Echoes from Old Trafford - December 2015

NEWSPAPER POST

Volume 43- Issue 2, December 2015

“Matteo deserves a top team and always dreamed of playing in the Champions League, so now that dream will be realised” Giampiero Ventura

Manchester United Supporters’ Club-Malta Founded 1959, is officially recognized by the Manchester United Football Club.

In this issue 3  EDITORIAL (MALTESE) ......................................................................... 5  CLUB NEWS.......................................................................................... 7  TEDDY’S CORNER.................................................................................8  THE EVOLUTION OF FOOTBALL.......................................................... 11  THE RISE OF ‘MIKE’ SMALLING...........................................................13  BUY BIG OR PROMOTE KID.................................................................15  THE FORWARD LINE – IS IT A PROBLEM?........................................... 16  THE CLASS OF ‘92............................................................................. 19  A FAIR CHALLENGE............................................................................ 21  MANCHESTER UNITED Y LA CONEXIÓN ESPAÑOLA...........................23  PREMIER LEAGUE MANAGERS........................................................... 25  “YOU’VE LOST THAT LOVIN’ FEELING”............................................... 27  FA CUP FINAL 1985........................................................................... 29  VAN GAAL’S PHILOSOPHY – IS IT WORKING?..................................... 35  UNICEF MATCH AT OLD TRAFFORD..................................................... 37  RIVALRY........................................................................................... 39  THE IMPORTANCE OF JIMMY MURPHY POST-MUNICH AIR-CRASH..... 41  MEET THE COMMITTEE..................................................................... 42  PLAYER INTERVIEW – ALAN GOWLING.............................................. 45  THE WAR YEARS................................................................................49  MIXED MANCUNIAN PLATTER ........................................................... 55  MAJOR LEAGUE’S ROUND-UP........................................................... 60  SEASON SO FAR............................................................................... 62  RESULTS & STATISTICS.................................................................... 64  EDITORIAL (ENGLISH) ..........................................................................

Official publication of the Manchester United Supporters’ Club Malta editorial team Michael Calleja · Braden Galea · Clint Camilleri · Daniel Cuschieri advertising executives Sean Galea · Joe Catania contributors Michael Calleja Braden Galea James Handyside Norbert Bugeja Jude Cauchi Fr. Ferrante Kenneth Abela Stefan Attard Iain McCartney Antoine Dalli Joseph Tedesco Alan Abela-Wadge Roderick Psaila Julian Tabone Robert Mizzi John Calleja Paul Anthony Michael Gatt Karm Galea Daniel Cuschieri

printing Progress Press patron Sir Alex Ferguson club founder ­ John Calleja club committee Joseph Tedesco Joe Catania James Handyside

President, Match Tickets Coordinator Vice-President, Assistant Advertising Executive Secretary, Tours Coordinator

Kevin Tabone

Treasurer, PRO

Robert J. Muscat

Assistant Secretary, Logistics Manager

Antoine Portelli

Assistant Treasurer, Venue & Facilities Coordinator

Charles Cauchi

Membership Secretary, Fund Raising Coordinator

Clint Camillieri

Media & Publishing Coordinator

Egidio Sciberras Souvenir Shop Mgr., Asst. Venue & Facilities Coordinator Sean Galea

Advertising Executive

Felix Galea

ICT Manager, Sports & Social Activities Coordinator Gozo representatives ­ Joe Xerri · Stefan Attard translator Tiziana Caruana spiritual director Fr. Anthony C. Ferrante (Carmelite)

MALTA MALTA

FOUNDED 1959

Quarries Square Street, Msida MSD 1101 Malta.

Telephone: +356 21223531 E-mail: info@manutd-malta.com Website: www.manutd-malta.com

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Based in Msida, Malta, we are a non-profit organization designed to bring the Manchester United experience to United fans here in Malta. We are the only Official Manchester United Supporters’ Club on the Maltese Islands. We are also the oldest Manchester United Supporters’ Club in the World.

THE VIEWS IN THIS MAGAZINE ARE NOT NECESSARILY SHARED BY THE CLUB. VOL 43 - ISSUE 2 - DECEMBER 2015

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The Echoes Editorial Board & the Committee o f the Manchester United Supporters’ Club Malta would like to wish you and your families a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year.

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VOL 43 - ISSUE 2 - DECEMBER 2015

Editorial IT’S WINNING THAT MATTERS...

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here is an Ancient Greek expression (attributed to the 3rd Century BC) which basically states: ‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder’. If we had to adopt this phrase to United’s current form and season, there might not be anything ‘beautiful’ in the way United are currently playing but the beauty is in the fact that despite criticism from fans, former players (Paul Scholes for example) and pundits, United are still slowly and steadily battling for the title.

Louis Van Gaal recently responded to claims

by Manchester United legend Paul Scholes that games are ‘boring’. The Dutchman’s reply was eloquent and calm, stating that: ‘You have a fantastic expression for that in England: ‘sticks and stones can break my bones, but names [words] will never hurt me’, before adding: ‘We are improving a lot. When you think what can be done within one year I’ve said that the process takes three years.’ This steadfast and resolute approach by Van Gaal only goes to show that he has total confidence in his own project and game style. True, we were accustomed to free flowing attacking football under Sir Alex, but given the fact that the game is becoming ever more technical and tactical [especially in Europe], is it wrong for people to blame Van Gaal for adopting a new approach? Manchester United is no longer an ‘English’ club but a ‘Continental powerhouse’ so it is obvious that game styles need to alter and change to suit European opposition.

In this connection, it has certainly been a topsy-turvy month for United with awesome highs coupled with very disappointing lows. United’s performances of the season have both been against teams hailing from Merseyside. The 3-1 win against Liverpool at Old Trafford was somewhat eclipsed by a comprehensive 3-0 rout of Everton at Goodison Park. In a notoriously bogey

ground for the Reds, Schneiderlin, Herrera and Rooney put Everton to the sword to ensure United’s title credentials were evidenced for all to see. There certainly was something ‘different’ about United’s performance on that day – that cold-blooded ruthlessness was missing from previous seasons and the way in which the Reds totally dismantled what is a very good Everton team certainly raised a few eyebrows.

The League campaign is now well underway and United are up there challenging for England’s Premier football title. This year’s Premier League is extremely competitive and wholly unpredictable. Who would have thought that Liverpool (galvanised by their eccentric new Manager Jürgen Klopp) would hammer City 4-1? Nobody would have imagined such a stuttering start to the season by Chelsea and surely nobody ever envisaged Leicester City among the big boys! This unpredictability is the reason why the Premier League remains the best League in the world and United are doing well to maintain their current form.

The immeasurable low was certainly seen against Middlesbrough in the League Cup. It wasn’t only the manner in which United were eliminated but the fact that we had a good chance of actually winning the cup, so to exit the competition at this stage was certainly very disappointing.

‘Defence’, ‘containment’ and ‘boring’ are words we’ve often heard this season, but an astute and formidable defence is one of the reasons why the squad has been so competitive. Bar that debacle and first half collapse at the Emirates, Van Gaal has certainly improved United’s defending to the point that ironically the team is having trouble scoring goals, as seen against City and Palace. The backline is now United’s strongest weapon, and with David De Gea

in stupendous form once again and Chris Smalling arguably turning out to be England’s best defender, it’s going to take a very special team to comprehensively beat United (in whatever competition).

Mention must also be made of the new signings/newbies and the way in which they have bedded in so well. There is always apprehension and fear whenever new signings are brought to the club. One can simply refer to the 2003-04 season when the likes of DjembaDjemba, Kleberson and Bellion joined the club with high expectations, yet never established themselves properly within the squad. They were soon offloaded elsewhere. This season however, the likes of Martial, Schweinsteiger, Schneiderlin, Depay and the emerging Lingard have been instrumental in United maintaining consistency in the league. It certainly is never easy for new signings to bed in and adapt to new game styles, language and culture but the way in which Van Gaal has integrated these ‘newbies’ reiterates the fact that the Dutchman knows how to build, maintain and control what is effectively a very competitive squad.

As the busy Christmas season fast approaches, there are various key games and battles which have yet to be fought. Qualification in the UEFA Champions League group stages is of paramount importance and a good Christmas run will ensure United would be able to push on and hopefully mount a serious assault on the League title come March and April. Though we are watching a different brand of football, United are getting the desired results and are still fighting on the domestic and European front. Free-flowing and attacking football might not be the order of the day but the results are coming and that’s encouraging. After all, it’s winning that matters!

The Editorial Team

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IR-REBĦ HU DAK LI JGĦODD...

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eżisti espressjoni grieka antika ħafna (li tmur lura għat‑3 Seklu QK) li bażikament tgħid: ‘Is‑sbuħija hija suġġettiva’. Jekk ikollna nużaw din l‑espressjoni għall‑istaġun u l‑forma li jinsabu fiha bħalissa l‑United, jaf ma jkun hemm xejn ‘sabiħ’ fil‑mod ta’ kif il‑United qed jilagħbu attwalment. Iżda, is‑sbuħija tinsab fil‑fatt li minkejja li l‑partitarji, eks‑plejers (eżempju Paul Scholes) u l‑opinjonisti jikkritikaw, bil‑mod il‑mod il‑United għadhom xorta waħda jissieltu b’mod kostanti għat‑titlu.

Reċentament, Louis Van Gaal irrisponda għall‑akkużi li saru mil‑leġġenda ta’ Machester United Paul Scholes dwar il‑fatt li l‑logħob qiegħed ikun ‘tedjanti’. Ir‑risposta li ta l‑Olandiż kienet elokwenti u kalma, billi stqarr: ‘L‑Ingilterra għandkom espressjoni tajba ħafna għal dan kollu: ‘għalkemm fiżikament tista’ tweġġagħni ħafna, l‑insulti [il‑kliem] mhu se jweġġgħuni qatt’, imbagħad żied jgħid: ‘Sejrin tajjeb ħafna. Meta wieħed jaħseb x’jista’ jsir fi żmien sena li jien għidt li l‑proċess se jieħu tliet snin.’ Din it‑tweġiba diretta u skjetta ta’ Van Gaal turi kemm huwa kunfidenti bil‑proġett li għandu u l‑istil ta’ logħob tiegħu.

M’hemmx dubju li taħt Sir Alex Ferguson konna mdorrijin b’attakk aktar mexxej, iżda billi l‑logħba qegħda dejjem tinbidel f ’waħda iktar tattika u teknika [speċjalment fl‑Ewropa], huwa ħażin il‑fatt li n‑nies tagħti t‑tort lil Van Gaal talli qiegħed jimplimenta metodu ġdid? Manchester United m’għadux klabb ‘Ingliż’ iżda ‘forza Kontinentali’ u allura huwa ovvju li jinbidlu l‑istili ta’ logħob sabiex jirrispondi għall‑avversarji Ewropej.

Għaldaqstant, kien ċertament xahar mimli tlajja’ u nżul għall‑United permezz ta’ sodisfazzjonijiet kbar flimkien ma’ ħafna diżappunti. Il‑prestazzjonijiet tal‑United f ’dan l‑istaġun kienu t‑tnejn li huma kontra timijiet ġejjin minn Merseyside. Ir‑rebħa ta’ 3‑1 kontra Liverpool f ’Old Trafford kienet tista’ tgħid riflessa fl‑iskor ta’ 3‑0 fil‑konfront kontra Everton f ’Goodison Park. Fi ground magħruf

għall‑isfortuna li jġib lir‑Reds, Schneiderlin, Herrera u Rooney nifdu bla ħniena lil Everton sabiex jassiguraw li kulħadd jara l‑kredenzjali tal‑United għall‑kisba tat‑titlu. Ċertament, dakinhar kien hemm xi ħaġa ‘differenti’ fil‑prestazzjoni tal‑United – dak il‑ħażen fil‑logħba tal‑istaġuni mgħoddija kien nieqes u l‑mod ta’ kif ir‑Reds ġabu fix‑xejn dak li huwa meqjus bħala tim tajjeb, l‑Everton; ċertament ħalla lil bosta b’ħalqhom miftuħ.

Il‑kampanja tal‑Kampjonat bħalissa għaddejja ġmielha u l‑United jinsabu hemm fuq fil‑ġlieda għat‑titlu tal‑Premier Ingliż tal‑futbol. Il‑Premier League ta’ din is‑sena huwa ferm kompetittiv u totalment imprevedibbli. Min qatt kien jaħseb li Liverpool (iggalvanizzati bil‑kowċ eċċentriku ġdid tagħhom Jürgen Klopp) setgħu isammru lis‑City 4‑1? Ħadd ma kien jimmaġina li Chelsea se jiddebuttaw fl‑istaġun b’daqshekk qawwa u żgur ħadd ma kien qed jistenna li jara lit‑tim ta’ Leicester City mal‑ġganti tal‑kampjonat! Dawn is‑sorpriżi huma r‑raġuni għaliex il‑Premier League jibqa’ l‑isbaħ kampjonat fid‑dinja u l‑United qegħdin jagħmlu ħilithom biex iżommu l‑forma li jinsabu fiha bħalissa. L‑ikbar diżappunt deher ċertament fil‑logħba kontra Middlesbrough fil‑League Cup. Ma kienx biss għall‑mod kif il‑United ġew eliminati iżda l‑fatt li kellna ċans tajjeb li verament nirbħu t‑tazza. Allura, li tinqala’ mill‑kompetizzjoni f’dan l‑istadju kien diżappuntanti ħafna.

‘Difiża’, ‘konteniment’ u ‘tedjanti’ huma kelmiet li spiss smajna f ’dan l‑istaġun, iżda d‑difiża intelliġenti u formidabbli hija waħda mir‑raġunijiet għaliex it‑tim kien daqshekk kompetittiv. Insa dak il‑fjask u kollass tal‑ewwel taqsima fl‑istadium tal‑Emirates, m’hemmx dubju li Van Gaal tejjeb id‑difiża tal‑United sal‑punt li ironikament it‑tim qiegħed isibha diffiċli biex jiskurja, kif deher biċ‑ċar kontra s‑City u Palace.

Issa l‑linja ta’ wara hija l‑aktar arma b’saħħitha, u b’David De Gea għal darb’oħra f ’forma stupenda

u Chris Smalling li jista’ jirriżulta fl‑aqwa difensur Ingliż, se jkun meħtieġ tim speċjali ħafna biex ovvjament jegħleb lill‑United (fi kwalunkwe kompetizzjoni).

Ma nistgħux ma nsemmux ukoll l‑akkwisti/ pedini l‑ġodda u l‑mod tajjeb ħafna ta’ kif dawn integraw. Dejjem ikun hemm il‑paċenzja u l‑biża’ kull meta jkunu introdotti akkwisti ġodda fil‑klabb. Wieħed jista’ sempliċement jirreferi għall‑istaġun 2003‑04 meta plejers bħal Djemba‑Djemba, Kleberson u Bellion ingħaqdu mal‑klabb b’aspettattivi kbar, iżda madankollu qatt ma stabilixxew ruħhom sew fl‑iskwadra. Ma tantx kienu damu biex intbagħtu ma’ tim ieħor.

Madankollu, dan l‑istaġun, plejers bħal Martial, Schweinsteiger, Schneiderlin, Depay u l‑emerġenti Lingard huma strumentali għall‑United sabiex tinżamm konsistenza fil‑kampjonat. Ċertament, qatt ma jkun faċli għall‑akkwisti l‑ġodda biex jintegraw u jadattaw għall‑istili ġodda ta’ logħob, għal‑lingwa u l‑kultura iżda l‑mod li bih Van Gaal integra lil dawn ‘il‑pedini’ ġodda jitfa’ dawl fuq kemm l‑Olandiż jaf kif jibni, iżomm u jikkontrolla dik li effettivament hija skwadra kompetittiva ferm.

Hekk kif l‑istaġun impenjattiv tal‑Milied qiegħed joqrob, fadal iktar logħob ta’ importanza fundamentali u battalji x’ jiġu missielta. Il‑kwalifikazzjoni tal‑gruppi fil‑UEFA Champions League hija importanti ħafna u spinta tajba fil‑Milied tagħmel żgur li l‑United ikunu jistgħu javvanzaw u fortunatament jirbħu l‑isfida serja għat‑titlu tal‑Kampjonat bejn Marzu u April li ġej. Għalkemm aħna qegħdin naraw tip differenti ta’ futbol, il‑United qegħdin jiksbu r‑riżultati mixtieqa u għadhom qegħdin jissieltu fl‑affront Ewropew u dak domestiku.Futbol ibbażat fuq l‑attakk u t‑tqassim tal‑ballun jaf ma jkunx l‑ordni tal‑ġurnata iżda r‑riżultati ġejjin u dan kollu huwa ta’ kuraġġ. Wara kollox, ir‑rebħ hu dak li jgħodd!

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Manchester United Supporters’ Club Malta Tour to Old Trafford

Watch Manchester United take on Arsenal and Watford in the Premier League Departure : 26th February 2016 Return : 3rd March 2016 Price : â‚Ź1,095 per person includes: Direct Flights to/from Manchester; 6 nights accomodation in City Centre Hotel on Bed & Breakfast basis; Return Airport Transfers; Full Day Excursion; Guaranteed Match Tickets; Official Manchester United Membership Pack;

Contact James Handyside on 9942 4624 or info@manutd-malta.com for bookings

CLUBNEWS October 2015 espite the fact that no local service provider transmits the Capital One Cup matches and that the limited number of satellite stations transmitting the game being out of reception range, the club were once again able to show the Middlesbrough game live using an internet link.

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On Friday 30th October the first social activity of the 2015/2016 season was aa 3-course dinner held at Ta’ Klarricc Restuarant in Rabat. The food was excellent and all those who attended enjoyed the evening. The Committee believes that such events are of great importance to our beloved Supporters’ Club fot two main reasons. Not only do they offer members the chance to mingle outside the confines of a matchday environment, they also present the Club with a chance to thank our sponsors for the financial support they provide us during the year. We look forward to seeing more of you together with family and friends at similar events in the future.

November 2015 ll Souls Day was commemorated at the Club by celebrating Mass on Sunday 1st November. The mass was once again well attended by members and their families.

Please allow me to thank the Club’s Spiritual Director, Father Ferrante for celebrating the mass and Club Member, Mr Joe Cilia for all his help in the preparation.

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At the beginning of every November the

Committee begin in earnest preparations for the Christmas activities. These activities remain popular amongst our members and their families.

This year the Children’s Party will take place on Friday 18th December 2015. Tickets, which are on sale from the Club, cost € 15 per child. The price includes food, drink and entertainment and Father Christmas will be dropping by to give a gift to each child.

This year the Members Party will be held on Sunday 20th December 2015. Members, who wish to be accompanied by a guest, may do so by purchasing a ticket for this event. Tickets which are priced at € 10 each, and include 3 free drinks, will be available for sale from the Clubs’ Souvenir Shop, up to Sunday 13th December 2015. No tickets will be available for sale at the door on the day of the party.

Entrance on the day will only be granted on presentation of a VALID Membership Card or ticket at the door. As usual finger food will be served and each member will be entitled to 3 free drinks at the Bar. We are once again organising a Christmas Lottery and by now you should have all received the circular with all details of the Christmas activities together with a packet of lottery tickets. For each packet sold you are kindly requested to return €10.00. This year once again the Committee has decided that a percentage of the proceeds will be donated to the Malta Community Chest Fund.

by James Handyside

Thanks to our sponsors, who have once again donated some fantastic prizes 1st Prize – 4 nights stay for 2 persons at one of the Radisson Blu Hotels in Malta on Bed & Breakfast basis – donated by the Hotel Management; 2nd Prize – Weekend Break for 2 persons at The Grand Hotel, Ghajnsielem, Gozo on Bed & Breakfast basis – donated by the Hotel Management; 3rd Prize – Microwave Oven – donated by ECB Ltd; 4th Prize – Wooden Desk Set – donated by PaperClips Stationary; 5th Prize – Meal for 2 at Bella Vista Hotel – donated by the Hotel Management; During the Members Party, members can collect their complimentary copy of the 2016 calendar. Special thanks once again to our sponsors without the financial support they provide this outstanding product, which we are all-proud of, would not be possible. Those members who wish to obtain further copies of this calendar can do so from the Souvenir Shop, for just €6.00. The calendar will also be on sale from a number of stationaries across Malta, priced at €7.00.

On behalf of all the Committee I wish you and all your families a Merry Christmas and a prosperous and healthy New Year.

All Souls Day Mass was celebrated at the Club on Sunday 1st November.

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TEDDY’S corner Dear All Oh what a night! Late in May in 1999, Ole scored that goal in extra time….what a feeling, what a night! Fond and nostalgic memories of days gone by, unforgettable flashes from the past which at the moment are no longer available in my dreams’ playlist, let alone hope to relive that inexplicable joy and excitement.

Wait a minute…excitement? Have to admit that watching the Manchester United games nowadays has deprived me from that privilege to be excited anymore about my football team. I remember times when being eliminated from the UEFA Champions League hurt so much. After Wolfsburg, it more felt like business as usual. I scrolled Facebook, which meant I was ready to read the flack…I was somehow expecting it because we more than deserved it. The critics are out.

The haters are at the top of their voice. The glory hunters disappear. The loyal ones try to understand. The problem for the latter is that no matter how hard they try, they never seem to manage.

Let’s face it…doomsday was looming large soon after the final whistle at Old Trafford following a passionless performance against PSV Eindhoven. I believe that with more freedom of expression, with less compulsory robotic passing, we had enough quality players on that pitch to ensure qualification on the night. Wolfsburg away was always going to be tough. The ever-increasing list of injured players is obviously not helping. I do not criticize the Manager for team selections nowadays. I leave that to the hundreds of self-proclaimed coaches. However, there are two points I would like to build an argument upon. First point: I absolutely do not agree with the Manager’s timing to admit in public that Manchester United is not good enough to win the UEFA Champions League this season.

Let us not forget that Van Gaal spent over a quarter of a billion pounds in 18 months to rebuild Manchester United, so whilst I appreciate that rebuilding takes time, he must bear some kind of responsibility for this status quo. Even though the statement he pronounced is perfectly correct, uttering such words during a pre-match press conference of a crucial UEFA Champions League game is not really an injection of motivation. I would be very interested to know what a football manager with all those bags of

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experience was aiming to achieve with such a quote at that time. Would Sir Alex ever say something like that before a do-or-die game?

I don’t think so.

Second point: The injury-stricken squad constrained the Manager to call a number of youth players for the game in the Volkswagen Arena. This keeps showing a positive aspect of our Manager’s trust in our academy players. However, if there were no injury problems to Mata and Basti (apparently not), two World Cup winners, can someone please try to explain the reasoning behind substituting one of them with Nick Powell (who had no first team football for over a year) in a double substitution, also seeing Carrick coming in the frame, during a crucial time in the second half of a must-win UEFA Champions League tie, when United are trailing 2-1 with twenty minutes to go?

Luck favours the brave? This, obviously, at the risk of no more substitutions available since Borthwick-Jackson had already substituted Darmian.

Unfor tunately, we had to pay the price when Smalling got injured later on in the game.

Lady Luck was not smiling anymore.

That substitution for me was not brave at all but extremely risky and, being honest, I do not feel we deserved any luck smiling at us really.

It somehow reminded m e o f t ha t l a s tminute goalkeeper substitution during t he la s t Wor ld Cup when Van Gaal substituted Cillessen with Krul during Holland’s quarter final clash

have your say on info@manutd-malta.com

against Costa Rica. No one understood what is going on at the time. Holland won.

Krul was the hero saving penalties. Van Gaal had completed a master stroke. Or a lucky stroke? I am still perplexed trying to understand what galvanized the Manager to execute such a move. Anyway, mathematics state we are now heading to Europe’s Division 2 and questions now start piling up about whether Manchester United should be taking this UEFA Europa League competition with any serious commitment, considering the fact that we are still fighting for the Premier League title, which must surely be our number one priority now.

It’s time to ponder and think. It’s useless ruing past decisions taken to let players like Di Maria, Hernandez and Van Persie leave and loaning Wilson and Januzaj when we

are lacking so much upfront, now shifting all the responsibility on Rooney and Martial.

The Manager together with his staff and players now need to regroup, look forward and hopefully reignite the much-needed confidence to keep pushing our heads up in what looks to be one of the tightest Premier League championship battles we haven’t had for years. Drawing away to Leicester and home to West Ham, considering the achievements of both teams this season, might not look as bad. Then again, I don’t think that the results are actually hurting the fans. It’s the lack of goals scored and chances created, the boring possession dominated game which has taken over completely the adventurous style we had been so renowned for, the excitement which used to keep us at the edge of our seats week in, week out, the pleasure of watching our wingers dribble with flair, the excitement of seeing our midfielders daring a shot from outside the penalty area or doing a late dash in the box for a loose ball, the football game which has brought so many trophies to Old Trafford.

Gary Neville made what I think is a very diplomatic, well-versed judgment of our team at the moment. He said that Van Gaal must be doing something right gaining so much possession consistently in every game, home and away, against each and every club, but is lacking two world-class players who have the ability to cash in all this possession.

Wise words. Defensively, we have actually improved a lot, but that will not be enough to take us where we belong. I honestly wish Van Gaal will make his critics, including myself, eat humble pie before the end of his three year contract, but being honest I am not seeing any signs of the pie yet. I just hope, sincerely hope (and never thought I would ever say this), that we have not missed what looks to have been an extremely good candidate for United’s manager job post Sir Alex because he has just taken over our rivals in Merseyside. In a very short space of time, he seems to have changed the atmosphere and instilled a lot of self-belief in their fans and players. Believe me guys, I am not counting them out of the race this season unfortunately.

I am usually a positive person by nature and hate doom and gloom, but at the same time I love being realistic, hence my opinions above.

Notwithstanding my opinions, this is what I consider to be the best time to fly the United flag. It’s easy to support our team in glory.

Now is the time to show your true United ardent fever and support. Hopefully, we’ll have some progress to cheer about before the next edition. May I take this opportunity to wish you all the very best in the festive season. Make sure you have a good drink with your family and friends but take a lift home. Don’t drink and drive.

Happy Christmas and Happy New Year!

Yours United Teddy

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THE EVOLUTION OF FOOTBALL

MANCHESTER UNITED

by Norbert Bugeja

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o some years ago, a football team named Stretford End Malta used to glorify football pitches all around Malta. This team, under the guidance of coach Moses Grech, managed to go unbeaten for 25 matches and no matter who the opponent was, there was no stopping this team. But the evolution of this team was that every player kept their jobs didn’t turn to professional football or join the Football League, and Stretford End Malta is now a beautiful memory that will live forever in the hearts and minds of everyone who played and took part in the team. Luckily for us, Newton Heath’s evolution took a different twist and turned out to become the team we all love today. But what are the changes this evolution brought with it?

Newton Heath applied to join the Football League in 1890, after just like Stretford End Malta, they dominated the local opposition teams, but for a change the Football Association refused them entry to the league. The application was finally accepted in 1892. Evolution had no effect on the Football Association always giving a hard time to United when entering a new competition. History would repeat itself in 1956 when Sir Matt Busby wanted United to join the Champions Cup. During those days, the dominant forces in English football had the names of Blackburn Rovers and Preston North End. The Heathens’ first season, for those who enjoy statistics, finished with 18 points and 85 conceded goals. The second season got even worse and the team got relegated to 2nd Division where they spent 2 years.

North Bank was the home of the Heathens during that time, rented by the Cathedral who is still today the owner of the ground. The capacity was that of 12000, but in 1891 two stands were added and the total capacity became 15000.

After the Cathedral decided to raise the rent to 100 Sterling, the railway company decided to pull out of paying the rent. Alongside the extension to the ground, this led the club through financial difficulty, which would lead to the change of name to the now world famous Manchester United. The largest attendance recorded was approximately 15000 in a match against Sunderland on 4th March 1893.

What makes a team successful is that there is always someone who can plan and see ahead of time, and the survival of United is thanks to a certain full back named Harry Stafford, who started a fundraising campaign including businessman from Manchester to get all the help the team could get. In today’s jargon, this is known as sponsorship. This brought a whole

change and United now had the financial muscle to start building a team. Can we call Stafford the best defender United has ever had following this or at least the first unofficial marketing manager Manchester United had? Whatever we call him, one thing is sure: Strafford became the first player to captain both Manchester United and Newton Heath, writing his name in history.

This was the beginning of what we have now.

We are in the year 2015 and Manchester United is the most successful team in England, while the dominant forces back in 1892, Preston and Blackburn, have never got to make it the way United did. So what’s the difference between Preston, Blackburn and Manchester United?

Why have Manchester United achieved so much while Preston and Blackburn stopped evolving both on the pitch and off the pitch?

The first feature is definitely investment and great forward-thinking. Manchester United has been blessed throughout all our history with persons who did not only have ambitions or dreams, but also had the people who worked hard through adversity and kept going, never giving up. The Munich disaster was a clear example, having the most promising football team dismantled and yet Manchester United had a team to field for the next fixture. The investment in youth policy helped a lot especially in the rebuilding phase after the tragedy.

In terms of the development of Old Trafford, Manchester United had the largest average attendance for the first time in season 1957.

The average attendance was 45,581, showing that the Busby Babes attracted more supporters towards the football ground. During the 1980s, when Liverpool was dominating the football scene, United still had the best attendances.

Only in 1988 and 1989 did Liverpool take over, but the reason was the all-seating policy that started meaning development had to start, resulting in a temporary drop in United’s attendances to the lowest ever. What attracts supporters to United? We all have our reasons, but consistently having the largest attendances shows that the support goes on from one generation to another. I started supporting United in the 1980s, meaning that I wasn’t attracted to the trophies United were winning, because we were not spoilt for trophies during those days. I remember my first football idol, Bryan Robson, had joined United, but it was the history of the team that attracted me towards the club. We all have our reasons for supporting United and all are different, but how

did the supporters evolve through the football evolution?

We all someday or another saw pictures of old football games: everyone standing up, no replica shirt, the occasional red and white scarf, rattle or bobble and in their rain coats, while the kids were placed in front so they could see the games better, and no seated football grounds. But in 1974, replica kits started to be produced and this led to what we have now.

Big sponsorship deals generate money, but supporters are the main source of income.

They get season tickets or else buy tickets to go and support United, buy the latest kit and other merchandise and get anything that has to do with the club. With a fan base like that of Manchester United, the profit potential is incredible. So what is passion for the supporter is also good business for the people investing in the club, but this is a necessarily evil since we all know what footballers are paid nowadays, and if youth players don’t reach certain quality standards, footballers inevitably need to be bought. Obviously, I would like to think that the upcoming generation will be just like the latest set of loyal servants we had: Giggs, Scholes and Neville. But footballers have also changed.

During the United history, we have seen many players who have become icons with the club, players that upon mentioning them, Manchester United comes to mind. I once read the story of a player. He was a United captain, Frank Barson, he was a blacksmith as a profession, 6ft tall, he had broken his nose 4 times and on one occasion an opponent hit him hard and he asked the referee not to send him off so he could get the chance to kick him himself. He was offered the ownership of a hotel in Ardwick Green if United got promoted to 1st Division, but when he saw the crowd of well-wishing people, he gave the keys to the headwaiter and left, knowing that was not the life for him. Definitely no prima donna and no person you would want to be on his bad books. More money in the game meant that most players look at what they can earn financially more than what they can actually do for the club.

The one-club footballers are slowly becoming something of the past. Most players are looking forward to get the next big contract and lead the comfortable life, getting paid well even if they are not performing on the football pitch.

Luckily, I started supporting United during an era when we had a lot of players who played their heart out for the team. Bryan Robson could have joined Juventus for better wages, but he stayed at United. Eric Cantona, the enfant terrible of French football, became the King at Old Trafford.

Let’s ignore Roy Keane’s feud with Fergie and see what he did on the football pitch: great leader.

Nowadays, we have a situation where so much money is involved in the game that, without any doubt, we get distracted from the reality of football and miss out of the beauty of the game. Maybe, who knows, one day a young, promising footballer will say no problem, I will be rich, but there are more important things in football and life than money. Becoming a legend or a respectable figure at a massive club like Manchester United is one of them.

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The Rise of Smalling

by Jude Cauchi

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n the 1st July 2010, Chris Smalling signed for Manchester United and made his official first team debut later on the 28 th August 2010 in a 3-0 home win against West Ham. On the other hand, Smalling had to wait until the 2nd September 2011 to make his England international debut as at that time, the player was considered as second-best to the more reliable defence setup of John Terry and Gary Cahill.

It has been more than a year since Chris Smalling was sent off away to Manchester City in the Manchester Derby for a stupid intervention with City goalkeeper Joe Hart and another tackle involving former city player James Milner. His actions that day did not do him any justice and the majority of Manchester United supporters were getting fed up of a player who could not establish himself as a proper first team player. United went on to lose that match 1-0.

A year on from that dreadful day, Chris Smalling has now established himself as the leader of the pack in the heart of United’s defence and the future could be very promising for this young player. Having said this, it is very important that one highlights the factors that contributed to getting the best out of Smalling.

Throughout the years, Manchester United have always been associated with flair football, but as Sir Alex Ferguson says, “While attack wins you matches, it is the defence that wins you titles”. In fact, the majority of Manchester United teams have always been characterised by a solid back four. Examples include Gary Pallister, Steve Bruce, Ronny Johnsen, Jaap Stam, Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.

Speaking of the latter two, the pair had formed a formidable partnership together and as a result limited opportunities for other younger players such as Evans, Jones and Smalling.

In fact when Sir Alex Ferguson retired, and a year later both Ferdinand and Vidic left United, this enabled some of the youngsters at United to get some taste of first-team opportunities. Furthermore, the fact that United never splashed the cash on a solid centre-back also enabled Chris Smalling to get consistency in the team and prove the doubters wrong.

way the player is performing these days has similarities in terms of style and composure to Rio Ferdinand.

Additionally, the player has already started all the matches this season and his defensive performances, together with some decisive goals, are proving to be a big extra plus for Manchester United as he is keeping a lot of top strikers such as Harry Kane quiet. In fact, Smalling, has been a contender for the man of the match award in almost every Premier League and UEFA Champions League game that he has started, and he has established himself as an automatic choice in United’s starting eleven this season.

A lot of Manchester United fans, including the manager Louis Van Gaal, see Chris Smalling as the future Manchester United captain as his leadership skills are second to none in the team and the player is proving to be an inspiration to the other United players.

Compared to the other leaders at United such as Rooney, Schweinsteiger and Carrick, the player is very young, hence it would be very difficult for someone else to take from him the chance of becoming the future United captain.

A concern with regards to Smalling is that in the past, he has been suffering with regular injuries, but this issue seems to have been resolved as the defender is playing regular football and injuries are no longer preventing him from fulfilling his potential.

Watching Chris Smalling developing himself as one of the best defenders in Europe is a big relief to the Manchester United supporters and a lot of credit has to go to Sir Alex Ferguson and Louis Van Gaal. Sir Alex saw a lot of talent in the boy and believed that he would turn into one of the best defenders in the world. On the other hand, Louis Van Gaal has managed Chris Smalling very well in terms of giving the player confidence by motivating the player to be the future captain and also correcting Smalling when his actions did not do him any good. A huge amount of credit also has to go to the player himself, as the easiest option would have been to pack his bags and leave the club when things were going wrong, but Smalling never gave up on his dream of becoming an excellent United player, even when the odds were against him.

The issue with the England National team also needs to be considered as Chris Smalling has a very good chance of establishing himself as the main centre-back of the national team, especially with Gary Cahill and John Terry struggling to perform at the highest level. This could be the time for Smalling to prove to the critics that he deserves to be playing in the national team and the way the player is performing, it would be foolish not to consider him as an alternative to both John Terry and Gary Cahill.

From a United perspective, the supporters hope that he continues to improve every match and keeps showing the same passion and aggression that Manchester United supporters love to see in their beloved team. If Smalling continues in this form, I am sure that histor y will be written and t he defender will have his name written amongst the Manchester U n i t e d legends.

Under Louis Van Gaal this year, and also in the latter part of last season, Chris Smalling is proving to be like a new signing for United as he has transformed his inconsistent performances to a new solid dimension associated with United’s greatest ever centre-backs. In my eyes, the

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argue, what about playing against tougher opponents? When the player trains with the first team, one is already playing against tougher opponents and consistency is what a youth player would be looking to achieve.

If the club adopts a policy whereby a youth player’s tactical movement is identical to the senior player in his position, however retaining his own playing style, not only does the club save funds on new purchases, but also retains its own identity of producing and promoting its own players. Fans should ignore the sums which are being spent on players as, in reality, it’s the club’s own money and fans should be more concerned with the players’ performances on the pitch.

Buy big or promote a kid

by Daniel Cuschieri Alan Hansen – ‘You can’t win anything with kids’.

Sir Alex Ferguson – ‘When you give young people a chance, you not only create a longer life span for the team, you also create loyalty. They will always remember that you were the manager who gave them their first opportunity’.

B

efore the introduction of transfer windows during the season 2002/3 season, clubs could purchase or sell players throughout the year. Big clubs in those days would flex their financial muscle to cope with unplanned circumstances or to replace underperforming players. Throughout the season, any club could purchase or sell a player. Clubs with smaller budgets would seek to promote youth players, whilst bigger clubs couldn’t afford to risk promoting youth to get them out of problems they would be facing at the time.

Once the restrictions on EU players were abolished, clubs could seek to purchase players within European Union with the consequence of hindering the growth of young English players. The bigger clubs around Europe had the opportunity to sign European players to further complement their current squads.

This aided Manchester United in a huge way, not only in raising the quality of squad but also in the club’s staff. In previous years, the club suffered when fielding a team without the likes of players such as Eric Cantona, Peter Schmeichel or Andrei Kanchelskis.

Nowadays fans around the world wait with anticipation for the opening of the transfer window in July, waiting for that marquee signing that would improve their team.

During the past two decades, Manchester United has purchased marquee players on an

annual basis to further improve the existing squad and pass on valuable experience to the upcoming youth players, with fees exceeding £20 million. Investment made on players like Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand can be used as examples, both being record buys but having more than repaid the transfer fees, both with their performances as well as their length of stay at the club.

At times, purchases are done for numerous reasons, either professional, commercial or to satisfy the fan’s demands to see a new face donning the shirt.

Such attitude may have led players such as Veron, Di Maria, Falcao and maybe, to a certain extent, Fellaini having not lived up the fees paid for them. While such purchases were done with the intention to strengthen the squad, their performances on the pitch were not of the level that one would have expected.

Even though the player may not be playing well, his presence may raise the game of other players within the team.

So the question beckons: ‘Why not promote a kid rather than forking out millions for a player that may not adjust to demands of Manchester United?’

These players’ ultimate outcomes indicate strong evidence that buying does not guarantee that the player will do wonders.

Fans tend to forget that players are still human and, like each and every one of us, are prone to make mistakes or, like someone starting a new job, not adjust to their working environment.

Due to these crucial factors, for youngsters that have be trained, programmed and brought up to be a Manchester United player, the learning curve to adjust to demands on playing under pressure weekly may be minimal. One may

When Sir Alex Ferguson sold fans’ favourites Mark Hughes, Paul Ince and Andrei Kanchelskis, and promoted the five youngsters plunging them into the deep end, the first result was a loss against Aston Villa, whereby the fans and media got on the bandwagon to question the decision. The rest is history and everyone now lauds such a decision. These players, raised the bar on the production of academy players, and since then only a few academy players have been retained by the club. A major factor is the vast access to foreign talent and also the lack of patience in allowing a player to develop. The club is accustomed to winning and there is reliance on the club’s success on the pitch due to financial commitments of the club.

During his brief tenure until now, the manager Louis Van Gaal has promoted youth players like Cameron Borthwick-Jackson and Axel Tuanzebe to the squad. Player such as Paddy McNair, Tyler Blackett, Andreas Pereira and Jesse Lingard also featured in the first team.

The purchase of young players such as Luke Shaw, Anthony Martial and David De Gea based on their potential is a minor gamble, as fees are spread over the time they spend at the club, making them in my opinion value for money.

In my opinion, I do not agree with purchasing ‘matured’ players (players aged 27 and above) commanding major transfer fees, due to fact that the club will not recoup the transfer fee paid. Signings such as the above and integration of our youth academy players is the way forward. Not only will it aid in consolidating the club’s financial matters, but it also retains the club’s ethos instilled by Sir Matt Busby and retained by Sir Alex Ferguson, which is bringing youth through the ranks.

The club has never been a club to purchase as a quick fix solution, but purchased for the long-term, where several players remained at the club for five to ten years. We, as fans, must be appreciative for all the work carried out behind the scenes to produce the fine crop of players that continuously progress through the ranks, either at the club or if they seek pastures new to further their career.

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The Forward Line - A Problem?

by Stefan Attard

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nited fans are now having to get accustomed to Louis Van Gaal’s philosophy which is built on possessionbased tactics. This contrasts sharply with the exciting attacking football mastered by Sir Alex with which Manchester United fans had become so accustomed. In far too many games, United are failing to create enough decent chances to win games and this led to vociferous frustrated fans encouraging United to up their tempo and gamble more. Van Gaal’s philosophy is clearly risk-averse and this culminated with United surpassing six hours of football without scoring. At the time of writing, United have only scored 17 goals – the fewest in the top eight. On the flipside, United have the best rearguard with just eight goals conceded in 12 games. Despite sitting just two points behind the league leaders, with the talent that United possess in the latter third, they can certainly afford to gamble more and play more entertaining football which reflects United’s ethos. This article focuses on Manchester United’s attacking options by giving an overview on how each striker is contributing to our attacking threat.

Rooney: Despite recently becoming England’s top scorer and edging ever closer to being United’s all-time highest goal scorer, Rooney is showing that he is coming towards the twilight of his career. This season, the United skipper managed just 8 goals in 21 appearances for the club. On his 30th birthday celebration, Rooney claimed that he still feels “young enough” and that there are many more years to come for him as a footballer. Such willpower to continue playing at the highest level does not come as a surprise given his determination, which has been apparent since his early teenage years. All football fans remember when he burst onto the scene as a young teenager at Everton. His outrageous goal against Arsenal a few days short of his seventeenth birthday was only the start of a series of iconic moments and the first of many records to be broken by the Manchester United and England legend. It is amazing how journalists still debate on whether Rooney managed to realize his potential when he is only second to Alan Shearer as the Premier League all-time record goal scorer. Based on these facts, it is fair enough to say that such debate and criticism is unfounded.

After such a brilliant career, what is next for our talisman? While his battling and determination attributes remain evident, one cannot deny that his age is affecting his performance. Of course, playing over 700 games with his style of play, there are signs that he may no longer be coping with the pace of the game. A glance at the statistics reveals Wayne’s decline in the average distance

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covered and the number of sprints over the last three seasons. The waning of these capabilities, which were synonymous with our number 10, left him struggling to adapt his game. The key to Rooney’s final stages of his career lies on how he adjusts his game to continue performing at the highest level. To a certain extent, Louis Van Gaal may also hold the onus on his future. This largely depends on his ability to identify a role to get the best out of him. During his Manchester United career, Rooney has been deployed in various positions with this culminating in being used to pull the strings in midfield when United were short in this area. Having been recently redeployed as a number 9, questions remain about where his best position is. Now that the midfield problem has been sorted, Van Gaal may start playing Wayne just behind the striker. At the start of the season, the manager revealed his plans to deploy him as a striker.

However, our captain is being overshadowed

by Martial. Van Gaal’s persistence in using Wayne as our striker is being heavily criticised by the fans who feel that Martial is more of an attacking threat. One may rightly think that Wayne must perhaps develop into a goal poacher if he is to retain his position as a main striker. The Dutchman may also consider using him as an impact player by throwing him into the fray for the last 30 or 20 minutes.

However, a stop-start approach may further damage his form.

With Wayne’s testimonial confirmed for next summer, it may be the case that this is his last season as a Manchester United player. On a personal note, I would hate to see such a player leaving the club. A player of Rooney’s character, influence and leadership undoubtedly has a great positive effect in the dressing room.

Martial: On deadline day Manchester United announced the signing of a certain French striker for £36 million (potentially rising to a staggering £57.6m): the highest fee ever paid for a teenager in football history. Scoring 12 goals in 29 starts last season for Monaco may not have looked as a sensational record on paper. Immediately, the Frenchman was thrown into the limelight by the press with some comparing the striker to Thierry Henry, while others were questioning United’s investment and labeling the transfer as a panic buy. Either way, the pressure was certainly on the youngster.

Martial was introduced to English football in the highest of stages against our archrivals from Merseyside, replacing Mata in the 65th minute and going on to score a marvelous decisive goal. Soon, the press was heaping praise on our youngster and this was

sustained by top class performances in subsequent games.

The United fans quickly realised that the club managed to get a top quality player with exceptional talent. Amongst his attributes, Martial possesses electric pace, wonderful technique, trickery and strength that allow him to run into walls of defenders and still emerge with the ball. Another attribute, which is perhaps unusual in players of such tender age, is his mentality that allows him to keep calm under pressure. Nothing seems to faze the youngster and this is reflected in his coolness in front of goal, which makes him a clinical striker. At times Martial’s contributions took United over the line on their way to claiming the three points.

To accommodate Rooney, Van Gaal has recently opted to deploy the striker on the left flank. This caused a lot of debate amongst United fans with many believing that this is limiting the impact of Martial, hence greatly limiting our attacking play. The fact that the under-performing number 10 is filling his strongest position is putting increasing pressure on Van Gaal to give the Frenchman a run of games as a proper number 9.

Martial has been unbelievably good and despite his price tag, United fans can hardly believe what an important buy Martial has been, considering that he came to United largely as an unknown player to the vast majority of the fans (and players). Finally, United have a striker who is exciting to watch and who can create something out of nothing.

Wilson: It is not easy to predict the future of hot prospect players as this depends on how their progress pans out. New names are mentioned and compared to superstars on a daily basis, with them eventually failing to reach their full potential. This suggests that there are no guarantees of success, especially in the early stages of a player’s career. The fact that Lionel Messi backed Wilson as one of the best ten prospects in world football suggests that our youngster is certainly blessed with talent.

Last summer, the England U21 international was linked with a loan move away from Old Trafford, only for Van Gaal to halt his move.

Despite United’s goal scoring problems, United’s highly rated academy graduate was largely overlooked with his first start being in the disappointing Capital One Cup tie against Middlesbrough. Recently, Wilson has been strongly linked with a move away from United with Celtic looking particularly interested. At this stage, a loan move with the promise of regular football may prove beneficial for the

youngster. However, it is vital that he will be loaned to a Premiership club to ensure that he continues playing at the highest level.

Lingard: Manchester United may have finally found a star from their own academy in Jesse Lingard. After a series of loan moves to Leicester City, Birmingham City, Brighton and Hove Albion and Derby Country, the United born and bred forward has recently shown that he is ready to deliver at the highest level. After his back-to-back manof-the-match performances against CSKA Moscow and WBA, Louis Van Gaal’s faith in the striker is starting to pay dividends. Apart from underlining our manager’s faith in our youth, Manchester United may also ensure their prolonged run of including a home-grown player in every squad, which extends back to October 1938.

After his recent heroics, Van Gaal revealed his intentions of giving Lingard a run in the previous season. However, his horrific injury on the opening game of the league hindered his progress. With stiff competition coming from the likes of Memphis and Herrera, the youngster certainly cannot afford to be complacent. Lingard’s willingness should stand him in good stead to succeed where Januzaj and Memphis have struggled thus far.

contrast to his fortunes. The fact that another player donning the number 7 shirt is cutting a largely frustrated figure is making fans wonder whether this shirt has lost its magic.

The problem with Memphis is reminiscent of that of Nani whose errant decision-making was the main reason for his failure.

Another problem is that the Dutchman seems to be caught up by the world that he revels.

Indeed, he is often pictured living the life of an eccentric pop star, which is reflected in his style of clothes, accessories and for his night out antics. Perhaps Memphis needs to settle down and take inspiration from the relatively more down-to-earth lifestyle and seemingly m o r e p r o f e s si o n a l approach of players, like Lingard, before adding showboating to his technique that convinced the club to spend £25 million for his talent.

Fellaini: Mentioning Fellaini in this article is perhaps surprising. However, the manager revealed his intentions of playing the Belgian as a striker earlier this season. One may rightly think that Fellaini will be deployed mainly as a target man as a last resort when the team is desperately looking for a goal. This tactic may prove fruitful and was used to great effect in the match in Brugge, when Fellaini headed home a vital winner in his homeland.

The idea of tiki taka football mastered by Pep Guardiola in his Barcelona days is clearly not having the same devastating effect at Manchester United. Of course, Barcelona has the likes of Messi, Neymar and Suarez who are able to shift the gears and cause havoc in the opposition half. United do not have such players, and with Memphis Depay failing to live up to the early expectations, Martial is perhaps the only player we have who comes closest to the roles of the formidable Barcelona trio. Van Gaal’s claims of wanting a creative winger to add imagination and inject pace into United’s attack come as no surprise, given our lack of pace and penetration in attack.

Depay: When the transfer of Memphis was announced, all media seemed to agree that the Dutchman would be a great buy for United. It is fair to say that United fans expected great things from the forward, who was purchased to fill the void left by the departure of Di Maria, and perhaps even share Rooney’s goal scoring burden. Fast-forward the first four months of the season and all fans will certainly agree that the forward certainly did not set the world alight at Old Trafford. Depay’s disappointing start also forced Van Gaal to drop him off the first eleven. In fact, recently Memphis was dropped to the bench in games against Everton, Manchester City and West Bromwich Albion. Van Gaal himself admitted that he is concerned about the forward, while the Netherlands coach Danny Blind did not even list Memphis in the Dutch squad. The forward responded by claiming that he is going great lengths to regain his form.

One cannot deny that a move to the Premiership was a big step-up for our number 7, and it must be accepted that he may need a full season to find his feet in the toughest league in the world. Another problem for Memphis (but not for United) is the sparkling form of Lingard and Martial, which is in stark VOL 43 - ISSUE 2 - DECEMBER 2015

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in 2004, returned to Manchester United in October 2012 as a coach for the club reserve team. He is now Head of Coaching at the Manchester United Youth Academy.

Phil Neville retired in May 2013 to join David Moyes’s staff at United, having spent eight years at Everton. Strictly speaking, Phil Neville, born in 1977, was not part of the 1992 generation, although he played in the 1993 team that lost the FA Youth Cup final to Leeds United and broke into the Manchester United first team around the same time as the others.

The Class of ’92 what have they been up to?

by Kenneth Abela

I

launched my own Fund with UNICEF because I wanted to help build a safer world for children. I feel very proud to be here to see how money raised is helping to keep malnourished children healthy and safe.”

One would applaud such a statement from some benevolent rich statesman; however these words were expressed by none other that UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador David Beckham when he met children receiving treatment for malnutrition at a UNICEF-supported hospital in Papua New Guinea earlier this year. David, one of the ‘Class of ’92’ launched 7: The David Beckham UNICEF Fund, making a personal commitment to use his voice, influence and connections to raise vital funds and rally for lasting change for children.

David Beckham is one of the ‘Class of ’92’: David Beckham, Gary and Phil Neville, Nicky Butt, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs. They made a total of 3,268 appearances for Manchester United between them, winning 26 major trophies and gaining 428 international caps.

No mean feat.

David Beckham is giving something back to society. David retired at 37 after a spell with Paris St-Germain. He is undoubtedly one of the globally mega-famous names and clearly, in terms of global fame, none of his colleagues come close to him. In 2005, David founded the David Beckham Academy football school, operating from two sites: in London and in Los Angeles, California. It was regrettably announced in late 2009 that both would close and a mobile academy is being developed by Beckham to travel around the UK and further afield.

On 5 February 2014, Major League Soccer announced that Beckham had exercised his option to buy a MLS expansion team for $25 million, which he had received as part of the contract he signed with the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2007. The team based in Miami would begin play in 2016 or 2017, assuming a stadium can be built.

What have his ‘classmates’ been up to since hanging up their boots?

Most are aware that Gary, Phil, Ryan, Nicky and Paul own a half-stake in Salford City Football Club, with Singapore businessman Peter Lim owning the other 50 percent. Under the guidance of these former United Stars, Salford is doing more than just alright. They earned promotion to the Northern Premier last season and, with games in hand, are looking a good bet to win a place in the Conference north next season – just two steps away on football’s pyramid from their ambition to achieve League status. Salford have also made it to the 2nd round of the FA Cup with their historic victory over League Two club Notts County in the first round of the FA Cup. How far will they go?

Ryan Giggs is of course now also Assistant Manager to Louis Van Gaal at Manchester United, having played till he turned 40, and having won 13 Premier League titles during his playing career. On April 22, 2014, with the departure of David Moyes from the position of manager of Manchester United, it was then announced that Ryan Giggs was going to be interim manager, and that Butt was to be his assistant manager, alongside Paul Scholes.

Nicky Butt, who was the first to leave United

Paul Scholes retired for a second time in the summer of 2013. Having previously informally helped out Nicky Butt with the Manchester United under-19 team during the first half of the 2013–14 season, Scholes agreed to rejoin the United backroom staff on a temporary basis after the sacking of David Moyes until the end of the season as a favour to friend and former team-mate Ryan Giggs, following the latter’s appointment as interim player-manager last year. In July 2014, Scholes became a pundit after signing a four-year deal with BT Sport, as well as featuring on ITV’s coverage of the UEFA Champions League. Scholes previously made an appearance for Sky Sports as a pundit during the 2013-14 season. In August, he agreed to become a columnist for The Independent.

It was Gary Neville, now the nation’s favourite football pundit, who came up with the idea of immortalizing the Group with a documentary, “The Class of 92”. The feature-length documentary chronicles the meteoric rise of the great Manchester United generation of Scholes, Giggs, Beckham, Butt and the Neville brothers. The film, made by the Turners for Universal, covers the seven years from 1992, when five of the group won the FA Youth Cup together (including Giggs, already a first-team player by then) and culminates seven years later with the UEFA Champions League triumph of 1999 that completed the famous Treble.

The Class of 92 has a revealing story about Paul Scholes’s debut in the movie business. Gabe Turner recounts the discussion with Scholes: “Paul said, ‘Is this a movie then?’ And we said, ‘Yes’. ‘Not television?’ Paul said. ‘No, Paul’.

You could see him thinking. He said, ‘Does that mean there’ll be a premiere?’ We were like, ‘Yes, probably there’ll be a premiere’. He said: ‘Would I have to come to that?’ We said: ‘I’m sure we would want you to come to that.

Would you like to?’ ‘No,’ he said.”

In 2013, the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) presented its Merit Award to Manchester United’s Class of ’92. “We trialed in Albert Park every night,” Alex Ferguson had said on receiving the honour, “We were turning top players away and we ended up with this mob! No club in the country is better at producing players than Manchester United.”

VOL 43 - ISSUE 2 - DECEMBER 2015

19

A FAIR CHALLENGE?

by Fr. Anthony C. Ferrante

V

arious definitions are given for “challenge”.

The best that should suit our purpose is the following: “A call to someone to participate in a competitive situation or fight to decide who is superior in terms of ability or strength.” In a sport, it is an attempt to win a contest or championship. In the case of sport, it would appear that there lies a simple distinction at the heart of whether athletes are able to rise to an occasion. Will they perform their best when it really counts or will they crumble under the weight of expectations and tough conditions?

Will athletes be able to consider competition simply as a challenge to be overcome in the best possible way or as a threat?

Where does threat come from? Most powerfully, from the fearing of possible failure which would somewhat hinder and damage the path towards athletic goals. The threat is the possible outcome of failure. At a deep level, the athlete would feel as if some part of his being is bound to perish; usually that would be his self-esteem. The threat arises when there is a deep concern that there will be serious consequences for not achieving set goals. It would appear probably ironical that by allowing a threat reaction to set in because of these worries, it causes the very thing that is most threatening to the athlete’s aspirations, namely, failure.

for example, focus is like a laser beam on the challenge that is threatening. The only aim is that of overcoming both the challenge and the threat with a high percentage of success. That is where the challenge comes from. There is no fear of failure, but rather a profound desire to fulfil the required targets with complete vigour and without hesitation.

According to Dr. Jim Taylor Ph.D., a challenge reaction produces an entirely different set of responses. When challenged by something, you want to go at it, you want to conquer it. Physiologically, you feel fired up, but also relaxed, with just the right amount of adrenaline to make you feel strong, quick, and fast. Muscles are loose, steady breaths are taken, balance is on the balls of the feet, while the person’s centre of gravity lowers.

Psychologically, singular motivation is to go at that thing that is challenging and try to overcome it. Confidence surfaces in the personal capabilities of overcoming the challenging situation. In an athlete’s situation,

In the 15th minute of Manchester United’s defeat to PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League, defender Luke Shaw burst into the home area. An opponent, Moreno, made a twofooted tackle on the left-back. Shaw suffered a double fracture of his right leg that was promptly operated on. It was a truly horrible incident. It was later reported that Moreno said he was “sorry”. Moreno having been named “Man of the Match”, a Manchester United source said: “We find it strange and disappointing UEFA made him their man of the match after what happened to Luke.” Following the incident Nicola Rizzoli, the referee, did not even punish the defender or award a penalty.

The well known Italian ex-referee Pierluigi Collina openly stated that Rizzoli was wrong.

Well, that said and done, life is always a challenge that should be played gracefully.

It’s natural that we feel sad, frightened and pained when anything adverse happens to us.

By overcoming the challenges, we are learning different lessons and also teaching others life’s many lessons. What you need to consider is how your actions in life would inspire others.

What is it I am doing and why do I do it? How can I be someone else’s guiding light in their own lives?

Believing in a higher power is a great source of courage to keep going despite the tough moments and to draw on the healing power that is present in the universe. Love is the power that keeps us all going on with our lives.

On days that you feel you want to get away from it all and just shut yourself in a room, instead, take a deep breath and allow those who love you to come in.

Join us on MALTA

FOUNDED 1959

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Manchester United y la conexión española

by Julian Tabone

I

had this perfect dream, the other day. The wind was a gentle breeze. The bells were ringing out. A miracle sensation, my guide and inspiration. All Manchester United players were home-grown players. Then I woke up.

It came quite as a surprise when I found out that only 6 Spanish players have ever worn the Manchester United shirt and three of those were goalkeepers.

I am referring to goalkeeper Ricardo Lopez Felipe (5 apps), defender Gerard Pique (23 apps, 2 goals), goalkeeper David De Gea (188 apps), midfielder Juan Mata (68 apps, 21 goals), midfielder Ander Herrera (44 apps, 11 goals) and goalkeeper Victor Valdes (2 apps).

To be honest, nationalities do not really matter any longer but it is always intriguing to note the background of our players, their style of play, their habits and what they can ultimately add to the Manchester United squad.

In the days when only 3 foreign players were allowed, we used to pride ourselves with British players at the core of our team. Nowadays, the game has changed and players from all over the globe can become Old Trafford players. The cosmopolitan nature that has overtaken almost every place of work and all other aspects in all walks of life can be particularly felt at places like Old Trafford. Players, from everywhere, just come and go.

move. Eventually he was axed from the official team photo, stripped of a squad number and made to train with the youth team players. He is now in search of a team but he will never have any fond memories of Old Trafford or of Van Gaal. For the fans, it is as if he had never joined.

The other goalkeeper is of course David De Gea and he has quite a different story too. He is in his 5th season in United’s colours and he has ammassed over 190 caps. He signed in 2011 but if it had been left entirely up to him, he would be playing somewhere else right now. That, and all the intense speculation, is now irrelevant. Our relationship with De Gea was quite a colourful one. After signing from Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2011, he had a shaky start but we stood by him. Some still argue his mistakes may have cost us the title in 2012 in what was his first season in England. But he made up for that. He bulked up. He improved his punching.

His stature in goal grew and he was twice voted as our Player of the Season. His future? No one can really tell, but he will definitely go down as one of the best-ever goalkeepers to have played for Manchester United.

Ricardo Lopez signed for £1.5 million from Real Valladolid in 2002 to provide cover for Barthez and Roy Carroll. He made just 5 appearances – only one of those came in the Premier League (vs Blackburn) and conceded a penalty with his very first touch. Eventually, following the arrival of Tim Howard, he was offered a free-release and joined Osasuna without ever being given the opportunity to impress.

Out of all the Spanish lads, the talented Gerard Pique was perhaps the most unlucky. He was part of arguably one of the finest Manchester United sides ever. Displacing Rio Ferdinad and Nemanja Vidic is no easy task and so it proved for the young Catalan. Michael Mifsud’s nutmeg in a Carling Cup defeat at home against Coventry City will always be on Maltese fans’ lips, but that does not do him any justice. Pique was a fine defender. He joined United as a teenager and all of us who followed him in the reserve sides had very high hopes for him. He managed 23 appearances in all and scored 2 UEFA Champions League goals, before rejoining his boyhood club Barcelona in 2008. At the time, we knew we had let him slip away from our clutches, but there was little that could have been done to prevent that from happening.

Pique went on to win just everything the game has to offer and despite that, every one of us is still very happy for him. We are all convinced that Manchester United played a big part in making Gerard Pique the player he is today and watching him lift one trophy after another does not represent any form of resentment or hard feelings towards the player.

Victor Valdes did worse than that. He joined on a free transfer in January 2015, supposedly to regain full fitness and to push for the No. 1 spot in the wake of the uncertainty surrounding De Gea’s future. He made just 2 appearances and allegedly refused to play for the reserve team when it must have been a known secret that his No. 1 compatriot would be seeking to

The two other midfield amigos are Juan Mata and Ander Herrera who share quite similar characteristics. Their story is still being written of course. Mata, who only joined United in January 2014 in what was then a record signing, has already got 21 goals in 68 appearances and brings some flare to the United midfield. He has that touch of class with the ball at his feet and

It is not easy to judge the Spanish influence, given the rather small contingent of Spanish players that have worn our shirt. Most of them have turned into disappointment. Others are still being judged.

Goalkeepers Victor Valdes and Ricardo Lopez, for instance, barely deserve a mention.

he is one of the few players in the current side that can make things happen. He has recently been criticised for slowing down the tempo of the game, but he seems so happy to be at Old Trafford. He is committed to the cause too and that makes him a popular figure. Maybe he is yet to nail down a fixed position in this United side, but he makes up for that by showing the right aptitude and desire. He is a typical Manchester United player with hopefully more to come too.

Herrera has got 11 goals in 44 appearances. He joined from Athletic Bilbao in the summer of 2014 and his work rate is admirable. He is quick and dynamic. It was not easy for him at first, but he seems to have settled now and is ready to fight for a place in the side. He may have a long career ahead of him. All the ingredients are there. Fans love him and he seems so happy too.

Still, when I think about it, I still find it hard to understand how much of a cosmopolitan team we have become. But that is the reality of modern-day football - just like the fact that all Spanish lads will always be tempted if Barcelona or Real Madrid come calling. Sadly, that won’t change overnight. What might change is the style of play. We seem to have abandoned our roots lately. We used to be so sure we would score, especially at home. We used to enjoy wave-after-wave of attack. But that too was part of the dream I was having. Square passes, lots of possession and a predictable style have crept in. The reasons for that are numerous and debatable. Sometimes, I miss that swashbuckling style so synonomous with the Brits, but that’s like saying I miss going out with my mates with nothing to worry about.

Some things, when they change, will never be the same again.

That may not necessarily be a bad thing. It is only natural of course. As everybody keeps telling us, we need to adapt and to accept that football has evolved.

Back to nationalities, in reality, whether you were born in Madrid or in Berlin or in Salford should make little difference. Once you put on that Manchester United shirt, it should not anyway.

And in any case, whoever else may join from Spain in the coming years and whatever happens with our Spanish contingent of players, our relationship with Spain will (should) always be special.

Forget De Gea. Forget Valdes. Forget Mata.

Forget tiki-taka football. Think about Barcelona.

Nou Camp. 1999. Such a beautiful horizon.

Enough said.

VOL 43 - ISSUE 2 - DECEMBER 2015

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Premier League Managers The good, the bad and the...

by Antoine Dalli

O

n the 13 th day, minnows Leicester continued where they had left off before the international break as they hammered struggling Newcastle at St James Park to the tune of 3-0 to move to the summit of the Barclays Premier League table.

Big-spenders Man City had started the day in first place and Man United briefly led the standings following their slender 2-1 away success over Watford in the early kick-off. As at that day, Claudio Ranieri’s side had 28 points from 13 games, one more than the Red Devils and two above Man City and Arsenal.

Ranieri is beyond doubt the man behind Leicester’s blistering start to the season.

Results attained so far by the Barclays Premier League early pace-setters – eight wins and four draws in 13 outings – have enabled Ranieri to become a protagonist after years of huge under-achievements with Serie A outfits and the Greek national team.

The much-travelled Ranieri was sacked by Juventus, Roma, Inter, Monaco and Greece over the past eight years. Before, Ranieri, a former Roma, Catanzaro, Catania and Palermo defender in his heydays, had established himself as a shrewd coach after obtaining commendable results with Cagliari, Napoli, Fiorentina, Chelsea, Valencia and Parma since the early 1990s.

In 1996, Ranieri helped Fiorentina win the Coppa Italia and the Italian Super cup. A few years later, Ranieri led Valencia to the 1998/99 Copa del Rey triumph and to the 2004 European Super Cup. However, Ranieri experienced a change of fortune ever since he left Parma and took charge of heavyweights Juventus in 2007 following their return from the Serie B. Ranieri’s career had hit rock bottom this time last year, when he was shown the backdoor by EURO 2004 winners Greece after a 0-1 shock home defeat against tiny Faroe Islands in a EURO 2016 qualifier – the third home loss for Greece in Group F, following setbacks against Romania (0-1) and Northern Ireland (0-2).

to the Barclays Premier League after an 11-year absence last summer and is currently leading unfancied Leicester to dizzy new heights.

Slaven Bilic is also doing well in his debut season as coach of a Barclays Premier League outfit. The former Croatia national team coach penned a three-year contract with East London club West Ham last June. After a terrible start, culminated by West Ham’s early exit from the Europa League, Bilic’s West Ham took the Barclays Premier League by storm. Suffice to say that in his first Premier League game, the Hammers overcame Arsenal 2-0 at the Emirates.

Bilic makes history Less than a month later, the former Besiktas mentor became the first manager to lead West Ham to victory against Liverpool at Anfield since 1963. Late in September, Bilic also led West Ham to a third successive away win against Man City (2-1). This was the first time West Ham recorded three straight Premier League away wins in eight years. For the record, only three other sides had recorded away wins at Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City in the same Premier League season – Everton (1995/96), Man United (2004/05) and Chelsea (2005/06).

In similar vein, Ronald Koeman is also doing a fantastic job at Southampton and is potentially using the Saints as a stepping stone to take charge of a more ambitious club in the near future. If there is a coach that is doing more with less, then it is surely the Dutchman.

Southampton collected 20 points from their first 13 games and are level on points with Everton and Liverpool.

The Reds endured a disastrous start to the season – just three wins in their first eight fixtures – which left them with no alternative other than to sack coach Brendan Rodgers and appoint Jürgen Klopp instead.

Following this debacle, Greek football federation president Giorgos Sarris did not mince his words as he was quoted as saying that: “I take full responsibility for the unfortunate choice of the coach”.

The 48-year-old coach signed a three-year contract at Anfield, returning to football after he parted company with 2013 Champions League runners-up Borussia Dortmund at the end of last season. Much is expected of Klopp in terms of transforming Liverpool’s fortunes from eternal under-achievers to genuine contenders for the title. Liverpool have last been crowned English champions in 1990 and apart from one thrilling title near-miss in 2014 under Rodgers, have slid well down the Premier League pecking order.

Such terrible results would have left a long-term devastating effect on anyone. At his age and having no financial problems, many would have simply thrown in the towel and called it a day.

But Ranieri had other ideas. Instead of retiring, Ranieri has made a headline-grabbing return

José Mourinho’s Chelsea are 15th with 14 points from 13 games and are level on points with Swansea City. Beyond doubt, this is the worst ever start for a side coached by the Portuguese manager. Chelsea’s fall from grace can only be attributed to Mourinho having fallen out with the

dressing room. Whether Mourinho retains his position or not simply boils down to the club’s decision to pay him a hefty golden handshake running into millions of pounds.

Another coach who is under pressure is Newcastle’s Steve McClaren. On 18 October 2015, after eight winless matches, the former England national team coach won his first Premier League game, thanks to Newcastle’s 6–2 home win vs Norwich City. This was McClaren’s first win in the Premier League since his Middlesbrough side beat West Ham United 2–0 on 17 April 2006. At the time of writing this article, Newcastle sit fourth-frombottom with just 10 points to show from their first 13 outings.

In stark contrast, Arsène Wenger has been in charge of Arsenal since 1996 and has literally transformed the club’s fortunes particularly in financial terms. The Frenchman has been shrewd enough to retain his post despite Arsenal’s failure to win the Barclays Premier League ever since the 2003/04 season.

Sam Allardyce faces a tall order as he seeks to steer third-from-bottom Sunderland out of troubled waters. Big Sam, alongside Harry Redknapp and former Barcelona and Man United striker Mark Hughes, in charge of Stoke City since May 2013, have all managed five different clubs in the Premier League. For the record, Redknapp was in charge of West Ham United, Portsmouth, Southampton, Tottenham and QPR. Apart from Stoke, Hughes has been in charge of Blackburn, Man City, Fulham and QPR. Sunderland are Allardyce’s latest club following Bolton, Newcastle, Blackburn and West Ham. The Premier League managers as at 27 November 2015 Club Manager AFC Bournemouth Eddie Howe Arsenal Arsène Wenger Aston Villa Remi Garde Chelsea José Mourinho Crystal Palace Alan Pardew Everton Roberto Martinez Leicester City Claudio Ranieri Liverpool Jürgen Klopp Manchester City Manuel Pellegrini Manchester United Louis van Gaal Newcastle United Steve McClaren Norwich City Alex Neil Southampton Ronald Koeman Stoke City Mark Hughes Sunderland Sam Allardyce Swansea City Garry Monk Tottenham Hotspur Mauricio Pochettino Watford Quique Flores West Bromwich Albion Tony Pulis West Ham United Slaven Bilic VOL 43 - ISSUE 2 - DECEMBER 2015

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You’ve lost that loving feeling

by Alan Abela-Wadge Manchester United score? They always “Can score!”

“The big goalie’s coming up.”

have had a different fate. No one knows how many trophies those young gentlemen would have gone on to win. Who knows? We might have won more Champions League trophies than our old enemy.

“Peter Schmeichel is forward.”

“Can he score another in Europe, he’s got one already.”

“Beckham... in towards Schmeichel, it will come for Dwight Yorke. Cleared. Giggs with the shot... SHERINGHAM! Name. On. The. Trophy.”

“Is this their moment? Beckham... into Sheringham... AND SOLSKJAER HAS WON IT!” Who can forget that commentary? Two minutes that have signified the culmination of a dream for generations of Manchester United fans and inspired the next few generations to dream, to embrace, to love Manchester United.

The most famous Frenchman to ever play for Manchester United, the great, the King Eric Cantona once famously said that: “You can change your wife, your politics, your religion, but never, never can you change your favourite football team.” That quote can definitely apply to the many football fans across the world (unless you have supported the neighbours next door for less than a decade). The reason for that is very simple. If you were raised a football fan, you definitely confirm the love you have, the devotion and that burning feeling inside you that you feel each time your team plays.

This is more evident to our club, Manchester United. Throughout our history we have had episodes that no other club has had to go through. Starting from the Munich air disaster in 1958, that sad day in the history of Manchester United when out of 23 fatalities, United lost 8 first team players. The potential of that team had been immense. No one knows what they might have achieved should they

We could go on and on about why Manchester United is a never-ending love story, however I will skip from the 1958 Munich air disaster all the way to Fergie’s Golden Era. If you had to forget all that you know about football and forget that you have lived through the years of Sir Alex Ferguson, what is the one best thing that you can dream of in order to have the perfect football team? How many of you would choose to have six players coming through the ranks and making it to the very top of their game? I know I would! We were lucky enough to have that and more with the Fergie Fledglings. If nothing, over the last two decades we went through one emotional rollercoaster after another.

How many times have we been trailing a match, biting our nails and heading into extratime, however deep down we knew that we had the opportunity to snatch a goal at the very last second? How many times were we treated to this? That itself has continued to strengthen the love affair that is Manchester United. That made many kids fall in love with this club and made all our fans fall in love with the beautiful game.

Fast forward more than two decades. The Fergie Fledglings have all retired, Sir Alex Ferguson has moved upstairs and the club was left in the hands of David Moyes. We all know how that ended and now the reigns are in the most capable Louis van Gaal.

Louis van Gaal has an amazing record. He won 3 leagues and the UEFA Champions League with Ajax. He won 2 leagues with Barcelona and a league each with AZ and with Bayern Munich. That’s apart from many other trophies and also placing 3rd in the 2014 World Cup with

Holland. Louis van Gaal is a proven winner and I have no doubt that given the time, he will succeed with Manchester United. However during the time it takes to succeed, how close are we to our true values? How close are we to be in love with what we’re currently watching?

Nowadays, we are watching a football game and should we go behind we are always hoping that there is something inside our players that can deliver a goal. However deep down, how confident are we that we can get it if we need a goal and there are 5 minutes left on the clock? Can you feel the adrenaline inside you telling you that ‘YES WE CAN’? Personally, I am currently struggling to find that belief inside me. If I had to be honest, I’m actually struggling to find the opportunity to scream ‘GOAL’ from the top of my lungs, that type of scream that we screamed when Solskjaer rammed it in or when Paul Scholes scored his header against Man City. That scream seems to be lodged deep inside me, stuck and tucked away in a quiet place waiting for that loving feeling to return.

I believe that this is a result of our previous success. We have been spoilt beyond imagination, hence we have grown to expect the impossible all the time. Nonetheless, my blood burns in my body for this team and no matter what, I know that Louis van Gaal, sooner rather than later, will inspire his team to greatness and will unleash that scream from all the fans, and we will hold hands together and scream for Manchester United once again.

May I take this opportunity to wish all of you and your families the very best in this festive season and may the merry feeling that this festive season brings remain with you throughout the next year. Let’s all hope that our beloved Manchester United will be an inch better than our opponents over this very busy period so that we can start the year ahead of the bunch!

VOL 43 - ISSUE 2 - DECEMBER 2015

27

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NEW

1985 FA CUP Final Everton 0 Man Utd 1 18 May 1985

A

fter winning the FA Cup in 1983 against Brighton (it took us a replay), United were unceremoniously dumped out of the FA Cup in the 3rd Round by Bournemouth the following season. Those were the years where the expectations of United supporters were somewhat lower and the FA Cup seemed the most achievable piece of silverware United could aim for.

It was therefore expected that United mount a serious challenge the following year (1984/85 season) to try and regain the FA Cup from Everton who had won the cup the previous season, beating Watford 2-0 at Wembley.

Ironically, United started their FA Cup run in the 3rd Round against Bournemouth, the team that had dumped them out of the FA Cup at the same stage the previous season. No mistakes this time round - a clear 3-0 win and United marched on to the semi-finals beating Coventry City, Blackburn Rovers and West Ham United along the way. Only 90 minutes away from Wembley with the little inconvenience of Liverpool, the reigning Champions of the then First Division standing in the way. It took United two ties to beat Liverpool and make the final.

The first semi-final at Goodison Park ended 2-2, with Liverpool twice pegging United back. The replay, four days later at Maine Road, ended 2-1 in United’s favour with Robson and Hughes sending United to Wembley after Liverpool had taken the lead through an own goal by McGrath. Those were the days when supporters were allowed to get away with running on to the pitch to celebrate at the end of the match and the United fans mobbed the United players at the final whistle, especially Robbo, our captain fantastic who had scored a scorcher on the day.

And so, on the 18th May 1985, United were led out to the Wembley turf by Ron Atkinson. Our opponents were the soon-to-be First Division Champions Everton, managed by Howard Kendall who sadly passed away earlier this year. Both managers wore black armbands in memory of those who had died at the Bradford tragedy a week earlier. So did all the players.

United were the underdogs as Everton were an emerging force and favourites to seal a treble as they had already won the European Cup Winners’ Cup three days earlier and were on the way to winning the First Division after 15 years. United ended the season in 4th place, with 76 points and 14 points behind champions Everton but had a fine FA Cup pedigree in those years (which is sadly missing in recent years).

The first half started with Stapleton flicking on a Moran free-kick to Whiteside, who tried to lob Southall from a tight angle. Everton got pretty close to taking the lead when Reid’s

volley from outside the box hit Bailey’s right post. Stapleton tested Southall with a shot from outside the box and that was pretty much it for the first half.

The second half continued to be a balanced affair as Bryan Robson had a half chance but couldn’t keep his effort down. Andy Gray shot just wide from inside the box and Southall had to race off his line to deny Whiteside, who had been sent through by Hughes. The match took a turn for the worst from United’s perspective in the 77th minute.

McGrath, who was otherwise having a great match, gave the ball away and the tireless Reid seized the ball and charged forward with just Moran between him and the United goal.

by Robert Mizzi to console him before the match resumed.

Atkinson initially resisted the temptation to bring on Mike Duxbury in defence, dropping Stapleton back into defence to partner McGrath. United, seemingly inspired by the controversial decision against them, ended the ninety minutes strongly despite playing with ten men, with Whiteside and Gidman combining well before Pat Van Den Hauwe nipped in to clear the danger.

And so to extra time it went. Everton were now clear favourites as Atkinson introduced Duxbury at the start of extra time in place of Arthur Albiston. United were desperately hoping that they could somehow get the match to a replay on the following Thursday night.

Despite playing with a player less, the United players fought on bravely during extra time.

Then with just ten minutes to go and all seemingly set for a replay, a moment of genius settled the issue.

Hughes received the ball in his own half with his back to goal and there seemed to be little danger for Everton. The Welshman turned well and played a lovely pass with the outside of his right foot to Whiteside on United’s right.

Whiteside still had a lot to do but backed Van Den Hauwe towards goal, using the defender as a shield, before spotting a gap and curling a superb left-footed shot off the inside of the post and past Southall.

Moran clearly mistimed his tackle, sending Reid flying through the air. Although Everton’s fans began chanting for Moran to be dismissed, no one expected referee Peter Willis to send Moran off. Indeed Brian Moore, commentating on ITV, indicated that Moran was about to go into the book but instead he was sent off, becoming the first player ever to be sent off in an FA Cup Final. Seen today, many of us would say that it was probably the right decision, but back in the 1980s, the decision made by Willis was truly jaw-dropping and he got a lot of stick from journalists and commentators after the match. Moran himself was furious at the decision and had to be restrained by Stapleton before he reluctantly made his way to the bench. Peter Reid actually went to Moran

The United fans were in ecstasy and saw their heroes hold on to win the FA Cup for the 6th time in their history. Whiteside’s goal was worthy of winning a Cup final, and even with the handicap of playing with a man down for 40 minutes-plus, few could dispute that United had deserved their victory on the day.

Not for the first time, the determination of Manchester United had deprived Merseyside of a treble (later achieved in 1999 by our beloved Manchester United of course).

Bryan Robson, the United captain, climbed the famous 39 Wembley steps (today it’s a lot more in the new Wembley: 170 steps) just as he did two years earlier to pick up the FA Cup to the delight of the United fans present at Wembley that day.

I still treasure the United shirt worn during that Final with the United badge in the middle of the shirt and the two white bits on the shoulder.

Fond memories…

United lined up with Bailey, Gidman, Albiston, Whiteside, McGrath, Moran, Robson, Strachan, Hughes, Stapleton, Olsen. Sub: Duxbury VOL 43 - ISSUE 2 - DECEMBER 2015

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Van Gaal’s Philosophy - Is it working?

by Roderick Psaila

A

t the time of writing, it’s the day after United were beaten by Wolfsburg on Day 6 of their Champions League group and hence were eliminated from the competition for this season. I think United played fairly well in this match, considering the strong opponents and playing away from home, and we could easily have one the match on another day, given how many close calls we had. The team seemed to want to have a go at our opponents and it was an open exciting match for the neutrals.

I was watching the match at a bar in Vienna and the guy next to me commented that it’s been long since he had lived such an exciting football night, with the PSV result against CSKA also chipping in to add to the thrill.

reason for that is because we defend as a team, where every player knows exactly what he has to do in every situation. Where to move, how to position himself, when to track back, when to stretch the team and when to stay compact. I dare say that when we are full team at the back, with Darmian, Smalling, Blind or Jones and Rojo or Shaw, we would be extremely difficult for the opponents to break us without exposing themselves. Add to that back line one of the best keepers in the world and a possession game which is second to none in Europe, United are so solid as a result of Van Gaal’s philosophy, even more solid than the last years of Ferdinand and Vidic at the back.

almost single-handedly. Similar to Mourinho’s teams in many ways, where players know exactly when and how to defend and then can be deadly going forward. Such as last season’s Chelsea team. And let’s face it, United do not have players who can change a game like Hazard and Fabregas did last year for Mourinho. So who would I buy? Given that Ronaldo, Bale, Neymar, Messi, Robben, Lewandowski and Kane are too difficult to buy in January, I would try for Mane of Southampton, Bolasie of Crystal Palace or Mahrez of Leicester. I firmly believe that if we can get one or two of them and give Mata and Depay a rest, then we would start winning matches while remaining solid as a team.

Well, enough on the match and I’ll be looking at the bigger picture. The last month has not been the best in terms of results, and performances. A number of draws against PSV, Leicester and West Ham and this loss against Wolfsburg have certainly added to the frustration of the supporters. Those of us who have lived the thrilling football produced by the Fergie teams during the last 25 years surely miss the excitement, but were maybe content by the fact that we had been achieving decent results, especially against the ‘bigger’ teams, bar the Arsenal match this year. Now that the results have also become less inspiring, question marks are being raised and we’re hearing the first boos at Old Trafford.

Weaknesses Going forward we are next to sterile. The philosophy takes a lot of energy from our midfielders and strikers and most of the time we have less strength than our opponents when around their box. Moreover, it is very clear that United players are warned against throwing the ball forward in a 50-50 situation or else spraying vertical passes unless there is a very good chance that a team mate gets the ball. This means that most of our passes are either horizontal or backwards and very few times we manage to effect passes inside the opponents penalty area. I’m not sure if it’s just my impression but players coming into the team show much more boldness and initiative going forward during the first match or two but then seem to fall in line quickly.

Recent examples of this are Martial and also Lingard, who both managed to push me to the edge of my seat in their first appearances but seemed to have stopped taking on players, or almost.

Threats The main risk when the team depends on single individuals to solve matches rather than team play is that if those players go off the boil, then the team might not be able to perform, which is what happened to Chelsea this season. Also, managing United is not like managing any other team. We are used to winning by going forward in heaps and literally gatecrash opposing defences, the Manchester United way. Such adventurous mentality seems to be a thing of the past under the management of VanGaal, with the risk that this results in disgruntled fans. This factor is in my opinion the biggest threat to the Manager’s philosophy, namely if the fans will give enough time for it to be successful.

Last season, Van Gaal commented on a number of occasions that the team was still work in progress and that the most important thing was for the players to grasp his philosophy. Either you fall in line with the philosophy or else you pay the consequences.

Big players came to the club and left almost right away after spending much time on the bench, mainly because they could not come to terms with what the Manager wanted from them. Names like Di Maria and Falcao. At the same time, other players who we thought were finished with the Club, say Young and Fellaini, found a lifeline under Van Gaal because they bought in to the philosophy and did everything that the Manager asked from them. The question is whether, judged by the results and the performances, Van Gaal’s philosophy is working or not. I’ll give my answer at the end of the following SWOT analysis on the blessed philosophy Strengths Undeniably, the team is much more difficult to beat then it was in the last five years, possibly even during the last years of Sir Alex. The

Opportunities The team needs some inspiration and a transfer or two in the January window may just be enough to save the season. Possibly ag ains t gener al opinion from United fans, I still think that if United can buy two quality speedy wingers and make it a bit more exciting at the front, we would start to see the philosophy working the way Van Gaal wants it, solid team with creative players upfront who can make the difference

I would say that with respect to Van Gaal’s philosophy and its success, the jury is still out. I still believe though that with a good signing in January and a stellar one in the summer, Van Gaal can bring the desired success to Old Trafford. If the success comes with playing exciting football or not, then that is another matter.

Let me know what you think on roderickps@gmail.com

VOL 43 - ISSUE 2 - DECEMBER 2015

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David Beckham

Match

by Braden Galea

M

emories were brought back to life when a team composed of British and Irish legends took on a team made up of players from the rest of the world in a charity match in aid of UNICEF. David Beckham’s UNICEF charity match played at the Theatre of Dreams realised the dream of many Manchester United supporters of watching Sir Alex manage a team on the field again. The match was played in the shadows of the tragic terrorist attacks that happened in Paris just one day before, leading to doubts about whether the match would go ahead. Needless to say, security in and around Old Trafford was at an all-time high, but a victory for the football world over those instigating terror was registered as the match went ahead as planned on the 14th November.

This break was an opportunity to substitute the older Beckham with the young Brooklyn Beckham, as David put his son on the pitch on the 75th minute despite not being named on the squad list. Father and son played together as David Beckham re-entered the fray on the 80th minute, replacing Sol Campbell. 16-year old Brooklyn had spent time training with Arsenal but is currently without a club. Whether he will make it onto the big stage like his father remains to be seen.

Profit from the match went towards UNICEF’s work in aid of children in need, providing them with better nutrition, health and protection.

It was organised by The David Beckham UNICEF Fund. Beckham was captaining the Great Britain & Ireland XI managed by Sir Alex Ferguson. They took on a Rest of the World XI managed by Carlo Ancelotti and captained by Luis Figo.

Zinedine Zidane, who was originally the captain of Rest of the World XI, and Patrick Vieira did not make the trip due to circumstances in France.

The starting line-up read as follows: Great Britain & Ireland XI: David James (GK), Phil Neville, Nicky Butt, Sol Campbell, David Beckham, Peter Crouch, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Jamie Carragher, Darren Fletcher and John Terry. Subs: David Seaman (GK), Ashley Cole, Trevor Sinclair, Michael Owen, Alan Smith and Gary McAllister.

Rest of the World XI: Edwin van der Sar (GK), Cafu’, Mikael Silvestre, Fernando Couto, Luis Figo, Robert Pires, Patrick Kluivert, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Clarence Seedorf, Ji-Sung Park and Ronaldinho. Subs: Fernando Hierro, Raimond van der Gouw (GK), Dwight Yorke, Landon Donovan.

The referee of the match was refereeing legend Pierluigi Collina, and a crowd of 75,381 turned up under heavy rain at a sold-out Old Trafford.

It was a massive occasion for United fans to watch their all-time greats in action again, especially the members of the Class of ’92.

Neville and Scholes played the full 90 minutes, while Giggs played 61 minutes, Butt played 27 minutes and organiser David Beckham played the full match apart from a five minute break.

After a minute’s silence held to remember the victims of Paris 13/11, the match kicked off and Great Britain & Ireland star ted dominating from the start. In the first ten minutes, Scholes missed a volley from the edge of the area and Beckham shot a freekick wide towards the left of Van der Sar’s goal. In the 11th minute, the two combined to score the first goal of the match. Beckham ran into space on the left side of the pitch, crossing to in his trademark fashion to Scholes who was in the penalty area and neatly headed the goal. The Rest of the World found chances quite scarce and it was mostly Beckham who was dominating the field with his dangerous crosses.

As Solskjaer was pulled off by Ancelotti to be replaced by Yorke on the 18th minute for tactical reasons, Butt’s substitution on the 27 th was due to injury. After half an hour of play, the Rest of the World started to get some chances up front as Luis Figo shot wide and Patrick Kluivert scored a back-heel from an offside position, both being assisted by the Brazilian great Ronaldinho. Crouch found himself twice in an offside position in the last five minutes of the first half. The score at halftime therefore remained at 1-0 for Great Britain and Ireland, as Fergie and Ancelotti walked together towards the dressing rooms.

David James (replaced by David Seaman), John Terry (replaced by Sol Campbell), Van der Sar (replaced by Van der Gouw) and Fernando Couto (replaced by Fernando Hierro) were substituted at half-time.

As the Rest of the World was working harder on closing down Beckham, the performance of Great Britain and Ireland took a dip in the second half.

After an hour of play, Scholes and Owen both came close to scoring headed goals from Beckham crosses on the 61st and 62nd minute respectively. The second goal was scored on the 63rd minute by Michael Owen after Beckham crossed and Scholes nodding the ball into Owen’s path. The Rest of the World clawed one back on the 67 th minute through Dwight Yorke. In the last 20 minutes, the age of the two squads was becoming more evident by the minute. After the Beckhamfor-Beckham substitution, and a Double-Beckham on the field five minutes later, the younger of the duo crossed into the box to his father who headed over the bar on the 88th minute. Another cross from David Beckham resulted in Great Britain & Ireland scoring the third goal, as his cross found Ashley Cole, whose shot is saved momentarily by Van der Gouw who makes a howler in pushing it into the feet of Michael Owen for his second goal of the day.

The UNICEF friendly finished with the score of 3-1 for the Great Britain & Ireland team managed by the great Sir Alex. It was a fantastic occasion to how retired football legends are holding up in terms of fitness and especially for Manchester United fans to watch Fergie back on the touchline. At a time when negativity was brought about by the acts of violence in Paris, the match was a clear sign of positivity , helping children in need while enjoying an entertaining match of football.

VOL 43 - ISSUE 2 - DECEMBER 2015

37

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‘Pizzagate’.

by Michael Calleja

F

lying pizza slices, players quarrelling and tempers boiling over – it goes without saying that the rivalry between Manchester United and Arsenal has always been nerve-wracking and exciting. Throughout the 90s and 2000s in particular, whenever the two sides faced up to each other, there was never a dull moment and whilst we always seemed to have the upper hand against Arsenal, every United fan remembers those feelings of trepidation and nervousness before facing the Londoners!

It is interesting to note that United and Arsenal have always enjoyed intense battles on the pitch but the real passionate rivalry genuinely began when Frenchman Arsene Wenger took over the managerial hotseat in 1996. Prior to Monsieur Wenger’s arrival, both sides had regularly contested one another on a yearly basis. However, when Arsenal were establishing themselves as England’s dominant club under Herbert Champman during the 1930s, Manchester United were still in the then second-division. When the Mancunians then recruited the Scotsman Matt Busby in 1945, this led to United’s mercurial rise in the late forties and dominance of English football in the 50s. The ‘Busby Babes’ had laid down the gauntlet to all teams and it was only the Munich Air Disaster which robbed such fervent youth of further victories and achievements.

Simultaneously, Arsenal were in decline and no longer mixing it with the big boys. A barren 60s summed up the mood in the Arsenal camp (the feelings of disappointment and dejection were clearly felt throughout the corridors of Highbury) and changes and reforms were needed. The Gunners duly bounced back in the early 1970s winning the title in the 1970-71 season, but by then United were themselves heading towards Second Division obscurity culminating in a woeful relegation during the 1973-74 season. Aptly summed up by Scott Murray (The Guardian): ‘It was a very weird business. Arsenal and Manchester United were two of English football’s grandest clubs, sweeping up more than their fair share of the game’s biggest prizes. And yet they never seemed to contest them together.’

Signs of genuine competitiveness and rivalry began to emerge throughout the late 80s when both Sir Alex Ferguson and George Graham began the arduous task of rejuvenating sleeping giants. Often attributed as the match where the intense enmity duly originated, the

21-man brawl of October 1990 began after Arsenal’s Nigel Winterburn lunged into Denis Irwin triggering violent responses from United’s players including Brian McClair. Both United and Arsenal were docked points but the Gunners still went on to claim the 1991 League title losing only one game in the process.

Though United managed to win League titles in 1993, 1994 and 1996, Arsenal managed to recruit the then unknown Arsene Wenger in November 1996. Greeted as ‘The Professor’ by the Press, Ferguson responded by stating: ‘They say he’s an intelligent man, right? Speaks five languages,” said Ferguson. “I’ve got a 15-yearold boy from the Ivory Coast who speaks five languages.’ It was a typical tongue-in-cheek response from Sir Alex who had managed to beat Wenger throughout their first encounters (1-0 at Old Trafford and 2-1 at Highbury throughout the 1996-97 season). A further feud occurred throughout the final stages of the same season after Wenger complained about fixtures being in Manchester United’s favour.

Ferguson duly replied: “He’s a novice – he should keep his opinions to Japanese football.”

With Wenger recruiting the likes of Emmanuel Petit, Marc Overmars and Nicholas Anelka, Arsenal were beginning to display worrying signs for United and completed a triumphant double during the 1997-98 season (beating United 3-2 at Highbury and 1-0 at Old Trafford).

Marc Overmars in particular was turning out to be United’s nemesis scoring that all crucial goal in March 1998! It was perhaps the 1998-99 campaign (and consequently Treble season for United) that the rivalry truly manifested itself into new levels of intensity and jaw dropping moments. Both clubs were now vying for the top prizes in the game and United and Arsenal played out two mammoth semi-final ties at Villa Park. After a 0-0 draw, United managed to win the replay 2-1 with Ryan Giggs scoring probably United’s greatest ever goal. The league campaign was similarly intense with both clubs’ assault on the title going down to the wire. In the end, United’s 2-1 win vs Tottenham on the final day of the season ensured the Reds edged out Arsenal by the solitary point to retain the League title!

It had truly been a roller-coaster of a season… for both clubs!

With United winning the 2000 and 2001 League titles by a canter, Arsenal managed to comprehensively win the 2002 league campaign. Two years later, they embarked on

a remarkable unbeaten run in 2004 – the first ever undefeated run since Preston North End in the 19th century! It would be Arsenal’s last ever league victory…to date. Throughout the 200304 season the famous ‘Battle of Old Trafford’ took place when Arsenal players goaded Ruud van Nistelrooy following his last-minute penalty miss. Martin Keown had led the ridiculing of the Dutch striker, along with Ray Parlour and Ashley Cole. Arsenal were charged for failing to control their players, while Ryan Giggs and Cristiano Ronaldo were also brought before the FA Disciplinary panel. It would set the stage for the sides’ meeting a year later and the infamous ‘Battle of the Buffet’.

With Arsenal on an awesome 49-game unbeaten run, United ended Arsenal’s momentum at Old Trafford in an ill-tempered game which saw the Reds emerge 2-0 victors courtesy of a hotly disputed Van Nistelrooy penalty and a goal by birthday-boy Wayne Rooney. At the end of the game, a pizza was thrown in to the United dressing room and Wenger unsurprsingly labelled van Nistelrooy a “cheat”. Sir Alex replied by stating that Arsenal’s behaviour was “the worst thing I have seen in this sport.”

The rivalry seemed to slightly mellow once Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea entered the fray in 200405. Both clubs still maintained hotly contested fixtures (United’s 4-2 win in February 2005 and the Keane v Vieira spat being a notorious example) but with the Blues winning the honours, both clubs sought to knock Chelsea ‘off their perch’. Chelsea’s dominance of domestic football also coincided with a huge drought of honours for their Red neighbours.

Arsenal did not manage to win any silverware between 2004-2013 and United more often than not managed to always get one over their rivals. In fact, United’s dominance over Arsenal was visible when they comprehensively outgunned Wenger’s men during the 2009 UEFA Champions League semi-final.

Though nowadays games between the two aristocrats of English football do not possess the same level of intensity and passion, the fixtures are still fiercely contested as both sides continuously strive to improve and capture that elusive Premier League title. Gone are the days when Fergie faced up to Wenger, Vieira to Keane and Bergkamp took on Schmeichel but with Van Gaal slowly steadying the ship and Wenger ensuring Arsenal maintain a serious assault on the league, perhaps we are not far away from witnessing more pulsating moments!

VOL 43 - ISSUE 2 - DECEMBER 2015

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Jimmy Murphy The Man Who Lived in Busby’s Shadow

by John Calleja

W

henever the topic of pre- and post-Munich comes up, the name of Matt Busby inevitably comes to mind, while the name of Jimmy Murphy is hardly ever mentioned. Yet, Murphy deserves much more credit. He was the legend who saved United from closing down temporarily after Munich and partly responsible for the club’s success 10 years later. Unfortunately and unfairly, his part is often relegated to the shadows of history.

After the crash, most of United’s board members wanted the club to temporarily shut down, but they had reckoned without Murphy’s determination. Murphy told the Board that Busby had asked him to take over as he was the right man to rebuild United. This convinced the Board to change their mind and Murphy started working on his plans, with the fit survivors of Munich, five debutante reserves, two youth players, and two new signings (Ernie Taylor and Stan Crowther).

Matt Busby immediately recognised Murphy’s talents when he saw him coaching and lecturing at a troops’ team in Bari during World War II. Murphy was Busby’s first signing when he became manager at a bombed and partly destroyed Old Trafford and United were playing their “home” games at Maine Road.

United’s newly assembled team surprised everybody by reaching the final of the FA Cup, which was lost (not unexpectedly) to a strong Bolton team, led by Nat Lofthouse. United had won their first cup tie 3-0 against Sheffield Wednesday on what was probably United’s most emotional night.

Busby prepared the team for its matches and laid out the tactics, but it was Murphy who fired the passion and enthusiasm in the players’ hearts, first as the chief coach and later as assistant manager. He picked the promising youngsters and turned them from raw material to world class players, which later became the famous Busby Babes.

In the next season, Busby again took over the reins, relying very heavily on Murphy’s assistance. With the likes of Johnny Giles, Nobby Stiles, George Best and the Munich Survivors, United rose again like the legendary phoenix.

Murphy’s motto was “Practice Makes Perfect”, often working an incredible 80 hours a week, producing players of the likes of Duncan Edwards, Eddie Colman, Roger Byrne and Bobby Charlton amongst others, resulting in Championships, FA Cups, and the ultimate Holy Grail, the European Cup in 1968. Ten years earlier, United were one of the great favourites to win the European Cup, but cruel fate decreed otherwise, with the tragic Munich Disaster claiming the lives of 8 players and 3 officials.

The Munich Ashes however proved to be the forerunners of Murphy’s future. Murphy had providentially missed the Munich trip as he was on duty as manager of the Welsh National team in a World Cup qualifying match. When he visited Busby in hospital, Matt told him: “Jim, you have to keep United’s flag flying high.”

Murphy remained as Assistant Manger till 1971. He loved United so much that he turned down offers to manage Brazil, Juventus and Arsenal.

Murphy passed away on the 14th March 1989.

United duly honoured his memory by erecting his statue and biography inside the stadium, and fittingly named the Best Young Player Award as the Jimmy Murphy Award.

Bobby Charlton aptly summed it up by saying: “I learnt a lot from Matt Busby, but I owe my achievements to Jimmy Murphy - he was the one who really got inside my guts.”

United fans, let us always remember the great contribution that Jimmy Murphy played in our glorious history.

VOL 43 - ISSUE 2 - DECEMBER 2015

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The Committee MALTA MALTA

FOUNDED 1959

New Faces, New Drive

I

n the previous issue of the Echoes we featured two of the new faces in the Committee. In this, the second of a two part series, we feature the other two new faces in the Committee - Brothers United, Felix and Sean Galea. Although both are new faces in the Committee both have been regular faces around the Club for many years.

Both have the dedication and determination to give their maximum possible of their time and energy towards our Supporters’ Club.

Felix has taken on the responsibilities of organizing all the Clubs’ social and sporting events (including the Christmas activities), whilst Sean has taken on the enviable role Advertising Executive.

Read on to learn more about them both, and their reasons for wanting to serve on the Committee of undoubtedly Malta’s leading supporters club.

Felix Galea:

A. Can you tell us something about yourself (your personal life, age, marital status, work), and how you came to support Manchester United?

• My name is Felix Galea. I am 32 years old, married to Claire, have a 5 year old son, Kyle.

At the moment we are expecting the arrival of our second child. I have supported Man Utd ever since I can remember.

B. Give us a few likes and dislikes : favourite sport apart from football, best second team after United (if you have one!) favorite food, food you hate, pastime, film, best country visited, place you would never return to, best ever holiday, worst holiday, favourite United player, best/worst ever United experience.

• My other favourite sport is boxing and another team that I support is Napoli. My favourite food is Indian but I love pizza too.

The dish I tend to avoid is pasta. My favourite movie is “The Gladiator”. I have visited Manchester time and again to watch Man Utd matches but one holiday I really enjoyed is when I spent ten days in Cyprus, Paphos.

My favourite United player is Eric Cantona and my best ever United experience is when we won an away game against Liverpool 1-0.

My worst ever United experience is losing 4-1 against Liverpool in 2009.

C. What drew you towards the local Supporters’ Club?

• I have been a member of the local supporters club for 25 years and I keep being a member out of loyalty both for the team and for the club itself.

42 VOL 43 - ISSUE 2 - DECEMBER 2015

Felix & Sean kissing the 20th Premier League Title Trophy.

D. What perception did you have of the club after one or two seasons?

• Top 4 E. What made you contest the election?

• Interest in being active and in participating fully not merely being a passive member.

F. Since the AGM election, what role/s have you been given?

• ICT and social events manager.

G. Where do you feel the club can improve its service towards its members?

• I think as a club we can organize more social events, gatherings and activities in order to reach out to our members more.

H. Regarding United, how do you think we will fare this season?

• I do believe that will place among the top four.

I. Had LVG impressed you so far?

• I must say I had greater expectations and higher hopes.

J. The Glazers never dared to interfere with Sir Alex’s running of the team. Are you seeing some differences now?

• No, not at all.

K. Are you content with the way things stand?

• As I said my hopes were higher and I am not happy with the way things stand. I believe the team can do much better than it is doing.

L. Will we win a trophy this year?

• I want to be realistic. I do wish that to happen but I do have my doubts.

Felix with his friends at The Theatre of Dreams.

Sean Galea:

A. Can you tell us something about yourself (your personal life, age, marital status, work), and how you came to support Manchester United?

• My name is Sean Galea, 31 years of age , married and work as a printer. I have been supporting Manchester united from an earlier stage in my life, I was six years old at that time I began to train as a goalkeeper, and my father had bought for me a replica Goalkeeper shirt of Peter Schmicheal to train with it and from that on I have never looked back and had always supported the team.

B. Give us a few likes and dislikes : favourite sport apart from football, best second team after United (if you have one!) favorite food, food you hate, pastime, film, best country visited, place you would never return to, best ever holiday, worst holiday, favourite United player, best/worst ever United experience.

• Surely football is my favourite sports but I also follow pool and snooker.

• I also support a local team which is the Hibernians.

• My favourite dish is fillet of beef and roasted potatoes. I dislike all salads and pasta with seafood.

• A film that I am never tired of watching is American sniper and also the musical Les Miserables.

• One of the best countries I have ever been is England and Scotland.

• There was no place that I will never return to so far.

• The best holiday I had so far was our honeymoon where we embarked on a cruise and travelled all round the east of the Mediterranean.

• I never experienced a worst holiday so far, I had always enjoyed myself.

• There are 2 favourite united players that

Celebrating MUSC Malta 55th Anniversary.

I admire, these are: David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo

that we will be able to achieve the plans for the next couple of years.

• Best experience I had is when I was with the 2000 away supporters at Anfield to watch Manchester United ( a league match) against Liverpool and we had won 1-0 , scored by C.Taviz, two minutes before half time.

E. What made you contest the election?

• I had always longed to be in the committee because I had always felt great team work and also had saw ambitious people working together to organize successful events . I am very proud to be one of this family.

• Worst experience I had so far is losing 2 finals in 3 years in the Champions League Final against Barcelona, which I had the opportunity to be in one of them that was played in Stadio Olimpico in Rome where we lost 2-0.

C. What drew you towards the local Supporters’ Club?

• My father has been a member for almost 25 years now with the local supports club, and he has always taken me to see the games at the club when I was a child.

D. What perception did you have of the club after one or two seasons?

• I think that there are many motivated people and we should keep this motivation high so

F. Since the AGM election, what role/s have you been given?

• The role of Advertising Executive G. Where do you feel the club can improve its service towards its members?

• In my opinion the only thing that should be improved is that the club should be more accessible for the disabled people, however we are already discussing this issue in our meetings.

H. Regarding United, how do you think we will fare this season?

• I hope that we reach the quarter Finals in the Champions League, top 3 in the league and reaching a final game in the domestic English cups.

I. Had LVG impressed you so far?

• So far I cannot understand his philosophy and it seems that the process is taking to long.

J. The Glazers never dared to interfere with Sir Alex’s running of the team. Are you seeing some differences now?

• It shows that things changed because as everyone can see, some transfers were not LVG’s mind.

K. Are you content with the way things stand?

• Manchester United equals silverware therefore two years without a trophy is too much and it is definitely not good.

Sean admiring the book Malta to Wembley.

L. Will we win a trophy this year?

• I hope that we will!!

VOL 43 - ISSUE 2 - DECEMBER 2015

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Paul Anthony interviewing Alan Gowling In this issue of ‘Echoes from Old Trafford, we speak to Alan Gowling. A Manchester United player for six years, playing around seventy times for the club before joining Huddersfield Town. Alan Gowling speaks to us about how he joined Manchester United, his start at the club and his career.

• Paul Anthony: You joined United from county schools in 1967, how did the move come about?

• AG: Well as you say… actually it was county grammar school I joined from. The move came about because they were on me. I was being watched by Joe Armstrong, who then was the chief scout who lived quite close to where I went to primary school, and then through to secondary school and I didn’t know he was watching me.

I was fortunate to play for the town team, to play for the county grammar school team, and then we were to play at ‘Old Trafford’ against Lancashire and after the game, Joe Armstrong came into the dressing room and said “I want to come upstairs with me and meet Sir Matt Busby”. So I went upstairs, got introduced to Sir Matt, and got told “I want you to join us”. I replied “My Mum and Dad want me to stay on at school and get my O’ Levels, A’ Levels and qualifications and even go to university. He said “Yeah I know that, cause we have been on to you, and they are here tonight”. Joe invited them to the game as well, and they had a chat with Sir Matt. Sir Matt laid out his plan and he would support me to stay on at school and if qualified to go to university as well. Cause I always wanted to go to Manchester University and study Economics, and it was a good place to study economics… so that was the plan. And that’s how it started really.

I signed for Man United as an amateur schoolboy in those days, came through the ranks ‘A’ team, ‘B’ Team and reserves and Sir Matt told me “You can play for the school in the morning and in the afternoon come to the cliff and whoever is playing at ‘The Cliff’ be the ‘B’ Team or the ‘A’ Team you will play with that team there, so you’re not traveling from wherever in Cheshire playing schools to go and play there, so you’re not going around the North West”. Which again is very thoughtful of Sir Matt, and it worked out. When playing schools I played in midfield, still fortunate to score goals.

So then they decided when I played for the ‘A’ team or ‘B’ Team after playing in midfield for the schools, I’d play upfront.

on the following Saturday and scored a goal on my debut for the reserves. And that was great for me, as I far as I was concerned, a great achievement really, just a fantastic week. Like most of the time the big man up there, would be looking after me.

• Paul Anthony: When you met Sir Matt and a lot of people that met him, speak so highly of Sir Matt as one of the best managers that has ever been, but as a person was he the person to influence you to move to Manchester United?

• AG: Without a doubt, my dad was a city man, he used to take me to ‘Maine Road’ and it was Sir Matt that persuaded me to, you know join them. He was like all great managers, like Sir Alex was charismatic and won my parents over, won my dad over so that was something and an achievement from the start as a city and, in fairness to Sir Matt he was true to his word. He supported me, all up through to university, and he was the one that selected for my debut for the first team.

• Paul Anthony: And that was one to remember also wasn’t it?

• AG: Well it was one to remember, it was a game at Stoke. My boyhood hero stood next to me at the centre circle, Denis Law. Scored on my debut, against Gordon Banks, shinned it past him. I didn’t strike it fully, but shinning it was what beat Banks, to be honest. I can always remember, the corner taken by George Best from which I scored, getting told I was supposed to head that.

• Paul Anthony: What was it like walking out at Old Trafford for the first time?

• AG: A little bit frightening to be honest, that wall of sound.

• Paul Anthony: The tunnel was is in the middle wasn’t it?

• AG: Yeah it was in the middle, you came down that tunnel and there was a wall of sound. And I have to admit, I was nervous walking out at Old Trafford. At that time stepping into somebody else’s shoes like Bobby or Denis or George or wherever it might be, cause they maybe injured or something. It was difficult in those days, you had to get on with it.

• Paul Anthony: But that worked didn’t it? Scoring seven goals in a game six goals?

• Paul Anthony: I am guessing in them days, a young lad coming into the first team, with seasonal pros and international around you, they looked after you didn’t they?

• AG: Yeah for the junior team, yeah I did. I managed to. We won around ten – something and I scored seven. So that was the start of it, really. In a week where I scored 7 on a Saturday with the ‘B’ Team, played midweek for the ‘A’ Team and scored four. Played for the reserves

• AG: I remember Denis and Paddy on our way to Stoke for my debut game, they continually chatting to me, getting my mind off the game and things to come and like that. They got this nickname “Bamba”, and that’s what they called me through their university connection. When

I made my debut that day, I was a full time student as Manchester university, and I was playing for Manchester United as an amateur player. And I think I am actually the last amateur player to play for Manchester United. Warren Brady, before me and three others, but I think I am the last amateur player to play for Manchester United and I got Sir Matt to thank for that. And to be honest it was great time, throughout my career the ‘big man up’ there, looked after me. I mean to play with the greats at Manchester United and there were a number of greats, not just Bobby, Denis and George. Tony Dunne as left back, really good left back didn’t really get, you know the praise that he should of got. Shay Brennan on the other side, Nobby Stiles say no more. Dave Sadler, Bill Foulkes, I mean there was nothing sophisticated about Bill Foulkes but he was great in that team. He was a great personality, and Bill actually in my early days sort of, at Old Trafford particularly in the summer. He used to take me to this private gym, and do weight training. The gym he went to, he got me to come along and help me build my strength up and things like that.

• Paul Anthony: You have a number of highlights in your career, I think being part of the European cup winning team was one of them?

• AG: Definitely, it would have been good if they have medals for all seventeen players, as they have today but in those days. It for the goalkeeper and the other eleven. But it was fantastic to go down with the team, to Wembley and train before the game. You know to be part of it all, was absolutely brilliant and a great memory.

• Paul Anthony: You know after they won that there was a relief and elation due to what VOL 43 - ISSUE 2 - DECEMBER 2015

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previous happened in Munich. So the emotion in the dressing room, was it there for all to see?

Newcastle, Bolton, Preston. Where those other clubs similar to United?

• Paul Anthony: You work in United now, you still enjoy that to be part of the club?

• AG: Yeah, particularly with Bobby he was very effected by it, but you know every player was pleased for Sir Matt. This was his dream really, he wanted to have an English winning team, in the European Cup. As it was called in those days. And to get that achievement, following the Munich tragedy, I think was so brilliant.

• AG: Huddersfield was the biggest mistake I did in my life, I have to be honest the biggest mistake, in many aspects cause the big man looks after you. I went to Huddersfield expecting to play with Frank Wordington, Roy Ellen, I didn’t do my homework. I walked through the front door, they walked out the backdoor. Huddersfield had just been relegated and they were in the second division, obviously those players wanted to go back to the first division, but the fortunate thing for me, because Huddersfield being relegated again, was I score goals. I managed to score goas in a side that was going down, and that was what attracted Newcastle, they wanted me to go to Newcastle, one of their players got seriously injured and they didn’t know when they were going to return so they wanted me back up in Newcastle, which was great in many respects because I made a really good friend that was a Jordie who lived just outside Newcastle on the hills so the place was not new to me, cause I used to go up there in holidays to visit him.

So the was not a problem to me. Playing with Malcolm went very good he was the sort of player which was ‘put your goals on the table’.

When I went up there he was ‘how many goals have you scored?’ and that carry on. The first season we scored 53 goals between us, but I scored more than Malcolm scored. Fantastic partnership, he really bothers me about it. The funny side of it was that Malcolm usually was the better scorer over every duo with whoever he played along side but, in my case it was the other way round.

• AG: I love it, it’s part of my roots and nothing is better to talk to people who’ve come to watch a match and enjoy it whether they don’t know anything about it and talking about the sport you love.

• Paul Anthony: After that, with that team, there was a sense that they could have gone on and do it again, the following year, but with circumstances with referees and various other things. Do you feel the team had gone as far as it had gone?

• AG: that’s a very difficult one really, particularly the changeover of manager, Sir Matt stepped down, Wilf stepped up. It was a difficult time for Wilf really, he was managing his peers, and that was not too easy. Wilf, unfortunately probably didn’t have a great playing career, as he could of done. He was a great player, but breaking his leg the way he did, shortened that. Therefore his achievements, weren’t necessarily as good as those of other players, in that team. It was hard to manage the likes of Bobby, George and other people. George, unfortunately you know drinking on the side of it, and Sir Matt couldn’t control that and I am not sure anyone else would have been. Whether Sir Alex could have controlled it .. I am not sure. He probably would have had a better chance, than Sir Matt but I think George was already on that slippery slope which was difficult and to be honest it was sad, because that was the tragedy. This week was the 10th year anniversary of George’s death, the greatest player I have ever seen and played with, and that includes training. The things he did in training were unbelievable, but he was such a class player, a gifted player, he was so well balanced in his play that you never knew which way he would go, going past you. And I don’t think, he did until he made that move.

That was the reaction of the brain, to do it and that was the gift that made him great.

• Paul Anthony: In terms of your career, eight seven games, twenty one goals not a bad record is it? Is there one game that sticks out in your mind?

• AG: Southampton, at home, four goals in 1971. Four goals in a game, that sticks out in my mind. Brilliant to score four goals, I should have scored six but I missed two sitters early on in the game thinking I am actually going to score but I managed to score four goals in that game and that sort of made me the last person to score four goals for a little while, until a certain gentleman named Andrew Cole came along and scored five goals. Strangely enough when I was in Newcastle I scored four goals in a game and I kept that record until Andrew Cole came along to Newcastle and score five. So it is a strange world really.

• Paul Anthony: You left United and you went to Huddersfield in 1972 than you went to

• Paul Anthony: You mentioned before your boyhood hero Denis Law, you mentioned the other great goal scoring hero Macdonald, between the two of types of players….

• AG: Yes, two different type of players. Denis was at his best when he was at City, as he improved all round. But at United, he was a great goal scorer. Malcolm, was a pure goal scorer that he was he lived on and he was such a powerful player that he looked like a scouse. And he was very very quick and powerful in the air and he was great to play with, he could play with different types of players. In fairness to Malcolm when I scored my goal at Wembley in the game Newcastle versus Manchester City it was Malcolm that played it on for me. He wasn’t a greedy player, he had a lot of confidence and in fairness you need it. My coming in to Old Trafford being a full time student and a part time player, being an amateur in those days you were never one or the other. It was difficult. It was when I sort of matured and gained this personal confidence that I really blossomed in a way.

That was the one thing that really helped me score in a declining side of Huddersfield. I was a big fish in a small pool and it worked for me in the move to Newcastle, and in the same move to Bolton, where I was with Frank Wordington and some other guys. They were a good team then, I was amazed at the dream culture within English football.

• Paul Anthony: In terms of United in the papers there are peeps of criticism about the way Manchester United are playing. Where do you see them going, are they on the right track?

• AG: Well it’s….I think alongside other big teams Louis brings in a European philosophy of football going back to the Italians the way they play many years ago and it’s very similar to that possession football., which f you’ve got the ball the opponent can’t score, but the onus on it is that you have to score when you have the ball, it’s not the same type of football that was played under Sir Matt. Sir Matt always used to work on the principal if they score three you have to score four.

• Paul Anthony: Is this criticism creeping in because Manchester United supporters are not used to seeing this European style of football, which you say is now prevalent in the Premier League?

• AG: Yes, I think it’s very true that. We were all brought up by it aren’t we? If you come through the busby era and beyond it you’re just born with attacking football. Sir Matt who would be rolling over in his crave but God bless him because of this criticism, in his day, it wouldn’t have been this way. But United did not win every game under Sit Matt Busby, I mean or under Sir Alex.

It was the glazers’ blade which was go forward.

And in the game today its not just Manchester United, today’s football I call it ‘cramp football’ side to side, keep possession, hope there is a little hole.

• Paul Anthony: Do you think it is down to money at stake due to the millions in the game today?

For instance, the champion’s league and the premier league stakes are high?

• AG: Yes. You have to get a long way in the competition don’t you? Not that you don’t get money from the early games, but it’s the later games in the competition and you’ve got to get there, and I am quite sure defensively we have improved tremendously. But, going forward we need somebody, if I am honest, like Kane.

A centre forward who is an out and out striker like Malcolm Macdonald.

• Paul Anthony: In terms of Malta and we’re contacting you on their behalf • AG: Well, I have connections through a very good friend who lives over here but has a house in Gozo and I visit him in Gozo in Xaghra, down to Ramla beach, I’ve been to Victoria to see the horses racing down the street, it’s a really nice island. And I’ve got two friends in Malta but I really enjoy Gozo.

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MANCHESTER UNITED THE WAR YEARS – 1940/41

by Iain McCartney Part 2

B

y the summer of 1940, Britain had become more involved in the war, mainly due to the capitulation of near neighbours France in July, but despite the threat from across the English Channel, the Football League decided to continue with as complete a programme of fixtures as possible, with Manchester United finding themselves in the ‘North Regional League’.

If that has you scratching your head, then matters were complicated a little more as six of those thirty-five fixtures were also considered as being Lancashire Cup ties, the results not only seeing you progress in the competition, but also going towards your final League placing.

Before progressing any further, it is perhaps best to take a closer look at United’s fixtures for this particular season, as it one that is far from straightforward.

The ‘League’ consisted of thirty-six clubs, but United played only thirty-five fixtures against, coming up against Stockport County, Chester and Chesterfield only once, but Liverpool, Blackburn Rovers and Bury on four occasions.

There was no points system involved, with the eventual champions decided on goal average, making things a little complicated to say the least.

But forget all those ins and outs of the fixture list and let us now journey back to August 1940, when United kicked off their second war-time campaign with a trip to Rochdale on the last day of the month, securing a 3-1 victory with goals from Smith, Aston and Carey in front of 3,000 spectators. The United team reading: Breedon, Redwood, Roughton, Warner, Brown, McKay, Bryant, Carey, Smith, Bellis and Aston. The latter was making his United first team debut.

Perhaps the system of deciding the eventual champions by goal average rather than points was a blessing for United, as they failed to win any of their following five fixtures, drawing 0-0 at home to Bury before losing 2-1 at Oldham at Boundary Park and 3-2 to the same side at Old Trafford. A journey across Manchester saw neighbours City record a 4-1 victory in the first ‘derby’ of the season, with the Old Trafford return being equally disappointing

with a 2-0 defeat. The only person who could be relatively happy with those results was John Smith who took his goals tally for the season to four in five games.

Attendances in those opening fixtures were relatively sparse, with only the games against City reaching five-digit figures, with an estimated 10,000 at each, although such figures were considered favourable due to the circumstances.

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A Jack Warner goal at Turf Moor Burnley on October 12th, gave United their second victory of the season, followed seven days later by a 4-1 win over Preston North End at Old Trafford.

Three of the four goals were ironically scored by ‘guest’ players from Blackpool – Dodds (with two) and Buchan. It was a winning run that was not to gain any momentum, as the return fixture against Preston at Deepdale produced a 3-1 defeat.

The inconsistency continued when Burnley were beaten 4-1 at Old Trafford, followed by a 5-2 hammering by Everton at Goodison Park and although the campaign was only eleven games old, United had already used some twenty-four players, the majority of changes being to the forward line.

Everton were held to a goalless draw at Old Trafford on November 16th and in what was a quartet of consecutive fixtures against the two Merseyside clubs, Liverpool were held to a 2-2 draw on their home turf before being beaten 2-0 at Old Trafford. A meagre 700 witnessed the latter victory.

Johnny Carey was one of the few regulars in the seemingly ever-changing side and to date had missed only one game, filling four different positions. Had he been so inclined, he could have returned home to his native Dublin upon the declaration of war, as his country was considered neutral, but he had decided to remain in Manchester and took matters a step further by joining the Army and was later to spend most of his active service in Italy.

Almost all the other United players were now in the services. Charlie Mitten was in the RAF, Stan Pearson in the Army alongside Allenby Chilton, with Johnny Morris also in the Army, but stationed at Stromness in the Orkney Islands off the north of Scotland and later in India. Jack Warner, John Smith and Billy Bryant all worked in munitions factories.

December opened in spectacular fashion, scoring five against Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park, but the shine was taken off the achievement by conceding the same number, while the strange and wonderful world of war-

Jack Rowley time football was emphasised emphatically as the Blackburn fixture saw Butt and Pearson of United ‘guest’ for the Rovers: the former netting twice, the latter once!

The following Saturday, the goals tally was reduced to seven, although still failing to bring a victory, Rochdale returning home from Old Trafford on the back of a 4-3 victory. Four goals were also conceded at Bury seven days later.

Christmas Day should have seen Stockport County visit Old Trafford, but on the night of Sunday December 22nd, Trafford Park came under prolonged attack from German aircraft, resulting in damage to United’s ground and over three hundred Mancunians killed in the air raids.The game was hastily re-arranged to County’s Edgeley Park ground, with leading goal scorer Smith netting twice and Burrows once in the 3-1 win.

United returned to Stockport three days later, as there was no way that Old Trafford could host the visit of Blackburn Rovers, the first of three consecutive fixtures against the Ewood Park side, with the curtain coming down on 1940 in spectacular fashion with an emphatic 9-0 victory. However, the match report in the ‘Guardian’ sheds some light on the somewhat spectacular result: “We must begin with a warning note to United followers who heard the score on Saturday night’s wireless. On no account confuse this with a serious League match. At three o’clock, Blackburn Rovers were still three players short, so a friendly press gang went round the Stockport ground and invited members of the crowd to step inside the dressing room and try on ‘the clobber’.

Presumably, those who found a pair of boots to fit them got their places.” A similar scenario unfolded at Norwich where Brighton arrived with only five players, and the volunteer VOL 43 - ISSUE 2 - DECEMBER 2015

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soldiers who stepped into the void could do little to prevent an 18-0 defeat!

Christmas Day also saw some clubs playing both morning and afternoon, with England international forward Tommy Lawton turning out for Everton against Liverpool in the morning and then crossing the Mersey to play for Tranmere Rovers against Crewe in the afternoon.

January saw the Lancashire Cup make an appearance with the first fixture, the second in the Blackburn trilogy, finally bringing United success with John Smith’s two goals securing a 2-0 victory. A 0-0 draw in the second-leg was enough to see United through to the next round, and a tie against Bolton Wanderers.

The first-leg at Burnden Park, again saw Smith finding the net, but United losing by the odd goal in five after going two goals in front. A week later, goals from Pearson (2), Smith and Carey ensured further involvement in the competition.

February saw a couple of League War Cup fixtures, but the failure to beat Everton over the course of two legs – a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford and a 2-1 defeat at Goodison Park ended any further interest in the competition.

It was back to League business in March, the month opening with a 1-1 draw at Chesterfield, followed by an engrossing ten goal thriller against Bury at Old Trafford, with Rowley and Carey both claiming hat-trick s and usually prolific Smith having to be content with a solitary goal. The 7-3 victory was to be the last league or cup fixture to be played at Old Trafford for over nine years, as on the night of March 11th, Trafford Park once again came under heav y bombardment from the German Luf twaf fe, and this time Old Trafford suffered damage well beyond the realms of instant repair, leaving United homeless.

The 556th day of the hostilities saw Manchester United lose most of the main stand, dressing rooms and offices, temporary offices being set up at Cornbrook Cold Stores, owned by club Chairman JW Gibson, where Walter Crickmer continued to run the club’s affairs the best he could.

It could be added that Crickmer was fortunate to still be manager/secretary of Manchester United. Indeed, he was lucky to still be alive, as on that March evening when Trafford Park was under attack, he was on duty in his other capacity as a special police constable at the Old Trafford County headquar ters when a bomb hit the building.

Although buried under the rubble, he was to walk away with nothing more than a few minor injuries.

to the kindness and support of neighbours City and the permission of the Football League they were allowed to fulfil their footballing obligations using Maine Road as their home.

A 1-0 victory at Oldham got the show back on the road on March 22nd, with yet another goal from Jack Smith, making it twenty-five from twenty-three games, but still the team was plagued with inconsistency, losing 2-0 at Blackpool and 3-2 against the Seasiders in what was the first ‘home’ match at Maine Road.

Yes, Smith did score one of the two goals!

A Jack Rowley double was enough to get the better of Everton at Goodison Park, while he was to score four, with Stan Pearson claiming two and Smith one in the 7-1 victory over Manchester City two days later. United were now on a roll, notching three victories in a row for only the second time this season, with a 6-4 win over Chester in what was also a Lancashire Cup tie. Did Smith score, I hear you ask? Surprisingly, he didn’t. Rowley claimed five and Carey the other.

Two fixtures against Liverpool brought the curtain down on the Regional League – a 2-1 defeat at Anfield and a 1-1 draw at Maine Road, while the final match of the campaign came on May 17 th. Although included in the final League placings, it was in fact the Lancashire Cup Final, where a solitary Johnny Carey goal against Burnley in front of 10,000 supporters was enough to reward United with the trophy.

As mentioned earlier, the final League positions for the season were decided on goal average, irrespective of how many games a club had played. United, for their endeavours, finished 8 th , having played thirty-five games, winning 14, losing 13 and drawing 8, with 80 goals for and 65 against, giving them an average of 2.149 goals per match. Preston North End claimed the title with an average of 2.189.

And so, the second war-time season came to an end, with doubts still surrounding not simply how many more would be played, but whether United could survive the problems caused by the German bombs?

United were now homeless, but due

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MixedMANCUNIANPlatter

by Karm Galea

On van Nistelrooy and his frustration Source: Metro It has been revealed that Ruud van Nistelrooy had kicked Ronaldo in training out of frustration.

This led to him being sold by Ferguson. The frustration came about because Ronaldo did not cross the ball.

‘I can’t play with this guy. He doesn’t even cross the ball,’ Van Nistelrooy would often shout in training, ‘I can’t make my runs because he’s not going to cross the ball.’

At the time, Rio Ferdinand had offered the opinion that Ruud’s unhappiness came about because the striker had become accustomed to Beckham’s crossing style and wasn’t a fan of Ronaldo’s skills. Van der Sar had also said that van Nistelrooy was used to Beckham crossing the ball every time he had it, as he (Beckham) didn’t have pace to dribble and beat opponents, so he had to do something like this. Ronaldo had the pace and the tricks.

Ferdinand revealed that Ruud and Ronnie had a couple of arguments, and after Ruud kicked Ronnie, Ferdinand kicked Ruud back to protect Ronnie, at which point Ruud swung a punch at Ferdinand but missed. Ruud van Nistelrooy was dropped after the incident and never appeared for the club again.

On Ruud van Nistelrooy and what he said after leaving OT Source: Dailymail Ruud van Nistelrooy scored an incredible 150 goals in his five seasons at Old Trafford, starting 2001. That is a record that rightly places him amongst the greatest strikers in United’s history. Even Ronaldo was unable to match the 44 goals Ruud van Nistelrooy scored in the Premier League title-winning season of 2002-03.

As the summer of 2006 approached, Ferguson decided to pick Rossi ahead of van Nistelrooy for the final game of the season against Charlton. Ruud was incredulous.

The fans were incredulous. The Dutchman drove away from Old Trafford in disgust and did not return until the unveiling of the Ferguson statue.

After his departure, United went on to win three successive Premier League titles and a Champions League in 2008.

At the unveiling of the statue, Ruud van Nistelrooy had said that his overall feeling about United was that he had a great five years there and wanted to come back to pay respect to the manager because he is very grateful for the chance he had given him. Of course, Ferguson and Ruud had their issues with the way it ended, but the manager is the man who got the best out of people and he did that with Ruud as well.

On Ruud van Nistelrooy and the hairdryer treatment Source: Mirror Manchester United lost 1-3 at Maine Road in the 2002 derby game. Ruud van Nistelrooy walked into the dressing room with a City shirt over his shoulder. Not a thing to do.

choose between boxing and football. Football won the day because that’s what he always wanted to do.

Rooney says it’s difficult to box now so when he gets the chance, like when he’s coming back from injury or during the summer, he gets the gloves on and practices a bit, which he finds to be a good way to keep fit.

On Louis van Gaal and his forgetfulness Source: Metro Last summer, Van Gaal forgot Chris Smalling’s first name and called him Mike.

Rio Ferdinand says Ferguson went ballistic, swearing at Ruud for swapping shirts with a City player, with the hairdryer going at full blast. Ruud stood there speechless. You don’t swap shirts with them after getting a beating like that.

On Rooney and his boxing gloves Source: Mirror It’s Rooney’s kitchen. Rooney is lying senseless on the floor as a result of a sparring with Phil Bardsley.

Watch the video at: https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=P-zXEiYEpMw The United top brass are furious.

Rooney admits he misses boxing but accepts Manchester United wouldn’t be too pleased if he took it up again. He was a keen boxer as a youngster but had to give it up to pursue his football career. His uncle runs a gym in Liverpool and he used to go there from the age of 9 until he was 15. He enjoyed it but Everton made him stop. United are not likely to encourage him either.

He used to go round to different gyms sparring, which he really liked. Eventually he had to

A lapsus one might say, but van Gaal has only gone and done it again. During the post match conference following the win over CSKA Moscow, van Gaal paid tribute to Smalling’s goal line clearance. Van Gaal was quoted as saying ‘David has saved us, then after that, Michael Smalling has saved us.’

On Schneiderlin and the way he grew up Source: MailOnline It was the French club Strasbourg which spotted Schneiderlin as a shy local six-year old and raised him for the next 12 years.

Eventually Strasbourg went bust and he was sold to Southampton in 2008, aged 18, to pay the bills.

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On historic art and George Best’s boots Source: Part Mirror A pair of George Best’s football boots are being treated like historic artifacts to stop them falling to bits. The 39-year-old Adidas boots will undergo conservation work similar to the procedures carried out on ancient relics.

Schneiderlin was born in Zellwiller, 20 miles from Strasbourg, a small village with a population of some 750, with beautiful brightlypainted houses, where everybody knows his neighbour’s business. He grew up the eldest of two children, with mother Caroline and father Albert. Caroline was a carer for the elderly and Albert a roofer, like his father Gerard. His family still live there.

In 1968, Gerard, Schneiderlin’s grandfather founded the village’s amateur football club called Reunis. Morgan’s father, a very good goalkeeper, played in the team. Father and son played football in their garden every minute of their spare time.

From the start, Morgan was a defensive midfielder. He was in the habit of wearing a Brazil shirt which carried the name Dunga. His aspiration was the position Dunga played in.

People in his village say that Morgan is so humble. When he goes to visit he arrives by train. He has a big car but he would never show off. His mother would not allow it.

On Rooney and his denial Source: Mirror Rooney wanted to leave Old Trafford in 2010 and in 2013, but denies ever handing in an official request. Five years ago he claimed he wouldn’t sign a new contract because he had doubts about United’s ability to attract world class players to the club. Then he quickly penned a new deal. But the same situation arose in 2013, with Chelsea having two bids for him turned down, before once again, Rooney extended his contract with the club.

Despite publicly saying he wanted to leave on at least one occasion (in 2010), he refutes the claim that he handed in an official request.

It is reported that he had said to Ferguson that if he (Ferguson) was not going to play him, it might be better if he (Rooney) moved on. But he never put in a transfer request and doesn’t know why it was reported that way in the press.

On the United squad and the Christmas that arrived early Source: Mirror Manchester United held their Christmas party 51 days before the actual day. The United players and their wives and girlfriends partied the night away in a city centre hotel just a day after the Champions League win over CSKA Moscow.

With a packed festive season looming, van Gaal decided to bring plans forward and captain Rooney led his team to The Place Aparthotel for entertainment inside the hotel’s nightclub, with the evening ending at 1 a.m.

The players were given the morning off training on Wednesday before the League clash with West Bromwich.

On ‘You only watch T V to see United’ and the BBC The BBC has been forced to deny accusations that they are obsessed with Manchester United after they showed five airings based on the Red Devils during October and the first week of November.

The operation, aimed at preserving the boots for future generations, will cost about £3,000 and take 80 hours of painstaking repairs by footwear craftsmen. This is being paid for by the National Football Museum in Manchester.

The boots have been loaned by their owner, who bought them privately and lives in France.

The project leader of this conservation project, Gabrielle Flexer, said that it may seem like a lot of work for a pair of football boots but in centuries to come they could be viewed with the amazement that a Roman soldier’s sandal is viewed at present.

George Best wore the black and green boots, which have plastic soles, playing for Northern Ireland in 1976. It is understood that the boots began to deteriorate because they were originally put away in a box while still wet and stored in a loft. Soil stuck to the soles has accelerated the decay. The soles have now dried, cracked and fallen off.

The conservators have been in touch with the Adidas heritage team in Berlin and the V&A Museum in London to make sure the repair work is of the highest quality.

What’s all the fuss about? United’s fan base is unrivalled, both in the UK and abroad. Since United sell papers and TV time (no doubt, with lucrative advert time slotted in), no wonder BBC chose a subject that brought in the money.

BBC football chief Mark Cole has acknowledged that the corporation should keep a closer eye on accusations of bias (from haters, no question about that), but defended the company’s selection of FA Cup ties, saying that the company has to just choose what it thinks is the best game and to make sure all of its coverage is fully representative of the whole country, which I understand means that people watch the BBC to see United and related material.

The airings concerning Manchester United and on which the haters tasted green are: Wayne Rooney: The Behind the Goals - October 5th Sir Alex Ferguson: The Secrets of Success October 11th Class of ’92: Out of their League, Episode 1 October 29th Class of ’92: Out of their League, Episode 2 November 5th Salford City vs Notts County - November 6th

Continuing on the preservation of boots, it has come to my knowledge (this has nothing to do with the Mirror article, which is the source of the above paragraphs) that a Museum somewhere in Europe (location undisclosed for the moment) is seeking to buy the boots that football legend Stevie G was wearing when the hallowed grass at Anfield moved under his feet (forget the invisible banana skin) making a groveller out of him (the dictionary says a groveller is one who crawls with the face downward and the body prostrate, especially in abject humility, fear, etc.), thus letting the Premier League trophy slip from his hands (this was the most cataclysmic slip after all).

The Museum intends to place these boots, if they trace them, in the section ‘Football’s Funny Fluffs’.

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M E R C H A N T S T. VA L L E T TA . T : 2 2 5 8 4 4 4 4 | S T. A N N E ’ S S Q U A R E , S L I E M A . T : 2 2 5 8 4 4 3 1

501 CT: THE NEXT ORIGINAL

F I N D Y O U R F I T AT L E V I S .C O M

501 CT C U ST O M I Z E D A N D TA P E R E D

On a thing not exactly United and the one who wants to get away Source: Part Metro Strictly speaking, this is not exactly Manchester United stuff, but since he was briefly mentioned as a prospective candidate for the United squad, I claim poetic licence.

I present to you Pedro, the one who almost came to Manchester United but chose Chelsea at the last moment because he was persuaded that Chelsea had a better project (and could pay more. But that is an aside. What is money after all?). Now read this.

Metro says that Chelsea summer signing Pedro is reportedly unhappy with his decision to join the club (Chelsea). The Spanish winger

Speaking at the release of United’s quarterly figures, Woodward said the Kitbag’s ranking list of top selling shirts during the period mentioned above is worth sharing.

Ed Woodward, United’s executive vice chairman said that he is delighted that United fans will be able to celebrate Wayne’s amazing years at the club in this way, from his sensational debut hat-trick in the Champions League against Fenerbahçe to the latest of his 236 goals (at the time of writing).

Rooney has been a central figure in what has been one of the most successful periods in the club’s history, winning everything from the Club World Cup, the UEFA Champions League, the League Cup and five Barclays Premier League titles.

impressed on his debut against West Brom but has been otherwise anonymous in a Blue shirt, failing to help Mourinho’s side back to form.

According to fiches.net, Pedro has spoken with team-mate Fabregas about life at Stamford Bridge, and that he regrets his decision.

On van Gaal and his nickname Source: The Sun A new nickname has emerged for manager Louis van Gaal. He is now known as ‘Daisy’ around Carrington training ground as part of a running joke about his slow driving. United’s players gave him his nickname in reference to the film ‘Driving Miss Daisy’.

That is what happens to ‘turncoats’. They think the grass is greener on the other side but then discover that the greenness is just colouring.

Three out of the top 10 are United players, namely Schweinsteiger, Rooney and Depay.

Last year, Schweinsteiger ranked 31st, but has moved up to fourth after his transfer to United.

Kitbag’s top 10 selling shirts 2015 list reads as follows: 1 Lionel Messi – 2 Cristiano Ronaldo 3 Memphis Depay – 4 Bastian Schweinsteiger 5 Eden Hazard – 6 Wayne Roone – 7 Neymar 8 Sergio Aguero – 9 Alexis Sanchez 10 Phillippe Coutinho On Manchester United and its income Source: itv.com United’s financial power has been underlined by the club’s first-quarterly figures which shows income has rocketed upwards by 39.3% to £123.6million.

United’s return to the UEFA Champions League competition has resulted in a big leap in match day and broadcast revenue, while the first income from the huge Adidas kit deal - worth £75million annually - has also kicked in.

Serves you right, Pedro. Now stay put and enjoy yourself watching Mou’s shenanigans and antics.

On Rooney’s testimonial and he hopes of raising millions for children’s charities Source: Mirror Manchester United has awarded a testimonial match to Rooney at Old Trafford to be played on August 3rd of next year to mark his 12 years at the club.

With his £250,000-a-week wages, Rooney hardly needs a personal cash bonanza from this game, so the Wayne Rooney Foundation has been set up to manage the cash. This foundation will distribute the cash to selected charitable institutions and hospitals.

Opponents for this game have not yet been finalised but Everton, Barcelona and other top European sides are being considered.

According to The Sun, it came about because van Gaal is so scared of driving into ditches and pot holes around Carrington that he drives at a snail’s pace.

Players have reportedly learned to avoid being stuck behind him, as they know their journey could take significantly longer.

On Memphis Depay and his shirt Source: Mirror According to Manchester United’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward, only Messi and Ronaldo sold more replica shirts than Depay between July and September this year. That means Memphis out-sold the likes of Barcelona duo Neymar and Luis Suarez, Gareth Bale, as well as United team-mate Wayne Rooney.

The figure for EBITDA (EBITDA is a calculation of a company’s financial health. The formula is essentially net income with interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization added back to it), which reflects the underlying profitability of the company, was up more than 100% to £41.6million.

Woodward said the United’s record first quarter revenues and EBITDA demonstrate the continued strength of the club’s businesses and all are delighted with the early progress made in licensing.

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Major League’s No clear favourites in England and Italy

by Antoine Dalli

A

ll major leagues are fast approaching their halfway mark. The situations in Germany and France currently seem to indicate that Bayern Munich and Paris SG are heads and shoulders better than their nearest pursuers and have already made giants strides ahead in their respective leagues.

Champions League holders Barcelona have emerged as the early favourites to retain the crown in Spain, especially ever since trashing eternal rivals Real Madrid to the tune of 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium last month. The same cannot be said for England and Italy as the situation in both cases is still very much unpredictable with no clear favourites in either league.

After 14 games, the situation in the Barclays Premier League is still very tight. Suffice

Eventually, one expects Claudio Ranieri’s Leicester to bow out of the title race soon, thus leaving a potential three-horse affair involving Man City, Man United and Arsenal.

Man City seem to be the strongest of the three albeit Man United and Arsenal may potentially become the front-runners in the race if they fail to make it past the group stages of the Champions League. It has to be said that Arsenal are the least consistent of the lot and are the least equipped in terms of lack of strength in depth.

Louis van Gaal’s Man United are not playing like worthy champions. Nonetheless, so far, they have obtained enough good results to stay in touch with the title-chasing pack.

Going forward, Man United need to up their game if they are to be considered genuine contenders for the title.

Ever since Jurgen Klopp took over the reigns from Brendan Rodgers, Liverpool are coming more and more into the picture and could also have their say given that they are just six points adrift of the league leaders.

Unlike Juventus in Italy, Chelsea have so far failed to recover from a miserable start.

As things stand, the Blues have only 15 points to show from their first 14 outings and lie just five points above the relegation zone. Jose’ Mourinho’s side have already lost seven times.

to say that the gap between joint-leaders Man City and Leicester, who have 29 points each, compared to fifth-placed Tottenham boils down to just four points. Man United are one point adrift of the early pace-setters whereas Arsenal are fourth a point behind the Red Devils.

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Comparisons are odious but to highlight Chelsea’s fall from grace this season, one need only refer to the fact that they had lost just three games in the entire 2014/15 campaign. At the time of writing this article, Chelsea were no fewer than 14 points below the league leaders with virtually no chance of entering back in the title race.

In the Serie A, Juventus have improved by leaps and bounds after a shaky start.

Following their midweek defeat against unfancied Sassuolo, the Bianconeri recorded successive wins against Torino (2-1), Empoli (3-1), Milan (1-0) and Palermo (3-0) to close the gap with front-runners Napoli to just seven points. Such a winning streak provided ample proof, if any was ever needed, that the defending champions have all cards in place to make a strong comeback and retain the crown for a fifth consecutive season.

Roma, widely considered as the number one favourites in this season’s title race in Italy, stumbled at home on the 14th day as they were unexpectedly beaten by Atalanta. Roma also stand a good chance of progressing to the first knock-out stages of the Champions League. However, it is an open secret that the Giallorossi do not have enough strength in depth to compete in both competitions and their quest for their first domestic title in 15 years may suffer when the Euro club competitions resume in February, if they

Round Up make it through the group stages of Europe’s premier club competition.

At the time of writing this article, Napoli were leading the Serie A table with 31 points from 14 games. The southerners did not lose a single game ever since going down to Sassuolo (2-1) on the opening day – nine wins and four draws.

This season, Maurizio Sarri’s side seem equipped enough to emulate Napoli’s titlewinning side captained by Diego Maradona by lifting their first Scudetto since 1990. Inter, Milan and Fiorentina might also have their say in the title race albeit the Nerazzurri seem to be the strongest of the three. The fact that both Inter and Milan are not involved in any Euro club competitions help them focus on their Serie A commitments.

they are still hungry for more success both domestically and in Europe despite winning practically everything that there was at stake last season.

The Catalans are four points clear of runnersup Atletico Madrid and six above 10-times European champions Real Madrid after 13 games in La Liga. The indications are that Barcelona are still the team to beat in Spain and all things being equal they will end up lifting their 24th La Liga title – their eighth in the last 12 years – unless either 2014 Champions League runners-up Atletico Madrid or Real Madrid improve considerably and, at the same time, Barcelona experience a dip in performances and results.

Cash-rich Paris SG are literally dominating the Ligue 1 to an even greater extent as they have already built a seemingly unassailable 13-point lead over nearest rivals Caen after 15 games. It is only a matter of time before Laurent Blanc’s men are declared French champions for the fourth successive season.

Barcelona are playing like as if they are invincible. In the span of only few days they hammered Real Madrid (4-0) and Roma (61) to make a bold statement of intent that

Borussia Dortmund were off to a promising start – 10 wins and two draws in their first 14 games. Under normal circumstances, the 2013 Champions League beaten finalists would be leading the Bundesliga table.

But to their dismay, Bayern Munich are simply a cut above the rest in Germany. Pep Guardiola’s men have dropped only two points (a goalless draw against Eintracht Frankfur t) in their opening 14 outings and are already eight points clear of Borussia Dortmund.

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The Season So Far..

by Michael Gatt

A

pproaching mid-December, I believe that there is a lot of uncertainty in the air surrounding our great football club. It seems that opinion is divided as to whether Louis Van Gaal is really getting the best out of his team, and as the saying goes, statistics do not lie. United are struggling to find the net and turn those draws to wins, especially in the home games and this does not bode well for the season.

In my opinion, during the past couple of months, there was a huge under-estimation of injuries, which the team suffered. The injury to Shaw was well documented, but I believe that the long-term injury of Valencia is very detrimental to the team. With the two holding midfielders in the middle of the park, the full-back position is integral to his vision and philosophy, and as results are showing, these two players are definitely being missed.

Looking at the results in October, United had an average October, at best, and there were some contrasting performances. United got hammered 3-0 by Arsenal, which can be described as the worst performance of the season, and then in the next game against Everton, which traditionally are one of our tricky opponents especially at Goodison Park, we put in a brilliant first half performance and scored three goals without reply. Martial and Herrera were immense that day, where Herrera gave United the lead with a great header and

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Martial run riot on the left wing, whereby Premier League stalwart Coleman was chasing shadows all day long. Rooney also scored a rare goal, whereby he chipped ex-United goalkeeper Tim Howard. However, in contrast, the first half against Arsenal was the worst performance of the year. The Gunners run riot in the first 15 minutes and United simply could not cope. It must be mentioned that Van Gaal used Darmian and Ashley Young as full-backs that day, where they came up against Alexis Sanchez and Alex Oxlade Chamberlain. With their power and technique, both players run riot against the Red Devils, and surely it was another learning experience for the manager.

Unnaturally, the next four games which United played were all drawn, and three of them were drawn nil-nil. United played City in the derby, where both teams seemed not interested in being adventurous enough to win the game, which was mostly played in midfield.

United were also dumped out of the League Cup

by Middlesbrough. Again, the team failed to score in 120 minutes of football, whereby there was some end-to-end stuff, as the game could have gone both ways. United consequently lost on penalties, where United only managed to find the net once and were dumped out by a Championship club. This result did not go down well with the Old Trafford public, as many fans believed that the League Cup is one cup where United could have excelled this season.

Then came Crystal Palace away, where United have to thank David De Gea for the point salvaged. United were dominated by a decent Crystal Palace side but somehow survived.

After the Palace game, United had three good wins on the trot against CSKA Moscow, West Brom and Watford, where Schweinsteiger managed to plough one in deep in stoppage time and claim a massive three points.

The game against West Brom was again another nervy adventure. United are not scoring many goals at the moment, and most of the goals that the team is scoring are coming in the second half. Lingard, who was the man of the match against West Brom, was drafted into the team after showing some promise in the earlier games, after coming on as a substitute for Juan Mata against Everton.

Against West Brom he managed to find the net with a good goal, where he curled a shot from outside the box to break the deadlock.

Then Mata added the second goal from the penalty spot.

Against West Brom, the fans were getting nervous and frustrated with a typical display and the fans let their feelings show as the game wore on with the now familiar chant of “attack attack attack�. This has been a feature with the Old Trafford faithful, and the players have been expressing their views in interviews of late.

In the UEFA Champions League, United had the most frustrating game of the season as they could not get the better of PSV. Van Gaal decided to leave Mata on the sidelines and there seemed to be no imagination and penetration during the team’s lackluster display. I was present at the game, whereby after I caught up with the PSV players, which coincidentally were staying in the same hotel, they remarked that they found the going very easy, as United were too predictable and the build-up was too slow to cause any great damage. Having said this, Jesse Lingard missed a great chance to open the scoring.

Had United approached this game in a different way and secured the points, they would have qualified for the UEFA Champions League knock-out phase, which would have given the club a massive lift.

There was another huge disappointment when United drew the game with West Ham. All in

all, Louis van Gaal can calm the concerns with a Premier League title, but anything less is a problem. The boos are now regularly coming out at the final whistle but the frustration seems to be evident long before that and the West Ham game is a classic example of this. It was there in the first half when Paddy McNair turned back one time too many, eschewing the difficult pass forwards. And it was there midway through the second half when the calls came to “attack” three times over.

This was the home side’s sixth goalless draw of the season, five of them coming at Old Trafford.

Sir Alex Ferguson didn’t have a single one in his last 116 games in charge.

Van Gaal’s style of play remains an issue for many Manchester United supporters. And yet, Louis van Gaal’s United - the ‘boring’ United - are in the thick of this title race. Out of the next 15 matches, only one is against a fellow

member of the top six and that match brings Arsenal to Old Trafford.

Pace remains a problem. There was rather more of it in United’s work against West Ham with Jesse Lingard providing some urgency early on before Memphis Depay made an impact from the bench.

But Wayne Rooney’s removal from the starting line-up, forced on the coach through injury, was hardly the panacea that some might have hoped.

Van Gaal says United were well-organized and created plenty of chances.

“We dominated the second half and created a lot of chances,” said Van Gaal. “You have to score.” The Dutchman added: “I don’t understand why they are shouting ‘attack, attack, attack’ because we are the attacking team not West Ham United and it’s the same in every game.” But it’s the manner of the attack that’s a cause for consternation.

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FIXTURES 2015-2016 Barclays Premier League :

07/11/15 Manchester United 2 – 0 West Bromwich Albion De Gea – Young – Rojo – Carrick – Smalling – Blind – Mata – Schweinsteiger – Martial – Rooney – Lingard Sub(s) : Borthwick-Jackson – Herrera – Jones Scorer(s) : Lingard – Mata

17/10/15 Everton 0 – 3 Manchester United De Gea – Darmian – Rojo – Schweinsteiger – Smalling – Jones – Mata – Schneiderlin – Martial – Rooney – Herrera Sub(s) : Carrick – Fellaini – Lingard Scorer(s) : Herrera – Rooney – Schneiderlin

28/10/15 Manchester United 0 – 0 Middlesbrough Romero – Darmian – Rojo – Carrick – Smalling – Blind – Pereira- Lingard – Fellaini – Wilson – Memphis Sub(s) : Martial – Rooney – Young Manchester United lost 1 – 3 on Penalty Kicks

Champions League Group Stage 21/10/15 CSKA Moscow 1 – 1 Manchester United De Gea – Valencia – Rojo – Schweinsteiger – Smalling – Jones – Lingard – Schneiderlin – Martial – Rooney – Herrera Sub(s) : Blind – Memphis – Fellaini Scorer(s) : Martial

28/11/15 Leicester City 1 – 1 Manchester United De Gea – Darmian – Blind – Carrick – Smalling – McNair – Mata – Schweinsteiger – Martial – Rooney – Young Sub(s) : Memphis Scorer(s) : Schweinsteiger

31/10/15 Crystal Palace 0 – 0 Manchester United De Gea – Darmian – Rojo –

25/11/15 Manchester United 0 – 0 PSV Eindhoven De Gea – Darmian – Rojo – Schweinsteiger – Smalling – Blind – Lingard – Schneiderlin – Martial – Rooney – Memphis Sub(s) : Fellaini – Mata – Young Scorer(s) : -

League Cup 4th Round

21/11/15 Watford 1 – 0 Manchester United De Gea – Young – Blind – Schweinsteiger – Smalling – Jones – Mata – Schneiderlin – Lingard – Memphis – Herrera Sub(s) : McNair – Pereira – Rojo Scorer(s) : Memphis – OG

25/10/15 Manchester United 0 – Manchester City De Gea – Valencia – Rojo – Schweinsteiger – Smalling – Jones – Mata – Schneiderlin – Martial – Rooney – Herrera Sub(s) : Darmian – Fellaini – Lingard Scorer(s) : -

03/11/15 Manchester United 1 – 0 CSKA Moscow De Gea – Young – Rojo – Carrick – Smalling- Blind – Mata – Schweisteiger – Martial – Rooney – Lingard Sub(s) : Memphis – Fellaini – Herrera Scorer(s) : Rooney

05/12/15 Manchester United 0 – 0 West Ham United De Gea – McNair – Darmian – Schweinsteiger – Smalling – Blind – Mata – Schneiderlin – Martial – Fellaini – Lingard Sub(s) : Carrick – Memphis – Varela

Schweinsteiger – Smalling – Blind – Mata – Schneiderlin – Martial – Rooney – Herrera Sub(s) : Fellaini – Lingard – Young Scorer(s) : -

04/10/15 Arsenal 3 – 0 Manchester United De Gea – Darmian – Young – Carrick – Smalling –Blind – Mata – Schweinsteiger – Martial – Rooney – Depay Sub(s) : Fellaini – Valencia – Wilson Scorer(s) : -

08/12/15 Wolfsburg 3 – 2 Manchester United De Gea – Varela – Smalling – Darmian – Blind – Schweinsteiger – Fellaini – Lingard – Mata – Memphis – Martial Sub(s) : Borthwick-Jackson – Carrick – Powell Scorer(s) : Martial - OG

PLAYER’S APPEARANCES 2015-2016 Smalling

15

0

2

7

0

TOTAL APPEARANCES 24

Blind

13

0

2

6 (1)

0

21 (1)

Mata

15

0

1

5 (1)

0

21 (1)

5

Rooney

12

0

1 (1)

6

0

19 (1)

7

Darmian

12 (1)

0

1

5

0

18 (1)

0

Schweinsteiger

11 (4)

0

1

5 (2)

0

17 (6)

1

11

0

1

5

0

17

0

Depay

9 (2)

0

1 (1)

5 (2)

0

15 (5)

5

Schneiderlin

11 (1)

0

0

4

0

15 (1)

1

Martial

9 (1)

0

0 (2)

5

0

14 (3)

5

Carrick

8 (4)

0

1

3

0

12 (4)

0

Herrera

6 (3)

0

1

3 (1)

0

10 (4)

3

Rojo

5 (1)

0

1

3 (1)

0

9 (2)

0

Young

5 (5)

0

1 (1)

2 (3)

0

8 (9)

4 0

NAME

PREMIERSHIP

De Gea

Shaw

FA CUP

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

LEAGUE CUP

OTHER MATCHES

GOALS 1 1

5

0

0

3

0

8

Lingard

3 (3)

0

1

3

0

7 (3)

1

Romero

4

0

1

2

0

7

0

Valencia

2 (4)

0

1

2 (1)

0

5 (5)

0

Fellaini

2 (5)

0

2

0 (5)

0

4 (10)

1

Jones

0

3 (2)

0

0 (1)

1 (1)

0

4 (4)

Januzaj

2

0

0

2

0

4

1

McNair

2 (2)

0

0

0

0

2 (2)

0

Pereira

0 (1)

0

2

0 (1)

0

2 (2)

1

Wilson

0 (1)

0

1

0

0

1 (1)

0

Hernandez

0 (1)

0

0

0 (2)

0

0 (3)

0

Borthwick

0 (1)

0

0

0

0

0 (1)

0

Varela

0 (1)

0

0

0

0

0 (1)

0

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