FA Cup Preview: Man United v Swansea |
- FA Cup Preview: Man United v Swansea
- Young ruled out with shoulder injury
- Which manager needs the FA Cup most?
- Ancelotti: No transfer activity at Madrid
- De Rossi: Manchester move would have led to suicide
| FA Cup Preview: Man United v Swansea Posted: 03 Jan 2014 10:54 AM PST David Moyes' men fell to a 2-1 home defeat to Tottenham in the Premier League on New Year's Day and are enduring their worst home league form for more than a decade. United had won their previous six fixtures in all competitions and already have a victory over Michael Laudrup's men to their name this season, winning 4-1 at the Liberty Stadium on the opening day of the campaign. The Premier League champions, who have not won the FA Cup since 2004, currently sit 11 points adrift of league leaders Arsenal, and the Scot may view this competition as a chance to snaffle some silverware in his first season in charge. Moyes' side made it to the sixth round of last year's competition, losing 1-0 to Chelsea in a replay after the sides had drawn 2-2 in the initial encounter. "We're trying to win all the competitions," he said in the build-up to the clash. "As far as I am concerned, we'll do everything we possibly can to try to get through. "The cup is important to me, it always has been. I'm sure it's important to every club. The longer you stay in the competition the more important it becomes. "If you're a club like Manchester United you want to be involved in all the trophy-winning opportunities, and to not win the FA Cup for 10 years is something that's a bit of a surprise." For Swansea, this fixture marks the midway point of a Manchester triple header. The men from Wales suffered a 3-2 home defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday, and face United for a second time in the Premier League next weekend. They are currently on a run of seven matches without a win in all competitions, and two fixtures against United followed by the visit of Tottenham will not help their cause. Swansea lost at this stage to Arsenal last year after a replay though their focus that time around was on their ultimately successful League Cup campaign. United will be forced to do without Ashley Young (shoulder), while Phil Jones (knee), Rafael (groin), Marouane Fellaini (wrist) and Nani (hamstring) remain sidelined. Robin van Persie (groin and thigh) has returned to training but is unlikely to feature. Pablo Hernandez suffered hamstring injury in Swansea's defeat to Manchester City, joining Michu (ankle), Michel Vorm (knee) and Nathan Dyer (ankle) in being ruled out of the clash. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Young ruled out with shoulder injury Posted: 03 Jan 2014 07:02 AM PST The England international was hurt in a collision with Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris in United's 2-1 loss at Old Trafford on Sunday, an incident which left Moyes fuming for referee Howard Webb's failure to award a penalty. Moyes was unable to put a timescale on Young's return but the 28-year-old will certainly miss Sunday's FA Cup third-round encounter with Swansea City, while the Scot confirmed there are other injury concerns in his squad, with striker Robin van Persie still unavailable following a thigh injury. "We've got a few injuries and one is (from) the challenge the keeper made on Ashley Young, which is going to keep him out for a time," Moyes said. "It's a shoulder injury and we're not sure exactly how long he's going to be out yet. "We've got some other injuries as well that we'll just need to look at and see how they are over the next few days. Robin's coming on but we'll let you know when he's ready." Moyes once again reiterated his belief that Young should have had a penalty, but ruled out suggestions video technology should be used to help referee's spot contentious decisions, and said officials should be trusted to make judgements. He added: "I don't think we're going down the route of video technology, simulation should be one their (referees) allowed to view. I wouldn't want videos to come into the game. Goal-line technology is a good situation, it seems to be working well when it's had to work. "We trust the referees to make the right decisions, like all humans they make wrong ones sometimes. I thought it was the wrong decision against Tottenham, it should have been a penalty." This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Which manager needs the FA Cup most? Posted: 03 Jan 2014 04:57 AM PST What was once the most eagerly anticipated weekend of the English football calendar is now seemingly something of a burden - to under-pressure Premier League managers, at least. The FA Cup third round may still get fans and broadcasters excited, but Aston Villa's Paul Lambert is having none of it. When asked if he could do without this weekend's FA Cup tie, he replied: "I think if you ask the majority of them (other Premier League managers), if they're being honest I think they probably would do, yes. "Survival in the league is vital, like ourselves we don't have a massive squad so the points are really important and if everybody was being honest they'd say the same. "That's realistic, anybody who says different I'm not sure they'd be telling the truth. The Premier League is the most vital thing that anybody wants to get into and we're no different." And they say romance is dead... Villa's focus may be fixed firmly over their shoulder, and on the Premier League relegation scrap, but other top bosses will see this year's competiton as hugely important - be that for their team or their own CV. Here are the men who'll be desperate to be measured up for a suit come May... David Moyes, Manchester United A romantic would note that Manchester United have a strong association with the FA Cup - no club has won it more often or contested more finals. A cynic would say they're unlikely to win anything better. A historian would note that The Previous Bloke bought himself some time by winning the FA Cup. A finalist with Everton in 2009 (when his team lost to Chelsea, who won their second of three FA Cups in the first four years back at Wembley), Moyes would also love to burnish his CV with a major trophy - with all due respect to the Community Shield and Preston's third-tier title of 2000. Tim Sherwood, Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham are another team intrinsically linked to FA Cup glory… but only to an increasingly older generation. Chas Dave's Cup Final songwriting services haven't been required since 1991, with Spurs stumbling at the semis six times since - the longest run of last-four failures in the history of the competition. To make matters worse, in that period Arsenal and Chelsea have won it five and six times respectively. The realpolitik of Champions League economics may dictate that fourth place is more important than the FA Cup, but Sherwood is proving pleasingly old-school and there would no doubt be a strong swell of support for him if he were tempted into expressing a preference for Wembley glory – and becoming, six months into the job, Spurs' first FA Cup-winning manager since Terry Venables. Brendan Rodgers, Liverpool In days of yore Liverpool were frequently too busy winning the League or European Cup to get overly attached to the FA Cup, but they've still won it seven times, three of those since their last top-flight triumph in 1990. They also reached the final in 2012, shortly after Kenny Dalglish had led them to League Cup victory - their only pot in the last six seasons. Rodgers was chastened by Fourth Round defeat at Oldham last year and although he will be quietly hoping to be in the title race a while yet, he may also go full-frontal for the FA Cup. After all, Liverpool have the unwanted luxury of having no European or League Cup diversions. Alan Pardew, Newcastle United There can be few teams in world football who would love a trophy more than Newcastle. Starved of silverware since 1969 – pedants please note the Intertoto doesn't count – the Geordie Nation would celebrate a Wembley triumph long after the perceived big clubs had turned their attentions elsewhere. Publicly quiet but privately confident, Pardew would also love to win a major trophy. He's already got Wembley-winning previous, if you count Southampton's 2010 Football League Trophy win against Carlisle, and came within injury time of FA Cup glory with West Ham in 2006 before Steven Gerrard (and penalty-saving Pepe Reina) broke cockney hearts. Manuel Pellegrini, Manchester City Ask a Man City fan to choose a trophy for May, and they'd presumably pick the Champions League or Premier League. Which is fair enough, but it's also true that the club holds the FA Cup in warm regard after breaking that 35-year trophy drought. When you've waited that long, it's more than a bauble. Things have changed since, but Pellegrini will have noticed how that triumph bought Bobby Manc time (and players), and it's worth noting that the chilled-out Chilean hasn't won a trophy in Europe – again, we'll be ignoring Villarreal's 2004 Intertoto. On its own, the FA Cup won't satisfy Sheikh Mansour, but Pellegrini has a frightening squad and should be able, as well as willing, to fight on several fronts. Jose Mourinho, Chelsea Mourinho was not brought back to the Bridge to win the FA Cup, but it's not a competition Chelsea take lightly. The Blues have won four of the seven FA Cup finals since its return to Wembley – under four different managers, Mourinho being followed by Guus Hiddink, Carlo Ancelotti and Roberto Di Matteo. The Portuguese is no fool and knows that the Champions League is the true barometer of Chelsea's health, but he knows a domestic trophy helps things tick along – he's won the major domestic cup in Portugal, England, Italy and Spain. And, like Pellegrini, he has the squad depth to deal with most opponents the FA Cup can provide. Arsene Wenger, Arsenal After breaking a habit by spending big, can Wenger break another by winning a trophy? That's a bit harsh on a man who's already won the FA Cup four times (and the Premier League thrice), but Arsenal are the fading aristocrats of the Champions League: eight seasons is a long time to go potless for a club of the Gunners' size. For his part, Wenger will doubtless prioritise the Champions League and Premier League, in which Arsenal stand their best chance for half a decade. But if he buys again in January, a stronger squad and tougher mental outlook may help point the Gunners at a trophy they would welcome, even if isn't their first choice. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Ancelotti: No transfer activity at Madrid Posted: 03 Jan 2014 03:32 AM PST Ancelotti has declared himself happy with the current squad at his disposal, quashing speculation linking the likes of Angel di Maria with January moves away from Madrid. A cluster of Premier League clubs – including champions Manchester United, leaders Arsenal and Chelsea – are rumoured to be monitoring the winger's potential availability, while midfielder Xabi Alonso has been tipped to make a return to Liverpool. However, Ancelotti has ruled out any transfer activity at the Bernabeu over the coming weeks. "No players are leaving and we aren't going to sign anyone. The market is closed for us," Ancelotti is quoted as saying by Marca. Alonso is out of contract at the end of the season, but Ancelotti has again stated his desire to keep hold of the 32-year-old and is confident that progress is being made in negotiations over a new deal. He added: "I think we'll find a solution to Xabi Alonso's situation and both club and player will reach an agreement." This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| De Rossi: Manchester move would have led to suicide Posted: 03 Jan 2014 03:00 AM PST The 30-year-old was heavily rumoured to be a transfer target for the Old Trafford outfit, but opted to remain in his home city. And De Rossi has insisted that Rome is where the heart is, claiming a move to the north west of England would have driven him to take drastic measures. "Thank goodness I did not go to Manchester, otherwise I would have committed suicide by now," he is quoted as saying by Corriere dello Sport. "Had I gone, I would never be able to see a lot of Rome." De Rossi is currently enjoying a successful season at the Stadio Olimpico, with his club sitting second in Serie A, while United are faltering under the leadership of David Moyes in the Premier League. A one-club man, De Rossi has made 16 appearances for Roma so far this season, scoring one goal. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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