AS THE REDS GO MARCHING ON ON ON

[kernunos]

AS THE REDS GO MARCHING ON ON ON

Through the years Manchester United had their legends, both on the pitch and on the bank. There have been 2 managers whose names will never be forgotten Sir Matt Busby and Sir Alex Ferguson. Both were able to bring succes Old Trafford. They were there for fame and glory and also at sad times. Sir Matt Busby started the road to succes and now it looks like the road came to an end when Sir Alex Ferguson retired.

David Moyes and Louis van Gaal were not able to add much to Uniteds Trophy Case. Moyes won the Community Shield and van Gaal the FA Cup. In the European Cups they also were losing terrain. Last time the Champions Cup was brought to Old Trafford was in the season 2007/08.  The last time they managed to play the Finals was in 2010/11. The Euro Cup did never find a way to Old Trafford. So it is time to make a change and the name of Manchester United was brought back to where it belongs.

 

Everyone knew there were talks with the “Special One” to become the new manager and though some were against it, everyone just was waiting for the moment that José Mourinho would sign a contract. So when the Board announced that a new manager was found, everyone expected the name “Mourinho”. So it was a very big surprise that suddenly a Dutch name was mentioned, van Dijk was the new manager of Manchester United. To avoid some gosseps, Woodward decided to explain their choice. Mourinho was indeed the manager they had hoped to sign but during the negotiations some doubts were created by this manager. Not only did he wanted to be the best paid manager in the world, he also wanted full power at Old Trafford. The way he entered that into the talks, made the Board feel like they only would be Mourinho’s Puppets on a string. And so they decided to end the talks and find another manager. And he did understand the doubts that people now had. But besides that the Board believed van Dijk was a talented manager, they also found it important to have a young manager that would hopefully be there for a very long period.

 

The Manchester United Staff

Technical Staff					Medical Team				Science Team
Patrick van Dijk- Manager			Steve McNally	- Chief Doctor		David Kelly
Rui Faria	- Assistant Manager		Tony Gill	- Doctor		Richard Hawkins
Nicky Butt	- Head of Youth Development	Head Physio	- Neil Hough
Silvino Louro	- Goalkeeping Coach		Garry Armer	- Physio
Emilio Álvarez	- Goalkeeping Coach		John Davin	- Physio
Tony Strudwick	- Fitness Coach
Gary Walker	- Fitness Coach
Carlos Lalin	- Fitness Coach

Scouting Team										Analiyst Team
Jim Lawlor		- Chief Scout		John Calvert-Toulmin	- Scout		Mick Court
Matthieu Louis-Jean	- Scout			Nils Schmä;er		- Scout		Paul Brand
David Friio		- Scout			David Williams		- Scout
Tommy Møller Nielsen	- Scout			Toninho Cruz		- Scout
Armand Benneker		- Scout			Tony Coulter		- Scout
Roy Beukenkamp		- Scout			Carlos Ruiz		- Scout
Henny de Reft		- Scout			Simon Wells		- Scout
Marcel Boudt		- Scout			John Thorburn		- Scout
Budimir Vujacic		- Scout			Tom Critchley		- Scout
Les Kershaw		- Scout			Steve Brown		- Scout
Geoff Watson		- Scout			Thomas Bormann		- Scout
Ricardo Formosinho	- Scout			Luciano Canepa		- Scout
Sandro Orlandelli	- Scout			Mark Prizant		- Scout
Antonio Lopez		- Scout			Peter Braund		- Scout
John Owen		- Scout			Gerardo Guzmán		- Scout
Jorge Alvial		- Scout			João Ferreira		- Scout

 

[kernunos]

The First Squad

 Player name (pos, age, nat) - [apps ManUtd / total apps - goals ManUtd / total goals]

Goalkeepers
David De Gea (GK, 25, ESP) - [165 / 262 - 0 / 0]
Sergio Romero (GK, 29, ARG) - [4 / 173 - 0 / 0]

Defenders
Chris Smalling (D C, 26, ENG) - [135 / 160 - 6 / 7]
Marcos Rojo (D C, 26, ARG) - [38 / 138 - 0 / 8]
Phil Jones (D C, 24, ENG) - [104 / 139 - 2 / 2]
Eric Bailey (D C, 22, CIV) - [0 / 61 - 0 / 0]
Luke Shaw (D L, 20, ENG) - [21 / 81 - 0 / 0]
Matteo Damian (D R, 26, ITA) - [28 / 196 - 1 /5]

Midfielders
Dailey Blind (DM C, 26, NED) - [ 60 / 179 - 3 / 6]
Michael Carrick (DM C, 30, ENG) - [291 / 499 - 17 / 27]
Bastian Schweinsteiger (DM C, 31, GER) - [18 / 295 - 1 / 48]
Paul Pogba (M C, 23, FRA) - [3 / 127 - 0 / 28]
Morgan Schneiderlin (M C, 26, FRA) - [29 / 265 - 1 / 15]
Ander Herrera (M C, 26, ESP) - [53 / 249 - 9 / 24]
Marouane Fellaini (M C, 28, BEL) - [ 61 / 266 - 7 / 41]
Anthony Martial (AM L, 20, FRA) - [31/ 83 - 11 / 22]
Memphis Depay (AM L, 22, NED) - [0 / 119 - 0 / 41]
Jesse Lingard (AM L, 23, ENG) - [26 / 73 - 4 / 15]
Ashley Young (AM L, 30, ENG) - [108 / 366 - 11 / 60]
Henrikh Mkhitaryan (AM R, 27, ARM) - [0 / 268 - 0 / 103]
Antonio Valencia (AM R, 30, ECU) - [176 / 357 - 14 / 31]
Juan Mata (AM C, 28, ESP) - [86 / 332 - 21 / 82]
Wayne Rooney (AM C, 30, ENG) - [368 / 435 - 168 / 193]

Strikers
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (ST, 34, SWE) - [0 / 484 - 0 / 302]
Marcus Rashford (ST, 18, ENG) - [11 / 11 - 5 / 5]

Players in the U23s to keep an eye on

Timothy Fosu-Mensah (M C, 18, NED)
Callum Gribbin (AM C, 17, ENG)
Axel Tuanzebe (D C, 19, COD)
Tyrell Warren (D R, 17, ENG)
Ro-Shaun Williams (D C, 17 ENG)
James Wilson (ST, 20, ENG]

Cameron Borthwick-Jackson (D L, 19, ENG) - on loan at Wolverhampton Wanderers
Adnan Januzaj (AM R, 21, BEL) - on loan at Sunderland
Andreas Pereira (AM C, 20, BRA) - on loan at Granada

In the U18s there were 2 players that I would closely watch as they might become future key players at Old Trafford. Angel Gomes (AM C, 15, ENG) and Lee O’Conner (D C, 15, IRL), 2 very young players with great potential. Both were 15 years and so would need a few years to learn. Both will stay in the U18s this season but there was a chance I would bring them into the U23s within 2 years. I think it would be good for them as there they would learn more about the physicall side of the game.

[kernunos]

I was given a wage budget and a transfer budget. The wage budget was € 20.359.671 (current wage: € 18.859.469). The transfer budget was € 36.395.157. Both budget could change at the moment the season goals were decided.

For me the goal of this season was already clear. A team like Manchester United should be fighting for the title till the last day of the season. Every season Manchester United should qualify for the Champions League and once every 2 years, the title should go to Manchester United. Also Manchester should become and and stay the biggest club in England. In Europe Manchester United should be in the top 4 of biggest clubs. Last one only was possible if we again were succesfull in the Champions League. My personal goal was to set some new records. So that would mean I would become the longest sitting manager and also winning the most titles. Sir Alex Ferguson was manager for 26 years and he won 38 prices with Manchester United. So this was going to be a very long period for me at Old Trafford.

 

As I was pleased with the current staff at the club, I decided to change nothing and normally everyone should be able to stay till the end of their contract. Once a staff members contract needed a renewal, it could happen after reviewing his service. Even though I could decide it should be renewed, the Board still could decide that it would not happen. And ofcourse a staff member could decide to go for a job somewhere else. But who would leave the biggest club in the world ?

 

When looking at the team, I believed there was a need of changes. And I think some of the players were not going to be happy when they would hear the news. I believed it was time for 4 or 5 players to leave the club and continue their career outside Old Trafford. The players that I believed should be listed were:

 

Michael Carrick - he has played at Manchester United for 10 years now and has done a good job, but I believe he is at that age that it is time to either settle down and maybe become a coach or play at a team at a lower level.

                                 

Bastian Schweinsteiger - It was Louis van Gaal, who brought him to manchester United. I think the main reason this happened because of the realtionship between the 2. Van Gaal was his manager during his spell at Bayern. Schweinsteiger played his entire career at Bayern and probably wanted an adventure outside Germany. I also do not think he is worth his current wage (€ 1.207.000).

 

Ashley Young - He has been at Manchester United for 5 years and though still a good player, he will not be a regular player at Old Trafford and maybe also not sit on the bench. I do not think this player deserves it to play not in the first team. He could become important for many teams, even in the Premier League. Another option for him would be becoming a coach.

 

Antonio Valencia – He has been a player at Manchester United for 7 seasons. It would also not be fair to him if he was used un the U23 for the rest of his career and only used in the first team when other players were injured. Players like Valencia should always be part of the first team and thas was not going to happen at Old Trafford.

[kernunos]

Thursday 7th July 2016

I believed that it was important for young players to improve by getting quality play time and to get that young players needed to gain first team football experience. When you a player at Manchester United you would need a loan period at another club as only the exceptional players have a chance to get first team experience at a young age. The presure will always be high and room for mistakes will be marginal. So when Fulham wanted to loan Axel Tuanzebe, it was clear for me that this was going to happen. I explained Tuanzebe to take this opportunity to become a better player and he decided to use it. And so Axel Tuanzebe went to Fulham on a loan till the end of the season.

 

Saturday 9th July 2016

After talking with the technical staff, we agreed that we could use an assistant manager for the U23 team. It was Rui Faria mentioning Alex Dryer was available for the job. After looking at his profile and his experience, I believed this would be the right person. Dryer has had a career in the game himself and played the game at different level and also already had experience as an assistant manager. During the contract talks it was not very hard to come to an agreement and so he joined the team siging a contract for 3 seasons.

 

The first player to leave was Antonio Valencia. There were some clubs intrested in this player. One of the clubs was AS Monaco and I decided to accept their offer of € 11.000.000 (may rise to € 15.750.000). I believed this would be a good move for Valencia. I had a quick talk with the player before he left and told him that I hoped to see him joining our technical staff some day in the future.

 

 

Friendly match : Tampines Rovers FC - Manchester United  1-4 (1-2)

[P. Pogba (13), Z. Ibrahimovic (28), M. Depay (46), J. Lingard (51)]

 

Overal I was pleased with the performance of the team though I hated it that we did concede a goal. Right after Pogba had given us a lead in the game, they hit back with a counter attack and outrunning our defenders. From the moment Tampines Rovers leveled the score, we did control the game and it was hard for our opponents to get close to our area again. In the entire match they were able to take 6 shots at goal. Their goalkeeper had a lot of work to do as we tried 37 shots of which 14 were on target. Though the goalkeeper made some good saves, he still conceded 3 more goals. Ibrahimovic, Memphis and Lingard were able to find the back of the net. The match ended in a 4-1 victory.

[tenthreeleader]

Good start to your writing and good luck with United!

[kernunos]

@tenthreeleader : Thanks. With United the luck can be at your side when making the right choices at some moments

=============================================================================================================

 

Tuesday 12th July 2016

I wanted to strengthen our defence as I believed that part of the team needed some attention. I wanted to add a left and a right defender to the squad. After sending out the scouting team and talking about their findings, we decided to add Jetro Willems to the team. This young back had a great season at PSV and was showing a lot of potential. Though he may not be the strongest defender, he could become important in the attack. Last season he showed to be extremely skilled in giving crosses. As in many matches in the Premier League, Manchester United will be the attacking team, Willems could play an important role in getting a result. We were able to bring Jetro Willems to Old Trafford for a transfer fee of € 8.500.000.

 

Saturday 16th July 2016

We played our second friendly match today. We had an away match against a Dutch team, Willem II

 

Friendly match : Willem II - Manchester United  1-3 (0-2)

[Z. Ibrahimovic (10, 35), W. Rooney (58)]

 

There was a lot of difference in quality between both teams. Willem II tried very hard to keep close but we were to strong for them. It was Ibrahimovic scoring twice in the first half and Rooney scoring his goal in the second half to make the difference. We should have scored more goals but found a decent goalkeeper in our way. Again we were not able to keep a clean sheet as Willem II managed to score once. It was a volley from just outside the area. An excellent and beautiful goal scored by Tshimanga. And so this match ended in a 3-1 victory.

 

Wednesday 20th July 2016

After I was able to sign a left defender, I also found a right defender to come to Manchester United. This time I had to deal with AC Milan as I wanted their right defender Mattia De Sciglio. A young Italian that had made 85 appearances for AC Milan and also played 25 matches for Italy. He joined Manchester United for a transfer fee of € 14.000.000.

 

Also I was able to bring Kasper Dolberg to the club. This young striker is believed to become a great player in the future. He also is able to play as an attacking right midfielder. To bring hin to Old Trafford, I had to pay a transfer fee of € 17.000.000 to Ajax. But I believed this was the right moment to sign him as next season he would cost the double and there would be a lot of teams trying to get him. It was unbelievable that Ajax was willing to sell this diamond.

 

I expected both new players were already in training with their old club, so they were put in the starting line-up for today’s friendly match against Farense.

 

Friendly : Farense - Manchester United  0-7 (0-5)

[J. Lingard {3}’M. depay (12); M. Felliani (20,38); Own Goal (29); W. Rooney (63); K. Dolberg (65)]

 

From the moment the match startedm we were able to dictate this game. Romero had to make q save in this entire match, so he had an easy day and kept a clean sheet. In the first half it was Lindgard with the opening goal, quickly followed by Memphis. Fellaini managed to find the net twice and Farense helped us with an own goal. In the second half it was Rooney and Dolberg to complete a 7-0 victory. We had a total of 10 shots on target and 7 of them ended in the back of the net, hopefully we can keep this up.

[kernunos]

Sunday 24th July 2016

Today we had another friendly match and this time the match was really gonna be a test. It was AC Milan visiting Old Trafford.

 

Friendly : Manchester United - AC Milan  3-1 (2-0)

[P. Pogba (37, 39, 46)]

 

This was Pogba’s match as he took us by the hand and lead us to a victory. It was not an easy match as AC Milan tried to close us down and not give away to much room. Still they were not able to stop Pogba scoring goals. He scored twice at the end of the first half and once in the second half. It was enough for us winning the match today though we did not keep a clean sheet. It was Bonaventura beating De Gea once in the second half. Still this was a good victory and I believed we were ready to start the season.

 

Wednesday 27th July 2016

The start of the season was closing and so it was important the team was getting shape. Several players showed they wanted to be in the starting line-up.

 

Friendly : Beşiktaş AŞ - Manchester United  1-2 (0-1)

[M. Depay (6); M. Schneiderlin (80)]

 

It was a difficult match because we failed to score goals. It was Memphis opening the score early in the game to give us a lead. After this goal we managed to create several chances but did not find the goal. As we did not take more distances we gave Beşiktaş to stay in the game. And though they did not create much danger, they scored the equalizer. I was glad to see the team did not get nervous and kept playing our game. It was Schneiderlin scoring the winning goal close to the end of the game. And so we still had won every match during pre season.

 

Saturday 30th Julie 2016

The Premier Division title odds were announced today. The bookmakers did believe that we had the quality to mount a serieus title challenge but did not see us as favourite to win. Favourite to win the title this season was Manchester City. It showed that things had changes in England as for a long time Manchester United was seen as the best team in England. Hopefully we can go back to those times.

 

The odds for the upcoming season:

1.	Manchester City		4,00
2.	Arsenal			4,25
3.	Chelsea			4,50
4.	Manchester United	4,75
5.	Liverpool		5,00

The last friendly match was away against Salernitana and a win would mean that we had won all friendlies in pre season.

 

Friendly : Salernitana - Manchester United  0-2 (0-2)

[H. Mkhitaryan (5, 12)]

 

In the first 15 minutes this match was decided as Mkitaryan managed to score 2 goals. We did try to find more goals but were not able to beat the goalkeeper though we had opportunities to score. Salernitana was not able to create real danger in front of the goal and managed a total of 1 shot on target. And so the match ended in a 2-0 victory.

 

To gain first team experience I dediced to loan Joe Riley to Swindon Town. At Manchester United the chance to play in the first team were close to 0%. He would be at Swindon Town for a period of 6 months.

[kernunos]

Wednesday 3rd August 2016

As Wayne Rooney had played 368 League matches for the Red Devils in 12 years and to honour this, a testimonial was organized. Darren Fletcher would make his appearance in this match to honour Rooney. The opponent was Rooney’s old club Everton.

 

Rooney’s Testimonial : Manchester United - Everton  2-0 (2-0)

[M. Rashford (27, 36)]

 

We did not have much problems with Everton today and easily kept them away from our goal. We had several shots at goal but found the goalkeeper in our way. Only one able to beat the goalkeeper was Rashford. He scored twice in the first half and that was enough to win today. Fletcher played the entire first half and got an applaus replacement after 5 minutes in the second half. We were arranging another applaus replacement when bad luck struck. Rooney had to leave the pitch with an injury.  A hard tackle by Gibson led to the end of the match for Rooney and would keep him out of the game for about 5 months. Rooney had broken his foot. The match ended in a 2-0 victory but the talk of they day was Rooney’s injury.

 

Sunday 7th Augist 2016

Today it was time for the Community Shield, the start of the season and the chance to win the first price for me as a manager. As Manchester United won the FA Cup last season, we were going to play against the Champions Leicester City.

 

Community Shield : Manchester United - Leicetser City  2-1 (2-1)

[Own Goal (14), J. Lingard (39)]

 

In a close match both teams had their chances to score goals and win the match. It looked like Manchester United controlled the game but that only was because we had more possession of the ball. In this match all goals were scored in the first half. And though it was Leicester City scoring twice, they lost the match 2-1.

After a corner taken by Lingard, it was Ibrahmovic with a shot at goal. As Gray touched the ball, the goalkeeper had no chance to make a save and we had taken a lead in this game. We tried to score another goal to decide this match, but failed at the last touch. It was Vardy surprising De Gea to level the score. It was again Ibrahimovic who was important for us. He saw Lingard making a move into the area and he gave Lingard a chance he could not miss. Within 2 minutes after conceding a goal, we had restored our lead again. In the second half both teams had problems creating chances and so no goals were scored. We won the match and so won the Community Shield.

 

Line-up: De Gea; Darmian; Smalling; Jones (66, yellow); Shaw; Pogba (80, yellow); Schneiderlin; Lingard; Fellaini (45); Martial; Ibrahimovic

 

Reserves: Romero, Rojo, Blind (66), De Sciglio, Herrera (80), Depay (45), Rashford

 

Injured: Rooney

[kernunos]

Sunday 14 August 2016

Before the match against Burnley, Avram Glazer (Owner) made the announcement that the club had sold 55.000 season tickets. As Old Trafford has 75.635 all-seaters, there were 20.635 seats that were free to sell every match.

 

Premier Division : Manchester United - Burnley  4-2 (2-1)

[Z. Ibrahimovic (19, 45, 46, 60)]

 

The first match in the Prenier Division and we wanted to make a good start of the season. So this would mean winning this home match against Burnley. But we made a wrong start as Burnley scored from a corner after just 3 minutes. It was Gudmundson heading it home. So we now had to get back in the game and turnaround the score. It was at this moment that Ibrahimovic took us by the hand. He was able to score his first goal of the season after a corner taken, The ball fell in front of him and Ibrahimovic did not hesitate to fire it in the back of the net. I had to replace Herrera as he picked up a bruised thigh and probably would miss out next match. I brought in Carrick as his replacement. Just before half time it was Willems with a cross to the first post and Ibrahimovic putting the ball behind the goalkeeper. At the start of the second half it was Lingard finding Ibrahimovic in front of the goal and the first hattrick of the season was a fact. Still Ibrahimovic was hungry for another goal. This time it was Carrick with the pass and again Ibrahimovic beating the goalkeeper. We had turrnaround the match in a 4-1 score. It was Burnley scoring the last goal of the match. It was a cross from a freekick that was netted by Vokes and so the match ended in a 4-2 victory.

 

Line-up: De Gea, Darmian, Jones (yellow), Rojo (yellow), Willems, Herrare (27, injured), Schneiderlin (yellow), Lingard, Mata (45), Martial, Ibrahimovic (80)

 

Reserves: Romero, Blind, De Sciglio, Carrick (27), Mkhitaryan (45), Depay, Rashford (80)

 

Suspended: Smalling, Pogba

Injured: Rooney

[kernunos]

Friday 19th August 2016

The second match in the Premier Division was gonna be a real test for the team as we had to face Arsenal. This was going to be a clash between the 2 teams that were at the top of the table. The winner was going to be the leader in England for at least 1 week.

 

Premier Division : Arsenal - Manchester United 0-3 (0-0)

[P. Pogba (63), M. Depay (65,76)]    

 

The first half was an even and open half in which both teams created danger in front of the goal. Both goalkeepers showed a good performances and wanted to keep a clean sheet. Ibrahimovic had the best chance to score but his header bounced back against the woodwork. A freekick taken by Cazorla was the best chance for Arsenal in the first half but De Gea saved the ball.

In the second half we had the better start and for a while we did have more control over the game. It was Shaw finding Ibrahimovic in the area and instead of trying a shot, Ibrahimovic put Pogba free in  front of the goal. Cech had no chance to reach Pogba’s shot and so we had had taken a lead in this game. Just a few minutes later it was Schneiderlin passing the ball in front of the running Memphis. Memphis came one-on-one with the goalkeeper and with a placed shot, the ball went into the back of the net. These 2 goals in a few minutes were a shock for Arsenal and for a small period, they were not able to play their game. Arsenal was searching for a way back in the game and we took advantage of this once more. It was a mistake by Cech as he completely missed the ball, that gave Memhis his second goal. He only had to put the ball in an empty goal to complete our 3-0 victory. Arsenal should have scored a goal as the referee gave them a penalty but De Gea saved it. Cazorlo was not able to beat our goalkeeper from te spot.

 

Line-up: De Gea, Darmian, Smalling (yellow), Jones, Shaw, Blind (45), Pogba, Carrick (74), Lingard (74), Memphis, Ibrahimovic

 

Reserves: Romero, Rojo, De Sciglio, Schneiderlin (45), Mata (74), Rashford, Martial (74)

Injured: Rooney, Herrera

[kernunos]

Thursday 25th August 2016

The draw was made for the EFL Cup 3rd Round. In this Cup we had to face Championship team Huddersfield Town in an away match. I believed we were really lucky with the draw as we also could have gotten a team in the Premier Division.

 

Some teams were not that lucky as Arsenal had an away match against Bournemouth, Tottenham Hotspur home against Stoke City, Chelsea away against Hull City. But the real unlucky teams were Manchester City and Everton as they had to play against each other at The City of Manchester Stadium.

 

Friday 26th August 2016

The draw for the Euro Cup was made today. Manchester United was drawn in Group I and favourite to win this group. Other teams in this group were AS Saint-Etienne, BSC Young Boys and Konyaspor. None of the teams in this Group I have ever lifted the Euro Cup. We were the only team that ever lifted and European Cup.

 

The Draw of the Euro Cup

GROUP A				GROUP B			GROUP C			GROUP D
AZ				Fenerbahçe AŞ		Gelsenkirchen		Zenit St. Petersburg
FC Steaua Bucurşti		KRC Genk		Legia Warszawa		AS PAOK Salonika
FC Krasnodar			SK Rapid Wien		Slovan Liberec		Southampton
Qarabaĝ FK Aĝdam		Zorya Lugansk		US Sassuolo		FC Midtjylland

GROUP E				GROUP F			GROUP G			GROUP H
BMG				Braga			Athletic de Bilbao	ACF Fiorentina
Ludogorets 1945 Razgrad		Standard de Liège	LOSC Lille		Sparta Prague
FK Partizan Beograd		Celta de Vigo		FC Zürich		Maccabi Tel-Aviv
Arouca				Panathinaikos AO	ACF Astra Giurgiu	Hertha

GROUP I				GROUP J			GROUP K			GROUP L
Manchester United		INTER			FC PORTO		RSC Anderlecht
AS Saint-Etienne		BATE Borisov		GNK Dinamo		APOEL Nicosia
BSC Yooung Boys			Mainz			Spartak Moscow		Feyenoord Rotterdam
Konyaspor			West Ham United		OGC Nice		Rosenborg Ballklub

 

[kernunos]

Saturday 27th August 2016

In the Premier Division, the 3rd match was played. In a home game we had to face Everton. This was the second time w had to play against them and as we easily won the first match this should also be a win for us.

 

Premier Division : Manchester United - Everton  4-0 (1-0)

[J. Lingard (36, 51, 69), M. Depay (90)]

 

In a one-sided game, we did not have much trouble to defeat Everton. The only player of Everton that gave us troubles was Stekelenburg. The goalkeeper had a good match but at the end had to concede 4 goals. We were able to launch a lot of attacks and almost never had to deal with a counter attack of Everton. At the end of the match Everton had only 2 shots at goal. So our goalkeeper had an easy day to keep a clean sheet. In the first half it was Lingard heading home a cross by Willems to give us a lead in the game. We did get several chances to score another goal but had to wait till the second half for that. Corners on the other hand, we got a lot but we were just not able to convert them. In the second half it was Memphis finding Lingard in the area. Lingard fired a shot at goal to score his second goal. When Mata took a freekick, it was Jones to head it back to Lingard and Lingard to pull the trigger to complete his hattrick. And in the last minute of the game Memphis tried a shot from outside the area. As the goalkeeper was not able to reach the ball, Memhis scored his goal. We won this home match with a 4-0 score and were found at the top of the table. We had to share that spot with the Spurs but beat them at goaldifference.

 

Line-up: De Gea, De Sciglio, Smalling, Jones, Willems, Pogba (71), Herrera (62), Lingard, Mata, Memphis, Ibrahimovic (71)

 

Reserves: Romero, Blind, Darmian, Carrick (62), Martial, Rashford (71), Schneiderlin (71)

Injured: Rooney

 

Wednesday 31st August 2016

Another play left Manchester United on a loan. Sean Goss was given the opportunity to gain first team experience at Oldham Athletic.

 

With the transfer deadline passing, a roundup could be made for this transfer windows. Though we did not pay the highest fee in this window, we were the team spending the most. We spend a total of € 39.500.000 and were able to bring De Sciglio, Dolberg and Willems to Old Trafford. This were 3 young players that could stay at the club for several years to come.

 

[kernunos]

Thursday 1st September 2016

For the first time this season the monthly pricces were announced.

 

Player of the Month August was Jesse Lingard. Zlatan Ibrahimovic was at second place and third came Diego Costa from Chelsea

 

Manager of the Month August was Pat van Dijk. I was able to beat Mauricio Pochettino (Spurs) and Antonio Conte (Chelsea). Winning all 3 matches in the Premier Division with 11 goals scored and 2 conceded, I was able to win this title.

 

Saturday 10th September 2016

Another match in the Premier Division as we face Hull City. In matches like these you can only lose. Everyone expected Manchester United to win this kind of matches but the opponent will do anything to get a result. Hull City came to Old Trafford in a 4-1-4-1 formation, so the focus was on the defence.

 

Premier Division : Machester United - Hull City  3-0 (2-0)

[Own Goal (4), Z. Ibrahimovic (pen 10), M. Depay (60)]

 

There was only one team that was playing the game to win it. Hull City came to Old Trafford with only one thought, keep Manchester United from scoring a goal. Sure it can be a tactic to use but important then is that you not concede goals early in the game. Teams do get nervous when you are able to keep a 0-0 score on the board for a long time. Well, Hull City conceded a goal after 4 minutes in the game. Darmian crossed the ball and it was Maguire beating his own goalkeeper. Hull City did not chance their tactics and so the match already was one. In the 10th minute of the game we received a corner. It was Mata crossing the ball and the referee blowing his whistle. He pointed to the spot as he noticed Meyler hanging on the shirt of Martial. Ibrahimovic picked up the ball and converted the given penalty. Just 10 minutes in the game and the score already was 2-0. Though we had a lot of shots, we did not score another goal in the first half. In the second half it we again were the attacking team and again we forgot to score a goal. It was Memphis heading home a cross by Pogba to score the only goal in the second half. The match ended in a 3-0 victory and so we still were the leader of the Premier Division.

 

Line-up: De Gea, Darmian (yellow), Smalling, Blind, Willems (yellow, 45), Pogba, Schneiderlin (yellow), Lingard, Mata, Martial (yellow, 45), Ibrahimovic (72)

 

Reserves: Romero, Rojo (45), Shaw, Carrick, Fellaini, Dolberg (72), Memphis (45)

Injured: Rooney

 

[kernunos]

Thursday 15th September 2016

My first match in Europa as the group stage of the Euro Cup started. Our first match was awau in Switzerland against BSC Young Boys. We were favourite to win this match and also for winning this group.

 

Euro Cup Group I : BSC Young Boys - Manchester United  0-2 (0-1)

[Z. Ibrahimovic (22), M. Depay (56)]

 

Though it was for us an away match, we again had to face a team focusing on their defence. And to it happened that most time of the game the ball was close to our opponents goal. It was just waiting for the first goal scored by Manchester United. At the end of the match Young Boys had tested our goalkeeper once. Their goalkeeper had to make a lot of saves as we had 37 shots of which 13 were on target. Young Boys tried to start a counter attack but Mata stopped them just before they past the middle line. He gave the ball to Pogba who saw Ibrahimovic running towards the area. As Ibrahimovic had lots of space, he tried a placed shot at goal. As the goalkeeper was not able to reach the ball, the ball ended in the back of the net. We had taken a 1-0 lead in the game. I must say thier goalkeeper did an excellent job as he was able to save several good shots and kept his team in the game. In the second half it was a cross by Smalling that ended at the head of Pogba. Instead of trying to head it in goal, Pogba placed the ball back to Memphis. Memphis then tried a volley and found the upper corner to score our second goal. We went home with a 2-0 victory and more important 3 points in the pocket.

 

Line-up: De Gea, De Sciglio, Smalling (yellow, 76), Jones, Shaw, Pogba, Carrick, Mkhitaryan (45), Mata (76), Memphis, Ibrahimovic

 

Reserves: Romero, Blind (76), Willems, Schneiderlin, Lingard (45), Martial (76), Rashford

Injured: Rooney

 

The other match in Group I : AS Saint-Etienne - Konyaspor  1-3

[kernunos]

Saturday 17th September 2016

Another young player was going to gain first team experience as Tosin Kehinde went to Forest Green Rovers on a loan. He would stay their till the end of the season and when coming back, we would evaluate his position at the club.

 

Sunday 18th september 2016

After the away match in the Euro Cup, we now had an away match in the Premier Division. Many teams lose points after having played a midweek match and I did hope this was not going to be the case for us. Playing against the defending champions should inspire our team to get a result.

 

Premier Division : Leicester City - Manchester United  2-4 (1-1)

[J. Mata (41), J. Lingard (71), P. Pogba (76), Z. Ibrahimovic (79)]

 

Leicester City wanted to get a result today as they were struggling at the moment. Last season they surprised the entire world and this season they failed to win matches. Till today they managed to collect only 2 points in the Premier Division. They believed the best way to play against us was letting us have the ball and surprise us on the counter attack. And so we were in possession of the ball a lot but especially in the first half, we had difficulty to create chances. And when we tried a shot at goal, their goalkeeper showed his skills. Their tactics seemed to work as Leicester took a lead in this game after 20 minutes. They  intercepted the ball and the ball was played forward very quick. It was King sending Slimani into our area and he did score the goal. So now we needed to score at least a goal if we wanted to avoid defeat. It was Mata scoring the equalizer from a freekick and so at half time the score was 1-1. In the seconc half we again looked for the attack but for a while we had trouble to beat their defenders and goalkeeper. They managed to intercept our attacks and block our shots. It was Lingard to score our second goal of the match after a briljant pass by Ibrahimovic. But Leicester City showed they wanted to get a result today. The reacted very fast and were able to launch another counter attack within a few minutes. Mahrez found Schlupp free in our area and he had no problem to level the score. It then was Pogba with a placed shot to restore our lead within a minute. And when Ibrahimovic beat the goalkeeper after a pass by Herrera, the game was played. Well, that was what we believed though. It was Slimani scoring his second goal of the match in the 87th minute of the game. But we were lucky this time as the goal was ruled out by the referee. Slimani was in an off side position when he got the ball and so the goal was disallowed. Now it was over and we did win the match by 4-2. We still were at top of the table with a gap of 2 points.

 

Line-up: De Gea, Darmian, Jones (45), Rojo, Willems, Pogba, Schneiderlin, Lingard, Mata (76), Martial (45), Ibrahimovic

 

Reserves: Romero, Blind, Smalling (yellow, 45), Herrera (76), Rashford, Memphis (45), Fellaini

Injured: Rooney

[kernunos]

Wednesday 21st september 2016

We had an away match in the EFL Cup. In this 3rd Round we had to face Huddersfield Town, a team playing in the Championship. In this match I wanted to give some of my regular players a rest and that would mean some players got a chance to show their skills.

 

EFL Cup 3rd Round : Huddersfield Town - Manchester United 2-3 (2-1)

[M. Carrick (pen 37, pen 45), Dolberg (67)]

 

We started the match with several players that were not in our regular team. I did hope that they would take their chances and some did. Some of the players did disappoint me though as I believed they could do better. Sure we were the stronger team on the pitch but we failed at the last touch. And so we gave Huddersfield Town to grow in the match and even take a lead in the game. It was Wells scoring after a fast break in which he a faster runner as Baily. One-on-one with the goalkeeper, Wells managed to net the ball. Was it possible, could their be a surprise at the end of the game. Well Huddersfield Town and their supporters started believing in an upset. Still we managed to score twice in the first half. It was Carrick scoring his brace for the spot. So to score goals this match, we did need help from the referee. It was good to see that Carrick had no problems to convert from the spot. During half time I brought 3 new players: Sweinsteiger, Herrera and Dolberg. For Dolberg this was a good opportunity to gain first team experience. He played a decent game and he also managed to score a goal. Also Huddersfield managed to score a goal in the second half and so they had every chance to get a result today. It was good to see that Romero knew his job as a goalkeeper as he made some excellent saves. And so the match did end in a victory and we qualified for the next round. I had hoped Young, Schweinsteiger and Fellaini would have stepped up this match and show me they were able to take the team by the hand. All 3 failed to do so and that was a disappointment to me. If you know you will not have much playtime during the season, I expected you would use every minute you got to show me that I had made a faillure.

 

Line-up: Romero, De Sciglio, Baily, Blind, Shaw, Schmeiderlin (45), Carrick, Mkhitaryan, Fellaini (45), Young, Rashford (45)

 

Reserves: De Gea, Smalling, Darmian, Schweinstiger (45), Herrera (45), Dolberg (45), Memphis

Injured: Rooney

 

The biggest surprise in the EFL Cup was that current holders Manchester City were out of this competition. They lost their match against Everton after taking penalties.

[kernunos]

Saturday 24th september 2016

The draw of the EFL Cup 4th Round was made today. A total of 16 teams were still able to win the EFL Cup this season. As current holders Manchester City lost against Everton, there would be a new winner of this title. As there were only 5 teams not playing in the Premier Division in the pot, the chance to draw a strong team in the round was big. We got a home match against West Ham United from the draw. The biggest match in the 4th round would be Liverpool against Tottenham Hotspur.

 

In the Premier Division, we had an away match against Stoke City. An important match for Stoke City as if the would lose this match, they would get close to a relegation spot. For us this match was also important to win if we wanted to stay at the top of the table.

 

Premier Division : Stoke City - Manchester United  1-4 (1-1)

[P. Pogba (26), C. Smalling (51), A. Herrera (59), A. Martial (73)]

 

The freekick played an important role in the match against Stoke City. We played an awful first half today as everything went wrong in the passing. It was the passing that also let to the first goal of the match and Stoke City taking a lead. A long clearing pass was controlled by Smalling. To give the team some rest, he send a pass towards the goalkeeper but it was to short. It was Diouf taking advantage of this error and beating our goalkeeper. We were behind 1 goal and needed to get back in the game but as said, we played an awful first match. Also we lost Ibrahimovic due to a head injury. Still we were able to level the score when Pogba converted a freekick. At half time it was 1-1 and I told the players I did expect more from them in the second half. The team had listened to me as in the second  half we took control over the game. It was Mata taking a freekick and finding the head of Smalling in the area. Smalling had no problem to head the ball in the net and give us a lead in the game. It was another freekick taken by Mata and this time it was Herrera scoring with the head. And when Martial scored with a placed shot, the match was over. We added another victory and still had not lost a single point in the Premier Division.

 

Line-up: De Gea, Darmian (yellow), Smalling (yellow), Rojo (yellow), Willems, Pogba (73), Schneiderlin (yellow, 45), Lingard, Mata, Memphis, Ibrahimovic (35)

 

Reserves: Romero, Blind, De Sciglio, Carrick (73), Martial (35), Herrera (45), Rashford

Injured: Rooney

[kernunos]

Thursday 29 september 2016

The 2nd match in the Euro Cup Group I was home against AS Saint-Etienne. If we were able to win this match today, we already could be close to qualification. All did depend on the outcome of the other match in this group.

 

Euro Cup Group I : Manchester United – AS Saint-Etienne  3-0 (2-0)

[M. Depay (28), A. Herrera (40), J. Lingard (55)]

 

This was a very one-sided match in which people wondered why there were not more goals scored as 3. From the moment the match started, we were looking for the attack and created chances. At the end of the match we had 29 shots of which 14 were on target. Saint-Eteinne was able to try a few counter attacks but never were able to beat De Gea. It was Memphis to open the score after a pass by Ibrahimovic. And a little later it was again Ibrahimovic giving a player the chance to score a goal, This time it was Herrera with the last touch to double the score. In the second half we again were the stronger team but we had more difficult to create a chance. It was Memphis finding Lingard in front of the goal and Lingard completed our 3-0 victory over AS Saint-Etienne.

 

Line-up: De Gea, Darmian (69), Jones, Blind (yellow), Shaw, Pogba (yellow), Herrera (yellow), Lingard, Mata (78), Memphis, Ibrahimovic (69)

 

Reserves: Romero, Smalling, De Sciglio (69), Carrick, Schneiderlin, Mkhitaryan (78), Martial (60)

Injured: Rooney

 

The other match in Group I: Konyaspor - BSC Young Boys  3-0

So we now only needed 4 more points to win qualification in the Euro Cup.

[kernunos]

Saturday 1st October 2016

It was time again to announce the monthly prices.

 

Player of the Month September was Paul Pogba. Joshua King (Bournemouth) was at second place and third came Harry Kane (Spurs).

 

Young Player of the Month September was Leroy Sané (Man City). Héctor Bellerin (Arsenal) was at second place and Anthany Martial came in as third.

 

Manager of the Month September was Pat van Dijk. I was able to beat Arsène Wenger (Arsenal) and Pep Guardiola (Man City). Winning all 3 matches in the Premier Division with 11 goals scored and 3 conceded, I was able to win this title for the second time in a row.

 

Sunday 2nd October 2016

The 7th round in the Premier Division and we still did not lose points. At the moment it was a fight for first spot with Tottenham. Though they did have a draw, they were able to take over first place with every win. Till now they played their matches before us and so we knew their result at the start of our game.

 

Premier Division : Manchester United - West Ham United  2-1 (2-1)

[J. Lingard (15, 32)]

 

The team knew they had to keep an eye on the attack of West Ham United as they were very patient and could hit you when least espected. We were able to take control over the game almost the entire match. Our first goal of the match was right after a corner taken by West Ham United. It was Ibrahimovic picking up the cleared ball and running forward. He then found Pogba, who passed the ball to Mata. When Mata entered to area, he did lose the ball but it fell in front of Lingard. Lingard cotrolled the ball and then fired it behind the goalkeeper. We had taken a 1-0 lead in the game. It was not easy to create chances and convert them as their defence was able to keep our attackers away from the goal. Also their goalkeeper did an excellent job today. It was a cross by Willems that ended on Lingard’s head. He scored his second goal from close range with a placed header. It looked like we would go into half time with a 2-0 score. In the last minute Willems lost a duel in the air and Feghouli was also able to beat De Gea. West Ham United had scored out of nothing. So the second half started with a 2-1 score and the match could still go either way. Our defence did not have to much trouble with their attackers and so we did not see much danger in front of the goal. We did have a few shots at goal ourself but we failed at the last touch. In the last minute of the game it was Antonio with a good chance when he came one-on-one with De Gea. Luckily the ball went wide and so we did win the match with a 2-1 score. We were still the leaders in the Premier Division.

 

Line-up: De Gea, De Sciglio, Smalling, Blind, Willems (yellow, 60), Pogba, Schneiderlin (76), Lingard, Mata, Martial (60), Ibrahimovic

 

Reserves: Romero, Darmian, Jones (60), Carrick, Herrera (76), Memphis (60), Rashford

Injured: Rooney