Red Rants |
| United fail in surprise deadline day bid Posted: 01 Feb 2014 01:38 AM PST
The betting odds for this match suggest United will be too strong for The Potters but they’ll have to do it without a host of youngsters and also a surprise deadline day target.
David Moyes ruled out any new arrivals early in the day then the club spent the rest of deadline day shipping out youngsters to the four corners of the Football League in what looked the polar opposite of a spending spree. Birmingham acquired Tom Thorpe, Tyler Blackett and Frederico Macheda while Wilfried Zaha (loan) and Fabio opted to team up with Ole Gunnar at Cardiff City, Larnell Cole and Ryan Tunnicliffe reacquainted themselves with favourite coach, Rene Muelensteen at Craven Cottage all suggesting there seems to have been mass exodus of unsettled fringe players looking to use the second half of the season as a shop-window in which to find themselves a new challenge beyond Manchester United. Things, however, could have taken a whole different turn had Spurs accepted United’s offer for Andros Townsend, which included Nani going to White Hart Lane in a straight swap for the England winger. Reports today suggest that United and Spurs had opened talks earlier in the week and Spurs chairman, Daniel Levy, seemed eager to complete the swap, before pulling the plug on any possible deal. United’s wingers this season have been horrendously inadequate to United’s expectations – although, sadly, they’ve looked incredibly adequate in United’s dire and boring football – with Ashley Young, Antonio Valencia and Nani himself looking increasingly out of their depth at a club the size of United. Nani, in particular, must feel his time at the club is up, for having impressed in pre-season and despite having been rewarded with a new five-year deal – five years! Let that sink in – the Portuguese has been at the margins of David Moyes’ squad, with injuries derailing his season. Nani has made just five league starts this season and his only goal this season came in his only Champions League appearance, away at Leverkusen, arguably his and United’s standout performance this campaign. Quite, however, why Moyes would have swapped Nani for Andros Townsend is anyone’s guess, given the Spurs winger has hardly set the world alight himself, scoring once in 10 Premier League starts and, crucially, registering a big, fat, zero in the assists column. The Spurs winger burst onto the scene in October, when he netted on his debut for England, but has since largely regressed into his shell as a player and many have criticised his lack of imagination and the tendency to be too mono-dimensional for his own good and with Tim Sherwood replacing Andre Villas-Boas in the Spurs dugout, Townsend’s chances have been limited. Given that Valencia and Young are about as predictable as the sun rising at dawn, United have probably dodged a bullet with Townsend and should, and hopefully would, look at much better wingers than Townsend in the summer.
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| More names on United departures list Posted: 31 Jan 2014 10:00 AM PST
Wilfried Zaha has finally completed his loan move to Cardiff for the remainder of the season and one can only hope the youngster will grab his chance to prove his worth between now and May.
“I said right at the start of the season that if I could get Wilf the games, I’d keep him, but if I couldn’t then I'd get him some games on loan,” said David Moyes about the former Crystal Palace man. “There were a few clubs who wanted him on loan but in the end we felt Cardiff was the right choice for him. Hopefully he will go and get those games, show what he can do in the Premier League and be ready to come back to us at the end of the season. “He has real potential. He did terrifically well at Crystal Palace and that’s why the club purchased him. The boy needs to keep his development going. If he can get those games at Cardiff then we can have a look at him in the Premier League and see exactly where he is,” continued the United manager. “I couldn't give him that at the start of the season and in the period I've been here so we'll look at him now and see what he can do.” Fabio, meanwhile, has also joined Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team but his switch to the Welsh capital is a permanent one and he departs Old Trafford after a six-year spell. The Brazilian left-back joined United in 2008 and went on to play 56 times for United in all competitions, scoring three goals, the last of which came in the Capital One Cup earlier this season and will be forever remembered as a surprise inclusion in the 2011 Champions League final against Barcelona. By many thought to be even more talented than his twin brother Rafael, Fabio was expected to pick up Patrice Evra’s baton at left-back, but has had limited opportunities and a move away from United could guarantee him the regular football he’s been craving for. Meanwhile, Charni Ekangamene and Sam Byrne have been loaned to Carlisle United for the remainder of the season, while U21 captain Tom Thorpe and Tyler Blackett have joined Birmingham on loan and will remain at St. Andrew’s until the end of the season. |
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