Manchester City (4-4-2): Hart, Zabaleta, Demichelis, Kompany, Clichy, Fernando, Y Toure, Milner, Nasri, Jovetic, Aguero
Manchester City have finally won their first game in four matches after beating neighbours Manchester United 1-0 in a hotly contested derby on Sunday. The Citizens will now have to turn their focus to making it out of the Champions League group stages with the visit of CSKA Moscow at the Etihad. Once again in the ‘Group of Death’, City are trailing second place AS Roma by two points and will be seeking a win before their next game against group leaders Bayern Munich. Manuel Pellegrini will, however, be without David Silva, Aleksandar Kolarov, and Frank Lampard through injuries.
CSKA Moscow managed to salvage a 2-2 draw after going down 2-0 to Manchester City in Russia two weeks ago, keeping their hopes alive in qualifying for the knock-out stages after two consecutive losses to AS Roma and Bayern Munich. Moscow are currently chasing Zenit Saint Petersburg in the league by seven points with the top of the table clash last weekend finishing in a 1-0 win for Zenit. Leonid Slutsky will now need to switch his squad’s attention to the Champions League and will be thrilled with the return of Alan Dzagoev in the left side of midfield. This means Seydou Doumbia, who scored and earned the penalty last time against City, may well be dropped.
What the fans are saying…
Remember this?
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Seydou Doumbia earned the game-equalising penalty for CSKA last time. Was this a dive?
We’ve been scoring interviews like Sergio Aguero does goals at Football Fancast recently, but this just might be our greatest scoop yet. Whilst Chris Waddle, Ray Parlour and Jaydon Gibbs, brother of Arsenal’s Kieran, to name a few, were all insightful and entertaining, there is only one Jeff Stelling.
A living legend amongst British football fans for his blend of intellect and banter as host of Soccer Saturday, we jumped at the chance to get to know the man at centre-stage every Saturday afternoon, courtesy of Carlsberg’s Christmas Campaign, which will see Jeff address the nation at midday on Boxing Day on CarlsbergFanSquad.co.uk.
Having now served as the charming ring-master of Sky Sports’ Saturday coverage for two decades and their Champions League productions since 2011, not to mention presenting Countdown for three years on the side, Stelling’s popularity amongst the British public is now a given.
But it’s been acknowledged in more official terms too; he’s won five consecutive Sports Broadcaster of the Year awards and earlier this month was announced as Britain’s most popular pundit by a Carlsberg poll, winning a monolithic 24% of the vote despite not actually being a pundit at all. In your opinion Jeff, why are the public and the critics so receptive to you?
Well, you’ve got to take all these things with a pinch of salt haven’t you? I guess I’m just a football fan who’s got lucky and got the dream job where I can watch football with my mates on Saturday afternoon and get paid for doing it. So we have a bit of fun with it and treat it seriously when it needs to be treated seriously.
And also the fact I’m no threat; everybody knows I’m a Hartlepool fan. If I was a Manchester United fan the chances are that Manchester City and Liverpool fans would hate me. If I was a Spurs then Arsenal fans would hate me. But look, I’m a Hartlepool fan so I’m no threat to anybody. I think that’s probably it – I’m just a football fan, and a fan of a team that poses no immediate threat.
Of course, the popularity of Soccer Saturday, Stelling’s weekly score-line coverage of all the Saturday afternoon action in the company of his cheekily opinionated punditry team, Matt Le Tissier, Paul Merson, Charlie Nicholas and Phil Thompson, is a significant factor too. On the surface, it’s just five friends having an entertaining chat about football whilst onomatopoeically reacting to live in-game events – but there must be more to it than that. Does more work go into the humour side of things than meets the eye?
Well, you’re right in the first instance that it’s just five mates together – a footballing version of Loose Women if you like – just chatting through stuff, albeit the other four having a bit more expertise than me. On the humour side, it comes from mostly events during games and things you can’t plan for, like Paul Merson’s mispronunciations. For instance, at the weekend he called Esteban Cambiasso ‘Cameronaesi’, so that became a running gag over the course of the afternoon.
But some of the jokes, the odd one-liner, yes. Sometimes you look hard for them, the corny lines. There’s a guy at Chesterfield for example, Sam Clucas – when Chesterfield go behind and he scores, it’s a can of Clucasade! I waited and waited and waited for that to come up, until he actually scored. So some of it, of course it’s pre-planned, but most of it’s off the cuff because of the nature of the show .
Are there any pundits you’ve struggled to build that sort of rapport with over the years?
Not really because if there’s anybody you didn’t build a rapport with, they just didn’t survive. The Saturday team is well – it’s exactly that, a team! You’ve got to fit in. Just as a football team can’t get by without a goalkeeper, a centre-half or a striker, we couldn’t get by with somebody who firstly wasn’t very perceptive and secondly didn’t feel a part of the team or wasn’t a team player. Some of the boys will say to you that it’s the nearest thing you can get to recreating a dressing room situation and that helps once they’ve retired from the game. That’s the way I see it really – and if your face doesn’t fit, you just don’t last.
If you were trapped on a desert island with one of the team, who would you choose?
Kirsty Gallagher! Does that count?
We like your thinking Jeff but it’s got to be one of the lads.
I don’t know, god help me – whoever’s the best boat builder, I guess! Six hours on a Saturday is great fun. Six days, six weeks or six months? Not so sure. I couldn’t pick any of them, honestly. They’re all good boys but by the end of Saturday we’ve all have quite enough. As much as we all get on brilliantly and we’re all best mates, we’re happy to call it quits on Saturday evening.
Along with chairing the studio banter, Stelling provides an incredible amount of statistical knowledge to flesh out the scores on-screen, giving them added meaning. How long does it take to absorb all that information for any given show?
It’s like the old cliché about painting the forth bridge, it never ends really. As soon as one show is finished I watch Football First, Match of the Day and Goals on Sunday and I sit there with my notepad jotting stuff down. On Saturday afternoon I only get see bits and pieces of games, I never to see the whole thing, so I make as many notes as I can and that goes on throughout the week until Thursday and Friday. Thursday is the main day where I’m doing stats and I’ll tend to do that between nine and six, and then Friday I’m going through websites and newspapers, catching anything I might have missed. So It’s probably somewhere between 20-25 hours for every show in terms of my individual prep.
Stelling wasn’t always the face of Sky Sports. Despite rarely mentioning it in the studio, he was once a regular footballer, albeit at amateur level, on the tough streets of Hartlepool. I understand you were known as ‘The Chopper’. Would you care to elaborate?
Well, I was a Sunday morning footballer and – as with most players at any level – as the years rolled on I was gradually moved further and further back. I started off as a No.10 type, then I went into midfield and then I went to full-back.
And as what limited pace you’ve got disappears, there’s not much you’ve got left to resort to but hacking people down. In my day, it was a case of more often than not you could get away with it too – so I guess that’s where it came from. Hey – Sunday morning in Hartlepool particularly, you had to be able to stand up for yourself. You learn a lot about survival on those Sunday mornings.
Do the Sky Sports team ever have a kick-about? Perhaps in the Sky car park?
Not really, because they’ve all been through long careers. Tommo and Charlie particularly, they were in an era where you’d play regardless of how fit you were. You’d be in the starting Xi week after week and that takes its toll. Our major sporting contests these days would be on the golf course rather than the football pitch.
The story of the week, at least in punditry circles, is that former Arsenal and Barcelona striker Thierry Henry, the joint-fourth all-time goalscorer in Premier League history, has joined the Sky Sports family after hanging up his boots at New York Red Bulls. Has he got what it takes to become a top pundit?
Yes, definitely. I’ve worked with him a couple of times already for the Champions League and he just has this aura about him. If you didn’t know he was a successful guy, you immediately get that feel. Not because he’s arrogant or anything like that but he has this magic about him as a person, let alone as a player.
Again, he’s wonderfully articulate and measured. He’s got everything it takes to be a top pundit and from a Sky perspective, I know other channels would have loved him so I’m delighted we’ve got him.
Do you think his expertise in foreign leagues offers something a little different?
I don’t know if that matters when you’ve played the game at the highest level, as all our boys have. Whether it be the Champions League guys or Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher or Jamie Redknapp, even if they haven’t played out of England, they’ve all played international football for their country. My view is that if you’re going to criticise somebody or have the right to criticise others you’ve got to have done it yourself – you’ve got to be able to show your medals. Everybody at Sky Sports can and Thierry certainly falls into that category as well.
As host, Stelling remains ever-impartial in the studio, but this interview is a rare opportunity to gain an insight into his opinions on the current season. Who are you backing for the Premier League title?
It’s not very original but I think Chelsea will win it now, with Manchester City in close pursuit – they’re the two best defensive sides. I don’t mean they play defensive football, but they can defend when required. I’m not sure too many other Premier League sides can do the same and that will be the big difference.
How about the Champions League – can you see an English side winning it this year?
I think Chelsea have a very good chance. Obviously they’ve got PSG in the next round who are no pushovers by any means, but they beat them twelve months ago and I think Chelsea are much stronger than they were twelve months ago and PSG are weaker than they were twelve months ago – so I think they’ll get through that. They’ve got quality in every area of the field, they’ve got good back-up and they’ve got Jose Mourinho. So it’s a combination of events. Nobody’s going to want to play Chelsea, that is for sure. Given the right draw, the right circumstances and bit of luck along the way – you always need that – there’s no reason why Chelsea shouldn’t win it.
And it’s not been the best of starts to the season for your beloved Hartlepool, currently bottom of League Two. Are you envisaging better times ahead?
I am. On Tuesday we had a takeover at the club; we’ve got new owners as of Wednesday, we’ve got a new manager as of Wednesday, we will have some new players as of January and we’ve got five months left – we’ve got time to save ourselves. There’s something like 78 points to play for so if we can get 39 of those we’ll just about be ok.
Which brings us onto the small issue of Football Fancast’s world-famous segment, Fantasy Five-Aside. It’s caused Chris Waddle and Ray Parlour a few problems in the past, so it’s rather fortuitous Stelling’s a little more switched on.
So the first player – the best pundit you’ve ever worked with?
Oh, that is so hard. Let’s just say Gary Neville.
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And the best pundit you haven’t worked with?
Alan Hansen.
Your footballing role model growing up?
A bloke you’ll never have heard of. He’s called Frank Casper, as in the friendly ghost, and he was a striker at Burnley.
Of course we’ve heard of Frank Casper Jeff, the Clarets’ star centre-forward from 1967 to 1976! Somebody playing now you think would make a great pundit when they retire?
Didier Drogba
And finally, any goalkeeper.
Any goalkeeper?
Yes Jeff, Football Fancast is famed for its liberal views on goalkeeper selection.
Peter Schmeichel
Thanks Jeff, you’ve been even more delightful than we expected, as if that’s possible.
If Carlsberg did Christmas speeches…. Head to CarlsbergFanSquad.co.uk at midday on Boxing Day to watch Jeff Stelling’s ultimate review of the year. Follow @CarlsbergFooty for Barclays Premier League ticket giveaways and more from the Carlsberg Fan Squad.
Portuguese super-agent Jorge Mendes has claimed that only Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has the ability to replace Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, according to reports from the Guardian.
Mendes has questioned United’s decision to hire Louis van Gaal last summer, insisting that only Mourinho could have continued Ferguson’s successful 26 year reign at Old Trafford.
The agent, who represents Mourinho and some of football’s top players like Cristiano Ronaldo, spoke to the BBC and stated that executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward can help bring success back to the red side of Manchester, but it would be almost impossible to replace Sir Alex.
He said: “At the same time, he has just one problem – it’s completely impossible to find someone like Sir Alex Ferguson because he’s a god, he’s a genius and to find a genius is very difficult.
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“You have one in England – José Mourinho. Having Sir Alex Ferguson ensures at this moment you have 12 or 15 points more. He’s finished his career, but he’s someone that makes the difference.”
Mendes also said that Mourinho is looking to replicate what Ferguson did with Man United at Chelsea, and that he will be in charge at the London club for years to come.
“José will stay for sure. He will be the Sir Alex Ferguson of Chelsea Football Club. He loves the supporters, he loves the city and I think he will stay there for more than 10 years,” he added.
And Mendes also admitted that his client David de Gea, who has been heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid, is expected to stay with the Red Devils for at least another year.
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“He has one year left on his contract and I think that he will stay in Manchester. The player will decide, but he’s happy there, at the moment.”
When the eccentric Dutchman was first announced as the new main man down at Old Trafford for the upcoming season, Louis van Gaal brought with him a wealth of experience that most believed would serve him well at Manchester United. Coming in off the back of a strong World Cup campaign with the Netherlands, as well as previously working wonders for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga – it seemed to most that the Red Devils had finally found an adequate replacement for Sir Alex Ferguson.
Life in the Premier League rarely matches initial expectations however. Seeing as van Gaal spent well over £100million on some truly high profile players throughout the summer, Manchester United haven’t exactly had the best of seasons in 2014/21, with their current fourth spot in the table looking particularly vulnerable to say the least.
Last week’s meagre offering allowed Garry Monk’s determined Swansea outfit to complete the double over United this season, so with Bayern’s Pep Guardiola reportedly being touted as a potential replacement for the Dutchman come the end of the season, are Manchester United already starting to grow tired of Louis van Gaal?
Former Manchester United favourite, Gary Neville, has had much to say on the topic of van Gaal’s proposed departure.
Speaking on the potential eventuality that his former side fail to make the top-four this season, the Old Trafford and England star remains resolute that “Louis van Gaal should not be sacked.”
“He has to get the Champions League but, on the other hand, if he didn’t, no, you can’t just sack a manager one year and then sack another manager the year after. Where do you go from there?”
Regardless of their fate come the end of the season, Neville believes that Manchester United should not cause themselves any further instability by becoming a club known for being impatient with their managerial appointments.
“There has to be a level of continuity. I absolutely believe this time there will be continuity at Man United and they will stand by him even if he doesn’t finish in the top four, and that’s the right thing to do.”
Having said that though, many of the Old Trafford faithful will have to think twice about David Moyes’ reign with their team if van Gaal equally disappoints this season. The Dutchman has certainly had a great deal more fire power at his disposal than his Scottish predecessor, yet despite spending a quite frankly obscene amount of cash throughout the summer, the likes of Radamel Falcao, Ander Herrera and Angel Di Maria have simply failed to slot in effectively alongside the magnitude of stars already in place at the club.
In light of such developments, just how well would former Barcelona boss, Pep Guardiola, be suited at United should Louis van Gaal ultimately face the sack? The Champions League winning manager certainly brings with him a great deal of contacts at the Nou Camp, and with talk of Lionel Messi eventually leaving his boyhood club doing the rounds of late, Manchester United fans would inevitably be excited by the potential transfers on offer should the Spaniard be appointed.
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On the other hand, Guardiola has no real incentive to leave his current post at Bayern Munich at the moment – especially if the Red Devils fail to qualify for the Champions League. The 44-year-old former player already has some world class talent at his disposal in Germany – Philip Lahm, Arjen Robben and Robert Lewandowski to name just a few – and as Bayern have looked particularly formidable this campaign, thoughts of achieving the ultimate success in Europe will largely be dominating Guardiola’s mind at this current stage.
Come the end of the season though, and everybody’s perspective might just be that little bit different. Gary Neville’s analysis remains a sensible one however. Manchester United do not want to become known as unstable and untrustworthy in their decision making. Whilst Louis van Gaal may certainly be flattering to deceive at this moment, a knee-jerk dismissal of the Dutchman really wouldn’t do the famous English club any favours in this seemingly transitional period of their history. Regardless of the excitement surrounding Guardiola, Louis van Gaal is United’s man.
With two of English football’s most hallowed sides prepare to face off tomorrow night, it seems apt to look back at some of the truly epic clashes between Manchester United and Newcastle through the years. The Magpies and the Red Devils have come to blows (literally on some occasions) across the decades, creating moments that get discussed annually in the build-up to the clubs’ modern day meetings.
From home wins to away day shocks, terrific goals to bundled tap-ins and league wins to cup triumphs, this fixture has had something to cater for every football fan through the years, so here are ten of the very best Manchester United vs. Newcastle ties…
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Newcastle 4-3 Man Utd, 2001
In homage to Sir Bobby Robson’s 100th game in charge, his side recorded a memorable 4-3 home win against United. The Geordies were 3-1 up with just over 30 minutes on the clock, before two goals in as many minutes from Ryan Giggs and Juan Sebastian Veron looked to have put the momentum well and truly with the travelling side. However, that man Alan Shearer popped up in the 82nd minute to drive the ball into the net and send the home fans into a state of euphoria. To cap an awful day for United, Roy Keane was dismissed late on for aiming a punch at the Newcastle No. 9.
Man Utd 2-1 Newcastle, 2005
With a weakened team and an awful record at Old Trafford (their last win at the ‘Theatre of Dreams’ having occurred in 1972), Newcastle kicked off at United with optimism in short supply. However, a shock Darren Ambrose effort put the ‘Toon’ 1-0 heading into the second-half. But, the visitors’ joy was turned into despair with one swing of a precocious Wayne Rooney’s right boot, as the then youngster sent one of the finest volleys in Premier League history fizzing into Shay Given’s net. Wes Brown’s headed winner was not quite as spectacular, but it did complete another comeback win for United.
Newcastle 6-3 Man Utd, 1910
For one of Newcastle’s finest moments against the champions we have to travel back over a century to 1910. In a time where football was a far cry from the game we now know, Newcastle smashed six goals past their rivals to record one of their finest performances against the Red Devils. Little is known about the game itself, but braces from Stan Seymour and Neil Harris, allied to Andrew Smailes’ and Tom Phillipson’s efforts have gone down in the history books.
Man Utd 4-3 Newcastle, 2012
A little over two years ago the two sides met at Old Trafford, with Manchester United (surprise, surprise) clinching a win with last gasp strike. The Red Devils trailed the ‘Toon’ on three occasions, each time levelling the scoreline during the Boxing Day clash. Eventually Javier Hernandez popped up in the closing minutes of the tie to bury a trademark poacher’s effort.
Newcastle 2-6 Man Utd, 2003
St James’ Park has traditionally been a fairly fruitful venue for United, and their 6-2 win in 2003 still goes down as one of their finest visits to the North East. Paul Scholes grabbed the headlines with an excellent hat-trick, while Ruud van Nistelrooy, Ryan Giggs and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer also found the back of the net to win a clash in which they visitors has at one stage trailed in.
Newcastle 5-0 Man Utd, 1996
Arguably Newcastle’s finest ever performance produced one of the very best games in Premier League history, with one of division’s most magical goals completing a stunning 5-0 scoreline. After narrowly missing out on the title at the hands of their rivals in the previous campaign, the Magpies were out for revenge, and they certainly punished United for the pain caused earlier in the year. Darren Peacock opened the scoring with a controversial headed effort, before David Ginola, Les Ferdinand and Alan Shearer made it 4-0. Then came the moment that capped one of the finest games in the English football’s history as Philippe Albert released an audacious chip from 25 yards. Magical.
Newcastle 0-1 Man Utd, 1996
It is often said that good and great strikers are separated by what happens when they are having a quiet game. The good will sometimes fade into the background, while the great are always a threat, a point which was proven in 1996 by Eric Cantona. The enigmatic Frenchman was having one of his more reserved performances, but still managed to provide one moment of class to fire his side to victory. The United icon met a perfect cross from the left hand side and crashed a bouncing volley into the net for all three points.
Newcastle 1-4 Man Utd, 2005
Chances for silverware have been few and far between in the North East in recent decades, but one opportunity that was presented to Newcastle came in 2005. For all of their efforts, the ‘Toon’ met a nearly unstoppable United side at the Millennium Stadium in the FA Cup, who eventually ran out 4-1 winners to book a spot in the final – which they ultimately lost to Arsenal. The Red Devils were 3-0 up with 30 minutes on the clock, before Shola Ameobi pulled one back to give the Geordies dreams of a comeback. However, their joy was short-lived, as Cristiano Ronaldo put the tie to bed 15 minutes later.
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Newcastle 3-0 Man Utd, 2012
Newcastle were flying high in early 2012, starting the calendar year with an excellent 3-0 rout against their Manchester rivals. Demba Ba opened the scoring before Yohan Cabaye curled a sumptuous free-kick past Anders Lindegaard. United attempted to fight back, and came close on several occasions, before a 90th minute own goal from Phil Jones completed a scoreline that didn’t flatter the home side.
Newcastle 2-4 Man Utd, 1986
Nearly 32,000 fans at St James’ Park saw Manchester United secure a memorable 4-2 victory in 1986. Two goals from mark Hughes sent the visitors on their way, before Bryan Robson and Norman Whiteside rounded off the Red Devils’ scoring. This result extended United’s winning run against the black and whites, whose last victory in the tie came way back in 1973.
The Gunners look set to once again finish in those coveted top four places thanks to the 26 combined goals of strike pair Alexis Sanchez and Olivier Giroud but not all of Arsenal’s squad have been pulling their weight.
The team still needs improving and these three should make way for some new additions…
Theo Walcott
Walcott is coming to the end of his current Arsenal contract and is said to be willing to leave North London if he does not receive the guarantee of regular football.
Liverpool havw been touted as a possible destination for the 26-year-old forward/winger, especially if their own Raheem Sterling decides to leave. Walcott has been a Gunner since he was 17, so a move would be a big moment in his career and I’m sure he’d prefer to stay at the Emirates, but competition to start at Arsenal has become intense.
Good form from players like Olivier Giroud and new boys Alexis Sanchez and Danny Welbeck have meant that more often than not Walcott is warming the bench.
Unfortunately his 10 months off due to an injury allowed others to take his place, but manager Arsene Wenger shouldn’t change a winning formula just to keep the young man at the club.
Mesut Ozil
A controversial choice considering his wealth of experience and perhaps he does deserve one more season to prove his worth, but only if he improves his attitude and work rate.
Ozil joined Arsenal in 2013 in what was a major coup for the Gunners at a record breaking fee of £42.5million. The ex-Real Madrid man was seen as a remarkable talent who would undoubtedly breathe new life into Arsenal’s midfield, but his first two years have been anything but exceptional. Ozil looks a shadow of the player he once was in La Liga, appearing unsure, less technically gifted and he gives away the ball more than he should.
With players like Santi Cazorla firing up their midfield Arsenal don’t really need a player who doesn’t want to give his all and is more interested in swapping shirts and partying. If Wenger can get Ozil focussed then he’s worth keeping. Otherwise they should flog him to the highest bidder.
Tomas Rosicky
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The 34 year old didn’t start a single game prior to Boxing Day this season and has since only made five league starts in total. Lack of first team football led the Czech Republic international to consider a move in January but he stuck it out.
At his age Rosicky is unlikely to truly challenge young players like Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for considerable minutes so if he’s unhappy then Arsenal should just let him go.
Arsenal are particularly strong going forward and competition is fierce, so if Rosicky is not willing to play his back-up role then he should find a club that will give him the time and opportunities he thinks he deserves.
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With only one year left of his contract, Arsenal need to get some money from him this summer or risk him leaving for free next year.
Arsenal have enjoyed a good campaign, looking particularly strong up front and I don’t think the departure of these three would have a major impact next season.
They will surely conduct some business in the summer transfer window with emphasis on signing a defensive midfielder and by letting these three go the Gunners will have a bit more cash to splash on players that will strengthen their next assault on the title.
Yet another Manchester United signing has been confirmed, and yet another attacker will join up with his fellow Red Devils at Carrington in July.
Anyone who watched United’s 5-3 defeat at Leicester earlier this season would wonder why on Earth United are prioritising another attacking midfielder, especially another winger.
United’s defensive frailties were all too obvious in that defeat. They were exposed on the counter attack, and the back three made up of relatively inexperienced defenders were exposed as rough and uncut. That’s not to say they won’t be better in the future, but they were still raw that day.
Many saw that as a complete restatement of the problem at Old Trafford. In the last year or so, United had spent hundreds of millions of pounds on players like Juan Mata, Angel Di Maria and the loan signing of Radamel Falcao.
United had added the their plethora of attacking options and had failed to replace the departing Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra. Any team of the best XI in Premier League history would surely have to consider all three of these players in their respective positions. So surely it’s huge to lose these three without replacing them.
Yet looking at the stats United haven’t been that bad at the back. They’ve conceded fewer goals than Manchester City, who aren’t exactly famed for their defending this season but they’re hardly awful at it either.
In fact, United have become more solid. It looks like the players have bought more into Van Gaal’s system and don’t get hit quite so fatally on the counter quite so much.
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Yet recent events have probably made that claim a little harder to defend. United lost 3-0 to Everton the other week, and that was almost exclusively Everton on the counter. In fact, United’s last three games have yielded worrying scorelines with defeat to Chelsea precipitating another two defeats on the spin.
But my point isn’t that United’s defence is good, more that it isn’t bad. And the worrying thing for Van Gaal is surely not the fact that they’ve been conceding goals and more than they haven’t scored in their last three games.
They dominated each of those games comfortably – they had 70% of the possession against Chelsea, 65% against Everton and then a staggering 80% against West Brom. Yet they managed a grand total of 0 goals.
It’s not the defence that turns these possession stats into goals, it’s the attack.
In fact, had United scored in any of those games, it could’ve changed the course of the game immeasurably. United would have had less need to attack, less need to throw men forward, and the opposition would have had to come out of their shells. Had United scored, they may have conceded fewer against Everton, and they might have coaxed Chelsea and West Brom into more attacking positions, leaving them more exposed at the back.
But in order to create more attacking opportunities in these sorts of games, you first have to score a goal. And United, for all their attacking options, couldn’t find one. And that’s the worrying part.
So going out and spending a reported £25-30m on Memphis Depay does seem somehow prudent, even for a team that has spent so much on attackers of late, and a team that can already count Wayne Rooney, Robin Van Persie, Ashley Young and Adnan Januzaj in its ranks.
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The defence is surely still a priority: Mats Hummels is still on the radar and a defensive midfielder like Ilkay Gundogan could still be a Manchester United player next season. But it just goes to show that despite all of the money that United have spent recently, they are still an attacking player short of being where they want to be.
And that’s what will concern LvG. It’s not so much the goals they’ve conceded, or even the fact that they’ve lost these matches. It’s the fact that they’ve lost matches they should have won. If you have 80% possession and lose, it’s never the defence’s fault. They could’ve been awful, but the attackers still had enough of the ball to score more than they conceded. Only because they had so much of the ball.
The cause for concern at United is the attackers, and Van Gaal realises this. He has everything at his disposal to rectify this, and I suspect he’ll do more buying before the summer’s out.
All eyes have been on incoming stars at Anfield this summer, as Brendan Rodgers continues to strengthen his side for life after Steven Gerrard, but the issue that should really be concerning Reds supporters is another potential outgoing.
The Daily Mail has reported that the club’s defensive midfielder Lucas Leiva will head a list of players on their way out the door at Anfield, as they look to balance the books.
This simply cannot happen. Lucas is a vital part of this Liverpool squad and should not be sold.
Since his £5m move from Gremio back in 2007 the Brazilian has become a cult hero at the club.
Like many defensive midfielders, his talents often go unnoticed, but the 28-year-old is incredible in this role. The way he recovers the ball and calmly builds an attack from the back has become a vital part of manager Brendan Rodgers’ counter attacking tactics.
No matter who the opponent, the player can be relied on to step up and support his defence and his calm presence on and off the ball has worked wonders for his team-mates.
Last season the midfielder made 32 appearances, despite a number of injuries, and now that Steven Gerrard has departed Lucas is the only natural defensive midfielder at the club.
His position in the team should also now be vital following the addition of a second attacking full back in Nathaniel Clyne. He and Alberto Moreno will be supporting attacks from out wide and Lucas is the obvious candidate to provide the necessary cover for the defence.
However it is not just his on-field abilities that will benefit the team.
Brendan Rodgers has assembled a young squad and players like Lucas are vital to provide advice to those around them still learning their game.
Emre Can is still young and learning his trade at the club, Jordan Henderson is in the, likely, transition of becoming the new club captain and James Milner is adapting to his new status as a Liverpool player.
There has never been a time when Lucas Leiva has been needed more
Add to that his importance in settling new arrivals from South America – Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho were both very vocal in their praise of the midfielder in helping them adapt to life on Merseyside.
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Now following the arrival of big money signing and fellow Brazilian Roberto Firmino, he can again play a key role in settling the new addition, ahead of what will be a difficult first season in English football.
Many would even argue that Lucas has all the characteristics of a good leader and should even be considered for at least a vice captaincy role if he remains at the club past the summer.
It’s clear to see that Lucas plays a massive role at Liverpool both on and off the field and needs to be heavily involved at Anfield next season. Brendan Rodgers simply cannot afford to lose the unsung hero any time soon.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp branded Alberto Moreno ‘probably the quickest healer in the squad’ when discussing the left-back’s ankle problem.
Moreno, who is valued at £9m by transfermarkt.co.uk, has missed Liverpool’s last five matches in all competitions after picking up an ankle injury during their 7-0 win over Spartak Moscow in the Champions League on December 6.
The Spain international will not be involved in his team’s next two matches against Leicester City and Burnley, but Klopp has suggested that he could return for the clash with Premier League leaders Manchester City at Anfield on January 14.
Klopp told reporters:
“He’s probably the quickest healer in the squad, but still not sure [when he will be back]. [He will miss] the next two games [and] I think I’ll have to involve the third game as well.
“Then we have maybe nine days between Everton and City—I think that could be the first for him, then.”
Andrew Robertson has played at left-back in Moreno’s absence, and the former Hull City defender appears to have won over the fans with a series of impressive performances.
Liverpool have not lost in the Premier League since suffering a 4-1 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur in the middle of October, with that impressive run seeing them occupy a top-four position heading into 2018.
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As Liverpool and Everton gear up for another clash, it will be their 24th meeting in the FA Cup and their first in the competition since 2012 when Liverpool won a Wembley semi-final.
Dreams of beating rivals and lifting cups this season are far from the surface, as the two are meeting in the third round – traditionally a time for giant-killing, but this is a battle of two giants: only Manchester United and Arsenal have contested more finals than either Liverpool or Everton.
At the last such time, though, the world was a different place. In May 1989, Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister and an FA Cup final between the two Merseyside rivals was played just five weeks after the Hillsborough disaster killed 96 Liverpool fans at the previous stage of the competition.
That might have made the final at Wembley a sombre occasion, and whilst both sides of the Stanley Park divide came together in solidarity, and whilst both sets of players wore black armbands on the occasion, neither side held anything back when it came to the game.
The game provided the raucous and dramatic affair that a tribute to those lost at Hillsborough deserved in a final contested by two of English football’s most decorated clubs. But despite an early goal, that drama was to burn slowly.
In just the fourth minute of the match, Liverpool, who were on course for a double took the lead through John Aldridge. The previous year, it was the Irish striker’s missed penalty – the first penalty save in FA Cup final history – which handed Wimbledon a famous victory over the champions at Wembley. But a year later, his early goal looked to have won it, making him the hero after all.
It wasn’t until the final minute when it became a classic.
After a low cross from the right was pushed straight back into the middle of the six-yard box by Bruce Grobbelaar, it was Stuart McCall, who had scored just once for Everton before the final, who showed a predatory instinct to react quickest, sliding between two Liverpool defenders to poke the ball into the net from point-blank range.
Cue pandamonium.
The atmosphere of solidarity is something that an occasion like an FA Cup final can engender, but an actual football match is capable of much more than that: for 90 minutes a stadium filled with people can forget about everything else in the world. Indeed, McCall’s 89th minute equaliser ensured that there would be an extra half-hour still to play.
Now this was a final between rivals, and now just city rivals. Only Aston Villa in 1981 were the only team to break the Merseyside hold on the First Division in the 1980s at this point. Although Liverpool were to lose to Arsenal six days later to lose the title on the final game of the season, the FA Cup final was still a meeting between the last two champions. And it showed: Liverpool were able to bring Ian Rush off the bench in the second half to have a vital role in extra time.
Just five minutes into the extra period, Rush put Liverpool back into the lead, breaking Dixie Dean’s record for most goals in Merseyside derbies. But McCall hit back for Everton, himself setting a new record with his second equaliser of the game – the Everton midfielder had become the first substitute to score two goals in an FA Cup final.
It was short lived, however. Just two minutes after McCall had brought the Toffees level again, and made history by scoring twice, Rush matched the feat, scoring twice as a substitute himself when he glanced a header past Neville Southall to win the match.
The Reds had won a thrilling all-Merseyside FA Cup final to add to their league championship the season previously, and had set themselves up for a second double of the 1980s, and only the second Double in English football since Arsenal had achieved the feat in 1971.
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Ironically, then, it was the Gunners whom Liverpool met at Anfield six days later. Because of the Hillsborough disaster, their league match which was postponed and rearranged for the Friday evening after the cup final. That night, Michael Thomas’s late goal pipped the Reds to the title in an iconic finale to the league season.
Since then, Everton and Liverpool have been drawn together three times in the FA Cup; two have gone to replays and one, the 2012 semi-final, was decided by another late goals, this time a Liverpool winner.
This weekend, it won’t be a final, nor even a semi-final when the Merseyside giants meet, but it will be on a Friday evening under the lights at Anfield. History tells us to look out for late goals, and maybe even a dramatic winner.