Kagawa Haunted By The Ghost Of Veron?

Posted on December 13, 2013  by Bricki  in Bricki, Man United, Players   No Comments »

Manchester United v West Bromwich Albion - Premier League

Author: Bricki

Follow Bricki on Twitter – @Bricki‎

Shinji Kagawa is my kind of footballer. He’s small, nippy and all about looking after the ball. I could watch him conduct a game from the middle of the park all day long.

The expectations the moment United signed him from Borussia Dortmund were huge. Here was a player that had been part of the heartbeat of the football hipster’s favourite side in Europe. We had seemingly plucked the biggest gem from Dortmund to build our side around.

So a season and a half into his stay with United, what has gone wrong?

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United 1-0 Shakhtar Donetsk: Through to the second round

Posted on December 11, 2013  by El Rob  in Champions League, Man United, Match Reports, Sleepy Nik   1 Comment »
Manchester United v Shakhtar Donetsk
Phil Jones, the goalscorer, put in a decent midfield shift for United.

Author: Nik

Follow: Nik on Twitter

Last night, United broke their two-match home losing streak with a tense 1-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk. In doing so, they secured their place as group A winners in the Champions League, and will therefore be looking forward to the draw for the first knockout round of the competition. United will be drawn against one of Galatasaray, Schalke, Milan, Olympiakos or Zenit. Here we’ll be looking at some of the major talking points from last night’s match, especially in terms of the tactical approach, and what they could mean for David Moyes’s side in the future.

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Manchester United 0-1 Newcastle United: Problems mount

Posted on December 08, 2013  by El Rob  in El Rob, Man United, Match Reports, Newcastle United, Premier League   12 Comments »
Manchester United v. Newcastle United
United never looked like getting back into the game after conceding.

Author: Rob

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Another home game, another 1-0 defeat for Manchester United, this time at the hands of Newcastle United. Last Sunday at Spurs, the side entered the week full of confidence after thrashing Bayer Leverkusen and having recently taken down table-topping Arsenal at Old Trafford. It’s safe to say that, after a draw against Spurs and two deserved home beatings by Everton and Newcastle, Mr. Moyes, the players and United fans worldwide won’t be bursting with optimism as they trudge in to work on Monday.

Twelve games in, United’s start to the Premier League campaign was underwhelming but largely explicable – with a new manager, tough opening fixtures and injuries to key players all taken into account. Since then, however, things have worsened dramatically. It’s become a crisis, – a large, signposted crisis. We’ll look briefly at what went wrong on Saturday, as well as some of the issues that need fixing if United are to come back stronger, as we always know them to do.

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Manchester United vs. Newcastle United view from the oppo

Posted on December 07, 2013  by Stretford-end  in Man United   2 Comments »
Manchester United v Newcastle United
Manchester United take on Newcastle United at Old Trafford following a thriller last season

Manchester United are looking to bounce back from their 1-0 home defeat to Everton in the week, as David Moyes welcomes Newcastle United to Old Trafford. The visitors had been in superb form, until a heavy defeat away at Swansea brought the run to an abrupt end. The boxing day fixture between the two clubs last season ended in a 4-3 victory for the home side, with a last minute goal from Javier Hernandez. Moyes will take anything today as he finds his side twelve points off leaders Arsenal, the same distance between United and relegation threatened Fulham.

Manchester Unite are without suspended Wayne Rooney, although Phil Jones comes back from his ban. Robin van Persie and Shinji Kagawa and both doubtful for the 158th clash between the two sides.

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Manchester United 0-1 Everton: Moyes loses to old club

Posted on December 04, 2013  by Stretford-end  in Bricki, Everton, Man United, Match Reports, Premier League   10 Comments »
Manchester United vs Everton FC
Manchester United lose at home to Everton for the first time since 1992/93

Author: Bricki

Follow Bricki on Twitter – @Bricki‎

Manchester United hadn’t even signed Eric Cantona the last time Everton were last victorious in the league at Old Trafford. The Yugoslav Preki danced a merry dance around the helpless Peter Schmeichel to give the visitors a 3-0 win. United went onto lift the league title that season, the first time in 26 long years. It is looking highly unlikely that United will be retaining the title come May, as David Moyes’ men find themselves closer to the relegation zone than to the top of the table.

Bryan Oviedo, who was filling in for Leighton Baines – a summer transfer target for the home side, scored the only goal of the game to push Everton up to fourth place, whilst United linger in tenth position. United were unlucky not to hit the back of the net after Tim Howard saved from Patrice Evra’s header and Danny Welbeck hit the bar.

Here we discuss the talking points of the game and welcome feedback from both sets of fans.

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Manchester United vs. Everton: View from the opposition

Posted on December 04, 2013  by Stretford-end  in Everton, Man United, Match Previews, Premier League   1 Comment »
Pienaar scores an equalizer against Manchester United
David Moyes welcomes his old club Everton to Old Trafford to take on his Manchester United side

Manchester United welcome Everton to Old Trafford this evening, the first time David Moyes has faced his old club since taking over from Sir Alex Ferguson in the summer. Roberto Marthinez has made a great start at Everton, who are currently unbeaten in their last six games. Romelu Lukaku has been a revelation since his shock summer move, on loan, from Chelsea; notching up eight goals already.

David Moyes has spoken of a mixed reaction from the traveling fans, mainly due to his joint bid for Leighton Baines and Marouane Fellaini in the summer, which was described as “derisory and insulting”. It is the 187th time both clubs have met in their history with United winning 81 and Everton 63. Phil Jones misses the game through suspension, whilst Robin van Persie “has a chance to play”.

We welcome comments from both sets of fans on potential lineups, predictions and initial reaction to the game.

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Tottenham Hotspur vs. Manchester United: View from the oppo

Posted on November 30, 2013  by Stretford-end  in Man United, Match Previews, Premier League, Spurs   2 Comments »
Spurs v Man Utd
Manchester United travel to under fire Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday

Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur meet for the 179th time on Sunday, as United look to heap more misery on under boss André Villas-Boas, following Spurs’ demolition against Manchester City last weekend. The North London club are currently 9th in the table and despite a good start to the season, Villas Boas finds himself on the back of two defeats and the third worst goal scoring record in the league.

Only Crystal Palace and Sunderland, who occupy the bottom two spots, have scored less goals this season. When you compare Spurs’ 9 to City’s 34 or Arsenal’s 24, he highlights just how much they’ve struggled up top this term. United will be hopeful to go one better than last season, when David De Gea’s weak punch resulted in a last minute equaliser.

David Moyes will be full of confidence following the excellent 5-0 away in Leverkusen this week and will be looking to close the gap at the top following a disappointing performance and result against Cardiff City last weekend. Both Robin van Persie and Nemanja Vidic are both expected to return to action following injuries that have kept them out of the last two fixtures.

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So Far, So Good In Europe For Moyes

Posted on November 28, 2013  by Bricki  in Bricki, Champions League, Man United   No Comments »
david-moyes_2748371b
David Moyes’ Manchester United have safeguarded their path in to the last 16 of the Champions League

Author: Bricki

Follow Bricki on Twitter – @Bricki‎

I wonder if David Moyes turned to Sir Alex on the plane back after last nights 5-0 win over Leverkusen and said ‘I thought this Champions League was supposed to be difficult?!’

United under Moyes have made simple work of the group stage of the Champions League this year however what does it really tell us so far?

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Bayer Leverkusen v. Manchester United: A collective excellence

Posted on November 27, 2013  by El Rob  in Champions League, El Rob, Man United   4 Comments »
Bayer Leverkusen v Manchester United - UEFA Champions LeagueValencia’s haka paid off, as nearly all of the starting XI performed superbly.

(Photo credit: The Graun)

Author: Rob

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In what came as a massive surprise to almost everyone, Manchester United went to the BayArena and savaged hosts Bayer Leverkusen by a score of 5-0. In doing so, United qualified for the next round of the Champions League, almost certainly as group winners. After conceding another late equaliser in the 2-2 draw at Cardiff on Sunday, the team needed a good performance and result to put our restless minds at ease.

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3G Is Key For Youth

Posted on November 27, 2013  by Bricki  in Bricki, Man United, Youth   No Comments »
IMAG0373_1 - Copy

Author: Bricki

Follow Bricki on Twitter – @Bricki‎

It’s always raining in Manchester, at least that’s the stereotype that has grown legs and now depicts the North-West as a whole. To be fair you could argue that most of the United Kingdom receives more rain than the majority of Europe but what impact does our climate have on the development of footballers?

In my youth I played pretty much every position on the pitch except for Centre Back as I was a short arse. My abiding memory of these games though was the pitches we were expected to play on which were not in the best condition put it that way. Pitches that resembled the moon with craters all over, others which were swamps and the Amazonian ones with knee high grass.

Pitches that were designed to avoid playing the ball across and led to the game plan of many sides where they needed to keep the ball in the air. Teams as a result looked to recruit the kids who could kick the furthest and were the tallest/strongest.

Can you see where I’m heading with this?

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Kagawa Haunted By The Ghost Of Veron?

Tweet Author: Bricki Follow Bricki on Twitter – @Bricki‎ Shinji Kagawa is my...

United 1-0 Shakhtar Donetsk: Through to the second round

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Manchester United 0-1 Newcastle United: Problems mount

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Manchester United vs. Newcastle United view from the oppo

Tweet Manchester United take on Newcastle United at Old Trafford following a...