Moyes' Replacements

Nate’s 9: Moyes’ Replacements

            I only do this in jest; honestly I was actually preparing up a different topic for “Nate’s 9”, when I couldn’t get United’s season out of my head.  It’s been frustrating to say the least, and I’m not quite mentally prepared for this being my last season as a passionate fan.  So why not dream?  Before the season began, I did have David Moyes high on my own personal list.  He had a solid run with Everton for 11 seasons, built the club from within, and always seemed to do well blending purchases with the players that had come up through the club.  It was very similar to the United project, albeit on a smaller scale.  Outside of maybe Jose Mourinho and one or two other guys, he was definitely qualified enough to handle a club like United.  Or so we thought.  I’m not sure what the deal is with the experienced players of the club, but in most any football fan’s eyes, there is something not right between the players and manager of the club.  I am not going to do any speculating, but I feel like I know which side of the line players are on.  That being said, I’m going to have a little fun and select the managers I wish would take the sideline if the Glazers did decide to pull the trigger early, and give David Moyes the papers. 

#9. Jurgen Klopp.  I love the guy.  Not just for what he has done for Borussia Dortmund, but just his demeanor in general.  His players love playing for him, and I think he’s the only reason why Robert Lewandowski stayed as long as he did.  He could’ve pushed for Bayern last year if he had so chosen. I think Jurgen is ready for the big time job, but I’m not sure he wants to leave Borussia just yet.  I’m okay with that.

#8. Guus Hiddink.  This guy is probably one of the few managers in the world that can just walk into a job and succeed.  He’d probably have United 4^th by the end of the year.  Doesn’t really have any Premier League loyalties either, which would be nice. I assume he’s the kind of guy that follows the money though.

#7. Fabio Capello. Very smart, and I don’t think you would see this lack of motivation if Capello was running United.  It appeared that he was running a tight camp when he was with England, even if he occasionally got the tactics wrong. (Parker instead of Milner?). Might offend some players by not selecting them, but how is that any different now?

#6. Harry Redknapp.  I always thought of him as interesting guy.  Never seemed to do the greatest, but his players sure enjoyed playing for him.  A lot of players (Defoe, Crouch, Lennon) were at their best when he was pulling the strings.  And he’d make for a great press conference too.

#5. Marcello Lippi.  I know that he’s kind of at his end as a manager in the game, but I think he’s about as close to Alex Ferguson as we’ll ever see.  He always had tricks up his sleeve, whether it be with a soundbite through the media or with motivating an uninspired player (see 2006 Italian national team, any). I know that he’s in China right now, but I think if United came calling he’d give them a year or 3.  For as “boring” as his tactics may be, he sure does win a lot. 

#4. Michael Laudrup.  When he first signed for Swansea City, I thought they got a steal. He was one of the first players that really grew on me; his playing style is attractive and fluid.  I thought if he got Swansea to play similar to how he and the Danish sides grew up playing, they could contend for trophies.  Which they did.  I’m not sure why he got fired, but I think in the right situation he could be one of the great managers of our day. 

#3 Laurent Blanc.  He was one of my favorite players to ever play for United, and he had that inquisitive style to his game that I thought would translate well in management.  In a way, I’ve been right as his career has blossomed at Bordeaux, followed by a stint with the French National Team, and now with PSG.  He has them firing on all cylinders, and he was one of the 2 that I really thought United should have taken a look at along with David Moyes.

#2. Jose Mourinho.  The other manager I thought United might want to have a chat with.  For all his imperfections, he wins wherever he goes, and the team enjoys playing for him. (And the guys who don’t are gone in months). I think that he would have used United like a puppet, but I would’ve been okay with that (the press wars, managerial battles, etc). The guy just contends for titles, and you can’t deny his results.  Plus we could’ve gotten the “Special One” skits back.

#1. Roberto Mancini. He was nowhere near my radar as recent as 6 months ago.  I thought he was arrogant, manipulative, and headstrong.  Now I wish we had a manager that had those traits.  For as much as I might have been annoyed with his managerial maneuvers at City, and all his flapping about United, the job that he did there with those personalities and the pressure from the top was absolutely incredible.  The year they won the title they were 8 points down with a month to go, and he got a team with Carlos Tevez, Mario Balotelli, Samir Nasri etc to buckle down and produce results until they were on top.  Over Ferguson’s powerful engine no less.  That year has stayed with me, and now I would be remiss, if I didn’t see how excellent Mancini was in being able to win that title. Runner up in domestic league and cup wasn't a bad way to go out last season either. He might go far with Galatasaray this year as well, stay tuned…

Bucket List

Nate’s 9: Shortlist for a Bucket List

                I always thought these things were kind of lame, at least until I saw the movie with Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson.  It was a nice concept, and it looked like the two of them had a lot of fun, but I don’t have that kind of money or desire to do something so grand.  But I do think it is a good idea to kind of motivate myself to do something special or save up for something special.  Here are the 9 that I would like to give a go for…

#9. Visit all 30 MLB stadiums – I’m off to quite the slow start; I think I’ve only been to four of the thirty current baseball stadiums (Kaufmann, Target Field, PNC Park and Miller). I wasn’t even able to see a game at either Miller Park or PNC; I just got to see the stadiums up close.  So as far as this being realistic goes… I don’t think I have much of a shot.  It’s not my favorite sport, and I much prefer my summers spent in the privacy of my own community (Twin Cities).  But I really appreciate the beauty of baseball stadiums and the fact that each is unique and recognizable in their own way makes these trips worth attempting.

#8. Visit all 12/14 Big Ten Universities – This just got a little more difficult with the additions of Maryland and Rutgers Universities, but it’s something I still think would be interesting and fun.  I’ve got 3 of them knocked down if you include the University of Minnesota (Penn State, Northwestern) and most of these universities are close enough together where we can visit a couple of schools at a time.  I would like to do this one with each one of my kids, and show them how beautiful and remarkable these Big Ten Universities can be.

#7 Finally admit that my wife really does love me more. While it’s not something that I like to admit if I truly reflect back on the past 13 years, it does seem to be that she has gone the extra mile, where it just might be true. Not once in the past 13 years has she ever stopped to question her love or all that she does for me. (lol, Nope. This is someone else’s work. My real #7 is)…

#7. Visit all 32 NFL stadiums – By this point, I will probably be sick of all the travel I’m attempting to do, and my children will have both OD’d on architecture and sports, but this is the one I’d really like to try.  NFL fans are probably the best in America, and it will be fun to aim and experience the different game days and tailgating that each NFL team is familiar with. 

#6. Pay it Forward once a year – It’s just something I’ve always been impressed with when others do it, and I feel like I should.  I have a blessed life between my marriage, children, childhood and life experiences.  Why not give someone else a little bit of that joy?

#5. Do Something Big for Someone – Kind of like a Pay it Forward X20.  I’ve already done a few pay it forwards this year between randomly buying favorite customers a drink or dessert, or paying an unexpected compliment.  But I would really like to do a memorable version of this, and something that they remember for the rest of their life.  It’s going to be tricky with financial limitations and my busy dad schedule, but I still want to get this one done.  Like set some mutual friends up for endless love or something like that.  It would be something cool.

#4.  Visit New York City – I am obsessed with getting there. I had always had an interest in what many believe to be the greatest city in the world, but nothing out of the ordinary. After visiting a ridiculous amount of European metropolises during my exchange year, my travel desire grew a little warmer.  Then after reading the book “New York” by Rutherford and the many visits to the websites www.NYC.gov & www.wikipedia.org/newyorkcity my desire really turned into something incredible, and a bit ridiculous.  It’s all fascinating stuff, and really the only place in the world that I feel like I must see before my time runs out.

#3. European Tour – I’ve already done something that relates to this, but I would really like to do it again for two reasons.  #1, I would like my wife to go with me and see what I keep on blubbering about when I reminisce about the great continent and #2, I was an eighteen year old with no real interest in any of the historic value of the mainland.  I went to the cities and enjoyed them, but really I just wanted to party and shop and see the sports venues.  Now I would like to see the Eiffel Tower, the Brandenburg gates, the Mont-St-Michel in Normandy, and the Coliseum in Rome.  Plus everything else that I can squeeze into a couple of weeks.

#2. Get my Masters – My effort in school never really went anywhere until I started my Bachelor’s degree at Concordia.  I really enjoyed the work that I did and I think it showed in my GPA.  I would love to go back to either Concordia or attend St. Thomas/University of Minnesota and achieve my goal of getting a masters in sports management.  I know that with the kids and the lack of funds it isn’t something I will be able to do immediately, but I still would like to get it done before 40.

#1. The Gift of Love – I really want to step it up in my marriage.  Like be her #1 with a bullet. 

My Super Bowl Recap

Nate’s Nine: Reasons I wasn’t disappointed with the Super Bowl

                Now I know it wasn’t what anyone imagined last night, myself included.  I assumed the blackout would happen during Percy Harvin’s kickoff return in order to bring Denver back into the game.  I’m not mad though.  Pete Carroll did a well enough job to deserve two Gatorade splashings, and it makes for an intriguing storyline heading into next season.  Here’s why I’m perfectly content with what happened during Super Bowl XLVIII.

#9. Peyton still set a record.  Granted throwing for the most completions in a blowout loss isn’t the most impressive of all records, but it is another thing he can take with him to the Hall of Fame when he gets to that point.  Which is obviously inevitable.

#8. Denver got crushed, but still had class.  Of course it would be Peyton that would seek out Richard Sherman to check out the ankle, but even beyond that there were no frustrated personal foul penalties, no game misconducts, and no unnecessary roughness flags.  I’d be curious to see what would have happened if the Broncos won 43-8.

#7. The Super Bowl needs a blowout every now and again.  I’m a big believer in the cause/effect theory and I can appreciate a win like this.  As a result, teams with plenty of cap space are going to come sniffing hard when a number of these Seattle Seahawks hit free agency soon.  This is no longer the 1990’s when the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers and even to some extent the Buffalo Bills could resign every single significant player with the hopes of creating a mini-dynasty.  This Seahawks team could be dismantled within two seasons if they aren’t able to extend Richard Sherman, Cliff Avril, Golden Tate and company.  What I’m really excited for is to see how much they offer to Russell Wilson and if the money given doesn’t cramp their style.  For all that he is, I’m not sure I could put him in the 100 million range.  But then again, Tony Romo makes 100.

#6. The assurance that Peyton Manning plays another season.  No way he retires after 8 points.  No way.

#5. We get to hear about the great Bears defense of 1985 again.  If any teams in history recognized each other through a mirror, you would almost say the Seahawks of today vs the Bears of 1985 is the closest thing to a match.  For all that the 2000 Ravens were, I’m taking Jim McMahon and Russell Wilson ahead of Trent Dilfer. Every. Single. Time.  But both teams ran conservative offenses with great running games and quarterbacks that could make plays with their feet, legs or intelligence.  They also had receivers that didn’t stand out, but could stretch the field when needed too (Willie Gault, Golden Tate).  They had great offensive lines.  Their return teams were top notch (Dennis Gentry, Doug Baldwin/Percy Harvin). Yet, it was the defenses that won both teams their first super bowl titles.  Seattle wouldn’t let anyone throw; Chicago wouldn’t let anyone run.  Both teams had a ridiculous amount of confidence, on the borderline of cockiness.  I’m not much for arguments, but if I needed to take a defense, I would find it hard not to pick Seattle’s to win me the biggest game.

#4. I’m tired of the wildcard teams making the Super Bowl.  On most days it still would have been a great matchup.  These were undoubtedly the two best teams in their respective conferences.  I think it may have been worse for New England.  Because they wouldn’t have gotten a yard off these defensive backs.  And I still believe that the 49ers would have been exposed by the Broncos.  But this wild-card free Super Bowl was rather refreshing. 

#3. The Push for 50.  The Super Bowl between the San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos that ended 55-10 was one of my all-time favorites.  It’s when Joe Montana became an all-time great. Not only is this the stage when stars are born (Kam Chancellor/Jermaine Kearse), but it’s a true measurement about how great we believe a team can be.  Everyone talks about how conservative and average Seattle’s offense is, but they still got in the end zone 3 times against an above average defense.  We may forget down the road how good this team was, but the record book will always remain 43-8.

#2. Seattle will have a target on their back next season.  Not to say they wouldn’t have had one by winning a close game, but teams heading into the off-season are going to try and improve with the mindset to beating these types of teams (Seahawks, 49ers). The same thing happened in the 90’s when the Cowboys were winning everything and the 4-3 defense became vogue so the defense could cover everyone.  Same thing in this last decade with the wide open, hurry-up offense.  Now that Seattle has offset that with a quick inside pass rush and the biggest defensive backfield we’ve ever seen, we might see the NFL shift toward the big 300+ offensive line and powerful running games we all remember so fondly from the 1980’s.  Seattle – Challenge accepted.

#1. The result of a perfect executed game.  We should all be happy for this Seattle football team, because the score reflected exactly how the game went.  The Seahawks wanted long, time-consuming drives on offense with getting the occasional home run play through a run or a pass.  They got them through the air.  Defensively, they were always going to play aggressive man-to-man coverage and rush maybe 4 or 5 on every play.  Everything worked at the highest level.  Their return game while only getting limited opportunities was very effective.  I have watched way too many games where a team executes their game plans to perfection only for a bad call, an unlucky turnover, or an untimely injury derail the chance for a simple victory.  Enjoy the times when a team gets their chance.