Man United's Strength Will Become its Biggest Weakness

Picture this, RVP hits the volley against villa for his second goal, United have all but sealed the title and Arsenal are losing out against Spurs in a battle for the 4th spot. A United hater comes to you and tells in six months time United will be below Southampton, losing at home to West Brom and Arsenal would be at the top of the table. You would be try your best to control your laughter, a mocking laugh perhaps, but even that would not be enough. Fast forward six months and SAF is gone, David Moyes is the new manager and United have had the worst start in their Premier League History. So what exactly has gone wrong ?

It surely can't be because of just one man, can it be ? Yes, Ferguson was a great manager but last year's champions were not just about him, were they ? Yes United does not have the number of world class players like City or Chelsea have, but they aren't that bad to be in this position either.

Sir Alex's last speech as United Manager

It seems a little difficult to follow the great man's words now, after last night's defeat against Everton United now sit 9th on the table, having dropped 20 points in 14 games. The boo boys are out, twitter is raging with #moyesout tags while the ex-united players and board members are busy defending the manager. It is really incredible to see such rapid deterioration of the team which had won the title at a canter last season, 11 points to be exact. Every United fan knew tough times were ahead when Sir Alex retired, but even the most pessimistic of them would be shocked at the current state of things.

It is just not the points dropped that is worrying the United fans, but the way the team is slowly deviating from the 'United-ways' that is a cause for concern. Forget the defeats to City and Liverpool, even teams like Southampton and West Brom came to Old Trafford and played without fear. In the Fergie days this would have been unimaginable.

There was an air of arrogance about United in the 'Fergie era', and opposition teams would often lose the game in the tunnel. They would sit back and park the bus, and were almost resigned to losing at Old Trafford- the fortress. But Roberto Martinez's comments that he was proud Everton played with 'arrogance' just shows what is wrong with United.

You can say that the squad is an ageing one, Ed Woodward was to blame for the farcical summer, and the Glazers have been stingy owners. But David Moyes must share a major proportion of the blame. Moyes lacks confidence and fails to inspire the team. Even when they are a goal down, the United spirit which have all known for years is hard to see. He arrived in the summer a month late, knowing he needed to assess a new squad, chased an unrealistic target for two months, and in the end overpaid for a player that did not suit United. His substitutions have been at times shocking and defensive while his tactics of wing play is outdated in Europe. His record of not winning a trophy has come back to haunt him now as the results are going bad. Teams and managers doubt his capability and in turn United's which gives them so much confidence while playing against the Red Devils.Can you imagine a Mourinho, a Guardiola or a Klopp in such a position ? Even if results did not go their way, they would have had trophies to show their capability. The fear factor would not have diminished.

United fans will not be so forgiving if they miss out on Europe

That is where the board went wrong in the appointment of Ferguson's successor. While they should have taken his opinion into account his opinion, by no means they should have followed it without even interviewing the candidate. A United job is one which came once in 26 years, talk all about Real Madrid and Barcelona, but this is the most prestigious managerial job on the planet. That's why the board should have at least interviewed him,asked about his plans if not other candidates too. But Moyes was handed it on a silver platter and he looks absolutely clueless now. Would this have happened in any other multi-million dollar organization, or even at Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich- all 3 clubs whom United are trying to emulate on the European front. Roman Abramovich has changed managers at his whim, but that has not stopped Chelsea from being as successful as United on the trophies front in the past 10 years. 

While stability is important it should not come at the expense of incompetence. And that is primarily United's biggest strength and weakness too- stability. We all know that David Moyes will be given a minimum of 3 years at United however bad the results go, but United now is vastly different to the one Sir Alex inherited. This is the biggest sports brand in the world, the most popular football club. If results don't go their way, the sponsors will start backing out, the popularity might decrease. With United's debt standing at around 350 million pounds, the sponsors are essential. Otherwise United might start going down the Leeds way.

Ed Woodward was recently quoted as saying that it wouldn't matter if United didn't win a trophy because the sponsors would still remain citing the example of Liverpool who have not won a trophy in 23 years and still have the second largest shirt sponsorship deal in the league, after United. This just proves how business oriented the new CEO is, and even though United is a PLC, it is a football club first. No, Mr. Woodward we fans would not be able to see Man United become another Liverpool. For this either the owners will have to invest a significant amount in the squad,which looks unlikely, or the manager will have to change his tactics drastically, which again looks very unlikely. While the powerful owners cannot be removed, the manager becomes a easy target. It is still very early to sound out judgement, but by the end of the season if United do miss out on that coveted Champions's League spot Moyes will have to go. We all want him to succeed and feel sorry for his current state. But this is Man United, and they can NOT handle mediocricity.

#MoyesOut   

Why We Need To Stop Thinking About Others And Be Selfish For A While

"Self-sacrifice? But it is precisely the self that cannot and must not be sacrificed." 

                           The Fountainhead.

This is a famous quote from the 1943 Ayn Rand novel which has polarized opinions ever since it's release. You're classified as either pro-Rand or anti-Rand. In a war ridden United States people thought this was her way to promote Capitalism under the alias of objectivism just like she chose to use the pseudonym Ayn Rand instead of Alisa Zinov'yevna Rosenbaum. 

But looking at the theory in the hindsight and observing the current state of the world..one might easily be forgiven to think that she might have actually been correct. Purely from an Indian point of view, one could understand why this novel seems so attractive to us. Everybody thinks of himself as Howard Roark, the great architect, the pioneer of objectivism. The Man who would not bow down before the world. There is a sense of rebellion about him, albeit with a lot of calm and self-control.

And that is exactly what makes the average Indian male relate to this guy. He feels there is so much wrong being done around him, but he is helpless to do anything about it. His life is a frustrated mess and he either blames his family or associates for the state he is in. This book gives him an alternate world where in the end true principles prevail and everything is as it should be in an ideal world. But the focus is not on the book. It's on the average Indian man and his life. 

Gary Cooper playing Howard Roark- the man people love to hate

Right from the time one chooses Science over Commerce, to the time one gets employed, one after the other choices are based on how they should be 'good'. Good, because others think it is good. Because the family thinks it is good. But what one does not realize is that he is giving up a part of himself, his desires for others. He often thinks about his immediate family and starts planning to serve them in the future. So, in all this a sense of individuality about him is lost, a part of HIM is lost. This is not just one man, each man tries to be what others think he should be... those others think about someone else's opinion...and so the cycle goes on.This is the basic problem with our society, talk all you can about self sacrifice, but self sacrifice sounds good when it is actually for the good of others. When you mindlessly give up your dreams and desires for others, it's not sacrifice it's foolishness.

Dr. C.N. Rao was the latest to stir up a controversy when he said most IT people commit suicides because they are unhappy with their lives. Well, although there's nothing Einstein about this revelation as most people commit suicides due to unhappiness ..what is truly striking is the reasons underneath. Happiness is a state of mind which can only be achieved when one is satisfied. To satisfy the self one must look to achieve one's goals, goals decided by one's own thoughts in the purest and the most uninfluenced form, however unorthodox they might be. Only when the self is first satisfied can one then think about serving others. As Rand said, to actually mean the words " I love you" the 'I' must first be realized.

Although contrary to popular beliefs, I feel being an egotist can actually help not only the individual, but also the world. The simple answer as to how this would be possible is by asking yourself a question. What is man's eternal desire?  It is Power. Power is actually respect,fame,reverence or even gaining the admiration of others. Whatever name you give it, the purpose remains the same. And this is essentially what objectivism tries to eliminate. It is the want for all these vices-which can only be given by others, that the serious flaw in our philosophy lies. One can be a successful architect to the world, but if he cannot stamp his own authority in designs and blindly follows others, the admiration ultimately turns into a thorn in the flesh for the person himself(Peter Keating anyone ?). Whereas someone who is despicable for the world, but knows the quality of his work can actually be the most content and happy person on this earth. The dependency on others is eliminated here. It is more difficult to live with something which you're good at but didn't want to be than with something which was desired.(You cannot be bad at something you desired, such is the power of human determination.) Therefore self esteem and self approval, not admiration should be a man's desire.

The Government can give nothing to deprived except which has been taken forcibly from the deserving. With all the debates ranging from whether the nation's economic policies should be inclusion based or growth based, one can do his bit by following the theories of objectivism, because if all the people religiously do what they want to without worrying about the collective good, there is no limit to which success can be achieved. No, even the sky won't be the limit. The endless universe perhaps ?
Quite ironically this would ensure the success of the society as a whole. And maybe, just maybe inclusion won't be such a major issue. Nor would be suicide and unhappiness.

Therefore is it not selfishness which is the true form of altruism ?