Red Rants |
- United dealt fresh injury blow
- A twin goodbye?
- United in Gundogan bid?
- Why is Mourinho talking about United again?
| United dealt fresh injury blow Posted: 16 Jan 2014 12:40 AM PST
What’s certain is that among their ineptitude and poor form this season, United have also been desperately unlucky on the injury front, with players dropping like flies, left, right and centre and unfortunately for David Moyes, things are going to get worse before they get better.
The United manager gave his players a day off yesterday, but when he returns to training today he’ll be greeted with the news that Wayne Rooney could be out for another three weeks with a groin injury, which means he’ll miss Sunday’s trip to Stamford Bridge as well as Wednesday’s second leg of the Capital One Cup semifinal. Rooney flew off to Egypt with his family and one of United’s fitness specialists last week in a bid to accelerate his recovery from an abductor problem he suffered after playing whilst carrying an injury and his prolonged absence could dent United’s slim hopes of clinching a Champions League spot, given that Robin Van Persie’s return date still appears to be unknown. Were the diagnosis to be correct, and there’s nothing that suggests otherwise, Rooney will also miss Premier League games against Cardiff City on January 28th and away at Stoke on February 1st but should be back for the Fulham game at Old Trafford nine days later. At Everton, David Moyes’ teams always enjoyed a strong second half of the season, often rallying in the last few months of the campaign after a slow start, but even that might not be enough for United to clinch a Champions League spot this season, given how stretched Moyes’ squad is at the moment. United will travel to London on Sunday without Rooney, Van Persie, Rio Ferdinand, Nani, Marouane Fellaini and – possibly – Jonny Evans and Phil Jones. Bad news, indeed. |
| Posted: 16 Jan 2014 12:08 AM PST
Cassiano Pereira, the twins’ agent,insisted that both players are likely to leave Old Trafford at the end of the season, which would come as a huge surprise for United, Moyes and the fans, given the unexpected nature of the rumour, its timing and the source it arrived from.
While Fabio’s departure would make some sense, given that the left-back has found it hard to break into the starting XI after returning from a loan spell at QPR and is poised to join Cardiff on loan this month, allowing Rafael to leave would be one of the daftest decisions United could make. The right-back has established himself as one of the crucial players in United’s starting XI and his development under Fergie was nothing short of spectacular, for he went from being a raw talent to become one of the best right-back in the world and still has a huge margin of improvement ahead of him. Pereira told Calciomercato website: “At the moment I can say that they will remain in Manchester until the end of the season, but in the summer it is very likely that they can go.” With Moyes in the market for a left-back, Fabio’s departure could be absorbed rather easily, but many thought the Brazilian should be given a chance and, even in the event of a left-back arriving in the summer, Patrice Evra and Alexander Buttner should be the ones making way, rather than Fabio. Rafael’s exit, on the other hand, would force United to enter the market for a right-back, given that Phil Jones is only a stop-gap solution in the role and Chris Smalling has filled in for the Brazilian with disastrous results, given that the former Fulham players is a centre-back by trade. In other bizarre transfer news, reports in Italy suggest that United are interested to bring Sunderland keeper Vito Mannone to Old Trafford, who David Moyes sees as the perfect understudy for David De Gea. Selling full-backs and scouting back-up keepers, exactly what United didn’t need this month. |
| Posted: 15 Jan 2014 08:04 AM PST
Gundogan, whose contract expires at the end of next season, has long been on the Reds’ radar and is widely considered to be one of the best midfielders in Europe, the sort of player United have been crying out for for the past five-six seasons.
Having lost Robert Lewandowski for free to Bayern Munich less than six months after selling Mario Gotze to their hated rivals, Dortmund are determined to hold on to their midfielder and have opened talks with the 23-year-old, hoping he’ll sign a new deal and remain at the Westfalenstadion, rather than becoming the latest illustrious name on the departure list. According to Bild (the link, unfortunately, is in German) should Gundogan refuse to extend his deal, Dortmund would be prepared to sell this summer to avoid losing the player for free, which has put United and Real Madrid on alert and both clubs have also tabled offers for the midfielder – both offers are, apparently, offers made to the player, rather than to the club. “I will soon make a decision that will be well considered,” said Gundogan “It’s still really open.”
The Spanish club involvement doesn’t bode well for the prospect of seeing Gundogan wearing Red next season, as earlier this week Karim Benzema had emerged as a possible replacement for Robert Lewandowski, which could tempt Dortmund into a deal, not to mention that Madrid’s future looks a lot more successful than United’s at the moment. |
| Why is Mourinho talking about United again? Posted: 15 Jan 2014 07:39 AM PST
A man who loves mind games almost as much as he loves himself, Mourinho insisted that he didn’t think United were a happy bunch these days – you don’t say, Jose! – but that he believes under-fire David Moyes will retain his place in the Old Trafford dugout for the foreseeable future.
“My feeling, which is based on years of communicating with Sir Alex and some inside information, is Man United are not happy, but they are calm. “They trust David. David trusts them. I don’t think David is under pressure,” said the Chelsea manager. “The pressure is something virtual. It is something that comes from the media as a consequence of not having the best results. “The most important thing in all of this is not the pressure that comes from the outside, it’s the reality of the inside,” the Portuguese told the Daily Mail. Considering the disdain Mourinho has often expressed for players and managers who try to unsettle their opponents by mean of a few chosen words, his decision to air his feelings about United and Moyes only a few days before the two sides are due to meet on Sunday is rather bizarre – in other words, meticulously planned. “The manager is calm and they are thinking this is our manager for the next two, three, four, five years. “So they’re all together and are going to rebuild again a big team. The bad results will finish,” continued Mourinho. “They will get back on track, although it is probably too late to win the league because they’re too many points behind the leader.” Mourinho also claimed that winning the Premier League this season would be “his greatest greatest achievement”, some statement for a man who’s won the Champions League twice. “City, in terms of power of the squad, are in another dimension. You can’t compare their situation with any other club,” said the Chelsea manager, showing either a remarkable short memory or a penchant for subtle irony. In all honesty, Jose, we didn’t have you down as one of those who criticise foreign owners for pouring billions into their clubs. |
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