by Rukmini Sengupta So what is it with the notion of football and girls? I don’t follow football regularly and well I don’t engage in arguments over my club on Facebook comments or Twitter conversations. But I do share a beer with my dad during the world cup and cheer for the teams I support. I don’t know how true it is but I have heard that men love women, who watch and follow football. That might just be true. I have this particular friend who tells me all about last night’s match so that he has something interesting to discuss with me over coffee the next morning. Thanks to awesome friends of mine, I too have started to keep tiny track of the scores and matches, but I am yet to go a long way ahead.
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by Aman Mittal The biggest club footballing event is nearing the exciting stages, where even a small mistake is punished and one can become the Leonidas of their club and lead them on. It does sound fancy and the draw came with its own cheers and jeers. Surely, this is where the top players,teams and managers thrive. This is where it all goes down. Enough of the building up. We go straight to the draw with predictions being the final aggregate score.
by Aman Mittal The problems at Manchester United see no end at the moment. The gutter only seems to be getting deeper by the minute and the draw against Arsenal didn’t deceive anyone Mr. Moyes. A 4-1 loss to City didn’t surprise me, but now; a loss to anyone doesn’t. Is this what Man Utd have become? Is this what you fans want your team to be? This is what Ed Woodward, Moyes, his staff and players must ask themselves.
by Nivedita Jha Four consecutive victories in the last four games has definitely subsided the ire of Red Devils across the globe. However in the last four victories ,what is more positive is the the manner in which they have won. Three clean sheets in last four tells you that the shaky defense of Man United is stablising. De Gea has already been a standout player and Dave's saves have done trick for the devils. Phil Jones has had a great run of form recently in any area of the field. He infact scored United's winner against Donestsk making them the group winners. Wingers Ashley Young and Danny Welbeck have found a new life. Both have scored twice in last four games. Young was in line of fire after the derby loss and had a dormant 18 month period. His spectacular two goals have rejuvenated his confidence. Teenage sensation Januzaj has continued to sparkle scoring his first Old Trafford goal. Welbeck's good run of form has compensated for van Persie's injury. Ashley Young's revival is most opportune with Valencia out of form and Nani sidelined. It seems like Moyses hairdryer has finally started to show its effect.
by Aman Mittal Last week (Squad Analysis) I had my say on United’s defense and their quality and role that they should play in the squad now. This time I will be looking at the midfielders. Yes, it is going to be tough and I will be trying to be as unbiased as possible. So here goes
1) Ashley Young Uh huh ( clears throat, clenches fists, okay it was hard to type like that ). So Young is in the league of overrated Englishmen who have been buoyed by the media early in their careers with him even being compared to Messi and Ronaldo after he scored two goals against Everton by Martin O’Neill. He was high I am guessing. Anyway there is no denying that he has a quality right foot which is capable of good deliveries into the box when there is no defender around cause when there is, Youngy doesn’t know what to do with the ball. He still is quite creative at times but in the end he is and never was United quality regardless of those two goals against Arsenal. He is the perfect player to play at Aston Villa and well Sir Alex Ferguson bought him to replace Giggs. I am sure even if Fergie thought he was good enough, Young has failed to deliver and cannot handle the pressure before his form takes a ‘dive’ too often. Result : Not United quality, no not even as a squad player. by Divyam Arora This Champions League round of 16 draw confirmed a few things. (1) Manchester United always tend to get an easy draw. (2) Arsenal are always the unlucky ones. (3) They love pairing Chelsea with their own legends. Anyways, we have a couple of very interesting fixtures. Arsenal once again have the daunting task of going back to Allianz Arena. Manchester City play hosts to Barcelona in what promises to be one hell of a match. Tell you what; I’d place my bet on Manchester City to go through. And then we have the return of the king at Stamford Bridge. Here’s what it means for the English teams.
by Aman Mittal So where is it all going wrong with United? This question is not only on the minds of fans, opposition but well now it must be bursting on the top of Mr. Moyes’s head too. After all, he is the ‘The Chosen One’ and cannot belittle this grand club to a meager 9th place even if we are just 15 games in. Well, as I have stated before that he will not be going anywhere but needs to learn, and learn fast and change a bit of his managerial style too. The vastness of the club might be catching him out but then he says he loves the pressure, give the fans a reason to be behind you Moyesy regardless you were left all by yourself in the transfer market. This article won’t be about the tactical concerns showing graphs, crunching numbers or pictures, but I would like to assess the given squad for now.
by Aman Mittal Sir Alex Ferguson departs the scene as the manager of Manchester United after almost 27 years at the helm and for the first time for me like many, the dugout would have a different manager in David Moyes. Enter the new Scotsman.
Well, his start hasn't been easy, his star striker wants to leave, as the media claims. The pre season saw his newly acquired Champions of England win just 2 games and looked off pace. But it was just a pre season match until they were outplayed at home by Sevilla at Rio’s testimonial. Still pre season I would say, as a fan, I didn't worry much then. As a fan, I am trying not to over expect, as a fan I am overlooking the LACK OF SIGNINGS and the amassment of sponsorships by the new Chief Executive of Manchester United, Ed Woodward. Unlike David Gill, he hasn’t come out and spoken much leaving all the “dirty” work to Moyes. Poor old Moyes, takes what is probably the most coveted of managerial positions and his CEO goes missing. Well at least when it comes to signings. Clearly, watching all of United’s rivals across Europe and well even in the English Premier League itself sign a whole bunch of players to improve their squad to match United’s who ran away with the title last year is a worry. Well, firstly United’s squad is decent, but others’ has become better and they do not have the experience of Sir Alex anymore. Moyes is experienced but managing Everton and managing Manchester United is a totally different ball game. |