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| Pogba: “United disrespected me” Posted: 02 May 2014 04:30 AM PDT
Pogba has claimed he was sidelined and marginalised, after he was told to train alone and he insists he has absolutely no regrets about leaving Old Trafford for Juventus in July 2012. It’s hard to fathom how the Frenchman could have any regrets at all about his decision, given that since joining the Serie A giants he’s gone on to win a consecutive league title, with a second on the way, and has developed into one of the best midfielders in Europe.
“They left me out because they said I wanted to leave. That is disrespect,” Pogba said in an in interview with the BBC‘s Football Focus. “Maybe they didn’t think they were making a mistake.” Pogba was famously left on the bench on New Year’s Eve 2012 when, amid an injury crisis, Fergie chose to field Ji-Sung Park and Rafael in the middle of the park against Blackburn Rovers, while Pogba watched on from the bench as United crumbled to an unexpected home defeat, which would then prove extremely costly in the race for the title. Despite his obvious potential, Pogba didn’t find much resistance when he decided to leave Old Trafford, with Fergie claiming that he was “quite happy” to see the back of the Frenchman who, according to Sir Alex, had got ideas above his station and whom he accused of not “showing us any respect at all.” Pogba departed after making just seven substitute appearances in a red shirt, a choice he claims was made easier by the circumstances. “Manchester United is a big club but you have to think about yourself,” he said. “You have to play. The coach told me there would be space to play, but I wasn’t playing. I was training alone for one week. They told me to go in the gym. I said ‘I am not an athlete, I am a footballer.’” |
| Giggs hoping for perfect double Posted: 02 May 2014 03:01 AM PDT
Football, of course, still has a role to play in this most endless, disappointing and beleaguered of seasons, whose finishing line seems destined to remain something blurry on the horizon. Good as it would be to draw a line on this season, after 10 months of dross and disappointment the last seven days have provided a welcome relief, with Ryan Giggs making his managerial debut in style, Liverpool losing the initiative in the title race and John Terry’s tears filling our TV screens yet again.
Since United dismantled Norwich 4-0 last week, the clamour for Giggs to be installed has grown but even if Giggsy was to win his next three games in charge, a world class manager would be more than welcome at Old Trafford, particularly if that means Giggs can learn from a more experienced man and develop into a top manager himself. Getting rid of Moyes looked to have done a world of good to United in the second 45 minutes against Norwich and while Giggs has good chances of securing a second successive win, Sunderland are likely to provide a much tougher test than the Canaries did. A few weeks ago it seemed United would have the chance of relegating Sunderland tomorrow, thus executing revenge on the “We support our local team, but we can’t be bothered to fill our ground for a semi-final” fans who celebrated Sergio Aguero’s goal that won City the league two seasons ago as wildly as they would have done had they won the league themselves. Sunderland, however, have enjoyed a remarkable revival, failing where David Moyes had failed by putting up a fight away at City and Chelsea and emerging with well deserved points from both trips and will be desperate to put further daylight between them and the bottom three. United, on the other hand, have virtually nothing to play four, apart from trying to swerve the minefield that is the Europa League, which is currently six points away, even though United have a game in hand on Spurs, who face a tricky trip to East London. Giggs, however, has made abundantly clear that he wants his players to win the remaining three games and expect United to set out to attack tomorrow, hopefully picking up where they left off against Norwich. Robin Van Persie has returned to training but might not be fit in time for tomorrow, which means Danny Welbeck could be leading the line given Wayne Rooney is out injured, with a stomach bug and a groin strain. Considering the stories that have emerged this week regarding Rooney’s alleged dislike for Louis Van Gaal, the timing of his injury is suspect to say the least but, then again, it all has a feeling of deja-vu to it. Juan Mata should replace Antonio Valencia, which means we might even see a few crosses reaching their intended target, while Marouane Fellaini might feature at some stage, given Giggsy has said he wants to give minutes on the pitch to a lot of squad players over the next four days, meaning even the human bog brush might get a chance. In the League Cup semifinals, United delivered two of the worst performances of the season, here’s hoping tomorrow will be another step in the right direction. If nothing else, at least we already know we won’t have to suffer the ignominy of another penalty shootout. Probable starting XI:
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| United to unveil Van Gaal next week Posted: 01 May 2014 04:19 PM PDT
Reports published last night by different sources, including the Mirror and the Telegraph, suggest the Dutchman has agreed terms with Manchester United and will sign a two-year deal with the option to extend his contract for a further 12 months.
The Mirror reported late last night that Van Gaal could be announced after United’s final home game of the season against Hull on Tuesday night, which would then leave the former Ajax, Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager free to concentrate on preparing Holland’s World Cup campaign. Van Gaal had made clear that Holland will be his only focus from May 7 onwards and if United think he’s the right man for the job then they must secure his services before he turns his attention to the World Cup. Van Gaal is expected to bring some of his staff at Old Trafford, including goalkeeping coach Frans Hoek, physio Jos van Dijk and video analyst Max Reckers and some suggest he might also try to lure Patrick Kluivert to Manchester, to act as his assistant manager. The former Ajax, AC Milan and Barcelona striker, who famously refused to move to Old Trafford as a player, is Van Gaal’s assistant manager with Holland and were he to join Van Gaal, a decision would have to be made about Ryan Giggs’ future. Giggsy took charge of his first game as interim manager last weekend and clamour has grown for him to be appointed on a permanent basis, despite his lack of experience at this level. Van Gaal would represent a much more experienced and, in many ways, better option, even though he won’t be able to get started until after the World Cup. |
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