Red Rants |
- Pogba “disgusted” by Fergie’s choice
- United have bid accepted for Mata
- United pay a Capital penalty
- United make Mata bid
| Pogba “disgusted” by Fergie’s choice Posted: 23 Jan 2014 01:30 AM PST
Paul Pogba has been making waves with Juventus ever since he joined the Serie A giants for free in 2012, after United had allowed his contract to expire and the Frenchman has admitted he left Old Trafford after been left “disgusted” by Sir Alex Ferguson’s decision to pick Rafael ahead of him for a central midfield spot.
Hosting Blackburn on 31st December 2011, Michael Carrick was deployed at centre-back given that United had a shortage of fit central defenders, while Wayne Rooney, Darron Gibson and Jonny Evans were left out of the matchday squad as punishment following a boozy night out. Despite the shortage of players available, Fergie opted to field Rafael alongside Ji-Sung Park in the middle of the park, with Pogba an unused substitute, the exclusion proving to be the final straw as far as Frenchman was concerned. “It was a very, very difficult moment for me because I was in love with Manchester and I was a Mancunian,” Pogba told French broadcatser Canal + “It was the match against Blackburn in December 2011 at Old Trafford. “Paul Scholes had retired, Darren Fletcher was injured. There was no one left to play in midfield. And I was training and I was beginning to get better bit by bit and the coach never stopped telling me, ‘You’re this far’. “And I didn’t understand. This far away from what? Playing? From having some playing time? From getting on the field? Or what? “And there was Rafael in midfield and I was disgusted. I was disgusted and I didn’t get on either.” United ended up losing 3-2 to a hapless Blackburn side, a defeat that would have catastrophic bearings on the remainder of the season, with United pipped to the post by City, courtesy of Sergio Aguero’s goal – and QPR’s self-inflicted implosion. “I’d lost that thing, that relation that I had with the coach. I was really disappointed, really disappointed,” added Pogba. “I was pushed. My eyes were opened. I’d made this decision to sign with Juventus. There was nothing to regret.” |
| United have bid accepted for Mata Posted: 22 Jan 2014 11:55 PM PST
However, there might be a ray of light finally about to shine on David Moyes’ squad as Chelsea have reportedly accepted United’s £37m for Juan Mata, meaning that the Spaniard could be on his way to Old Trafford soon.
Having first been linked with the Spaniard two days ago, United yesterday submitted an offer, thought to be in the region of £35m-£40m, via a third-party – Ed Woodward being Ed Woodward things could not be approached normally and safely when it comes to signing players. Mata did not attend training yesterday and, according to reports on the Daily Telegraph, he has already accepted personal terms with United and will have a medical today, after Jose Mourinho sanctioned the move. Given the way United have operated in the transfer window in recent years, however, one would be forgiven for keeping the champagne on ice until Mata actually runs out at Old Trafford wearing a red shirt but, surely, even United can’t bottle this transfer, can they? |
| Posted: 22 Jan 2014 03:18 PM PST
Unfortunately, there’s also something quintessentially United – at least as far as the class of the 2013-14 season are concerned – in snatching victory from the jaws of defeat only to extend the agony and ensure that the blow, when it’s finally delivered, is even more painful.
Yet United managed to achieve the rather remarkable feat tonight, as the only shot on goal they conceded in 119 minutes found its way into the net, before a dramatic last minute winner was upstaged by a crushing defeat on penalties. Who knows, perhaps had Danny Welbeck, Adnan Januzaj, Phil Jones and Rafael not been so frightened when stepping up to take their kicks, we’d be celebrating a turning point in David Moyes’ career at Old Trafford. Maybe, had David De Gea not allowed Phil Bardsley – Phil Bardsley, for heaven’s sake! – shot to dribble into the back of the net courtesy of an appalling and uncharacteristic mistake, we’d be talking about the prospect of an all-Mancunian League Cup final. Instead, we’re left to pick up the pieces of yet another defeat, one that will hurt even more for the manner through which it arrived and for the circumstances that surrounded it. In a season of poor performances, United’s standards plummeted even further, 120 minutes of utterly dire and uninspiring football, the team’s deficiencies ruthlessly laid bare by a very organised Sunderland side. Javier Hernandez’s header which almost gave United the lead five minutes into the first half was to be the exception rather than the rule, as United’s midfield struggled to create any momentum, Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick failing to drive the team forward, while Welbeck and Hernandez were left isolated up front. When the goal did arrive – via a Jonny Evans’ header following a corner – United didn’t push forward in search of a second, rather they sat back for the whole second half. United were playing against their nerves and the pressure engulfing Old Trafford as much as against Sunderland, a damning statement of where the players’ minds are. A flurry of subs saw the ineffective Shinji Kagawa being replaced by the equally useless Antonio Valencia, while Carrick was the latest player to fall victim of injuries and was replaced by Jones, with Evra coming on for Buttner. Extra time proved to be an absolute torture, United failing to hang on to possession while Sunderland pegged them in their own box, applying a pressure not seen at these latitudes in a semifinal since Barcelona visited for the Champions League in 2008. That was Barcelona, this was Sunderland. And the visitors looked to have booked their ticket to Wembley as they scored with thief first shot of the game after 119 minutes, United’s fear of doing some constructive with the ball finally catching up with them. Hernandez’s goal after a brilliant assist by Januzaj had us all believing that this might, after all, be the lucky break we had been waiting for. As Craig Gardner skied his penalty and Steven Fletcher had his saved, that belief was strengthened, particularly as De Gea redeemed himself by denying Adam Johnson the joy of taking his team to Wembley. Vito Mannone was to take that accolade, saving Rafael’s penalty – the third United player in a row to miss after Januzaj had his penalty saved and Jones’ whistled over the bar – and sealing a deserved win for Sunderland. For United, things are going to get a whole lot worse before they get better. |
| Posted: 22 Jan 2014 08:13 AM PST
United have been insistently linked with a move for the Spanish playmaker over the last 36 hours and things look to have gathered pace over the last few hours, with Mata missing training at Chelsea and reportedly waving goodbye to his teammates, before the confirmation of an offer.
United, as things stand, continue to deny making an official offer but an initial bid has been tabled on behalf of the club. If accepted, the bid, which has been confirmed by all the major news outlets in the country, would make Mata United’s most expensive player ever, leapfrogging the £30m Fergie shelled out for Dimitar Berbatov in August 2008. The Spanish playmaker has made only 13 appearances in all competitions for Chelsea this season, but was the Blues’ Player of the Season in his two seasons at Stamford Bridge. Time to keep our fingers crossed, then. |
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