Echoes from Old Trafford - June 2015

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Volume 42- Issue 4, June 2015

“James Wilson is the most promising young player at Manchester United ” Daily Express

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

In this issue 3  Club News......................................................................................... 5  Action Replay.................................................................................. 9  TEDDY’S corner............................................................................. 12  MUSC Malta Tour vs Arsenal......................................................15  Ashley Young ................................................................................ 17  Carrick’s Importance for Manchester United....................... 19  All BPL clubs dumped out of Europe before Easter.............. 21  The Manchester United Season - Ratings..............................23  Forward ....................................................................................... 25  Ryan Giggs..................................................................................... 27  Players of the Year Award Night ............................................ 29  Europe Home & Away.................................................................... 31  Tom Heaton Interview................................................................. 33  Rivalry ..........................................................................................39  Football is an evolving game...................................................39  Van Gaal – Enigma or Controversy ......................................... 41  Manchester United under Ron Atkinson................................. 43  Random Red Thoughts................................................................ 47  MEET THE CONTRIBUTORS...............................................................49  Munich – The lost legends & the survivors .......................... 55  book review.................................................................................. 56  THE FIRST EVER MATCH PLAYED BY UNITED..................................... 59  Major League’s Round-up.......................................................... 60  Great wins vs Liverpool............................................................. 63  Mixed Mancunian Platter........................................................... 65  Season So Far............................................................................... 70  Fixtures - Players’ Appearances............................................... 72  Editorial..........................................................................................

Official publication of the Manchester United Supporters’ Club Malta editorial team Michael Calleja · Braden Galea · Clint Camilleri advertising executives David Grech · Jackson Law contributors Michael Calleja James Handyside Kevin Tabone Joseph Tedesco Darren Grech Jude Cauchi Kenneth Abela Antoine Dalli Roderick Psaila Braden Galea Julian Tabone Norbert Bugeja Paul Anthony John Calleja Furtu Caruana Silvio Scicluna Iain McCartney Carmelo Galea Michael Gatt

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, Logistics Manager Secretary, Tours Coordinator

Egidio Sciberras Asst. Secretary, Asst. Venue & Facilities Coordinator Kevin Tabone Charles Cauchi

Treasurer, PRO, Sports Activities Coordinator Membership Secretary, Fund Raising Coordinator

Simon Poulton

ICT Manager

Jackson Law

Advertising Executive, Social Activities Coordinator

David Grech

Asst. Treasurer, Assistant Advertising Executive

Vincent Vella Souvenir Shop Manager, Venue & Facilities Coordinator Clint Camilleri

Media & Publishing Coordinator Gozo representatives ­ Joe Xerri · Stefan Attard radio presenters Kevin Tabone · Clint Camilleri spiritual director Fr. Anthony C. Ferrante (Carmelite)

MALTA MALTA

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

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THE VIEWS IN THIS MAGAZINE ARE NOT NECESSARILY SHARED BY THE CLUB. VOL 42 - ISSUE 4 - JUNE 2015

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Editorial T

hat was the famous line uttered by Louis Van Gaal during the end of season awards night at Old Trafford. Notwithstanding his eccentric and over enthusiastic speech, subtleties did emerge from Van Gaal’s poignant if not cryptic rendition of his end of season review.

For a start, despite the joie de vivre and party like atmosphere, Van Gaal pointed out that United were very close to catching Chelsea. At one point, we were second and Chelsea’s performances had begun to slightly dip. Mourinho himself stated at the end of the season that some nerves had begun to appear in the Chelsea ranks. It was only inexperience and perhaps a general feeling of complacency that let down the Red Devils at the final hurdle. Despite Van Gaal’s jovial attitude on the night, one could still sense that he had expected more from his players and from the team. He had expected United to perhaps push forward after the magnificent win against City but for some reason things did not gel and United had to grind themselves to a fourth placed finish. Was Van Gaal already laying down the marker for the season ahead?

In some ways, we can say that Van Gaal was already throwing down the gauntlet and ensuring the next season would be a successful one. Radamel Falcao has already been released after such a poor season by his standards and the club has done well in recruiting Memphis Depay from PSV Eindhoven. It goes to show that club’s re-structuring and recruitment policy are also vital factors in Van Gaal’s long-term vision.

Depay, still at the tender age of 21 will surely blossom under the astute leadership of the man who he likens to a father. Gone are Radamel Falcao’s costly weekly wages – instead the club has recruited wisely and gone once again for youth over experience…this is surely a tried and tested formula all United fans endorse.

As we come to grips with a fourth placed finish, we can surely agree with Ryan Giggs’s

‘We are close!’

assessment that it is indeed strange for United to be celebrating this position. Granted that we are accustomed to higher accolades and trophy parades but this fourth placed finish can indeed be vital if not pivotal. For a start, entry into the lucrative Champions League generates roughly £50 million for the club so this welcome income will surely be put into good use. Secondly, [provided United qualify to the Group stages in August] the club would be back where it belongs after a one-year absence and boy have we felt the lack of European football and the buzz these games generate! After such a disastrous 2013-14 season, recovering, purchasing new players and indeed welcoming a new manager can never ensure instant success – so fourth place was pleasing given the circumstances.

Highlights of the season are certainly worth mentioning yet again. One cannot help but refresh two glorious games against Liverpool (3-0 and 2-1) a 3-0 win against Tottenham and the epic 4-2 win vs Manchester City. These games did offer fans a glimmer of hope that the old United were indeed back. It was just a shame that the Red Devils could not capitalize on more chances and turn pressure into much needed points. Nevertheless, these titanic tussles do fill most fans with optimism that next season could see a much different United team – a group of players with so much hunger and potential that they’d be able to ensure the club maintains a continuous challenge at the top. We all know that when United begin to gather momentum, they may develop into a very powerful team!

It is worth noting and mentioning Jose Mourinho’s end of season comments. When interviewed by Sky Sports he mentioned that in this day and age, any team that wants to break into the top four has to realistically plan to be Champions. The message hit home and emphasizes the fact that the competitive element of the Premier League has increased

so much that a potential champion is hard to determine let alone who will end up in the top four. One thing is for certain – that Manchester United need to purchase in a shrewd and calculated manner. Whilst fans might hope that the club ‘breaks the bank’ on a number of occasions, it is not fitting that a club of our stature stoops to the satirical levels of Real Madrid’s transfer policy- literally purchasing every player on the planet without leaving room for home-grown talent. Balance is the key and Louis Van Gaal will surely be looking towards achieving this aim – buying players that fit into the philosophy whilst also ensuring the young guns also get some vital playing time. As much as the world of football is now dependant on huge financial resources the traditional aspects of nurturing and promoting young talent should never be abandoned by any club let alone Manchester United.

Finally, another season has gone by and it is important to remember that a number of people dedicate their time on a voluntary basis to look after our treasured supporters club. Mention must be made in particular to Clint Camilleri who literally ensures this magazine and its contents are always up to scratch and meet every stringent guideline. Also, Braden Galea’s work has been priceless for aswell as being a prolific writer has vetted, checked and amended all articles submitted by our loyal supporters to ensure the magazine’s standard maintains a high standard of presentation. Moreover, a big thank you to you the fans who contribute and support this club of ours. Contributions of whatever nature are always welcome and the editorial team will always be willing to listen to new ideas and suggestions. The fans are the lifeblood of every club and this can be witnessed right here through this magazine...a contribution prepared by the fans for the fans!

Have a splendid summer!

The Editorial Team

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VOL 42 - ISSUE 4 - JUNE 2015

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CLUBNEWS March / April 2015 he PlayStation Tournament and the American Pool Competition dominated the months of March and April. Keiran Micallef eventually won this year’s eagerly contested PlayStation 4 FIFA tournament, whilst Gary Schiavone was runner-up

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The 16 participants in this years American Pool competition were split into four groups of four, with the first two places in each group advancing to the knockout stages. The Committee would like to thank club member Antoine Portelli for his help in the organization and running of this competition.

Unfortunately those present at the Club for the big match against Chelsea were robbed of watching the last 25 minutes. This was down to an electrical fault, which was totally beyond our control. Whilst the fault was rectified in a timely manner, over the coming months the Committee will be assessing the current electrical distribution at the clubhouse, which dates back to the early 1990’s, to ensure that such situations are avoided in the future.

May 2015 n 2nd May, many were stunned to hear of the death of Rebecca Ellison, wife of former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand.

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Rebecca passed away after a short illness at the age of just 34. The Committee decided to open a book of condolences for Rebecca, following a suggestion from club member Tony Pace. The book was available for members to sign during the Clubs’ official opening hours, during the Puttinu Cares football marathon and ahead of the Crystal Palace, Arsenal and Hull City games after which it was passed on to Rio. Once again the Club participated in the Puttinu Cares football marathon which was held on the 8th-10th May at the Marsa Sports Grounds. This year the Club donated the sum of € 500. €70 were collected during the Munich memorial mass held in February, € 270 were collected during the half time interval of the Crystal Palace and the remaining €160 were collected by those who played during the marathon. A big thank you to everyone who contributed.

During May, the Club organised a tour to Manchester for the final home game of the season at Old Trafford against Arsenal. The tour was once again a great success, and you can read all about it in a seperate article in this magazine.

On Friday 22nd May the Annual General Meeting for our Gozitan members was held at Xerri il‑Bukkett. The Committeee would like to thank

by James Handyside

all those who attended and one of our Gozitan representatives Joseph Xerri for kindly offering his premises for this meeting.

On Friday 29th May, the Committee, together with Croce Bonaci, held a Maltese Night at the Club. The activity consisted of a standup buffet incorporating traditional Maltese dishes for the price of €20 per person including a glass of wine. Also on the night the Committee held a mega sale of all remaining stock in the souvenir shop, and an hour-long discussion with a panel of local sports journalists. The discussion was chaired by Antoine Dalli and the panel was made up of Mark Mizzi, Kevin Azzopardi and Peter-Paul Gauci. Thanks goes to all those who attended these events and to the panel for accepting our invitation.

Annual General Meeting his year’s Annual General Meeting will be held on Friday 17 July 2015 at 7.00 pm at the Club’s premises. Should this meeting not be concluded by 9.30 pm it will continue on Sunday 19 July at 10.00 am. This year, the election of a new Committee is also due.

Applications from members who wish to contest the election for the Club Committee for 2015-2017 are to reach the Secretary by not later than Wednesday 8 July 2015. Each nomination has to be proposed and seconded by two Club members and signed by the prospective candidate together with two passport photos. All prospective candidates are to keep in mind that should they be elected they will be expected to attend the Club regularly. Members who have paid their membership fee by the 31st May 2015 and who are 16 years of age and over have the right to vote during the AGM.

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b Malta football tea d Supporters’ Clu Manchester Unite Marathon. at the Puttinu Cares

Club’s Presid

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VOL 42 - ISSUE 4 - JUNE 2015

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Gozo Annual General Meeting.

The Maltese Night organised at the Club.

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VOL 42 - ISSUE 4 - JUNE 2015

PlayStation 4 FIFA Tournament Winner Roger Micallef and Runner Up Gary Schiavone.

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Palazzo Pescatore, St Paul’s Street, St. Paul’s Bay - SPB3416 email:benito@maltanet.net Tel:21573182 - 99470811

by Kevin Tabone

J

ust like the 2014/15 season is drawing its curtains, so is the 13th year of Action Replay.

Another eventful year where the contribution of so many people made this programme a success. I have to thank my fellow copresenter Clint Camilleri who has always been a huge shoulder to lean on. John Calleja also deserves a special mention. His commitment towards Action Replay was second to none.

Thanks also go to every Action Replay listener that patiently tunes in to the radio every week to listen to our programme. Finally I would also like to thank all our guests who formed part of our weekly panel.

23rd February 2015 – After a flattering run of matches in which the Red Devils, despite not impressing with their play, managed to stay in the run-in for the top 4 places of the

Premier League, Manchester United lost away to Swansea to the dismay of many supporters around the world. Roderick Psaila and Patrick Critien, the two guests for this week’s edition, commented on the lack of cutting edge in the final third that the team had on the day.

Various points were discussed on how the table will pan out in the final run-in. Hearing our radio programme, one would have thought that the 3rd and 4th place is more important that finishing 1st! But unfortunately we have to have realistic expectations and at the end of the programme we all agreed that it is imperative that United do not miss out on Champions League qualification for another season. Whilst Roderick sounded more optimistic about United’s future under the guidance of Louis Van Gaal, Patrick said that the lack of fluidity in United’s play throughout the season is now becoming a concern. For once, the members present for this week’s edition disagreed on the Facebook topic chosen for this week. The question was about United’s current style of play. Van Gaal seems to prefer a more constructive style whilst for the last 30 odd years we have been spoilt with fluent, all-out attacking under Sir Alex.

Roderick and co-presenter Clint agreed that they prefer a more controlled performance which in effect would mean limiting the opposition to very few chances. Whilst Patrick and I both settled for the entertaining, full of thrust performance. I guess that is why football is so popular – everyone sees it from his own perspective.

2nd March 2015 – Back to winning ways but unfortunately the story of the season has been repeated yet again in this match. Despite dominating possession, the unconvincing, non-penetrative and dull performance against Sunderland meant that even the supporters at Old Trafford ended up booing the team.

Joseph Tedesco, the guest for this week’s edition, sportingly congratulated Chelsea on winning the 1st major trophy to be handed out during the season. The Facebook topic for this week was about Rooney’s position and most supporters agreed that Wazza’s best position should be as the striker or behind the striker.

16 th March 2015 – Due to personal commitments I was unable to attend and present this week’s programme but the show must go on! Club President Joseph Tedesco together with co-presenter Clint Camilleri ran this week’s edition. And they had loads to discuss – the win in the last minutes away to Newcastle, the loss at home against Arsenal in the FA Cup and the most impressive performance in the 3-0 home win against a very good Tottenham Hotspur. It was also perfect timing to invite renowned journalist and Spurs fan Mark Mizzi. Mark gave his views on the match and the way United are playing and he accepted that United fully merited the win. In fact Mark went on to say that United played the best match this season so far. We asked our Facebook Members if they wanted Falcao to be signed on a permanent basis.

On the basis of the performances shown by

Clint & Kevin presenting Action Replay.

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the once-feared striker, most Manchester United fans wouldn’t sign Radamel. Maybe the lack of form and the number of injuries is not helping his cause but also the hefty transfer fee involved is surely worth thinking twice about.

23 rd March 2015 – I assure you that it is both Clint’s and my absolute pleasure to be presenting this programme, but it is hard to eclipse the excitement of presenting a programme after a win against our greatest sporting rivals Liverpool. After so many difficult moments we have endured since Sir Alex’s retirement, a win at Anfield will more than make it up to United’s supporters.

Everything seems to be more fluent, that wee bit easier. Antoine Dalli, this week’s guest commented on Mata’s picture goals which are a sign of the confidence the player has.

Clint said that LVG now seems to have found the right or best balance to be able to say that we have finally turned the corner. This week’s Facebook topic treated a fairy tale transfer most Red Devils fans dream about: making the difficult choice of signing one from Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale.

Most members were undecided. In fact, the poll ended up 50/50 but Antoine and Clint both agreed that they would sign back Cristiano any day. Interestingly, Antoine commented on whether this transfer would make business sense to the club. Whilst acknowledging that United have the financial muscle to make such a transfer, Antoine felt that spending £70 or £80 million on a 30 year old would be too much of a risk. It would also mean that the club would put most, if not all, of their transfer budget allocation on just one player.

30th March 2015 – Since Manchester United were not in action, due to the international f ixtures, we decided to discuss the Premier League season in general rather than concentrating our discussion on our beloved club. Julian Tabone and Joseph Tedesco gave the listener an insight on who the most surprising team was so far during this campaign. Southampton was both of our guests’ choice for this category, whilst Everton didn’t impress at all this season.

Other points discussed were the debut of the Goal Line Technology, the relegation battle and manager sackings to name a few. I also asked our panel members to name a player that has impressed most thus far. Both agreed that David De Gea has been the goalkeeper of the season, Southampton’s Clyne was the defender of the season and Fabregas as the midfielder who has impressed the most. The

forward position was the one position which our guests didn’t agree on. Julian preferred Chelsea’s Diego Costa whilst Joseph Tedesco praised Tottenham’s Harry Kane. During his weekly feature, John Calleja decided to do an interesting feature about Louis Van Gaal.

John described LVG as the most controversial manager and one whose character was described as enigmatic! John concluded by saying that so far Van Gaal did not match the expectations that he had set himself.

During the second part, we discussed the level of the English Premier League compared to other European leagues. Both our Facebook members and panel members agreed that, whilst the Premier League may not be the most technical or tactical, the entertainment value and the high standard of all 20 teams means that the Premier League is surely the best league.

6th April 2015 – For some particular reason, I made it a point to highlight the fact that this edition was programme number 20. Any wild guesses why?! Yet another win to comment on and United’s confidence seem to get better each week. Darren Grech hailed Herrera’s performance and said that it looks like Louis Van Gaal seems to have found the best XI with Mata, Carrick and Herrera acting as the pivot of his team. Darren also stressed that United should remain focused to achieve their main objective – qualifying for next season’s Champions League. In this week’s main topic, we began looking forward to the two titanic matches against Man City and Chelsea. Our members were very, if not excessively, optimistic by feeling confident that we could win both matches whilst Darren felt that one win out of the 2 matches would be, and should be, achievable. Clint was a bit bolder in his prediction by saying that 4 points would be won.

13th April 2015 – Last year seems to be a distant bad dream, especially after winning the Manchester derby and keeping our title hopes, albeit slightly, alive. Peter Paul Gauci spoke about United’s and also Arsenal’s chances of winning the Premier League title.

He admitted that the next 2 fixtures which will pit all 3 (including Chelsea) against each other will gives us a clear indication on whether this shall be a 1, 2 or 3 horse race. Most Facebook members seems to be in confident mode and deservedly so after thumping our noisy neighbours for the first time in 5 matches!

20th April 2015 – After the defeat to championselect Chelsea, we can now almost certainly say that our title aspirations for this season

have all but evaporated. Roderick Psaila, this week’s guest on our panel, remained optimistic and said that the performance augurs well for the future. It is not common that the away team enjoys 70% of the possession, play Mourinho’s Chelsea off the pitch and still end up on the losing side. In the 2nd part of the programme we started looking ahead and discuss next season’s transfer dealings. Most seem to think that United will sign between 3 and 5 players next season.

27th April 2015 – Back to back defeats meant that we started looking over our shoulders in the rat race for Champions League qualification. Prominent local journalist Louis Vella was our main speaker on this week’s Action Replay panel and he gave us his insight on how he has seen United this season and what the future holds with LVG at the helm. Similar to last week’s Facebook topic, we asked our page members to let us know how many players do they think we will be selling from our current squad. Most agreed that, when factoring in those players who are already loaned out, we will be selling more than 5 players during the next summer transfer window.

4th May 2015 – Life is never dull following Manchester United! We always seem to do things the hard way. Supporting United is like you’re on a rollercoaster. These are a few of the terms used to describe the 3rd consecutive defeat and one which gave hope to our greatest rivals of snatching that elusive 4th place and qualification in next season’s Champions League. Antoine Dalli and John Calleja both gave us their views on this loss and also on the remaining final stretch in this infamous rat race.

11th May 2015 – With Champions League qualification virtually assured, it was time to start looking ahead towards next season.

And by capturing Memphis Depay’s services, United’s management team seems to think so as well. Joseph Catania, this week’s guest raised a number of points on this topic as well as other issues we need to address next season.

Now that the dust has settled and we have won the rat race and qualified for next season’s UEFA Champions League play off, during the final two editions we started reviewing the season that was coming to an end and also began looking ahead to next season. Out with the old and in with the new!

United forever for better or for worse!

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TEDDY’S corner Dear All

A

fter 4 years, the Barclays Premier League trophy has moved from Manchester back to the Capital City. Mourinho’s domestic project this year has been, by far I dare say, the most successful by no shadow of a doubt.

Credit where it’s due! The acquisitions of Fabregas, Matic and Costa blended perfectly with the talent of Hazard who had an amazing season. The faith showed in Courtois ahead of Cech proved the Portuguese right once again. In terms of silverware, Chelsea also won the League Cup (Carling Cup) way back in March for the 5th time in their history and reached Aston Villa in second place of the list of all-time winners of this competition.

So let’s recap the outcome of their season.

They now have one more League Cup than Manchester United but they are still 15 League titles behind and with one league title less than Sunderland. They had a nightmare in the FA Cup against Bradford City from League One in the Fourth Round and were a huge disappointment in the Champions League. I am sure Jose will ponder changes again this summer to take Chelsea to the next level.

Back to Old Trafford and our prestigious fourth place finish. Are Manchester United fans really happy with this? Well, it all depends on the perspective from which you are looking. If one takes into consideration the placement

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of last season, one can easily argue that yes, we improved and we are back in contention for a UEFA Champions League group stage spot. If we qualify from what could be a tricky play-off round, we’ll be in the 2nd seed pot.

Let’s face it – if we fail that play-off it will be a disaster before we even start next season.

If one takes into consideration the ratio of money splashed out in the transfer market for Moyes compared to Louis Van Gaal against the placement of the respective seasons, then one might argue that fourth place might be an underachievement.

Since our Manager is so in love with numbers, I have compared figures from Moyes’ season to this year’s. Statistics show United improved substantially at home and featured much better with the direct encounters against the big guns. Away from home United lost the same number of games (5), conceded the same amount of goals (22) but won 10 under Moyes and 6 under Van Gaal. In total, they scored 2 less goals than last season but conceded 6 less (let us not forget for a minute what a season David De Gea just had).

They lost 4 games less than last season – 1 win and 3 draws. Translated in numbers, it works out exactly as the balance between the 64 points achieved last year against the 70 points accomplished this year. The benchmark for the Champions League spot last year was 79 points, meaning that with the points

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accumulated by Van Gaal this year, United would have still failed the Champions League spot last season. And City won it with 86 points last year whilst Chelsea won it with 87 this year (mighty close). One can argue about the record number of injuries the Manager had to deal with this season but injuries are always a common denominator. The counterargument is that LVG had the luxury to sign 6 new players, 2 of them supposedly world stars. Di Maria and Falcao did not meet the expectations and the players that shone this season, De Gea apart, were Mata and Fellaini (Moyes’ acquisitions), Herrera (most probably negotiated by Moyes before his departure) and Ashley Young (discarded by all towards the end of last season).

Well, some of you might be thinking: Is Teddy going bonkers? Is he suggesting he prefers Moyes to Louis Van Gaal? Moyes did not have the calibre to manage Manchester United and that’s an undeniable fact. However, I admit I am no big fan of Louis Van Gaal and his regime.

Interventions like the one he performed at the Players’ Awards night do not win any points with me. For a Manager to succeed in any League, particularly the Premier League, he must first understand the philosophy of that League before bulldozing with any of his philosophies. Yes, we played better football at times. Yes, we saw plan B and even plan C in some circumstances. Yes, we had

plenty of possession, surely a record amount in percentage terms, but somehow we still looked inferior and shaky at frequent times.

We took a breath of fresh air when before the clash against Spurs in March, Louis Van Gaal finally dropped Falcao and Di Maria from the starting line up, gave Herrera a chance to play in midfield, put Rooney back up front, gave Mata a chance and stopped playing with three at the back (this system does not work in the Premier League, full stop). If that is part of his philosophy, I will start my coaching badges. We won four important games in a row without changing the starting eleven (bar Rojo for Smalling against Villa). Carrick and a few others went missing for the Chelsea clash due to unfortunate injuries and even though we were the better team all along, Chelsea snatched a Champions-elect victory and closed the lid on any of our hopes.

Since Louis Van Gaal has a highly respectable CV, I believe he has the potential to improve the team next year. Wait for changes again this summer. I am sure Memphis Depay joined United because of Louis Van Gaal’s influence and, take my word, he will have an impact. He’s made for the Premier League.

De Gea looks more than certain to be on Real books next season. It will be very hard to replace our players’ and fans’ Player of the Year for two seasons in a row. Doesn’t that tell something? The Manager referred to this when he was presenting De Gea the award, just before his ‘epic’ speech. We definitely need a right back (or even two), an influential central defender and a leader in the middle of the park. Funds should not be a problem considering the bucks being dealt outside the pitch. I just hope that next year we’ll have a better outcome.

I reserve my last few words to Stevie G. There have been a few (very few to be honest) unforgettable episodes in his career which have infuriated Manchester United fans. The one I can’t take off my mind is surely that back pass to Drogba at Anfield, allegedly voluntary, when Chelsea last won the Premier League.

However, being fair, he has been extremely loyal to his team. He had the chance to join José’s brigade, but for some reason he stuck to his roots. This type of loyalty nowadays does not grow on trees and I feel he deserved more respect from Manchester United fans on social media. Anyway, the Scousers ‘celebrated’ their 25th anniversary with no League title this season and reached United’s infamous record of 25 barren years between 1967 and 1993. It seems very likely that they will extend this record next season and overtake United. Why not! Unless they go through a complete overhaul during the summer, I can’t see any light at the end of their tunnel. Long may it continue!

Enjoy your summer holidays. Well, football wise, it’s only June and July. The Premier League will be back on the 8th August. Can’t wait!

Yours United Teddy VOL 42 - ISSUE 4 - JUNE 2015

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MUSC MALTA TOUR vs Arsenal

by Darren Grech

I

have been given the pleasure of sharing my experience of travelling to watch Manchester United play against Arsenal which was organised by the Manchester United Supporters’ Club.

To start off, I would like to congratulate the tour leader Vince Vella, who was very well organised and always available to help out when needed.

This is not the first time I have been to Manchester, but every visit leaves you with a sense of wanting more. After arriving late on Thursday, we had a good night sleep as the next day we were to travel to Chester, North Wales and finally Chesire Oaks.

After an early breakfast on Friday, we started our journey to Chester, where we spent around one and a half hours. In Chester we had the pleasure to view castles, greenery and small villages. The experience was relaxing and I look forward to visiting again.

From Chester we travelled to North Wales in Llangollen Canal. Personally, this was the highlight of that day as I had never experienced such views. Although the group split up at this point, the group I was with decided to visit a pub named Cornmill pub. After a few drinks downstairs, we were taken upstairs and were given a breathtaking view for lunch. It was a fantastic enjoyable and relaxing place.

Finally, we were taken to Cheshire Oaks. This was a huge shopping establishment. Here you can shop till you drop with various designer brands at great prices. Most of the group did their shopping from here and it was smiles and laughter all around.

It was time to go back to the hotel where everyone enjoyed the last few hours of that day as they pleased.

For Saturday there were no specific plans, but my roommate Karl and I had already planned a massive day. We decided to do some light shopping and visited the centre of Manchester.

In the evening we decided to go to the Manchester United Megastore. Surprisingly we found out that the Manchester United players would soon arrive at Old Trafford, so we decided to go and wait for them in the freezing cold maybe to get a glimpse of our heroes.

We were overwhelmed that we managed to take photos with some of the players such as Herrera, Mata, Falcao and the Manchester United manager Louis Van Gaal. We got a glimpse of more players but they didn’t have time to take photos.

Sunday was the awaited match day. After a hearty breakfast my roommate, two friends and myself decided not to go on the planned boat trip with the rest of the group. We decided to go by taxi to the well-known pub Bishop Blaize. We spent three hours of non-stop drinking, singing Manchester United chants and meeting fellow Manchester United supporters from around the world. We even met some other Maltese supporters and had a good laugh. We also had the pleasure of meeting the famous Peter Boyle who kept the pub alive with his famous chanting and took photos with the members of our group.

After finishing off from the pub, we went directly to Old Trafford and found our seats

in the Stadium. We followed the build-up to the game and watched the players of both sides do their routine warm-up session. The atmosphere at this point was excellent. The highlight of the game was obviously the goal of Herrera where the stadium exploded into non-stop cheers and singing. Although the game finished 1-1, I can still say it was an unforgettable experience, as the atmosphere in the stadium made the hair stand up on the back of my neck. We also confirmed fourth place and a place in next year’s Champions League this added to the oomph of the moment (also thanks to Liverpool’s result a day before).

On the last day of the tour, there wasn’t much to do as we were busy packing. Some of the group decided to go to the Football Museum which was very interesting, others went to Trafford Centre and Manchester centre and some headed back to Old Trafford, where a part of the group were lucky enough to meet some of the players such as Lindegaard, Rafael Da Silva, James Wilson and Adnan Januzaj.

Finally we headed back to Manchester airport and arrived in Malta shortly before midnight.

All in all, I would like to thank all the members of the group, especially Karl Sheridan, Antoine Portelli, James, Richie and Lee Bullock.

Also, a huge well done goes to the club for always organising such unforgettable trips.

Finally, I would like to thank my wife Claire who surprised me with this trip and coordinated everything with the club’s committee to make it an unforgettable experience!

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Player Profile - Ashley Young

by Jude Cauchi

A

shley Young was born on the 9th July 1985 in Stevenage. He has one older brother and two younger football playing brothers.

Opposed to his Jamaican father who supported Tottenham, Young as a boy supported Arsenal and his hero was Ian Wright.

As a boy, Young’s hopes to make it as a professional footballer were dealt a huge blow since the player was rejected from Watford’s football academy following an unsuccessful spell. Eventually he was offered a professional deal by the club and later on helped Watford to gain promotion to the Premier League.

In September 2003, he was handed his professional debut and he repaid the faith that manager Ray Lewington had in him by scoring after coming on as a substitute against Millwall. In his first season at Watford, Young scored 3 goals.

The performances of the winger continued to improve in 2008 as he scored two goals against derby rivals Birmingham. In October, he became the first player to win the player of the month award more than once. Following this award, Villa manager Martin O’Neill labelled Young as a world class player and the winger signed a 4 year contract extension at the club until 2012.

Young helped Villa to beat Liverpool 3-1 at Anfield in the 2009/10 season by scoring a crucial penalty, he became vice-captain in 2011 and was given a free role behind the striker. He ended the 2010/11 season with 9 goals and 14 assists to his name in 39 appearances in all competitions. Having said

In the following season, although Young never registered a goal to his name, he played a part in 34 of Watford’s league matches and his performances earned him the club’s Young Player of the Season award.

In the 2007/08 season, the player won several Man of the Match awards and also earned a call-up to the England national team. He was only second to Cesc Fabregas in terms of assists in the Premier League and was one of two players who featured in the Team of the Year despite not being a player from the big four clubs which included Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool.

The winger continued the season in brilliant form scoring two outstanding goals in a memorable 8-2 hammering of Arsenal on the 28th August 2011 and rescuing a point in the 3-3 UEFA Champions League draw against Basel. Unfortunately, Young suffered an injury and was out for a long period in a disappointing season for the Reds, as they finished second in the League, failed to qualify for the UEFA Champions League knock-out stage, lost out to Atletico Bilbao in the Last 16 of the UEFA Europa league and were eliminated from the FA Cup and League Cup by Liverpool and Crystal Palace respectively. Luckily enough, Young won a Premier League medal the following season but a lengthy injury spell plus some poor performances exposed the player to some heavy criticism.

During the 2013/14 season, Young played 30 times and scored goals against Stoke, West Ham and Cardiff after a year and a half without scoring.

However, under David Moyes’ guidance, the player never really flourished in United colours and following another disappointing season for the player and for the Reds, many fans were demanding the club to cash in on him.

In the 2005/06 season, Aidy Boothroyd was in charge of the club and the manager preferred to utilize Young as a striker or a right winger. The results where that in 41 league matches the player scored 15 times, which included a goal against Crystal Palace in the playoffs semi- final and spectacular goals against Plymouth, Leeds, Coventry City and Queens Park Rangers. Ultimately, these goals helped Watford to gain promotion to the Premier League. On a negative note, Young was sent off for the first time in his career against Luton Town in that particular season.

Following the promotion of the club to the Premier League, Young continued to impress and it was only a matter of time before other Premier League clubs came knocking on Watford’s door to acquire the services of the player. Eventually, the player joined Aston Villa in January 2007.Young was handed his official team debut against Newcastle at St James’ Park and although Villa lost that match 3-1, he managed to score a goal.

player contributed with an assist to Wayne Rooney and also forced an own goal. He was voted Man of the Match and United won that match 2-1.

To a certain extent this situation can be compared to the one of Marouane Fellaini, as both Young and the tall Belgian were heavy criticized in the season under David Moyes. However, following the arrival of Louis Van Gaal, both players improved their performances rapidly and proved their worth to the team.

that, with one year left on his contract, Villa were resigned to losing him to another club.

Sir Alex Ferguson came knocking on Villa’s door and on 23rd June 2011, Ashley Young joined Manchester United for a reported fee of between £15 million and £20 million on a 5 year deal. Liverpool were also interested in his services but he preferred to join the Premier League Champions instead.

Young made his debut in the Charit y Shield against Manchester City: a match in which the Reds came from behind to win 3-2. The player made an assist for the first goal and played the full 90 minutes.

The official Premier League debut came a week later against West Brom and the

Following a ver y successful preseason under Louis Van Gaal, Young has made huge improvements as a player and has recently scored vital goals away to Newcastle and at home to Manchester City. Consequently, the Manchester United supporters should give credit to Van Gaal for successfully re-integrating Ashley Young into the Manchester United squad.

To sum everything up, the strengths of Ashley Young would include mainly his pace up front, set pieces, passing and a very good right-footed shot. On the other side of the coin, the critics of Young say that the player is very predictable in his movements. What is very important to the Manchester United supporters is that these days, the signs on Ashley Young are much more promising than they were in the last few years.

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Michael Carrick’s Importance for United

by Kenneth Abela

I

“

cannot understand what is going on. I have not spoken to anybody who, when £18.6m became available, would have spent that on Michael Carrick. But people have questioned Sir Alex Ferguson’s judgment in the past and finished up with egg on their face and I hope it happens again.”

“At the start of the season we were struggling, ask yourself who wasn’t playing? Michael Carrick wasn’t playing,” said Neville, who played 602 times for the club. “Now he’s playing and the club went on a great unbeaten run. When you play with Michael Carrick you think there is authority, control, peace.”

These were the words of wisdom uttered by Mark Longden of the Independent Manchester United Supporters’ Association on the day Sir Alex Ferguson brought Michael Carrick over to Old Trafford from Tottenham Hotspur. It was the 31st July 2006.

Many of us remember Michael Carrick playing in a role other than midfield. Due to a defensive crisis during December 2009, Carrick had to fill in at centre back after Gary Neville picked up an injury against West Ham United in a 4–0 away win. Carrick had never before played in defence during his career but manager Sir Alex Ferguson was still very pleased with his contribution.

Fast forward nine years, five Premier League titles, one League Cup, five FA Charity Shield medals, UEFA Champions League, a FIFA Club World Cup, an inclusion in the PFA Team of the Year for the 2012–13 season and Manchester United’s Players’ Player of the Year for the 2012/13 season, and we let the great Paul Scholes and Gary Neville tell us who ended up with egg on their face: No one appreciated Michael more than the midfielders who played alongside him at United. He is not a flash footballer. He doesn’t hit Hollywood passes. He doesn’t score lots of goals. But I loved playing alongside him.

He was always in the right place. He gave me licence to play. (Paul Scholes, The Independent, 26th March 2015) Writing in ‘The Independent’ in January 2015, Gary Neville stated that he believed it was no coincidence that United had lost just once since Carrick returned from a serious ankle injury he had suffered last summer:

Up to the time of writing, Michael Carrick had made 318 appearances for United. However he has scored just 22 goals for United in all competitions, an average of only 0.05 goals per game. Some of his goals have however been crucial.

Carrick scored his first-ever Champions League goal on the 10th April 2007 scoring twice in that 7–1 home win over Roma in their quarter-final second leg tie.

On the 13 th May, 2009 he assisted Car los Tevez and then scored a late winner in a 2–1 win away to W ig an.

The goal was C ar r ick ’s f irst for United away from home and meant that U ni te d o nl y needed one point from their final two games to gain a third successive Premier League title, which United eventually won.

On the 30 th September, 2009 it was Michael who again came to the rescue when he scored his first goal of the 2009–10 season with the decisive goal against German champions Wolfsburg in a 2–1 Champions League win at home.

The midfielder started this season injured and didn’t feature in a game until November 2014. He then sustained a muscle rupture prior to the Red Devils’ Premier League clash against Leicester

City in January 2015. His return from injury had kick-started United toward an 11-game unbeaten run earlier in the season. In the month that followed Carrick’s first start at Crystal Palace, United climbed to the top of the passing charts. According to Opta, the team averaged 605 passes per game, which was more than any other side. Their passing accuracy, 88 per cent, and possession, 64 per cent, also bettered any other team in the league.

On his return from injury, Carrick was also selected to play again for England. “The best player on the pitch by a mile was Michael Carrick,” said the United and England captain after England’s draw in the friendly against Italy, “He came on and dictated the game for us. You saw how much control we had after that. I think he was the big difference between the two teams in the second half.” Carrick was outstanding in the holding role - just as he had been against Lithuania in the Euro 2016 qualifier on Friday night. It is indeed surprising that the number of times Michael Carrick has represented the English National team is a measly 33.

As a confirmation of £18.6 million well spent, on the 22nd November 2013, Manchester United announced that Carrick had signed a contract extension until 2015, with the option to extend for a further year. With the 33-yearold’s contract due to expire this summer (2015) United did not hesitate to offer Michael another new deal. The midfielder signed a new one-year extension to his Old Trafford contract last March, and now Carrick will be a Manchester United player at least until 2016.

Speaking to the Manchester Evening News after the latest contract extension, Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal stated that he believed that Michael Carrick’s forward thinking is vital to Manchester United and has hailed his deputy captain after Carrick scored his first goal of the season against Spurs in United’s 3–0 win at Old Trafford in March. “He is important because he can read the game as a player on the pitch,” said the United manager, “He can also coach during the game but he can improve that I think. He is also a midfielder who can play the ball forward and that I like. Our aim is always to pass the ball more forward rather than sideways or backwards, he is a player who can do that.

Wayne Rooney is my first captain and Michael Carrick is my second captain and that says enough what I think about those players.”

The philosophy of new Manchester United boss Louis Van Gaal revolves around possession football and our Number 16 fits the bill perfectly for the Dutchman’s purposes.

VOL 42 - ISSUE 4 - JUNE 2015

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All BPL clubs dumped out of Europe before Easter… why?

by Antoine Dalli

S

even Barclays Premier League (BPL) sides – Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Everton, Tottenham and Hull – started their 2014/15 European campaigns full of promises.

Apart from Steve Bruce’s Hull, the remaining BPL representatives all harboured aspirations to make inroads in Euro club competitions.

Some, particularly Jose’ Mourinho’s Chelsea, were even bracketed amongst the favourites to reach the June 6 Champions League final in Berlin. However, reality proved otherwise…

BPL had an annus horribilis in Europe as all of them were knocked out before the quarterfinal stage.

The first of the lot to be knocked out were minnows Hull, who only survived two ties. The Tigers, who were eventually relegated from the BPL on the final day of the 2014/15 season, had waited 110 full years before making their debut of fire in Euro club competitions. For the record, the 2013/14 FA Cup-beaten finalists’ dream of reaching the Europa League group stages was shattered by Belgian outfit KSC Lokeren on the away goals rule.

Fading dominance Considering that as recently as six years ago the BPL had produced three Champions League semi-finalists for the third consecutive season, it is quite natural to ask why BPL sides are no longer making their presence felt in Europe. For the interest of perspectives, there were two BPL sides who made it all the way up to reaching the Champions League final in the last five years – Man United lost against mighty Barcelona in Wembley in the 2011 final and a year later, Chelsea surprisingly overcame Bayern Munich after a penalty shoot-out at the Allianz Arena.

A more thorough analysis of BPL clubs’ performances in the Champions League reveals that their dominance has diminished considerably in recent years. Suffice to say that at least one BPL side featured in seven out of eight Champions League finals between seasons 2004/05 and 2011/12. The only exception was in 2009/10, when Inter claimed

Outgoing BPL champions Man City were no match to eventual Champions League finalists Barcelona as the two sides crossed swords in the first knock-out stages of the competition for the second season running.

This meant that the BPL had no representatives in the quarter-finals of UEFA’s flagship competition for the second time in three seasons. Also, this debacle left Everton with the onus of flying the English flag high in Europe. A 2-1 home success against Dynamo Kiev in the Europa League Round of 16 augured well. But Roberto Martinez’s side were completely outgunned and outmuscled by the Ukrainians in a 2-5 second leg defeat.

One must also take into account the fact that Man United, who are now in a transitional stage, had dominated the BPL for almost two decades and had featured in three Champions League finals in four seasons between 2007/08 and 2010/11. One expects that it will take quite some time for Man United, who were out of the Champions League this season for the first time since 1995/96 after their seventh-place finish of last year, to build a squad strong enough to become once again a true force to be reckoned with in the Champions League.

Man City, the BPL winners in 2011/12 and 2013/14, have struggled in no small way to establish themselves amongst Europe’s elite.

Man City may have spent a fortune on signing new players and hiring top-rated coaches but they have never really built a side strong enough to challenge the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Man City are no longer novices on the continent but for sure they lack the pedigree to compete at the very top level.

Liverpool never got going in the Champions League as they finished in a disappointing third place in Group B, with just five points to their credit. Whoever thought that Liverpool were going to emulate Rafa Benitez’s Chelsea of 2012/13 by winning the Europa League after being ‘relegated’ from the Champions League was proved utterly wrong. In UEFA’s second-tier competition, Brendan Rodgers’ men looked ordinary as they bowed out to Besiktas after a penalty shoot-out in the Round of 32.

In similar vein, Fiorentina proved too hot for Spurs to handle in the Europa League Round of 32. Chelsea made history for the wrong reasons as they became the first side to be knocked out of the Champions League without actually losing a game. Arsenal were one goal shy from reaching the Champions League quarter-finals as they were surprisingly ousted

by Ligue 1 outfit Monaco on the away goals rule, after a shock 1-3 first-leg home setback.

By contrast, Bayern Munich have reached three Champions League finals in the last six years 2009/10, 2011/12 and 2012/13, winning the last one in the only all-German final to date. This season, Barcelona have reached their third final in the last seven years, after almost identical wins vs. Man United in 2008/09 and 2010/11.

Some argue for the introduction of a Winter Break. Others contend that BPL clubs have been working at a disadvantage since UEFA introduced the Financial Fair Play (FFP). One can appreciate the benefits of a Winter Break, but were not BPL clubs dominating in Europe in the not-so-distant past without having a Winter Break? Also, FFP rules apply to one and all across Europe. their first European Cup since 1964/65 at the expense of Louis van Gaal’s Bayern Munich.

During this trophy-laden era for BPL clubs, there was also the all-English final of 2007/08, won by Man United against Chelsea after a penalty shoot-out.

History teaches that European dominance travels in cycles. By way of example, in the late 1980s till the late 1990s, we had witnessed the dominance of Italian clubs in Europe.

Nowadays, Serie A clubs seldom make inroads on the continent. To an extent that the last Italian club to lift the Europa League is Parma in 1998/99.

This season, Juventus reached their first Champions League final in 12 years as they became only the first Italian side to reach the final of the competition since Inter’s success over Bayern Munich five years ago.

What is perhaps contradictory is the fact that it is financially more rewarding for any BPL club to drop the Europa League even at an early stage to be able to make a creditable quest for a top-four finish in the domestic league.

One also dares to say that what BPL clubs lack is a clear strategy how to use the £5.136bn Premier League football rights bonanza to develop players through their own academies and complement them with real football stars – not average players signed at inflated prices – who can really make the difference when playing against the kings of European football. The sooner BPL clubs bounce back in Europe the better because if their crisis on the continent persists, then the privilege of having four Champions League slots, like the German Bundesliga and the Spanish La Liga, may be put into jeopardy as has happened to the Serie A in recent years.

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The Manchester United Season – Ratings

by Roderick Psaila David De Gea – 9 At the time of writing, David De Gea has still not decided whether to resist the lure of his home city in the form of Real Madrid or attempt to enter the folklore at the Theatre of Dreams. Few would have thought that this lanky youngster would have become arguably one of the best two keepers in the world back when he stepped on the field at Old Trafford almost four years ago. Yet, that’s what United have been known for throughout our history. We do buy readymade stars but we have also created them in abundance over the years. United had faith in him and hopefully he’ll stay loyal. If not, he’ll be a hard act to follow next season. And what a season he has had, continuing to perform at such a high level from the previous one. David has single-handedly easily won United 15 points this season. World class saves against Everton, Chelsea, Arsenal, Stoke, Liverpool and Crystal Palace plus solid performances throughout the season won him the Player of the Year award of the Club and the Young Player of the Year in the PFA Awards. World beater.

Chris Smalling – 7 Michael Owen considers him as the most difficult defender to play against. Chris started the season as a bit-part player and ended it captaining United against Arsenal.

The Manager justified his skipper selection in the absence of Rooney and Carrick by saying that Chris had been the leader of the defence during the season. His determination to prove himself certainly stood out and from a disaster performance against City, where he was sent off and markedly impinged on the defeat on the day, Chris made the most from injuries to most of his fellow defenders to bounce back, and from then on, he has been an almost everpresent player in United’s rearguard. This clear improvement may have also been helped by the switch to a more conventional back four by the Manager, after starting the pre-season and the campaign proper with an unorthodox back three. Indeed, while in pre-season the system worked, when United brought the same to the league, the results were mixed, until the return to the tried and trusted back four system. Warrior.

United at the start of the season and he has proved that he was the right man for the job, apart from the odd incident such as the stupid foul and red card against West Ham. Respected by his peers and with a drive which is second to none, Wayne is the longest serving current player at United and he led the team with passion. His performances may not have matched his hunger to win, but he still managed to produce moments of magic, particularly the stunning strike against Aston Villa, from Di Maria’s assist. Born leader.

Ashley Young – 9 Before the start of the season, most of us thought that Ashley Young was history and that he would never wear the Manchester United shirt again. Credit to him, the Manager gave him a shot at it and boy did he take it. He played as right back, left back, right and left midfield: anywhere the Manager has asked him to fill, he did just that and did it well, very well on most occasions. Ashley provided a number of assists, particularly to Fellaini, and he also came up with a couple of vital goals, particularly in the last minute against Newcastle. Throughout the season, he worked hard and mixed it up with some quality moments. True professional.

Juan Mata – 7 Juan merits this vote solely for the double he scored at Anfield, particularly that stunning second goal which shall live in our memories for a very long time. Juan started the season in a free role just behind the strikers and his performances were mixed. In fact, he started going in and out of the side until Di Maria got injured, and he then came into the 4-14-1 formation on the right midfield flank and made it his. Personally, he is not my favourite player and I sincerely think that he does not merit a place in the first eleven. Despite having great technique, he is too frail and most of his passes are backwards, while he’s not enough of a goal threat. That is my opinion of course and the Manager thinks otherwise, evidently.

Highly technical.

The new recruits

Michael Carrick – 8 Michael would have been my player of the year if he had been less unfortunate with injuries this season. He got injured in pre-season and his season started in November and ended in March. During that period, United showed the best form and their point return was second to none. Coincidence? Don’t think so. Carrick has become a kingpin in the team and without him, United just don’t seem to perform in the same manner. Michael makes the team tick and although in his absence Daley Blind played well in the same position, the team seemed to play with the handbrake on when he wasn’t there.

Irreplaceable.

Angel Di Maria – 5 Started like a house on fire and showed in the first third of the season what a great player he is. Dribbles, assists and goals, including the gem he scored against Leicester. Then as the team improved, his form deserted him and he finished the season mostly on the bench. Yet, amongst largely disappointing performances, he still managed to provide the assists for two of the best goals scored by United this season: the Rooney half turn shot against Aston Villa and the scissor kick Mata scored against Liverpool.

I would love to see him again next season in a Manchester United shirt. I think he deserves another chance to become a world beater again.

Jury is still out.

Wayne Rooney – 7 Wayne was given the responsibility to captain

Luke Shaw – 6 Luke managed to feature just sixteen times for

United this year, with a debut season largely hampered by a series of injuries. He mixed good performances with others where he lacked consistency, and yet he has shown glimpses of measured attacking play, which makes us hope that he can fulfil his potential and became the regular left back at United for the next decade.

Raw talent.

Ander Herrera – 8 Ander took a while until he gained the trust of the Manager, but once he had earned his place in the team, he made it his own and with some industrious and technical displays he turned into a pleasant surprise. Moreover, Ander also managed to come up with some important goals and a very recent statistic I saw illustrates how he had seven shots on target this season and six of those found the back of the net. Next season will be a real test for him and if he can manage to keep up his performance levels, then he will continue to raise his popularity with the fans even further. Impressive.

The Manager - 7 Louis Van Gaal is a divisive figure, possibly even with Manchester United fans. You either love him or hate him. True, he is somewhat condescending and maybe brusque at times, especially with the media. However, he is knowledgeable, hard-working and very transparent with the players, albeit the fact that he may be uncompromising in his search for results. After starting his work at United without taking a break following his successful time at the World Cup with the Netherlands, he did not have much time to work on the transfer market and while he will not admit it, the diversity of the Premier League must have taken him by surprise in a number of areas. He will have learnt a great deal from this season and he knows his players well now, which will enable him to make the proper decisions in the summer on who comes in and who goes out. When he said that it’s all about philosophy, many did not give it weight, but I think he is right, given how he managed to reach his aim and most of the times he fielded the players he thought would do the job, rather than the best players, at least on paper. Mission accomplished.

The Team - 7 Manchester United have slowly but surely changed their renowned attacking style to a more controlled style of play. Is it a step forward or backwards? In the meantime, United were the team with the highest possession in the league and with the most accurate passes.

We fared very well against the so-called bigger teams, but faulted against smaller teams, where we missed a deadly striker. Unfortunately, neither Van Persie nor Falcao hit any sort of form this year, and that’s why I think United will spend big on this key position in the summer.

All in all, the main objective for the season was achieved and we improved three places from last season. Can we leap another three places next year and take our trophy back where it belongs? BE21EVE VOL 42 - ISSUE 4 - JUNE 2015

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Forward

by Braden Galea

I

t is where all Manchester United supporters want to see our beloved team stride over the upcoming seasons. Belief is strong and hope is high for United to put the past behind it and move forward towards success. The 2013/14 season is nothing but a forgettable blip in the glorious history of this club and the 2014/15 season signalled the upturn from the lows that nobody wants to revisit. Although you may not agree with his methods, his tactics, his comments to journalists during press conferences and his so-called philosophy, Louis Van Gaal has moved ahead to build the foundations for a better future going forward.

Securing a UEFA Champions League spot for the 2015/16 season was the minimum that was expected out of the squad after a £150 million summer shopping spree. This was precisely what was achieved by the squad, albeit facing the challenging task of going through a playoff stage which will potentially pit the team against another strong European opponent.

The group stage is therefore far from certain unless hard work during summer pre-season is taken seriously by the team. Once again, this will involve a transatlantic trip to the United States, but unlike last summer, the players will not be making another tiring trip to and from a Brazil World Cup. Van Gaal will also be fully focused on United from the last Premier League whistle all throughout the kick-off of the new season.

Transfer activity will also most likely be finalised earlier in the summer and before the squad jets off to the US Tour. Van Gaal has indicated that to restore the balance in the team, further investment is needed and Manchester United fans are poised for another exciting summer of transfer activity. When everyone thought defence would be the first priority and the area that United would be strengthening first, the forward department was boosted with the magnificent capture of one of Europe’s brightest talents in the form of Memphis Depay. A Dutch winger that has already attracted comparison to a young Cristiano Ronaldo, Memphis lacks neither the ability not the belief to chase his dream: that of following in his idol’s footsteps and become one of the world’s best players in the red kit of Manchester United.

Memphis Depay joins from a PSV team that has just won the Eredivisie title. Rumours were flying around since last summer, after an impressive performance and two goals from the youngster against Australia and Chile as part of Louis Van Gaal’s Netherlands World Cup team. Many compare the capture to that of Arjen Robben by Van Gaal, whom the Dutch manager had selected to debut as a Netherlands Under 20s player. Indeed, despite sky-high hopes for Angel Di Maria in 2014/15, since Cristiano Ronaldo left for Real Madrid, Manchester United have lacked a player with the rocket speed, pure talent, bullet free-kick ability and willingness to entertain. Memphis Depay can potentially be that type of player.

Ability and confidence are not lacking for Memphis, as he is commonly known by first name, but from the look of it, he needs a strong manager like Van Gaal to ensure that his feet remain firmly rooted to the ground.

Memphis netted 22 league goals in just 29 league appearances for PSV Eindhoven this season, guiding the team with which he commenced his professional football career to the 22nd Eredivisie title, with PSV not having triumphed in the league since 2007/08. Aged 12, Memphis had made the move from Sparta Rotterdam to the PSV youths, before signing his first professional contract in 2011 at 17 years of age. He has made appearances for the Netherlands U15s, U16s, U17s, U19s and U21s, before making his international debut for Netherlands in October 2013. Van Gaal gave him the opportunity to shine on the world stage of the FIFA World Cup 2014 and he paid him back with two goals, in the process becoming the youngest Dutch goalscorer in a World Cup when he netted against Australia.

With an expectant fan base craving a player in the mould of Cristiano Ronaldo, fans are looking towards Depay as a source of inspiration on the wing to set Old Trafford alight. His pace will be gladly appreciated, although it was noted that he needs to work on providing more assists to his teammates rather than going for the shot on goal. But if a good number of those shots start crossing the goal-line, no one would pay heed to that deficiency in his style of play. After all, the Old Trafford crowd loves a player who repeatedly tests the opposition keeper.

It is also a recognised fact that after Falcao failed to make his mark on the Manchester United goal statistics, registering just 4 goals in an expensive and unfruitful experience in the red shirt, Manchester United need to invest in the forward department as much as they need to strengthen the defence department. It is no remarkable statistic that no Manchester United player has scored more than 15 goals in the Premier League season in 2014/15. Rewind back to when Robin Van Persie’s 26 goal tally in the Premier League secured our 20th league title, two league titles more than our arch-rivals (just as a reminder), Manchester United need a prolific goal scorer to make the difference during matches. Potential striker options need to be assessed, but ultimately there is also an element of luck distinguishing between, for example, Chelsea’s acquisition of Diego Costa and Manchester United’s acquisition of Radamel Falcao, both of which had been considered goal-machines before the 2014/15 season kicked off. We all know which one of them delivered the goods for his team.

As the 2014/15 season is now done and dusted, most of us supporters are looking for ward to an exciting, and hopefully successful, campaign on all four fronts next season. United will be challenging for the Barclays Premier League, UEFA Champions League, FA Cup and Carling Cup. Ed Woodward in his report on the financial performance of the team noted that Manchester United must have a squad capable of challenging for all trophies in 2015/16. By the time we issue our next edition of Echoes, there will be a host of new players at the club and present players deemed to be surplus to requirements will be plying their trade elsewhere. The Glazers will be providing all the financial support needed to secure the signings that make United stronger and more balanced, assisted by a strong financial muscle built by the millions in revenue generated from sponsorships. With a proper pre-season without major international distractions, Louis Van Gaal has the ability to prepare his team for a new challenging campaign where targets are set higher than a fourth place finish in the league. Exciting times lie ahead on the way forward for United.

VOL 42 - ISSUE 4 - JUNE 2015

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Ryan Giggs and his next move!

by Julian Tabone

W

hen I was first asked to write about Giggsy’s experience af ter Moyes’ dismissal and the qualities he would bring to the job should he take over, at first I was a bit sceptical about the idea. After thinking hard about that, I am even more convinced that he should think hard before even considering it when the position becomes vacant again.

In politics, it is a known secret that if one day you want to really succeed as a leader of your party, then you should never run for the deputy leadership race. For obvious reasons, the deputy leadership role will always be a graveyard of political ambitions to aspirant leaders.

Football may be a slightly different ball game but it is equally damning and uncomplimentary. Ryan Giggs today finds himself as Assistant Manager of Manchester United and is already being touted as the natural successor to Louis Van Gaal. That may be a little bit of a dangerous assumption.

First of all, there is no sign that we are looking for a new manager any time soon or that we’ll be doing that in the near future. So, any speculation about United’s next manager should be immediately weighed in purely on that same ground – speculation.

Secondly, in football these days there is no place for sentiment. If you allow that to overcome you, you can easily get castigated.

And Giggs has already had a taste of that during his short stint when filling the void after Moyes.

Giggs is too much of an icon to risk tarnishing that. To every one of us, it seems that Ryan Giggs has been with us forever. Ever since making his debut as young teenage prodigy, he has been synonymous with United news, conjectures, team-sheets and nowadays he has his place in the dug-out too.

Throughout his glittering career, Giggs has managed to evolve his game and to adapt to different roles. When he realized that he would not be able to tear defences apart as he used to do, he moved into a more central role.

Throughout the years Giggs didn’t just play a part in Manchester United’s history. He has shaped it.

He has epitomised just what Manchester United is all about. Guile, zest, trickery, unpredictability and courage were a trademark of Giggs at the peak of his powers – a marquee of what a Manchester United player should all be about.

That flexibility largely managed to prolong his career. But it does not mean that he should move into management.

Giggs is threading a very fine line here.

He should know that for every Guardiola there is an Inzaghi!

For every Jupp Heynckes there is a Graeme Souness!

This does not mean that he does not fit the bill.

He does possess some of the characteristics that a modern-day manager needs but this depends on too many coincidences.

At this stage, any kind of speculation is damaging and unnecessary: to Giggs, to Van Gaal and to Manchester United Football Club in general.

In the meantime, it would be wiser to look forward for what’s in store. We have just ended a particular year of mixed fortunes.

The team has improved on last year, albeit not as much as we would have liked. A Champions League play-of f has been regained. Van Gaal however, is yet to find his formula. Some of his signings have clicked.

Others, as anticipated, found it harder to adapt. It is the price we have to pay for having to make wholesale changes. For years, we got used to an established and steady system with a few tweaking here-and-there every transfer window. Now we are in search of a new philosophy, and the frantic transfer deals we are witnessing and (demanding) are unknown territory for us.

When the time comes, Giggs will inevitably be one of the contenders and he will certainly find a lot of support. It may still happen and if that will be the case, so be it. But until that possibility materialises, we need to stand together, hope for the best and rally around Louis Van Gaal and his troops.

And that includes Giggs himself. When the time comes we shall then see, but at least Giggs can comfort himself that he is no politician!

VOL 42 - ISSUE 4 - JUNE 2015

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Players of the Year Award Night

by Braden Galea

A

s expected, the Awards Night on Tuesday 19th May was dominated by David De Gea as rumours continued to persist that he was set for a move back to his homeland.

As the 24-year old goalkeeper secured both the Players’ Player of the Year and the Fans’ Player of the Year awards for his sensational performances in the 2014/15 season, which for the second season in a row was characterised by spectacular saves that saved United’s face. With a well-deserved award for leading the team to the 4th place in the league table and back to UEFA Champions League football in 2015/16, David thanked his team-mates, expressed his love for them and spoke of the great atmosphere in the dressing room. However, about his future with the Red Devils: deafening silence.

This was the second season in a row in which the Spaniard was honoured with the Player of the Year award. On his part, De Gea stated that he voted for fellow countryman Juan Mata to receive the award. Instead, Mata won the Manchester United Goal of the Season award for his volleyed winner against Liverpool at Anfield, where United won 2-1 in March. His goal beat off competition from Di Maria, Herrera and Rooney by a clear margin, receiving 59% of Twitter votes by supporters.

Helping to win against the 5th-placed team that missed out on the 2015/16 Champions League is too sweet after all, so a well-deserved award for another Spaniard.

A look at the future of United honoured the highly-rated Brazilian Andreas Pereira as Under 21s Player of the Year (Denzil Haroun trophy). Pereira was part of the team that won the Premier League Under 21 Division One. After rejecting the advances of Juventus to sign a new contract at United, Pereira looks set to feature in pre-season and make his break into the first team during 2015/16. Van Gaal is the right person to believe in youth prospects and give them a chance only if they deserve it. Clearly with this award and his performances during 2014/15, Pereira fully deserves it and if he displays determination and patience, he is set to achieve great things with Manchester United in future seasons.

Pereira received the award in absentia due to his current commitment with the Brazil Under 20 squad, but in a recorded message thanked fans, coaching staff and reserve team manager Warren Joyce.

Another one for the future, the Jimmy Murphy trophy for Under 18s Player of the Year went to 17-year old Axel Tuanzebe. The young defender was a commanding figure in the Under 18s defence, apart from being the captain of the team, and also managed three substitute appearances at Under 21s level.

Joining the club as an 8-year old, he spoke of the long road to get to where he is now, and for this he thanked the coaches and staff. About his captaincy role for the youths, he joked that he likes bossing other players around.

An unexpected twist to an entertaining night occurred when Louis Van Gaal took to the stage to make a final speech to the players and guests. Louis Van Gaal won over many doubters on the night with a rousing passionate speech whose delivery was both funny and heartfelt at the same time. He spoke of his amazement that after a bad start to the season when he expected a section of the fans to start turning against him, he received a supportive reception at Old Trafford. He could not hide his love and praise for what he termed “the best fans of the world”. Van Gaal walked along the stage as he spoke of how his first season in Manchester progressed as he highlighted two games in particular where his team was clearly the better team on the field but ended up losing: games against Arsenal and Chelsea.

He punched the air as he recalled the time when captain Wayne Rooney communicated his determination to fight for, and achieve, the runner-up place in the table. It was evident that this kind of ambition from his captain delighted him. His speech peaked when he spoke of how close the team is to reaching the level of Chelsea in view of the match against the Londoners, which the team lost by a single Hazard goal. However, he admitted that being so close does not count when it comes to winning the league title, because the team has to produce more and everyone connected with the club will do their utmost best to be successful.

His passion and drive for the upcoming season was evident throughout and he expressed his belief that success is what the Manchester United supporters deserve. Before taking to the stage again encouraging the audience to applaud a saxophonist who did her job remarkably well according to him, he thanked the fans for their sup p o r t . P r e s e n te r s struggled for words after such a speech and the feedback on social media was ecstatic, with the video of the speech going viral. The speech makes us look forward to a summer of tr ansfer activit y strengthening the team to compete in all four competitions next season and to success under the manager whose methods were initially met by scepticism by a small section of supporters, but who delivered well upon his promises.

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Manchester United - Europe Home Away and Worldwide (Part 1) FIRST EUROPEAN GAME ON ENGLISH SOIL Date: 26th September 1956 Venue: Maine Road Opponent and Score: Anderlecht 10-0 (Agg 12-0) Line Up: Wood – Foulkes – Byrne – Coleman – Jones – Edwards – Berry – Whelan – Taylor – Viollet –Pegg Scorers: Viollet 4 – Taylor 3 – Whelan 2 –Berry

I

n the 1954-55 season, Chelsea won the league title but had been denied the opportunity to take part in the inaugural European Cup by Football League Chairman Alan Hardaker. The reason given was to protect the integrity of English Football. But Sir Matt Busby was a forward-thinking person and his determination helped him get the backing of Football Association Chairman Stanley Rous (who would later become FIFA President) and United’s European dream began.

For the first game of Champions Cup football on English soil, United had to play away from their home stadium Old Trafford. The game was played at Maine road since Old Trafford had no floodlights yet. The score makes you think that the game was a walk in the park but during that time Belgium was a strong football nation.

They had qualified for the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland and Anderlecht had a player of the caliber of Joseph Mermans - a deadly striker who scored 339 goals in 384 appearances for Anderlecht and 27 goals in 56 appearances for the Belgian national team. Mermans was the equivalent to a Ryan Giggs for Anderlecht. He refused various offers from Italy (Lazio) and Spain (Bilbao) and spent his entire football career with Anderlecht.

United were the strongest team on the day as they already had a 2-0 lead from the away game, but no one would have ever predicted what would happen on that European night.

Despite having a young inexperienced side, the players were not nervous on such an occasion and 2 goals from Taylor and 3 goals from Viollet confirmed the greatness of the team. Half time score 5-0. In the second half United kept playing like they did in the first half and Taylor added another to get his hat‑trick, Viollet scored another to get his 4th goal of the night, Whelan got two more goals and Berry got another. A player who got lots of praise on that day was Pegg who set up most of the goals United scored on the night.

United went through the next round on a 12-0 aggregate and on that night the 10-0 score line set a record and is still the largest win in European football by Manchester United.

THE FIRST COMEBACK Date: 6th February 1957

by Norbert Bugeja

Venue: Maine Road Opponents and Score: Athletic Bilbao 3-0 (Agg 6-5) Line Up: Wood – Foulkes – Byrne – Colman – Jones – Edwards – Berry – Whelan – Taylor – Viollet - Pegg Scorers: Viollet – Taylor - Berry United are nowadays famous as the “Comeback Kings” and it didn’t take long for Europe to get a taste of what the “Never Die Attitude” was all about. United had lost the first game in Bilbao 3-5. Bilbao was one of the strongest team - 9 out of 13 players travelling for the 2nd leg were internationals.

Bilbao had players like midfielders Mauri and Jesus Garay (played in World Cup) and forwards Jose Maria Maguregui and prolific striker Arteche who had scored 5 goals already during the competition.

We have read great reviews about United’s performances but what Henry Rose from Daily Express wrote left me speechless: “My hands are still trembling as I write. My heart still pounds and a few hours have passed since with 65,000 other people I saw the greatest victory in soccer history. 90 minutes of tremendous thrill and excitement that will live forever in the memory. Salute the 11 red shirted heroes of Manchester United, the whole country is proud of you. Hammering in my brain almost shattering my senses is still fresh memory of 11 brave, gallant footballers battering and pounding until they had them on their knees almost crying for mercy. A team of Spaniards ranked as one of the best of the world.” What else can you say after reading this?

So as the article above shows, United destroyed their Spanish opponents. The first goal came from Viollet in the 41st minute, Taylor scored in the 70th minute and Berry grabbed the all-important goal in the 84th minute (one can only imagine the roar of the crowd). United had 2 goals from Whelan and Viollet disallowed because of offside.

So on the 6th February 1957 Manchester United had shown European football that no matter who they are playing against, they never give up and never die.

Line Up: Gregg – Foulkes – Byrne – Coleman – Jones – Edwards – Morgans – Charlton – Taylor – Viollet - Scanlon Scorers: Viollet, Charlton 2 United had to travel to Belgrade to play not only against a tough team but also inside a hostile atmosphere. European teams playing against Eastern European teams not only had the hostility from the supporters, but also intimidations from the police as opponents and referees came on the football pitch.

United went to Belgrade with a 2-1 lead and didn’t let the surroundings affect their game, since after 2 minutes Viollet scored the first goal and in the 30th and 31st minute Sir Bobby Charlton gave Manchester United a 3-0 lead.

But this score line didn’t discourage the strong Red Star team and neither did it silence the hostile crowd. In fact the 2nd half started with a bang and in the 46th minute, Bora Kostic pulled one back for Red Star. In the 50th minute Red Star Belgrade were awarded a doubtful penalty which was converted by Lazar Tasic.

In the 58th minute, Red Star grabbed the equalizer with Bora Kostic getting a brace from a free kick. United held tight in a nerve wrecking game and went through on aggregate 5-4 reaching the semi-final with great hope to improve on the previous season. However, destiny dictated otherwise.

“One cold and bitter Thursday in Munich Germany, eight great football stalwarts conceded victory, eight men will never play again who met destruction there, the flowers of English Football, the flowers of Manchester” – Flowers of Manchester “Oh England’s finest football team it’s record truly great, It’s proud success mocked by a cruel turn of fate, eight men will never play again who met destruction there, the flowers of English football, the flowers of Manchester” – Flowers of Manchester “A BROKEN PLANE, A BROKEN DREAM, A BROKEN HEART, A BROKEN TEAM, NO WORD SAID, A SILENT VOW, WE LOVED YOU THEN, WE LOVE YOU NOW” – Banner

THE LAST OF THE BUSBY BABES

This was the last game of what was considered England’s finest team: so young and already so successful. What would have happened if the plane didn’t crash or all players survived is a question we will ask forever but remain forever without an answer. What is sure is that the Busby Babes play on in Heaven!

Date: 5th February 1958 Venue: JNA Stadium (also known as Partizan Stadium) Opponents and Result: Red Star Belgrade (FK Crvena Zvezda) 3-3 (Agg 5-4)

Just a small sidenote: if one wants to see the last game’s highlights one can search on YouTube “CRVENA ZVEZDA – MANCHESTER UNITED 3:3”

One year after that day, the Busby Babes were taken away by the Munich crash but the legend and memories like this will live forever.

VOL 42 - ISSUE 4 - JUNE 2015

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Tom Heaton Interviewed by Paul Anthony

about young players and outfielders, they might need a bedding in period, whether that’s a taste of five to ten minutes during matches, and building that throughout a season where you play a bit part, and then build from there and you might get a bit longer like half an hour.

Paul: You did play a few first team games, did you? Like a few testimonials.

I

n this June edition of Echoes, Paul Anthony interviews ex-Manchester United goalkeeper Tom Heaton. Heaton currently plays for Burnley, having joined the team in 2013 from Bristol City, and with his team placed 19th in the Premier League table to be relegated to the 2015/16 Championship. Tom Heaton joined United in 2002 and signed his first professional contract in 2004. However, he failed to make a competitive appearance for the Red Devils in the six seasons at the club, most of which were spent out on loan at Swindon Town, Royal Antwerp, Cardiff City, Queens Park Rangers, Rochdale and Wycombe Wanderers.

He was released by United in 2010 and joined Cardiff, playing there for two seasons, then joining Bristol City in 2012, and current club Burnley in 2013. He helped the team achieve promotion to the Premier League in 2013/14 being ever-present in the Burnley goal throughout the season. Heaton ensured that Cardiff City get to the League Cup Final in the 2011/12 season, saving two penalties in the semi-final shootout against Crystal Palace and saving a Steven Gerrard penalty in the Wembley Final shootout, only to still lose it 3-2 on penalties.

Tom: Yes, massively. I couldn’t agree more. It is interesting growing at the club and being there for a long time and gathering momentum.

Then you see the standards that they set.

I was in the 24-man squad that went to the Champions League in Moscow. And then you see the Premier League with its high pressure games. It has been a brilliant learning curve for me. At the same time, I came away from that night wanting to be on the pitch and having a big impact on the game rather than watching it from the sidelines, which has been a big turning point for me.

Paul: Of course you worked under Sir Alex Ferguson. Has he been a major influence on your career?

Tom: Yes, definitely. Obviously, he brought me in and I was growing up there. Growing up, you are brought up seeing him as god and then you get to the first team and realize that he is (laughs). I think he was fantastic to me personally and I cannot thank him enough.

I saw him recently, watched a bit of training and it was great to see him. You still get to stand up straight when he walks into the room. He still holds that aura and authority for me personally.

Paul: So you joined Manchester United in 2002, is that correct?

Paul: As for playing football, you didn’t start off as a goalkeeper, did you?

Tom: As a professional, yes, I was 17 at the time. I am 29 years now so it was 12 years ago in 2002/03. I started my career coming through the Wrexham School of Excellence and the Manchester United Academy where I was a full-time professional for a year, and then I signed aged 17.

Tom: In truth, I played central midfield and in goal for Wrexham School of Excellence. I did a bit of the outfield training and a bit of the in goal stuff. I got scouted by United in goal so I fell into it really. I still fancy myself to do a bit of outfield training every so often and I request to play out for a bit in training.

Paul: What was it like when you got the confirmation that you would be joining Manchester United?

Paul: In terms of being a goalkeeper, I know it didn’t work out for you at United as you would have hoped, but it’s a difficult for a goalkeeper because unlike an outfield player, you cannot play somewhere else. If you have got another three or four in front of you, you’ve got to make it.

Tom: It was incredible. I think if I look back to when I was an eleven year old and I had a trial with the goalkeeper coach Dave Ryan and Paul McGuinness, it was a brilliant day.

I remember my dad saying to me it is a great opportunity and that the hard work starts now. It’s been a great journey so far.

Paul: I was going to say that it has been a long journey for you and you have been out on loan a few times. When you are actually down there on the day and you are mixing with the senior players and you see them mingling around, does that give you an impetus to say, “That’s where I want to be”?

Tom: You have, it is difficult. The fact is I was not ready at the time or I was not up to being a number one. I certainly felt I was on the right path until then, but a Manchester United goalkeeper needs to be the best in the world and needs to be in that top echelon of goalkeepers. That is the standard and requirement that the club set. The club was fortunate to have such high quality goalkeepers over the years and certainly in the time I have been in and around it. I think talking about coming through, you talk

Tom: I played a few friendlies but no competitive fixtures. It is tough in goal where you don’t get that opportunity and you are not coming on to change the game. A goalkeeper’s role is, sort of, set in stone. It is tough in terms of seeing the route through. For me it felt the right thing to do was to move on and do it somewhere else.

Paul: In terms of top goalkeeper, you trained with Edwin Van der Sar. Is he as good as or better than what he showed?

Tom: I think he is better. He has had a massive impact on me. He is incredibly good technically and had superb understanding of the game. He is tactically astute, understood what he was about, how he wanted to go about and he implemented that very well.

The biggest thing for me when he was at the club was that air of composure that he had himself and how that spread through the team. There was never any panic or flustered moments, and that can spread. It is a big thing that I tried to take from him and add to my game. I could see how much of a big impact it had on the whole team.

Paul: Are there things that you still take from him now?

Tom: There is a certainly a lot of stuff like how he goes about his training, specifically how he wanted to go about it and what he needed to do to get himself right. I tried to learn things I like and a lot of stuff behind the scenes. Probably what I tried to take the most was that air of composure, where nothing is ever a problem or a panic. You keep that calmness and he is the best I have ever seen by a country mile.

Paul: In terms of leaving United, was it the right time for you to go and was it a decision you had to make?

Tom: I had been there thirteen years and I almost felt part of the furniture. You would have worked pretty much with everyone throughout all the age groups. I got on with everyone really well. It is tough and you think about whether you are making the right decision. Leaving one of the biggest clubs in the world where you have been offered a contract to stay, you ask whether it is right.

Deep down, I knew it was the right decision.

There’s always a risk involved but it felt like the right risk to make. It definitely felt like the right decision at the time.

Paul: Playing regular Premier League football for Burnley, week in, week out, that is VOL 42 - ISSUE 4 - JUNE 2015

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something you perhaps wouldn’t have gotten at Manchester United.

Tom: That’s exactly right and that was the idea. I left and I wanted to play games with the ambition to get back to the Premier League and kick on from there. Thankfully, there have been some low points, or rather perceived lows and highs, but I have enjoyed every second of it, that sort of journey of getting back to the Premier League. That season has been fantastic. I wanted to earn a career and the right to play. Sometimes you grow up playing at Manchester United and having played for England at pretty much all age levels. It was almost like you fall into it without earning your stripes. I tried on loan but it is difficult to go in and come back and having that safety net at the club always looking after you if it doesn’t go well. In the real world, you do not get that and you have to be on it all the time. That’s part of why I wanted to go and earn the right.

came in and David Marshall played and was fantastic. I was on the bench and only played two league games that year. One saving grace was that if we had a good cup run, Malky played me and for that I could not thank him enough. He kept playing me all the way to the final of the League Cup. That final is still a massive highlight of my career and the icing

Paul: Do you still keep an eye on United’s boys?

Tom: Of course, Manchester United certainly class as my team despite being a Burnley player. I have a lot of family here and both Burnley and United are very close to me.

Paul: As far as Burnley goes, unfortunately you have been relegated. Do you reckon you can bounce back now?

Tom: It has been close this year. A lot of games were very close and we finished in the bottom three, which has been difficult and tough, but we were left slightly frustrated with how things turned out. We thought we deserved a little bit more but you do not always get what you deserve. Now we start to build momentum and build for next season. The club has got a great fan base and a very good squad, and we will be mounting a serious title challenge.

Paul: In terms of the highs and lows that you mentioned, you saved a Gerrard penalty at Wembley.

Tom: That was a definite high. I had signed for Cardiff the previous season, played thirty games and got a couple of injuries that kept me out of the play-offs. There was also a change of manager at Cardiff and then I came back and didn’t play at all. Malky Mackay

on the cake was saving Gerrard’s penalty.

Paul: The Championship is a really tough league to play in and get out of.

Tom: It is very tough and it’s a proper marathon with great sides down there. There are very good players and it is tough to get out of, but it is another great challenge that we are willing to embrace.

Paul Anthony with Tom Heaton.

Paul: Fantastic, cheers Tom.

VOL 42 - ISSUE 4 - JUNE 2015

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The War of the Roses: A bitter rivalry between Leeds United and Manchester United.

by Michael Calleja

B

etween the years 1455 and 1487, a series of military conflicts took place between the House of Lancaster and that of York.

These thirty years of warfare were even more destructive to England than the Hundred Years War had been in the previous century - such was the destructive element this war had on the very land itself. The conflict was a struggle to claim the throne between the families descending from Edward III and the families descending from Henry IV. In a nutshell, after some bitter fighting, the House of Lancaster established the Tudor dynasty. The war is symbolically referred to as the War of the Roses since the White Rose is often depicted to represent the Yorkist faction whilst the Red Rose symbolizes the House of Lancaster. Each of the roses’ colours traditionally represent the historic county of each team (the White rose representing the Leeds/Yorkshire area and the Red Rose to a certain extent representing the Manchester/Lancashire area).

It is within this context of bitter struggle, turmoil and fierce rivalry that the relationship between Manchester United and Leeds has manifested itself into one of the most ferocious and competitive fixtures in all of England.

In all fairness, the real rivalry between the two clubs really started to emerge in the 1960s.

From United’s perspective, Matt Busby had already built a great post-war side (winning the FA Cup in 1948 and the League Championship in 1952), but the 1950s emerged as an exciting yet disastrous period for the club. Having brought through so many youngsters, Matt Busby’s ‘Babes’ won two successive league championships in 1956 and 1957 before tragedy struck in the Munich Air Disaster in February, 1958. Despite Busby being given the last rites twice, he emerged from the crash with a renewed purpose and vigour – determined to re-build another great side which would dominate the ‘swinging sixties’.

From Leeds United’s perspective, their

manager Donald Revie had already been a player at the club. The board of directors had shown faith in his managerial capacities and had no qualms in appointing him team manager in 1961. Revie’s Leeds Revolution was sudden and decisive. He ensured Leeds changed their colours to their now famous all-white strip (to replicate the aura of dominance that the famous Real Madrid had already successfully achieved at the time) and ensured he maintained a healthy distance from his players. He was now their ‘Boss’ not ‘friend’. Revie, a rigid and meticulous person kept detailed notes and analysis of every opponent, intensified training and more importantly ensured his players gave their lives for the badge and the shirt. His innovative training regimes were deemed revolutionary at the time (at one point even employing a professional dancer to aid with the players’ mobility and balance). More importantly, Revie knew a good player when he saw one which is why he built such a feared team boasting the likes of Johnny Giles, Alan Clarke, Billy Bremner and Norman Hunter.

The 1960s saw some Titanic clashes between both clubs and George Best is said to have remarked that Leeds were the toughest team he had faced. Perhaps this was because of Leeds’ new definition of the term ‘professionalism’. Revie used this term to explain his philosophy which could be visible

by Leeds’ very aggressive attitude on the pitch (with a few fights and punches often the order of the day!). Leeds’ players were born and bred to stand up for one another. If a player was fouled, the team would rally around him and butcher their opponents. This style of play became popular with the Elland Road faithful but other fans were not so receptive and branded the team ‘Dirty Leeds’.

With Manchester United in decline, Leeds managed to win the League in 1968-69 season and again in the 1973-74 season (the same year United were relegated). Ironically, the

late 1970s would see United re-emerge as a major force with Leeds suffering the indignity of relegation in the 1981-82 season. It would take at least another ten years for the rivalry to be resumed once again. By 1991-92, both Leeds and United were locked in a nail-biting Championship run-in. United had already knocked out Leeds in the FA Cup and League Cup but Leeds managed to hold their nerve and win the Championship (when United fatefully lost 0-2 away to Liverpool). Looking back, Sir Alex Ferguson had acknowledged that knocking Leeds out of both cups had handed them a massive advantage. Throughout his time at the club, Ferguson recalled the abuse and insults he received whenever at Elland Road. He could never understand why there was such a deep hatred between both clubs and this was evidenced when on one occasion he had to leave the ground rather prematurely for fear he might be assaulted.

The decade of the 1990s brought amazing success for Manchester United, culminating in a treble win in the 1998-99 season.

Meanwhile, Leeds under Peter Ridsdale began ‘living the dream’ and the contests against United became bitter and competitive.

Both sides vied for the Championship though United always seemed to get the better of their Yorkshire rivals. Notable games throughout this period were a crucial 1-0 away win at Elland Road in 2000 (Andy Cole all but wrapping up the League for United) and a pulsating 4-3 win for the Reds at the same venue in 2002. With Leeds suffering from financial implosion, the club was relegated in 2004 and apart from spending some time in League One, have languished in the mid-half of the Championship ever since. A contest between these two ‘giants’ of the English game seems remote but no matter the occasion or event, a clash between these bitter rivals is always worth savouring and enjoying. For all we know, given the immense fanatical support Leeds boast, the War of the Roses might resume once again someday in the future.

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LOUIS VAN GAAL Enigma or Controversy

by John Calleja

M

anchester United have had several managers, the most successful being Sir Matt Busby and Sir Alex Ferguson.

There were some who failed and others who had partial success, but undoubtedly, the most controversial one is the present Louis Van Gaal.

Van Gaal joined United with high credentials and hopes were high and optimistic, but these failed to materialise, especially until midway in the league, and at one time, there were also calls for his dismissal, especially after elimination from both cups, which saw humiliation against MK Dons. League chances also started disappearing, predicting a trophy less season with just one aim remaining, that of at least qualifying for the UEFA Champions League. What is certain is the fact that at the beginning of the season, everybody was in favour of Van Gaal being appointed manager, but disappointing results and controversial decisions turned many against him.

Positive results following the Spurs match started to turn the tide again in his favour, especially after wins against Liverpool and Man City, and even after defeat against Chelsea, fans were quite satisfied with a very good but unproductive performance. It seemed as if Van Gaal had turned a full circle from hero to zero to hero.

But who is Van Gaal? I shall give you a brief outline of his profile and as I am writing this article after the Chelsea match, I am not in a position to give an end of season assessment yet.

Van Gaal’s full name is Aloysius Paulus Maria Van Gaal and he was born on the 8th August 1951. Before embarking on his coaching career, he played for these Dutch teams:

Royal Antwerp, Telstar, Sparta Rotterdam and AZ. He played a total of 331 games, scoring 34 goals. Van Gaal became Assistant Coach at AZ Alkmaar in 1986, before joining Leo Beenhakker at Ajax. When Beenhakker left the post in 1991, Van Gaal was promoted to manager of Ajax Amsterdam in his first managerial experience.

Career as Manager 1991 – 1997 Ajax: Great success enjoyed here with 3 Dutch championships, UEFA Cup in 1992 and UEFA Champions League in 1995. He also won the Super Cup and the Intercontinental Cup, defeating the Brazilians of Gremio in the Final.

1997 – 2000 Barcelona: Van Gaal took over from Bobby Robson and won 2 Championships and the Copa Del Rey 2000 – 2002 National Coach of the Netherlands: he was not successful in this venture. In fact Holland failed to qualify for the World Cup Finals, being the first time they had been eliminated since 1986. Interesting is the fact that when he finished as national coach, he was associated with United, as there were persistent reports that Ferguson would retire, but Fergie changed his mind and the Van Gaal rumour came to an end.

2002 – 2003 Return to Barcelona: Van Gaal had mixed fortunes in his second spell at the Catalan club. Barca established a record of 10 consecutive wins in the UEFA Champions League, but in La Liga, their results were very inconsistent. He left by mutual consent in January 2003, leaving Barca in the 12th place with a mere 3 points away from the relegation zone.

2004 Return to Ajax: He joined as technical

director but due to serious conflicts with Ronald Koeman who was then manager of the club, his second experience at Ajax was cut short.

2005 – 2009 AZ Alkmaar: Not being one of the prominent teams in the Dutch League, Louis Van Gaal took them to the runner-up position in his first season and 3rd in the second season where they were also the losing KNVB cup finalists. In 2008 - 2009, he led them to a surprise championship triumph.

2009 – 2011 Bayern Munich: He won the Bundesliga title but lost the UEFA Champions League to Inter, who were led by his former assistant from his days at Barcelona, a certain Jose Mourinho, who had developed into a world class manager since then.

2012 – 2014 Return to the Netherlands National Team: This time, he successfully took the team through the qualification phase, winning 9 games in his qualification group and drawing one, with 34 goals in favour and 5 against. In the 2014 World Cup tournament, Holland lost to Argentina in the semi-final on penalties. In the match for 3rd place, they defeated Brazil 3 – 0. On the whole, it was a very positive performance from a young Dutch team under the guidance of the experienced Van Gaal.

2014 – present Manchester United: Here you know the whole story of how he became our manager, taking over from the dismissed David Moyes, Who knows what future lies in store for United under Van Gaal and for the Dutchman at the great Manchester United’s helm. Your guess is as good as mine, only time will tell. We can only hope that it will be positive.

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Ron Atkinson Manchester United Manager 1981-1986

by Furtu Caruana

A

fter Sir Matt Busby retired as Manager in 1969 and subsequent to his temporary stint in charge in 1971, United were finding it difficult to find a Manager fit to fill his shoes.

We had Wilf McGuinness for a year and half, then Sir Matt again for 6 months, who was followed by Frank O’Farrell who was manager for another year and half. Tommy Docherty followed and he lasted five and half years.

Dave Sexton followed in his footsteps and he stayed at Old Trafford for four years. Then came Ron Atkinson and he lasted for five and half years. As we all know Sir Alex followed Atkinson and lasted 26 very successful years.

United chairman Martin Edwards searched for a new manager in hope of finding someone who could bring the league title to United. The most likely candidate for the job was Lawrie McMenemy, whose Southampton had shocked United in the FA Cup final five years earlier and were now competing in the upper reaches of the First Division. Brian Clough (who had taken Nottingham Forest to promotion to the league title to two European Cup triumphs in four successive seasons) was also linked with the vacancy, but chairman Martin Edwards insisted that United would not be making an approach for Clough. Bobby Robson, whose Ipswich Town side had just won the UEFA Cup), was also named as a possible candidate, as was Ron Saunders, who had just guided Aston Villa to their first league title in 71 years. But in the end it was Ron Atkinson who got the job.

Ron broke the British transfer record in October 1981 to sign England midfielder Bryan Robson from West Bromwich Albion for £1.5million and also signed Robson’s team mate Remi Moses for £500,000 at the same time. Norman Whiteside soon broke through the youth ranks and was a key first team player at the age of

17, while striker Frank Stapleton managed a steady supply of goals after his acquisition from Arsenal. Atkinson also retained a number of players from the Sexton era, namely midfielder Ray Wilkins. Long-serving players Martin Buchan and Lou Macari, who had been with United under Docherty, and in the case of Buchan under O’Farrell, were still with the club when Atkinson arrived, although both had left by 1984.

Southampton and Nottingham Forest before a late slump consigned them to fourth place, while Liverpool finished champions for a second successive season. The summer of 1984 saw the sale of popular midfielder Ray Wilkins to AC Milan after five years at Old Trafford, but Atkinson used the outlay from the sale to bolster his midfield with the acquisition of Gordon Strachan from Aberdeen and Jesper Olsen from Ajax Amsterdam.

Atkinson’s side produced an attractive form of football, losing only eight games and finishing 3rd in his first season. The title race, which had featured a few predictable contestants including Ipswich Town and Tottenham Hotspur as well as a few surprise contenders like Southampton and even Swansea City, went to a Liverpool side who were still very much England’s top footballing side.

Welsh striker Mark Hughes made his debut for United in October 1983 and became a regular player the following season, where he scored a total of 24 goals and was chosen as the Young Footballer of the Year for the 1984–85. His form was such that, despite only being 21, he helped restrict the first team chances of £500,000 signing Alan Brazil and even managed to force Norman Whiteside out of a regular place for a short time, although Whiteside was then switched to central midfield after an injury to Remi Moses.

Success followed as United won the 1983 FA Cup final 4–0 after a replay against Brighton.

United also managed another third place finish in the league, where Liverpool were champions again, and runners-up spot went to a Watford side who made the headlines with some impressive performances in their first season in the top flight. United also reached the cup final of the League Cup for the first time, but lost 2-1 to Liverpool.

Norman Whiteside scored for United in both cup finals that season - the first player in English football to do so.

Although United crashed out of the FA Cup the next year in a humbling defeat at the hands of Third Division Bournemouth, they managed to beat Barcelona in the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup and made it to the semi-finals before losing to Juventus. United fought a fierce title challenge with the likes of Liverpool,

In 1985, Manchester United beat that season’s league champions Everton to win another FA Cup, but not without some drama as Kevin Moran became the first player, albeit controversially, to ever be sent off in an FA Cup final. Down to ten men, Norman Whiteside scored the only goal of the game in extra time to win the Cup. The victory would have given United entry to the 1985–86 European Cup Winners’ Cup, but Liverpool’s involvement in the Heysel Stadium disaster resulted in a fiveyear ban from European football for English clubs. Manchester United finished fourth in the league that season.

The 1985–86 season started spectacularly for United, who won all of their first 10 league games (a club record start to a season) and

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were ten points clear at the top of the table as early as October. They were unbeaten from their first 15 games and it seemed that nothing would stop United from winning their first league title since 1967. Their form slumped dramatically in the New Year, however, with injury to Bryan Robson meaning he missed much of the season and they could only finish in fourth place. The club had decided to sell Mark Hughes against his wishes and he signed for Barcelona in the close season for around £2 million. The mid-season arrival of new strikers Terry Gibson and Peter Davenport did little to halt United’s decline. They had finished 12 points behind champions Liverpool and were also 10 points adrift of runners-up Everton, whose top scorer Gary Lineker linked up with Hughes at Barcelona that summer.

Over the 1986 close season, rumours began to circulate that Ron Atkinson would be sacked as Manchester United manager. There was talk that Alex Ferguson, manager of Scottish side Aberdeen, would replace Atkinson.

Another name to be linked with the job was Terry Venables, the Barcelona manager who had rejected an offer to manage Arsenal that spring, but the 1986–87 season began with Atkinson still manager.

The season star ted badly with three successive defeats, including a 1–0 home defeat to newly promoted Charlton Athletic, who had last played top division football in the 1950s. Their first win came at the fifth attempt when they beat Southampton 5-1 at home, but the next few weeks saw them lose to Everton and more worryingly drop points

against the likes of Watford and Coventry City, as well as missing two penalties at home to Chelsea which enabled the West Londoners to grab all three points. The final straw came on 4 November 1986, when United lost 4-1 at Southampton in a League Cup third round replay. On the morning of 6 November 1986, the club’s board announced that Ron Atkinson had been sacked as manager and later that day Alex Ferguson of Aberdeen was named as his successor.

Ron Atkinson’s views: “I had five years in charge at United, spent a few quid and did enough shrewd business to get most of it back,” states former Manchester United manager Ron Atkinson. “And I left United with the best record, at that time, since the great Sir Matt Busby. We never finished below the top four in the First Division, won two FA Cups and lost in the League Cup final.

We were involved in European competition every year, something that had never been achieved since Matt’s days. We also did it with a certain amount of football panache and style, living up to United’s finest traditions.

So it wasn’t all so bad, was it?”

of the decade following the Heysel Stadium disaster didn’t help the decade, but United’s supporters who can remember them still hold the 80s in high regard, specifically the Atkinson era rather than the dreadful early years under Ferguson. It was under Atkinson that fans witnessed a game still regarded by many as the best – and certainly loudest – they’d experienced at Old Trafford. Two-nil down to Maradona’s Barcelona in the quarter final of the 1983-84 Cup Winners’ Cup, United surged back in the home leg. “It was the best atmosphere ever,” recalls Bryan Robson, United’s captain and finest player of the decade after his British record transfer fee from West Brom. “The pitch was shaking. They said the crowd was 58,000, but there were definitely more in the ground that night. The fans never stopped singing. They just wouldn’t stop and because your adrenalin was flowing, that really pumped us up. There was a point in the match when Barcelona had completely gone, but then we started to tire because we’d put so much effort into the game. Bernd Schuster could have wrecked the evening because he bent a shot which went inches past the post.” Two goals from Robson and another from Frank Stapleton meant United went through to a semi-final tie against Juventus. United were so impressive that Robson became a hot property in Europe.

Atkinson had offers himself. “Shortly after we had knocked Barcelona out, the feelers started to come my way from Barcelona. My answer, discreetly passed along the grapevine, was simple. ‘Sure, I’m ready to talk; just name the place.’ I met the Catalan delegation at a London hotel. I confirmed that if everything regarding my United contract could be resolved with them, then I would be willing to move to Barcelona. To be frank, apart from the clearly exciting professional opportunity, it offered the perfect escape route from the domestic upheaval that was then brewing in my private life. I could have gone, closed a page and been spared so much hassle from the news boys as my first marriage broke up and my second, with Maggie, started. Just let me make the career jump, I thought at the time, and let me get the hell out of it. Oh, and my salary would have quadrupled. During the initial discussion the only stumbling block was that Barça wanted me to join them on a two-year contract, which is the usual practice abroad; I countered that proposal with a demand for an extra year.”

Atkinson’s performance record at Old Trafford read like this: Joined United: 9th June 1981 Departed: 6th November 1986

Atkinson’s achievements were to be dwarfed by the magnitude of his successor Sir Alex Ferguson’s successes over the ensuing 26year period.

Played 292 games; Won 146; Drew 79; Lost 67; Goals for 461; Goals against 266; Performance record: 50%

Manchester United are a vastly different beast compared to thirty years ago, but despite not winning the title, United were still the best supported English team in eight 1980s seasons. The European ban in the latter half

During his time as Manager United won the F.A. Cup 2 times and 1 time the Charity Shield

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R

andom

ED THOUGHTS

T

hey say a week is a long time in football and what a difference a week makes. If I had started to write this article a week or two ago my vibe would have been very different than what it is going to be like. As it is I am writing this piece the day after our miserable defeat at Everton, which was our second consecutive defeat after losing to Chelsea a week earlier.

These two defeats, although not entirely unexpected since we were away to two of our notoriously tough opponents, have jolted all United fans who like me thought that we had turned a corner of some sort. Six straight wins in the league including direct encounters with Liverpool away and City and Spurs at home had seen us shoot up to be challenging for the runner-up spot.

More importantly than the result was the clear sign that the gaffer’s much touted philosophy was being understood by the squad. A strong team spirit was being rekindled, no individuals and prime donne but the team coming first.

Rooney’s performance in the derby victory, as highlighted by Gary Neville in the aftermath, where he sacrificed a lot to bring his teammates to the play, is a classic example.

Louis van Gaal’s much mentioned process was slowly but surely being followed, not just ideologically (philosophy) but also tactically.

A settled line-up in a 4-3-3 or 4-1-4-1 formation brought much needed stability and balance: another Louis Van Gaal buzzword but which he is absolutely right to stress upon. And when you stop to think about it, balance is key and has probably been the cornerstone of all of Van Gaal’s successful teams wherever he has coached. Keep possession, create chances, take chances, high pressing and kill the game when you are winning. Simple, structured yet effective.

And things were looking great until the visit to Stamford Bridge. We kept possession alright, 70% of it. But Mourinho parked the bus, sucked the soul out of us and they won it with a solitary goal after a momentary loss of concentration. Worse was to follow at Goodison Park. Martinez must have studied the Chelsea game well.

Again we bossed possession, 65% this time.

But they defended well and caught us with three sucker punches, two breakaway goals and a badly defended corner at the third time of asking. Post-match, the pundits were

saying that Van Gaal and United have been found out.

So there was plenty for the boss to ponder as we approached the final four matches of the season. Although I wouldn’t actually say back to the drawing board because the good spell we had prior to these two defeats is in my opinion the permanent way forward, some serious regrouping is required. If I’m being honest, having looked at Arsenal’s and City’s remaining fixtures, 2nd and 3rd spots are beyond us. What we should realistically be aiming for now is to hold on to 4th spot and keep Liverpool at bay. If they win their game in hand they will only be four points behind us so it’s all to play for.

Many would argue that if we do finish 4th, then we would have obtained what we set out for at the start of the season, which is UEFA Champions League football. In reality 4th spot terrifies me because this means having to play a pre-qualifier in August against potentially tough opponents from Europe’s major leagues. The likes of Roma/ Lazio, Valencia/Sevilla, Moenchengladbach/ Wolfsburg/Leverkusen et al would be potential adversaries. I’m sure we all agree that there is no guarantee of victory there. So the significant risk of elimination and finding ourselves in the Europa League and not UEFA Champions League after all would be staring us in the face.

by Silvio Scicluna way. I had a hunch that selling Welbeck for peanuts and to a direct rival would come back to haunt us. Surely not one of Louis Van Gaal’s masterstrokes last summer, especially as the man brought in to replace him, Falcao, has failed to deliver. So the FA Cup continues to elude us. It is 11 years and counting now: far too long for a club of our stature. In fact, we will now probably be overtaken by Arsenal as the club who has won it most. Theirs will be the 12th to our 11 that we have been stuck on since 2004. Although a crumb of comfort was seeing Liverpool being eliminated by Aston Villa in the semi-final to ensure that they wouldn’t win the trophy on a certain Mr. Gerrard’s last appearance on what would have been his birthday! A final between Arsenal and Liverpool would surely have been a double edged sword for me. As it stands, I will be a huge Aston Villa fan on May 30th.

A quick word on potential transfer targets for the summer. I have lost count on the number of players supposedly coming to Old Trafford. Were they all to come we would be able to field 3 or 4 top class teams! The latest strongly linked seem to be Hummels, Clyne, Gundogan and Depay (now joined the club before publication of this article).

Maybe we’ll discuss this in my next article.

Until the next one, United always through thick and thin!

Follow me on Twitter @silvscic

Sandwiched amongst those six straight wins in the league was the painful elimination from the FA Cup against Arsenal at Old Trafford.

Again, a match which was lost by a silly error of a misplaced back pass pounced upon by none other than a player we developed ourselves, Welbeck. In reality it was probably written in the stars that it had to happen that VOL 42 - ISSUE 4 - JUNE 2015

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Meet The Contributors It goes without saying that supporting Manchester United brings with it so many added benefits such as: last minute excitement and edge of your seat stuff.

The contributors of our beloved magazine are certainly die-hard reds and it is our immense pleasure to introduce them to our avid readers. Therefore, for this month’s ‘Meet the Contributors’ Section we will endeavour to get to know Norbert, Silvio and Robert - as we grill them on a variety of questions and topics.

JUDE CAUCHI When and where did you start supporting Manchester United?

I started supporting Manchester United when I was 6 years old. My Uncle- Kevin was a huge supporter of the club and he played a big part in me starting to support Manchester United.

Which player did you first admire?

It surely has to be the king- Eric Cantona.

Furthermore, that never die attitude is also what makes this club extra special in my eyes.

luckily for me, all matches have ended in a United victory. My experiences at Old Trafford have been against Derby in 2007 where United won 4-1, in 2011 against Marseille 2-1, Bolton 1-0 and this season against Manchester City 4-2. Every match was special as the atmosphere at Old Trafford under the flood lights is something electrifying while the 4-2 victory against City was the best premier league match I have experienced so far. Moreover, I have also had the opportunity of watching United play away against Real Madrid in the Champions league second round, where the match ended in 1-1 draw. One thing I surely learned is how special are the away fans of our beloved club.

Have you every visited Old Trafford? If yes, can you talk us through some memorable experiences?

So far I have been to Old Trafford 4 times and

And finally....most feared rivals?

In the 90s I have always feared Arsenal but nowadays I have to say Chelsea especially with the return of a certain Mr. Mourinho.....

What is your favourite United memory?

I have to say Moscow since I was too young to celebrate the 1999 Champions league final.

What is it about United that makes it such a special club?

I would say that the club is special because it has a family atmosphere inside it. There is that feeling that everybody is proud to be part of the past, present and future of the club.

Jude celebrating the 55th anniversary of the Maltese Supporters’ Club in Malta with the Premier League Trophy.

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can you talk us through some memorable experiences?

5 times if I recall correctly. Some five years ago my mate and myself were near the ticketing office after collecting our tickets from there.

I saw Alex Stepney approaching, walking the distance from the ticketing office to the ground.

I wanted to speak to him so much, him being my boyhood hero. I had written to him after the 1968 European Cup final, congratulating him on his save from Eusebio and he had replied. The letter is still with me. But I froze and he walked past me. I kicked myself blue afterwards. Uncannily, the year after, my mate and myself were at the same spot and there was Alex Stepney appoaching us again. This time I did not freeze. We stopped him and chatted. Nice fellow.

And finally....most feared rivals?

There are no rivals to be feared, but there is one to be detested. Liverpool.

Iain McCartney When and where did you start supporting Manchester United?

Manchester United were the first team it can remember hearing about, so they became ‘my team’ - thankfully, it wasn’t Stockport County!

I would often be at my grandmothers house on a Saturday night when the football results were on and this was where I heard those two magical words - ‘Manchester United’.

I was too young to know anything about the

Karm with Julian and Isaac - December 2014.

kARM gALEA

What is your favourite United memory?

1968 Final against Benfica.

When and where did you start supporting Manchester United?

1963, after winning the FA Cup against Leicester.

Which player did you first admire?

Alex Stepney, but then George Best took over.

What is it about United that makes it such a special club?

Cannot pinpoint any particular reason. United got into my heart and never left.

Have you every visited Old Trafford? If yes,

Iain with the Intercontinental Cup, Super Cup, Cup of Cups, Community Shield & Premier League Trophy.

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Munich disaster, but strangely I can recall reading a match report one lunchtime on the 1961 7-2 FA Cup defeat by Sheffield Wednesday and wondering how such a thing could happen.

I did watch the 1963 Cup Final and remember asking if I could stay up later than normal on the Sunday night to see the cup coming back to Manchester on television.

Which player did you first admire?

First player I admired was Denis Law and I had a double page colour picture of him beside my bed. George Best then took over, but he was to be replaced by my last Red hero - Jim Holton. Others, like Whiteside and Ronaldo were favourites, but none could match the other three.

What is your favourite United memory?

Favourite memory? Difficult one this. First visit to Old Trafford, meeting he likes of Best and Co., walking down the OT tunnel with Martin Buchan and out onto the pitch, finding out my grandfathers uncle played for and captained Newton Heath, meeting Harry Gregg, writing books on the club, plus numerous others, but I suppose if I had to pick just one, it has to be those eleven days in 1999 when I watched the defeat of Tottenham, Newcastle and Bayern Munich.

Have you every visited Old Trafford? If yes, can you talk us through some memorable experiences?

Think I might have answered this one already. Oh,yes, missed something out.

Whilst writing my history of Old Trafford, I got to know the project manager responsible for building the north stand and on one visit to see him, he asked if I wanted to go up onto the roof. Stupid question really. Remarkable view!

And finally....most feared rivals?

None of them fill me with fear. I suppose I do get more pleasure out of beating Liverpool than anyone else though.

Iain while in Malta celebrating a record 19th Premier League Title.

What is it about United that makes it such a special club?

Has to be its history and the players who have played for the club.

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MUNICH - THE LOST LEGENDS

by Iain McCartney Part 8 of 8

AND THE SURVIVORS ground, having signed as an apprentice. He was on the United conveyor belt, along with numerous other promising youngsters and all he could do was buckle down in training, play to the best of abilities in the junior sides and hope that when the call to step up to the first team came, if indeed it did come, he was ready.

T he immediate postwar years had seen the two Johnny’s, Carey and Aston hold down the two full-back positions, with another, Johnny Ball along with Billy Redman proving capable deputies. But age was slowly catching up with most of the members of that great side and Geoff was one of the youngsters tipped to take over when the time came. Johnny Aston’s left back slot was earmarked for just for him. But when the opportunity finally arose in November 1951 to dispossess Redman, who had taken over the number three shirt due to Aston being struck down by illness, it was to pass the apprentice joiner by and the jersey was handed to Roger Byrne.

ooking through the Manchester United record books, the name of Geoff Bent is more of a regular feature at Central League level than it is when you scan through the appearances for the Football League, F.A. Cup and European Cup. In fact, you will not even find him mentioned amongst either of the latter two, as his total United appearances amount to a round dozen.

Byrne was switched to outside left as season 1951-52 reached its climax. Aston, who had himself become the stand-in centre-forward, returned to his former role. A slight glimmer of light appeared at the end of the tunnel for Geoff when Byrne asked for a transfer due to his disenchantment with his role on the wing, but this was simply because he wanted to play in his favoured full back role.

Matt Busby relented and Byrne was moved back into defence, leaving Geoff once again as nothing more than an understudy.

Geoff was a local lad, Salford born and bred and was captain of the Salford Boys side that won the English Schools Trophy by beating Leicester Boys at Old Trafford in 1947.

A year later he was sweeping the terraces and doing other odd jobs around that same

His breakthrough finally came on December 11th 1954 at Turf Moor Burnley when Byrne was on England international duty. It was, however, to be nothing more than a solitary outing despite the 4-1 victory and it wasn’t until almost a year later on October 1st that he

Geoff Bent

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was to make his second appearance, against Luton Town at Old Trafford. On this occasion he kept his place, Byrne returning to the side at right back, but a week later he was left out, Byrne returning to the left flank.

Although content, more with home life in Manchester than with his professional life at Old Trafford, he twice asked Matt Busby for a transfer and on both occasions was refused, being told that he was too important a player to let go. A place in almost any other First Division side would have been his for the taking had he moved, but he loved the club, had a club house for his family and decided to stay.

Initially Geoff, having not featured at all during the 1957-58 season, was not included in the United party for the European Cup quarterfinal tie in Belgrade, but on the Saturday prior to the tie, Roger Byrne picked up a slight knock against Arsenal at Highbury, so as a precaution, Matt Busby brought Geoff into his squad.

Had Geoff not travelled to Yugoslavia, then that first team spot would certainly have been his. The captaincy might have also been within his grasp had Bill Foulkes not survived. But it was not to be, the full back who had a dislike for flying, a craving for a regular first team place and a wife and five-month-old daughter at home, died alongside many of Manchester United team mates in Munich.

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League, then add to that all the individual awards such as Footballer of the Year, International Footballer of the Year and considerably more, it gives you quite a house full of football memorabilia.

Bobby Charlton

What can one write about Bobby Charlton that has not been written a hundred, or even a thousand times before? For some he is Mr Manchester United, a figure still regularly accosted for his autograph as he walks, accompanied by his wife Norma, more often than not with his head down and hat pulled down even further in an attempt to be ignored. Others might have their own personal opinions.

But no matter what, Bobby Charlton’s contribution to the Manchester United cause can certainly not be ignored – 757 appearances in all competitions, plus another two as substitute, along with 249 goals, some of which are still unseen by the goalkeepers that he played against! Throw into the mix 106 full England international caps, six at under 23 level and eight for the Football

Char lton, a native of Ashington in the north-east of England, was from the Milburn footballing pedigree, with ‘Wor’ Jackie still a legend to those supporting t he black and w hite striped shirts of Newcastle United, and as a schoolboy f o o t b all e r w i t h H ir s t Junior School, Bedlington Grammar, Northumberland and of course England Boys, became a much sought individual. But it was the persuasive tones of Joe Armstrong, acting upon a tip off from Charlton’s then headmaster, a Mr Hemmingway, which took him south to Manchester upon his leaving school in the spring of 1953.

Once within the Old Trafford footballing academy, he began to mature into a player of immense promise, often scoring goals for fun in the numerous competitions that the United junior sides became involved in, winning FA Youth Cup honours in seasons 1953-54, 1954-55 and 1955-56. One goal, a spectacular chest high scissor-kick in the 11-1 defeat of Bexleyheath in March 1956, perhaps stands out amongst all others. But it was those fledgling days in his United career that made Bobby Charlton into the player he was, falling under the guidance of Jimmy Murphy, the man of whom he was later to say was responsible for “everything I have achieved in football”.

But by the time of that notable strike against Bexleyheath, Charlton had also made his mark at first team level, scoring on his debut appearance, a 5-1 victory at Bury in front of 8,817 spectators, on October 4th 1955, playing for what could perhaps correctly be cast as a ‘United X1’ – R Wood, R Byrne, G Bent; J Whitefoot, M Jones, F Goodwin; J Berry, J Doherty, C Webster, B Charlton, D Pegg. The other United goals coming from Doherty 2, Webster and Berry.

A year further down the line, the name of ‘Charlton’ appeared in the Manchester United team for a First Division fixture for the first time when he was selected for the starting eleven against none other than Charlton Athletic at Old Trafford, scoring twice in the 4-2 win. From then on there was really no looking back, as despite his tender years he became an integral part of United’s preMunich side.

Munich was to have a long-term devastating effect on him, both on and off the field and it took him a considerable time to re-adapt, both physically and mentally, to playing again, but an impromptu kick-about with some starry eyed schoolboys back in Ashington seemed to give him that little nudge that was needed to inform his mentor Jimmy Murphy that he was again ready to pull on the red shirt. Slowly but surely he got back into the routine, although at times in was certainly difficult, looking up and expecting to see Duncan Edwards waiting for a pass or David Pegg wide on the wing, and seeing instead different team mates.

Throughout the sixties, there was seldom a match report that did not extol the virtues of Bobby Charlton and his contribution to the United cause and along with Denis Law and George Best, he gave United a trio of match winners and also European Footballers of the Year. It was a time of silverware and breathtaking goals and selecting the best of the latter would be a nigh impossible task. But if you wanted a classic example of a Charlton goal, it could well be one in the white of England, rather than the red of United that springs to mind, coming at Wembley against Mexico in the 1966 World Cup, running forward with ball at his feet, strands of hair blowing in the breeze, before unleashing a powerful unstoppable drive into the net.

All good things, however, must come to an end and on Saturday April 28th 1973 he graced the First Division stage for a final time, making that 606th League appearance at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea. Sadly, there was no farewell blockbuster, but just a lacklustre 1-0 defeat. Four days later, he took his final bow as a United player in an Anglo Italian Cup tie in Verona, going out, as he had come in, scoring twice, as United won 4-1.

A player-manager role with Preston North End followed by odd appearances in the Republic of Ireland, South Africa, Wales and Australia, but it will always be Bobby Charlton of Manchester United and England that he will be remembered for.

Matt Busby

Like Bobby Charlton, there is little one can add to the Matt Busby story, his Manchester

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United career surpassed perhaps by a certain other Scot. But had it not been for the man from Bellshill, then the history of the club would read so much different.

Busby took over United at a difficult time.

The Second World War had just come to its conclusion, he had to re-build the team basically from scratch, going on to create not one, but three great sides, whilst seeing the heart ripped out of the club and his own life laid on the line. But thanks to his strong family in those darkest days, he returned to his Old Trafford desk and began planning once again to make Manchester United the best. Again, he achieved the nigh impossible.

His legacy, however, will for ever be the immortal ‘Babes’. Not even that ‘other’ Scot can surpass them. Busby loved his youngsters like a father, treating them like his sons. His name will be forever sung with gusto around the packed Old Trafford stadium, his statue the focal point of the famous ground.

air disaster of 1958 and their team mates who were fortunate enough to survive, along with a few lines on the man at the helm, there is only one way to round this series of articles off and that is to pay tribute to the man who is too often forgotten when the ‘Busby Babes’ name is spoken. The man who was responsible for those ‘Babes’, as had it not been for his guidance, his cajoling, perhaps even threats, those players might never have made the impact that they did. That man is Jimmy Murphy.

Murphy was thankfully spared the disaster, as had he travelled and perished, instead of being in Cardiff with his ‘second team’ – the Welsh international side, then who knows what would have happened to Manchester United in the wake of Munich. As it was, he had little choice but ‘to keep the flag flying’, a task he did not relish, but one he grasped with both hands and almost

completed with the ultimate success of winning the FA Cup. From the players he had left, plus the reinforcements of Ernie Taylor and Stan Crowther, Murphy, backed by an emotional wave of support, managed to glue together a team that was to play for him, for the memory of those who had died and for Manchester United.

Jimmy Murphy’s coaching talents did not go un-noticed and he could well have become a manager in his own right, but he was happy in Manchester with his ‘boys’ and in particular his favourite ‘son’ – Duncan Edwards. He was loyal to his players and to the club. A man with no airs and graces. A man that you should always remember when you hear the name ‘Busby Babes’ mentioned: a name that should perhaps more fittingly be termed ‘Murphy’s Marvels’.

...a tradition of quality and service.

Jimmy Murphy

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Major League’s Round Up Spotlight on the Big Five Leagues…

by Antoine Dalli

C

helsea and Barcelona ended their title drought in style, while Juventus, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain confirmed their domestic dominance.

As outlined in previous articles, there were few doubts that Chelsea, Juventus and Bayern Munich were going to be crowned champions come the end of the 2014/15 season. Juventus and Bayern Munich were heads and shoulders above the rest of the teams in the Serie A and the Bundesliga respectively. On the other hand, Chelsea faced a sterner test in their pursuit to win their first Barclays Premier League in five years but at the end, the West London side proved to be far more consistent that Manchester City and the rest. Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain peaked at the right time and their respective triumphs were indeed deserved.

for their first title since 2003/04. At least, Arsene Wenger’s men reached the FA Cup final for the second season running.

Manchester United seldom played like a unit as they depended mostly on their individual stars to win vital games. It was clear from the very beginning that the Red Devils were two to three players short of being genuine contenders for the Barclays Premier League. Their fourth-place finish ensured that Manchester United will compete in the third qualifying round of the 2015/16 Champions League. All in all, it was a positive season for United, especially if they can build on this season like Chelsea did this year. Last summer, Chelsea bought the right players that enabled them to make a quantum leap in quality and eventually helped them to triumph.

Like Tottenham did the previous year with the sale of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid, Liverpool did not invest wisely the transfer money derived from the sale of Luis Suarez.

Liverpool’s disappointing sixth place finish was a natural consequence. Whoever thought that Southampton were going to flirt with relegation after having sold some of their best players to the highest bidders in the close season, was proved wrong as they finished seventh.

José Mourinho’s Chelsea did not have any worthy challengers in the domestic campaign. Outgoing champions Manchester City were in contention for the first half of the season. When influential midfielder Yaya Toure left the Citizens in the midst of the season to play in the African Cup of Nations, where he helped Ivory Coast end more than 20 trophy-less years by beating Ghana on penalties, Manuel Pellegrini’s men lost their footing and it was only towards the end of the campaign that they finally regained some lost composure and finished second.

Arsenal’s season was different compared to previous ones. This time, after a stuttering start to the season, Arsenal reached their peak in the February-March period. In past seasons, ironically, this was the phase during which the Gunners normally started to experience a nose dive. Nonetheless, the Gunners were never in real contention

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to concentrate on their UEFA Champions League and Coppa Italia commitments.

By the end of the season, new coach Massimiliano Allegri had led Juventus to their first domestic double in two decades and to their first Champions League final in 12 years, thus proving his illustrious predecessor Antonio Conte wrong.

Real Madrid sorely missed Croatia playmaker Luka Modric, who was out nursing an injury for most of the season.

After a slow start, the outgoing European Champions went on to record 22 straight wins: a sensational streak that started back in September and was interrupted by a 1-2 defeat against Valencia early in January.

Thus, the 10-times European Champions fell short of the world record of 24 held

by Brazilian outfit Coritiba. Following that defeat, Real Madrid gradually deteriorated and eventually finished runners-up.

Barcelona, by stark contrast, recovered from a disappointing start and peaked in the most crucial phase of the season.

This was Barcelona’s 23rd La Liga triumph – their seventh in the last 11 years. In the close season, Barcelona had invested a staggering €157m to bolster a side that had finished empty-handed the previous season.

Juve’s defiant dominance Roma only made sure of finishing second in the Serie A towards the end of the season.

Many expected better things from Roma particularly after signing a number of promising players in the close season.

Instead, Juventus literally ran away with their fourth straight Scudetto. Juve’s dominance domestically meant that they could afford

Barça seemed down and out after going down to David Moyes’ Real Sociedad early in January. At that point, new coach Luis Enrique seemed to have his days numbered at the club that he played for between 1996 and 2004. The former Roma coach’s management style had come under scrutiny especially after falling out with talisman Lionel Messi and other senior squad members, and for making several line-up chances in consecutive games.

Instead, club Sporting Director Andoni Zubizarreta and his assistant Carlos Puyol – both former club players – paid the price for the mistakes they committed on the transfer market. The move paid rich dividends for Barcelona, who never looked back as Enrique went on to equal Pep Guardiola’s record of 11 straight wins. Besides winning La Liga, Barcelona also reached the Copa del Rey and UEFA Champions League finals.

Bayern Munich’s domestic dominance was never put into jeopardy as they won their 25th Bundesliga title – their third in a row.

At the end, Guardiola’s side finished 10 points clear of nearest pursuers Wolfsburg.

The fact that Bayern Munich made sure of winning the Bundesliga early during the season proved to be counter-productive for the German giants because Guardiola’s men literally took their feet off the pedal in the latter part of the season and failed to reach either the UEFA Champions League Final or the German Cup Final.

In Jürgen Klopp’s last season with Borussia Dortmund, UEFA Champions League runners-up in 2012/13, the team not only ensured safety from relegation after a dismal start to the campaign but went on to finish in a creditable seventh place and also reached the German Cup Final.

As expected, two-time defending champions Paris Saint-Germain successfully defended their Ligue 1 title after finishing eight points clear of Olympique Lyon. With three games to go, Lyon were still in firm contention to win their eighth Ligue 1 title – their first since 2007/08 – as they were just three points behind Laurent Blanc’s side with a marginally better goal difference.

However, Hubert Fournier’s Lyon could only manage four points out of the last available 12 whereas the 1995/96 Cup Winners’ Cup holders collected all points at stake.

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Great wins vs Liverpool

by Robert Mizzi

United’s hero on the day had other ideas though.

After 84 minutes into the game, O’Shea’s cross was met by Berba’s header which flew in to Reina’s left, sending the United supporters in ecstasy. Berbatov was substituted on the 88 th minute, but it did not matter as his work for the day was done in remarkable fashion.

Sunday, 19 September 2010 Man Utd 3-2 Liverpool (HT 1-0)

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his was probably the match that finally managed to endear Dimitar Berbatov to the United fans and there was no better way to do it than score a hat trick against the archrivals Liverpool. Chelsea had been setting the pace early on in the season and United desperately needed a win to keep in touch after a rather shaky start to the season with some evident problems in defence.

United had to wait till the 42nd minute to open the score after Nani had missed a great chance earlier on. Giggsy’s corner was met

by Berbatov’s header on the turn which gave Reina no chance. 1-0 to United just before HT – the perfect time to score.

United came out for the second half full of intent with Nani hitting the goalpost with a thunderous shot and Berbatov made it 2-0 just before the hour with one of the most remarkable goals ever witnessed by the Old Trafford faithful. Nani’s cross was missed

by Rooney but Berba was alert and with one sweet move he first controlled the ball with his right thigh, and then sent an overhead kick flying into the right corner with the ball hitting the underside of the bar and bouncing behind the line.

Liverpool, however, managed to rally back, making the best out of United’s dodgy defending. They first pulled one back when Evans made a useless rash challenge on Torres in the box and a penalty was awarded

by Howard Webb. Gerrard stepped up and made it 2-1. On 70 minutes, John O’Shea was lucky to get away with a yellow card when he fouled Torres just outside the box. From the resulting free-kick, Fletcher failed to keep his position and Gerrard slipped the ball through the wall to make it 2-2. For the second week running, United had thrown a two goal lead away, having drawn 3-3 with Everton a week before after leading 3-1. Old Trafford suddenly fell silent.

It was a remarkable hat-trick that will be remembered as Dimitar Berbatov’s finest moment for United after a difficult first two seasons in the United shirt. United went on to win the Premier League that season with 80 points and made it to the UEFA Champions League Final where they were beaten by Barcelona (1-3) at Wembley.

Man Utd: Van der Sar, Evra, Vidic, O’Shea, Evans, Giggs (Macheda 82), Nani (Gibson 88), Scholes, Fletcher, Berbatov (Anderson 88), Rooney.

Sunday, 1 December 2002

Liverpool 1-2 Man Utd (HT 0-0)

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his was the day when Diego Forlan entered into the United folklore. Admittedly, during his three-year spell in a United shirt, most of us United fans were often frustrated with him as he struggled to find his real form. On this day, however, he was United’s hero with 2 goals at Anfield that saw United secure three important points.

Liverpool had not lost at Anfield for almost a year and had every reason to welcome United at Anfield with a degree of optimism.

United star ted brightly, though, and Solksjaer was through after 6 minutes but was flagged offside. Dudek in the Liverpool goal was not really tested however, as chances were few and far between during the first half.

to a horrendous mistake by Liverpool’s goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek. Carragher’s header back to Dudek seemed total harmless but the Polish keeper let the ball slip between his legs and presented Forlan with the easiest goal of his career. Diego gladly accepted the gift and tapped the ball into the empty net to the delight of the United fans behind Dudek’s goal.

Two minutes later United doubled their lead when Scholesy won the ball in midfield and fed it to Giggs who at that time was still a notch or two quicker than most players in the EPL. Despite the desperate attempt by two Liverpool defenders to close him down, he manage to slip the ball to Forlan who made no mistake with a shot from the edge of the area that went in to Dudek’s left. Sir Alex was rightly delighted when this went in as he knew that at 2-0, United were on the verge of an important win at Anfield. Amazingly, these were Forlan’s first away goals for United.

Liverpool did manage to get a goal back in the 82nd minute when Hyypiä beat Barthez in the United goal with a low drive after the United defence failed to deal with a long throw-in by Liverpool. The United supporters did have a few anxious moments in the last 10 minutes, not least when Hamann saw his effort saved splendidly by Barthez and on to the crossbar.

United, however, held on to get 3 valuable points and went on to grab yet another Premier League title with 83 points that season.

The United supporters’ chant starting with “Forlan scored a simple goal, Dudek, Dudek…” went on for some years when United played Liverpool and is sometimes still heard during the United matches.

Man Utd: Barthez, O’Shea, Brown, G. Neville, Silvestre, Solskjaer, Scholes, For tune (P. Neville), Giggs, Forlan (Stewart), van Nistelrooy (May)

Solksjaer did try his luck with a long range strike but it was Liverpool who had a great chance to take the lead when Michael Owen was thwarted

by Gary Neville who made a crucial last-ditch tackle to stop Liverpool from taking the lead.

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his match goes back to the era of the First Division when Old Trafford’s capacity was just under 45,000.

On this New Year’s Day classic, Fergie’s fledglings ripped the champions to pieces for 70 minutes only to fall behind to a John Barnes goal, who was set up by Beardsley.

United were not having a great season and everyone did fear the worst when Liverpool took the lead.

United showed great character on the day though. McClair equalised within a minute with a spectacular volley after a great run

by Beardsmore into the Liverpool box. Both teams seemed to lose their composure at this stage and Liverpool tried to seize the initiative again with Leighton coming to United’s rescue and denying McMahon.

Saturday, 11 May 1996

FA Cup Final at Wembley Man Utd 1-0 Liverpool (HT 0-0)

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his was the match that handed United the historic League and FA Cup Double.

United had already secured the Premier League title that season with 82 points, 4 more than second-placed Newcastle. There was a buzzing atmosphere at our supporters’ club on the day and hardly any space left when the match kicked off.

The match kicked off at a frenetic pace with United having the upper hand but none of the teams could really create any opening.

Eric Cantona captained United on the day and he was being closely marked throughout the match with both Jamie Redknapp and John Barnes making sure he got no space at all.

After just 5 minutes, Beckham tested David James with a fierce shot from outside the box after being served by Giggs. Liverpool’s response was a shot blasted over by Redknapp after he had been teed up by Wright just before half-time. In between, Keane went eye-to-eye with Fowler after a tackle from behind by the latter as tension began to mount.

unbelievable scenes of jubilation continued till the final whistle which saw United victorious over their old foes once again and grabbing the historic Double along the way.

Before the presentation, Eric Cantona invited club captain Steve Bruce to receive the trophy.

The invitation was graciously declined and King Eric climbed the famous Wembley steps to lift the FA Cup at Wembley.

Nine months earlier, Liverpool pundit Alan Hansen had uttered the infamous “You don’t win anything with kids” about this young United team. These United kids had just won the Double and made their place in football history.

Man Utd: Schmeichel, Irwin, P. Neville, May, Pallister, Beckham (G. Neville), Butt, Keane, Cole (Scholes), Cantona, Giggs.

Sunday, 1 January 1989

Man Utd 3-1 Liverpool (HT 0-0)

It was United’s team that forged ahead however, with a typical Mark Hughes goal on the 75th minute. His shot following a ricochet in the Liverpool box could not be kept out

by Hooper in the Liverpool goal. Moments later, United sealed it when after a great run

by Sharpe on the left, Beardsmore kept his composure to volley in the third goal and send the United faithful into raptures. Within 7 minutes, United had turned the match on its head.

United finished that season in the 11th position with 51 points and Alex Ferguson launched his rebuilding programme in the summer of 1989, sparked by his controversial decision to sell crowd favourites Norman Whiteside and Paul McGrath.

Liverpool finished second in an amazing climax to the season with Arsenal winning the title at Anfield with an injury time goal

by Michael Thomas.

Man Utd: Leighton, Martin (McGrath), Sharpe, Bruce, Beardsmore, Donaghy, Robson, Strachan (Robins), McClair, Hughes, Milne.

The second half started on a livelier note with Cantona testing David James with a shot on the volley from inside the box. With Liverpool defending deep and leaving their strikers isolated, the match failed to ignite and Sir Alex sent on Scholes for Andy Cole after 63 minutes. Ian Rush came on to replace Stan Collymore after 75 minutes, but the match seemed to be heading for extra time as none of the teams could find a breakthrough.

With 4 minutes remaining, however, United won a corner and Beckham’s delivery caused panic in the Liverpool defence. James’s hopeless flap fell into the path of Eric Cantona who somehow managed to coordinate himself and blast it through a crowded box into the net. Wembley erupted and so did our supporters’ club as VOL 42 - ISSUE 4 - JUNE 2015

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by Karm Galea

On Ryan Giggs and that blank stare Ashley Young scores for United at Newcastle in the 89th minute. Van Gaal celebrated. Giggs did not. Van Gaal joyfully touches Giggs’ face with his fist. Giggs did not respond. The video of Giggs’ stare went viral.

United’s wage bill in 2012-13 was £180.5 million, with a turnover of £363.1 million. In 2013-14, the turnover was £433.2 million.

On Rooney and his millions Lewis Hamilton is the richest sportsman in Britain but Wayne Rooney has overtaken Jenson Button to sit second in 2015, according to the Sunday Times Sport Rich List.

Giggs has since had his say on the matter. He said the incident had been blown out of all training at a similar time to the kick-off times during late evening matches.

Trafford council were reluctant to give the club permission to erect floodlights over fears of how the construction would affect the local bat population. The club then called a specialist to allay the council’s fear and permission has been granted.

proportion. His reaction was that there were still some minutes to go before the end of the game and dared not become too excited. He had enough experience in his football days of games turning upside down in the last few seconds and that was that. He was angry at the media for trying to twist things.

On Van Gaal and Ryan Giggs Van Gaal had given a young Mourinho his break in coaching at Barcelona. Asked to compare The Mou with his current assistant Giggs, Van Gaal admitted that he has been surprised by Ryan’s work ethic.

Van Gaal admitted that it is difficult to compare Giggs and Mourinho because José was not the world-class player Giggs was, but he admitted that back when he spoke to Giggs in May or June of last year to ask him to be his assistant manager and spoke about how he saw the situation, he did not imagine that he works so hard.

Van Gaal believed that a player is not used to working very hard and thought Giggs would not be a hard worker in the new job.

He was pleasantly surprised to find this to the contrary in Giggs.

Van Gaal continued that Giggs reads the game very well, as well as Mourinho, and that he is learning quickly how to manage a group at work.

United’s application read: “The benefit of the floodlighting is that it will allow for greater use of the training pitches, particularly during the winter months. This is essential in enabling the football club to compete with other clubs, both at domestic and international levels. The floodlighting will enhance the usability and function of the training centre, further helping to maintain its world class status.”

Rooney’s overall wealth is calculated at £72 million, as compared to the Slipper’s £42 million and Giggs’ £38 million.

On van Gaal and his successor Van Gaal believes the club will appoint Ryan Giggs as his successor. Van Gaal’s contract ends in 2017. He told MUTV that Giggs does very well in what he has to do in terms tasks as assistant manager.

The installation of the floodlights will enable van Gaal, his staff and squad to work around the clock and alter times when training takes place. A former member of van Gaal’s training staff recalled how the boss loved setting up private matches behind closed doors to work on players. He is a big believer that injured players hoping to be recalled need more games than they usually get to sharpen their fitness. Hence, these extra games have to be played at night. He had a similar approach at Ajax, Bayern Munich and AZ Alkmaar.

On Manchester United’s wage bill and the overtaking of Man City United spent £215.8 million on wages to Man City’s £205 million in 2013-2014. This is the highest wage bill of all Premier League clubs as has been confirmed via annual accounts posted at Companies House.

Giggs had said earlier that taking charge of the team after David Moyes was the proudest moment of his career.

On United and the seeding for next season Under UEFA’s new system, Manchester United would miss out on being top seed in the

On the floodlights at Carrington and the best use of the training pitches The Trafford council have granted the club planning permission to erect lights at the club’s training complex.

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Champions League, meaning tough draws could be in store.

UEFA has confirmed a new seeding system which will see the champions of the seven biggest leagues in Europe named as top seeds along with the reigning UEFA Champions League winner.

Chelsea are this season’s title winners and this will see them among the eight top seeds.

Manchester United would almost certainly be among a strong group of second seeds due to their high UEFA rankings.

On United and the purge of Nike branding The club signed a 10-year deal with Adidas in July 2014, which will involve a total rebranding of the stadium, Megastore and training complex.

Nike artifact inside and outside Old Trafford to remove all trace of Nike’s sponsorship which runs out at midnight of July 31st, and then switch to their new £750 million Adidas sponsorship agreement.

Scores of workers are being lined up to descend on the stadium, Megastore and the Aon-sponsored training complex in what is being regarded as a mammoth task to change the branding simultaneously at all three locations.

Although this operation would be costly and could mean the Megastore having to closed for refurbishment for some time, United will still be happy with the lucrative income from the deal. This is because the profitable Megastore, which was handed over to Nike in 2002 as part of a £303 million deal, will be taken back by the club. That means shirt and kit revenue as well as sales of all Unitedbranded merchandise once again becomes a revenue stream for the club.

Over the last decade, United have been on a profit-sharing scheme, with Nike taking a slice of profits above a certain level. Under the new sponsorship, all Megastore profits will go to United, though the club will then have to pick up the costs of staffing the shop and buying stock.

United will mount a massive through-the-night operation on August 1st to strip away every

to the USA, United will be taking Nike kits as the tour runs on the last week of the Nike sponsorship agreement.

It is understood that for the pre-season tour

On United and the International Champions Cup United have confirmed an additional friendly to their pre-season tour of the USA by taking on San Jose Earthquakes in San Francisco.

This will be added to their games against Club America, Barcelona and Paris Saint‑Germain.

The tour will kick off on July 17 against Club America. The game against the Earthquakes is scheduled for four days later.

Barcelona will be next on the agenda on July 25 in California. The final game will see the tour being rounded off in Chicago against PSG on the 29th July.

The games form part of the International Champions Cup, which United currently hold after last year’s triumph.

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The Season So Far..

by Michael Gatt

L

ooking back at my last ar ticle and reflections on the team, it is safe to say that United did the minimum which was required from them this season, in that they finished in a “credible” fourth position, which means that a Champions League spot has been secured, provided that qualification for the Champions League is sealed after the 26th August play-off.

There must have been a lot of nerves when we where approaching March, as we where yet to play the top teams. Also, we were all hopeful that United would hit top form sometime during this period, because more often than not, we were just scraping through games. This consistency, I am glad to say, started when we played Spurs at home on the 15th March and won 3-0. This was a hallmark performance of Van Gaal and was the start of the run where, thankfully, we managed to secure a Champions League play-off spot.

The first half versus Spurs was the best 45 minutes I have seen Manchester United play for a very long time. It is safe to say that Spurs did not even have a sniff at goal and United were absolutely dominant during those 45 minutes, playing a high pressing and high pressure game.

I think this game should be important for Manchester United supporters, as in my opinion it reflected the “Van Gaal philosophy” i.e. adopting a high press tempo, out-passing and out-manoeuvring the opponent and creating chances together with having that much spoken “balance” in the team. This game was the turning point in our season.

My reflections after this game were a bit mixed.

I think United set a dangerous precedent in whether “we could keep it up or it is just a oneoff.” We shouldn’t forget that many football fans accused Spurs of not turning up that day.

Then came the Liverpool game. This was a totally complete performance and Michael Carrick had his best game in a United shirt. He dictated the play from midfield. Gary Neville said that he never saw such dominance from of a Manchester United team at Anfield. On that day the team played brilliantly, and the score line should have been much more flattering.

Mata scored two important goals that day, including the goal of the season. Rooney missed a penalty late on, but luckily United held on despite some late Liverpool pressure.

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During this period it was the first time that the injuries were starting to ease up, and Van Gaal was regularly choosing a consistent eleven. The fact that he could choose the same eleven was key, as the team became more consistent. The two players who stood out in these eleven were Marouane Fellaini and Ashley Young. Young was one of the best players for United this season and Fellaini was pivotal as he gave the team the extra balance it needed, whilst also chipping in with some goals. As mentioned before, Carrick was also outstanding in the game against Liverpool and the win gave the team good momentum going into the final eight games of the season.

seen United going ahead of City in the table.

Judging from this game, United played excellent and were simply outstanding.

This was the best performance of a United team in the past 2 years. Unfortunately, late in the game the imperious Carrick limped off, and I think that this made the difference between United finishing second and United finishing fourth.

The game against Chelsea was in many ways a weird game, as predictable as can be when we play Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. It was

good to see a dominant United performance and Chelsea struggling to get a grip in midfield with outstanding players like Fabregas and Hazard. Ferguson had a very bad record when United played at Stamford Bridge and this trend continues with Van Gaal. Ultimately, this game contributed to United’s destiny in more ways than one. A win would have seen us pushing for second, while a loss condemned us to lose all the newly found confidence of the previous weeks. In fact, we ended up losing three in a row with losses at Everton and home to West Brom.

The game against Aston Villa proved to be the time when Herrera cemented his place in the United team with a great double combined with another Rooney goal. Herrera put the Reds ahead two minutes before the break with a fine finish and Rooney fired in a superb second goal from Angel Di Maria’s cross. The win served up a good vibe at Old Trafford, with three wins in a row and the local derby versus City next on the cards.

T he game against Cit y was the day that United fans will not easily forget.

Manchester City had lost in the previous week against Crystal Palace and was under pressure from United, as a win would have Van Gaal at United’s annual awards dinner ceremony boomed out that United were “very close” and next year, after many lessons have been learned, the team will come back stronger to challenge for honours.

In my opinion, regarding the whole the campaign, it has not been an eye-catcher.

Confidence has see-sawed and the style of football at times has had the Reds fans and critics wondering if the Dutchman’s philosophy fitted like a glove into United’s history.

Having spent £155m in a record splurge last summer the return from the investment has been minimal. Angel di Maria and Radamel Falcao have flopped. Luke Shaw has suffered a series of injuries, only showing short glimpses of his capabilities (he had a very good game against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge), whilst Marcos Rojo has not kicked on and only Ander Herrera and Daley Blind can be put in the credit column. United will make another big investment this summer and with Van Gaal at the helm, I am sure that a few reinforcements will only benefit the squad.

Twelve months on and Van Gaal may have a better handle on the kind of player who ticks his boxes and fits what United need.

Hopefully, with the foundations of his philosophy having been laid during his debut season in charge, the next phase will see a more adventurous United develop like his Ajax, Barcelona and Bayern Munich sides, and with the help of some luck, we could challenge for honours again.

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fixtures 2014-2015 FA Premier League

– Jones – Smalling – Mata – Herrera – Fellaini – Rooney – Young Sub(s) : Di Maria – Falcao - Rojo Scorer(s) : Mata (2)

28/02/15 Manchester United 2 – 0 Sunderland De Gea – Valencia – Young – Rojo – Smalling – Evans – Herrera - Blind – Falcao – Rooney – Di Maria Sub(s) : Fellaini, Januzaj, Mata Scorer(s) : Rooney (2) 04/03/15 Newcastle United 0 – 1 Manchester United De Gea – Valencia – Young – Rojo – Smalling – Evans – Herrera – Blind – Fellaini – Rooney – Di Maria Sub(s) : Carrick – Januzaj – Mata Scorer(s) : Young 15/03/15 Manchester United 3 – 0 Tottenham Hotspurs De Gea – Valencia – Blind – Carrick – Jones – Smalling – Mata – Herrera – Fellaini – Rooney – Young Sub(s) : Falcao – Pereira – Rafael Scorer(s) : Carrick – Fellaini – Rooney

04/04/15 Manchester United 3 – 1 Aston Villa De Gea – Valencia – Blind – Carrick – Rojo – Jones – Mata- Herrera – Mata – Fellaini – Rooney – Young Sub(s) : Di Maria – Falcao Scorer(s) : Herrera (2) – Rooney 12/04/15 Manchester United 4 – 2 Manchester City De Gea – Valencia – Blind – Carrick – Jones – Smalling – Herrera – Mata – Fellaini – Rooney – Young Sub(s) : Di Maria – Falcao – Rojo Scorer(s) : Fellaini – Mata – Smalling – Young 18/04/15 Chelsea 1 – 0 Manchester United De Gea – Valencia – Shaw – Herrera – Smalling – McNair – Mata – Fellaini – Falcao – Rooney – Young Sub(2) : Blackett – Di Maria – Januzaj Scorer(s) : -

22/03/15 Liverpool 1 – 2 Manchester United De Gea – Valencia – Blind – Carrick

26/04/16 Everton 3 – 0 Manchester United De Gea – Valencia – Shaw – Blind – Smalling – McNair – Mata – Herrera – Fellaini – Rooney – Young Sub(s) : Di Maria – Falcao – Van Persie Scorer(s) : -

Falcao – Young Sub(s) : Blacett – Valdes – Van Persie Scorer(s) : Herrera

02/05/15 Manchester United 0 – 1 West Bromwich Albion De Gea – Valencia – Blind – Herrera – Smalling – McNair – Mata – Fellaini – Van Persie – Rooney – Young Sub(s) : Di Maria – Falcao Scorer(s) : 09/05/15 Crystal Palace 1 – 2 Manchester United De Gea – Valencia- Shaw- Blind – Jones – Smalling – Mata – Herrera – Fellaini – Rooney – Young Sub(s) : Evans – Falcao – McNair Scorer(s) : Fellaini – Mata

24/05/15 Hull City 0 – 0 Manchester United De Gea – Valencia – Rojo – Smalling – Jones – Blind – Mata – Herrera – Young – Di Maria – Rooney Sub(s) : Januzaj – Fellaini – J. Wilson Scorer(s) : -

FA Cup 09/03/15 Manchester United 1 – 2 Arsenal De Gea – Valencia – Shaw – Blind – Rojo – Smalling – Di Maria – Herrera – Fellaini – Rooney – Young Sub(s) : Carrick – Januzaj – Jones Scorer(s) : Rooney

17/05/15 Manchester United 1 – 1 Arsenal De Gea – Valencia – Rojo – Blind- Jones – Smalling – Mata – Herrera – Fellaini –

PLAYER’S APPEARANCES 2014-2015 NAME

PREMIERSHIP

De Gea Rooney Valencia Blind Mata van Persie Smalling Di Maria Fellaini Young, Ashley Rojo Jones, Phil Herrera Shaw Falcao Carrick McNair Evans J Januzaj Blackett Rafael Fletcher D Wilson, James Hernandez Welbeck Anderson Keane M Cleverley James R Janko Kagawa Lingard Powell Vermijl Pereira Nani Thorpe Valdes

72 VOL 42 - ISSUE 4 - JUNE 2015

37 32 28 (3) 24 26 (6) 25 (2) 20 (4) 19 (7) 19 (7) 22 (3) 19 (2) 21 18 (7) 15 (1) 14 (12) 16 (2) 12 (4) 12 (2) 7 (10) 6 (5) 6 (4) 4 (7) 2 (10) 1 0 (2) 0 (1) 0 (1) 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 (1) 0 (1) 0 (1) 0 (1)

FA CUP 5 4 3 4 1 (1) 1 (1) 4 4 (1) 4 1 (2) 4 1 (1) 3 (2) 3 (1) 3 1 (1) 2 1 (1) 1 (1) 1 1 1 2 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

LEAGUE CUP 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 (1) 0 0 0 0 (1) 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 (1) 0 0 0

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

OTHER MATCHES 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

TOTAL APPEARANCES 43 36 31 (1) 28 27 (7) 26 (3) 24 (4) 23 (8) 23 (7) 23 (5) 23 (2) 22 (1) 21 (9) 18 (2) 17 (12) 17 (3) 14 (4) 14 (3) 8 (12) 7 (5) 7 (4) 5 (7) 4 (12) 2 1 (2) 1 (1) 1 (1) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 (2) 0 (1) 0 (1) 0 (1)

GOALS 0 14 0 2 0 10 4 4 7 2 1 0 8 0 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0