I actually wrote this article a few weeks ago and I forgot to post in here, so it is a little bit out of date now. It was also kindly posted as a contribution on FreshUnited - you can view this article and many more at the following web address.
http://freshmanutd.com
Manchester United currently occupy a lowly ninth place in the Premier League table having completed seven matches, picking up only 10 points from a possible 21 - including that humiliating defeat to rivals Manchester City. The supporters are not used to languishing in mid-table, the players are not familiar with anything other than challenging for honours on all fronts - we like winning and we are bloody good at it. Hence, at times like these, many United fans are unable to view proceedings with any sort of reasonable perspective and everything turns into a crisis. Maybe the panic which can be found amongst a large proportion of the fan base at the moment is justified though. It must surely be reasonable to raise questions and have concerns when the reigning champions seem to be making a dismal attempt at defending their crown.
When David Moyes was announced as the new Manchester United manager back in May, there was one thing which each and every single supporter could agree on - he deserved time and patience. It seems that we were all able to walk the walk, but now we have reached the first minor hurdle where we must practice what we preached and many are already calling for a new manager. I worry that some people genuinely expected a new manager to follow the peerless Sir Alex Ferguson and simply pick up the baton and keep winning trophies.
Let us consider some of the positives from what we have witnessed so far, in these early matches of the season. The most glaringly obvious positive factor arising from the season so far is the integration and flourishing of Adnan Januzaj in the first team. His first Premier League start away to Sunderland, along with his two goals are still very fresh in the memory - the second of those goals, in my opinion, is an early goal of the season contender, given the incredible execution of the difficult technique, as well as the context of the match. The young Belgian (but possibly Serbian, Kosovar, Albanian or even English) attacker showed massive potential on the pre-season tour to Australia and Asia, before a solid display coming off the bench in the Community Shield against Wigan. He also gave the entire team - and the Old Trafford crowd - a huge lift when he came off the bench against Crystal Palace to make his competitive club debut and looked as if he was ready for Premier League level football. The decision taken by David Moyes to throw him into the starting line-up away to Sunderland was a brave choice which was handsomely rewarded. The club will undoubtedly do everything in their power to ensure that a repeat of the Paul Pogba shambles and tie down Januzaj to a long term contract; the boy looks like he is going to be a star and might even make a significant this very season. Take a minute and consider whether Januzaj would have been anywhere near the first team had Jose Mourinho been appointed as our new boss this summer. I think not.
It has also been good to see Moyes handle our Champions League fixtures with confidence and assurance so far. Granted, we have yet to see very much and have only managed to pick up one win and one draw from the two group stage matches, but we looked solid in both of those games. The win over Bayer Leverkusen at Old Trafford was a great result against an accomplished side; United looked energetic, sharp, passed the ball well and looked solid defensively for the most part. There should be no hesitation in calling the draw in Donetsk a good result either - remember, no English team had managed to keep a clean sheet away to Shakhtar in the Champions League and it was the first time an English team had managed to avoid defeat there. Also, don't fool yourself into believing that Fergie would have done anything differently or better in that game; from 2007 onwards, Fergie was the master of going away from home in European competition and getting a good result, built on a solid defensive foundation and setting up to counter attack. Securing a draw away to our most difficult group stage opponents is definitely one point gained, rather than two dropped. Any lingering doubts which we had about Moyes' ability to compete in Europe should at least partially have been eased by those first two matches - of course, only time will tell how he will fare when it comes to the knockout stages against the bigger teams.
Everyone knows that you cannot win the league by depending on other teams dropping points and the old cliche rings true - you can only worry about the matches which you can influence. Relying on another team to get a result and do your side a favour usually means you have dropped points along the way and that responsibility cannot be dodged or shirked. This could have been a massive issue for United this season, with Chelsea and Man City bringing in new managers and each spending considerable amounts improving their respective squads, as well as Arsenal adding Ozil. A slow start could have been a real blow to any title hopes if one of the other top teams in the league got off to a flyer - however the reality has made for far more enjoyable viewing. Chelsea and City have routinely dropped points as well and neither have looked half as good as the pundits and media would have had you believe they were before the season started. As things stand, United are not too far off the pace, which is remarkable given some of the results to date; not only that, but we have already played City and Liverpool away, as well as Chelsea at home - some really tough fixtures. We might not win the league - we probably won't, if you ask me - but I am fairly confident that we will certainly have made a strong challenge of it, when the medals are handed out in May.
Not only have there been some huge positives, but it is not as if Fergie never endured a tough start to a season. In actual fact, United were notoriously slow starters under the previous boss, until Mourinho's Chelsea raised the bar when it came to racing off the start-line. I am not going to bore anyone by relying on those well known stats about Moyes having the best winning percentage in his first six matches in charge since Sir Matt Busby, or that Fergie's first Manchester derby ended with a 5-1 defeat at Maine Road, however I would like to go back and look at the 2010/11 season. Most people will be well aware that this particular season resulted in a record breaking 19th league title, as well defeats in the FA Cup Semi Final and Champions League Final - it was close to being our best season since the Treble in 1999. However, the memories of that year are polished by hindsight and the reality is that United were uninspired, laboured, lacking a star player and generally awful away from home right up until around February, in the second half of the season. Even when we did win, it was often down to individual brilliance - Berbatov's hat-trick at home to Liverpool or Rooney's bicycle kick against City - or the classic United stubborn, never lie down mentality - coming back from 2-0 down to beat Blackpool away or the Rooney-inspired comeback from 2-0 down away to West Ham. We did not play well in any of those games, but the lasting memories are the results. Unfortunately, for as successful season as that was, it was not a vintage United team and often it was our fantastic squad which saw us through.
This season we are enjoying Wayne Rooney in some of his best form in recent years and we have that star man in the shape of Robin van Persie; the squad is arguably even better now than it was back in 2010/11 too. When several key individuals eventually find some form and Moyes not only gets to grips with his best starting eleven, but his best tactical set up and approach, I am quite sure that we will see our usual, free-flowing attacking football. There is no reason to panic yet, there is certainly no reason for Moyes to be feeling insecure about his job and the number one thing that we should be doing as fans is getting behind the manager and the player. We'll keep the red flag flying high, cos Man Utd will never die.
As always, I appreciate any comments and feedback. Follow me on Twitter @JmRssll555.
Tuesday, 29 October 2013
Wednesday, 18 September 2013
The Joys of a Working Midfield
Well that was very pleasant, wasn't it? United swept 4 goals past Bayern Leverkusen at Old Trafford to kick-start our Champions League campaign, in Moyes first European match as manager. We also conceded two goals, but overall, a potentially tricky group opener proved to be a very successful night indeed. It was certainly the first European match that I've truly enjoyed for quite some time. Keep in mind too, that this was a Leverkusen team who are widely regarded as the third best in Germany, behind only Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich - two sides who contested the Champions League Final at Wembley back in May.
I think the most refreshing thing to see from Moyes was the strength of the starting team which was selected. For all his genius, in the past few seasons, Fergie could certainly be criticised over the quality of his team selection - and it often cost us. Everyone remembers the catastrophe of crashing out in the group stages before Christmas in 2011, but there was also the 1-0 home defeat to Besiktas in 2009 which broke our unbeaten home record in the competition which stretched back to 2005 - of course that result was much less important, but it still wasn't good. In stark contrast, Moyes played all his big guns from the start, including a centre back combination of Ferdinand and Vidic which I thought was a very surprising choice given that we play City away on Sunday. You can't imagine Ferguson would have played both of them and may even have opted for two out of Smalling, Jones and Evans instead. The result of playing such a strong team was an interesting and exciting group stage match, against good opposition, where United created chances, pressed the ball well as a team unit and had a cutting edge going forward too. Vitally, we also secured the three points comfortably, allowing Moyes to remove key players from the contest once the result was sealed - something which many of us lambasted Sir Alex for not doing, in his final seasons.
The standout performers from the night were Wayne Rooney, Antonio Valencia and Marouane Fellaini - starting his first match since his deadline day move from Everton. In Rooney's case, his performance was not unusual or new to the Old Trafford crowd; he was energetic, he passed the ball well, carried out his defensive duties, led the front-line well and vitally scored the opening goal, as well as the killer third. It was an all-round top notch performance from Rooney and suggested he may well be approaching his best form once more - which had deserted him over the course of last season. Amidst the background of his perceived unhappiness and his request for a summer move, it was great to see Rooney simply put in a performance in a United shirt. We can debate whether he deserves the support of the fans or not, however my main concern is that he performs and plays well on the pitch - he did just that. I fully believe that Rooney in this kind of form gives us the best player in the league and if he can keep it up and continue his excellent partnership with van Persie, we've got a great chance of winning the title again.
Valencia's performance took on slightly more significance I think and he was certainly my choice for man of the match. I'm a big fan of our Ecuadorian winger and I probably defended him at times last season when his performances slipped to the point where they were indefensible - he had a crap season last year, along with all of our other wingers. However, when he was playing at his best during our title chase of the 2011/12 season, I genuinely believed he was one of the best wingers in the league; he has very little trickery or diversity in his game and remains over-reliant on his right foot, but his sheer pace and power leaves defenders struggling to cope with his running. Against Leverkusen he repeatedly tore their left side to shreds, reached the by-line and picked out red shirts with his crosses - he really was excellent. His assist for van Persie's goal gave us the lead again and he even managed to cap off his performance with a killer, counter-attacking fourth goal. Early in the game, he took a good, positive first touch towards his marker, before knocking the ball round one side of the defender and sprinting around the opposite side to retrieve the ball - I sat up, alert in my seat. He followed that up by racing off into the space behind the full back and picking out Kagawa at the far post with a perfect cross, which almost led to a goal - "Was that really Valencia?! I haven't seen him do that stuff like that for months!" It really set the tone for his night; I truly hope he's back to his best now and we'll continue to see those kind of performances frequently once more.
Finally, our new Belgian midfield signing, Marouane Fellaini. Many believe we overpaid for him, especially considering the issues with the release clause and I had my doubts over whether he was good enough to truly make the improvements to our midfield that were required. However, he was excellent against Leverkusen - no doubt about it. I won't try and suggest that he's a better acquisition than Thiago Alcantara or Cesc Fabregas might have been, however it was great to finally see United have some kind of physical presence in the centre of the pitch, alongside Michael Carrick. Fellaini repeatedly won headers and returned United into possession of the ball with his tenacious work-rate and tackling ability - I was also really impressed with his ability to pressure and get close to players without conceding fouls, especially for such a big guy. He misplaced a few passes though and I don't think Carrick had a great game, possibly due to not being familiar with another deep midfielder playing alongside him, but the way the midfield was set up was excellent. The protection which Carrick and Fellaini offered gave Rooney, van Persie, Valencia and Kagawa the ability to express much more creativity and interchange positions with each other - it was far from the flowing football of 2007, however it will keep improving I'm sure.
Overall, it was a really good start for Moyes in Europe; we got the win which is the main thing, Rooney and van Persie both got goals and we actually had a functioning midfield as well as wingers who actually took part in the match, which is genuinely a welcome improvement. Onwards and upwards!
As always, I welcome comments, feedback and any tips or advice on how to improve this blog. You can find me on Twitter too, where my username is @JmRssll555.
I think the most refreshing thing to see from Moyes was the strength of the starting team which was selected. For all his genius, in the past few seasons, Fergie could certainly be criticised over the quality of his team selection - and it often cost us. Everyone remembers the catastrophe of crashing out in the group stages before Christmas in 2011, but there was also the 1-0 home defeat to Besiktas in 2009 which broke our unbeaten home record in the competition which stretched back to 2005 - of course that result was much less important, but it still wasn't good. In stark contrast, Moyes played all his big guns from the start, including a centre back combination of Ferdinand and Vidic which I thought was a very surprising choice given that we play City away on Sunday. You can't imagine Ferguson would have played both of them and may even have opted for two out of Smalling, Jones and Evans instead. The result of playing such a strong team was an interesting and exciting group stage match, against good opposition, where United created chances, pressed the ball well as a team unit and had a cutting edge going forward too. Vitally, we also secured the three points comfortably, allowing Moyes to remove key players from the contest once the result was sealed - something which many of us lambasted Sir Alex for not doing, in his final seasons.
The standout performers from the night were Wayne Rooney, Antonio Valencia and Marouane Fellaini - starting his first match since his deadline day move from Everton. In Rooney's case, his performance was not unusual or new to the Old Trafford crowd; he was energetic, he passed the ball well, carried out his defensive duties, led the front-line well and vitally scored the opening goal, as well as the killer third. It was an all-round top notch performance from Rooney and suggested he may well be approaching his best form once more - which had deserted him over the course of last season. Amidst the background of his perceived unhappiness and his request for a summer move, it was great to see Rooney simply put in a performance in a United shirt. We can debate whether he deserves the support of the fans or not, however my main concern is that he performs and plays well on the pitch - he did just that. I fully believe that Rooney in this kind of form gives us the best player in the league and if he can keep it up and continue his excellent partnership with van Persie, we've got a great chance of winning the title again.
Valencia's performance took on slightly more significance I think and he was certainly my choice for man of the match. I'm a big fan of our Ecuadorian winger and I probably defended him at times last season when his performances slipped to the point where they were indefensible - he had a crap season last year, along with all of our other wingers. However, when he was playing at his best during our title chase of the 2011/12 season, I genuinely believed he was one of the best wingers in the league; he has very little trickery or diversity in his game and remains over-reliant on his right foot, but his sheer pace and power leaves defenders struggling to cope with his running. Against Leverkusen he repeatedly tore their left side to shreds, reached the by-line and picked out red shirts with his crosses - he really was excellent. His assist for van Persie's goal gave us the lead again and he even managed to cap off his performance with a killer, counter-attacking fourth goal. Early in the game, he took a good, positive first touch towards his marker, before knocking the ball round one side of the defender and sprinting around the opposite side to retrieve the ball - I sat up, alert in my seat. He followed that up by racing off into the space behind the full back and picking out Kagawa at the far post with a perfect cross, which almost led to a goal - "Was that really Valencia?! I haven't seen him do that stuff like that for months!" It really set the tone for his night; I truly hope he's back to his best now and we'll continue to see those kind of performances frequently once more.
Finally, our new Belgian midfield signing, Marouane Fellaini. Many believe we overpaid for him, especially considering the issues with the release clause and I had my doubts over whether he was good enough to truly make the improvements to our midfield that were required. However, he was excellent against Leverkusen - no doubt about it. I won't try and suggest that he's a better acquisition than Thiago Alcantara or Cesc Fabregas might have been, however it was great to finally see United have some kind of physical presence in the centre of the pitch, alongside Michael Carrick. Fellaini repeatedly won headers and returned United into possession of the ball with his tenacious work-rate and tackling ability - I was also really impressed with his ability to pressure and get close to players without conceding fouls, especially for such a big guy. He misplaced a few passes though and I don't think Carrick had a great game, possibly due to not being familiar with another deep midfielder playing alongside him, but the way the midfield was set up was excellent. The protection which Carrick and Fellaini offered gave Rooney, van Persie, Valencia and Kagawa the ability to express much more creativity and interchange positions with each other - it was far from the flowing football of 2007, however it will keep improving I'm sure.
Overall, it was a really good start for Moyes in Europe; we got the win which is the main thing, Rooney and van Persie both got goals and we actually had a functioning midfield as well as wingers who actually took part in the match, which is genuinely a welcome improvement. Onwards and upwards!
As always, I welcome comments, feedback and any tips or advice on how to improve this blog. You can find me on Twitter too, where my username is @JmRssll555.
Wednesday, 21 August 2013
Managing Expectations
Today is Wednesday the 21st August, we are rapidly approaching the closure of the summer transfer window and so far, Manchester United haven't made any significant signing whatsoever. This summer was always going to be an important one for the club due to our increasing need to reinforce and add to our midfield, and the stakes were only raised further when Sir Alex Ferguson announced his impending retirement in May.
I say "significant signing" because we have made one purchase; 20 year old right-back Guillermo Varela was brought in from Uruguayan Primera Division side Atletico Penarol. However, the deal can safely be filed as "one for the future" since the player is very unlikely to make any kind of immediate impact on the first team. There are even rumours that the lad will actually be loaned out in order to gain some playing experience this season, at a higher level than he would be exposed to whilst playing for the under-21 or reserve squads at United. Furthermore, given how early in the window the deal was announced, it is not unlikely that the signing was actually one completed whilst the club was still under the management of Fergie - strictly speaking, he probably isn't a signing we can attribute to David Moyes.
Many associated with United expect a period of transition now that Fergie has moved on, which is totally justified and understandable. It was always going to be tough to follow in his footsteps and nobody could be blamed for shying away from taking over from the Greatest Football Manager Ever - and that's a fact, Rafa! Virtually every United fan I have spoken with was happy with the appointment of David Moyes as the successor to Sir Alex - even the ones, like myself, who initially preferred Jose Mourinho. The level of expectation for the season ahead was also realistic - "Let's give a good account of ourselves defending the title," and "Play some good football and get to the latter stages in the cups," are both fair and achievable goals to set for the new boss. In light of all of this then, why has the word "embarrassing" been thrown around so often this summer, particularly as a descriptor of Moyes and our new Chief Executive, Edward Woodward, when the season has barely started?
This summer should have been treated with a certain inevitability that things might not go quite as smoothly as we had been used to under Sir Alex for the past 26 years, where transfers were conducted early in the window and new players given time to settle in. In contrast, there would now be a change of ideas, maybe some totally new staff along with the new manager, as well as entirely new transfer targets. What we were sure of though was that Moyes would bring in someone - he'd definitely want to stamp his mark on the team in some way, and bring in at least player or two. Most United supporters wanted that player to be a midfielder and many were hopeful that Moyes might return to his old club in order to bring in Marouane Fellaini, giving us greater strength in the middle of the pitch - a combative, nasty midfielder in the mould of Roy Keane or Mark Hughes. Whilst Fellaini wasn't a universally popular choice, or one who was considered as good a technical footballer as the two aforementioned club legends, he would nonetheless be a good addition to the squad, most agreed.
We may still end up with Fellaini, especially given that there has been an official announcement from Everton in the past day or so, stating that they had received - and rejected - an offer for the player from United. However, many of the Old Trafford faithful have now become disillusioned with our movements in the transfer window and many have aimed abuse at Moyes and Woodward for a failure to sign a player such as Cesc Fabregas or Cristiano Ronaldo - Football Manager or FIFA-type signings. Those players aren't regular signings for United; we prefer to focus on developing our own young talent and certainly wouldn't have been clambering over ourselves to bad-mouth Fergie had he not pulled off a coup for one of Europe's finest passers. I'd suggest that the main reason the fans have been so bitterly disappointed by our summer activity so far is because of the raising of expectations. It may seem like a strange idea, given the general tone of uncertainty surrounding a new era at the club, but how else can the stratospheric jump in the expected quality of signings be explained?
To find the answer as to just why our transfer sights have been so radically shifted, we must consider three important quotes which have all appeared in the media in the past few months. First of all, recall back to the end of last season, not long after United had wrapped up the title in emphatic style, and Sir Alex calmly told the surrounding journalists at a press conference that we had money to spend. Not just some money either, but he emphasised that in the past, maybe he had been more restricted than he would be this summer and that if he wanted to go out and get a player - even if we already had someone in that position - the Glazers would back him financially. We rejoiced. Fresh off the back of winning our 20th league title and the boss is already thinking about adding "one or two" players to the squad in order to go about retaining that crown. Of course, at this stage we didn't know he was merely weeks from announcing his retirement, but he did.
Fast forward to David Moyes first press conference now - in the mean time, United fans have started to consider the possibility of a big name signing, after Ferguson's comments, coupled with the benefit of beginning Moyes reign with a statement of intent. It seemed like the perfect plan to improve an already strong squad by adding the world class midfielder that the team was missing, to play alongside Michael Carrick. We had heard rumours of the imminent signing of Thiago Alcantara, Barcelona's star prodigy midfielder, the answer to all our problems; some suggested he may even be unveiled alongside Moyes at this media press conference. Moyes went on to tell us that Manchester United would, "always be interested in the very best players" and the rumour mills went into overdrive. Could he mean Ronaldo is coming back? Are we getting Thiago then? Was the article in The Sunday Life right about us going after Messi?!
Only a few weeks later, after Thiago Alcantara joined European Champions Bayern Munich and Moyes confirmed at least one unsuccessful bid for Cesc Fabregas, the manager came out and whetted our appetites once more. He told the press, "There's no budget here, you go get who you want to get, just go and do it. We are looking at the best players." Well, now things really started to hot up - Ronaldo denied he had signed a new deal at Madrid, the Daily Mail reported that Gareth Bale preferred a move to Old Trafford rather than the Bernabeu and Cesc Fabregas refused to publicly rule out leaving Barcelona. Of course, all of this talk was merely based on rumours, often from random Twitter accounts who couldn't spell reputable source, never mind find one - but still we hoped and trusted that Moyes was working on a mega deal.
Now, the present situation is that Fabregas has confirmed that he'll be staying put in Barcelona, Bale is most likely off to Real Madrid - for a stupid fee - where he's almost guaranteed to play alongside Ronaldo, since his return was always a mere pipe-dream. United on the other hand, have added nobody - not even Fellaini - and there is a growing concern that rather than potentially adding a world beater, we may not bring in any players at all. Moyes has backed himself into a corner, and Fergie contributed to the situation with his comments at the end of the season - we didn't want or expect a marquee signing, but if you go around blatantly suggesting that there will be one and publicly discussing bids for top level players, then the fans will expect you to deliver.
Feedback, comments and criticism are all welcome. You can find me on Twitter too; my username is @JmRssll555.
I say "significant signing" because we have made one purchase; 20 year old right-back Guillermo Varela was brought in from Uruguayan Primera Division side Atletico Penarol. However, the deal can safely be filed as "one for the future" since the player is very unlikely to make any kind of immediate impact on the first team. There are even rumours that the lad will actually be loaned out in order to gain some playing experience this season, at a higher level than he would be exposed to whilst playing for the under-21 or reserve squads at United. Furthermore, given how early in the window the deal was announced, it is not unlikely that the signing was actually one completed whilst the club was still under the management of Fergie - strictly speaking, he probably isn't a signing we can attribute to David Moyes.
Many associated with United expect a period of transition now that Fergie has moved on, which is totally justified and understandable. It was always going to be tough to follow in his footsteps and nobody could be blamed for shying away from taking over from the Greatest Football Manager Ever - and that's a fact, Rafa! Virtually every United fan I have spoken with was happy with the appointment of David Moyes as the successor to Sir Alex - even the ones, like myself, who initially preferred Jose Mourinho. The level of expectation for the season ahead was also realistic - "Let's give a good account of ourselves defending the title," and "Play some good football and get to the latter stages in the cups," are both fair and achievable goals to set for the new boss. In light of all of this then, why has the word "embarrassing" been thrown around so often this summer, particularly as a descriptor of Moyes and our new Chief Executive, Edward Woodward, when the season has barely started?
This summer should have been treated with a certain inevitability that things might not go quite as smoothly as we had been used to under Sir Alex for the past 26 years, where transfers were conducted early in the window and new players given time to settle in. In contrast, there would now be a change of ideas, maybe some totally new staff along with the new manager, as well as entirely new transfer targets. What we were sure of though was that Moyes would bring in someone - he'd definitely want to stamp his mark on the team in some way, and bring in at least player or two. Most United supporters wanted that player to be a midfielder and many were hopeful that Moyes might return to his old club in order to bring in Marouane Fellaini, giving us greater strength in the middle of the pitch - a combative, nasty midfielder in the mould of Roy Keane or Mark Hughes. Whilst Fellaini wasn't a universally popular choice, or one who was considered as good a technical footballer as the two aforementioned club legends, he would nonetheless be a good addition to the squad, most agreed.
We may still end up with Fellaini, especially given that there has been an official announcement from Everton in the past day or so, stating that they had received - and rejected - an offer for the player from United. However, many of the Old Trafford faithful have now become disillusioned with our movements in the transfer window and many have aimed abuse at Moyes and Woodward for a failure to sign a player such as Cesc Fabregas or Cristiano Ronaldo - Football Manager or FIFA-type signings. Those players aren't regular signings for United; we prefer to focus on developing our own young talent and certainly wouldn't have been clambering over ourselves to bad-mouth Fergie had he not pulled off a coup for one of Europe's finest passers. I'd suggest that the main reason the fans have been so bitterly disappointed by our summer activity so far is because of the raising of expectations. It may seem like a strange idea, given the general tone of uncertainty surrounding a new era at the club, but how else can the stratospheric jump in the expected quality of signings be explained?
To find the answer as to just why our transfer sights have been so radically shifted, we must consider three important quotes which have all appeared in the media in the past few months. First of all, recall back to the end of last season, not long after United had wrapped up the title in emphatic style, and Sir Alex calmly told the surrounding journalists at a press conference that we had money to spend. Not just some money either, but he emphasised that in the past, maybe he had been more restricted than he would be this summer and that if he wanted to go out and get a player - even if we already had someone in that position - the Glazers would back him financially. We rejoiced. Fresh off the back of winning our 20th league title and the boss is already thinking about adding "one or two" players to the squad in order to go about retaining that crown. Of course, at this stage we didn't know he was merely weeks from announcing his retirement, but he did.
Fast forward to David Moyes first press conference now - in the mean time, United fans have started to consider the possibility of a big name signing, after Ferguson's comments, coupled with the benefit of beginning Moyes reign with a statement of intent. It seemed like the perfect plan to improve an already strong squad by adding the world class midfielder that the team was missing, to play alongside Michael Carrick. We had heard rumours of the imminent signing of Thiago Alcantara, Barcelona's star prodigy midfielder, the answer to all our problems; some suggested he may even be unveiled alongside Moyes at this media press conference. Moyes went on to tell us that Manchester United would, "always be interested in the very best players" and the rumour mills went into overdrive. Could he mean Ronaldo is coming back? Are we getting Thiago then? Was the article in The Sunday Life right about us going after Messi?!
Only a few weeks later, after Thiago Alcantara joined European Champions Bayern Munich and Moyes confirmed at least one unsuccessful bid for Cesc Fabregas, the manager came out and whetted our appetites once more. He told the press, "There's no budget here, you go get who you want to get, just go and do it. We are looking at the best players." Well, now things really started to hot up - Ronaldo denied he had signed a new deal at Madrid, the Daily Mail reported that Gareth Bale preferred a move to Old Trafford rather than the Bernabeu and Cesc Fabregas refused to publicly rule out leaving Barcelona. Of course, all of this talk was merely based on rumours, often from random Twitter accounts who couldn't spell reputable source, never mind find one - but still we hoped and trusted that Moyes was working on a mega deal.
Now, the present situation is that Fabregas has confirmed that he'll be staying put in Barcelona, Bale is most likely off to Real Madrid - for a stupid fee - where he's almost guaranteed to play alongside Ronaldo, since his return was always a mere pipe-dream. United on the other hand, have added nobody - not even Fellaini - and there is a growing concern that rather than potentially adding a world beater, we may not bring in any players at all. Moyes has backed himself into a corner, and Fergie contributed to the situation with his comments at the end of the season - we didn't want or expect a marquee signing, but if you go around blatantly suggesting that there will be one and publicly discussing bids for top level players, then the fans will expect you to deliver.
Feedback, comments and criticism are all welcome. You can find me on Twitter too; my username is @JmRssll555.
Saturday, 10 August 2013
The Wayne Rooney Saga
Friday 22nd October 2010: A school football training session has just finished and I'm heading home to relax and enjoy my weekend. After retrieving my phone from my bag and checking my messages, my eyes light up. "Rooney has signed a 5 year deal! He's staying!"
What a turnaround; only two days earlier Rooney had announced his intention to leave our magnificent football club in pursuit of a new challenge to match his lofty ambitions. His motive seemingly the calibre of players we had brought in during the summer window simply weren't up to the job. Fergie played a blinder in the pre-match press conference before we faced Bursaspor in the Champions League, and the next thing we know, Rooney has a large wage increase and is suddenly very happy in Manchester once more. Happy days.
The fallout lasted significantly longer than most imagined at the time - at least on the pitch. Rooney went through a long barren spell where he could hardly buy a goal, despite his new astronomical salary being quoted by the media. However, Rooney went on to enjoy one of his greatest spells of form after the turn of the year, combining goals with assists and an all round quality of play which made his £27 million fee back in 2004 look like an absolute steal. The Wayne Rooney we all loved was back to his scintillating best; the Premier League title was returned to Old Trafford after Wayne blasted in a penalty to earn a point away to Blackburn, and a third appearance in a mere four years in the Champions League Final was also secured. A fantastic season all round, which has since been complimented by the addition of David de Gea, Phil Jones, Ashley Young, Shinji Kagawa and Robin van Persie, topped off by securing our 20th league title last season. Surely any lingering doubts Rooney had about United's ability to continue to be successful had been eradicated in emphatic fashion.
So why are we once more seeing those same headlines we saw back in the Autumn of 2010 this summer? "Rooney Wants Out" and "Rooney After New Challenge at Chelsea" could well apply to Wayne's first transfer tantrum, or indeed the current one. Many, many United fans hold the opinion that enough is enough with respect to Wayne Rooney, and that we should just cut our losses and get rid of him before he causes more serious disruptions and divides in the squad than he may have done already. Rumour has it that he and one or more senior players had a heated debate about his ongoing commitment to the club, which was the cause for the mystery "shoulder injury" preventing him even travelling to the recent friendly match in Sweden. I'm not sure whether I believe that or not - of course, you've always got to have a skeptical perspective when it comes to the British press nowadays.
Personally, I feel that it was a slightly 'weak' move by Fergie to bend to Rooney's wage demands back in 2010; however it was probably a necessary move at the time given that Ronaldo and Tevez had moved on and Rooney was our star man - we needed him. The present situation is rather different; the acquisition of Robin van Persie, coupled with the development and obvious talents of Chicharito and Danny Welbeck means that we could probably afford to get rid of our loveable Scouser and still pose a serious goal threat to opposition defences.
This time around, another bumper pay packet increase is out of the question too. In the eyes of the Stretford End faithful, he simply hasn't earned his status as the highest paid player at the club with his performances over the last two seasons. Some would even go as far to say he hasn't turned up in some our most important matches - Manchester City away in April of 2012 the standout example of this. Certainly, the tide of the title race turned that night and arguably it was the game when it slipped from our grasp - and Rooney had almost no impact on the match whatsoever, just when we needed him to stand up and be counted.
Despite all of this though, I hope beyond all measure that he's still a Manchester United player when this transfer window closes. We have yet to hear from the player himself and maybe, just maybe he's not quite as determined to leave as the tabloids would have us think. If he can develop a good working relationship with David Moyes once more, we could finally see Rooney playing somewhere close to his best again. It's a World Cup year, Rooney is in the prime of his playing days and even when he's had 'poor' seasons before, he's still managed 20 goals - everything is in place for him to have the season of his life. Just imagine what he could achieve whilst playing as the focal point of a young, exciting Chelsea squad.
I post on RedCafe and I've said it on there several times already, and I'll probably continue to repeat myself until Rooney is sold or the transfer window closes - the worst thing which could happen to the club before the start of the new season is that Wayne Rooney goes off to play his football under Jose Mourinho at Stamford Bridge. It would be another huge weight hanging over Moyes before he's even got started and I truly believe a rejuvenated Rooney would be a revelation at Chelsea. A striker is just what they are missing - are we going to give them exactly what they want and need?
It will take a while for him to win most of the fans over again, but good performances and goals are the quickest way to do so. He may not be our superstar striker when compared to van Persie. He may feel bullied by Ferguson, and we'll never know what went on there. He may even just want more money once more. Despite everything though, all I have to say is sort yourself out, Wayne, and please don't sign for Chelsea.
Please leave comments and feedback below and I'll do my best to respond to any comments. Advice and tips are also welcome and I'd appreciate any positive criticisms too. Follow me on Twitter @JmRssll555.
What a turnaround; only two days earlier Rooney had announced his intention to leave our magnificent football club in pursuit of a new challenge to match his lofty ambitions. His motive seemingly the calibre of players we had brought in during the summer window simply weren't up to the job. Fergie played a blinder in the pre-match press conference before we faced Bursaspor in the Champions League, and the next thing we know, Rooney has a large wage increase and is suddenly very happy in Manchester once more. Happy days.
The fallout lasted significantly longer than most imagined at the time - at least on the pitch. Rooney went through a long barren spell where he could hardly buy a goal, despite his new astronomical salary being quoted by the media. However, Rooney went on to enjoy one of his greatest spells of form after the turn of the year, combining goals with assists and an all round quality of play which made his £27 million fee back in 2004 look like an absolute steal. The Wayne Rooney we all loved was back to his scintillating best; the Premier League title was returned to Old Trafford after Wayne blasted in a penalty to earn a point away to Blackburn, and a third appearance in a mere four years in the Champions League Final was also secured. A fantastic season all round, which has since been complimented by the addition of David de Gea, Phil Jones, Ashley Young, Shinji Kagawa and Robin van Persie, topped off by securing our 20th league title last season. Surely any lingering doubts Rooney had about United's ability to continue to be successful had been eradicated in emphatic fashion.
So why are we once more seeing those same headlines we saw back in the Autumn of 2010 this summer? "Rooney Wants Out" and "Rooney After New Challenge at Chelsea" could well apply to Wayne's first transfer tantrum, or indeed the current one. Many, many United fans hold the opinion that enough is enough with respect to Wayne Rooney, and that we should just cut our losses and get rid of him before he causes more serious disruptions and divides in the squad than he may have done already. Rumour has it that he and one or more senior players had a heated debate about his ongoing commitment to the club, which was the cause for the mystery "shoulder injury" preventing him even travelling to the recent friendly match in Sweden. I'm not sure whether I believe that or not - of course, you've always got to have a skeptical perspective when it comes to the British press nowadays.
Personally, I feel that it was a slightly 'weak' move by Fergie to bend to Rooney's wage demands back in 2010; however it was probably a necessary move at the time given that Ronaldo and Tevez had moved on and Rooney was our star man - we needed him. The present situation is rather different; the acquisition of Robin van Persie, coupled with the development and obvious talents of Chicharito and Danny Welbeck means that we could probably afford to get rid of our loveable Scouser and still pose a serious goal threat to opposition defences.
This time around, another bumper pay packet increase is out of the question too. In the eyes of the Stretford End faithful, he simply hasn't earned his status as the highest paid player at the club with his performances over the last two seasons. Some would even go as far to say he hasn't turned up in some our most important matches - Manchester City away in April of 2012 the standout example of this. Certainly, the tide of the title race turned that night and arguably it was the game when it slipped from our grasp - and Rooney had almost no impact on the match whatsoever, just when we needed him to stand up and be counted.
Despite all of this though, I hope beyond all measure that he's still a Manchester United player when this transfer window closes. We have yet to hear from the player himself and maybe, just maybe he's not quite as determined to leave as the tabloids would have us think. If he can develop a good working relationship with David Moyes once more, we could finally see Rooney playing somewhere close to his best again. It's a World Cup year, Rooney is in the prime of his playing days and even when he's had 'poor' seasons before, he's still managed 20 goals - everything is in place for him to have the season of his life. Just imagine what he could achieve whilst playing as the focal point of a young, exciting Chelsea squad.
I post on RedCafe and I've said it on there several times already, and I'll probably continue to repeat myself until Rooney is sold or the transfer window closes - the worst thing which could happen to the club before the start of the new season is that Wayne Rooney goes off to play his football under Jose Mourinho at Stamford Bridge. It would be another huge weight hanging over Moyes before he's even got started and I truly believe a rejuvenated Rooney would be a revelation at Chelsea. A striker is just what they are missing - are we going to give them exactly what they want and need?
It will take a while for him to win most of the fans over again, but good performances and goals are the quickest way to do so. He may not be our superstar striker when compared to van Persie. He may feel bullied by Ferguson, and we'll never know what went on there. He may even just want more money once more. Despite everything though, all I have to say is sort yourself out, Wayne, and please don't sign for Chelsea.
Please leave comments and feedback below and I'll do my best to respond to any comments. Advice and tips are also welcome and I'd appreciate any positive criticisms too. Follow me on Twitter @JmRssll555.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)