Red Rants |
| Posted: 27 Mar 2014 01:21 AM PDT
The first, as was widely reported after Tuesday’s shambolic defeat, are the fans. Having stood behind Moyes for eight months, showing a remarkable amount of patience given the awful football we’ve been treated to, many Reds seem to have finally lost patience and some – the man in the South Stand being the prime example – decided to make their feelings known to the manager.
However, and that’s a lot more worrying as far as Moyes is concerned, the fans aren’t the only ones to have run out of patience with the United manager, who now could be facing a revolt from within, as the players have allegedly had enough of their manager and of his training methods. It’s no surprise to see these rumours surfacing just days after Moyes was again under intense pressure after back-to-back wins against Olympiakos and West Ham proved to be yet another false dawn. Reports of players growing disillusioned with Moyes’ methods and approach to training have been circulating virtually since he directed his first training session back in July and looks to have exacerbated over the last couple of weeks, perhaps compounded by consecutive humiliations against Liverpool and Manchester City. The manner in which those defeats arrived, more than the results themselves, highlighted yet again how unsuited to a club that has always seen attacking football as part of its ethos Moyes’ methods are. The Telegraph‘s Mark Ogden, normally an extremely reliable source when it comes to Manchester United, reported that “Moyes's perceived cautious approach has been viewed as blunting the team's attacking potential, and although senior players embraced his determination last summer to make training more physically demanding than under Sir Alex Ferguson it is now regarded as having contributed little of benefit to a team who are in seventh position in the Premier League, 12 points adrift of Champions League qualification.” This comes just a month after Robin Van Persie had told a Dutch television that his teammates “occupied his space” in the aftermath of United’s 2-0 defeat against Olympiakos, while on Tuesday night Paul Scholes was highly critical of Moyes’ decision to shunt Juan Mata out wide, rather than deploy the Spaniard in his favourite number 10 role. Everton players have previously spoken of how different training under Roberto Martinez is compared to Moyes, with the Spaniard placing a lot more emphasis on tactics and training with the ball than his predecessor ever did, which fails to dismiss the rumours according to which Moyes has paid no attention whatsoever to attacking drills in training since joining United. In fact, some claim that United’s training is almost exclusively focused on the defensive side of the game – rather puzzling in itself, given the inept defending we have witnessed in more than one occasion this season – and, as any match-going fan would have noticed, even the warm-up routine has changed. Where once United used to play “boxes” – a common training drill, which relies on quick, short passes to ensure the ball travels as quickly as possible between players – they now stand in a circle and pass the ball around, significantly at a much slower pace. There’s absolutely no doubt that some of the players have to take a long, hard, look at themselves given the standard of their performances this season, just like it’d be foolish to claim that Moyes’ training methods and tactical approach have nothing to do with United’s swift decline this season. He may retain the board’s backing for now, but Moyes looks increasingly like a man on borrowed time. |
| Bayern vs United: The Impossible Dream? Posted: 26 Mar 2014 08:29 AM PDT
As is so often with European nights at Old Trafford, the footballing universe will look on as Pep’s men lock horns with Moyes’s men. Many will see it simply as a formality for the German champions however a small selection of Manchester United supporters, including me, will hope against hope for an upset. An improbable upset. We will dare to dream, the impossible dream.
We understand that our dream is more in hope than expectation however in our times as Manchester United supporters we have seen the impossible happen, again and again and again. Cast your minds back to the 1999 Champions League Final when a treble hunting Manchester United side was looking for the impossible, two goals in extra time against a defiant Bayern Munich side. Many thought it was over but the supporters and players still believed. We believed and we achieved, the impossible dream. Goals from Teddy and Ole insured that! Now 15 years later we face a similar prospect. We face an almost unbeatable Bayern Munich side, in what could be the biggest game of either teams season. As things stand a respectful loss for us seems unlikely, a draw improbable and a win impossible. The reality of the situation is on paper we are no where near Bayern’s class. However the beauty of football is that it is never played on paper. It is played out on the pitch where the ‘better team’ doesn’t always win. Bayern might be able to field a more confident and many will argue a ‘better’ eleven but at Old Trafford will they be able to field 70,000 supporters who will make sure that they are heard? Our strength will lie around the pitch where every single Manchester United supporter will sing their heart out.We must make it a daunting sight for the Bayern men and we must remind them that their opposition is one of the most historic and one of the most special club’s in world football. We must remind them they are facing Manchester United .The best we as supporters can do support the team and stand by the players. They will be the ones who will represent us on the global footballing stage. As supporters when our players step out onto the pitch we must remind them why they snubbed other clubs to play for us, we must remind them of the club they are representing, we must remind them they play for Manchester United. Would I mind if our players went our there and suffered a defeat? No. However I certainly would mind if our players went onto the pitch with a defeatist attitude. If this is to be the last European night at Old Trafford for some time, lets make it a special one! One that will make us and the players proud to be a part of the Manchester United family. This post was written by Rafae Qazi and you can follow his Man Utd Blog here. |
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