Manchester United vs. Spurs: view from the opposition

Manchester United begin a run of five games that, once concluded, will give a much clearer picture as to where Louis van Gaal’s men will finish come the end of May. United welcome Tottenham Hotspur, who are also chasing a top four finish, to Old Trafford this afternoon and are in desperate need of a win to keep on the tails of Arsenal, who won handsomely against West Ham United yesterday.

Today’s fixture marks a tricky run that includes a trip away to Liverpool, Manchester City at home and a trip away to league leaders Chelsea. A resurgent Aston Villa are also travel to Old Trafford over Easter.

Spurs have picked up wins in the previous two trips to Old Trafford, beating United 3-2 with an electric performance from Gareth Bale and last season 2-1 on New Years Day. The last win for United against Spurs came back in 2011/12, with a 3-0 victory in August. How United fans would love to see a repeat of that victory today.

Today we are joined by Peter Chilton, a season ticket holder at White Hart Lane, who is pretty confident of a third Spurs win on the bounce today. We caught up about the phenomenal form of Harry Kane, what he thinks of Louis van Gaal and did he actually leave Cristiano Ronaldo out of his all time, joint, United/Spurs Xi?! Read on to find out.

1) How would you sum up your season? Have you made progress?

A decent season so far, bright young players have emerged from our ranks and have really embarrassed some of their big money team mates. The manager has shown progression and a willingness to give opportunities to young players, who also seem happy to train under his strict fitness regime. Certainly if nothing is achieved this year Tottenham will have something to build on next year, a positive attitude has been restored.

2) Were you confident going into the league cup final? What did you make of the game?

Dead rubber! Tottenham didn’t turn up and Chelsea did not let us play, we fell foul of bad defensive mistakes that could have been avoided. Chelsea showed they had more big game experience than us, they did not outplay us. They used underhanded tactics throughout the game what a bunch of cry babies #Ibra

3) Will Spurs finish in the top four? If no, who will make up 3rd & 4th?

It starts with a win on Sunday, and yes. The run in is kind to Spurs and the team is performing well, we can play our strongest team every week as we have no European Thursday night distractions. Hopefully our goal difference is not a factor.

4) Harry Kane has been a revelation. How good can he be and are you worried about keeping hold of him?

He is amazing and scores all sorts of goals. Hopefully we can keep him, have Madrid been in contact?

5) What have you made of United’s form this season? Do you think van Gaal is the right man for the job?

I think the performances have been poor, I think making massive signings over the last 2 year Man u were expecting to challege for the title but are nowhere near it. Van Gaal needs more time to develop his philosophy on the players but i don’t think he’s getting the best out of them at the moment, Heavily critisised for playing Rooney in midfield and rightly so as he wasn’t able to see that Rooney is outplaying both Persie and Falcon. He has scrapped alot of victories and doesn’t know his best team. He looks like Mason Verger which is disturbing for the viewer.

6) Which United player – past or present – did you hate on match day, but secretly admired?

Dwight Yorke, I really fancied Jordan back then.

7) Can you see Gareth Bale in a United shirt with David De Gea going to the other way?

No i don’t think Real Madrid will be willing to let him go, He’s had a bit of a goal drought but will turn it around. You heard it here first. He is a superb player and professional

8) How far behind have English clubs fallen behind Europe’s elite and should the Premier League lose a Champions League spot?

No definitely not. The reason why English clubs are suffering is because the league is so tough for example Fiorentina away Thursday followed by Chelsea at Wembley on Sunday. The point being English clubs are finding it harder to prioritise the European competitions because of tough schedules, wheras for example Real Madrid will play David Moyes’ team Real Sociadad with a reserve team because the game is easy to win, then roll out the proper team for Tues/ Wed champions league tie. you can’t do that away at Stoke.

9) Do you think Angel Di Maria will come good eventually?

Yes he will, He’s World Class just needs time to adapt. He probably doesn’t like being shouted at by Mason Verger and who would, LVG looks like something out of Lord Of The Rings Ugly.

10) Give us a mix United/Spurs xi side from your lifetime.

Schmichael
Neville
King
Stam
Evra
Bale
Gazza
Modric
Beckham
Cantona
Kane