Posts Tagged ‘Eric Bailly’

Jose Mourinho Has Quickly Turned A Negative Into A Positive At Manchester United, (With A Little Help From Pogba, Bailly, Mhkitaryan And Ibrahimović)

Posted: August 21, 2016 in European Football, Football, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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When David Moyes was appointed Manchester United manager to follow in the footsteps of the great Sir Alex Ferguson, everybody at Old Trafford, including the most important people, the fans, were prepared to give him a chance.

He was christened “The Chosen One” because, in a deed which seemed very unlikely, it was said that Fergie had chosen him as his successor. The reason it was unlikely is that a club like Manchester United does not allow one man to make decisions which affect the whole future of the club and it’s employees. (more…)

Jose Mourinho Has Strengthened Manchester United In All The Key Positions

Posted: August 19, 2016 in European Football, Football, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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In contrast Louis van Gaal strengthened the midfield by finalising the purchase of Ander Herrera and buying Daley Blind, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Memphis Depay and Morgan Schneiderlin. These players were to add to Michael Carrick, Jesse Lingard, Adnan Januzaj, Marouane Fellaini and Juan Mata and anybody else I may have missed.

He also bought a full back, Matteo Darmian who, at the time, seemed a good acquisition as he was the Italian national team’s full back, a teenager called Anthony Martial who will probably turn out to be the best buy of the van Gaal era, Marcos Rojo and he rubber stamped the purchase of Luke Shaw although it is likely that any incoming manager would have done the same. (more…)

Who Is Eric Bailly And Was Jose Mourinho Right To Sign Him For Manchester United?

Posted: August 15, 2016 in European Football, Football, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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Before joining Manchester United few people in England had heard of Eric Bailly. A 22 year old defender from the Ivory Coast, he was bought from Villarreal for a bargain €30 million. This bargain was not as impressive as the one Villarreal received when they bought him from his first club, Espanyol. They paid a mere €5.7 million and so made a profit of €24.3 million, not too shabby a deal for them!

He made his debut for the Ivory Coast national team in 2015, in a friendly against Nigeria. He then went on to represent his country at the Africa Cup of Nations where he played in all six games, culminating in winning the trophy. (more…)

Jose Mourinho And Pep Guardiola Both Register A Win As Manchester United And City Collect The Points

Posted: August 14, 2016 in European Football, Football, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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Despite a long injury list and a manager who has only been with the club for three weeks, Sunderland were rather unfortunate not to take a point from the Etihad. It isn’t that they really deserved anything from the game, it’s just that City hardly ran away with it.

Whilst it is true that City were also without players as new signings Leroy SanĂ© and Ilkay Gundogan were both injured, it is also true to say that City have never missed these two players before, so shouldn’t do so now. They were bought to add something to the team not take something away when they don’t play! They were also without Vincent Kompany, as usual, and Nicolas Otamendi, so John Stones made his debut alongside new centre back Aleksander Kolarov. (more…)

After Some Good Signings Jose Mourinho Now Needs To Clear Some Of The Dead Wood From Manchester United

Posted: August 10, 2016 in European Football, Football, Managers, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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Even if Jose Mourinho does not make another signing for Manchester United this transfer window, there should be no complaints about the business that has been concluded.

The arrivals of Eric Bailly, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Zlatan Ibrahimović and Paul Pogba have completely renewed the fan’s faith in the ability of the team to go on and win something this time out.

Ed Woodward has not been vilified and so he should also see this transfer window as a success, having managed to secure the services of each of the Mourinho requirements. It may have cost a king’s ransom but what good is the money if it just sits in a bank? Ed certainly likes spending it as much as he likes making it! (more…)

Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United Team To Face Leicester Is Quite Predictable

Posted: August 6, 2016 in European Football, Football, Jose Mourinho, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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The easiest choice for Jose is the goalkeeper. My guess is that David De Gea will not only start the game, but he will finish it as well and be present during the middle bit.

Now begins the fun. At left back should be Luke Shaw, a young kid who shows all the promise in the world and should, barring injury, be around for a long time. The other full back will probably be Antonio Valencia, who has spent the last two years getting older and proving that he cannot defend so, to me, he has always been a strange choice for this position and is lucky to still be at the club.

Despite Mourinho’s dislike for playing people out of position, it is likely that Daley Blind will occupy one of the two central defensive roles, particularly if Smalling is still injured. The other will be taken by another Eric Bailly, another kid with little experience. (more…)

For That Amount Of Money Paul Pogba Has To Be The Main Man Under Jose Mourinho At Manchester United

Posted: August 5, 2016 in European Football, Football, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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He doesn’t look the shy, retiring type. Gold lamĂ© backpacks and matching trainers certainly make Paul Pogba stand out in the crowd, even in America. He is also nearly as well known for his hairstyles as his football so what can Manchester United fans expect on the pitch?

Well there will be a few who already know what to expect as he only left the club four years ago having been a youth and reserve team player there. In fact it was his perceived lack of opportunity which resulted in him leaving for Juventus when only nineteen years of age.

Now, unless he suffers a dramatic loss of form, he will be a regular and one of the first, if not the first, names on the teamsheet. He will be able to thumb his nose at Sir Alex Ferguson, the manager responsible for his leaving the club in the first place. This, however would be unlikely as Pogba appears to be bigger than that sort of behaviour. (more…)

Manchester United And Chelsea Prove That Not All Players Crave The Champion’s League, (Not Immediately Anyway)

Posted: July 30, 2016 in Arsenal, Champions League, Chelsea, European Football, Football, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Tottenham Hotspur
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So, failing to qualify for the Champion’s League is not the disaster that all the “experts” predicted it would be. In fact it appears to have had little or no impact on the two main “failures” in England. These are the two teams who contested the final only eight years ago in Moscow! The ability of Manchester United and Chelsea to sign top players and managers does not appear to have been diminished at all.

It is probably true to say that a prolonged absence from the competition would begin to have a negative effect at some stage as a considerable amount of money can be made by appearing in Europe’s top competition. The loss of this money over a sustained period would prove harmful to the clubs trying to attract the best players and, by doing so, make qualifying again the following year a more difficult proposition. In this respect it is a vicious circle. (more…)

Jose Mourinho’s Need For A Centre Half At Manchester United Is Greater Than That Of Pep Guardiola At Manchester City

Posted: July 26, 2016 in Football, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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Looking at the genuine first team choices available to the two managers it is Manchester United who need the likes of Raphael Varane, John Stones or Leonardo Bonucci, more than Manchester City.

Pep can boast the services of Vincent Kompany, Eliaquim Mangala, Nicolas Otamendi and Jason Denayer, all of whom are current picks for their national squads. These, if no further signings are made, would probably be the four centre backs in the squad for next season.

Unfortunately, for City and Kompany, he is very injury prone and unless he can overcome this problem then a new signing will have to be made.

Mangala has never really found the form that convinced City to buy him and has been inconsistent to say the least. He did, however, seem to be coming into a bit of form towards the end of last season. (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…)

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