Manager

UNITED HAVE NO EXCUSE TO FAIL AT EUROPA

Injuries, bad luck, wrong calls, fixture glut, Manchester United’s manager, Jose Mourinho has had no shortage of excuses to give for his side’s short-on-standard achievements so far this season.


Don’t get me wrong, a reasonable number of those claims are valid; like how Marcos Rojo got knocked the moment he formed a promising partnership with Eric Bailly. And then we have the scenario where it seems the universe has sworn to frustrate the living daylight out of United. How else do you explain the fact that Paul Pogba has hit the wood work more times he’s found the back of the net?

Let’s not even get into the task of analyzing just how many times the Red Devils have had to settle for a draw despite outplaying their opponents. They’ve had 14 so far this season, making a mockery of their 25-game unbeaten run set in yet another draw against Swansea.

These and many other self induced misfortunes are the reasons why the Red Devils are gunning for a 4th place finish – something Wenger might be proud of but certainly not the Glazers family – despite spending a €150 million summer war chest in addition to landing the Harvey Specter of club football – Mourinho – to oversee everything. (more…)

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United Felt Déjà Vu after the Draw with Bournemouth, says Juan Mata

Juan Mata has admitted that Manchester United had a sense of déjà vu after being held to a 1-1 draw with Bournemouth during the weekend.


It was yet another disappointing result for a team, which has had several 1-1 draws already this season. Instead, stalemates have been the biggest problem for United in their attempts to get into the top four of the Premier League. Despite being unbeaten in the league since 4-0 loss against Chelsea back in October, United have been on a poor run of form of late. They have been unable to capitalise on rivals like Liverpool and Manchester City dropping points.

United have managed only two wins in the last five league matches. Two of those games have finished as 1-1 draws. Against Bournemouth, United had almost 70% possession while they also had 20 shots on target. In contrast, Bournemouth managed only three shots on goal and were unable to break down United after being reduced to 10 men. (more…)

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Mourinho Blasts at Paul Pogba Critics after Midfielder’s Brace

José Mourinho has hit back at critics who have been highly critical of midfielder Paul Pogba.


The world’s most expensive player came to Manchester United in the summer for £89 million. His transfer fee has straight away been the main topic of discussion, and it has only intensified in the wake of some poor performances from the Frenchman. Pogba had been highly inconsistent in his first few games at United. It coincided with the club also struggling for results. While United are still unable to get wins on a consistent basis, Pogba’s form has been going up.

The midfielder was at his best in the 4-1 win over Fenerbahce in the Europa League. He came up with two goals to answer some of his critics. Part of the reason for Pogba being the most of the goals is his more advanced position on the pitch. The Frenchman has almost been played as a second striker by Mourinho and he has formed an excellent partnership with Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Mourinho has taken the occasion of his performances against Fenerbahce to take a dig at the media who have been giving him a hard time. United have still only managed one win in the last five league matches.
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Mourinho will succeed at Manchester United

Sir Alex Ferguson stated that new Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho would improve Manchester United.


He believes that the club will improve massively under Jose Mourinho and that he believes that the club will start winning trophies again.

He believes that Jose Mourinho had not lost his winning touch when he was sacked by Chelsea. For Ferguson, the Portuguese manager made a mistake to return to Chelsea for a second spell. In his experience, it is always difficult to go back to a place where you have enjoyed success in the past because there will be an increase in expectations.

Sir Alex Ferguson said that you cannot deny Mourinho’s achievement with the different clubs he has managed. He has been Champions with various clubs and in different leagues and he has also won the Champions League with different clubs. He believes that he will turn Manchester United in one of the biggest clubs in Europe. (more…)

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Archie Thompson retires and Melbourne Victory reaches the round of 16

The 2015-16 season of the Australian League finished and Melbourne Victory had to settle with the 7th spot but it’s a memorable and historic campaign for the A-League as they managed to book their place as one of the last 16 remaining teams that are competing in the Asian Champions League and this is the first time that Melbourne Victory has managed to reach these stages of the Asian competition.


Kevin Muscat is the head coach of Melbourne Victory and he voiced his joy in reaching the round of 16 in the Asian Champions League as the tactician said: ”It’s a big achievement considering we have had five attempts to qualify before. That joy is overriding. It’s great for the club, we have managed to create some history a couple of times this year, we had never won the FFA Cup either,”

Melbourne Victory will be facing off with Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors on May 17 and 24 for the first and leg respectively. Even if the Australian League club are not able to make it past through these rounds, it still is an impressive accomplishment for Kevin Muscat and his team. (more…)

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Manuel Pellegrini has admitted that if Manchester City doesn’t raise their game immediately

Manuel Pellegrini has admitted that if Manchester City doesn’t raise their game immediately, the Premiership title will be out of their reach very soon.

The Sky Blues have lost three matches in a row in the English top flight and they are not only in danger of losing their Premiership crown, but, also, missing out on a Champions League place.

They are still in top 4, but, Manchester United is chasing them fast and one more poor performance might see them being overtaken by their local rivals.

There is no points’ gap between United and City at the moment and it’s only the better goal differential because of which the latter is placed higher up the table.

Pellegrini, who will leave his post as City manager at the conclusion of this season, was visibly unhappy with the application of his boys in the Liverpool game which they lost by 3 goals.

According to the manager, more than the conceding of the goals, what concerned him was that there was not a single shot hit on the target by his players. (more…)

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Louis van Gaal has confirmed that he is looking for reinforcements at Manchester United

Louis van Gaal has confirmed that he is looking for reinforcements at Manchester United during the January transfer window.

After a fine start to the season, the Red Devils have been struggling of late. Their struggles have especially been profound in attack. Van Gaal was criticised earlier in the season for his failure to bring in strikers to replace the likes of Robin van Persie. Anthony Martial was the only major attacker brought to the club during the summer. The French international, however, was seen as one for the future even at £ 36 million.

As goals from Wayne Rooney have dried up, it is natural that United have struggled to get results. They have been able to get only a handful of good results in the last month and this has seen them slip several points behind table leaders Manchester City. Just two league victories in the last five games is not good enough for a team that wants to win the title. Van Gaal is aware of this aspect, while he is also concerned about the threat from Tottenham. The Dutchman claims that he has always maintained the need for speed and creativity in the wings. Summer signings like Memphis Depay have gone off the boil while surprises like Jesse Lingard have sprung up. (more…)

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