Tag: Highlights

Premier League legend and Sky Sport pundit Jamie Carragher has said that Manchester United summer marquee addition Paul Pogba is a defensive liability.

The Red Devils were gifted a clear chance to make the top four but they were lacklustre in their game against Bournemouth.

“He’s not a game changer. It was a signal of their intentions to spend £90 million on someone I would say isn’t a finished article,” Chelsea legend Frank Lampard said in his criticism of Pogba after the game.

United were forced to a 1-1 draw that would likely see them finish outside of the top four this season.

“He hasn’t quite delivered and he hasn’t been a game-changer,” Lampard added.

When Carragher had his turn to speak, he was unsparing in his criticism.

“He’s still nowhere near good enough and hasn’t got the discipline. He’s a liability defensively. What he does give you is a fantastic passing range. There’s no doubt he has a great relationship with [Zlatan] Ibra[himovic],” the Reds legend said. (more…)

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has stated that he will not prevent any player from leaving the club if he is unhappy.

He said that he has an open-door policy and that players are free to leave if they feel that they are not getting enough playing time at the moment.

He said that clubs are welcome to place bids for players that are currently not playing regularly in the squad but Manchester United reserve the rights to accept or refuse any bid.

Jose Mourinho said that he already knows his best team and that there might be changes coming during the January transfer window. He believes that there are some fringe players that might benefit from moving away from the club as he cannot guarantee whether they will get enough playing time by staying at the club. (more…)

Luke Shaw appears to have lost his place in the Manchester United first-team after missing out on the 4-0 loss against Chelsea.

However, he was recalled for the EFL Cup clash with Manchester City in the midweek. A game against City is always of massive importance, but Shaw failing to make it to the league match and then featuring in the EFL Cup game suggests that he has fallen down the pecking order at United. It is not the first time thatShaw has faced the situation since his £30 million move from Southampton in 2014.

Still only 21,Shaw has the capability to get back into Mourinho’s favour with some good performances. He certainly helped his case by being part of the defence that kept a clean sheet against City in the 1-0 win. The victory no pits Manchester United against West Ham in the last eight of the EFL Cup. (more…)

Manchester United have a great reputation for developing young players from the academy into first-team regulars.

This was especially pronounced during the era of Sir Alex Ferguson, as names like David Beckham, Gary Neville, and Paul Scholes progressed through the youth system to become great superstars. However, there is a danger of this tradition being lost with the club undergoing several managerial changes in the last three years. After experiencing more than two decades of stability under Ferguson, United have already gone through three managers since 2013.

Jose Mourinho has just arrived as the third manager and he has been given substantial amount of transfer money to improve the squad. The Portuguese is also expected to quickly bring success to Old Trafford. After managing to win the FA Cup last season, the club are now targeting at least two more trophies. Mourinho has already set the target of winning the Premier League in his first season at Old Trafford, while he would also realistically be targeting at the Europa League as well. However, he has already been criticising for this regarding youth in the chase for results. Last season’s most promising debutant – Marcus Rashford – has seen very little football, but Mourinho has promised to that the England international will be receiving game time in the future.

“Marcus will play a lot. I cannot choose competitions. I cannot say Zlatan doesn’t play one single match in the Europa League because that is not the case. I cannot say Marcus doesn’t start matches in the Premier League because that is not the case.Marcus is a young and talented player. That is why we didn’t buy more strikers. If you don’t trust him or want him to play, then you would buy other strikers. That is not the case,” said José Mourinho.

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has said that MarouaneFellaini will have to learn to control himself on the pitch.

The Manchester United player was guilty of elbowing Robert Huth and has been banned for 3 matches.

Louis van Gaal, however, admitted that it was a human reaction as footage has shown that Huth was pulling out his hair. He conceded that Manchester United has no intentions of appealing the ban despite the fact that the ban would prevent Fellaini from missing the remaining games of the season.

The Dutch manager said it was unfortunate that the referee did not see the action properly and given that the Huth has also received a 3-match ban there was a foul in the penalty area. For him, this means that his team has been denied a penalty in the game.

However, he added that he would not want to complain too much as he respects what Leicester have achieved this season by winning the title and he congratulated them for their achievements. (more…)

The Selecao manager Dunga has backed his decision of replacing Coutinho with Kaka in the squad that he has announced for the upcoming couple of games.

It has come as a big surprise for everyone that Dunga took a backward step and went back to Kaka instead of encouraging a young talent like Coutinho.

Dunga had brought Coutinho into the side straightaway after he took charge following Brazil’s World Cup disaster and the young winger did not disappoint him.

The 23-year old played a little bit in Copa America and he was okay in that tournament in terms of his form.

He might not have been extraordinary, but, he would have thought he did well enough to retain his place in the squad.

However, in Dunga’s view, it was not the case. According to the boss, Coutinho failed to make the most of his opportunity and thus, had to make space for Kaka.

Addressing the press after the announcement of the squad the other day, Dunga said, “Philippe has had his opportunity. He played in Copa America. You have to understand that it’s not possible to do the rebuilding work with young players only. Experience is needed as well.” (more…)

On May of 2014, Ji Sung Park announced his retirement from playing competitive football as the South Korean hanged up his boots after having lifted a number of major titles throughout his entire career but it was during his time performing with Manchester United where he tasted true success and glory as he secured the Premier League, Champions League and FIFA Club World Cup titles just to name a few of the pieces of silverware that the retired player sealed as a player at Old Trafford.

There is no doubt whatsoever that he enjoyed having a very successful campaign with his club but the same cannot be said for his national team South Korea as he failed on winning any major trophies for South Korea despite having made over 120 appearances for his nation.

The 2015 Asian Cup is currently taking place in Australia and will continue going on until January 31. South Korea has already advanced past through the group stages and will be progressing into the next rounds of the competition and according to Ji Sung Park, his nation has what it takes to become the next champions. (more…)

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