next one or two seasons.
I have not mentioned money in all this because even where you have money to spend, a Ronaldinho can opt for Barcelona. But where is my Liverpool in all this?
Certainly they are not winning the championship this year and their chances of proceeding in the Uefa Cup hang in a balance. But I am sure they will get the fourth position and, therefore, compete in the Champions League next season. They have mounted a frustrating campaign this year but I believe they will be competing more meaningfully next season.
And Gerard Houllier? I am not among those who feel he should go because having seen the team play, I have not seen much that would suggest that he does not know what to do or that the players and the board, who know more about the goings-on at Anfield than some of us may ever lay claim to, have lost confidence in him. That is not the same as saying I would shed a tear if he left.
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