Saturday, 23 August 2014

Recovery will take time, says Van Gaal

14:08

By: TBMU Admin On: 14:08   In:   No comments

Recovery will take time, says Van Gaal

Recovery will take time, says Van Gaal

Posted: 22 Aug 2014 05:13 PM PDT

After an unbeaten pre-season, which included five wins on their tour of the United States, Van Gaals team opened their Premier League campaign with a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Swansea City at Old Trafford last week. Questions marks have since been raised as to whether United will miss out on European football for a second consecutive season, having finished seventh in 2013-14. But speaking ahead of Sundays trip to Sunderland, Van Gaal urged the Old Trafford faithful to believe in the new philosophy, as he looks to bring success back to the club. I think the fans of Manchester are intelligent and I have already said in all the press conferences in the United States that the first three months shall be difficult for the players especially, Van Gaal told reporters on Friday. But also for the fans and I said also to Ed Woodward and the Glazer family and it is like that. They have hired me because of my philosophy, not because I am a very nice person, I am but it is my philosophy they have hired and I am not hired to be fired. The Dutchman added: I can imagine that fans are also scared because they have seen already the last year and now also the first home match and I can imagine that. They have to believe in the philosophy that we bring in this club and the players are believing and they have showed it in the United States. Now they have to show it here and that needs time.

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The FourFourTwo Preview: Sunderland vs Man United

Posted: 22 Aug 2014 09:41 AM PDT

The availability ofNetherlands star Van Persie, given an extended break after the World Cup,will boostmanager Louis van Gaal, who will hope to prove last week's 2-1 home defeat to Swansea City was an aberration. A promising pre-season tour and the arrivals of Van Gaal, midfielder Ander Herrera and defender Luke Shaw lifted the gloom around Old Trafford after a disastrous seventh-placed finish last term. But last Saturday's result proved that change is a gradual process, and that the ex-Netherlands coach has much work to do on his side if they are to claim a top-four finish. But while Herrera, Marouane Fellaini (both ankle) and Jesse Lingard (leg) have been added to United's lengthy injury list, the inclusion of Van Persie -scorer of 38 goals in 59 Premier League appearances for the club -is a lift. "Robin is ready to play, so that is a big benefit for our team," Van Gaal said on Friday. "I'm very happy that he is now able to play. "Last week, we had nine injuries and now we have seven. It's much too much. I have had this as a manager for the first time. We have to live with this. "We have four injured midfielders -[Michael] Carrick, from the beginning, but now also Herrera, Fellaini and Lingard,we are thin on midfielders now. Van Gaal also pleaded with the club's supporters to give him time to reverse their fortunes, adding: "Two weeks ago I was the king of Manchester. Now I am the devil of Manchester. "I was not hired to be fired, but to build up a team and that is a process that needs time." Danny Welbeck, Antonio Valencia and Jonny Evans could also make returns - although Van Gaal's latest signing, Marcos Rojo, is ineligible -for a United side that hasalready lost to Sunderland twice in 2014. First came a League Cup semi-final, which Sunderland won on penalties, before Ryan Giggs' second game as United's interim manager -as replacement for David Moyes -finished in a 1-0 home defeat. That result was one of many surprise wins gained by Sunderland in the latter stages of last term as they avoided relegation against the odds. Sunderland started this seasonwith a 2-2 draw at West Brom last week, with Sebastian Larsson -scorer of the only goal at Old Trafford in May -netting an 85th-minute equaliser for Gus Poyet's side. Despite a good recent record against United, it is 17 years since Sunderland, who will miss Emanuele Giaccherini (groin), beat them at home in a Premier League match.

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Man United boss Van Gaal enchanted by Rojo

Posted: 22 Aug 2014 08:33 AM PDT

The Manchester United manager - then in charge of the Netherlands - was preparing for his side's semi-final clash with Argentina when he analysed footage of Rojo. And Van Gaal is delighted to have the chance to coach the player, who completed a £16 million move from Sporting Lisbon earlier this week. "I played him in the World Cupagainst Argentina,so Ihadto analyse Argentina," he said. "[From] that video Iwas already enchantedabout himbecause my philosophyis you have to buy players who fit in the profile, and Ithink Marcos fits in the profile as a left central defender but also as a left wing back. "He played a fantastic World Cup, so I am very pleased." Rojo is equally happy to have finally completed his move to Old Trafford. "I'm very happy to be here at the biggest club in the world," he said."It's a great honour. "It [the transfer] was a little bit of a long process, but the most important thing is that I'm here now and ready." Rojo also revealed he had received messages from his compatriots at local rivals Manchester City, who include Sergio Aguero, Martin Demichelis and Pablo Zabaleta. "I've received messages from all of them:'Congratulations and welcome to Manchester'," he added. "We know each other outside of football as well." On the subject of the potential departure of striker Danny Welbeck, Van Gaal added:"I know what I said to Danny and Danny knows exactly what I said to him. That is private." Manchester United visit Sunderland in the Premier League on Sunday.

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Oh, I saw it on a great Vine: why the instant video platform is catering where others arent

Posted: 22 Aug 2014 05:00 AM PDT

The new Premier League season was one hour old. A refreshed 22-year-old West Ham fan, Jordan Dunn, climbed out of his seat and embarked on an 80-yard sprint across the pitch. Evading several stewards, he ran past Christian Eriksen, who was lining up to take up a Spurs free-kick just outside the box. The fan, despite sporting jeans and a pair of bright red Converse, had decided to adopt free-kick duties himself, and set about striking the ball towards Adrian in the West Ham goal. The Spaniard saved it. The young fan continued his sprint and was eventually arrested. He woke up the next day with a sore head, the prospect of a lengthy ban and a £5,000 fine –but he'd also unwittingly created one of the most shared moments on social media last week. On Twitter, Gary Lineker joked how he'd "made a better fist of it than Eriksen", while one bookie claimed: "he's just done what every football fan has wanted to do." Soon others were talking up its merits online, watching the match themselves via their own legitimate streams. Minutes later, though, we could all see it for ourselves anyway. An anonymous fan had uploaded it to the relatively new short video clip platform, Vine, and its notoriety spread all over social media. Online articles helped the clip rack up an astonishing 11m+ views (or 'loops') in a matter of days. There really isn't anything new about fans using devices to tell the story of being fans, of course. Martin Belam, launch editor of Row Zed, the Mirror's online football site which frequently uses Vine clips in its stories, argues that sharing and publishing like this has a long tradition. "I kind of see social media as an extension of fanzine culture –people taking an oblique view at the sport, unencumbered with the things that mainstream media have to worry about, like not upsetting clubs, rights holders or football associations," he says. Vine, launched only in January 2013, is, along with Instagram Video and the longstanding GIF format, one of several ways in which mobile users can share extremely short video clips. It claims to have 100m users worldwide, and came into its own during the World Cup. The big talking points –Van Persie's wonder goal, the Suarez bite, the crowd 'fanzone' reaction shots, and of course, the vanishing foam –were turned into instant memes generated by a single user pointing a smartphone at his TV, pressing rewind, clicking publish and then distributing the entire moment, for free, a few seconds later. Upsetting the suits But this fan-led activity, however rough and ready, and however innocent, is finally upsetting rights holders. Last week the Premier League, mindful of its exclusive contracts with (among others) The Sunday Times and The Sun to provide realtime goals to mobile subscribers, signalled that it was going to collaborate (as it has done with YouTube in previous years) with Twitter to curtail the activities of prolific Vine publishers. Dan Johnson, the League's Director of Communications, told the BBC: "Ultimately it is against the law. It's a breach of copyright and we would discourage fans from doing it. I know it sounds as if we're killjoys but we have to protect our intellectual property." Twitter and Vine merely directed media enquiries to their terms: "Vine users may not post content that violates the rights of a third party." A survey of the most popular moments last weekend showed that several Premier League Vine clips (including Jordan Dunn's Upton Park free-kick) were no longer available a few days after their original posting, although alternative versions had sprung up. Stuart Fuller, Director of Commercial at online brand protection company Netnames, is doubtful as to the ease with which any clampdown can be sustained. "The motivation of a person in posting Aaron Ramsey's 90th-minute winner for Arsenal against Crystal Palace on Saturday is not to damage anyone's intellectual property, but to share the moment with fellow fans," he says. "Any rights holder would have to invest significant sums of money in a complex and far-reaching social media monitoring solution that can initially identify a specific keyword ("Arsenal") and then connect it to a file like a Vine clip. Once they have identified it, they would then have to request enforcement from the media hoster, such as Twitter, by which time there would probably have been another goal scored and the focus shifts once again." Filling a void The leading football Vine Twitter account, @FootballVines, now has over half a million followers and shares some of the best clips daily, created by others, from around the world. Of the last 200 clips it has shared, only a small percentage are goals. The rest are a mix of training ground japes, gaffes, 'tekkers', tunnel footage, memes, laughs and jokes. Only three have been removed or were no longer available. There is, of course, a long tradition of fans lapping up this type of stuff; Danny Baker's gaffes and own goals videos from the early 90s, the brief few seasons of Fantasy Football, and Sky's Soccer AM, now in its third decade, have all satisfied the desire for fans to poke fun at players, clubs and themselves using left-field or unofficial footage. Some of the more social media-savvy clubs are tackling this demand head on. QPR's award-winning social media team routinely integrate fan activity into their output and use a dizzying array of social media platforms to share news, celebrate success and exploit their access to players on daily basis. The Rs' social media manager Adam Hulme explains: "We always put ourselves into the fans' shoes and ask ourselves where they would like to go on a matchday or what they'd like see. We use [platforms like Vine] to bring fans closer to the players and the club." Many fans and Vine users may argue that, like music and film beforehand, new digital tools like Vine are serving to highlight a need among fans that isn't yet being catered for. Stuart Fuller agrees. "I think that people are genuinely getting bored or saturated by seeing the same footage time and time again," he says."Broadcasters will never show pitch invasions, fans bouncing around like loons or Gazza-esque japes because it could be seen as damaging the brand image of associated sponsors or rights holders." Says the Mirror'sMartin Belam: "It is the unusual thing that gets people sharing. I can understand why rights holders are unhappy with fans posting clips, but then, at the moment, the rights holders aren't doing anything themselves with this type of content."

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The FourFourTwo Preview: Sunderland vs Man United

Posted: 22 Aug 2014 02:09 AM PDT

Billed as Louis van Gaal's surprisingly big hard one. The lowdown Suddenly, easy seems hard. When the much-feared Fixture Computer gave Manchester United an opening run of Swansea, Sunderland, Burnley, QPR, Leicester and West Ham, fans and pundits rubbed their hands and declared it a dolly of a start for Louis van Gaal – especially compared to Davie Moyes's initial tasklist last season, which included Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City in the first five games. Then Swansea, who had been turned over with ease in Moyes' opener, went to Old Trafford and humbled Van Gaal, forcing him to abandon his back three by half-time and redouble his efforts in the transfer market. After a quite possibly overcelebrated pre-season, United seem a team in flux again. Can Sunderland pour salt in a Swansea-shaped wound? They have previous: in January, after the Swans engaged in the growing fashion of visitors winning at Old Trafford by handing United only their second FA Cup Third Round loss in 30 years, Sunderland made it worse by reviving the almost forgotten art of beating United in a domestic semi-final. Symbolically for the Moyes era, United limped out of the League Cup at home, via a haphazard penalty shootout, in the semi-final: close, but only a comically exploding cigar. But while Sunderland have recently given Old Trafford nightmares – they popped back later in the season to spoil Ryan Giggs' day with a 1-0 win – they have long been the most generous of hosts. The last Sunderland player to score a home league winner against United was John Mullin in one of Roker Park's final games. At the Stadium of Light, Sunderland have never beaten United, who have won 11 of the 14 clashes there. Even Moyes' United took three points there last autumn, thanks to Adnan Januzaj. Furthermore, Sunderland are also a team in flux. After that frantic fairytale ending to last season, the summer transfer window has been somewhat underwhelming. Gus Poyet has signed half a dozen fairly undistinguished journeymen: Costel Pantilimon, Patrick van Aanholt, Billy Jones, Santiago Vergini, Jordi Gomez – none are walking disasters, but few will quicken the fans' step toward the stadium. While hoping that Jack Rodwell and Will Buckley fulfil their potential, Poyet will be desperately trying to convince Fabio Borini to follow last season's loan with a permanent move. Sunderland could really use the Italian's tireless endeavour to threaten United's back-line. Van Gaal's preferred 3-4-1-2 worked for a Dutch side happy with minority possession, but while it permits an attacking trio of Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie and Juan Mata, there are serious holes for Van Gaal –and United's chief cheque-signer Edward Woodward –to fill further back. The Dutchman caused a social-media buzz at 2pm last week by selecting academy graduates Tyler Blackett and Jesse Lingard at left centre-back and right wing-back respectively, but just as eye-opening was his faith in Ashley Young as a left wing-back: surely the squarest peg. With Luke Shaw injured, Van Gaal may hope to rush Marcos Rojo into service at wing-back and persist with Blackett, who did little wrong against Swansea. As he will surely be reminding Woodward, he has few other defensive options in the absence of Patrice Evra, Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, whose departures were hardly a shock. Last season, Sunderland proved themselves capable of beating the top teams. Whether United still count as a top team is perhaps a moot point, but a home win here would provoke overdue delight on Wearside –and increase the scrutiny on Van Gaal and Woodward. Team news Cue trumpets: Van Persie comes riding through the glen to assist his compatriot gaffer. Nearing match fitness, the forward is expected to make a very welcome return to United's line-up, allowing Van Gaal to field that attacking trio of brio. In less happy news, picture the panic as Van Gaal is told that one of his players has suspected ankle-ligament damage; now make your own punchline when he finds it's Marouane Fellaini. The bouffanted Belgian, who twice knocked his ankle ligaments at Everton, needs a second set of scans to assess the damage, not least to his resale value. Lingard, who was pictured last Sunday on crutches and in a cast, is also out of the picture but fear not, academy fans: Tom Cleverley's over his 24-hour bug. By contrast, not much in the way of team news up at Sunderland, just transfer whispers about Danny Welbeck, Eduardo Vargas and that man Borini. Key battle: Steven Fletcher vs Chris Smalling Perhaps more peripheral than they would have wished last season –Smalling often at right-back, Fletcher frequently injured – these two find themselves back at the heart of things, but will want to do better than last weekend. At West Brom, Sunderland's central striker didn't have a single shot, only completed one pass in the final third and only won one header in the Baggies' half (green arrows indicate headers won, orange lost). At the heart of United's three-man back-line against Swansea, Smalling was far from disastrous, with a high pass rate and a match-leading 7 aerial duels won, but no Red Devil will remember the game fondly. The managers Poyet has a good record against United; having taken over immediately after that home league defeat last October, he has presided over that May win at Old Trafford, plus the aggregate victory in the League Cup semi-final – each leg a 2-1 home win, although Sunderland's "defeat" at OT quickly begat penalty joy. Van Gaal may not be able to find Sunderland on a map, but presumably that's the coach driver's job. Facts and figures Sunderland's win at Old Trafford in May ended a run of 23 league games against United without a win. United have conceded just 2 goals in their last 7 trips to the Stadium of Light in the Premier League. Sunderland have scored at least once in 10 of their last 11 Premier League games. More FFT Stats Zone facts FourFourTwo prediction Both were better away than at home last season, and Van Gaal's system suits the road. United's front three need to make up for their young back-line and weak midfield, and should just about manage it. 1-2. Sunderland vs Man United LIVE ANALYSIS with Stats Zone document.getElementById('tag20140822111410').innerHTML = returnText_tag20140822111410();

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Blanc admits Di Maria transfer difficult

Posted: 21 Aug 2014 06:50 PM PDT

Ligue 1 champions PSG and Premier League side Manchester United are reportedly in a tug-of-war for the services of Di Maria after Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti revealed on Thursday the star winger had asked to leave the UEFA Champions League winners. The French capital club's attempts to sign Di Maria have proved difficult thus far due to financial implications for breaching FFP rules last season. PSG have already spent €58 million on defensive pair David Luiz and Serge Aurier, meaning Blanc must part ways with one of his prized assets before he can make a move for the 26-year-old Argentina international. "There are many clubs interested in Di Maria. PSG cannot do what we want. It's a difficult case," Blanc told reporters ahead of Saturday's trip to Evian. "PSG cannot do what it wants in terms of recruitment [because of financial fair play]. This is a difficult issue, the president has confirmed to me." While prising Di Maria away from the Bernabeu appears to be an uphill battle, it did not stop fellow Argentina international Javier Pastore from talking up a potential transfer. "He's a great player. If he joins that's good for PSG. He did very well last year at Real and also with Argentina in the World Cup," said Pastore. "If he comes it will be to keep on winning silverware."

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