Manchester United Appoint Mourinho

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That sentence felt good to write, it says a lot as it is but it packs an unwritten punch too. If you don’t believe me, just look at the reaction to all the fans of other teams on social media since it became clear that it was happening; rumours had Manchester United causing a stir and rival fans were lining up ready to tell anyone how much of a difference it wouldn’t make. “Big ego, good, c*nt of a club, they both deserve each other”, a managerial appointment can evidently have such an effect on everyone else. I don’t know any Manchester United fan who has even asked anyone’s opinion, but whether sought or unsought, we’ve got it from them. I have one word for this lot; good. Keep it coming.

Hated – that never gets old for fans of Manchester United, it’s an emotion that is followed by the equal and opposite reaction from those who bleed red and white…

Adored – you know you do, that’s why this last three years have been so painful.

The media stir since the FA Cup Final has proved one final thing… Never Ignored.

It was seemingly impossible to ignore us even when we were shit, three years of “wilderness” football that comes nowhere near the actual wilderness years we’ve experienced in our history. Everyone laughed when we appointed David Moyes, we’ve all seen the meme of David in his office, “I have no idea what I’m doing”, oh how they laughed; and they were right to do so. They laughed during the Dutchman’s reign at Old Trafford too. The ‘most memorable moment’ lists that surfaced as Louis Van Gaal was relieved of his job made humorous reading; yes he got the players’ names wrong and he had a few funny phrases which didn’t really translate very well into English, he played wingers in defence, midfielders up front and strikers on the wing, and then there’s the other Wings. Funny stuff.

It seems today that you cannot confirm a story without talking to an ex United player wearing a cap in the middle of a game of golf; Scholes and Schmiechel were amongst those asked today.

But Manchester United appoint Jose Mourinho.

No one’s laughing now are they!

 

Auf Wiedersehen, Goals, Pet

United 0:0 Newcastle

Line up: Romero, Darmian, Blind, Smalling, Shaw, Schneiderlin, Schweinsteiger, Mata, Januzaj, Memphis, Rooney

Subs: Valencia for Darmian, Carrick for Schweinsteiger, Chicharito for Januzaj

There is something quite calming about the team sheet in the early days of this season for United; we don’t seem to need to question Romero, Darmian composed and looking the perfect fit on the right, Luke Shaw world beating on the left, Chris Smalling and Daley Blind becoming something in the centre. The midfield has changed, sometimes personnel but mainly positions and against Newcastle Juan Mata and Memphis were selected to do the damage on the flanks, Morgan Schneiderlin continued his midfield brief alongside débutante Bastian Schweinsteiger. Adnan Januzaj played off Wayne Rooney, who needed to find his scoring boots again.

Facing them amongst the Geordies was Tim Krul, an impressive ‘keeper but one we would hope to have an unimpressive and very busy day. United started well, heaping the pressure on the Newcastle net early on; Mata looked lively and had a shot saved, later he spread the ball perfectly for Memphis to cut in from wide but the shot wasn’t really a test for the Newcastle ‘keeper.

Attacking wise you could see the visting team growing in confidence as the game wore on, Aleksandar Mitrovic eluded the defence and sent a header goalwards that Romero could do nothing about, thankfully the effort hit the bar. Perez also had a chance, wide of Romero’s post. The United fans’ positivity did begin to fade as the match went on; we seem to have become a team eager to put our chances away early as if we know that eventually the opposition will get one and take it and all the good work will be wasted. Such a cheery thought, but one which was passed between the fans around me like a recessive gene. If we started to second guess, those on the pitch certainly didn’t – Mata sent a peach of a ball to Rooney who actually attempted a shot, blocked by Steven Taylor. Morgan Schneiderlin danced through midfield and found Rooney wide on the edge of the box, he delivered a delicious cross and Juan Mata came in and blazed over.

Valencia came on for Darmian at right back, when Matteo was signed the quotes from LVG suggested that the manager saw Valencia as first choice in this position, that should not be the case any more. Javier Hernandez also came on for United and had a perfect chance to steal the points, denied by a save from Tim Krul which was very Schmiechel like, tall to narrow the target, save with the legs.

After much clamouring for Bastian Schweinsteiger to replace Michael Carrick from the start, the German was replaced by the Geordie in Manc exile, during the game due to injury. Carrick will feel he should have done better when he hammered it back at goal from Coloccini’s header, it missed the target and a thoroughly frustrating game came to an end. GTS

Red and Write – A Case for the Defence

The Pedro and Otamendi deals hit the Manchester United fanbase hard. After months of replying to the every tweet from the club account with desperate pleas for them to announce the signings of these two players, they have ended up at title rivals Chelsea and Manchester City respectively. The Argentine and Spaniard were seen as the answers to the team’s main issues: centre back and attack. In the past two years, Old Trafford has seen an evacuation of experienced defenders with Rio Ferdinand allowed to leave for free and Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra securing moves to Serie A clubs. In attack, this summer has seen the once talismanic figures of Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao leave with little fuss whilst the club record signing Angel di Maria left for Paris in a less quiet fashion. At first glance it appears that there are gaps at both ends of the pitch that United must patch. However, this may not be the case.

Louis Van Gaal’s first season in charge was punctuated by defensive mishaps. The enduring images of the season will be the misguided attempt to introduce 3-5-2, the MK Dons humiliation in the league cup and that comeback by Leicester City at the King Power Stadium. The last of these seemed to have a huge effect on the Dutch manager’s attitude and from then on there was a new emphasis placed on physicality and defensive solidity. United then failed to keep a clean sheet in their next five games until Michael Carrick’s return to the team in November against Crystal Palace. This is where the case for United’s defence kicks in.

Continue reading “Red and Write – A Case for the Defence”