Red Rants |
| Posted: 31 Jan 2014 02:13 AM PST
Having finally got back to winning ways against Cardiff on Tuesday night, United travel to the Britannia, which, while it clearly isn’t the fortress the press have spent the last five years harping on about, remains a hotbed for dire football, generally windy and unpleasant days and, more importantly, some of the worst fans the Premier League has ever seen.
Mark Hughes, the man tasked with delivering some good news to the Neanderthals of football, is presumably still smarting after being overlooked for the United job and his bitterness is likely to have been worsened by the two meetings between the sides this season, which saw United muster a comeback to win 3-2 at home, before braving the elements to knock Stoke out of the Capital One Cup. One can only hope the weather will be slightly better tomorrow than the last time United traveled to the Britannia, when they skies opened forcing anybody apart from Jonathan Walters to seek shelter for about five minutes. Weather-related issues aside, United should be fairly confident ahead of tomorrow, given Juan Mata’s arrival seems to have lifted the team’s spirit, even though it hasn’t produced a tangible contribution on the pitch as yet, while the return of Robin Van Persie and Wayne Rooney have delivered a much-needed boost to David Moyes. However, with neither of the three having played much football of late, Moyes could again opt to rotate his attacking options – a luxury he probably wasn’t used to until about a week ago – in a bid to get his players up to speed. Were the United manager to finally adopt something resembling a bold approach instead, Antonio Valencia could be finally put out of his misery and dropped to the bench, with Rooney, Mata and Ashley Young lining up behind Van Persie, as Adnan Januzaj’s talented young limbs are better kept away from the gnaws of Stoke’s midfielders. With Rio Ferdinand still out nursing an injury – although he did, admirably, find time to wish his fans in the Far East Happy Chinese New Year, presumably in a bid to start flogging “5 caps” in China – and Nemanja Vidic in the last of his three-game ban, the defence picks itself – particularly now that Moyes won’t have to “worry” about Kenwine Jones, who was shipped out by Hughes. In midfield, bar improbable and unexpected good news over the next 13 hours, United will have to make do with the tragic lack of options that has crippled them for years. Darren Fletcher is expected to return in place of Ryan Giggs, while Phil Jones could again be asked to “do a job” in midfield, given that Moyes seems to have run out of patience with TClev23 – if that’s the case, welcome to the club, David. With our rivals for fourth spot – typing that felt terribly small time, by the way – unlikely to drop points this weekend, United must win tomorrow and build some momentum going into the final third of the season, not to mention that it’d be a shame to ruin a record that currently stands at 11 wins in the last 12 meetings against Stoke. Stoke, however, will be desperate to avoid another defeat, given they’ve lost five of their last six games and are only two points away from the relegation zone, as Mark Hughes’ magic begins to kick in. Expect them to be up for it and expect their fans to remind us all that they “support their local team”. |
| United target could leave on deadline day Posted: 30 Jan 2014 06:14 AM PST
The Bayern Munich midfielder has been on David Moyes’ radar for quite some time, after the European champions’ Chief Executive, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, admitted that the club was struggling to come to an agreement with the midfielder over a new contract.
Kroos is under contract with last season’s treble winners until 2015 but Bayern are refusing to meet his £150,000-a-week demands, leading to speculation that the 24-year-old could leave the club he joined in 2006 and for which he’s scored 12 goals in 119 Bundesliga appearances. While Rummenigge said last week that despite the discrepancies between the club’s offer and Kroos’ financial demands Bayern remained keen to tie the midfielder to a new long-term contract, but things might have got a tad more complicated for the Bavarian outfit, after Kroos stormed off the pitch last night, unhappy at being substituted. The midfielder threw his gloves away in disgust as Pep Guardiola replaced him and the former Barcelona manager admitted that Kroos’ future at the Allianz Arena could be not as certain as it was until a week or so ago. “He [Kroos] is an important player, but things can move fast in football,” said the Spaniard. “Here today, gone tomorrow.” The news would have alerted David Moyes, who was spotted in Germany on Friday night as Bayern took on Borussia Monchengladbach. The United manager has stated his determination to bring in more players of Juan Mata’s calibre as he seeks to revamp his squad and Kroos would undoubtedly be a welcome addition to United’s midfield, given his versatility and the considerable experience he’s matured despite being only 24. The Bayern Munich midfielder is thought to be valued by his club in the £25m region, a relatively reasonable fee for a player of his calibre, but Moyes was expected to wait until the summer before making his move but reports suggest that he might have changed his mind. The Bundesliga’s January transfer window shuts at 5pm tomorrow rather than at 11pm, as it’s the case in England, so expect a day of wild speculations tomorrow. |
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