Saturday, 8 February 2014

Leboeuf: Mourinho was right to sell Mata

15:21

By: TBMU Admin On: 15:21   In:   No comments

Leboeuf: Mourinho was right to sell Mata

Leboeuf: Mourinho was right to sell Mata

Posted: 07 Feb 2014 12:06 PM PST

Mata was a popular figure with Chelsea supporters during his near three-year stint at Stamford Bridge, but failed to nail down a regular first-team place under Jose Mourinho this season. The 25-year-old duly completed a switch to reigning Premier League champions Manchester United in a £37.1 million deal during the January transfer window. While Mourinho's decision to part company with such an asset may have raised eyebrows among some supporters, Leboeuf - who spent five years with Chelsea - believes the Portuguese made the right decision due to the wealth of attacking talent at his disposal. "I've never been a big fan of Juan Mata," Leboeuf told Perform. "I think he's a fantastic player (but) I think he doesn't suit English football. "I guess Chelsea tried to find the new (Gianfranco) Zola. But Zola was much more powerful than Mata, and Mata is a little bit light. "I think Mourinho realised that and that is why he bought Willian, because he has a little bit of Zola, not as big as Zola but strong, skilful and works really hard for the team and can defend. "With (Eden) Hazard, Oscar and Willian, it is an armada. You don't know where to look, because you know you are going to struggle at some point."

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Moyes: Vidic to retain Man United captaincy

Posted: 07 Feb 2014 06:51 AM PST

The Serbia international announced his decision to end his eight-year association with the club earlier on Friday. Vidic has enjoyed a trophy-laden stint at Old Trafford winning domestic honours in the form of five Premier League titles and three League Cups, and extending that success to Europe by collecting the UEFA Champions League in 2008. The 32-year-old has reportedly become disgruntled by the lack of progress on a new contract with the reigning champions, and has announced he will now ply his trade outside of England. That decision has called into question his role as captain, but Moyes says that position will not change and insisted the decision to end his United stay was mutual. "It was something that we all mutually agreed together," Moyes said. "I think it was the right decision for club and player. "He has been a brilliant servant for Manchester United. He is captain and it will remain that way until the end of the season. He has been a great player for us and we will continue using him." When asked whether Vidic could lose focus after announcing his decision to leave, Moyes added: "No, not somebody like Vida.He's a great leader for this club and served the club really well and I would expect that to continue right up until the end of the season." United take on Fulham at Old Trafford on Sunday, a fixture that sees Fulham head coachRene Meulensteen return to a club he served under former boss Alex Ferguson. Moyes revealed he wanted the Dutchman to stay on the coaching staff, but accepted his decision to move on. "Rene helped me when I first came here," Moyes continued. "I had several conversations with him. He helped me, told me about the club, how it runs and the players. "In the end I would have liked him to stay at the time but he wanted to go and that was fine. I am looking forward to getting Rene back and seeing him."

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Djemba-Djemba aims to book World Cup place by impressing at St Mirren, murdering 900 midfielders

Posted: 07 Feb 2014 05:31 AM PST

Following the announcement that he has signed for St Mirren, former Manchester United midfielder Eric Djemba-Djemba has outlined his plan to secure a call-up for Cameroon's World Cup squad. The 32-year-old's contract at Serbian side Partizan had been terminated, leaving him free to sign for the Scottish Premier League side. Cameroon boss Volker Finke hasn't selected Djemba-Djemba in his recent squads, opting instead to pick pairings from the 900 better Cameroonian footballers in that position, but Djemba-Djemba believes his transfer is the first significant step towards winning the German tactician over. "For me everything is building towards the World Cup," Djemba-Djemba told FourFourTwo. "It's obviously my dream to play for my country again and I will do whatever it takes, whether that's an unlikely renaissance at a lowly Scottish Premier League team or the slaughter of several hundred rivals – whichever is quicker, I guess." Although Djemba-Djemba's career has been underwhelming at times, he regularly makes lists of the Top 1000 Active Cameroonian Midfielders and was recently voted the 19th Best Player To Have A Double-Barrelled Name With The Two Bits Of That Double Barrel Being The Same. St Mirren manager Danny Lennon admits that Djemba-Djemba may have a problem with match fitness, but insists that the opportunity to sign him was too good to miss. "We're talking about a man who has watched games at the very highest level," Lennon enthused. "He's worn more yellow bibs than most us have had hot lunches, he's been on the bench for Champions League games, and flicked around with the TV remote in a hotel room at a World Cup. That kind of experience is invaluable." Reports suggest that Djemba-Djemba has already settled in Paisley, adorning the walls of his room with a map of Renfrewshire, Polaroid photos of Cameroonian midfielders and the phone numbers of international assassins.

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The FourFourTwo Preview: Man United vs Fulham

Posted: 07 Feb 2014 12:10 AM PST

Billed as A nailed-on win even by Manchester United standards. The lowdown It's about time Man United's rivals were given something to chuckle about. Five titles in the last seven seasons under Sir Alex Ferguson was getting a bit silly after all, despite rival fans' regular sighs that the champions were still doing it without having to be all that. This season a combination of things have made life utterly miserable for David Moyes in his first campaign in charge. Sure, his side have fallen apart on the pitch, but a transitional year with a team that needed work was inevitable. The injuries and plain old bad luck so uncommon under Ferguson have been genuine issues. Mostly, though, it's because the Old Trafford side's rivals have finally woken up. Manchester City are making up for last season's half-arsed title defence, while Chelsea finally look capable of a genuine challenge. Arsenal fans would have laughed in your face with knowledge of a league lead and 15-point advantage over their beleaguered rivals in July. Last season none of them were viable candidates. Defeat at Stoke last weekend epitomised the champions' campaign so far: though Moyes was able to start 'Juan van Rooney' for the first time, Phil Jones and Jonny Evans were both injured and the Potters' opening goal came via an agonising deflection off Michael Carrick. With 14 games remaining it's now all about chasing down the seven-point gap behind fourth-placed Liverpool. The Europa League simply won't do for Manchester United. Still, though, could it be worse? Normally things can't decline too badly for a team propping up the rest – but for Fulham, they can. The Cottagers' woes are piling up on a weekly basis, and, aside from the useful-looking signing of Olympiakos's Kostas Mitroglou, this last month has been utterly dreadful for Rene Meulensteen's side. Since New Year's Day they've lost four league games in a row, two of which were against sides struggling for form in the bottom half. Last weekend they were spanked 3-0 at home by Southampton and to compound their misery, the west Londoners were embarrassingly dumped out of the FA Cup by third-tier Sheffield United. If you're to believe the papers, Meulensteen could be out of a job after just two months in charge (which, to his credit, would be an improvement on the 16-day reign at Anzhi Makhachkala – baby steps, Rene). So with this trip to Old Trafford followed by Wednesday's visit of Liverpool, Fulham fans should probably ignore football for at least another week. Surely, surely, even United can't fluff this one. Team news Jones (concussion) and Evans (hamstring) should return to contention after being forced off at Stoke, while Rio Ferdinand's knee shouldn't keep him out much longer. Marouane Fellaini (wrist *snigger*) is back, but Nani (hamstring, but who cares?) is still sidelined. Fulham are sweating on the fitness of new boy Mitroglou, and will hope full-backs Sascha Riether (calf) and Kieran Richardson (ankle) are fit. John Arne Riise (hamstring) isn't too far off after a three-game absence. Player to watch: Ashley Young (Man United) The much-maligned winger is still to convince United fans of his worth, but in Moyes' wide game the England man is a crucial element. A goal-and-assist display against Cardiff earned him a start at the Britannia Stadium, but in Staffordshire Young saw much less of the ball. That reduced his link-up with his team-mates, and forced him into crossing earlier and more often – in the end only 1 of his 9 efforts found a United shirt. Rather than cutting inside to influence play centrally (a strategy which earned him his goal against the Bluebirds), the former Aston Villa man played with chalk on his boots. If selected he should find more joy against weaker opposition. The managers Meulensteen was one of Ferguson's most trusted aides in two spells spanning 11 years at United. But the Dutchman's time at Old Trafford was up when Moyes made the manager's office his own last summer. Now times are troubled for the man who replaced Martin Jol, but the 49-year-old was defiant about his future after Tuesday's dismal FA Cup exit: "I just keep doing my job as best as I can," he said. "I have no worries at all." Facts and figures Man United have won 11 of 12 Premier League meetings with Fulham at Old Trafford. Since 2008/09 Man United have won 29 of 30 home games against bottom-six sides with 21 of the last 24 wins coming having been ahead at half-time. Fulham have lost 9 of 11 away matches with 8 defeats to nil and losses by more than 1 goal. 7 of Fulham's last 9 matches have seen more goals in the second half than the first. Man United have failed to score more than once in 7 of 12 home games this season. Best Bet: Man United to score exactly one goal @ 5.25 More FFT Stats Zone facts • Find the best odds with Bet Butler FourFourTwo prediction Much-needed respite for Moyes – and a big boost ahead of Wednesday's trip to Arsenal. 2-0. Man United vs Fulham LIVE ANALYSIS with Stats Zone

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