Posts Tagged ‘Manchester United’

Manchester Unity, Manchester’s United

Posted: November 5, 2015 in Football, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion
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For anybody who hasn’t read any of my articles before, particularly the pre-blog ones in HITC and Pundit Arena, the above fictitious team is a blend of players from Manchester United and Manchester City.

In order not to upset any United fans, the name is made up of the first three letters of United and the last two of City. In order not to upset any City fans the name is made up of the first two letters of United and the last three of City. I hope that is clear.

I think this is the article in which this team first appeared:
http://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2013/09/23/how-many-of-manchester-uniteds-players-would-have-got-into-the-c/

As I write on Thursday 5th of November, 2015, Manchester City sit top of the Premier league on goal difference from Arsenal and Manchester United sit in 4th position, four points behind. (more…)

Manchester’s European Winners

Posted: November 4, 2015 in Champions League, European Football, Football, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion
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Well, that was better! United actually attacked at Old Trafford and won a game by scoring one more than the opposition. They also managed to win by scoring one more than zero so no need to get too carried away. Being quietly optimistic I would say that the garden has one more rose than it did before.

Louis van Gaal’s theory was proved to be spot on. No one really believed him when he said that, to win a football match, you just had to score one more than the team you were playing against, but tonight his genius was demonstrated emphatically.

His decision to replace Martial with Fellaini was also inspired. Mere mortals, at this stage, thought that if a forward was to be taken off it should be Rooney, who had done very little, rather than Martial who had caused one or two problems to the CSKA defence. In fact, mere mortals wondered why, when a goal was needed, a striker was taken off for a midfielder at all! Worry not, King Louis had everything under control. (more…)

Fanpower, Where Has It Gone?

Posted: October 30, 2015 in Fans, Football, Opinion
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‘I always say the same – if the footballing world doesn’t think of the fans, it’s going to lose the passion and the love. So I was impressed but I was very happy because the fans come first here.
They travel around the world, they spend the money, they spend the time so I think we have to be very, very thankful.’

A nice quote from a rich Premier League football player. Is he English? No. Is he even British? No. Of course not, there aren’t any British footballers left in the UK according to all the harbingers of doom.

This is a quote from Manchester United’s Ander Herrera, who can’t yet consider himself a first team regular, although he should be able to.

Having only spent a relatively short time in England he has quickly grasped what makes football what it is. (more…)

The Capital None Cup

Posted: October 28, 2015 in Capital One Cup, Football, Opinion
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(So we reach the quarter final stage of the competition without any London clubs. The only representative from the south of Staffordshire being Southampton. Quite an unusual turn of events).

In stark contrast to the young team Arsenal fielded in their game against Sheffield Wednesday, Manchester United put out a vastly more experienced team in their tie with Middlesbrough. That’s not to say they were a lot older, United’s team contained Jesse Lingard, Andreas Pereira, James Wilson and Memphis Depay. All young players but with more first team experience than the Arsenal youngsters.

I would like to think that this was to show the opposition, the competition and the fans some respect but I doubt that was the reason. As anyone who read my article after the Arsenal game will be aware, I was critical of the lack of respect I thought was shown by Arsene Wenger to the three aforementioned bodies, but I did include the other top managers as well, as they can be just as disrespectful when they think it necessary. (more…)

The Truth About The Manchester Derby

Posted: October 23, 2015 in Football, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion
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As anybody who has read the mini-bio on the “About the Author” page will know I am from Manchester and have been a supporter of Manchester United for more than 50 years. During my formative years, in the sixties, I was taken to Old Trafford one week then Maine Road the next for many years. In fact, I was chaperoned until I was deemed old enough to go unaccompanied by an adult. At this stage I stopped going to Maine Road because I was actually a United fan and wanted to watch Law, Best and Charlton all the time. It didn’t help that City were in the old second division in those days, so that also influenced my decision somewhat.

Given this upbringing, I like to think that I am entitled to an opinion, borne of experience, on the importance of the derby game nowadays. (more…)

Manchester (United Or City), Versus London (Chelsea Or Arsenal)

Posted: September 19, 2015 in Arsenal, Chelsea, Football, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion
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Oliver Charles T Holt has a theory. It isn’t a theory I agree with, but it is a theory.

For those of you who don’t know him, Oliver Holt is a football writer for the Mail on Sunday. He is the son of Eileen Darbyshire who, for fans of Coronation Street, needs no introduction. He is also a Stockport County supporter, which is fair enough, as he is from Stockport.

Now to his theory. I have heard it a couple of times on The Sunday Supplement, Sky Sports’ programme for ageing writers to pretend they know something about football and, what is even worse, to display their lack of knowledge to two, or even three, hundred viewers.

Hosted by Neil Ashton, another writer from the Mail, the “show” is an interesting concept but, unlike it’s counterpart in cricket which is hosted by an ex-professional cricket player and attended by journalists who also played the game professionally, this one is strictly for amateurs, and it shows. (more…)

The Champions League Headaches Continue

Posted: September 16, 2015 in Champions League, European Football, Football, Opinion
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So Chelsea were the only English team to manage a win in the Champions League.

They currently sit 17th in the Premier League. Three of the teams above them, namely Manchester City, (1st), Manchester United, (3rd) and Arsenal, (4th) contrived to lose their opening games.

In fairness Chelsea, on paper anyway, had the easiest task. Even with their dodgy form of late it would still have been a major surprise had they not overcome Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Manchester City are always an unknown quantity in this competition. Regular losers at home, they have beaten teams like Roma away to progress in the past. Their game against Juventus, last year’s beaten finalists, was never going to be easy, but a defeat was still a disappointment even if not greatly surprising. (more…)

Average + Rooney = Record

Posted: September 6, 2015 in England, Football, International Football, Manchester United
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So Wayne Rooney has equalled Sir Bobby Charlton’s goalscoring record for England in, coincidentally, the same amount of games. If only he was half as good a player as Sir Bobby was.

It’s a pity that the record equalling goal was scored from the penalty spot against lowly San Marino, in a game where England’s main striker managed ONE goal in a 6-0 win.

People say that Rooney would have scored more goals for Manchester United had he not been played in midfield for a short while, firstly by Sir Alex Ferguson and then by Louis van Gaal. What they forget is that Bobby Charlton was never a striker and played all his games in midfield, for England and United. Charlton was not the main penalty taker for either Manchester United or England, so only 3 of his England goals were from penalties. Rooney has scored 18 goals for United and 5 for England from the penalty spot, although he also hasn’t always been the first choice taker. (more…)

Director Of Football Required – Apply To Manchester United

Posted: August 30, 2015 in Football, Manchester United, Opinion
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Is this a falsely manufactured position with a fancy title or a required one? At the moment Manchester United should be including Pedro and Otamendi in their matchday line-up. The fact that they are not speaks volumes about one of two things, or possibly both.

The problem could be their transfer policy. They seem to be identifying players and, providing there is little or no competition, they are signing them. Hence the squad now includes Schneiderlin, Schweinsteiger, Romero, Darmian and Depay. The latter actually being there due more to his relationship with van Gaal than anything else. They also got these signings over the line very quickly, consequently leaving very little time for other clubs to react.

It was about this time when United fans thought that Ed Woodward had redeemed himself for the calamitous previous transfer windows. The problems, however were only just beginning. (more…)

Have Manchester United Missed Out On These Three? (Or Not)

Posted: August 19, 2015 in Football, Manchester United
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How many transfer targets have Manchester United actually missed out on?

To start with they haven’t missed out on Schneiderlin, Schweinsteiger, Darmian, Romero or Depay, as they signed all of them, and remarkably quickly based on Ed Woodward’s previous perfomances.

There are three players United are reported to have missed out on, but have they really? That’s not to say they never wanted them, just that their interest ceased before anything transpired. Let’s take a look at the individuals. (more…)

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