seanfarley-blog1

[seanfarley-blog1]

Manchester United's season, and last few years, have been summed up in one week really - beating the champions at home after being 2-0 down, to then losing our next match at home against bottom of the table West Bromwich Albion 1-0. Inconsistencies. All over the place still. Inconsistent team selections, Mourinho does not know his best team or formation yet 2 years in unfortunately. Inconsistent performances, in terms of play good one match and then play bad the next match but also inconsistent performances in games where we will play well one half and bad the other. Inconsistent performances from players. If we want to have a successful season next year we need to improve and find that consistency in these areas. There's also too much noise coming out about potential transfer outgoings that concern me, I don't think Paul Pogba will be leaving this summer but Anthony Martial probably will and that will worsen the mood of fans if one of our favourite players is sold on, a player with huge potential and is still only 22 years old. Mourinho deserves his 3rd season at United but if he sells Martial it would be a huge error. With City now having won the Premier League, and Chelsea too far behind us in 5th place there's not as much importance on this game, other than finishing in 2nd place and trying to have some momentum to take into the start of next season - helped already by beating Man City away. The bigger and more important match is this coming Saturday; the FA Cup Semi Final vs. Tottenham at their temporary "home" stadium of Wembley (FA Cup Semi's shouldnt be played at Wembley anyway, but even more so as Spurs should not be playing a neutral match there). In his press conference Mourinho has said there will be changes which is the right thing to do and hopefully some players that need game time will get it. He's said that it's not rotation and players aren't being rested but that players against Bournemouth are playing for a spot in the team in the Semi Final vs Spurs - making it clear that he's not happy with some individuals. He's said he picks players on form not names, but if someone like Martial played how Sanchez has for most of his short time at United so far then he would have been benched a long time ago. It will be interesting to see if some players produce a quality performance if they do indeed then start against Tottenham in the FA Cup. I think the team in the FA Cup will be near enough the same 11 that started against Man City. Bournemouth have 6 points from their last 6 Premier League matches and United have 15 points from our last 6 league games. The match tonight between Bournemouth and Man United should have the makings of a good, open match. Bournemouth always have a go and are attacking. Even though they don't have much to play for, they are at home against Man United on a midweek night near the end of the season this is their last big match left so their fans and players should be right up for it. United will need to play well to get the 3 points. This is the team I would pick for tonight:                          De Gea Young     Jones     Lindelof     Shaw             Carrick   McTominay Rashford          Mata         Martial                          Lukaku Plenty of changes like Mourinho will as Saturday is the bigger match but we still want to win. I'd leave Pogba and Sanchez out, so they will be fresher for Saturday but also to get other players into the team as those 2 haven't always performed well recently. I think Valencia needs a rest more than Young so I'd play Young at right back and bring in Luke Shaw to play on the left. I'd like to see Carrick play he can still dictate play well from the middle and is obviously retiring so give him minutes where possible, he's only played 24 minutes of Premier League football this season. If we're looking to use the speed of our front players on the counter, and move the ball quicker with fewer touches like Mourinho said on Sunday, then Carrick can provide that he can find that pass through to our attacking players quicker than we sometimes have done this season. Have McTominay next to him using his youthful exuberance to help cover the ground in the middle of the pitch and keep his development going. On the right side of attack is obviously not Rashford's best position but he can still play well there and is more suited to the right than Martial, and it gives him a start in the Premier League which he hasn't had a lot of in recent times. Have Mata in the number 10 position (a role he never plays I know, but he plays more centrally than on the right when he starts on the right anyway) threading balls through for the pace of Rashford, Martial and Lukaku. With those 2 players wide we should be able to stretch Bournemouth's defence and find the gaps to cause them problems. I think the team we will pick will be:                       De Gea Young    Bailly     Jones      Shaw               Matic   Fellaini Rashford    Lingard    Martial                      Lukaku Similar to the team I've picked. That looks like trying to stifle Bournemouth and hit them on the counter with pace and directness. Problem is with the 6 outfield players behind the front 4 trying to feed that counter. Wouldn't be much for quick passes taking opposition players out the game coming from the middle of the pitch, especially with Fellaini there he slows everything down too much. Prediction: I think it could be an entertaining 2-2 draw tonight. It's a game Man United would be expected to win, even with many changes, but due to the changes and one eye on Saturday I think we may see a score draw.

[seanfarley-blog1]

Man City vs Man United Preview

This Saturday is the Manchester Derby with United going to the Etihad 16 points behind our city rivals, and with Man City only needing 3 more points to win the Premier League this is their dream scenario to clinch the title at home against us, and their fans will talk about it for years. We need to be on top form to prevent this and get a result for ourselves to consolidate our position of 2nd (which isn't good enough for what our ambitions were at the beginning of the season to be so far off 1st place) and can say we were the best of the rest and the closest team to Man City, and that we will be better next season with a good performance and result away from home against the soon-to-be champions. We have Liverpool and Tottenham only a few points behind us and if we were to finish 3rd or 4th it would make the outlook on our season be more negative, a strong finish to the season to carry on into next season is now the target. Both teams head into the game with nearly identical league records in 2018 - City & United have both won 8 of their 10 league matches - so United will not want to lose momentum and continue their good form. Man City got well beaten 3-0 away to Liverpool in the Champions League on Wednesday and have the return leg at home on Tuesday so they may rest a couple of players with that in mind, but such is the depth of their squad and resources they have the quality in the first 11 shouldn't drop much with a couple of changes made. Their priority will be the Champions League match in the hope they can get a massive result to stay in the competition, but this is a once in a life time opportunity for City and the players on the pitch will be fully motivated to win the title on the day - and the euphoria and feel good factor of winning the title against United could be used to their advantage in their attempt to overturn the deficit against Liverpool. There has been a lot of comparisons between the 2 Manchester sides - encouraged in some form by Jose Mourinho to try deflect away criticism - with a lot of focus on the way the 2 teams play football with Pep Guardiola playing the role of "good" vs "bad" Mourinho. If City dominate the game and win it, and with that win the title at the full time whistle, it will only ramp up the comparisons between the managers and the negative label attached to Mourinho's style. We have enough quality in our team where we should get chances against them if we go for it and take risks to score a goal while still being organised defensively. Losing to this current Man City side is no disgrace, but there's ways to get beaten in a football match. If we park the bus and get a result it's a job done - even if no entertainment or attacking play and not a good long term strategy - but if we play that way and lose without having had a go then Mourinho will have a lot more criticism coming his way. I liked the fact he took umbrage to City's celebrations after their win at Old Trafford back in December and I'd like the players to show more of that 'hate to lose' attitude, but if City win again their celebrations will be a lot louder and Mourinho won't have grounds on to be telling them to not be disrespectful with their noise - Mourinho and the players need to use that for extra motivation to not let that happen. Liverpool were fantastic against Man City in the Champions League match - especially in the first half - they were aggressive and played with so much energy giving Man City no time on the ball at the back and in midfield forcing them to misplace more passes than usual and longer balls forward, and exposed the spaces in their defence with quick transitions when winning the ball. The Liverpool front three pressed the City defence relentlessly but also a big feature of the pressing was the midfield three of Oxlade-Chamberlain, Henderson & Milner who were advanced up the pitch and backing up their front players by being in position to stop the passes out from defence to midfield. Between them the 3 midfielders made a combined total of 11 successful tackles and interceptions. It's easier to play this way at home than away at the Etihad but it is a template to use for disrupting City's fluidity and keeping them away from your goal - City did not have a shot on target, the first time this season that has happened. Man United under Mourinho aren't going to go to Man City and try take the game to them by attacking lots or pressing high up the pitch as a team, we'll play a deep defensive line and look to counter by playing long balls to Lukaku and missing out their press. It will be interesting to see what formation we go with - and how that affects the personnel chosen - if it's the 4231 or 451. Mourinho won't pick a midfield 2 of Matic & Pogba in this match, if we play 2 it will be Matic & Mctominay with Lingard in the number 10 position with Sanchez on the left - meaning Pogba will be benched and this could be on Mourinho's mind with his lack of trust in Pogba's defensive work. Or if it's a 3 man midfield of Matic, Mctominay & Pogba, then it will be Lukaku through the middle with Sanchez on the left and probably Lingard on the right - don't think he will be on the bench with the form he's in - meaning then that Rashford and Martial will both find themselves on the bench again. Mctominay may well be tasked with a man marking job on Silva or De Bruyne - he's done that role already - to disrupt their build up play through their play makers. In the 2 recent home matches for United against Liverpool and Chelsea he made a combined total of 3 tackles and 6 interceptions and won 9 duels. Smalling will be playing centre back for United again, he's better in a physical battle type of match rather than up against smaller diminutive players that can play around him and he's awful on the ball himself so the City players will target him. Man City have vulnerabilities at the back still, teams have just struggled to get into advanced areas this season against them. You have to brave playing against them and pressing the ball or else they end up suffocating you with sustained pressure deep in your half, especially if you can't keep the ball or offer a threat going the other way. Their left side can be attacked to good effect, whoever is playing there we should target. It will probably be Danilo, after Laporte's poor night at Anfield in that position. But whoever it is - Danilo, Laporte, Zinchenko or Delph coming back from a spell out - can be got at defensively. The way City play their defenders have to do 1 vs 1 defending in situations so take advantage of this with good dribblers that are fast and direct on the ball - Sanchez & Rashford in the wide area's could get a lot of joy. I think this will be how we line-up:                               De Gea Valencia          Bailly     Smalling        Young           Mctominay      Matic        Pogba Lingard                 Lukaku                Sanchez This is the team I would pick for the match:                                De Gea Valencia       Bailly          Lindelof          Young          Mctominay         Matic         Pogba Sanchez                    Lukaku                   Rashford I don't want Smalling playing, Jones hasn't made it back to full fitness yet so I would play Lindelof it won't be a physical match so would be more suited to his style of defending. I still like Luke Shaw as a player (he has no chance of starting this match under Mourinho) but I would choose Ashley Young as left back he was fantastic against Liverpool and can be relied upon with his defensive work. I would go for the 3 man midfield so we don't get overrun in that area where they dominate so much - and have done against us previously with 2 in there - with Matic & Mctominay's role to win the ball where possible and block the passing pathways to/from Silva & De Bruyne, with Pogba in there as the link between defence & attack. He can carry the ball 40-50 yards into space if we get the ball to him in the right areas if not going long straight away, like we did repeatedly with no quality in the defeat to City in December at Old Trafford, he'll be vital to our attacking side if picked - if he's benched we'll lack quality from the middle of the pitch too much and won't keep the ball enough. Pogba with his athleticism could also press higher up the pitch with the front 3 players if that's something we opt to do a bit more in this game - pressing them in their half before they reach our defensive 3rd of the pitch, something they struggled with against Liverpool. I'd have Sanchez on the right side of attack being direct and aggressive in his play running at their left full back with the ball making it hard for them to defend, especially if they are isolated against him he could have the beating of them repeatedly. If we are going to be quite direct to Lukaku he will need help so don't want to have Sanchez too deep (as can happen when he's on the left dropping deeper than sometimes needed, think if he played on the right he may be more direct in how he plays) we will need him supporting Lukaku and he can make threatening diagonal runs in behind their defence as the balls travelling up to Lukaku. Rashford, for me, has to play. He scored 2 goals against Liverpool last month - coming from the left - scored the winner at the Etihad 2 years ago, and is direct he will run straight at defenders making it hard for them. I also think he tracks runners back better than Sanchez - who likes pressing the ball when it's infront of him rather than staying with opposition players making bursts forwards in behind him - and with Walker on the City right side Rashford may be better suited to tracking his movements. Lukaku won't get many touches of the ball and sometimes will have to fight and try make something out of little, he should use his strength to his advantage and look to bully whoever he is playing against so he can impose himself on the game the best he can. If he's able to overcome the difficulties this poses and can get hold of the ball and bring others into play he could get some joy and space to drive into as City aren't great at the back it's just the opposition struggling to get many opportunities to get into threatening positions. We have enough quality in our team where we should get opportunities against them if we take chances and risks to score a goal. On the flip side if we manage to stop them scoring a goal we can at least delay their title celebrations. An approach I think we will take, and may get what we want. Mourinho loves to ruin a party. Prediction: I think we will draw 0-0. City will make a couple of changes, we will see little of the ball but limit their scoring chances even if they are in our half for a lot of the game. A decent result and one United fans would welcome, with the expectation we can kick on and are the team to stop next season.

[seanfarley-blog1]

International breaks in the season can be disruptive and an inconvenience for fans and managers, but this international break could have been a good thing and beneficial for some United players with the negative feeling around the club after the defeat to Sevilla culminating in the Champions League exit and the following performance and vibes coming out from the manager after our last game which was the 2-0 win over Brighton in the FA Cup. Hopefully the players can come back with positive energy and produce their best football for the last few weeks of the season. Paul Pogba played well for France - scoring and assisting - so should have regained some confidence. Jesse Lingard played well, enhanced his reputation and scored his first goal for England vs. Holland and then got the assist for Vardy vs. Italy, so he should be full of confidence for the last few weeks of the season before the World Cup. United's recent form has been decent results wise winning 6 out of our last 9 matches in all competitions, even if some performances have been sub par. Hopefully we can end the season strongly starting today with a good convincing win at Old Trafford, before we're then away to Man City where they could potentially win the league against us - a nightmare scenario - so we will need to put in a good performance and win to prepare for next week. Swansea lost their last match 3-0 at home to Tottenham in the FA Cup, but their form is good and have only lost 1 out of their last 8 Premier League matches - beating Arsenal and Liverpool in that run - with their last league match a 0-0 draw away to Huddersfield having played 79 minutes with 10 men after Andre Ayew's red card. They will play a 5-3-2 or 5-4-1 shape, deep and compact, will be hard to break them down and play through them and think they will limit our scoring opportunities - we'll have to move the ball fast and play well to create chances. I think the best centre back pairing at the club is Bailly & Jones. Jones has been out injured but Mourinho has said he's back in contention and training, if he's fit enough I would play him today against Swansea so he regains some match sharpness and so that Bailly and Jones have played together again before next week away at City. It will be interesting to see if, or how, Luke Shaw plays after being subbed off at half time vs Brighton and then the aftermath with Mourinho's scathing assessment of his performance and mentality. If Ashley Young is even only half fit I imagine he'll be starting at left back. Paul Pogba needs to start after his performance for France in midweek and in a game like this we'll need his creativity as Swansea will play deep and be organised. He's also got a good record against them having scored 2 goals and made 1 assist in his 2 appearances against the Swans. We need to get him on the ball and dictate the play from the middle of the park, hopefully he's confident and will go out and express himself. United have lacked a quality genuine attacking player suited to playing on the right hand side for a number of years now. We've signed Alexis Sanchez who up until the last couple of years has always played on the right, why don't we try playing him there? As so far the other positions he's played in hasn't worked so far, and the left side is a good battle for the position between Martial & Rashford who are both better on the left rather than the right. Sanchez will still have goalscoring opportunities playing from the right rather than cutting in from the left, you dont have to come inside on your stronger foot to be able to shoot at goal. Cristiano Ronaldo is obviously insanely good, but when he was wearing red and the famous number 7 he didn't struggle for goals, coming inside from the right rather than the left. Jesse Lingard will be buoyed by his international performances so should start and be eager to keep his place in this United side. Romelu Lukaku is in great form and I expect him to score again. Another header wouldn't surprise me. He doesn't have a height advantage over the 3 Swansea centre backs but he's physically stronger than all 3 of them and may need to use this strength to his advantage to find a yard or 2 of space in and around the box to get opportunities to continue his goalscoring form in what will be a packed defensive shape. He's really growing into being United's centre forward and he's shown a lot of character in the last couple of months. The team I would pick and like to see starting vs. Swansea:                                     De Gea       Valencia        Bailly           Jones           Shaw                                 Matic    Pogba                   Sanchez       Lingard        Martial                                        Lukaku Prediction: I think we will win 1-0. Not a big scoreline considering United are 2nd in the league and Swansea are still in a relegation battle, but I think we will dominate the ball even if not creating a lot of goalscoring chances.

[seanfarley-blog1]

Players Need To Take Responsibility For Development - But Is Mourinho's Approach Working?

Everyone involved with the first team at Manchester United need to take some responsibility and ownership of why things aren't as good as they should be - or expected to be - including the manager. Jose Mourinho needs to question why the tactics deployed and players aren't performing for him as he would like. Not just blame the players and claim no responsibility of what's happening on the pitch. Mourinho is clashing with players frequently, recently Luke Shaw and Paul Pogba, and has criticized their effort. Maybe not the right approach to publicly criticize, as this can strain relationships as previously shown in Mourinho's role's, but he can have some cause for justification in questioning players' approach to their own personal development, but is his approach as their manager demanding more from them effective?

Pogba wants to play in a 3 man midfield and have more freedom to express himself. He's better in a midfield 3, rather than a midfield 2, everyone agree's with that and you do want to get the best out of your best players, but sometimes even the best players can't always play in their favourite position or role and should be able to adapt for the benefit of the team if that's what's asked of them. Paul Pogba is a central midfield player, not a number 10 playing behind the striker, and if you play in the middle of the park then there's responsibilities going forwards when your team is in possession, but also in helping defend your own goal when out of possession. Pogba should be able to play in a 2 man midfield, he has the physical characteristics for it. He should be saying he's good enough to play in a 2 man midfield, and if he's being asked to play in a 2 rather than his favoured 3 he should be able to adapt. Not all teams play with 3 centre midfielders, and there has been many a great centre mid's over the years that played in midfield pairings, rather than trios. And like Pogba many great centre mid's have been better going forwards than when they have been defending. But Pogba has made no improvement in his defensive awareness in games, he doesn't seem aware to dangers and lets people run in behind him. He lacks discipline. The theme a couple of months ago everyone was saying that United couldn't play without Pogba and were a worse team when he was out injured, and now he can't get into the team and the transfer rumours have started. Why have things changed so quickly? Since the 2-0 defeat to Tottenham on 31st January, when United were dominated and were overran in midfield playing 4-2-3-1 with Pogba next to Matic, in the 9 matches since that loss, Pogba has only started 3 of them. In 2 of those 3 games we played a 3 man midfield with Scott Mctominay added next to Pogba and Matic. But the 2 man midfield of Matic and Pogba isn't really an issue against teams United are expected to beat, it is in the bigger games where we are up against teams of similar or better quality where we can add an extra midfielder for security in the middle of the park. Pogba obviously wants to be coached where he can express himself, whereas it's probably the opposite currently being told to reign back on going forwards and there's a clash of personalities and ideas. Pogba may not want to work on the defensive side of his game but he'd benefit and become a better all round player if he did. He doesn't look like he's enjoying his football and he's been less effective offensively of late too. Can Jose get Pogba to play how he wants in a 2 man midfield? If not will there be compromise in formation or a positional switch further up the field - rather than selling a huge talent less than 2 years after paying £89m? I don't think Mourinho's handling of Luke Shaw has been very good. I wouldn't go as far as to say bullying, but he has repeatedly had a go at Shaw - often personal as well like last year saying he had no footballing brain, and frequent weak mentality references - he's been hard on him and it's not an approach that's working as it's only resulting in the player being unhappy, not playing, and looks like eventually leaving the club, having not fulfilled his huge potential - that will be down to lack of game time but also down to his own approach. There has been questions over his fitness and mentality since his youth days at Southampton, right up to the here and now. So Jose will think he's justified in his actions, even if it's had no positive response from the player. The difference being Jose has repeatedly publicly criticized Shaw when he's still his manager. But if there has been reservations over his professionalism for a few years, Luke Shaw needs to put that debate to bed and end it, but right now he looks overweight so those question marks will remain. Even if he hasn't played much first team football recently he should be keeping himself fit and in shape and training every day - the basics. Has he got the right mentality to play and stay at the top level of football? Mourinho has been hard on him, there's different approaches to take for different people and personalities - it's what made Sir Alex Ferguson so great his man management and communication skills knowing what to say, how to say it and who to say it to. Sir Alex obviously suffered no fools and was a disciplinarian, but he also had a nice and friendly side to him there's been many of his ex players saying about him being a father figure and of mutual respect. Mourinho's approach with Luke Shaw isn't working.

Mauricio Pochettino - who was manager at Southampton when Luke Shaw was breaking into the first team - has even questioned Shaw's professionalism in his book (not when he's his manager) but the bond between the 2 is still strong as Luke Shaw has already said he loved playing for Pochettino and would like to do so again in the future. He was demanding of Shaw but also knew how to speak to him to get what he wanted. So Pochettino's approach to working with a young Luke Shaw seemed to be working as it led to his transfer to Manchester United and him going to the World Cup in 2014. His career has since stalled for different reasons, including a horrific leg break. Last week Harry Mason - former Tottenham player - spoke about Pochettino and said of his love for his former manager and how he wanted to run through walls for him. Said he loved him as a person, there was a fear element there as he was ruthless but also fear of not wanting to let him down. Player's more likely to do the hard graft for a manager they respect, and also like. There's a bond built. The approach Jose seems to be taking is of confrontation, and it doesn't seem to be resulting in a happy camp. You need to be demanding of your squad but players express themselves in a positive environment. When Jose Mourinho left Chelsea for the first time in 2007, and Inter in 2010, the players from both squads were in tears such was their disappointment in their manager departing. When he left Real Madrid in 2013, and Chelsea for the second time in 2015, the reaction from both squads would have been closer to having a party in celebration. Jose used to build close relationships with players but I don't think he's been as keen to do that in his recent roles. Some players will love Mourinho at United - Lukaku, Matic, Young - and some players will loathe him. What will the reaction be of the United squad when Mourinho's time to depart comes? Hopefully a sad reaction so that will show he was successful at United. Next season will define his time at United, and his approach in that time, whether his appointment was a success or failure.

[seanfarley-blog1]

Man United vs Brighton Post Match + Mourinho’s Criticism

Manchester United are through to the FA Cup Semi Finals after beating Brighton 2-0 (a score I previously predicted) with goals in each half scored by Romelu Lukaku and Nemanja Matic, but there's a negative feeling around the club. This was the result wanted but the performance lacked quality and entertainment, and Mourinho did not hold back with his post match comments about the performance and the players. It wasn't a good match, although we won it which was the main thing. We were more in control and the better team, just about, but it was a boring performance from United. We didn't look very threatening throughout the match not causing their goalkeeper and defence too many problems, we didn't open them up much and only had 2 shots on target - the 2 goals scored. All goals count the same regardless of the play/shot leading to it, but our 2 goals were pretty simplistic. The opening goal coming from Lukaku heading in at the back post following a good cross from Matic. The Serbian midfielder then scored a header himself late in the 2nd half also at the back post from Ashley Young's free kick. That was our first shot in the 2nd half in the 83rd minute. Brighton sat back for most of the first half, they offered more of a threat in the 2nd half and had some moments in the game where they threatened and did have 4 shots on target. Until Matic's goal United knew one lapse in concentration and we could concede an equaliser. The team selection from the manager was interesting with Pogba and Sanchez both dropped to the bench and neither of them coming on. Both have been poor lately. But why have they been poor? They are our 2 biggest earners and meant to be our stars bringing flair and creativity to the side. This was a massive match we had to win and to have 2 of our supposedly best players dropped isn't a sign of a good relationship going forwards. Especially given Pogba has found himself on the bench more often than not recently. I don't like the pairing of Matic and Mctominay together as the 2 central holding midfielders, especially in the FA Cup Quarters at Old Trafford against Brighton. Not having a go at either player but it's not the best centre midfield pairing we've got and it lacks creativity. Matic was the man of the match, he did impose himself on the match scoring 1 and setting up 1. He completed 103 passes, had 136 touches and completed 7 dribbles. Matic played well and was our best player on the night, but he was tasked with being our play maker from the middle of the pitch, and that should not be his role for United. It's not his natural game he's more of a ball winner then giving it to the skillful players to open up defences with passes/go on mazy runs. As previously said Matic played well, Romero done well when required. Smalling was poor with his ball distribution but that's nothing new but thought he made some good blocks and covering runs when needed in the 2nd half. Not Mctominay's best night he lost the ball a few times and didn't impose himself on game like Matic did when given time and space in midfield. Lingard was quiet didn't do much, I didn't agree with the substitution of Juan Mata in the 75th minute I thought he was doing alright and was linking the play up and any decent bits of play usually involved the Spaniard. Lukaku scored and done quite well, even though he did lose the ball a lot in the 2nd half, he done well with the service he had from the rest of the team. Ulloa who played upfront for Brighton was subbed in the 76th minute and left the pitch having had 54 touches. Lukaku played 90 minutes and had 37 touches. The manager then laid into the players in his post match press conference. He claimed they lacked personality and class. That hardly anyone played well other than Matic. He slated Luke Shaw and Scott Mctominay - 2 young players easy to bully - probably not necessary though as they were the only names mentioned negatively. Luke Shaw was substituted at half time, I don't think he was that bad he was involved in the goal, he played okay not great and could have defended with a bit more intensity, but he wasn't awful and I don't think Ashley Young was an improvement in the left back position in the 2nd half. He's obviously rusty having barely played football again, and he clearly lacks confidence playing under Mourinho - doesn't help with the comments said in public over the last 18 months including him not having a football brain - and it'll end up with Shaw leaving the club in the summer. He is still young and talented, and has improving to do defensively and offensively to become as good a player he can be, which comes down to him. But United are a club known for developing young talent. He'll probably get his career going again elsewhere and in 2 years be regarded as the best left back in the Premier League. He said players were hiding and not wanting the ball, one thing you about Paul Pogba is he never hides. Even if he is having a bad game he will still go looking for the ball off the defenders and try to influence the match in a positive way on the ball. He isn't getting much game time at the minute due to him falling out of favour with Mourinho. This wasn't a good performance against Brighton and Mourinho wasn't hiding that fact - he highlighted it - and blamed it all on the players. He said for 2 days we had worked on the defenders moving the ball forward quickly with certain full back movements wide freeing space for Matic and Mctominay to receive the ball and the forward players' movements to receive the ball quicker than has been happening recently. None of that looked like it had been worked on, or worked on well. In general play I don't think we look fluid in attack its more off the cuff players reacting to moments in the game, whereas you see other teams going forward (as the manager likes to compare United to other teams) you can see patterns of movements and the players in cohesion with each other, stuff that looks likes it's being worked on and coached in training. Maybe the players didn't respond for a reason? The players not responding to a managers instructions, not the first time Mourinho has used these sort of comments publicly. And he said he feels he has nothing to lose. Not yet, but he could lose the players and his job if he keeps picking too many fights. The FA Cup is our last chance at winning something this season, and if we want to win the Semi Final vs Tottenham we will have to play much better than we did in the Quarters against Brighton.

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Man United vs Brighton FA Cup Preview

The FA Cup quarter final vs. Brighton today is a massive match for Manchester United. The FA Cup is the only competition United can now win this season, and after Tuesday's exit from the Champions League against Sevilla and the manner of the defeat this match is now even bigger for United and Mourinho. They dare not lose today, and to finish the season empty handed would be a huge disappointment. With Manchester United at home to Brighton, we will be odds on favorites and should beat them - but it won't be an easy match. We won the league match between the sides 1-0 at Old Trafford in November thanks to a Lewis Dunk own goal, and both teams come into this game in good form - despite losing their last match - with both teams unbeaten in +5 games prior to the last defeat. Brighton are almost safe in the Premier League so will come into the game with confidence and think they will have a chance at an upset to reach the FA Cup Semi Finals. They will start deep and try to keep it at 0-0 and make the players and fans frustrated and try to play on that negative feeling from United's Champions League exit. United need to make a fast start with higher pressing, energy and tempo like we did vs Liverpool - not like against Sevilla where the pace was far too slow. After Mourinho's comments saying the players aren't up to standard it will be interesting to see how the players respond - they should be fired up today to make an impression and show the manager he is wrong. The team selection should be interesting from Jose, after the negative team sheet and tactics vs Sevilla, United will be demanding better entertainment against another team that we should beat at home. Alexis Sanchez has struggled for United so far, not playing well and looking lost - he hasn't adapted to our team yet. If another player was putting in the performances of Sanchez he would have been dropped long ago. I would still pick Sanchez today, I would understand him being dropped to the bench, but he is a quality player a new signing and we need to try to make it work - but him on the left does not work so far. I would leave the left hand side between Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial to fight out and play Sanchez elsewhere. He hasn't started a match on the right hand side but up until 2-3 years ago that is the position he always occupied throughout his career. He can still influence the play, set up chances and score goals from that position. He doesn't need to be on the left to continuously drop deep, cut inside the middle onto his right foot - he's not threatening playing like that. He needs to be higher up the pitch and be more of a threat in behind making diagonal runs between full back and centre back and to be closer to Lukaku - part of the problem in general, and especially on Tuesday was not enough people close to the centre forward and not enough players in the box, we often only had 1-2 players in the box when in dangerous areas of the pitch. Let players like Pogba and Mata build up the play more and leave Sanchez to be a threat in the final 3rd rather than dropping deep to try make things happen in the middle of the pitch. I want to see a positive team selection today, going for the win and trying to entertain while doing so. Play a 4-2-3-1 formation - we usually play 4-5-1 when it's against higher quality opposition but we should be able to play this formation at home vs. Brighton. My team choice would be:                       De Gea Valencia, Bailly, Lindelof, Shaw                  Matic, Pogba Sanchez          Mata        Rashford                      Lukaku I don't think it will be an easy match but I predict we will win 2-0.

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Mourinho Distances Himself From Manchester United

After the defeat to Sevilla in the Champions League Jose Mourinho has come out with a long speech in his press conference defending his record as a manager , and whilst at it pointing out Manchester United's shortcomings in recent years but taking no responsibility for our shortcomings under him so far. Disassociating himself from failure but taking credit for success. Separating himself from the club and basically saying he is brilliant, and United aren't. Separating himself from the players saying it's down to the players and that they have to grow up, often saying "them" and "they" not "we".

He was correct in saying our record in the Premier League and Europe hasn't been very good over the last few years. But after huge investment 3/4 years in a row and this now being Mourinho's second season you might have hoped for more improvement than has transpired. Yes it must be said things are better under Mourinho than they have been since 2013 when Sir Alex Ferguson retired. We are currently 2nd in the league and should have our best league campaign in 5 years, we have more points and goals scored than at this stage last season, we won the Europa League last season and will have qualified for the Champions League consecutively also for the first time in 5 years. We are attracting higher quality players under Mourinho and for the most part, other than when being set up defensively in big games, the standard of football is better than under Moyes or Van Gaal.

But there are issues - he wouldnt have come out so defiantly otherwise. The biggest issue being the playing style. Man United have always been an entertaining team, even when not winning things the style and heritage remained. The supporters can take losing games, if it looks like we're trying to win them. Against Sevilla over both legs of the tie we played negative football and didn't start playing until we were 2-0 down and it was too late. Some of the bigger games against rivals where we just sit deep and give up possession, and looking like we have no intent on scoring can be awful to watch. So if you then lose playing that way expect to be criticised  heavily. Another issue that nearly 2 years into the job and the manager still doesnt know his best team and not getting the best out of the best players in the squad like Pogba & Sanchez, and there's no partnerships being developed over the pitch. Mourinho has said that we haven't invested as much as he would have liked that's why we are not reaching expectations and need to spend more money on new players. But we have spent huge amounts since he was appointed, and before under Louis Van Gaal, and not all of Mourinho's signings have worked so far. Mkhitaryan has already been flogged off to arsenal for free, Zlatan Ibrahimovic will leave at the end of this season on a free, Lindelof barely plays and has Chris Smalling regularly picked ahead of him (yet its the general consensus that United still need a new centre back), there's been issues with Pogba and Mourinho clashing over the midfielder's role in the team and his form now dipping as a result, and the arrival of Alexis Sanchez has so far early on in his United career caused more issues than solved them. It's not just about signings and names, but also how they're set up to play together as a team. He has made out as though the squad he inherited was awful (for the money previously spent it should've been in a better state than what he got but he has got rid of deadwood and this is now his squad) but he has had 4 transfer windows now and he still regularly picks players signed by previous managers, and has also overseen some sign new contracts recently. The players wont be happy to hear the manager saying the level of players in the squad recruited in wasn't and isn't good enough.

As a United fan I find it uncomfortable having our manager keep having pops at United's expense and being compared to Man City (don't focus on others just get your own house in order), Mourinho frequently references City and how things have fallen into Pep's lap whereas it's a struggle for him and he's doing well with what he's got. It's his narrative that he's the underdog overachieving but that's not the case at United and not many will be sympathetic. The fact that he is already making excuses for next season if City continue to spend money is not a good sign. His job is to make us a major force in Europe again and to win/challenge for titles. Going out to Sevilla in the last 16 in the manner we did was a big blow. But generally the result's arent awful, should be better still, but having recently beaten rivals Chelsea and Liverpool we are 2nd in the league and in a "normal" season (normal being the team at the top tends to drop points sometimes) we would be on for a title challenge, and we have a chance at winning the FA Cup this season. Mourinho has improved us, but if the football doesn't improve (or the results do in the big games) he could face the same fate as Van Gaal - sacked with a lot of discontent from fans over the style the team plays. Van Gaal won the FA Cup then he was sacked the next day after a poor 2nd season. The same won't happen to Mourinho - and rightly so - but some patience is running out. Playing football in a negative way brings more scrutinity when you fail. Jose has said passionately that he's not going anywhere but if next season is a repeat with us nowhere near winning the league and not impressing and progressing in Europe, Jose won't be at United for a 4th season and then he will be disassociated from Manchester United.

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Will Crystal Palace Survive Without Their Best Player?

The news that Wilfried Zaha will be out for the next few weeks is a huge loss for Crystal Palace in their battle to stay in the Premier League. Obvious enough statement as he is their talisman and main attacking threat. But the difference in their form between when he's available to not in the side is massive. Their form in the Premier League this season with him playing is 27 points from 20 games, and 0 points from 7 games when he doesn't play - including only scoring 1 penalty in those 7 defeats shows the void he leaves in the side.

A look at some stats show Zaha's importance to whether Palace stay up or not. When it comes to dribbling with the ball Zaha is up there with the best players in the league with his lightning quick feet, speed and change of direction with good skills to get past his man a potent weapon for Palace and when it comes to dribbles completed per 90 mins in the Premier League this season Zaha completes over 4 dribbles per match - 2nd best in the league, only after Eden Hazard. With the dribbling ability he has Zaha is often fouled, which can lead to set pieces in the opposition's territory and attacking free kicks is one of Palace's best strengths. Zaha also comes 2nd out of all players in the league when it comes to times fouled per 90 minutes at 2.8 times. Also Palace have been awarded 7 penalties this season - joint most in the league - with Zaha being fouled for 3 of them. Showing his unpredictability near the opposition goal can be hard to live with for defences.

Along with his pace and trickery is his importance to Palace when it comes to scoring and creating goals. Zaha only has 4 league goals so far this campaign, but that is still 2nd in the side after the penalty taker Luka Milivojevic who has 7 league goals. For shots on target per match Zaha is also 2nd out of the Palace players with 0.8 on target per match - showing he is one of their biggest goal threats. When it comes to creating chances for others Zaha is joint top for Palace at 1.8 key passes per 90 minutes. Crystal Palace will have a job on their hands to replace not only his goal threat but also his creativity.

Crystal Palace are a side that like to be organised and hard to break down, and look to spring on the counter attack, Zaha is a key part of this due to his speed and fantastic dribbling ability able to carry the ball up the field for his team. Palace are one of 9 of the 20 teams in the Premier League this season to have scored 1+ goals from a counter attack. And with the fixtures they have coming up they will be playing on the counter even more frequently, as 4 of their next 5 fixtures include matches against teams from the "Big Six" in the form of Tottenham, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool.

As it stands Crystal Palace are only 1 point above the bottom three so are locked deep in a relegation battle and could still go down, and Zaha's loss will be felt, but I personally think they will be safe. Even at the time after their awful start to the season - the worst in Premier League history - I still thought Palace would stay up this season. One of the reasons being that Zaha was injured for most of the start of the season and that he would make a big difference when he returned for the side, as he did scoring in his first game back in the 2-1 victory over Chelsea in October. And has carried on being a main part in Palace's climb off the foot of the table since then. Outside the "Big Six" clubs Zaha is one of the best players in the Premier League. Due to their run of fixtures and the loss of their best player I expect Palace will be back in the relegation zone by the time Zaha makes his return from injury, and he will have to spark their survival bid once more hoping they haven't lost too much ground on their rivals in his absence.

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VAR - How To Get It Right?

There has long been the debate of introducing technology to Football in helping to get decision correct, as has been implemented well with goal line technology. It has now expanded to having a Video Assistant Ref watching the game and helping the ref with major decisions. As with things that are new and untested there was always going to be teething problems, it has been used a few times in England over the last few weeks. One major problem has been the time taken to get to a decision. It needs to be quicker and clearer for all spectators, in the stadium or watching on a screen. During the Liverpool vs West Brom match in the FA Cup, VAR took centre stage. In the first half it was used for 3 decisions, and took too long to get to each decision, with referee Craig Pawson having long dialogues on his microphone with the Video Assistant Referee. For the penalty that was given to Liverpool it took so long for them to make a decision between them it even led to Craig Pawson coming pitch side to watch replays for himself on a screen, which was ridiculous. The notion is that they are trying to help referee's to make the correct decision, and to not undermine them and let them have full authority over decisions for matches - which has always been the case ref's are very well protected. They will make mistakes they're not immune from error. The decision makers of the game need to move with the times and now have a dual leading official, one on the pitch making the majority of decisions, and the one watching on a screen. The one on the screen should only intervene on a decision which is wrong, or which they think is wrong having seen a replay. The ref on the pitch can then make a clear hand signal to show the VAR has made the decision, then everyone knows what is happening and the game will have less long delays. The ref watching on the screen then takes responsibility for the decision made. Ref's should embrace the technology - it's there to help them not question their decisions - in the FA Cup match Chelsea vs Norwich the ref booked Willian for diving and did not refer to the VAR for assistance on the decision, when replays show Willian was clipped and should have had a penalty. Some ref's will be stubborn and refuse to think their decision is wrong, so the technology becomes pointless if not being used. But then you had Craig Pawson using it too much and too carefully in the Liverpool vs West Brom match, so there needs to be a better and efficient way it's used. With the long delays disrupting the flow of the game and Football as a spectacle for all viewers, especially the fans in the stadiums not seeing replays on a screen. Not all grounds in the Premier League even have screens to do this even if that was an option. With long stoppages in the game it makes it less enjoyable to watch, can cause injuries as happened with West Brom players getting muscular injuries, dampens the atmosphere and noise from the crowds, and can stop a team's momentum in the game. If every goal is going to be debated on the VAR, you'll see players stop celebrating eventually as they won't know if their goal is to be disallowed. The technology that is meant to help and improve it should do that, enhance the sport as a whole. Once the time delays to getting to a decision is sorted the technology should work well and keep the Beautiful Game, beautiful.

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Bigger Wages For Smaller Fee’s

The Sanchez saga is over. The long uncertainty over his Arsenal future and where he may move onto next has come to a climax - the expected one of him leaving Arsenal for one of their rivals. The situation of him not renewing his contract led to him either being sold for a cheaper rate or he would leave for free at the end of his contract. When it came to him and his employers, he held the power. When it came to him and his agent Mino Raiola negotiating with clubs for his signature on his next contract, he held the power. With more and more money going into the top end of football year on year, the players and agents will continue to take every extra note they are able to. And what has come out of this situation is that players now can demand what their full transfer fee would be, in wages.

Big transfers with massive fee's will continue in football forever. As will big, long term contracts. The transfer fee's of players will continue to rise. Players wages will continue to rise. What could start becoming more common is the situation of players running down their contracts - the shorter their contract length the more power they hold in negotiating for a higher salary. There are many examples of players in the Premier League and other top European league's currently with less than 6 months left on their contracts, being offerred new deals by their current clubs - but yet to sign. With the incentive of bigger signing on fee's and higher wages on a free move rather than if being bought by a club, expect to see plenty more of these types of moves. This isn't a critisim of the players, anyone in any industry will try and get the going rate and the best deal for them personally.

As the club with the player running down his contract you can see the negative effect it has had on Arsenal's season so far with Sanchez and Mesut Ozil not signing new deals and the uncertainty it creates. Clubs are going to be faced with the sitation more often of having star players with little left on their contracts, and do they stick or twist? Players being sold at a cheaper rate with 6-12 months left on their deals, or players choosing to leave for free at the end of their contracts will increase due to the gains to be made from it - including when being transfered at a cheaper rate.

The "free" transfer doesn't exist anymore (unless you're United and Arsenal literally swapping players) the only thing free is the fee received by the club losing the player. With the cost of buying players rising by the week, more clubs will start to wait and instead try to sign players for no transfer fee and offer higher wages to the player. While many clubs will continue to break their transfer records, there will be many more "free" transfers made over the coming years.

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Sanchez/Mkhitaryan Swap Deal Good For All

One of the biggest transfers in Premier League history has been confirmed with Alexis Sanchez swapping the red colours of Arsenal for the red of Manchester United, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan doing the opposite and leaving the Red Devils for the Gunners. This is one of the biggest transfers in Premier League history, not for the fee - it's a straight swap of players with no cash exchanged between 2 of the "Big Six". This deal between United and Arsenal does work for all sides, even if Arsenal do lose their best player. It's a deal that makes sense.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan is a stereo typical Arsenal player - a small, technically gifted, creative player that can get you off your seat with moments of brilliance, but that can have consistency issues and there are question marks over his work rate, desire, determination and able to over come difficulties. He can be similar to Ozil, brilliant and frustrating. In his 18 month stay at Old Trafford Mkhitaryan never fully reached expectations. He was hot and cold. In and out. Spells in the team where he would play brilliantly, producing great dribbling skills and beating players through the middle of the pitch to create openings, some brilliant goals and important ones like in the Europa League Final, and a number of assists. And there were spells in the team where he would lose the ball easily getting caught for too long on the ball. He could be bullied in games. He would lose confidence easily, he can be fragile - is a confidence player. Not traits you would associate with a player Mourinho signs, and from the start he never had the trust of his manager. Mkhitaryan is more suited to Arsene Wenger's management approach and style being more relaxed with attacking players letting them express themselves without much emphasis on defending with intensity. You feel given more time Mkhitaryan could have found that consistency for United that he produced during his time at Shakthar Donetsk and Borussia Dortmund. With those 2 clubs it took him 2 seasons to settle but when he did he was amazing for both of them. Even though Arsenal are losing their best player in Sanchez they could be gaining their new best player in the Armenian.

For Manchester United the deal is fantastic - regardless of wages because there is no transfer fee involved - they are getting a ready made star worthy of the famous Number 7 shirt that was vacant at Old Trafford. Sanchez is that world class, skillful and exciting player that can score or assist in any moment, against any opposition, that United pride themselves on having in their side - a match winner. He is a winner himself and is demanding of himself and his team mates. He has more fight, aggression and determination than Mkhitaryan so should be more suited to Mourinho and United. Along with his talent, Sanchez will bring his high energy game of pressing relentlessly from the front and not giving the opposition time to play out from their defence - hopefully having Sanchez in the team will encourage and allow the team to press more in the big matches. The huge financial outlay from United in wages obviously appealed to Sanchez. As will playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world (a club he has always had an admiration for since his days in Chile) in front of 76,000+ at Old Trafford, with some fantastic players, for one of the greatest managers of this generation in Jose Mourinho, and the challenge of elevating United back to their former glory of challenging for and winning league titles and being one of the main stars in that would greatly appeal to Sanchez. He will have to deal with even more pressure at United than he did at Arsenal, especially with the amount of focus on him now being the highest paid player in the league, but the Chilean is well accustomed to dealing with pressure since being his nations star player for years - and delivering for them on numerous occasions.

So United gain Arsenal's best player on a free transfer and in the process stop their rival's Manchester City from signing him, get a world class player that will add some excitement to the United attack, and shift out a player in Mkhitaryan that the manager didn't really want in his squad. Arsenal lose Sanchez but he has not been fully committed to them for at least 12 months and was a problem for team harmony in the end, and the distraction of will he stay will he go is now put to bed, and Arsenal gain what could be a fantastic player in the mould of an Arsene Wenger signing playing the Arsenal way in Mkhitaryan. The players involved both get a wage increase, Sanchez gets to move to a club where he thinks he can win major honours, and Mkhitaryan can have a fresh start at the Emirates and get more playing time under a manager more suited to his personality and playing style than Mourinho.

A good deal for all involved.