Archives For Michael Carrick

Mourinho and The Einsteins, it’s all relative

October 25, 2016

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A week is a long time in football. The headlines after last Monday’s 0-0 Liverpool draw highlighted a disciplined, organized, typical Mourinho performance. After Thursday’s 4-1 win and the Paul Pogbaing of Fenerbahce the active adjective was “demolish.” Now it’s Humiliated!!!!!  following Sunday’s admittedly desperate 4-0 loss against Chelsea, and oh btw Pogba is now “embarrassing.”

Seven days, three games – from disciplined to diabolical. The  Einsteins are out in force again.  Martin Palazzotto whose commentary I often really enjoy at Stretty News sticks the knife in good and proper. Like a few others he’s calling for Jose Mourinho to be sacked.  C’mon Martin, he’s been in charge for 9 Premiere League games and lost 3. I didn’t want him either for a whole host of reasons; the incident with the Chelsea team Doc; the way his teams play; the reluctance to play youth; the meltdowns; the psychodrama; but now he’s the United manager and just as I argued for Van Gaal to be given time, Mourinho deserves time too. His return to Stamford Bridge was dreadful, truly, truly dreadful and the after match spat with Conte was pure Mourinho, an instant sideshow to deflect from the result. However, there is no instant cure at old Trafford. It took Alex Ferguson 5 years to build a championship winning side, and as Jacob Steinberg argues in the Guardian ,United need to think long term again.

Yes they have spent a galactic bundle. Yes it’s obscene how much players and managers are paid. Yes there is complete economic dislocation between the fans who might take a year to earn what Marcus Rashford earns in a week, or 10 years to pocket what Wayne Rooney does. Yes United are a global marketing machine and brand. Yes, yes, yes, yes to all the countless fair minded criticisms and calls for fan ownership,, a big YES on that one, because we are all right. But in the end it’s always about what happens on the pitch and Mourinho is charged with putting that right.

Next up of course is, oh, City on Wednesday in the League Cup. A derby when you least want it in a money-making irrelevant competition which if United lose will again unleash the Einsteins. That’s three of the League’s top 5 teams in 10 days. Two of them away. Two against the club’s fiercest rivals. After the coaching superpower club of Klopp and Conte now comes its figurehead, Guardiola. City, of course, are having their own issues. Wednesday couldn’t have come at a worse time for both clubs as both try to reassert themselves. But let someone else talk about City. What can Mourinho and United do?

There are plenty of questions. Who does Mourinho really trust? Where does the midfield balance come from? What has happened to Mikhitaryan? Why are Shaw, Darmian, Schneiderlin and even Martial sidelined?

Bailly’s loss with potentially a long term knee ligament injury is, of course, a major setback. Mourinho has to first and foremost reorganize his defence, re-establish some confidence, and refocus the troops. All by Wednesday night. My bet is Carrick brings stability in front of a back four of Valencia, Smalling, Blind and Shaw. Then we’re off to the races. Pogba, Rashford or Martial and Zlatan play. So two players out of Herrera, Mkhitaryan, Lingard, Mata, Young, and Schneiderlin. Fellaini is likely out. Where does the pace, mobility, steel, and dynamism come from? If it’s me Schneiderlin plays, and I go a very fluid 4-2-3-1

De Gea

Valencia, Smalling, Blind, Shaw

Schneiderlin, Carrick,

Mkhitaryan Pogba Rashford

Zlatan

 

If it’s not obvious by now Sunday’s loss doesn’t distress me as much as others. There are good players at Old Trafford. More will arrive, and there are youngsters in the pipeline. Someone has to be given the time to mould these players into a team. It should be Mourinho. That’s why he was hired.

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And Mourinho’s missing man is……?

September 19, 2016

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Three losses on the trot. The knives are out. Rooney is the fall guy. Mourinho’s not far behind, and United are back to playing Van Gaal’s sideways football. Not a good week. Yet it’s only September as Mata pointed out on his blog, and only City who have real daylight between United and the rest of the chasing pack. Maybe that’s why it’s so painful? City are wonderful to watch. De Bruyne the mastermind of their quick, mobile, swarming play. Guardiola style at it’s best. Liverpool aren’t far behind. Meanwhile United’s giants lumber.

The ruthless side of Mourinho will surely be seen in the coming weeks.  The midfield has to have more dynamism and penetration. Pogba has to turn up. By the time the October crunch away fixtures against Chelsea and Liverpool arrive Mourinho has to find width, speed and a midfield combination that both protects and threatens. The key could be Mkhitaryan.

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Surely there is a mix of pace, craft and steel in Mkhitaryan, Mata, Pogba, Lingard, Fellaini, Schneiderlin, and Carrick. When everyone is fit there’s just too many good players available. But it’s Mkhitaryan who is potentially the most interesting. The Czech Republic’s captain Suchy’s foul on the Armenian during the first match of the international break has had a significant impact on United. Mkhitaryan brings exactly the qualities of pace and imagination United need, and we haven’t seen the best of him yet.

The same can be said for Pogba. Underwhelming is too generous a word. We’ve witnessed flashes of brute force, power, and an occasional mazy run. But he aint no Zidane yet.

And what about the rest of the team? The criticism of Rooney is merciless. Yes he’s having a terrible time. However people are quick to forget there would be no FA Cup win without the driving run setting up Mata’s equaliser. The same determination created the winner at Hull. Yes he’s getting caught on the ball far too often. Yes the passes are less than pin point. And yes it maybe time to put him on the bench. But he’s not the reason United are misfiring. There’s no balance in the team.

Mourinho has the players. Perhaps some aren’t fit, but now is when a manager earns his corn. Unfortunately, for me anyway, Mourinho’s darker characteristics are showing. Blaming Luke Shaw publicly for the second goal at Watford isn’t exactly brilliant man management. Especially when Shaw is said to have had a reoccurrence of a long standing groin injury. Mourinho’s reputation for handling young or sensitive players is awful. Not exactly a nurterer our Jose.

Yet this is exactly a period when players need someone to lift them, and to make the best decisions for the team. If anyone needs to step up it’s the manager. Let’s see what the line up is against Leicester on Saturday.

 

 

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Derby County 1, Man United 3, January 29th: One for the fans, and why is Louis having a war with the Press?

January 30, 2016

For a moment forget the Louis Van Gaal Louis Van Gone drama and his current war with the Press. Watching the FA Cup win at Derby once again underlined something wonderful and worth celebrating. The hard core, real Man United supporters. The people who travel to support.  Look at them:

No wonder the United players joined in at Liverpool.

Louis understands the bond and the responsibility the fans. It’s why he always signs autographs and why he’s never afraid to acknowledge they deserve to boo, or come up with signs like this.

Derby-County-v-Manchester-United-FA-Cup-Fourth-Round

At Derby the players listened. There’s no doubt they are playing for Van Gaal. We know the mix isn’t right, even though Rooney is returning to form and Martial delivered another performance illustrating why he’s going to be a superstar. But Van Gaal is correct when he says that mix can only be improved by the “process”. Meaning shrewd acquisitions, a commitment to youth, and forgetting the screaming headlines of doom and disaster.

The Manchester Evening News has four reporters covering United. The paper and those reporters obviously don’t have a relationship with the club anymore. It has succumbed to today’s demands. If United are big business how big is the media? The MEN and all the other outlets chase each other and the internet traffic that drives the simple equation: Eyeballs = ads, = revenue.

Then there’s us. The bloggers, the Twitterati, The Facebook pagers, and the commenters. Everybody has a megaphone. Look at a past few headlines on the United Rant.

Five Ways Louis Van Gaal can save his job

Louis Van Going: The replacements

Tactical Rant: Three issues behind United’s impotent attack

Full disclosure every time I link to the United Rant my traffic on this blog goes up. Some of you visit here after seeing a snippet there.

I can understand why Louis gets exasperated and hits back at the media. Who wouldn’t? Yes he earns a fortune and is answerable to the supporters. That’s a given. But with all of his experience you would think he would know better? As a friend texted this week:

Better to be like hound dog Pellegrini…who sends them to sleep and when they wake up they realize he’s said sod all.

 

The Press and us are lucky with Louis. He’s good value. He tells it like it is, even if he walks out.

Now for Stoke and Mark Hughes’ return. A big test for Borthwick-Jackson and possibly Varela. Stoke are physical, and in Artonauvic and Walters have forwards who can bully defenders. But Stoke were beaten today at Palace, and had a hard game Tuesday losing to Liverpool in the League Cup on penalties in extra time. Shawcross is out and United couldn’t be getting them at a better time.

Meanwhile no news on the transfer front. For me whether a player or players  are signed by Tuesday goes down to the wire. It’s not a question of need but availability.

 

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Arsenal 3 Man Utd 0, October 4th: Blitzed, Bothered and Bewildered

October 4, 2015

For whatever reason United lurched out of the gate and Arsenal instantly showed why October is going to be a very difficult month. As Arsenal fizzed and sparkled, United were lethargic and ponderous.  The spectacular goals from Sanchez and Ozil, and an excellent display from Walcott underlined a terrific Arsenal performance, particularly after their mid-week Champions League loss to Olympiakos. United did improve slightly in the second half, but it was a very large dose of medicine.

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Post match Van Gaal summed up everyone’s feelings about a very bad day at the office:

“I didn’t expect that. I was surprised. Not performing our game plan. No will to win. I didn’t see that and when you were top of the league so I was surprised, amazed, maybe that is a better word.

When you give a team like Arsenal so much space to play football you know that you shall lose and we have prepared ourselves in that way to play more compact but don’t lose your aggression. So it was amazing for me. I was very disappointed.

I don’t know why it happened like that. I put that question at half time and also after the match. But it was also difficult for the players to answer because they are all in an emotional moment.

We lost in a way you shouldn’t when you are top of the league. You cannot start like we started and the players know that.

We were not slow we just didn’t have the aggression. Players like Schweinsteiger and Carrick have great positional feeling to play football but then still you need aggression and winning the second balls.

You have to do it not just with the two in midfield but like a team. You have to play compact. But you need aggression when you have a duel and Arsenal were more aggressive than Manchester.”

So what happens now? Most of the squad have left for international duty. Van Gaal and his staff will be at Carrington with no one to talk to but themselves, and the questions are piling up.

Can Schweinsteiger and Carrick start together as a defensive midfield paring?

Why not play Schneiderlin every game with one of them alongside?

Is Memphis/Depay a Manchester United player?.

How do you solve the full back headache?

Should Rooney be dropped?

One game shouldn’t send everyone running for the life boats. After all United are third on goal difference. If you want to see a crisis look at Chelsea, Liverpool or Sunderland. Rodgers and Advocaat gone, and knee jerk questions being asked about Mourinho’s survival. City’s hammering of Newcastle came after two league defeats on the trot.

However with Palace away and City at home on the horizon, not to mention the almost 4000 mile trip to CSK Moscow, there’s not a lot of time to go back to the drawing board. My guess is there will be significant changes for the game at Everton.

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