Red Rants |
- Rooney set for new deal
- United confirm Mata signing
- Why are Arsenal and City bothered about United signing Mata?
- Robbo: “It’s all up to Moyes”
| Posted: 25 Jan 2014 02:12 AM PST
The last couple of days, however, seem to have signalled the start of a turnaround as far as the club’s fortunes off the pitch are considered, with the announcement of Juan Mata’s arrival followed by the news that Wayne Rooney is intentioned to extend his contract at Old Trafford.
The striker looked on the verge to depart the club last summer, after an acrimonious feud with Sir Alex Ferguson looked to have scuppered any chance of Rooney remaining at the club, before David Moyes convinced him to stay and after a summer throughout which many fans wanted him out, the supporters rallied behind Rooney. However, with Rooney’s brilliance this season not translating into success on the pitch for United, the 28-year-old was again thought to be heading for the exit door at Old Trafford. With Rooney’s contract expiring in 18 months and United’s quest for a top four finish looking an increasingly arduous task, Chelsea, Arsenal and Real Madrid renewed their interest in the United number 10 who looked to set to be on the receiving end of many offers this summer. Chelsea, in particular, were thought to be determined to land the England striker in the summer and Mata’s arrival at Old Trafford was by many seen as the move that would open the exit door for Rooney, who had been subject of two offers from Jose Mourinho’s club last summer. Today, however, the Telegraph reports that Rooney is set to agree a new 5-year-deal worth a staggering £300,000-a-week which would keep him at Old Trafford until 2018, 14 years on since arriving the club from Everton in the summer of 2004. Tieing Rooney to a new five-year deal would represent a major coup for David Moyes, just days after announcing his second major signing – one which will hopefully have a better impact than the first – in the form of Juan Mata, who will undergo his medical today before sealing his £40m transfer from Chelsea. For all the criticism received this season, David Moyes must be credited for clinching the deal bringing the Spaniard to Old Trafford and for managing to sit the club and Rooney down to negotiate yet again. Things, at long last, might start to look a bit brighter as far as United are concerned. |
| Posted: 25 Jan 2014 01:49 AM PST
The Spaniard arrives at Old Trafford with a club record price-tag on his back, the deal to take Mata to United thought to be worth in the region of £40m, thus dwarfing the £30.75m United shelled out for Dimitar Berbatov on deadline day in August 2008, a sign of times, perhaps.
More importantly, Mata’s arrival is David Moyes’ first success since replacing Sir Alex Ferguson in the Old Trafford dugout last July and the United manager will be desperate for his new signing to deliver a much-needed boost to his new team. Mata will undergo a medical today and he’s expected to pun pen to paper on a lucrative deal and could make his Manchester United debut on Tuesday, when Cardiff City visit Old Trafford. The deal had been delayed as Chelsea wanted to tie up the signing of Mohamed Salah from Basel, before putting pen to paper to the transfer agreement, but after the last formalities were resolved, Manchester Unite released an official statement to confirm their new club record signing. “Manchester United is pleased to announce it has reached an agreement with Chelsea for the transfer of Juan Mata for a club record fee. The deal is subject to a medical and the agreement of personal terms. A further announcement will be made in due course,” said the statement on United’s official website. Mata isn’t going to be the solution to all of United’s problems, but he remains an incredible signing, particularly considering how difficult it is to capture world class players in the January transfer window and how many thought David Moyes did not have the necessary charm to lure players like Mata to Old Trafford. |
| Why are Arsenal and City bothered about United signing Mata? Posted: 24 Jan 2014 09:40 AM PST
Unlike other sports such as rugby, where the opponent is always completely and thoroughly respected, or others, such as boxing, where nothing is more satisfying for a fighter than to see his counterpart fall to the canvas, one of the many unwritten rule of the beautiful game is that superiority is best achieved by mean of silence.
Unfortunately, it’s a rule very rarely observed, yet one whose continuous breaching delivers superbly funny and humorous moments, such as the one Arsene Wenger and Manuel Pellegrini have provided with impeccable timing over the last 48 hours, when they thought their duty included lecturing anyone willing to listen on the yays and nays of football. These two managers, you see, aren’t just football managers like any others and not just because their teams are respectively first and second in the table. No, Pellegrini and Wenger are both man of knowledge off the pitch as much as on it, the former nicknamed “The engineer”, the latter looking like the archetype of a faculty dean at a prestigious university. So, why have these two charming and intelligent men decided to air their displeasure and utmost disapproval at the deal that will bring Juan Mata from the swanky surroundings of South West London to the red half of Manchester? Is it because they have nothing else to occupy their minds? Hardly so, given that Arsenal kick off the fourth round of the FA Cup when they host Coventry tonight, while City will look at taking another step towards the quadruple by putting a goal or seven past Watford tomorrow afternoon. Having ascertained that both men have enough on their hands to worry about other clubs’ business, one might be led to think that, perhaps, pointing fingers and scorn towards their rivals would be a gesture brought upon them by a difficult and travailed campaign, a stress-release valve, if you wish. That, however, is another dead end, for Arsenal are top of the table and looking to finally end a trophy drought that will reach its ninth anniversary in May, while City are a point behind, in the Capital One Cup final and playing the best football Stockport natives have ever been treated to. Furthermore, and that’s not something of secondary importance given the issue, United are miles behind both teams, in terms of points, morale, quality of football and prospectives. So, why does Juan Mata moving to United bother Wenger and Pellegrini so much? Why does Wenger claim that selling Mata to United ”opens [up] again a little bit the opportunity of this transfer market because Chelsea had already played twice against Man United so they don’t play again [and] they could have sold him last week,” even though the Spaniard didn’t feature at all against his soon-to-be new club last week? And why does Pellegrini, a man employed by one of the richest football clubs in the world, “don’t agree that a player can go from one team to another in the same league in this part of the year”? Is it because they have bought been swayed by the conspiracy theorists who believe selling Mata to United is simply Jose Mourinho’s cunning plan to ensure that his former player revitalises the champions, thus depriving Arsenal and City of vital points and allowing Chelsea to walk away with the league? Even admitting that was the case – which, quite plainly, it is not – if all Mourinho wanted was to steady United’s ship, why didn’t he simply offer Mata on loan, rather than permanently part ways with him? Furthermore, Arsenal and City have another 15 games to play apart their fixture against United, which leaves 45 points available to both of them to try and bridge the insurmountable gap likely open in Chelsea’s favour, once Secret Agent Mata has completed his mission. Are Arsenal and Manchester City simply trying to unsettle Mourinho – if that was to be the case, one would have hoped that Wenger and Pellegrini could pick their opponents a little more carefully – or are they really so obsessed with Manchester United that they can’t talk about anything else? That could be true for Wenger, who’s seen his best player led United to the title last season, but what about Pellegrini? A man so hard to dislike that it’s almost frustrating and one that has only joined the “Project” six months ago? Has he been brainwashed already? Since the season kicked off, United have been called a “spent force”, a “mid-table side”, a “club in decline” and one whose empire “is about to crumble” and yet they’re remain the talk of the town as far as English football is concerned. Funny old game, football. |
| Posted: 24 Jan 2014 06:28 AM PST
With United 14 points adrift of Arsenal in the Premier League, out of the FA Cup and denied a spot in the Capital One Cup final after Wednesday’s defeat on penalties against Sunderland, pressure on Moyes is mounting to deliver results, with many claiming that Sir Alex’s decision to attend games at home and away has had a destabilising effect on an environment already made precarious by his retirement.
Robson, who often sits alongside Fergie and Sir Bobby Charlton, however, described the idea as “a lot of rubbish” and that Fergie’s presence at Old Trafford only shows how much the former manager still cares about United. “It’s up to David if he wants to ask any opinions. If not, we’re just watching as supporters and we want to see them do really well. I like to chat to the lads and have a bit of banter with them and watch them train,” said the former United captain. “I think the rumours are a load of rubbish as far as I’m concerned. To see Sir Alex at matches shows that he’s got great support for the club. “For anybody trying to make an excuse and say ‘Sir Alex is in the stand watching me play. I’m going to wilt’ – well why didn’t you wilt when he was manager? “It’s just weak excuses that the media and some ex-players and managers have come out with. It’s a pathetic excuse,” continued Robbo. “If Sir Alex wasn’t going to games and wasn’t giving David Moyes support, it would show he doesn’t care, is selfish and is getting on with his own life. Instead, it shows he does want to see the club do well.” Speaking about Juan Mata’s imminent arrival, Robson said: “The central role in midfield is what everybody’s been talking about for a couple of seasons now. Michael Carrick has been very consistent but everybody else has struggled to stamp their authority in there. “I still feel it’s an area we need to strengthen but it’s only David Moyes and his staff who can make those decisions. “I’m sure that’s where David will be looking. We saw earlier in the season when Michael was out, he was a big miss. “I think new signings, especially when they’re top class, can give an injection of enthusiasm within the squad. “It’s a new challenge for Mata and I’m sure if he does sign, he’ll enjoy being in the team and being wanted.” |
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