Moyes next Man Utd manger as Sir Alex is set to retire

Not to any considerable surprise, David Moyes will become the second Manchester United boss in 27 years, after the quarter century long reign by compatriot Sir Alex Ferguson. The Everton boss was installed as firm favourite to succeed Ferguson on Monday after a flood of bets over the weekend. Bookmakers Paddy Power cut his odds from 7/2 to 1/2 after they reported a myriad of overnight bets from Sunday to Monday. Someone let the cat out of the bag. Nevertheless, the Scot will take charge when the 2012/13 seasons ends. Admittedly, the appointment was greeted with trepidation by some United fans due to numerous concerns. The most pertinent of which, his distinct lack of Champions League experience. Time will also tell how he can finally manage a significant sized squad and disposable transfer fees. Admittedly, observers will point to his remarkable success with a well publicized lack of resources and depth in squad at Everton and all superficial signs advertise that he is an ,all round, excellent manager. However the trepidation exhibited by red devil fans aren't abated by the revelation that some Everton fans are glad to see the back of what will soon be their former manager. Some toffees claim Moyes has an extremely negative approach, asserting that he strangles his strikers' natural attacking instincts and pushes them out on the wing, citing Steven Naismith as an example, and pointing to the goal drought of Nikita Jelavic as further evidence. Albeit, it will take a remarkable effort to turn Robin Van Persie into a bad striker, however these concerns will only know their legitimacy this time next year when his first year in charge is reviewed (if he's still manager that is).

However, one thing is for sure, the unprecedented successful era resided over by Sir Alex Ferguson won't be emulated. The unyielding success that flocks of United fans are used to enjoying and come to expect will be a thing of the past. I thought the departure of Edwin Van de Sar, breaking up the impregnable defence spear headed by Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand at the height of his powers would bring about an end to United's dominance. An assumption that only had short lived affirmation with arch rivals Manchester City winning the league the very next seasont. However, they have won the league this season without much difficulty and without a vintage Man United team, concertedly also without good challengers. Taking away the main heart of United's ethos and genetics will surely also diminish the success that accompanies.

Unrelenting, authoritarian, trophy collecting, Sir Alex Ferguson will retire. Though Love or hate Man United, anyone will still tell you Ferguson, with the likes of Brian Clough and Bob Paisley, is one of the greats.  It pains me to say it but, over the past twenty years or so Manchester United have become the Roman Empire of English football and Ferguson is the Julius Caesar of management. Caesar was a dictator of the Roman Republic and never an Emperor of Rome he contributed to the downfall of the Roman republic and the rise of the Empire. This is particularly applicable because Sir Alex overseen and effected a change in the way most clubs are managed; from his appointment in 1986 to the new millennium, he had established an archetypal club and business, a sporting dynasty. He established absolute authority, deploying belligerence and intimidation as his tools of control. He became a tyrant for referees, vehemently attacking them when a decision didn't go in United's favour. All the while somehow escaping sanctions from the FA when managers from other clubs received touchline bans and fines for behaving in a more restrained fashion than the 71 year old.

On the other hand, one benefit of this unchecked dominance is longevity and the stability. In comparison to other, for instance Liverpool's managerial ambiguity over the past five years has seen them slip from challengers of the premiership and Champions League winners to mere top 6 challengers and face a huge amount of catching up to do as clubs that they used aspire to be like them, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City for example. While Chelsea have enjoyed success over the the last decade, infamously chopping and changing their managers has starved them of the opportunity to embed themselves in Europe's elite. And even within the ranks of the European elite, the likes of Real Madrid have employed the services of 26 different mangers in Ferguson's reign, an obscene amount. Which ultimately culminated in senior figures like Ikar Cassilias having spats with manager Jose Mourinho on what the Spanish goalkeeper claimed as a case of Madrid 'identity'. For many people, Sir Alex Ferguson is the only Manchester United manager they have ever known. That's identity.

How United and Moyes will progress with a new identity, the younger Scot at the helm and the older, 'watching' from the director's box, will make for intriguing viewing.

Lions: Who got the call?

So its finally here, after four years of thinking what could have been in South Africa, what could be in Australia, the pinnacle for rugby players, fans and sports enthusiasts worldwide, the 2013 British and Irish lions have began their journey. The huge anticipation over what British and Irish players would get the call, and get their eager hands on the highly coveted red jersey, finally came to its conclusion this morning.

And there were some  surprises. So who got the call? In terms of home nation make up, the squad consists of 15 Welsh, 10 English, 9 Irish and 3 Scots.  Which translates into 6 Props,  3 Hookers, 5 Second Rows, 7 Back Rows, 3 Scrumhalves 2 Outhalves, 4 Centres. 4 Wingers and 3 Fullbacks. Sam Warburton is awarded the captaincy, to no great shock. The massive shock is that the 2nd favourite for the captaincy coming into this week, Chris Robshaw, is omitted entirely. I can only imagine the English captain is distraught and considering what on earth more he could have done to get the call. Beat Wales in the Six Nations decider and be Grand Slam winning captain. That's what. If England win that match, or even merely avoid being comprehensively outplayed, Justin Tupuric or Tom Croft is left behind and Robshaw travels, and, quite conceivably, as captain. That didn't happen, however, and England surrendered their first real chance for Grand Slam glory in 10 years.

Though even as things panned out, why not bring the omnipresent Robshaw anyway (without the captaincy) and leave the over-rated Tom Croft at home? Sure he toured in 2009 and has considerable pace for a back row forward, but so does Sean O'Brien and Justin Tupuric. So why does the English media think he's so good? He's a good option in the lineout, but again so is Jamie Heaslip. Unless, he produces a couple of unprecedented world beating performances, is he ever going to be more than a mid-week player in this tour? Robshaw would certainly have being vying for a test spot. Ostensibly, they opted for versatility rather than specialty.

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Some onlookers were disappointed Brian O'Driscoll missed out on the captaincy.Personally, I'm glad he doesn't have the burden. The Leinster man, arguably,delivers his best performances without the concerns that captaincy brings about. In the 2005 Lions tour to New Zealand when BOD had the captaincy,he under performed, albeit with his chance to exhibit his ability in the Test arena robbed of him by Rugby criminals Tanu Umaga and Kevin Mealamu 

(yes I haven't forgotten or forgiven). Though in 2009, when Paul O'Connell was tour captain, BOD was the best player of the tour, and probably the

world that year - the fact that he didn't get IRB player of the year was a 

shambolic farce (yes I haven't forgotten that either).  Paul O'Connell, on the other hand, can he do for the lions what he does for the red of Munster? I say this because he has never really produced his imperious,unstoppable form in an Ireland jersey. For instance, his colossal effort in the Heineken Cup quarter-final against Harlequins, was game changing and probably won the game. Hopefully he can transport these tenacious efforts to the Lions.

Another fascinating story revealed yesterday with the squad announcement concerned Jonny Wilkinson. Seemingly, Wilko was to be the 38th man of the squad but told Warren Gatland not to include him, presumably so as he could concentrate on his club, Toulon's, Top 14 and Heineken Cup endeavours. Though, don't think for one minute if he is completely available he will evade the alluring call of a third Lions tour. Love him or hate him, the man is a class act.
He should have been one of the world's greatest sporting figures except he was notoriously hampered by injuries and the bulk of his career has been plighted by his extensive injury list. A moment that sums him up manifested in the Saracens Toulon Heineken Cup Semi. Wilko dropped into the pocket during the last 5 minutes of the game, evaded Owen Farrell's last ditch attempt to smother his drop at goal. While still getting his kick away, he was felled by the young England fly-half, and on the ground the two players propped their heads up to learn the fate of the ball. When it became apparent that it would pass through the posts to put the French side out of sight, a dejected Farrell received a genuine consoling pat on the back from Wilkinson , before the rest of the Toulon players ripped him off the ground to congratulate their talisman on slotting, what would be, the winning score. He'd be perfect for the Lions tour. He could come on after an hour to close out tight games, and secure leads established by Jonathan Sexton.

So what does the rest of the selections mean? Austin Healey tweeted 'crash, bang and wallop....route one Aussies now know what to expect'. Admittedly, the Lions selection committee seemed to have opted for muscle and belligerence. Why not though, Australia seem vulnerable to the aggressive approach, Ireland proved this in the  2011 World Cup when they bossed the Aussie forwards and shut down Quade Cooper and his backs. Time will tell how the journey, starting in Hong Kong don't forget, will pan out. No doubt a myriad of different theories and strategies will emerge from now until then on who to play in what position, (probably mainly concerning the back row) and who will start the Test matches. Lets just pray now that there is no injuries or suspensions (remember Alan Quinlan in 2009?) in the remaining fixtures of the domestic and European season.