Republik Of Mancunia |
- Gundogan extends deal with Borussia Dortmund
- All we need is Shinji Kagawa
- RoM Reads
- Should Moyes have fined Welbeck, Cleverley and Young?
- De Gea: I always feel the support of United fans
- PICTURE: Liverpool fans graffiti Busby Babe’s bridge?
| Gundogan extends deal with Borussia Dortmund Posted: 15 Apr 2014 11:21 AM PDT
It was reported five days ago that he was ruled out of the World Cup with an injury to his back which has kept him out all season. “Ilkay will not play at the World Cup,” said Klopp. “It is very hard for him to deal with. His back is better, it is all good, but it takes time to recover completely. We just have to wait.” Gundogan has played in just one game this season, back in August, and was taken off with less than an hour played. There have been reports all season that he was ready to make a comeback, and he has been seen on the training pitch, but another appearance in the first team failed to materialise. His contract was set to expire next summer, putting pressure on the German club to tie the midfielder down. Given that his injury situation is so problematic, it was unlikely that any other club, United included, would have been prepared to make a commitment to a long-term deal. “I am very grateful that my club gives me the opportunity to continue to be part of this special team and this very special environment,” said the player. “I will do everything to help my colleagues again soon and can go very optimistic about the coming weeks and months.” Maybe things could have been different if he had made his recovery in time but the player couldn’t afford to get in to the last year of his contract, with Dortmund the only club to put an offer on the table, when he has missed a year of football. His extension is just for a year though, now expiring in June 2016, which is presumably because they are waiting to see just how long-term this back injury is. So maybe there’s a chance in the future, but for now, United fans should forget about him. |
| Posted: 15 Apr 2014 02:11 AM PDT How strange it is to be watching Manchester United treat the closing weeks of a season as a sandbox rather than a run-in. With their every trophy-hunting hope having been dashed by mid-April all that is now left for David Moyes is a period of extended limbo, ripe for experimentation. The products of this tinkering could yet decide whether he remains at Old Trafford after the summer, as if the board wish to judge him on his workings rather than the underwhelming final results of the Scot's first campaign. However, it's unlikely that any concerns over his process will cleared up more than they have already, with the best football yet played under Moyes coming by accident through a player he previously appeared to have lost all faith in. It may never have been part of the manager's plans but as the season draws to an end, Shinji Kagawa looks to have become United's most pivotal player, and a man who could soon inadvertently help to decide the employment status of the current United boss. The eureka moment came in the 4-1 win over Aston Villa at Old Trafford when the Japanese spun a cross over for a completely unmarked Wayne Rooney to nod home. It was a goal that benefitted greatly from poor defending, but it marked Kagawa's first assist of the season. His second followed a week later against Newcastle United when he set up Adnan Januzaj for what would be the third strike in a 4-0 victory. However, in neither game did he play as the side's primary playmaker. That role fell upon Juan Mata who has at last begun to meet the expectations he set for himself during his time at Chelsea. That this up-turn in form has come after he was paired with the Japanese attacking midfielder is no coincidence even if the events leading up to their deployment were. With Moyes' instinctive, tactical defaults keeping things all-too-rigid and cautious, it's been hard for the Spaniard to adapt to life at Old Trafford, especially when pushed out onto the wing. Kagawa has been key for helping Mata make the most of his return to the hole in the absence of an injured Wayne Rooney, thanks to his movement. His ability to dribble past opponents, drive the ball forwards and play clever, one-two's through the legs of defenders, giving and going around centre-backs, has been exactly what United and their record-signing have been missing. Paired alongside Mata, Kagawa has looked perfectly suited to finding and exploiting any available space, while darting into openings or receiving the ball on the half-turn. The midfielder's ability to create space this way, or look for a quick, precise lay-off for another runner or passer, has made United almost look dynamic again through the middle. Never mind that he doesn't fit the build of a central midfielder. Neither does Tom Cleverley for the vast majority of the time, and the Japanese has effectively replaced the Englishman of late in the first tem, even if he may be more experienced and proficient in a deeper role. Both as a wingman cutting in from wide, or running up from central positions to ramp up the intensity of their one-touch play, Kagawa has fulfilled the duties of Cleverley with less hassle. He has looked faster both over the turf and in the mind than his midfield colleague, coming into central positions shuttle position forwards to where it's most wanted.
End product has helped too, with those two assists cracking his personal duck for having made zero direct contributions prior to the goal effort prior to his cross to Rooney against Villa. Finally, Kagawa's praises can be sung without the need for a data sheet to justify his seeming confusion while on the park through the magic of interceptions, key passes and more. His quality is now visible to even the most pessimistic of naked eyes. This new found relevancy hasn't solely come down to Moyes' need to reshuffle his deck in the wake of injuries however. Kagawa looks more confident and less reliant on others for his self-belief. Change has come from within, with the player making the best of his surroundings rather than struggling to gain any purchase on games as they slipped him by. Even his appearance in the opening Champions League win over Bayer Leverkusen—a 4-2 victory—almost seemed academic somehow thanks to detached demeanour on the field. Of course, Sir Alex Ferguson himself said the attacker would need a year. Perhaps he was a little optimistic in his assessment, with Kagawa only now showing his value, in behind and around Mata as United's second violin. Whether Moyes shows that he realises the magic he's stumbled upon with this duo, as well as how to make the most of it, could be the make-or-break test lingering in the discussions between those at boardroom level, stubbornly still weighing up his future. The sense of a special something being missing has pervaded United's season, and not just because of Fergie's retirement. While there were probably as many sets of expectations as there were fans prior to the start of the season, it's unlikely that many supporters listed a need for the reigning champions to play with some conviction or coherency. That should have been a given. United weren't perfect or complete at the end of Sir Alex's reign but they certainly had enough about them to string a few passes together. Of late, the Japanese has shown himself able to bring the best out of Mata, quicken up the team's transitions from back-to-front with his passing and dribbling, and Moyes' disjointed tactics feel far more fluid. Rather than the goal-scoring midfielder that Jurgen Klopp laments the demise of, he is fast becoming an enabler for others, although that prolific touch in the penalty may well return at some point too. It seems cliché to talk of catalysts in football these days, but that is exactly what Kagawa is for Moyes and United. Whether he realises it is another issue. |
| Posted: 15 Apr 2014 02:10 AM PDT Scott writes for The Metro about whether United will finish the season strongly. United Rant looks at the 50 mistakes Moyes has made. Pride of all Europe discusses why Moyes’ appointment didn’t make sense. The Guardian claim we are offering Kroos a £260k-a-week deal. The Mirror claims we are looking replacing Moyes with Klopp. |
| Should Moyes have fined Welbeck, Cleverley and Young? Posted: 15 Apr 2014 01:10 AM PDT Pictures appeared in the press last week showing Danny Welbeck, Tom Cleverley and Ashley Young going out in town after the defeat against Bayern Munich. They were out until the early hours and were seen dancing in the street and chatting up girls. Reports in the press have today claimed that Moyes has fined the players for this. With five games left and essentially nothing left to play for, is there anything wrong with our players going out and enjoying themselves? Or should the players be expected to show more sensitivity than that on the back of a dreadful season? online poll by Opinion Stage
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| De Gea: I always feel the support of United fans Posted: 15 Apr 2014 01:00 AM PDT Last week, David de Gea was voted Player of the Month by the fans and there are strong calls for him to be voted Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year too. De Gea received a lot of criticism in the press when he first joined the club and opposition fans used to chant “dodgy keeper” at him. Last season he was named PFA Goalkeeper of the Year though and has expressed his gratitude towards United fans for their support. “I’m really happy to receive the award and especially grateful to the fans who voted for me,” he said. “I always feel their support is very close and that’s very important to me. So thanks to everyone.” With nothing left to play for, accept a place in the Europa League, De Gea has insisted that it is important for United to play well in the remaining five games. “There are still plenty of important games to play,” he said. “We are Manchester United and it’s our duty to win every game we take part in. That’s what we’ll try to do now because we want to finish as high as we can in the league, ensure we’re playing in a European competition next season and show we are still around and that we will never give in.” |
| PICTURE: Liverpool fans graffiti Busby Babe’s bridge? Posted: 15 Apr 2014 12:30 AM PDT
Billy Whelan joined the United ranks when he was just a teenager and made his debut for the club when he was 19-years-old. The following week he scored his first goal for the club. Whelan went on to play 98 games for United and scored an incredible 52 goals. He was on the plane with the team as they returned home from Munich and sadly, aged just 22, he died in the crash. A bridge in Dublin is dedicated to the former United player and this weekend, when Liverpool fans are commemorating the 25th anniversary of Hillsborough, has been the victim of graffiti with ‘Munich bastard’ scrawled across it. It’s impossible to know for certain which club the person who did it supported, but as the singing at the official Spirit of Shankly party showed (with an entertainer going on stage and the crowd watching chanting “Munich!”), it is more than likely it was a Liverpool fan. |
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