Man Utd XIV : New Manager New ERA


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I think place some bets on chelsea as winner is ideal.... I expect arsenal to run out of steam.....

Arsenal for the past few seasons run out of steam either 2nd half or the season or the last quarter...expect them to do so this season as well! ;p
 

But Manutd confirm out of race liao hahaha

would love to see kagawa, januzaj and mata play together , wonder if Moyes is daring enough to try it?
 

would love to see kagawa, januzaj and mata play together , wonder if Moyes is daring enough to try it?

It's not in his blood to take risks.. Sad to say. He should for one just play players in their natural positions. Happier and comfortable players should more likely result in better results!!!
 

still very open title race....too close to call....

Now place bet ideal as they still behind n better odds.. just for fun only.....

Something about individual luck... u hv it or not.... like life destiny....

SAF hv winners luck.... JM have... AW expired.....

DM.... huh????

Sir OGS have too I think...

Plus JM is good in minds game.... +3....
 

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Arsenal for the past few seasons run out of steam either 2nd half or the season or the last quarter...expect them to do so this season as well! ;p

Their midfielder almost all on clutches.... sadly.
 

would love to see kagawa, januzaj and mata play together , wonder if Moyes is daring enough to try it?

If OGS is the manager.... yes....
 

It's not in his blood to take risks.. Sad to say. He should for one just play players in their natural positions. Happier and comfortable players should more likely result in better results!!!

Some managers tactics are based on players they hv. His is forcing players to play his template.
 

Some managers tactics are based on players they hv. His is forcing players to play his template.

I have no problems with him wanting to play his own tactics. However if he doesnt have the players, a smarter manager would play the tactics that his current squad of players can play, instead of forcing things through.

He can go through one or two offseasons to slowly build the squad he wants to play his tactics. To see him forcing things like that is painful as a ManUtd fan....
 

I have no problems with him wanting to play his own tactics. However if he doesnt have the players, a smarter manager would play the tactics that his current squad of players can play, instead of forcing things through.

He can go through one or two offseasons to slowly build the squad he wants to play his tactics. To see him forcing things like that is painful as a ManUtd fan....

I hope OGS replace him. No faith in him at all.... and his pr not good.
 

Hmmm... actually I think he's fine so far? He's been quite unlucky with injuries too so maybe he's being given a pass soon. Our OGS is still not very proven in the EPL after all. All he's done (which is a great thing) is give Zaha a chance to play!
 

Hmmm... actually I think he's fine so far? He's been quite unlucky with injuries too so maybe he's being given a pass soon. Our OGS is still not very proven in the EPL after all. All he's done (which is a great thing) is give Zaha a chance to play!

Seriously??? He is fine??

OGS dare to do many thing DM don't....

In his first match... away against Newcastle in FA cup... the trail 1-0... but found back to win 1-2 after making inspired substitution...

OGS dare to gamble... Against West Ham... Cardiff should have at least 1 penalty, but they get nothing. He threw on 4-2-4 in the game, and try to win it... he gambled but lost cos West Ham hit a second.. A bit SAF style... as in he gambled to win at times, and against West Ham, it is a 6 pointers game...

I thought against Man C, they did well to go 4-2... at 4-1... most surrendered.. but his team fought to make it 4-2.... only the second team to score more than 1 goals at Man C turf this season... You see the players go all out until the whistle blows... like SAF's team...

Against Norwich... instead of waiting till half time before he make changes... he seen enough.... Whitingham out, Zaha in.... on 38th mins... Cardiff was losing 0-1, came back and win 2-1... and shown resilient will to hang onto the 1 goal margin... He made inspired changes, and the players seems to be willing... and he get the best out of them...

He is not EPL experiences.... but he won 3 titles in 3 years... not bad for a newbie... and I like his PR much better....

If you watch Man U vs Cardiff... you will also realized than the players standard are vastly different.... and I thought he did well to do well, and get the max out of the players....

I remembered in a match Man U losing, but DM looked so clueless on how to react... and Man U lost... I was WTF... at least try to do something... and I am not a supporter of his tactics, and over at ESPN... you can read for yourself more comments..
 

The Exodus Cometh
Posted by Mark Payne

http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/manchesterunited/id/4231?cc=4716

"Once you leave Manchester United, there's only one way you're going." Those were the words of former United midfielder Ray Wilkins just six short months ago. At the time, Wilkins was making the point that Wayne Rooney would be a fool to leave Manchester at this point in his career. Since that day in August, it is United themselves who have been headed in one direction.

Urban legend has it that when the infamous Kray twins were at the peak of their powers in London, they headed to Manchester to stake a claim for power in the world of organised crime up north. According to the tale, they were met at Piccadilly station by some of the city's more colourful characters and persuaded, physically and robustly, that they had better return to London. They promptly boarded the next train out of town.

Their hour in Manchester would have been a painful disappointment, but perhaps not as bad as the six-and-a-half years Anderson had squeezing into his United kit. The Brazilian midfielder has rolled up at purple-shirted Fiorentina this week and reportedly suggested that he and a number of other players would like to move on from Old Trafford.

It has since come to light that Anderson was misquoted but, to be honest, the falsely reported sentiment rings true. It is hard to see Patrice Evra remaining motivated after such public courting of Leighton Baines. In addition, Rio Ferdinand has played little over the past four months. They, along with captain Nemanja Vidic, have all given their best years to the club, and it is understandable if they wish to move on.

In their stead, they would leave Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and Johnny Evans. The side would be covered at centre-back but would still need someone for the left-hand side. Those shifts would neither surprise nor perturb the vast majority.

The real problems would arise if United's best and brightest were on the way out of the club. Rooney appears to be close to signing a new deal and Juan Mata has just arrived. Keeping hold of players like Jones and David de Gea is crucial at this time.

Although it might be sacrilege to say it, United have possibly seen the best of Robin van Persie. He was stupendous last season; he won us the league. And has scored in his two games back. But he has the kind of injury record that would make Freddy Krueger shiver. I am not sure I would be pinning my hopes on his fitness for the next few years.

The last time United faced an exodus of such high-profile names was 1995. That summer, club legend Mark Hughes, lightning-footed Andre Kanchelskis and midfield maestro Paul Ince all departed the club. Hindsight should recognise what a truly special player Ince was. Genuinely two-footed, he went on to dominate for Inter in Serie A, which was the world's finest league in the mid-'90s.

Alex Ferguson was lambasted at the time, but he had aces up his sleeve. Andy Cole had been brought in from Newcastle with a 40-goal season to his name, and Roy Keane was ready to run the side from the midfield. As for a replacement on the right wing, a young man named David Beckham had just returned from a loan at Port Vale and would be given a chance.

Doom and gloom were predicted at the outset of that season, but United ended up winning the double. The situation in 2014, however, is far graver than that. United are almost in free fall right now. Their disintegration since the start of the season is worse than any dared predict.

There are rumours this week that David Moyes might swoop upon Manchester City for Jack Rodwell. Rodwell is a decent enough player, but he inspires little and seems to be an unimaginative target to aim for. His arrival is unlikely to convince Rooney to sign a new contract, for example.

The issue at hand is that United currently have too many players in the squad who don't want to be there. That alone is enough explanation for why they keep losing football matches. This season, they may have already lost too many to sit at Europe’s top table next time out.
 

Manchester United's season is going from bad to worse
Posted by Andy Mitten

http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/manchesterunited/id/4210?cc=4716


Feb. 2, 2013: Manchester United beat Fulham away 1-0. As “just like a team that’s gonna win the Football League” echoed around Craven Cottage’s Putney End, United moved 10 points clear at the top of the Premier League. After 25 games, United had 62 points and a goal difference of plus-29. They went on to become champions for a 20th time.

Sir Alex Ferguson already knew that he would be retiring, and within a month, key personnel at Old Trafford would learn too. The club had plenty of time to plan for a successor, and David Moyes was chosen.

When I spoke to executive vice chairman and director Ed Woodward about the appointment, he said: "Alex told us that he was leaving, and we kept things quiet for a period of time. Nothing really happened before March and the first part of April. We had some meetings, myself, Joel and Avi [Glazer, the family that owns United], Alex and his son Jason. [Then-CEO] David Gill also gave input. Bobby [Charlton] too, but later on.

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"Alex gave his views and wrote down notes as to who should be on the list [to take over],” continued Woodward. “David was always top of that list. There were conversations about other managers, largely to cross them off the list. We had a sense of the type of manager we wanted. As events unfolded, we wanted to rely on the man who had the best skills to come in and keep us successful. Without the recommendation of Alex, there may have been a different process. We may have ended up with the same answer.

“Alex called David Moyes,” Woodward added. “He sat him down in his boys’ room at home, by the snooker table. He said: ‘You’re our No. 1 choice.’ I met David the next day in the same place. Alex went downstairs, and I spent a couple of hours with the manager."

Moyes duly became Manchester United manager.

Laurence Griffiths/Getty ImagesNo one could have predicted United’s results this season, a precipitous decline that continued with their 2-1 loss to Stoke at the weekend.

Feb. 1, 2014: A year after that Fulham game, United played away at Stoke, a game Moyes' team lost 2-1. As United fans exited the ground that always seems to save the worst of British weather for United’s visit, their team sat seventh in the table. United had been unfortunate, no doubt -- injuries, wind and a deflection that led to a goal on Saturday alone -- but after 24 games, United have 40 points and a goal difference of plus-10.

That's one hell of a decline in one year with almost exactly the same team. Nobody could see it coming.

Nobody.

While the team has hardly changed, many of the people on the coach that day at Fulham have. Albert Morgan, the longtime kitman, sat at the front by the driver as the coach edged past United fans drinking in the Larrik Inn on the New Kings Road. He is no longer full-time kitman, a role that is vital in the dressing room. Other key coaches and personnel, such as goalkeeping coach Eric Steele, first-team coaches Rene Muelensteen and Mike Phelan, Gill and Ferguson, were all on board behind the blacked-out windows. They've either left or moved upstairs. The changes of personnel with a combined service of almost a century have been vast, and they're hurting longer than anyone imagined.

Manchester United is an institution, but it's a family at heart -- large but a family nonetheless. Imagine mum and dad leaving any family, granddad and grandma too. And several uncles. The kids would take some getting used to it.

This team is not retaining the title, not by a long way. United will be fortunate to make the top four. Rather than improving, as Ferguson's replacement settles and makes use of the immense talents available, United are getting worse. Much was made of it being Stoke's first win against United in the league since 1984, but Stoke weren't even a topflight side between 1985 and 2008. When the world's against you, why let facts like that get in the way?

The manager does not have the confidence of all his players, some of them senior. But then he doesn't have confidence in all his players, some of them senior. He feels that some haven't been putting in the required effort. Some players don't agree with his tactics, which they consider too conservative. They've thought that from the start. There's not a football club in the world without similar problems, but United was different under Ferguson. Usually.

The players are not going to speak out in public. What's the point? Would you speak out in public against your boss while under contract? It's likely that you would lose your job.

Most players were underwhelmed when they first heard Moyes' name, but that was partly because of the shock of Ferguson's surprise retirement. They had gotten used to life as it was. And it was fine under Ferguson. Everyone quickly came round to the idea of giving Moyes their best shot. Some haven't, though.

With notable exceptions, such as the 5-0 win in Leverkusen, United have been mediocre to poor from Moyes' first game, a friendly defeat in Thailand. Moyes tends to see things more optimistically. He talks of the team playing well when fans leaving the stadium -- match-going fans who have given him plenty of support -- say the opposite.

There are many mitigating factors. You've heard them all. Some of Moyes' best players have been injured; others aren't “doing it” for their new boss. The summer transfer window was a mess for United as they sought to join on a fairground carousel ride that was nearing the end. It wasn't easy to get on. The big transfers in football are planned 12 to 18 months in advance. People talk at a high level. Nothing is made public, but Borussia Dortmund -- for example -- have a good idea who they're selling this summer and next summer and plan accordingly. That's how football usually works with the big boys.

But United have and will continue to back Moyes with money to improve the squad. They know that the team should be doing much, much better, but they'll let him build his team and judge him at an unspecified and indeterminable point in the future.

The fans too. I was genuinely surprised to see the results of a poll on United We Stand on Sunday. Of the question “Moyes. What to do?” the answers were the following: 15.71 percent replied to "Sack him, it's not working"; 22.51 percent to "Sack him if United don't finish in the top four"; and 61.78 percent to "Judge him in a year when he's had time to build his side."

It's easy to write all of this with the benefit of hindsight. This writer came back from that preseason game in the Far East thinking that United could retain the title. I had been impressed by players like Wilfried Zaha and thought Shinji Kagawa would come good.

It's not going to get any easier for United, as neighbours City canter into the distance. There are many away games approaching as United have just one home match in the next seven weeks.

But one game at a time, starting with Sunday's match. Against Fulham. There will be singing on Sunday as United trial a second singing section. But it won't be about a team that's gonna win the Football League again.
 

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