Archive for the ‘Opinion’ Category

China Takes Away Jose Mourinho And Pep Guardiola As Manchester United And City Chase The Money, (As Usual)

Posted: July 20, 2016 in Football, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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The first Manchester derby since last season will be played in China. There will probably be some Mancunians in attendance but how many is anybody’s guess. The fact that the match is totally meaningless makes it a lot easier to bear for fans of the clubs who are from Manchester and can’t quite come to terms with their local club playing a derby in China!

As usual, it is all about money. The clubs may spout on as much as they wish about how they are rewarding their Asian fans with a visit and how pleased they are to be there but, given the choice, I am pretty sure that both managers would rather have stayed a lot closer to home.

Neither club would be anywhere near the area if they weren’t trying to attract an even bigger fanbase than they already have. Ed Woodward, as far as United are concerned, has signed a few sponsorship deals in the general area, (it’s the only thing at which he is any good!), so the trip will also keep these companies reasonably happy. (more…)

Zlatan Ibrahimovic May Not Have Anything To Prove To Jose Mourinho, But He Has Plenty To Prove To Manchester United And The Fans

Posted: July 18, 2016 in Football, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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Eric Cantona recently stated that Zlatan Ibrahimovic could become the “Prince of Manchester”. This title was the highest earthly one available according to Eric as HE was the “King of Manchester”.

The first task here is to correct Eric’s misunderstanding that he is the “King”. This title has always belonged, and will always belong, to Denis Law, regardless of whoever follows him.

Proof, if any were needed, can not only be found in the number of goals Law scored for United, but also in the lyrics of a famous old song which rang round Old Trafford for many years. Sang to the tune of “Maybe it’s because I’m a Londoner”, the title was changed to “Maybe it’s because I’m from Manchester” and the final line was “and the King is Denis Law”. Older followers of these chronicles will remember it well. (more…)

Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United Kids Are Alright

Posted: July 16, 2016 in Football, Manchester United, Opinion
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Well that was refreshing! Having watched every agonising minute of Manchester United under David Moyes and Louis van Gaal, I am already far more optimistic with Mourinho in charge than I ever was with either of the other two.

There were good moments from the Moyes side and the same goes for the van Gaal side. The problem was that they were so few and far between that their dismissals were met with the same kind of celebrations that are usually reserved for winning a trophy.

Mourinho’s first game in charge, the friendly against Wigan, saw most of the kids given some game time. Fosu-Mensah started, as did James Wilson. Luke Shaw made a welcome return after injury and looked to link up again with Depay on the left. Depay still looks short on confidence and this is the reason that the link-up didn’t work as well as it might have done. (more…)

Zlatan Given Extra Time Off By Manchester United Boss Jose Mourinho

Posted: July 14, 2016 in Football, Manchester United, Opinion
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(Zlatan has to force his eyes open to try and overcome extreme tiredness brought on by playing a game of football)

So Zlatan needs an extended rest because of his exertions in the Euros! UEFA rules state that players appearing in the competition must be given three weeks break at the end of it. This means that Ibrahimovic would be able to go to China with the rest of the team but, as the poor soul doesn’t have the strength to pull his suitcase, he is being given extra hols by his new boss.

As well as displaying a laudable level of compassion and sympathy it also gives us an insight into how well Jose Mourinho looks after the elder citizens of the team.

The United manager, having watched all the games in France, will have noticed that Ibrahimovic was picked to play in all three of Sweden’s games, meaning that he spent a total of 270 minutes actually on a football pitch during a competitive game. (more…)

How Jose Mourinho Finally Made It To Manchester United

Posted: July 13, 2016 in Chelsea, Football, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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It seems to have been a relatively straightforward appointment. Jose Mourinho became Manchester United manager after a short break during which Ed Woodward dithered, as usual, over what to do about Louis “the loser” van Gaal.

Finally, Woodward’s decision was made for him as United, for the second time in three years, finished outside of the Champion’s League places. Winning the FA Cup was never going to be enough to save the Dutchman, who had produced boringly slow football for the majority of his time at Old Trafford. (more…)

Why Jose Mourinho And Manchester United Should Part Company With Wayne Rooney

Posted: July 12, 2016 in Football, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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imageAccording to Wayne Rooney he is extra motivated by the fact that Jose Mourinho is now the manager of Manchester United.

This means, by definition, that he didn’t give 100% when Louis “the loser” van Gaal was in charge. Logically “extra motivation” can only take him to a maximum of 100% as nobody has more than that to give, despite all the pundits who think some players give 150% or more!

So, if he didn’t try as hard as he might have done under van Gaal, yet he was extra motivated by being given the captaincy, where does this put his level under Moyes and, previously, under Ferguson? Again, by a process of deduction, he was only giving about 50%. (more…)

Does The Signing Of Zlatan Ibrahimovic Show That Jose Mourinho Has No Long Term Plans At Manchester United?

Posted: July 10, 2016 in Football, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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That doesn’t mean to say that he doesn’t intend to be there for a while, just that it doesn’t appear that way at present.

The signing of Ibrahimovic seems to be a very short term engagement and one which is more likely to gain United nothing more than extra shirt sales.

Ibrahimovic played for a poor Sweden side during the Euros and, although they exited at the end of the group stage, he didn’t manage to score one goal. He had a decent time at PSG where he came across second rate defenders for most of his stay thus enabling him to score quite a few goals. It very much remains to be seen whether or not he can achieve the same in the English Premier league. (more…)

Which Positions Does Jose Mourinho Really Need To Strengthen At Manchester United?

Posted: July 9, 2016 in Football, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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Let’s start at the beginning, number one. It would seem that David De Gea is among the top three or four goalkeepers in the world and, as second choice, Mourinho has the Argentina number one in Sergio Romero, so that position seems pretty safe at present.

Action required: None

Next is the right full/wing back position. It is hard to say who is the current number one for this role. Van Gaal brought in Matteo Darmian who was the first choice for Italy. He suffered a loss of form after a bright start and was replaced by Guillermo Varela, then Cameron Borthwick-Jackson and, eventually, Antonio Valencia. Varela’s defending was a little naive at times, BJ is still very young but looks a great prospect and Valencia cannot defend as he frequently proved last season, getting caught out of position on many occasions and failing to play the offside with the rest of the defence. (more…)

Would Paul Pogba Bring Anything Extra To Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United?

Posted: July 7, 2016 in Football, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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It seems that Manchester United’s overworked scouts have again been collecting some overtime.

Having already unearthed a gem by scouting the little known French league and coming up with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Jose Mourinho sent them back across the channel to see if there were any more hidden away.

Before long a report was winging it’s way to Old Trafford bearing news of a young player at a little club in Paris. His name: Paul Labile Pogba. According to the scouts he would be a snip at around £90 million and would cost a mere £300k per week. They had watched a couple of games and, although he had been pretty ineffective, the scouts had seen enough to convince them that a move should be made to sign him. (more…)

Now That Manchester United Have The Right Man In Charge In Jose Mourinho, What About The Players?

Posted: July 6, 2016 in Football, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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A step in the right direction was certainly taken when Manchester United sacked Louis van Gaal and appointed Jose Mourinho.

Employing a world class manager, however, is not the end of the matter. Players need to be brought in and other players need to be shipped out.

At the time of writing, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Eric Bailly have been confirmed and Henrikh Mhkitaryan, whilst not yet confirmed, has also joined. Rumours are rife about other potential arrivals.

As I have stated in a previous post, Ibrahimovic appears to have been signed to generate income more than anything else. His age, failure to score any goals in the Euros and being given a one year contract all point to this as the reason for his being there. Hopefully, as he has probably been promised a starting berth next season, he will chip in with a few goals. (more…)

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