Republik Of Mancunia |
- LvG’s first programme notes as United manager
- United vs FC Bayern All Star Match – Fan Report Pt. 2 (#AskALegend Winner!)
- VIEW FROM THE ENEMY: West Ham fan on Ravel Morrison, United signing Borg and unpopular Big Sam
| LvG’s first programme notes as United manager Posted: 12 Aug 2014 09:58 AM PDT I am looking forward to walking out into the stadium as the manager of Manchester United, as I know it will be a special moment for me. ‘I have been here before, of course, as a manager with Barcelona and Bayern Munich, and I know just how difficult it is for visiting teams at Old Trafford. I am really looking forward to having you on the same side as my players. After tonight’s game we will be fully concentrating on the start of the Premier League, which I am really looking forward to. I have managed in Spain and in Germany and in the Netherlands, so there was only one football country I wanted to see inside and that was England, because of the level of the Premier League and because of the atmosphere. I cannot wait to get started. I wanted to see an improvement in our performances as the tour went along, and that was mainly the case. In the first of the match against Liverpool, I must say that we were very weak, but the spirit of the team turned that around. The players wanted to show themselves as a team and that is very important for me. I could see winning that particular match brought a lot of pleasure to our fans, and I was pleased that we were able to make them happy. |
| United vs FC Bayern All Star Match – Fan Report Pt. 2 (#AskALegend Winner!) Posted: 12 Aug 2014 09:00 AM PDT
Day 2 …. Everything I wrote about yesterday (See HERE) was fantastic but hands down the highlight of Saturday for me was of course meeting the lads representing the Manchester United Foundation. After the game with the FC Bayern Legends all of the players made their way to the mix zone and took time talking to the press and other lucky folk like myself who happened to be packed in there. Given they had just been involved in what must have been a knackering match I thought it was frankly amazing they were as generous with their time as they were.. It's pointless me saying too much about how the players were individually as the same could be said about them to a man. They were friendly, happy to talk and seemingly humbled to have been wearing the United shirt once again. Each and every one of them sheer class, fantastic representatives of the club on foreign soil. So who won our #AskALegend competition? Congratulations to Mark Donovan who sent me his question on Twitter: Mark Donovan @hughsie_10 Aug 7 Mark's question was simple but extremely effective at breaking the ice with each of the players I got to talk to. Most of them answered with something along the lines of 'he will make sure they do much better then last season'. It was Robbo however who I think best summed up the current state of affairs when he said that LVG had restored a lot of belief around the club and although he didn’t want us getting ahead of ourselves he had a good feeling about the incoming year.
Speaking of Robbo it was amazing to see him looking in such great health. He told me he thought it was great that two great clubs like Bayern and United could be such great rivals yet have some much respect for each other. He also said it felt great pulling on the United shirt again and that health wise he was doing well. Just for the record I did have all of your questions printed with me but it was incredibly hard asking them with the amount of press all around me!
Ronny Johnsen – What a nice guy! Seriously nice chap! I told him I wasn't expecting to see him as he wasn't on the team sheet the week leading up to the event but he said he was always meant to play so I have no idea why he wasn't promoted beforehand. Phil Neville - I asked Phil whether he enjoyed his stint on BBC Test Match Special the day before and whether he was looking forward to his new MOTD gig. He confirmed he was and that he felt he was always improving as a commentator. He turned the tables on me asking if I enjoyed his interview on TMS, which I of course confirmed I did. Dennis Irwin – really funny guy! I asked him about whether he thought he would fit in LVG's wing back system at which point he looked at me like I was an idiot and told he would have been first name on the team sheet, he did of course flash his cheeky Irish grin second later. Interestingly he also said he would have preferred to have played on the right side of the wing back system.
Andrew Cole – I bottled asking him why he wasn't Andy anymore! He did say though he had no interest in management, especially not interested in starting up a management duo with Yorkie ☺ Jesper Blomqvist – In my other enthusiasm talking to Ronny J I was told by my pal I ignored your attempt to sign my shirt! If in the one in a billion chance you read this I sincerely apologise Jesper. Just for the record I thought you were one of the better players on the pitch in the Legends game. So did I get to meet the man … of course I did
Paul Scholes – There wasn't a hope in hell of me asking this guy any questions as he was mobbed as soon as he emerged in the press zone. I did manage to get him to sign my shirt and a cheeky photo but apart from asking him if he enjoyed the game and whether he was tired after playing two games in three days (both of which he confirmed!), I'm afraid I didn't get much time to speak to him. Heck it was enough for me! I met the Paul Scholes!!! For the minute that is most of what I can recall. Again a big thanks to Allianz Insurance and FC Bayern inviting me along to report on the game and setting up such a special day. Congrats again to Mark Donovan – I'm going to be hassling you on Twitter for your postal details the minute I post this. Signing off…. JIM |
| VIEW FROM THE ENEMY: West Ham fan on Ravel Morrison, United signing Borg and unpopular Big Sam Posted: 12 Aug 2014 01:00 AM PDT In preparation for the 2014-15 season, The Republik of Mancunia has spoken to fans of all the clubs in the Premier League about last season, next season, their own clubs and their thoughts on United. Iain Dale is the editor of WestHamTillIDie.com and presents LBC’s Drivetime Show. Follow @iaindalewestham on Twitter. Scott: How did you rate 2013-14 for West Ham? Ian: Well it turned out Ok in the end, as we finished higher than looked likely for most of the season. But it could have been an absolute disaster. Had we not won four matches on the trot in February things could have been very different. Scott: Who was your best performing player? Ian: The most consistent player over the season was undoubtedly Mark Noble. If he were playing in most other teams he’d have been in the England World Cup squad. He’s a great tackler and sprays the ball around the field well and takes a great penalty. Scott: Which player are you expecting to be most important for you in 2014-15? Ian: Our problem last season was a lack of goals. Defensively we were actually quite strong for most of the season. With Andy Carroll out for four months again we look to Valencia and Zarate for goals. Let’s hope they deliver. Scott: Do you want to see Ravel Morrison stay at the club? Ian: Yes. He’s trouble writ large but an incredible talent. Unfortunately I think Sam Allardyce has lost patience with him. Scott: Are you happy with your manager? Ian: Sam Allardyce did what was expected and got us back in the Premier League and in our first season back we came tenth. In some ways you can’t argue with that, but the style of football he plays was never going to go down well with West Ham aficionados. Last season he was rather contemptuous of the fans and it culminated in me and other blogs carrying out a supporters poll. More than 12000 fans took part and 77% of them voted for him to go. And he came within a whisker of being sacked. Scott: Popular chap then. What do you think he will achieve with your club this season? Ian: Anything above tenth would be a fantastic performance. We had a good cup run last season in the League Cup and I’d like to see a repeat of that. It’s about time we got to a final again. Scott: Are you happy with your club's performance in the transfer window this summer? Ian: There’s been quite a clearout of deadwood and we have so far signed six new players. We’ve signed two new strikers, Xarate and Valencia, along with defensive midfielder Koyaute from Anderlecht, who can also play in central defence. Adam Cresswell, the best left back in the Championship, has come in from Ipswich and the highly rated Cark Jenkinson from Arsenal. I think we have done well so far but I still think we need another top class centre back and another striker. Scott: If you could have one United player, who would it be? Ian: Van Persie. Head and shoulders above anyone else. Scott: What do you think about Oscar Borg? Ian: Obviously clubs like Man U are going to be interested in major talents. I believe they tried to sign Rio when he was that age. Would have saved them £30 million! But still, keep your thieving mitts off. Scott: Can you believe United were as bad as they were last season? Ian: It was tragic to observe in many ways. I felt sorry for Moyes but clearly he was out of his depth and lost the dressing room very early on. Scott: How do you expect United to perform this season? Ian: I think this is going to be a transitional season and I think United may well struggle again to get into the top four. Scott: Who do you think will win the league? Ian: I think it’s very open again, which is a good thing. It’s difficult to see beyond Man City again, although it will be interesting to see how Liverpool cope with the loss of Suarez. |
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