It was, without a doubt, the man’s finest hour. Or hour-and-a-half to be more accurate.
On Wednesday night Michael Mifsud banged in two cracking goals against Manchester United to send the champions crashing out of the Carling Cup.
And only Michael himself knows how he didn’t end up with a hat-trick after putting in a display that must have left Sir Alex wishing he had saved the money he spent on Nani and spent some of it on Malta’s ‘mosquito’ instead.
Fair enough, there were some mitigating factors in the equation. Manchester United were hardly at full strength and Coventry, as a whole, raised their game magnificently for the occasion.
But that should not take anything away from Michael and a personal performance which surely double confirms him as the best player our country has ever produced.
According to reports in England, the Maltese striker is now valued at between seven and eight million pounds. I think that might be a bit off the mark considering he is unproven at the highest level, but I would think a figure of around four million would easily be achievable.
And the good news for Michael is that Coventry, as a club, are not fantastically stable in terms of finance. So, come the January transfer window it could be time for the ‘mosquito’ to spread his wings.
If I could offer one bit of advice to Michael it would be to put in as much effort, energy and commitment as possible between now and Christmas in a bid to secure his dream move to the top flight.
Then again, from everything I have heard about the lad, that’s what he does all the time. A truly dedicated professional.
Who knows, if things go really well, Michael may even find himself back at Old Trafford on a more permanent basis.
Whatever his price, he has got to be better value for money than Nani…
Martin Jol
If there was an award for most determined and stubborn manager in the Premier League, then it would have to go to Martin Jol.
Despite the fact that his job is undoubtedly hanging by a thread, he continues to insist that he is the best man for the job.
“We finished fifth in the last two years. I don’t think anybody else could do better,” he insisted after Spurs’ midweek Carling Cup victory over Middlesbrough.
What he appears to be forgetting is that managers don’t trade on past achievements – only current ones. In that business you are most definitely only as good as your last few games. And, in Spurs’ case, they haven’t been particular good.
As it stands now they are third from bottom of the Premier League with just five points from seven games. And they face what can only be described as tricky matches against Aston Villa, Liverpool and Newcastle in the next few weeks.
By my calculations, anything less than six points from those games and Jol could find himself looking for another club to almost take into the Champions League every season…
Stamford Bridge
It may be a new man in charge at Stamford Bridge but the noises coming out of the manager's office are disturbingly familiar.
Speaking after the defeat to Manchester United last week, Avram Grant said: “The referee made three mistakes only: the red card, playing too much time at the end of the first half and the penalty. Apart from that he was good.”
Looks like we may have got ourselves a considerably less handsome and charismatic version of the special one after all…
Then again, can anybody really hope to live up to Jose’s legacy. This was a man who said last week: “I would love to gather all the fans together to say goodbye but they would crush me with their love.”
Pure class.
Gary Waddock
How is this for a novel approach to football management – Aldershot boss Gary Waddock has started standing on the terraces with the fans during matches.
The objective, he says, is to get a better perspective on matches while at the same time being able to take advice from fans during the game.
“At least this way no one yells at me to sit down,” Gary explained.
Whatever the reason behind the move, it appears to be working. Aldershot are currently top of the league…
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