By Myles Palmer
Wrong last week, I’m making no predictions about tomorrow’s Ajax-Arsenal game
I thought men would beat boys last Tuesday night, but it was a 1-1 draw.
I would have taken Gilberto and Henry off at half-time.
In fact,against Ajax, I would have played Edu at home and Gilberto away. Edu did well in the 2-0 win at Man United.
As we know, mini-leagues take time to unfold.
Some games look like must-win games, but turn out not to be. Ajax at Highbury looked like a must-win game.
Saturday’s 5-1 demolition of Man City proved that Arsenals speed and skill can destroy weak teams.They wil continue to do that.
I firmly believe that Arsenal will win the Double again.
But I’m apprehrensive about Amsterdam.
Anything can happen.
Arsenal can score after 27 seconds or have a fullback sent off after 11 minutes.
This is NOT a moment when I’m prepared to predict winners or scorers or tactical deployments.
I rarely bottle a football match but I’m bottling this one. I can’t call it.I just don’t know. Anything can happen.
Amsterdam is a lovely city which, alas,I’ve only visited once a long time ago.
I was co-manager of a Nottingham group,The Favourites, whose singer Darryl Hunt persuaded me to support Forest after they had won the first leg 2-0.
Four of us went over.Darryl, guitarist Duncan, and a Japanese friend of the band.
Ajax wear the same colours, so all the fans were in red and white. We had a 20-minute kickabout in the street with some young boys, watched by a couple of cops.
Later, wandering round the old stadium before the game, we were amazed to see Ian Bowyer and Kenny Burns walking among the crowd.
Did Cloughie know where they were? Incredible, even for those days.
In the middle of a tense second half, Soren Lerby scored, so it was 2-1 on aggregate.
Like Cloughie, I loved good defending and I saw great defending that night. Viv Anderson and Kenny Burns were immense.
Eventually, after the longest 22 minutes of my life, the final whistle went.
Darryl later became the bass player of The Pogues.
He told me last week that he went on the peace march,ducked into Bar Italia, saw both Arsenal goals against Man United,then re-joined the march.
Just as Yogi Bear was always smarter than the average park ranger, Darryl was always smarter than the average musician.
Last week I said that Keane could not run any more.
This week Sir Alex admitted as much.
He said, “That Roy Keane is gone. We don’t need the old Roy Keane. Not at that age, because he is never going to last.
“If you keep asking him to run from box-to-box, you are not going to get it. Now he can pick his moments. He can drive forward at the right time, when the space is in front and he has someone around him.
“Roy was always a box-to-box player. He depended on his running ability and power. He is obviously a tremendous player in terms of passing the ball and tackles.
“He’s good in the air, quick to see things and read the game – but you can’t keep on doing that. He has simply assessed himself properly. He has to do that if he wants to play all the games. He can bring a new dimension to his career by doing what he is doing.
“He has another three years left on his contract and I think he will get through that no problem. If his hip is okay he could play until he is 36 or 37.”
That is total bollocks.
Fergie is saying that to protect Keane, but it’s also the writing on the wall.
Roy Keane was an action player, not a strategic playmaker.
He’s not Dunga, not Mauro Silva, not Jan Molby.Never has been, never will be.
Tonight Juventus should beat a weakened United side.
It’s a big game for Veron, big game for John O’Shea.
But United will qualify whatever happens tonight.
Longterm, Fergie has two core values : winning and loyalty.
Of the two, winning is more important.
So Roy Keane’s days are numbered.He admits it.He has even talked of returning to the Irish team when he is playing for another club.
25th February 2003.