Tuesday, 5 August 2014

Van Gaal focused on Swansea

14:27

By: TBMU Admin On: 14:27   In:   No comments

Van Gaal focused on Swansea

Van Gaal focused on Swansea

Posted: 04 Aug 2014 09:03 PM PDT

United capped an unbeaten tour of the United States with a come-from-behind 3-1 victory over Liverpool in the International Champions Cup final at Sun Life Stadium in Miami. Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata and substitute Jesse Lingard were all on target in the second half as United cancelled out Steven Gerrards 14th-minute penalty to lift the trophy. While victory ensured United returned to England on the back of five consecutive pre-season wins, Van Gaal played down its significance as the Dutchman prepares for the clubs first league fixture against Swansea City at Old Trafford on August 16. Its nice for the fans in the USA and also at home that we beat Liverpool, he said at his post-match press conference. I think we gave a lot of pleasure to the fans and thats very important. Of course, its better to win than to lose in pre-season but the most important game is against Swansea City. Thats the one we have to win. Rooney was handed the captains armband for the first time in the USA and he staked his claim with a well-taken goal in the 55th minute, side-footing the ball into the far corner for his fifth goal on tour. The England internationals performance saw him named player of the tournament, leading to praise from Van Gaal, who also lauded the teams defence. Hes always a winner, van Gaal said. I think he deserved to win theaward because hemade a lot of assists and scored goals. But we also defended well - there are a lot of defenders who could also have been the most valuable player of this tournament. For Rooney,the goalwas very important. It was a wonderful goal. You see the attack and what he did to push the ball under the legs of the goalkeeper and also in the corner. It was also a great cross from [Javier Hernandez] Chicharito. United wrap up preparations for the Premier League season with a friendly against Spanish side Valencia on August 12.

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Rodgers talks up outstanding Sterling

Posted: 04 Aug 2014 08:57 PM PDT

The 19-year-old was a standout for Rodgers side on Monday as they went down 3-1 to Manchester United in the International Champions Cup final in Miami. Sterling was fouled to earn his side a penalty in the first half as Steven Gerrard gave them the lead before goals from Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard saw United win. Rodgers hailed Sterling for his performance and said the England international was still getting better. I thought he was outstanding and he was a real threat. He is tactically aware for such a young player and he is so exciting to watch, the Northern Irishman told a news conference. When he runs at defenders he can create many opportunities. At 19 years of age he is a real talent and he is getting better all the time. Despite the loss, Rodgers said he was pleased with where his side were at as they prepare to face Southampton in their Premier League opener on August 17. He said Liverpool had achieved just what they wanted out of the pre-season tournament. I thought it was a really good game and both teams have had a very good workout out here, Rodgers said. I thought we were well worth the lead and had a couple more chances to increase that and it looked like maybe we should have had another penalty. We conceded a disappointing equaliser and then very quickly conceded another one so the game started to get stretched a bit, but overall Im delighted with the whole tournament and what its done for us. We have worked very hard and we will leave here with plenty of positives and look forward to the new season. The condition of the players that we have at the moment is very good. Weve obviously got a few missing but certainly by Southampton we will be ready and we are looking forward to it.

Man United rally past Liverpool in final

Posted: 04 Aug 2014 06:55 PM PDT

Quick-fire goals from Wayne Rooney and Juan Mata in the second half cancelled out Steven Gerrard's opener as United claimed early bragging rights over their Premier League rivals. Substitute Jesse Lingard completed the scoring with a fine volley from the edge of the area in the 89th minute at Sun Life Stadium in Miami. Liverpool were in control of proceedings after captain Gerrard converted a 14th-minute penalty but the Manchester club hit back in the second half. Rooney - named captain for the fixture - put United on level terms in the 55th minute before Mata completed the turnaround with a goal of his own just two minutes later as Louis van Gaal's team ended their tour of the United States unbeaten. Both teams will now return to England as they prepare for their Premier League openers, with United hosting Swansea City on August 16 and Liverpool entertaining Southampton the following day. United were forced to make one change to the team that started against Real Madrid, with Javier Hernandez replacing the injured Danny Welbeck in attack for the club's final match in the United States. There were five changes to the Liverpool starting XI, as Sebastian Coates, Kolo Toure, Jack Robinson, Lucas and Jordan Ibe all made way for Gerrard, Martin Skrtel, Mamadou Sakho, Glen Johnson and Philippe Coutinho. United made a composed start in Miami and were unfortunate not to take a fifth-minute lead as Sakho was on hand to scramble the ball clear ahead of the onrushing Mata following Ashley Young's teasing cross into the six-yard box. Substitute Luke Shaw was called upon in the eighth minute due to an injury to United wing-back Antonio Valencia. Liverpool began to cause problems and Brendan Rodgers' men were awarded a penalty in the 14th minute after United defender Phil Jones fouled Raheem Sterling. Gerrard stepped up and made no mistake from the spot, sending goalkeeper David de Gea the wrong way. Liverpool controlled the half from that point with their high-tempo pressing causing United problems and the Merseyside outfit thought they had another spot-kick in the 33rd minute when Sterling was brought down under a challenge from Ander Herrera, but the referee waved away appeals. Sterling was in the thick of action within five minutes of the restart, with his deflected shot flashing just wide of the post. But whatever Van Gaal said during his half-time team talk worked as United restored parity 10 minutes into the second half courtesy of Rooney, who was on the end of Hernandez's cross to side-foot the ball into the far corner of the net - his fifth goal on tour. It got better for United two minutes later when Mata beat goalkeeper Simon Mignolet from the edge of the area, albeit with a deflection off Sakho, before Lingard's fine finish late on.

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Top 10 ways to save cash: no more turkeys, Fergies ball and cheap fish (except for Romario)

Posted: 04 Aug 2014 04:45 AM PDT

1) "Bah humbug," say the Gunners With crowds plummeting, and the club mired in mid-table in 1983, Arsenal's board of directors decided that they needed to cut their cloth accordingly. One of the Gunners' more unusual money-saving schemes was to announce that during the festive season, "free turkeys will no longer be given out to club employees". "It's amazing how money gets gobbled up these days," one office employee told The Sun. 2) Clough: managerial genius and coach driver Even as Clough and Taylor worked their magic at Hartlepool in the early '60s, the North East outfit, in Clough's words, "still never had two pennies to rub together". Clough bought into the "tight ship" mode of thinking, gaining his HGV licence so he could ferry the team to away matches rather than "waste the club's brass on paying a driver". 3) Halifax's Depression-era pay freeze Keeping a football club alive during the Depression years of the 1930s was tough, and Halifax Town seemed to perpetually totter on the brink of extinction. The club needed the revenue from lucrative FA Cup ties, often played out against the backdrop of annual blizzards at The Shay. Halifax couldn't afford to pay the council to clear the snow, so used an army of willing volunteers instead. Their reward was free tickets to the games where, like the rest of the crowd, they nearly froze to death. 4) "Mr Ferguson, can have I my ball back please" After netting three for Aberdeen against Celtic in the late '70s, Steve Archibald was prevented from keeping the match ball by boss Alex Ferguson. It wasn't because Fergie didn't want his striker to get ideas above his station; instead, Archibald claimed Ferguson simply didn't want to shell out for another ball. Later, he punted it into Fergie's office and shouted: "Here's your bloody stupid ball, man," as it rebounded around the walls. 5) Man City's muddy bandage shame When Trevor Francis joined Manchester City in the early '80s, it caused friction behind the scenes at Maine Road: the club couldn't afford his gargantuan wages, after previously blowing huge amounts on the likes of Steve Daley and Kevin Reeves. Even the club doctor was under orders to make cutbacks, and Francis and other crocked stars were sometimes provided with second hand, mud-stained bandages as City tried to make ends meet. Ultimately the club made the most effective saving of all, by selling Francis to Sampdoria less than a year after signing him. 6) How to keep the Wolves from the door With Wolves teetering on the brink of oblivion in the 1980s, even the milkman refused to deliver to Molineux because the Midlands outfit was so deep in debt. One of the more inventive measures taken by the club was to suggest that office staff vacated the premises by 3pm to save on electricity and heating bills in the winter, and drank only cold water at work to save on energy bills. Steve Bull's arrival in the mid '80s finally warmed things up slightly. 7) Romario + smoked salmon = World Cup glory Railing against an austerity package put into place during qualification for the 1994 World Cup, opinionated Brazil striker Romario expressed his disgust at being forced to eat "peasant fodder" at team training camps. Perhaps it was the "cheap and nasty cereal and fish" or "being forced to share a room" at night, but Romario blew his top one evening before a qualifier against Peru and threatened to storm out. He got his way, though, and was later allowed to tuck into smoked salmon while others ate their "cheap" steamed fish. 8) Macleod's Scotland prepare to fail "It was done on the cheap," blasted Lou Macari after Scotland's ignominious exit from the 1978 World Cup. Manager Ally Macleod neglected to send out a fact-finding delegation on a spying mission in order to check out the quality of their Cordoba base. Not only was the hotel riddled with cockroaches, the training ground was also littered with potholes. Crucially, Macleod neglected to get his spies to check out Peru, his team's first opponents. "We should have invested more in our preparation," admitted a crestfallen Ally afterwards. 9) Women: too expensive for Charlton Relegated from the Premier League with debts of around £15 million in 2007, Charlton decided to dispense with their successful ladies' team, saving a "drop in the ocean" sum of £250,000 a season. "Women's football just isn't taken seriously," exclaimed one distraught player. "That saving is about a month's wage for Darren Bent." Charlton had that in hand and clawed back a rather more hefty £13m from Spurs for the striker. The Ladies, meanwhile, were eventually rescued by sponsorship and continued to play under the Addicks name, albeit with only two of the players who'd ended the previous campaign. 10) Cosmos brought back down to earth In the last days of the NASL, New York Cosmos owners saved money by withdrawing the use of the Warner jet for the team for away games, suggesting that Greyhound buses would now be rather more in keeping with their new "down at heel" image. The bus idea backfired spectacularly when, before a match in Washington, the Cosmos got stuck in a 12-hour jam on the freeway, leaving them and an expectant 20,000 crowd in the capital seriously irritated.

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Injured Sturridge heads home from USA tour

Posted: 02 Aug 2014 06:58 PM PDT

The Premier League side claimed a 2-0 win over Milan in Charlotte on Saturday as they reached the International Champions Cup final. Sturridge sat out the clash due to a hamstring injury, and the England international headed back to the United Kingdom. Rodgers said he expected the 24-year-old to be fit for the clash against Borussia Dortmund on August 10. "Dan has flown back to the UK," the Northern Irishman said. "He wasn't going to be ready for the game on Monday - but there's no concern there, he'll be ready for Borussia Dortmund at the weekend. "It was just best to get him back early, back to the training ground so he could get some treatment there. "He had a really, really slight feeling in his hamstring. It's nothing major."

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

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

0 comments :

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments ( Atom )
Click Picture Below for More Info

Popular Posts

Share

 





© 2013 TBMU . All rights resevered. Published by The Best Manchester United Admin Blogger

Back To Top