Former Manchester United first team coach Rene Meulensteen believes incoming Old Trafford boss Louis van Gaal will need time in order to make his mark at the club.
The 62 year old, who led The Netherlands team to third place in the recently concluded World Cup in Brazil, is expected to take up his position as manager this week but the former coach doesn’t expect he will be able to deliver immediate success. (more…)
David Moyes has stated that he is thankful of the support shown by the fans during his troubled times at Manchester United. He has said this in an emotional letter ahead of the club’s trip to West Brom on Saturday. This match precedes a difficult run of fixtures, which will see United take on the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City in the next five matches. Moyes is under a lot of pressure after losing the first leg against Olympiakos. As a result, the club are in danger of being knocked out of the Champions League for the second consecutive season at the last 16 stage itself.
There were beaten by Real Madrid at this stage last season, but this defeat will be much more embarrassing since United were expected to comfortably progress to the quarter-finals. Further, they have been struggling in the league throughout the season and they are currently seventh in the table. The prospect of United finishing in the top four looks very unlikely and it would be the first time they miss out on the competition in a very long time. There have been the fans turning against Moyes, as he has been able to get just three wins since the turn of the year.
Moyes, though, is looking to win back the supporters with this emotional letter ahead of a major month.
“While I knew that this job would be a challenge when I took it on, the difficult season we have experienced was not something that I envisaged, which I am sure is the case as well for you supporters – and my players, staff and I are desperate to compensate for that. You are accustomed to seeing a successful Manchester United and the backing you have given the players and me throughout the season has been incredible,” said Moyes.
Former Liverpool midfielder Jamie Redknapp thinks that Manchester United manager David Moyes can prove his critics wrong provided that he can get a win against one of the top teams. He will be getting the perfect opportunity this weekend when United take on Manchester city in a crunch match. Moyes has come up against Chelsea and Liverpool so far this campaign, but has taken just one point from these matches. He also has the bad record of not being able to secure an away win against one of the traditional top four when he was a manager at Everton.
Due to the doubts about his credibility against top teams, Moyes will not be able to get much respect from his team. Hence, he needs to secure a victory against city this weekend according to Redknapp. City will be coming into the match on the back of an indifferent form. They have not started the Premier league season well, but they have begun their Champions League campaign in the spectacular fashion by managing a 3-0 win a few days ago. This win will certainly provide them with a lot of confidence.
City will also be boosted by the return of Vincent Kompany, who returns from injury after a short layoff.
“Both managers want to prove that they were the best choice for the job and the best way to do that is by winning the match that means most to the supporters. If Moyes achieves the feat it will give him so much confidence, but he’s under a lot of pressure after losing at Anfield and the last thing he needs is to lose at the Etihad. The longer he goes without winning a big game, the more the pressure will build,” said the former Liverpool midfielder, who is now a pundit at Skysports.
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Manchester United have clearly been the best team in the Premier league in the first half of the season, and they currently have a five point advantage over the second-placed Manchester city. The lead for United could have been significantly higher had they not dropped two points in the recent match against Tottenham. Despite this, the Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson believes that it is not a cause for concern because he is sure that other teams will drop points in the title race from now till the end of the season.
United have a lot to owe to the striker Robin van Persie after his 18 goals in the league has helped them take a commanding lead in the table. They would have been closer to a mid-table position had not been for his goals. Even the City manager Roberto Mancini acknowledged that van Persie is proving to be the difference between United winning and losing the title this season. Ferguson is confident that clubs like Arsenal, Chelsea, and City will drop points over the remaining four months of the season. Even though United will also drop points, Ferguson wants his players to fight till the end in every match due to the fact that all matches are difficult.
“Teams will drop points in the title race. Not just us but Manchester City will drop points, absolutely, it’s a certainty Chelsea and Arsenal will drop points. We’ll probably drop two or three ourselves but the important thing is accepting the challenge that every game is just as difficult as the rest,” said Ferguson. United will be taking on Southampton in the Premier league during the weekday fixture list. Ferguson has said that he does not knowing anything about the new Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino , who was appointed as a replacement for Nigel Adkins.
Manchester United have been no strangers to defensive crisis in the last few seasons. This has been due to the presence of many injury prone defenders like Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, who have spent large chunk of the season on the sidelines. This has translated into the Manchester United defence being the most leaky in recent seasons. As a result, the manager Sir Alex Ferguson has made it a priority to sign defender in the January transfer window. He has already had success in the form of signing defenders in January transfer windows, as the likes of Patrice Evra and Nemanja Vidic were both brought to the club during this period.
Now, United have been linked with as much as five players in the January transfer window with the PSV midfielder Kevin Strootman one of the key. The Dutch international, though, has said that he is not interested in securing a move away from the Dutch club at least in January. The 22-year-old has made a great start to life in the Eredivisie with PSV, which has subjected him to interest from a number of Premier league and Italian clubs. However, he will not be moving to another club in January because it does not provide him with enough time to acclimatise to the new surroundings.
“A move abroad in the winter transfer window is by no means ideal. That would only give you two weeks to adapt to your new surroundings. If a club really wants me, they will return in the summer. And it’s not like I want to leave PSV at all costs in the summer. We will hopefully play in the Champions League again next season. Of course, I have ambition and I occasionally discuss certain clubs with my agent Chiel Dekker,” said the player.
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