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Nick Powell showing why he’s coveted by Manchester United – May 27th 2012
Some of you may recognise Nick Powell’s name from the gossip columns, and that’s because Manchester United have been heavily linked with him.
Amongst others, the Manchester Evening News have been dropping heavy hints that Sir Alex Ferguson would make a move for the Crewe youngster once his season was over – which was today. Crewe overcame Cheltenham in the League Two playoff final at Wembley this afternoon, with Powell scoring the only goal.
At eighteen, Powell is the latest in a long-line of products from Crewe’s famed academy system, and has returned 16 goals from midfield this season.
Whether there’s as much truth in all these rumours as the papers insist there is we’ll presumably find out over the coming days, but it would be nice to see a homegrown player from the lower leagues given a chance at an elite club in the Premier League and not just thrown into the reserves and forgotten about.
Manchester United after Ghanaian star? – May 26th 2012
Bear with us here, because there are a few moving parts to this one.
The Daily Mail is reporting that Manchester United are pursuing AC Milan’s former Tottenham and Portsmouth midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng. Although, by ‘reporting’, we mean that they’ve scooped it off and Italian news source.
The logic is that United have been unsuccessful with their bid for Borussia Dortmund’s Shinji Kagawa, and are now looking at other options to fill the creative void in their midfield. Wesley Sneijder is supposedly a no-go, because of his age and projected price tag.
Added into the mix is Milan’s desire to maybe cash-in on Boateng and pursue one of the highly-touted Brazilian youngsters – either Ganso or Lucas.
And breathe.
Maybe. Although, as much as he’s improved since moving to the San Siro, Boateng was distinctly underwhelming during his previous stay in England – and that has to be a red flag to United. Also, given what it would take financially to get Milan to sell surely he wouldn’t represent good value.
He’s just not the kind of calibre of player that United should be looking at, and they too would do well to track those aforementioned Brazilians if they want to close the gap on Manchester City next season.
Paul Pogba on the verge of signing for Juventus – 24th May 2012
One last chance to have a go at Paul Pogba, given that it seems he’s decided to move to Juventus.
The Corriere dello Sport carried the following quotes from Guiseppe Marotta, club director at the Turin club, this morning:
We have lured [Pogba] away from Manchester United. We respected the rules.
“Pogba, for his own reasons, didn’t intend to renew [his contract with United]. We informed the club and we are now waitinig for an answer. Talks are well advanced.
Given the manner in which Pogba arrived at Old Trafford, it seems irrelevant whether Juve followed the rules or not. Still, that’s not the point.
Pogba is leaving United because he feels he’s worth more first-team minutes and more money than he’s currently receiving.
A quick word of advice – Paul, you’re not getting in Juventus’ midfield either. None of Arturo Vidal, Claudio Marchisio, and Andrea Pirlo are getting replaced anytime soon.
You could argue, that he – or his agent Mino Raiola – has decided to join a club where he’s further down the pecking order and even less likely to play.
Really smart. Way to work it through, son. It’s funny, because this is a theme with all of the players that Raiola represents – Mario Balotelli, Zlatan Ibrahimovic – they all think their better than they really are, and they all believe that they’re due more money than they get paid. I wonder where that attitude comes from.
Not to sound too much like a deranged super-villain, but Paul Pogba, you’ll live to regret this.
Struggling to understand Manchester United’s interest in Leighton Baines – May 23rd 2012
The Premier League Owl
The Mirror published a story this morning about Manchester United being in advanced talks to sign Everton full-back Leighton Baines. The caveat here is that the Mirror, like all other tabloids, fabricates stories and misleads their readership on a daily basis – but let’s assume for the sake of argument that there’s some truth in this one.
A couple of other sources seem to have copied and pasted this rumour, and they all seem to agree on a fee between £12m and £15m for the England defender. That’s a lot of money.
That’s an even greater sum of money for a player who Manchester United don’t need.
Baines is a good player – he’s a decent defender, and his delivery from out wide is excellent. But is this really a signing that would close the gap between United and Manchester City? Does it get them anywhere nearer to recapturing the title? No – and that’s what everything they do has to be aimed towards.
Patrice Evra turned 31 earlier this month, and while his best years are probably behind him, replacing the Frenchman is not a priority for United. The problems with this side exist in attacking midfield and at right-back, and Baines isn’t going to be solving either of those problems.
A really strange one.
Manchester United registering an interest in Robert Lewandowski – May 15th 2012
Being a Borussia Dortmund fan has got to be awful at the moment. With Mario Gotze, Shinji Kagawa, and Mats Hummels all being linked with moves away from the club, Dortmund are becoming a victim of their own success over the last two years. They’ll win the Bundesliga this year, but expect the vulture clubs to circle over the Summer.
The Mirror carried some quotes yesterday from Robert Lewandowski’s agent Maik Barthel which make interesting reading:
“I can confirm that the (new contract) offer of Borussia Dortmund is insufficient. I am also able to confirm an interest of Manchester United in the services of Robert Lewandowski.”
If you’re a Manchester United fan, take those comments with a bit of salt – it’s a fairly standard agent tactic to induce bids from other clubs or leverage a new contract out of the parent club. If an affluent club is reportedly after a player, suddenly the financial stakes increase dramatically.
All that being said, Lewandowski is a talented player; going into the European Championships he’s the great hope of co-hosts Poland, and why not – he’s returned 22 goals and eight assists from 34 Bundesliga appearances this season. Is he good enough for Manchester United? Yes, probably – and he fits their requirement for a more traditional targetman.
Interesting – with the link to Lewandowski and the already widely-reported interest in Shinji Kagawa, United look set for a bit of an overhaul this Summer.
Manchester United being linked with Olivier Giroud – May 10th 2012
It was only a matter of time.
Player scores a lot of goals in a major European league, player inevitably gets linked with a move to Manchester United.
Olivier Giroud is the physical specimen currently leading the Montpellier line in Ligue 1, and his 21 goals in 34 appearances are a big reason why the French side are about to be crowned Champions.
Giroud has been heavily linked with a move to Arsenal, and is reportedly holding discussions with Bayern Munich at the moment. The Man United part of this rumour comes from Caught Offside, which is essentially a group of semi-literate internet boys making-up transfer stories for the sake of content.
That being said, Giroud would actually fit in quite well at Old Trafford – his physicality is something that Sir Alex Ferguson would probably like to add to his squad. And he scores a lot of goals, even if it is in a clumsy, Chris Sutton-esque way…
Nothing here suggests a move from Manchester United is imminent, but it’s worth being aware of the player – he is the top-scorer in France this season and he’ll feature for someone in the Champions League next season. Unless he signs for Liverpool, obviously.
Manchester United dare not contemplate life without Ferguson – May 9th 2012
Such has been the decline in Manchester United’s squad over recent seasons, that had they won the title this year it would have been at the very top of Sir Alex Ferguson’s list of accomplishments. United are an ever more average set of players, elevated beyond their means by an extraordinary manager.
But what would happen if Ferguson retired next week? What if all he sees in the future is light blue spending and an increasingly un-winnable league?
Whilst Manchester United without Ferguson has always been unimaginable, now it looks like it would be a catastrophe.
Ten years ago, had a new manager walked into Old Trafford, he would have a found a squad rich with talent with winning sewn into their DNA – it would have still been a tough act to follow, but the chances of success would still have been extremely high. That’s why nobody is particularly concerned about Tito Vilanova taking over from Pep Guardiola at Barcelona – he’s been given the keys to a high-performance sports car; as long as he doesn’t burn-out the tyres he’ll be just fine.
Manchester United are not a high-performance sports car anymore, they just have a very talented driver.
Before he leaves the club, Alex Ferguson has one final rebuild to undertake – this squad has to be improved over the Summer. Whereas his side once had quality in every position, and more often than not stacked on the bench as well, now Ferguson has pockets of mediocrity in his team. Outside of Wayne Rooney and Nemanja Vidic, every other player falls into the category of ‘developing’, ‘past his prime’, or ‘not good enough’.
If Ferguson walked away tomorrow, United will lose the one component that still makes them special and still intimidates their opposition. Without their manager, this is a playing staff inferior to not only Manchester City, but Tottenham, Arsenal, and Chelsea, and depending on what Liverpool try and do in the next three months, maybe them too. United would start to slip back into afterthought territory, they’d be a hopeful for the title rather than a probable.
This is not a side that anybody would want to inherit.
Manchester United poised to sign Shinji Kagawa – May 4th 2012
Didn’t see this one coming.
In fact, despite Shinji Kagawa’s contract status, Manchester United never really occurred to us as a destination – Arsenal, Liverpool, maybe even Tottenham all looked more likely.
According to TalkSport (Yup, we know) and a couple of more reliable German sources, the Japanese playmaker will commit himself to Manchester United in the next couple of days, and will be signing a three-year contract – different sources have the transfer worth anywhere between £7m and £10m.
We’re big fans of Kagawa – Mario Gotze may be seen as Borussia Dortmund’s crown jewel, but it’s Kagawa who makes them tick and has seen them dominate the Bundesliga over the last two seasons – 13 goals and 7 assists attest to that.
Here’s some video, expect this one to be confirmed before the end of the season.
Man United are still in the title race, be sure of that – May 3rd 2012
The Premier League Owl
Manchester United are not out of this.
Monday night’s game at the Etihad Stadium seems to have taken the form of a play-off for the Premier League – everyone seems to think that the trophy is already being ribboned in light blue and engraved accordingly.
Not so fast, this isn’t over yet.
Manchester United have Swansea at Old Trafford and Sunderland away from home to finish up, and you would put your house on them taking six points from those games. Sunderland have been on holiday for a month already, and Brendan Rodgers’ side have been looking knackered as of late.
City have to go to Newcastle this weekend, and that’s a horrible place to go if you have to win – especially at the moment. Surely there must be at least some fans who, although embroiled in the uninhibited celebrations at the Etihad on Monday, had some reservations about their side’s ability to collect all six points from their remaining games?
City will drop points on Saturday, and the 6/4 on United to be Champions should be gobbled up as soon as possible.
Paul Pogba apparently ready to snub Manchester United and join Juventus – 2nd May 2012
Moron.
This is what happens when you listen to your agent, rather than people who actually work with you everyday and know your abilities.
Sky Italia are reporting today that Paul Pogba has decided to join Juventus and reject a new contract from Manchester United.
Who’s his agent? Mino Raiola, the money-hungry toad who also looks after Mario Balotelli and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
This has been a nonsense from start to finish, since when does a 19 year-old with three senior appearances in his career make a powerplay against Sir Alex Ferguson? Who does this kid think he is?
Learn a lesson from Ravel Morrison; if you have a chance to play for Manchester United, and be brought up by them, you take it – end of discussion.
Anyway, here’s some of Pogba’s best moments in a United shirt – oh wait, sorry, those clips don’t exist, he’s never actually done anything in the game. Our bad…
United will probably count themselves lucky retrospectively, despite this kid’s obvious talent there are red flags a plenty regarding his personality – he’s already had more negative headlines than he has playing minutes.
Eden Hazard now a priority for Manchester United – May 1st 2012
The in-season contest looks all but lost for Manchester United, but they need to now refocus on another battle – their attempts to steal Eden Hazard from Manchester City.
The jewel in the crown from Lille’s Championship win last season, Hazard will definitely be departing Ligue 1 in the Summer, and almost certainly will be heading across the Channel.
Tottenham, Arsenal, and Liverpool have all been mentioned as possible destinations, but you’d imagine that none of them would be able to muster the same allure as either Manchester club – Chelsea’s brief interest looks to have ended, after they snagged Marko Marin from Werder Bremen over the weekend.
What was apparent last night, was that United didn’t really have anything that connected their midfield and attack – all the creativity in Sir Alex Ferguson’s side is stacked out wide, and against the best teams, looks a bit predictable.
The biggest plus about Hazard is his adaptability to different forward positions. By definition, yes, he’s a winger, but he has the skill-set to occupy a more central position as he matures, and that’s almost certainly the role earmarked for him by all these smitten Premier League managers.
Wesley Sneijder will be 28 in the Summer, and doesn’t represent a long-term solution to the lack of central creativity at United – whereas Hazard, at 21, does. Sir Alex Ferguson clearly prefer attacking fluidity in United’s football, and that’s again a criteria that the Belgian ticks off.
Also, for the first Summer in a long time, United find themselves in the position of having to make a statement in the transfer market. Allowing City to hoover up an elite player like Hazard would be quite damaging for the club and revealing about their current purchasing power. Ferguson needs to prioritise Hazard as his number one target, and add another bona fide star to his average looking side.
By the way, it’s pronounced Ed-In Has-Ard…
Three ways in which Manchester United can win tonight – April 30th 2012
The Premier League Owl
Isolate Gael Clichy against Antonio Valencia
Clichy, like so many of his contemporaries, is a full-back who’s far more comfortable going forward than he is in the defensive third. The threat of Antonio Valencia(f/g) is obvious: thirteen assists in just 24 games is a great return for a player who’s suffered with injuries this term, and he’s been the key performer in United’s revival.
The Ecuadorian poses a particular problem to City because of the formation Roberto Mancini deploys – Clichy doesn’t have a midfielder in front of him capable of providing defensive assistance. Valencia in isolation represents ‘bingo time’ for United, so Alex Ferguson will be hoping that’s a frequent sight.
Sacrifice a forward for an extra body in midfield
Danny Welbeck has made an important contribution to United’s season, and he scored a wonderful goal against Everton last week. That being said, Ferguson should sit him down tonight, and leave Wayne Rooney(f/g) to lead the line alone. City’s big strength, particularly against United, is the extra man they have in midfield – the away side do not want to be outnumbered in the centre tonight. A midfield trio of Michael Carrick, Paul Scholes(f/g) and Ji-Sung Park(f/g) would give the defending champions a bit more resilience in a perennially weak area, and would match them up man-for-man with Gareth Barry, Yaya Toure, and David Silva.
Drop Rafael
…because he’s not a full-back, and his frailty in the position is unnerving the rest of United’s defensive unit. In the Premier League, as in Europe, the young Brazilian has been guilty of too many lapses in concentration and frequent errors in judgement this season – he can’t be trusted in this game. Remember, United only really have to avoid defeat to be Champions in waiting, so the emphasis in the first instance should be on being defensively secure – a draw would be just fine.
While both are short on football, Phil Jones or Chris Smalling would be far better options at full-back tonight – and both have a bit more physical presence than Rafael too, which has obvious benefits at defensive set-pieces.
Five reasons why Manchester United deserve to win the title – April 30th 2012
The Premier League Owl
Because of their resiliency
How many sides other than United could’ve recovered from the 6-1 humbling they received at Old Trafford. So acute was the humiliation suffered, that Sir Alex Ferguson’s players would’ve been forgiven for spending the rest of the season in a daze, and letting their neighbours run away with the title.
It takes a special kind of manager, and a very trusting squad to accept their frailties and leave them behind – because that’s exactly what United had to do. Losses like the one suffered in October can permanently undermine confidence in players, and that it didn’t is of huge credit to United.
Their will to retain the title
Given the deficit they’ve faced at various points of the season, and given the strength in depth of the squad whom they were chasing, keeping the desire strong in his players has been a miraculous accomplishment from Ferguson. Even throughout the points of the season when City were knocking opponents over for fun, there was no drop-off in United’s application.
Given the barrels of petrodollars that have been pumped into this City squad, there would never have been any disgrace in United falling short this year – the playing field simply hasn’t been equal.
Wayne Rooney’s contribution
In a season where every pundit in the game has held a love-in for Robin Van Persie’s contribution to Arsenal, Wayne Rooney’s worth to United has been largely over-looked. While the Dutchman has returned an impressive 28 goals from 36 appearances, Rooney’s output at 26 in 31 is statistically more impressive – and more pertinent, given United’s relevance to the title race and Arsenal’s no-show.
Given the superlatives – and awards – thrown at Van Persie, how can anybody reason that Rooney doesn’t deserve a Championship medal at the end of the season.
The Paul Scholes factor
Not, strictly, a reason why United ‘deserve’ the title, but a good enough incentive for neutrals to root for them. This is a Hollywood script; the club legend brought out of retirement to stabilise a midfield and bring back the quality missing from that part of the team. If you have any shred of romanticism in you, how could you begrudge Scholes a winner’s medal?
Aside from the obvious technical ability, what Scholes brought to that United was a winner’s mentality – a symbol of Manchester United’s domestic dominance. Where before there was only Michael Carrick and Anderson, Scholes’ return meant other members of that squad were able to see a club icon on the teamsheet.
An inspiration.
Because it would be a victory for the ‘old way’ of doing things
Obviously we’ve all had to accept money in the game, but there’s still a nagging resentment over the ease of City’s meteoric rise. Rival fans may sneer at United’s affluence also, but this is a club that has acquired their wealth through success and tradition – and the advantages they have are as a result are easier to live with.
While we may all be a little bored of United’s success, a title for them is still more palatable, and a victory for organic growth over the cynicism of large cash injections.
Manchester United being linked to Lucas Moura – April 26th 2012
You can always tell when the papers run out of transfer gossip, because they just reprint something from three months ago.
Eighteen months ago, Lucas Moura was projected to be the Brazil finest attacking-midfield export since Kaka, and so naturally he was periodically linked with Real Madrid, Barcelona et al. Small, skinny, skillful – he fits very neatly into the South American playmaker mould.
While nobody is trying to suggest that the Brazilian has suddenly become a bad player, his ‘wonderkid’ tag has been usurped by Neymar and his progress has stalled just a touch.
Moving on…
The Mirror are reporting that Manchester United are in ‘a titanic signing battle with Real Madrid’ over the Brazilian and ‘have invited the 19-year-old’s father to Old Trafford for talks and want to agree a move for the kid who is rated the next best thing to Neymar in his homeland.’
As tempting as it is to dismiss this as bluster, Lucas’ agent did confirm a few months ago that United had been in contact over the player, so there’s a degree of truth here – the bits about Lucas’ Dad being invited to Old Trafford are probably just article-filler though.
As talented as the player is, there have to be doubts over his ability to translate into English football – he’s skinny and 5ft7, which creates a bit of a question mark. To offer a prediction for the sake of it, Italian or Spanish football looks like a more likely route for him – those leagues are both more ‘flair-friendly’ and have always been traditionally more popular with South American starlets.
We’ll see…
Manchester United would be wise to look at Gregory Van Der Wiel – April 25th 2012
Regardless of whether Manchester United walk away with the Premier League trophy or not this season, it’s clear that a few areas in Sir Alex Ferguson’s side need a bit of attention. The midfield issues has been talked to death, on this site and many others, so we’ll leave that and focus on the right-side of defence.
Rafael is an excellent footballer, but he isn’t a full-back – his positioning and his concentration frequently let him down, and at times he looks like a midfielder playing in an alien part of the pitch. Additionally, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling are both capable of filling the position, but both of their long-term futures are in a more central role.
The right side is a problem area, and it needs solving regardless of the season’s outcome.
Ajax’s Gregory Van Der Wiel is an outstanding candidate to do just that.
Van Der Wiel is everything you’d expect from an Ajax-reared footballer – neat and tidy, and comfortable on the ball. Add into that mix an exception set of physical attributes and you have the prototype for the modern full-back.
What marks him out amongst his peers, is that even though he’s comfortable going forward, he’s sound defensively – yes, there’s still a bit of rashness in his game occasionally, but at 23 his talent ceiling is extravagantly high. Any side in the Premier League who are dissatisfied with what they have at right-back should be looking at him, because he’s one of those players that you could plug-in at his position, and forget about for the next 7-10 years.
He’s going to leave Euro 2012 as a star, so anybody who wants him better be prepared to pony-up for his services.
Quick Thoughts: Manchester United’s stuttering end to the season – April 23rd 2012
How bizarre that Manchester United should start to show weakness at the very point of the season at which they’re famed for being strong.
In conversation with a United-supporting friend recently, he opined that should Sir Alex Ferguson lead United to the title this season, then it would rank as one of his finest achievements in English football. That says a lot about the perception of this current United squad and its lack of quality.
Over the last decade and a half, United have created the template for how to win the title: stay in touch through Autumn and Winter, be cold and calculating in the spring. But this season, more so than any other, appears to turned that sequence on its head – and that could be what costs them dearly. Start the season brilliantly, slump as falling leaves turn to falling snow, knock out win-after-win through the cold, and then start to stumble at the finish line.
That calm under pressure quality is priceless. No team trades of their experience and their manager’s belief like United do – and that is what’s missing at the moment. Individual errors are littering United’s game – particularly defensively. It’s a hard one to explain, because simply allocating blame to players who are deputising for those superior to them – Jonny Evans, Rafael – doesn’t hold any weight; United have always prospered regardless of how much they’ve had to rotate. Some of the defending by those aforementioned players has obviously been very costly, Rafael in recent weeks has looked like a midfielder shoved in at full-back in an emergency, but it could very well be that the overall lack of quality of the few is starting to undermine the confidence of the collective.
For example, if you have a teammate outside you that is error-prone, then that knowledge will obviously feed into your own game. Rio Ferdinand, for example, has additional and unexpected responsibilities when Rafael is playing outside him – the Brazilian’s positioning is so poor, that Ferdinand knows that there may be times when he has to cut off opponents who get to the byline rather than simply negating the central threats. That’s difficult, and United have a couple of similar situations around the pitch.
Time will tell if I’m right, but the absence of the metronomic quality that United usually have at this time of the year will probably cost them the title. As great as Ferguson is at patching together situational teams, there’s not much he can do if his players lose their assumption of victory – United have eaten out on this for years; “we’re Manchester United, we win”. I don’t think there are enough players in that dressing room that really believe that at the moment, and that’s of huge concern going into next Monday night.
Ruud Van Nistelrooy: All Manchester United goals – April 10th 2012
Given the way Ruud Van Nistelrooy used to play, you can expect very little from this video other than the ball hitting the net – from inside the box.
Still, he wasn’t too bad at it though…
Ryan Giggs: Top 11 Manchester United Goals – April 8th 2012
It’s quite a feat for a footballer to endure the kind of off-field publicity Ryan Giggs did last year, and suffer no damage to his reputation – or at least, only marginal damage.
Although, when you have the playing CV that Giggs does, it’s understandable. You could rejig and rework this order as much as you like, it’s an impossible tase, but here are eleven of his best Manchester United goals.
David Beckham: Manchester United Goals – 5th April 2012
Forget what he’s become, and what the off-field connotations there are with him – David Beckham was first and foremost a really special player.
He had no left foot, couldn’t beat a man, and was dreadful in the air – but he was still a one man highlight reel while he was in England, and this is comfortably one of the most watchable compilations you’ll see.
The little sand-wedge at a sodden Upton Park is one you’ve probably forgotten about – didn’t score easy goals, did he…
And, just because it’s a Bank Holiday weekend, you can have his LA Galaxy goals too. Spoilt. Yes, that is Abel Xavier celebrating with him after his first.
Manchester United being linked to yet another Bilbao player – April 5th 2012
And so it continues…
As previously discussed, an English team’s elimination from Europe is always followed by the media linking them with all of the players that have just knocked them out. It’s not quite a scientific law, but it is as consistent as gravity.
So, with rumours about Iker Muniain, Javi Martinez, Fernando Llorente, Ander Herrera and Markel Susaeta already under their belts, the tabloids are linking yet another Athletic Bilbao player with a move to Manchester United.
It’s very revealing this, because it shows just how little our press take note of European football – almost to the point where a team – and their players – don’t really exist until they’ve played against an English side in a continental cup. Presumably, they’re the same people who thought Yohan Cabaye was unearthed by Newcastle’s scouting department despite winning the French Championship with Lille, that Sergio Aguero only really became a good player once he joined Manchester City, and that Juan Mata was plucked from a Barrio outside Valencia.
Anyway, the Mirror are linking Manchester United with 22-year-old Oscar de Marcos. It’s the same old format for this one: United need ‘fresh legs in the midfield’, ‘Paul Scholes can’t play forever’, ‘he’s the one Bilbao player that we haven’t run a rumour about’ etc.
Apparently, de Marcos is now ‘officially on their shortlist’, and ‘United’s Chief Scout Jim Lawlor’ will be dispatched to watch him.
Whatever. It’s all complete balls, but you can have some video of the midfielder in any case.
Manchester United should look at Claudio Yacob – March 30th 2012
Manchester United will likely do what they can to reshape their midfield this Summer, I don’t think anybody doubts that. But while the usual names will be banded about, with the usual extravagant price-tags, they’d do well to have a look at this guy first.
Claudio Yacob is currently captain of Argentine Primera Division side Racing Club, and the deep-lying midfielder can do everything. And I do mean everything; ball-winning, chance creation, tempo setting, and a goal threat in the air and on the floor.
I know that United will likely retain the Premier League this season, but if they want to again be a force in European football, you have to believe that their midfield needs an injection of something. Paul Scholes is one of the finest players of his generation, but even if he doesn’t retire at the end of this season, he won’t be able to give Sir Alex Ferguson more than fifteen-to-twenty games next year. Someone needs to come in to, excuse the cliché, freshen that part of the team up. Michael Carrick is fine, Anderson too, but these are hardly players that are narrowing the gap between United and the Spanish giants.
I know that Luka Modric is a name that gets discussed at Old Trafford, but while the Croatian’s a very fine footballer, he’s not going to make the kind of impact that a – probable – £40m player needs to. And, although it’s never mentioned, Modric is a huge defensive liability.
Wesley Sneijder? Again, I don’t think he’d warrant the outlay that would be required, and as any Serie A aficionados will be aware of, the Dutchman is in the midst of a deep slump.
There’s obviously a risk that accompanies any South American making the transition to English football, and especially in such an integral position, but Yacob would be an enormous success I think.
The video below doesn’t really do him justice, but if you ever get the chance to watch him play 90 minutes, then do it – the twenty-four year-old has some very ‘English’ qualities to him.
Thoughts on Patrick Vieira’s comments regarding referees favouring Manchester United – March 28th 2012
Every major news outlet got terribly over-excited about Patrick Vieira’s comments today, with the Manchester City Executive verbalising his belief that officials favour Manchester United.
When United play at home they get some advantage that other teams don’t get.
“I think when you go to United, Madrid, Barcelona, or Milan, when the referees referee these kind of games, it’s always difficult to go against these kind of teams.
This is the way it is.
It’s something the teams who are used to winning get all the time, so we need to win games so we have this advantage in the future.”
I know that all the papers have wilfully misinterpreted these comments, and have made into a direct attack on United, but that’s really not what Vieira’s saying. It’s this ‘benefit of the doubt’ issue that seems to factor into all decisions that effect the biggest clubs – whoever those clubs are.
And Vieira’s right.
There’s really no contesting that United, or Chelsea, or Liverpool, have tended to receive more than their fair share of favourable decisions at their home grounds. Of course they do, there are so many examples that they’re no longer worth listing.
But bias, or favouritism? No, those are the wrong words – these decisions come from referees being intimidated by the environment that they’re in, not from a premeditated agendas. That’s essentially what Vieira’s alluding to, but of course he’s given the media the opportunity to turn this into something it’s not.
This has been around for years, and for so long that it’s kind of just been accepted into the game – this is not really a story.
As for these comments being ‘incendiary’, ‘inflammatory’, or ‘likely to enrage Sir Alex Ferguson’, I think that’s a little bit melodramatic – Ferguson, and managers of teams of similar stature, are I’m sure fully aware of the advantages they’ve occasionally had.
It’s probably a subject Vieira shouldn’t have touched, but still…let’s move on.
Wayne Rooney: Manchester United Goals – March 26th 2012
He hasn’t been that bad has he?
Wayne Rooney’s first fifty League goals for Manchester United are as follows…
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