Thursday, 14 August 2014

Republik Of Mancunia

08:04

By: TBMU Admin On: 08:04   In:   No comments

Republik Of Mancunia

Manchester United’s shirt numbers 2014-15

Posted: 13 Aug 2014 04:30 PM PDT

1. De Gea; 2. Rafael; 3. Shaw; 4. Jones; 6. Evans; 8. Mata; 10. Rooney; 11. Januzaj; 12. Smalling; 13. Lindegaard; 14. Chicharito; 16. Carrick; 17. Nani; 18. Young; 19. Welbeck; 20. van Persie; 21. Herrera; 22. Powell; 23. Cleverley; 24. Fletcher; 25. Valencia; 26. Kagawa; 28. Anderson; 29. Zaha; 30. Varela; 31. Fellaini; 34. Lawrence; 35. Lingard; 36. Vermijl; 38. M Keane; 39. Thorpe; 40. Amos; 41. James; 42. Blackett; 45. Petrucci; 46. Rothwell; 48. W Keane; 49. Wilson; 50. Johnstone

Reaction to Rooney captaincy

Posted: 13 Aug 2014 01:35 AM PDT

I used to love Wayne Rooney. I knew he joined the club as an Everton fan but he seemed to really get what playing for United was all about.

Rooney would repeatedly talk about how he wanted to spend his entire career here, how he wanted to be viewed by the fans in the same way Giggs was, and how much he hated Liverpool.

He would kiss the badge, he scored almost every time he played against City, and appeared to fully embrace life as a Manchester United player.

However, things took a turn for the worst in 2010 when, with less than a year of his contract remaining, he released a statement to confirm he would not be signing an extension with United.

The reason he gave was, after a meeting with David Gill, his belief that United would not match his ambition. It was insane. United won trophies more regularly than any other club in the country. And had Gill really sat down with Rooney and revealed our transfer plans?

The insanity of his statement was confirmed at the end of the season when United won the record breaking 19th league title and he scored a goal in the European Cup final.

I had been naive and it was probably silly to think that players in this day and age could stay loyal to a club. But it was Rooney’s behaviour and comments in the press that lead us to believe that. Why say all that stuff? Why pretend that you’re a red? There’s no shame in just giving your best for the club, which he always has done, whilst being open to the fact you could one day leave.

Cristiano Ronaldo was a fantastic player for United, had a great bond with the fans, but made no secret of the fact we were essentially a stepping stone. He was always going to leave us for Real Madrid one day. You can’t begrudge players moving on, no matter how disappointed you might be to see them go.

Rooney had never been indifferent about his future though and regularly pledged it to the club. It was totally unnecessary to do that though and that’s why his decision to leave was all the more frustrating and upsetting for the supporters.

Whilst some fans are in denial about the fact he was ready to leave us for City, it is well known that the club thought it was a done deal. Paul Stretford had been in talks with our neighbours which lead Rooney to release his statement in October, possibly to put pressure on the club to sell him in January to ensure we could get as much for him as possible. It’s naive in the extreme to believe Rooney’s later denials of this agreement with City. Who announces in October they are certainly leaving without the promise of a better deal elsewhere.

Still, the press’ reaction to Rooney’s claims about United’s ambition, ridiculing him for his reasons, a blinding press conference from Sir Alex Ferguson, a home visit from some unhappy fans, and the promise of being the best paid player in the country, persuaded Rooney to stay put.

Everyone is entitled to a mistake though, so whilst many fans refused to forgive this betrayal, the majority of match-going reds welcomed him back. He talked about how it was the biggest mistake of his life (bear in mind he was paid a grandmother for sex when he was a teenager and another prostitute when his wife was pregnant with his child) and again committed himself to the club. He’d had a wobble but now it was certain he would be at United forever.

If that was the end of the story, then you could probably understand Louis van Gaal’s decision to name him as captain.

Sadly, last summer was a new chapter in Rooney’s betrayal, with him angling for a move to Chelsea.

He learnt the mistakes from three years earlier though and this time refused to confirm or deny any stories. However, “sources close to the player” leaked information to the press all summer about his unhappiness at United and his desire to join the London club.

Ferguson had confirmed the player had told him he wanted to leave. This is a claim Rooney has never denied.

The only thing Rooney did release a statement about was to refute articles claiming he had changed his Twitter bio from “Manchester United player” to “Nike athlete”. It turned out he’d never mentioned the club in his bio and that all players signed up to Nike changed their bio to reflect this.

It was clear Rooney was keen to go, even though Ferguson was no longer manager and his old pal David Moyes was. His relationship with the former manager had broken down, but any troubles with Moyes were water under the bridge.

Chelsea put in a couple of derisory bids and Jose Mourinho repeatedly spoke of his desire to sign him. Rooney remained silent… until confirming he had signed a new deal.

By this stage, United fans were so desperate for good players and to do well that any resentment towards Rooney wasn’t considered appropriate. Ferguson was gone and in his place was a man who’d won nothing in his career. The fans weren’t about to put pressure on a player to leave, when doing that would certainly ensure Chelsea would be champions at the end of the season.

During the first game of the season, with the transfer window still open, the travelling supporters at Swansea sung his name and clapped him off the pitch. He couldn’t use the fans turning against him as an excuse to go.

So, Rooney settled to see out his playing days at United. In doing so, he will almost certainly replace Sir Bobby Charlton’s record for the club’s top scorer. Imagine having to be persuaded not to join Chelsea when that record was waiting for you. But essentially, Rooney had no choice. He either signed a new contract or the club would let him leave on a free transfer just before he turned 30 when his current deal expired. With his waning fitness, there’s no guarantee that Chelsea or another club he was keen on joining would pay him a top salary then.

His contract isn’t the massive £250k-a-week that was initially reported, but something closer to the £180k-a-week he was already on with the potential to make more money from sponsors. But that’s still more than any club in England would have been prepared to pay him.

Whilst I recognise and appreciate all the good qualities Rooney has, like his desire to win, his ability to be one of the most effective players every season, and his love of football, I can’t be happy about him captaining our club.

If Rooney had his way, he wouldn’t be captain of United and on the way to breaking Charlton’s record, he’d be at City or Chelsea. And every time he played against us our fans would give him so much shit and he would respond by kissing their badge, just like he did to his boyhood club.

As it is, Rooney has made his peace with having little option but staying at United, and the captaincy can sweeten the deal.

But then maybe that’s just the way football works though. Whilst Nemanja Vidic didn’t behave like Rooney and his agent always denied transfer rumours, it was almost certain he was leaving us for Italy a few years ago. Then out of nowhere he signed a new contract and leapfrogged Patrice Evra, Rio Ferdinand and Ryan Giggs, who’d always worn the armband ahead of him in Gary Neville’s absence, to be named captain.

Maybe it’s silly of me to want someone who is properly committed to the club and doesn’t talk shit to be our captain. We can listen to Rooney talk of his pride and happiness at being captain of “this great club” and pretend he didn’t ask to leave twice within the space of three years to join our rivals. We can watch him kiss the badge after scoring and kid ourselves that this is a player who really loves Manchester United.

Van Gaal can only judge who is the best man for the job based on what he’s seen this summer. Rooney is a good candidate for captain, as vouched for by Ferdinand and Paul Scholes, because of the way he plays. He is a leader, a winner and he’s vocal on the pitch.

But the only reason he’s even at the club to be considered for captaincy is because he hasn’t got his own way. The club wouldn’t sell him when he wanted to be sold.

I can’t pretend to be happy that Rooney’s got away with his betrayal but then I suppose it’s only a piece of material wrapped around his arm, so it’s probably not worth getting too worked up about.

Congratulations to our new captain, Wayne Rooney.

VIEW FROM THE ENEMY: Aston Villa fan on Keano, the importance of Joe Cole and being right about Moyes

Posted: 13 Aug 2014 01:30 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.

Damian Dugdale writes for The Villa Blog. Follow @AVFCblog on Twitter.

Scott: How did you rate 2013-14 for Villa?

Damian: Actually worse than the one before because the one before we showed a little promise towards the end whereas in the one just gone, we were poor throughout. We sat back and hit long and hoped for something, rather than creating something. It was one of the worst seasons I remember.

Scott: Who was your best performing player?

Damian: Nobody really stood out, but Fabian Delph looked as good as we could get last season, but that was mostly for him tracking back and getting the tackle in. And there is nothing wrong with that type of player but when you start praising players for their ability to track back and get the tackle in, it sort of sums up what your team is all about. I’m hoping with the arrival of Roy Keane, we’re not going to be that focused on sitting back this season.

Scott: Which player are you expecting to be most important for you in 2014-15?

Damian: This is going to sound strange, but it’s Joe Cole, but it’s only Joe Cole if we change how we play and if Joe Cole plays in the middle (which is what we all sort of expect him to play). Basically, we’ve had nobody in the middle of the park to play the ball to for a while now and as it appears we have him and the hope is were not just going to sit back and hit long, if we play to the strengths of Joe Cole and he remains able to play week in week out, I think he could be the most important for us this season.

Scott: Are you happy with your manager?

Damian: Not really. But I also accept, when working on a limited budget, that things take time. He lost the two people he brought with him from Norwich towards the end of last season, to be replaced by Roy Keane in the summer, so I’m hoping that and a more willing desire to win games rather than go out to not lose, will be what we need. I hope Roy Keane brings that, it’s the impression I have of him as a player.

Basically, it’s set up for the manager to now show what he is capable of as a manager or leave (with Roy Keane replacing him).

Scott: I take it you’re happy with the appointment of Keano then?

Damian: I think every Aston Villa fan is. As a player, he was one of the best, that okay also had great players around him, but he epitomised what winning was all about and we’ve not had that at Villa for a while. I think he’s also going to want to see the football played the right way and not this sit back, hit long and hope stuff we’ve had for the most part under Lambert. And I think most importantly, the players will respect him and listen to him. And it’s not that they don’t have respect for Lambert, but it’s a different respect.

Scott: What do you think your club will achieve this season with Lambert and Keane leading the way?

Damian: If I were writing this on any day of the week after about 9pm, I’d confidently tell you that we could be finishing, if everything went right for us, in 8th place. But seeing as I’m writing this at closer to 11am and having just woken up from a late night, my head isn’t so confident. I think we’l finish 10th to 12th and I think there will be a lot of Aston Villa supporters happy with that and they’ll see it as progress. It isn’t progress, if you look at things as a big picture, but you could say it’s a step in the right direction.

As for silverware, anything is possible. We’ve come close under Lambert and it’s only one game and what do they say; you can beat anyone on the day.

Scott: Are you happy with your club's performance in the transfer window this summer?

Damian: Actually, I am. the last two summer transfer windows, the manager has gone a bit mad and I’m convinced that too many changes isn’t always good. Look what happened to Spurs last season and watch what happens to Liverpool this one. We’ve made three signings (Philippe Senderos, Joe Cole and Kieran Richardson) and each player we’ve brought in has a lot of Premier League experience and the core of what we’ve missed under Lambert is Premier League experience. Each player also has played at the top end of the table. They might not all play every game, but it’s what we’ve missed.

I actually hope we don’t bring in any more players, because if we do, we’re just replacing players the manager has previously brought in, which in essence will be confirming he got it wrong, but also making things a little harder for himself.

Scott: If you could have one United player, who would it be?

Damian: When we did this last season I said Ashley Young and I’m going to stick by that, because I think he would come back if we could pay his wages. I think he’d play every week for us and I think deep down, that’s what he wants to do. I also don’t think he’s good enough for Manchester United and that he needs to be the big fish in the small pond to get the best out of him.

Scott: There won’t be many United fans who wouldn’t offer to drive him to Villa Park if a bid came in! Can you believe United were as bad as they were last season?

Damian: In short yes and if you read my responses to these questions last year, you’ll see that I basically predicted you’d finish outside of the top four if you kept Moyes to the end of the season. Don’t get me wrong, it was only because of Moyes and that whoever followed Sir Alex was going to fail. It will be different this one.

Scott: How do you expect United to perform this season?

Damian: My heart says you’ll win the League this season but my head says something different and that all comes down to the formation Louis van Gaal picks and sticks with. Three central defenders is tough in this league because Premier League sides attack quickly and you can get caught out.

The thing is, you have the players to attack and play the right football with three central defenders and as long as he gets that right and I’m fairly confident he will, then you’re always going to score more than the opposition. But my head says going from 7th to winning is a tough ask (even though you went from winning it to 7th).

I think van Gaal has all the attributes to bring silverware to Manchester United but I’m not convinced it will come the first time of asking and there is every chance, when you’re playing the better sides, that the three central defenders will cause you more problems than you expected.

But to answer your question, I expect much better football from Manchester United this season and more desire to win and who knows, maybe the League Cup or FA Cup.

Scott: Who do you think will win the league?

Damian: I’m leaning towards Chelsea but my heart says Arsenal have a shot if all the speculation about Wenger spending more money is true. I just hope it’s not Manchester City, but I think I wrote that last time out
too.

LvG: Fletcher is a natural leader

Posted: 12 Aug 2014 06:25 PM PDT

Wayne Rooney and Darren Fletcher have been announced as Manchester United’s captain and vice-captain, replacing the departed Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra.

“Darren Fletcher will become the vice-captain,” said the manager. “Darren is a natural leader and will captain the team when Wayne isn’t playing. Darren is a very experienced player and a very popular member of the dressing room, I know he will work well alongside Wayne.”

Fletcher, understandably, is chuffed to be named vice captain of the club he has spent his entire career playing for.

“I am delighted to have been named as vice-captain,” said Fletcher. “It’s a very proud moment for me and my family. Wayne and I have always worked well together and we will continue to work closely together in our new roles. I would like to thank the manager for putting his trust in me.”

Rooney: I’m very grateful for faith LvG has shown in me

Posted: 12 Aug 2014 06:22 PM PDT

Following United’s 2-1 win over Valencia, ensuring that we kept an 100% record over the course of the pre-season, Louis van Gaal announced that Wayne Rooney would be United’s new captain.

“For me it’s always very important the choice of captain,” said the manager. “Wayne has shown a great attitude towards everything he does. I have been very impressed by his professionalism and his attitude to training and to my philosophy. He is a great inspiration to the younger members of the team and I believe he will put his heart and soul into his captaincy role.”

Rooney expressed his delight at being named the captain.

“It is a huge honour for me – and for my family – to be named captain of this great club,” he said. “It is a role I will perform with great pride. Team spirit has always been very high in our dressing room and I am very grateful to the manager for the faith he has shown in me. I look forward to leading the team out on Saturday at our first match of the new season.”

Written by TBMU Admin

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