The battle for control of Manchester between the two clubs also looks set to be the battle for the Premier League title. At present, the only other team who may be a threat to that dominance is Chelsea, one of those teams from down South.
With newly appointed Antonio Conte in charge and having won three out of three, they are the only club going toe to toe with United and City in the early stages. (more…)
In an attempt to get viewers in the mood for what was to come, Sky Sports decided to dedicate not one, but three whole days to events leading up to the closing of the transfer window.
Beginning on Monday, the 29th of August, all Sky Sports programs were entitled Transfer Centre for two days and then became Deadline Day on the Wednesday. This was quite strange when they waffled on about Tennis or Formula One but, because it was Sky, nobody really questioned it. Changing the perfectly normal to the totally idiotic is something Sky have become experts at over the years. Strangely, they still think that people are too stupid to notice, a despicable attitude which has always prevailed at Sky HQ. (more…)
On the evidence of the first three games the answer is very simple; No.
United have played Bournemouth away, Southampton at home and Hull City away and have conceded only one goal. More to the point, David De Gea has had very little to do.
This is in stark contrast to the last two seasons where the defensive statistics have been very good but only because De Gea was very good. Good enough, in fact, to win the player of the season award on both occasions. Without him the defensive statistics would have been quite poor. (more…)
He has been ever-present this season, he has been consistent and is doing everything asked of him. Which one of Manchester United’s superstars are we talking about? Why, Marouane Fellaini of course.
It is probably a little unfair to use the word renaissance, as he never really became a bad player, he was just never a very good one. He is proving to be of some worth to United now though, a situation unseen by certain blinkered supporters who were never prepared to give him a chance. He has also managed to stay in the Belgian national team along with some world class players, so he’s not that bad. (more…)
In driving rain at the KC stadium in Kingston-upon-Hull, Zlatan Ibrahimović discovered, if he didn’t already know, what the Premier League is all about.
Hull City who, against all the odds, had won their opening two games at home to Leicester City and away to Swansea City gave it everything and came very close to taking a point from this game.
Ravaged by injuries, surrounded by confusion over a supposed takeover and with a caretaker manager with no previous experience in the role, they almost deserved a draw. The only reason they didn’t fully deserve it was because Manchester United deserved to win. (more…)
Of the manager’s pictured above, one will probably be crowned Premier League champion at the end of the season. At least another one of the five will miss out on the top four. So who will be the winner and who will be the loser(s)?
Although it is certainly not a foregone conclusion it is widely expected that the title will end up in Manchester. There are some bets being laid on the unknown quantity that is Antonio Conte at Chelsea but many think his lack of Premier League experience will mean that he falls just short this time out. (more…)
Despite the moaners and the harbingers of doom, Manchester City should be able to qualify from the group stages of the Champion’s League for the second year running.
As expected they will come up against one of Pep Guardiola’s old clubs almost immediately when they meet up with Barcelona.
As usual, and purely because Barcelona are present in the group, this is being called the “group of death”. It is the group City get every year according to all those “in the know”. (more…)
This has been a record transfer window. The amount of money spent by clubs is likely to pass the £1 billion mark, if it hasn’t already done so while I have been writing this article.
The two biggest spenders are, arguably, the two with the most money. They can spend obscene amounts on players without batting an eyelid. The fact that they occasionally have to sell players to “balance the books” is actually an accounting exercise and isn’t strictly a necessity, particularly now that the Financial Fair Play rules have been relaxed or binned, I’m not sure which is correct. (more…)
(Marcus Rashford shows Cameron Borthwick-Jackson how many fans are at the game)
Since taking the manager’s job at Old Trafford Jose Mourinho has overseen the winning of the Community Shield and two wins out of two games in the Premier League.
Players who have been conspicuous by their absence include a few of the younger members who had some game time last season because Louis van Gaal had a lot of injuries and no experienced cover.
When, for example, Luke Shaw was injured in the Champion’s League, there was no ready made experienced replacement. Wayne Rooney’s continued decline meant that Anthony Martial was given many more games than he would have been had there been an older player waiting for his chance. (more…)
(“Never mind Wazza, those yanks will soon pick up the scouse lingo!”)
I have not written a piece about Wayne Rooney for a while. This is not because there has been nothing to write about, there always is with him. Whether he is holding the club to ransom, condescendingly telling the fans he has nothing to prove or just plain playing badly, there is always something.
The problem is that it becomes boring after a while and loyal readers get fed up with articles about the same person.
However, it is about time to remind the world of his existence which, unfortunately, still lies with Manchester United. (more…)
WHY SAY ANYTHING? 