Red Rants |
- Easy start to boost the feel good factor
- Manchester United players to look out for in the World Cup
- Defender wants United exit
| Easy start to boost the feel good factor Posted: 19 Jun 2014 01:40 AM PDT
United start off against Swansea at home , the same opening day fixture as last season which will give Van Gaal an early chance – one which, admittedly, will be influenced by United’s business in the transfer window – to show the Old Trafford crowd what they can expect to see in the following months and, perhaps, years. On paper at least, he next seven games are all very winnable, with the only real test coming in the shape of Everton, who visit Old Trafford on October 4th, and United will be looking to put the two disastrous defeats against the Toffees last season behind them.
At the end of October, United face their first real test of the season against Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea in a game that Van Gaal will be desperate to win as it would set down a marker for the rest of the campaign and it would also ensure United avoid a repetition of last season’s fiasco when Moyes failed to win any matches against the top four bar Arsenal at home. With Chelsea having already clinched the signing of Cesc Fabregas and with Diego Costa poised to join his Spain teammates at Stamford Bridge, the Blues will arguably be one of the favourites for the title next season but, as shown by Holland’s 5-1 demolition of Spain at the World Cup, Van Gaal is not new to mastermind wins against the odds-on favourites. A week later United travel across town to face City, the first testing away game in November, followed by a trip to the Emirates three weeks later after which United fans should have a clearer picture of the direction the team has taken under Van Gaal. Last season United were embarrassed at the Etihad as City ran riot and condemned United to a second defeat in five games, as the first doubts about Moyes’ tenure began to creep in. Home fixtures against Crystal Palace and Hull on either side of the trip to Emirates are both winnable games and United will be expected to pick up six points in those two games before they head into December, a month jam packed with fixtures. United play six matches in total in the final month of the year, including Liverpool at home , Southampton away and Spurs at White Hart Lane to name but a few, with Newcastle visiting Old Trafford on Boxing Day for the second time in three seasons while New Year’s Day has a glamorous trip to the Britannia in store for the Reds, in what is sure to be a tough clash. January and February are two easy enough months for United with them facing all three newly promoted sides in four games even though, sadly, there’ll be nothing exciting about the draw for the Champions League round of 16 this time around. The trip to Stoke and the one to West Ham at the beginning of February are potential banana skins but United will be expected to see them out, while home games against Southampton, Leicester, Burnley and Sunderland as well as trips to Swansea and QPR should give United a good platform to build upon ahead of the following two months. March and April are probably the most challenging two months of the season with United facing all of the top teams apart from Arsenal, with a trip to Anfield at the end of March followed by back-to-back games against City, Chelsea and Everton in what could, potentially, be a defining moment for United’s fortunes. The derby and trips to Stamford Bridge and Goodison Park look particularly tricky assignments, though United could have the advantage of a fresher squad over their opponents, should City, Chelsea and Everton find themselves still involved in European competitions and, were United to emerge unscathed from those three games, they could then look forward to a reasonably easy run-in. Trips to Crystal Palace and Hull – on the last game of the season – are preceded by a home game against West Brom, while Arsenal visit Old Trafford on the penultimate weekend of the season in what could well prove to be a title decider. All in all, however, Van Gaal will be happy with these fixtures as the easy start will give him a chance to get settled in and give United fans something to cheer about. The feel-good factor and the expectations are there, but to live up to them United will have to deliver in the transfer window first. Daniel Roche O’ Rourke (follow @Daniel_ROR) |
| Manchester United players to look out for in the World Cup Posted: 18 Jun 2014 02:09 PM PDT
FC Barcelona and Chelsea are the only clubs to have more representatives, with 16 and 15 respectively. However, of the top three clubs represented in the World Cup, Man Utd is the only one with players from each line of play. Furthermore, it is the only team with a manager currently engaged in the tournament.
Here is a line-by-line breakdown of the Red Devils present in Brazil, and what to expect from their performances. Strikers Offensive players have showed mixed results in their Brazilian campaign : Van Persie delivered an artful performance in Holland's win over Spain, while Rooney and Wellbeck displayed a more effortful game against Italy. As for Nani and Hernandez, their pivotal role respectively in the Portuguese and Mexican offense will decide the qualification. The best marker of their expected results in the World Cup are their odds to become top goalscorer in the tournament. These are as follows: Robin Van Persie : 8/1 The referrer code offered by Bet365 allows players to place their first wager free of risk. Midfielders Organising the game for Belgium, much is expected from Fellaini and Januzaj to carry Belgium – the other Red Devils – to new heights. Kagawa and Valencia will have the difficult task of qualifying Japan and Ecuador, both in great difficulty after losing their opening match in the competition. Defenders Patrice Evra will be occupying the left flank of the French defence, where he worked tirelessly in France's win over Honduras. Smalling and Jones, both on the bench for England's opening match, could clinch a position in the starting eleven should Hodgson need to rearrange the squad. Goalkeepers Spain's astounding collapse against Holland and especially Casillas' much criticised performance, which he described himself as 'the worst in his career', should benefit De Gea. Managers The real surprise, and that is one no other club can claim to have, is that Louis Van Gaal, the Netherlands' managers and architect of the ruthless victory over Spain will be sitting on the bench in Old Trafford next season. |
| Posted: 18 Jun 2014 08:11 AM PDT
The Dutch left-back was a surprise signing from Vitesse Arnhem two years ago and failed to establish himself at United, playing just 28 times for the first team – even though, bizarrely, he claimed he was named man of the match 14 times over his first two seasons at the club – and with Patrice Evra extending his contract for another 12 months and Southampton’s Luke Shaw firmly on Van Gaal’s radar, Buttner’s time at United is very much up.
"Van Gaal never gave me the chance in the Dutch national team, despite being voted man of the match 14 times at Manchester United," he told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf. "Apparently he is not very confident about me. So I think this is the right moment to leave." His agent, Alexander Bursac, insisted his client remaining at Old Trafford was "not an option". "In the past two years, Louis van Gaal has ignored Buttner time after time so what kind of perspective does he have when Van Gaal becomes his new club coach?" Bursac told Dutch magazine Voetbal International. "Patrice Evra signed a new contract and with Luke Shaw they want to buy another player for Buttner's position. To stay at Manchester United was not an option for Buttner. Dinamo Moscow has great plans for the future and they want to challenge for the title."
|
With 14 players in the final 23 for each country, Manchester United will have the third largest contingent in Brazil.
| You are subscribed to email updates from Red Rants To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
Written by TBMU Admin
We are Manchester United Fan located around the World which provides user friendly, effective and easy to browse info regarding our Team. Each support/info is free. Support us by clicking the ads located in this site. Thanks
Posts
0 comments :
Post a Comment