Red Rants |
| United’s midfield targets. Fantasy or reality? Posted: 02 Jan 2014 02:18 AM PST
David Moyes’ decision to play Rooney in midfield spoke for itself in terms of defining the sheer desperation and paucity of options that cripple United’s engine room, with players either past their best, not as good as we had all hoped or, quite plainly, not good enough to cut it at Old Trafford.
Midfield problems are about as much of a novelty as an iPod, but they’ve intensified to a point where they could well scupper United’s hopes of reaching a top-four finish (how did Arsenal and Spurs fans manage to get so excited about it and for so long?) let alone of retaining the title which, after yesterday’s debacle, is all but gone. The January transfer window has long been described as United’s saviour, the 29 days between now and the end of the month capable, according to some, to turn the Reds’ season around and propel them towards a successful second half of the season. The reality, of course, is extremely different. For a start, United’s record in the transfer window over the summer is so dismal that it’s hard to fathom how the club could fare better in a month than they did in three, with clubs either more reluctant to let players go or aware of their opportunity to demand inflated fees – Fernando Torres anyone – given the buying party’s desperation. Furthermore, with half of the season already gone, convincing players to jump ship in January can be more complicated than in the summer particularly if, as it’s the case with United, the future looks far from bright. Having said that, a couple of quality signings are desperately needed unless we want to endure another five months of Tom Cleverley, Marouane Fellaini and Anderson. With the rumour mill in full swing and different players linked with a move to United almost on a daily basis, of all the players rumoured to be on Moyes’ list, who could United realistically get close to sign this month? 1) Ander Herrera Herrera might never wear a Manchester United but at least the club’s pursuit of the Athletic Bilbao’s man last summer provided us with a dose of entertainment likely to last for decades. The Basque has been one of the first names to be linked with a January move to Old Trafford, with many believing Moyes is determined to get now what he couldn’t get four months ago, even though Athletic are currently fourth in La Liga and there are no indications as yet of whether Ed Woodward has learnt the meaning of “release clause”.
Herrera might be a more realistic option than other targets (more of which later) but the excitement deriving from acquiring a Spanish playmaker could soon turn into unwanted pressure, were he to fail to impress – one can imagine the “United have signed the wrong Spaniard” headline. Good? Yes. Available? Perhaps. Worth £35m? Hmmm… 2) Ross Barkley Having spent £27m on Marouane Fellaini, David Moyes must now wish he had invested that sum on Ross Barkley, as the Everton midfielder has enjoyed a fantastic first half to the season, scoring goals and dictating games for fun – in short everything his former team-mate is yet to do. Good as Barkley has been this season, the rumours linking him with a £50m to Old Trafford are more suited to April Fool’s Day than to the January transfer window, for paying that amount of money for a player who’s through his first season as first team regular would be ludicrous, even for United’s standards. Furthermore, the ITKs populating newspapers’ columns and social medias seemed to have not realised that a) Everton are currently in a much better position than United, b) considering the way United handed the bids for Fellaini and Baines in the summer, Roberto Martinez is unlikely to even listen to any offers and c) imagine the popular uproar were Moyes to sign another Everton midfielder? 3) Arturo Vidal
Because, obviously, Vidal gets paid peanuts at Juventus and United have suddenly money to splash on wages. Obviously
4) Ilkay Gundogan Dortmund’s charm has taken a blow in the last month or two, with football hipsters suddenly losing interest in them, as Jurgen Klopp’s troops hit a bit of a rough patch, thanks also to Gundogan’s lengthy absence. Dortmund’s loss of form, coupled with their inability to hold on their star players – having lost Mario Gotze last summer, Robert Lewandowski will be on his way in July – has everybody salivating at the prospect of Gundogan getting itchy feet and packing his bags for a different destination. Granted, were Gundogan decide to leave Dortmund, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich – Pep Guardiola can never have too many midfielders, it seems – could complicate things a tad, but a deal for the Dortmund midfielder looks marginally more achievable than most of the players United have been linked with, as out of those three, United are the only club that could offer Gundogan a starting spot. Unfortunately, however, not before the summer, given Dortmund seem increasingly determined to place all of their season’s remaining eggs into a Champions League-shaped basket, which makes this a no go. 5) Juan Mata
Well, for a start, it’s hard to see Chelsea selling one of their best players to a club Mourinho considers a direct rival for the title- even though, sadly, we clearly aren’t – not to mention that United had reportedly enquired about obtaining Mata’s services in a straight swap for Wayne Rooney last summer. Denials followed, but who’s to say that were United to formulate an offer for the Spaniard Mourinho won’t demand Rooney to be included in the deal? It would have made sense in August but, love or loathe Rooney, it sounds like a terribly ill-advised plan at this stage of the season. However, if United are serious about strengthening their squad this month, Mata should top David Moyes’ list. 6) Koke Spanish, young, talented and rather brilliant. Exactly the sort of player who would turn United down, in other words. Joking aside, while Koke has been linked insistently with United and the club’s scouts have monitored his performances, there’s very little to suggest this transfer could happen. Atletico Madrid are flying and have a serious chance of breaking the Barcelona-Real Madrid duopoly and, quite frankly, why Koke would swap that for a race for a Europa League spot in the Premier League is anyone’s guess. |
| Moyes rues “scandalous” decisions Posted: 02 Jan 2014 12:12 AM PST
Despite a poor first half performance, United rallied when they found themselves 2-0 down but could not complete another comeback thanks, according to Moyes, to Howard Webb’s “scandalous decision” not to award a penalty when Ashley Young was clattered by Hugo Lloris with three minutes remaining.
The Spurs keeper was probably lucky to stay on the pitch and escape without conceding a penalty, which disappointed the United manager. “I thought the team played really well, certainly should have had a penalty and a sending-off for the challenge the goalkeeper made on Ashley Young but I thought we created enough opportunities to get at least a draw,” said Moyes. “It was scandalous. If you follow through on a player anywhere else on the pitch with your foot high, it would be a red card. “You couldn’t do that anywhere else. The goalkeeper comes out, Ashley Young gets the ball before him and he follows through. “It’s an incredible decision which didn’t go our way, in fact probably one of the worst, I think. All I can tell you is that it is a stonewall penalty kick.” Moyes confirmed he’d seek explanation from Howard Webb. ”I think some of the staff are going to speak to him,” said the United manager, who was equally incensed by Webb’s decision to book Adnan Januzaj for diving towards the end of the game. The youngster might be developing a reputation for hitting the ground too quickly, but Moyes criticised Webb’s decision. “Have you seen that decision? That is a terrible decision. Adnan has got bumped, the boy has tried to edge him off the ball, bumped him off the ball and it is a terrible decision.” The United manager also suggested that the Webb should come under scrutiny. ”You’d hope the people who put the referees out there would have a look at it and look to see if they think the referees are doing as well as they can be. If they are they keeping picking them,” he said. Farcical decisions or not, yesterday’s defeat was the latest in a series of setbacks United have suffered this season and one which all but rules them out of defending their title. The United manager, however, insisted his team won’t give up yet. “We will keep going try and win the next game and see how it goes. There is a long way to go,” said Moyes. Hope springs eternal. |
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