Wednesday, 27 April 2016

Rio Ferdinand: Van Gaal will be leaving United with this one good legacy

The former Manchester United defender knows the season has been "a bit doom and gloom" for Van Gaal and his United team.

He however believes the Dutchman deserves some credit for the amount of youngsters that he has given first team opportunities.

About 14 players from the United academy have been given their debuts by Van Gaal  and the likes of Rashford, Fosu-Mensah and Lingard have stood out.

“This season has been a bit doom and gloom for Manchester United with the way they have played, but Louis van Gaal's legacy if he is
going to have one when he leaves is the introduction of all these young boys, with Rashford leading the charge." Ferdinand said in an exclusive interview with Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast.

Ferdinand thinks it would be nice to see managers emulate that side of the Dutchman.

"It has been great for football and it will be nice for managers around the country to take heed of that.

"Bringing in young players as he has and getting to the FA Cup final -albeit they are not doing too well in the league - that is a good part of his time and story at Manchester United."

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Manchester United trio nominated for club award

United forwards Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and goalkeeper David De Gea have been nominated for the club's player of the month award for April.

The trio have been in great form for the team within the time under consideration.

De Gea was in great form in the FA Cup matches against West Ham and Everton. His heroics against the Toffees is still fresh in memory saving Lukaku's penalty.

Martial on his path also had a great hand in United's FA Cup journey to the final. His one assist and goal against Everton remains a high point in his short United career. He also scored against the Hammers in the semifinal, a goal that kept united in the competition, forcing a replay at Upton Park.

Rashford kept his place in the team despite the return of Wayne Rooney.

He scored two important goals for United in the month of April. His goal against the Hammers helped united through into the semifinals of the FA Cup, while his winning goal against Villa, kept United's top four quest alive.

Who get your vote?

Fans can vote here on the club's official website or here on the team's twitter handle.

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Tuesday, 26 April 2016

Agent confirms Maroune Fellaini would consider Roma move

Maroune Fellaini's agent has confirmed that moving to AS Roma is a possibility the player would consider.

Report from Italy is that AS Roma are considering a move for the Belgian,  after he was reportedly offered to them last season.

The 28 year old was spotted at the Stadio Olympico  watching Roma's 1-0 victory over Napoli on Monday. Reports which claims the player claimed the player came to see some friends.

"He was probably there on holiday. His agent  told told Tuttomercatoweb

"For the moment I have no other news. So far I’ve had no contact with Roma for him.

"Would that move be acceptable? Yes, Roma is a possibility to consider."

United fans would be divided on whether Fellaini should leave or not. The midfielder has been unable to replicate the Everton form that made United signed him three years ago.

Do you think United should keep Fellaini or just let him leave?

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Confirmed: Manchester United goalkeeper set for United exit

Young Man United goalkeeper George Dorrington, is set to leave the club as he is currently undergoing trials at Huddersfield Town.

The 18 year old has struggled with growth injuries since joining the United in 2013.

"He’s been unfortunate as he’s had a lot of growth injuries that have hindered his progress." According to United academy goalkeeping coach Alan Fettis.

He has already played twice for his potential new club, as the club's official take a close look at him.

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Javier Hernandez hails Sir Alex Ferguson: Open up on why he moved to Leverkusen

The Mexican has hailed the legendary manager as 'the best manager of all time', while acknowledging his impact on his career.

The Scotsman oversaw Hernandez move to Old Trafford where he became a fan favorite as a great finisher and substitute.

He ended up struggling to fit into Van Gaal's plans and has since moved on to Germany. He has rediscovered his goal scoring touch, and has scored  26 goals in 38 games.

"He is the best manager of all time, and he certainly had the biggest impact on my career. He opened the door to Europe for me, and he allowed me to play in one of the most competitive leagues in the world for one of the best clubs in the world. No one will repeat his success." He told Gazzetta dello Sport.

He also discussed offers from Italy and why he decided to move to Germany.

"Juventus, Inter, AC Milan Lazio and Roma tried to sign me in the summer.

"I picked Leverkusen because of the Champions League and they made me feel wanted. They were, convinced I could help them improve and that made me smile."

Hernandez is one of the players Van Gaal sold that United fans think he shouldn't.

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AS Roma interested in United midfielder

AS Roma are reportedly interested in a summer move for Manchester United Belgian midfielder Maroune Fellaini.

The player was seen at the Stadio Olimpico when Roma defeated Napoli 1-0 on Monday, which added more bite to the rumor.

The midfielder was reportedly offered to the Giallorossi last summer, but a move didn't materialize.

Roma, according to Italian media outfit La Gazzetta dello Sport may be willing to offer £15m for the big Belgian.

His visit to Italy was not his first as the player have been constantly visiting.

And on Monday he visited his national teammate Radja Nainggolan as well as Miralem Pjanic and Salih Ucan.

AS Roma need a central midfielder after it appears that  Seydou Keita is on his way out of the club and Daniele De Rossi is no longer a regular starter in the team.

Roma will most likely seek a loan move for the player first before trying to make the move permanent.

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What if United play with this two men forward in a 4-4-2 formation?

This season has been a season of discovery at Old Trafford. Several youngsters have shown that they can hold their own on the biggest stage and against the biggest opponent.

Two players that have highly distinguished themselves among the newcomers in the first team are Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford.

Both are young, strong, thickish, skilful and most importantly have an eye for goal.

Martial was a surprise signing that has taken the United fans by surprise.

Since his goal scoring debut against Liverpool to his last game against Everton, the Frenchman has oozed life and confidence into the United's attack. 14 goals and seven assist in your debut season in a club like United at 20 is not a fluke.

But the question mark  on Martial is: where is his most effective position? As a winger or a striker?

He's been deployed as a winger more frequently by Van Gaal, hence he has scored more goals from the flanks than playing as a central striker.

The answer to that question will be well explained by time.

The player himself has however come out to say he is more of a striker than a winger.

Rashford is another star that was delivered at United this season.

Since making his goal scoring debut in the Europa League in February, the youngster followed that up with breathtaking performances against Arsenal and City.

He has ever since delivered above average performances despite playing a lot of games in a short while.

The rise of this duo must have promoted Wayne Rooney to concede that his future with United lies in the midfield.

They are both young, pacey, strong and developing good goal scorers. And will give the United skipper a decent competition for playing time, if he(Rooney) still decides to continue as a striker.

United traditionally over the years have been built on a two striker system.

Remember they days of Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez, Wayne Rooney and Ruud van Nistelrooy, Van Persie and Wayne Rooney, Andy Cole and Dwight York, and a Long list of successful striking partners that have epitomized United attacking football over the last two decades.

The presence of these two young forward raises the possibility of partnering them upfront, and see if that would work.

It most likely will.

With the right tutelage, both will mature to become 20 or 25 goals a season striker for United.

If they can be backed with strong attacking presence and services from the wings, their combination looks promising.

Assuming Memphis Depay was performing as projected and expected, the trio can lead United's attack the way young C.Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez the experienced Ryan Giggs from the attacking quadruplet that conquered Europe and the world in 2008. 

Testing these two upfront would be a good experiment for Van Gaal or United's next manager.

What do you think?

Do you see this partnership working?

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Jamie Redknapp warns Leicester City on Old Trafford visit

The Sky Sports pundit has sounded a note of warning to the title favorites that Old Trafford is not an easy ground to get three points irrespective of United's form.

Jamie thinks United are turning the corner and Leicester have a daunting task travelling to Old Trafford.

The foxes can be confirmed champions if they can defeat United at Old Trafford, while Van Gaal's men will have the three points in focus to boost their faint top four hopes. 

With both Arsenal and City still having to face each other, United can still make the top four if they win all their games starting with the Foxes.

"That’s a tough game. He said on Sky Sports.

"You feel like United are turning the corner. They have a lot of good players – Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford.

"They’re at home and it’s always daunting going to Old Trafford no matter what state of affairs you’re in, let alone when you’re going to for the title."

Both sides cancelled each other out when they played at the King Power Stadium, drawing 1-1.

A draw on Sunday will dent United's top four hopes but still retain Leicester in pole position for the title after Tottenham's 1-1 draw with West Brom on Monday.

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Man United seriously considering another manager as Van Gaal's replacement: Not Mourinho

Manchester United are lately considering PSG manager Laurent Blanc as the man to replace Van Gaal in the summer.

According to the Sun, the Frenchman is gathering support among the United board members and being a former United player, he seem to have an edge in that regard compared to Mourinho.

One of the biggest worry for United is the placement of Ryan Giggs in the new United set up.

José Mourinho will most likely come with his entire back room staffs which may cause Giggs to fizzle out of things.

But with Laurent Blanc, the Welshman can still be the assistant which would be his last grooming stage to be the next United boss.

Blanc PSG team have won the double in France, winning the League and the Cup titles. PSG's recent dissatisfaction with the Frenchman have been in the Champions League where the team have failed to go beyond the quarterfinals over the last four  seasons.

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Meet Man United's in house D.J: Ashley Young, and what Van Gaal told him about his music selection

Manchester United's Disk Jockey Ashley Young has revealed that Van Gaal in his arrival at the club told him as the team's D.J to play ' House and funky house' music.

The Manchester United winger has opened up that he took over from former Unites left back Patrice Evra as the team's D.J but got an order for a new playlist when Van Gaal arrived.

In an interview with Footballers Lives via The Sun, he said:

"I’m the dressing room DJ. Patrice Evra was the last one, every time he wasn’t playing, or he was injured, I’d take over and do a mix and it went down quite well. There was no initiation. I just put my iPod on and was like ‘right, I’m taking over."

"There are quite a lot of songs I’ll put on that everyone will listen to. But the manager, when he first came in, shouted Darren Fletcher over and said ‘I don’t like this’. So we had to change it!

"I thought ‘what will everyone listen to?’ House and funky house.

"When I put on a good tune there are some that get up and dance to it — in their own way.

"People dance about and get themselves prepared for the game. Music can be uplifting and motivate you."

Yes, it's great to know the lads are having a great time with themselves music wise.

Fans only hope this would translate into good performance with the United's last five games of the season.

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Star striker to miss Manchester United Vs Leicester clash

Leicester City's Jamie Vardy will not be available for selection when the Foxes visit Old Trafford on Sunday.

The player was given an extra one match ban for his improper conduct after been sent off by referee  Jon Moss in Leicester's 2-2 draw with West Ham.

The 22 goal striker accepted the FA's charge of improper conduct and requested for a hearing.

He was however unable to convince the panel to reduce his punishment.  

He served the compulsory one match ban as he sat out the Foxes' 4-0 win over Swansea. He will now miss his second and final game against United.

Tottenham's 1-1 draw with West Brom on Monday night means, Leicester can be confirmed Champions if they defeat United at Old Trafford.

Vardy was in superb form when both sides met at the King Power stadium earlier in the season where he scored his record breaking eleventh consecutive goal in a Premier League match.

With Vardy missing, United will be hoping to get the three points to boost their top four hopes.



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Michael Oliver to officiate Manchester United Vs Leicester City clash

The Northumberland born referee will be the man at the centre at Old Trafford, when United square up against league leaders Leicester on Sunday. In a match that will have a huge say on both team's ambition for the season.

The 31 year old have been in charge of four United games this season, with United winning two of those, drawing one and losing one.

He has been in charge of two Leicester games, with the Foxes winning both.

He officiated the second leg of the Manchester derby at Ethad where United won 1-0.

He was mild on Chris Smalling,  refusing to show the United defender  a second yellow card for a foul a lot of fans felt should have been a sending off.

He also ignored United's penalty appeal in the same game, when Demichelis made contact with Marcus Rashford in the box.

Smalling had been the receiving end after he was sent off by the same ref in last season's Manchester derby.

He has shown a total of 112 yellow cards and 8 red cards in 31 games this season. (This includes Championship, Europa League and FA Cup matches he's officiated this season).
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Monday, 25 April 2016

Fosu-Mensah: I still have a lot to learn

The fast rising Manchester United defender reckons he still has a lot to learn, while admitting playing at Wembley was a special experience for him.

The young defender could have had a horrible Wembley debut after he conceded a penalty midway into the second half. But thankfully De Gea saves the Lukaku spot kick and United went on to win.

"It was special. It's a great stadium and great atmosphere. It was very special to play in this,stadium." He told the official Man United website after the game.

"It's been an exciting few weeks but I still have to learn a lot of things and that's what I'm trying to do. Keep learning, keep improving and try to develop as a player and train hard every day."

".... I work hard and I want to learn a lot. I'm open to,learning a lot. I do my best and listen to the coaches and the senior players like Wayne, Carras,(Carrick) Chris and Daley. I listen to them all and try to do something with it."

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Harry Redknapp claims this player wouldn't make the United's first team years ago

The former Tottenham boss reckons United have got some amazing youngster that may mature into world class players. 

He has however casted doubts over the possibility of Jesse Lingard making the United first team years ago.

Lingard has benefited from the slum of players like Memphis Depay to establish himself as a regular in the United squad this season.

"Marcus Rashford is clearly an exceptional talent, and I really hope he goes on to fulfil his potential." Redknapp wrote in the telegraph.

"Anthony Martial is a good young player too, but he's entitled to be half-decent considering how much United spent on him!

"But then what have you got behind that? Jesse Lingard? Again, a good player, but we're not talking about the next David Beckham or Ryan Giggs here are we?

“Come on. There's no way he'd have got into the United team a few years back."

Harry is raising a valid points.

The quality of players at United have dropped over the years.  

Hence a lot of the youngsters getting first team chances at United must improve fast over time, else in the wake of United getting a new manager, they may fizzle out of the scheme of things at Old Trafford. 

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Tottenham ahead of United in race for French star

Tottenham Hotspur are close to bringing French striker Alexandre Lacazette to England.

The striker have attracted interest from a host of English teams including United and Liverpool.

The player was close to joining West Brom last season, but the move failed at the last stage.

According to the Mirror, Spurs are close to agreeing a £23.5m for the player. The promise of playing in Europe next season would be a huge side attraction for the 17 goal forward.

United signed Anthony Martial from the French League last season, and the Frenchman's move to United have proven to be a successful one so far.

It remains to be seen if United will show more interest in  Lacazette, though that would largely depend on who manages United next season.
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Van Gaal opens up on his real problem at United

The Manchester United manager is blaming lack of quick and creative players for United's struggle this season.

United have endured a frustrating season especially in the League and Europe. The Dutchman have been heavily criticised for his style of football, selection and formations.

United are in the verge of not qualifying for the Champions League for the second time in three years, and the Dutchman who has spent over £200m says he has been managing with players of lesser quality than he would have loved.

“I have said everything in advance. We need quick, creative players. I’ve said that, also in the transfer period." He told Manchester Evening News.

"That’s a tricky remark of me because I have to manage players whose quality is not always what I want. But still we are here, still we are fighting for the fourth place, also we are in the final of the FA Cup."

Only few fans will agree with Van Gaal on this.

He's spent two seasons at United and should have transformed the team to his team.

A manager of his caliber shouldn't be saying this after spending over £200m.

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Manchester United join race for Arsenal star - Report

Manchester United have joined the race to sign Arsenal winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

The player has struggled for form and consistency recently that has made him drop down the pecking order in the Arsenal attacking lineup.

According to ESPN, sources close to the player have opened up that several English clubs including Liverpool, Manchester City and West Ham are monitoring the 22 year old.

The sudden rise of Alex Iwobi has also not helped the course of the Englishman and people close to the player says United have also joined teams monitoring the player.

United have lacked quality on the wings, with Martial recently deployed as a winger. The form of Memphis Depay has made it almost necessary for United to shop for another winger.

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Manchester United agree deal for Benfica star Renato Sanches - Report

Manchester United are really close to  agreeing a deal to bring the Benfica midfielder to Old Trafford.

The player has been a United target since making his breakthrough into the Benfica first team this season.

United have sent scouts on various occasions to see the player in Portugal and a deal may soon be reached.

According to Sky Sports reporter in Italy Gianluca Di Marzio, the player is close to  an Old Trafford switch for a €60M to be paid in four years.

The player shares the same agent as almost to be United manager José Mourinho which would make the move easier.

The player over the weekend suffered racist abuse in Benfica's 1-0 win against Rio Ave’s over the weekend.

Here's the tweet from the Sky Sports reporter:

#Benfica 's midfielder Renato #Sanches is really close to @ManUtd for €60M paid in four years @SkySport @SkySportsNewsHQ

7:14 AM - 25 Apr 2016

Gianluca Di Marzio
@ DiMarzio

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Ander Herrera cools of De Gea exit talks: Claims goalkeeper is happy at United

The Manchester United midfielder thinks judging by his recent performances for the team, David De Gea is happy at United.

The goalkeeper have been a target for Real Madrid, and the player was close to a move to the capital club, before a last minute breakdown in the move.

The player has since signed a new contract at Old Trafford and is one of the stand out performers if this season for United.

He was again at his best against Everton in the FA Cup, when he saved a Lukaku penalty to keep United's lead and ultimately pull United through to the finals.

“I think he is very happy in Manchester United. You can see that. The midfielder said.

"If you are not happy in one place you cannot play like that, so it’s easy to say that.

Herrera thinks winning trophies will help keep players like De Gea at the club.

“We can be calm and optimistic, first because he is in a fantastic club and if we start winning trophies, it’s easier to keep world class players."

Keeping De Gea will be top of United's priority in the summer, and fans will be hoping the player comes out to declare his intention of staying with United to scare away potential suitors.

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Wayne Rooney ready and happy to be the new Paul Scholes

The Manchester United captain is willing to drop deep to take on a new role in the United midfield.

The 30 year old says he knew that he was going to play as a midfielder one day.

Rooney's goal rate has reduced and with players like Martial and Rashford on the scene at Old Trafford,  the United skipper says he us happy to drop deep to accommodate more pace and free other players upfront.

“I’ve known for a few years, I have played there a few times throughout my career and I can play that position." He said via the Mirror.

The striker says he has been studying former teammate and midfield dynamo Paul Scholes, and is ready to emulate the United legend.

“I have played and watched Paul Scholes play that role for years and I always knew that one day that is where I would play so I have tried to learn and watch what he did.

"It is still early days but hopefully if I keep playing there I can develop and get better.

“I think if I can do that I can free other players up.

“We have got a lot of pace in the team now and I think I can read the game quite well and whether to go forward or stay deeper and leave the space for the other lads."

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