Echoes from Old Trafford - October 2018

NEWSPAPER POST

Volume 46- Issue 1, October 2018

“To work with José Mourinho, who has won so many trophies in his time as a coach, is an opportunity not to be missed.”

Fred

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

In this issue  EDITORIAL...............................................................................................

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 EDITORIAL IN MALTESE...........................................................................

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 CLUB NEWS.............................................................................................

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 TEDDY’S CORNER.................................................................................

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 FRED.....................................................................................................

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 MANCHESTER UNITED’S STRATEGY AND SUMMER SIGNINGS..............  WHAT IS WRONG WITH MANCHESTER UNITED?...................................

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 THE STRONGEST TEAMS IN 2018.........................................................  MAJOR MOVES IN THE EUROPEAN TRANSFER MARKET........................

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 UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE – GROUP H................................................

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 THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM..............................................................

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Official publication of the Manchester United Supporters’ Club Malta editorial team Clint Camilleri · Braden Galea · Michael Calleja advertising executive Antoine Portelli contributors Michael Calleja Robert Muscat Joseph Tedesco Jude Cauchi Silvio Scicluna Robert Mizzi Antoine Dalli Roderick Psaila Stefan Attard Braden Galea Fr. Anthony Ferrante Alex Dudley Kenneth Abela Alan Abela-Wadge Kevin Tabone Wayne Tabone Justin Tabone Martin Calleja Urry Daniel Cushcieri Iain McCartney Karm Galea Michael Gatt

 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE NIGHTS...............................................................  NOW… WHAT IS THAT?..........................................................................

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 WILL ENGLAND EVER WIN A SECOND WORLD CUP...............................

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printing Progress Press patron Sir Alex Ferguson

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 THE WORLD CUP...................................................................................

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club founder John Calleja

 Y&Z.......................................................................................................

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club committee

 UNITED’S USA PRE-SEASON TOUR.......................................................

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Joseph Tedesco

 THE DEFIANT ONES...............................................................................

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Robert J. Muscat

 BEST YOUTH PROSPECTS IN WORLD FOOTBALL.................................

 MAJOR LEAGUES ROUND-UP................................................................  RISING FROM THE WRECKAGE.............................................................

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 MIXED MANCUNIAN PLATTER................................................................  SEASON SO FAR...................................................................................

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President, Match Tickets Coordinator

Joe Catania

Vice President, Souvenir Shop Manager Secretary, Tours Coordinator

Kevin Tabone

Treasurer, PRO

Braden Galea

Assistant Secretary

Egidio Sciberras

Assistant Treasurer

Charles Cauchi

Membership Secretary, Fund Raising Coordinator

Antoine Portelli Advertising Executive, Venue & Facilities Coordinator Clint Camilleri

Media & Publishing Coordinator

James Handyside

ICT Manager

Matthew Portelli O’Toole

Social Activities Coordinator Gozo representative ­ Joe Xerri

MALTA MALTA

translator Tiziana Caruana

FOUNDED 1959

Quarries Square Street, Msida MSD 1101 Malta.

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

club chaplain Fr. Anthony C. Ferrante (Carmelite) business partners

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

THE VIEWS IN THIS MAGAZINE ARE NOT NECESSARILY SHARED BY THE CLUB. VOL 46 - ISSUE 1 - OCTOBER 2018

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Editorial

LONG SEASON AHEAD . . .

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espite enduring a very difficult start to the 2018‑19 campaign, it seems as if United will slowly begin to build on their initial setbacks and finally set the ball rolling. Nowadays, being a Manchester United fan comes with its moments of extreme highs and unpleasant lows, and more often than not, supporting our beloved club sometimes leads us on a journey where we can truly expect the unexpected!

The 2018 pre‑season campaign was inundated with fans complaining about a lacklustre transfer policy coupled with José Mourinho’s sensational lashing out at the Manchester United Board of Directors [particularly and most notably: Ed Woodward]. It was abundantly evident for quite some time that the club needed major reinforcements at the back and the manager’s incredible public feud with the board seemed to disrupt the pre‑season campaign. In fairness, who can fault a manager when his appeals fall on deaf ears?

The defensive problem has blighted the club for the past couple of seasons and suffice it to say, recruitment was important and a necessity.

Nevertheless, United’s summer signings were restricted to the likes of: Diogo Dalot, Fred and Lee Grant – hardly the transfer policy that would set Old Trafford ablaze. That United needed someone at the back was apparent. That the Manager would publicly vent his frustration in front of the press came as a shock to many!

In a way, it seemed to highlight the fact that the relationship between Mourinho and Woodward was far from perfect and a public ‘whipping’ was a sign that the Manager was fast running out of options. Despite the club’s apparently very well run commercial sector, it is certainly not something the fans will take note of – unless you’re a finance guru. At the time of writing, Manchester United are making great progress in trying to recruit a

Director of Football – tasked with recruiting players based on the club’s and manager’s philosophy. Time will tell whether this will be a shrewd strategy or not.

The visibly public signs of discord seemed to translate onto the pitch with a below‑par performance against Leicester followed by two abysmal defeats against Brighton and Tottenham. Calls for the Manager’s head after the Spurs clash were rampant on social media and the press began sharpening their knives.

This was not just a defeat but a humiliation.

Moreover, the easy manner in which Tottenham managed to score their goals seemed to set the alarm bells ringing at Old Trafford. United don’t normally lose 0‑3 at Old Trafford. United certainly aren’t supposed to be annihilated at Old Trafford. Yet escaping from facts is useless. The defeat needs to be analysed and scrutinised in its entirety. Whether or not it will lead to long‑term changes in strategy is yet to be seen. That United currently lack some form of technical philosophy is abundantly apparent. In fairness, with some players woefully inadequate – is it always fair to plant all the blame on the manager?

One slight twitch of excitement was watching the UEFA Champions League draw and we can certainly look forward to some pulsating matches! Manchester United will be playing Juventus twice in the space of two weeks and the games in Turin and Manchester will certainly prove to be crackers. This is currently a Juventus team which is as good it gets – probably the very best of its generation. With the mercurial Cristiano Ronaldo up front and a resolute defence at the back, Juventus are currently the form team in Europe with one eye on that elusive Champions League trophy.

October certainly can’t come soon enough!

Valencia need no formal introduction. United

have faced them quite a number of times in the past and games between the sides have always been nervy and cagey affairs. Added to that is the fact that matches against Spanish sides are never easy for the Red Devils so we can certainly expect another two blockbuster matches. Young Boys Bern are a new and exciting proposition. Despite our limited knowledge of the Swiss League, one must remember that they managed to topple the experienced FC Basel and managed to eliminate Dinamo Zagreb during the play‑offs. In this connection, they are certainly no pushovers and one can expect that they will certainly pose a major threat to José Mourinho’s men.

A small part of this editorial should serve as a tribute to our unrelenting left‑back: Luke Shaw.

A man who has been plagued by injuries and set‑backs finally seems to have established himself as a key player at the club and his tenacity, will to win and ambition are admirable traits that have served him well. When Shaw shared his ‘amputation’ fears with fans, it only highlighted the fact that this man was a born fighter and in times like these, it is certainly what United needs – fighters. The Manager himself (often very critical about Shaw) was the first to congratulate the left‑back on his recent performances. May this blight of injuries be forgotten and a new pivotal role emerge for the former Southampton defender!

Finally, 2019 will mark the Manchester United Supporters’ Club (Malta) 60th Anniversary.

Yes, 60 years have certainly flown by and it is only fair that this magazine pays tribute to every member who has helped keep the club afloat. A number of activities and celebrations are currently in the pipeline members are encouraged to keep tabs of events and celebrate this special moment with fellow fans accordingly! Enjoy the read and Glory Glory Man United!

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Manchester United Supporters’ Club Malta Tour to Old Trafford

as part of the 60th anniversary celebrations

Manchester United vs Burnley Departure : 29th January 2019 Return : 1st February 2019 Price : from â‚Ź895 per person includes: Direct flights Malta-Manchester/Liverpool-Malta; 20kg checked luggage; 3 nights accomodation at Hotel Football on B & B basis; Return Airport Transfers; 60th Anniversary Dinner at Hotel Football; Match Ticket; Limited Edition Memento; All Taxes & Charges;

Contact Robert Muscat on 9947 2717 or info@manutd-malta.com for bookings

Editorjal INĦARSU LEJN STAĠUN TWIL...

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inkejja bidu diffikultuż tal‑istaġun 2018‑19, jidher li bil‑mod il‑mod, il‑United se jibdew jibnu fuq id‑diffikultajiet tagħhom u fl‑aħħar jirrankaw. Illum il‑ġurnata, li tkun partitarju ta’ Manchester United iġib miegħu mumenti ta’ ħafna suċċessi u diżappunti, u aktar iva milli le, li żżomm mal‑club tant maħbub tagħna jeħodna fuq vjaġġ li matulu verament kollox jista’ jiġri!

Il‑pre‑season tal‑2018 kien mifni b’ilmenti tal‑partitarji dwar il‑politika tat‑trasferimenti bla sens f limkien mal‑iżvog mqanqal ta’ José Mourinho dwar il‑Bord tad‑Diretturi ta’ Manchester United [partikolarment u speċjalment kontra: Ed Woodward]. Kien ferm evidenti għal xi perjodu li l‑club kellu bżonn jissaħħaħ sew fuq wara u r‑rabja kbira tal‑manager fil‑pubbliku għall‑Bord kellha impatt negattiv fuq il‑bidu tal‑istaġun. Biex ikun intqal kollox, tista’ tagħti tort lill‑manager meta l‑appelli tiegħu jaqgħu fuq widnejn torox?

Il‑problema fid‑difiża tappnet lill‑club matul dawn l‑aħħar staġuni u fi ftit kliem, ir‑reklutaġġ ta’ players ġodda kien importanti u neċessarju.

Madankollu, dawk li ffirmaw mal‑United fis‑sajf kienu biss: Diogo Dalot, Fred u Lee Grant – politika ta’ trasferimenti li bilkemm tqajjem lil Old Trafford. Il‑fatt li United kellhom bżonn lil xi ħadd fuq wara kien ovvju. Il‑fatt li l‑Manager żvoga pubblikament il‑frustarazzjoni tiegħu quddiem il‑ġurnalisti ħasdet lil ħafna!

Sa ċertu punt, dan l‑iżvog wera kemm ir‑relazzjoni ta’ bejn Mourinho u Woodward kienet kollox barra perfetta u ‘ċ‑ċanfira’ fil‑pubbliku wriet li l‑Manager ma kienx baqagħlu ħafna alternattivi.

Minkejja l‑andament ferm tajjeb tal‑club fis‑settur kummerċjali tiegħu, żgur mhuwiex xi ħaġa li se jieħdu nota tagħha l‑partitarji – sakemm ma tkunx xi guru tal‑finanzi. Waqt li kien qed jinkiteb dan l‑artiklu, Manchester United kien qed jagħmel progress kbir fit‑tentattiv tiegħu

biex iqabbad Direttur tal‑Football – li r‑rwol tiegħu jkun dak li jirrekluta players skont il‑filosofija tal‑club u tal‑manager. Iż‑żmien għad jurina jekk din l‑istrateġija kinitx waħda intelliġenti jew le.

Is‑sinjali ċari tan‑nuqqas ta’ qbil dehru jiġu tradotti fil‑pitch permezz tal‑prestazzjoni inferjuri kontra Leicester u mbagħad biż‑żewġ telfiet tal‑mistħija kontra Brighton u Tottenham.

Is‑sejħiet biex jitneħħa l‑Manager wara t‑telfa kontra l‑Ispurs kienu b’saħħithom fuq il‑media soċjali u l‑ġurnalisti kienu bdew ilestu x‑xfafar tal‑pinna. Din ma kinitx biss telfa iżda umiljazzjoni. Aktar minn hekk, il‑mod faċli li bih kienu skurjaw il‑goals tagħhom Tottenham donnu qajjem allert f ’Old Trafford. Mhux normali li l‑United jitilfu 0‑3 f ’Old Trafford. Ċertament, il‑United mhumiex destinati għat‑telf f ’Old Trafford. Madankollu, għalxejn wieħed jaħrab mill‑fatti. It‑telfa jeħtieġ tkun analizzata u miflija bis‑sħiħ. Jekk hux se twassal għal bidliet fit‑tul fl‑istrateġija jew le għad irid ikun stabbilit.

Li l‑United bħalissa għandhom nuqqas ta’ xi tip ta’ filosofija teknika tidher ferm. Biex inkunu ġusti, b’ċerti players mhux daqshekk brillanti – huwa dejjem ġust tagħti t‑tort lill‑manager?

Mument qasir ta’ eċitament kienu l‑poloz tal‑UEFA Champions League u nistgħu ċertament inħarsu ’l quddiem għal daqsxejn logħob jaħraq! Manchester United se jkunu qed jilagħbu kontra Juventus darbtejn f ’temp ta’ ġimagħtejn u dawn il‑logħbiet f ’Turin u Manchester żgur se jkunu tal‑ġenn. Dan huwa tim tal‑Juventus li qiegħed jitjieb dejjem aktar – probabbilment l‑aqwa wieħed fil‑ġenerazzjoni tiegħu. Bl‑imprevedibbli Cristiano Ronaldo fuq quddiem u d‑difiża determinata fuq wara, il‑Juventus bħalissa huwa l‑aħjar fl‑Ewropa b’għajnejh mitfugħin fuq it‑tazza tant mixtieqa taċ‑Champions League. Issa iġri jasal Ottubru!

M’hemmx bżonn ta’ introduzzjoni formali

għal Valencia. Il‑United lagħbu kontrihom f ’diversi okkażjonijiet fl‑imgħoddi u l‑logħbiet ta’ bejniethom dejjem kienu sitwazzjonijiet ta’ nervi u missielta. Anki minħabba l‑fatt li l‑logħbiet kontra timijiet Spanjoli qatt ma jkunu faċli għar‑Red Devils. Għalhekk, nistgħu żgur nistennew żewġ partiti kbar oħra. Young Boys Bern huma avversarji ġodda u eċitanti. Minkejja l‑ftit għarfien li għandna dwar il‑Kampjonat Svizzeru, wieħed irid jiftakar li dawn irnexxielhom jegħlbu l‑esperjenza ta’ Basel FC u rnexxielhom jeliminaw lil Dinamo Zagreb fil‑play‑offs. F’dan ir‑rigward, ċertament dan it‑tim huwa wieħed b’saħħtu u wieħed jistenna li se jkunu ta’ theddida kbira għall‑players ta’ Mourinho.

Parti żgħira minn dan l‑editorjal għandha sservi biex tingħata tislima lil dak li baqa’ dejjem hemm fuq in‑naħa tax‑xellug tad‑difiża – Luke Shaw.

Ir‑raġel li sofra ħafna minn injuries u rkupri fit‑tul jidher li fl‑aħħar stabbilixxa ruħu bħala player prinċipali fil‑club u t‑tenaċità, id‑determinazzjoni għar‑rebħ u l‑ambizzjoni tiegħu huma elementi apprezzati li servewh ta’ ġid. Meta Shaw qasam il‑biża’ tiegħu mill‑‘amputazzjoni’ mal‑partitarji, wera biċ‑ċar kemm dan ir‑raġel twieled biex ikun ġellied u f ’mumenti bħal dawn, il‑United għandhom bżonn propju hekk – ġellieda.

Il‑Manager stess (li spiss jikkritika ħafna lil Shaw) kien l‑ewwel wieħed li faħħar lid‑difensur xellugi għall‑prestazzjonijiet reċenti tiegħu. Nittamaw li din is‑serje ta’ injuries tintesa u l‑ex‑difensur ta’ Southampton jispikka fi rwol importanti ġdid!

Fl‑aħħar, l‑2019 se tkun qed timmarka s‑60 Anniversarju tal‑Manchester United Supporters’ Club (Malta). Iva, taru 60 sena u huwa importanti li dan il‑magazine isellem lil kull membru li għen biex dan il‑club jibqa’ ħaj. Qed jitħejjew numru ta’ attivitajiet u ċelebrazzjonijiet. Il‑membri huma mistiedna biex iżommu għajnejhom fuq dawn l‑attivitajiet u jiċċelebraw dan il‑mument speċjali mal‑partitarji sħabhom! Gawdu din is‑silta u Glory Glory Man United!

2,000,000 MALTA

FOUNDED 1959

Thank you VOL 46 - ISSUE 1 - OCTOBER 2018

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CLUBNEWS

The Annual General Meeting was held in July.

New Club Secretary This is my first opportunity to inform our members with the Clubs’ news on ECHOES since I was entrusted with the role of Club Secretary.

I accepted the role after my predecessor, James Handyside, had to give up the role due to increase in his work commitments. I must thank James on behalf of all involved with the club for his professionalism as Club Secretary. James is still an active member of the committee and is responsible for our IT and social media.

With the continuous support of all the other committee members, I hope to be able to serve our club professionally and diligently like my predecessors.

Annual General Meeting The AGM was held on Friday 20th July. The committee and roles for the next season have been confirmed

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VOL 46 - ISSUE 1 - OCTOBER 2018

Joseph Tedesco

President, Match Tickets Coordinator

Joe Catania

Vice President, Souvenir Shop Manager

Robert J. Muscat

Secretary, Tours Coordinator

Kevin Tabone

Treasurer, PRO

Braden Galea

Assistant Secretary

Egidio Sciberras

Assistant Treasurer

Charles Cauchi

Membership Secretary, Fund Raising Coordinator

Antoine Portelli

Advertising Executive, Venue & Facilities Coordinator

Clint Camilleri

Media & Publishing Coordinator

James Handyside

ICT Manager

Matthew Portelli O’Toole

Social Activities Coordinator

Matthew Portelli O’Toole was co‑opted to the committee during the first committee meeting of this season.

by Robert Muscat

60th Anniversary Logo As you will have already seen, the committee has launched the logo which will accompany our 60th Anniversary events. We had a number of submissions from both local and foreign designers, and in the end, after a lot of thought, comments, and suggestions, the majority approved that the chosen one was the most appropriate. Memorabilia to commemorate the 60th Anniversary is available from our souvenir shop. We urge our members to help our club by purchasing these items not only for their own enjoyment but also as gifts for their friends and families come Christmas time or any other occasion. Mugs, T‑Shirts, beach towels, and mouse pads, are amongst the items available.

Visit by former Manchester United Players The weekend of 7th to 10th September 2018 will be remembered for a very long time for all of us at the club and our members. It was an honour to be able to host so many former players altogether in an activity‑packed weekend.

After their arrival on Friday, we escorted the entourage to Gozo for a drink at Xerri l‑Bukkett to enjoy the view. This was followed by a special one hour guided tour of Cittadella. We then headed to a meet and greet event held at Grand Hotel where our members from Gozo had the opportunity to mingle with the former players.

The management of the hotel then hosted us all to a lunch on the roof terrace, before heading down to Malta for a rest. In the evening the former players of Manchester United and those of Valletta FC were hosted to a reception at Is‑Suq tal‑Belt by Valletta 2018 Foundation.

Sunday saw all the former players at our club where they were greeted by hundreds of members. The committee took the opportunity to present a token to all visiting players, along with a number of representatives from supporters’ clubs and of course Jason Micallef, as chairman of Valletta 2018 Foundation. After the event at the club we were hosted for a quick lunch at Don Berto. After a rest the players were taken to Centenary Stadium for the match.

Exhibition Match – Manchester Reds Legends XI vs Valletta FC – Sunday 9th September Centenary Stadium The icing on the cake was the experience of watching so many legends of Manchester

United put on their boots once more and entertain a packed centenary stadium. Despite the age (and size) of some of the players on both sides, the match proved to be a highly enjoyable one. Carmel Busuttil and Malcolm Licari, two well respected and talented players, made an appearance as guests of Manchester Reds Legends XI. The match ended with a win for Valletta FC with the score of 3 ‑2.

On behalf of the committee and all members of the club, I must convey my wholehearted thanks to Jason Micallef and his team at Valletta 2018 Foundation, particularly Ivan Vella and Catherine Tabone, for all their efforts in ensuring this dream became a reality. I must also thank all at Valletta FC for their superb cooperation, as well as all those who helped in any manner or form during the match. I would also like to thank Charles Forte for his professional transport service, the police escorts, Xerri l‑Bukkett, Grand Hotel and Don Berto. Without these people, we would not even dream of taking on such events.

Tour – January 2019 – match vs Burnley and dinner at Hotel Football, in Manchester A tour is being organized from Tuesday 29th January to Friday 1st February for the match vs Burnley. As part of this tour, we will be having a dinner at Hotel Football to commemorate our 60th Anniversary. This event augurs to be a memorable and unique experience for our members as we will be inviting, and hoping to welcome, a number of guests from Manchester United and from Class of 92. At time of writing the available space for this tour was limited.

Club premises refurbishment As our members will have noticed at the start of the new season, the refurbishment at the club is ongoing. We have practically finished the new bathrooms, and re‑done the façade, including a new sign at the entrance. As always we urge members who can help in any way, be it financially or with material or equipment (especially air‑conditioners) to contact us.

Every little helps.

60th Anniversary events The committee is planning a number of events to celebrate this milestone. If anyone is interested in helping us in any manner or form, please do not hesitate to contact any member of the committee.

Thank you Robert Muscat Club Secretary

Pre-Match Meeting between Manchester Reds Legends XI and ex-Valletta FC players. An event organised by V18.

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Meet & Greet Antoine Portelli presen ting a MUSC Malta memento to Sam my Mcllroy.

Addy Dearnaley presented with th a MUSC Malta 60 Year Clock.

Egidio Sciberras presenting a MUS C Malta memento to Jimmy Greenhof f.

Joseph Tedeco presenting a MUSC Malta memento to Rod Thornley.

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USC Presenting a M Braden Galea e Martin.

Le to to en em Malta m

Club President Joseph Ted esco Presenting a MUSC Malta Memento to V18 Chairman Jason Mic allef.

C James Handyside presenting a MUS Malta memento to Keith Gillespie.

Joseph Tedesco presen ting a MUSC Malta memento to Ben Thornley.

Club Founder John Calleja Speech.

Braden Galea pre senting a MUSC Malta meme nto to Russell Beardsmore.

Antoine Portelli Pre senting a MUSC Malta me mento to Chris Casper.

senting a MUSC Clint Camilleri pre Danny Webber. to Malta memento

Door Lottery Winner.

Door Lottery Winner.

Joe Catania Presenting a MUSC Malta memento to Arthur Alb iston.

Keith O’Connor from the Jersey a Branch presented with a MUSC Malt 60th Year Clock.

Stalybridge John Edwards from the SC Malta MU a ted sen pre Branch rt.

Shi o Pol

Kevin Tabone presenting a MUSC Malta memento to Nick Culkin.

Kevin Tabone Presenting a MUSC Malta memento to Raimond Van Der Gouw.

Peter Wood from the Edinburgh Branch presented with a MUSC Malt a 60th Year Clock.

Margaret Booth presented with a MUSC Malta 60th Year Clock. Margaret used to send thousands of newspape r cuttings to help our Branch.

Robert Muscat presenting a memento to Ronnie Johnsen.

g Matthew Portelli O’Toole presentin a memento to Garreth Bull.

The Book Malta to Wemb ley being presented to Jimmy Mu rphy junior.

Matthew Portelli O’Toole Presentin g a memento to Wes Brown.

Clint Camilleri presenting a MUSC Malta memento to Jonathan Greening.

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Valletta FC vs Manchester Reds Legends XI

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TEDDY’S corner Dear All A football season is always a long season and predictions after only 5 games might sound rather hasty but from what I have witnessed so far, I am afraid (hope I am wrong) this looks like it is going to be a very long one for Manchester United fans. Not only because we do not seem to have the title challenging side we were all dreaming to have at the end of last season, but it also seems that our eternal rivals from Liverpool have finally got their act together and following a busy recruitment process during the past transfer window, they seem to have all the jigsaw pieces in place to take the holy grail they have been dreaming about since 1990 back to the Beatles’ city. It is still early, but looking alarmingly possible even though no one can underestimate Chelsea or City at this stage.

It is clear that something is wrong behind the scenes at Old Trafford. All summer José has been making public pleas for new signings and when all United fans around the world were anxiously waiting for some kind of a much‑awaited announcement, Ed Woodward comes out revealing a deal with Chivas Regal on the eve of transfer market deadline date.

It was very evident the manager was looking to strengthen the defence with Harry Maguire apparently topping the list following an impressive World Cup campaign with England or with Toby Alderweireld, seemingly a close second. The profile of these target players indicates that the Manager is looking at a leader at the back. Smalling, Jones, Bailly, Lindelof and Rojo…surely none of them fit the bill in my opinion. Our three new signings Fred, Dalot and Grant might be valuable players but not the game changers we were all hoping for. Fred brings a lot of dynamics in our midfield but still need to get used to the pace of the Premier League, Dalot is promising but has not played a game due to injury and Grant, notwithstanding he could be a talented goalkeeper, will never replace the best in the world. Do not get me wrong…I still believe there are quality players overall in this squad and on their day they can beat anyone…but it seems there is some kind

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of missing link which leads by example, sparks determination, brings consistency and drags the team forward when the chips are down. 9 months ago I was hopeful that Alexis Sanchez would bring such influence in the dressing room but I’ve been let down big time. Following his triumph at the World Cup final in Russia, I hoped and am still hoping that Pogba could make that grade at Old Trafford and after two lacklustre seasons would now take centre stage and lead by example. However, and unfortunately, I am still not convinced this is actually the Club he wants to be playing for.

I have always had the impression that Mourinho is a master with man management skills. However, nowadays I am bit more sceptical about that impression. I still believe that he is the right man for United with his stature and ability to deal with pressure at such a huge club but it could be that his ways and means are losing that magical touch. I agree with him about the fact that he has no point to prove to anyone with his past success but presenting himself in press conferences uttering statistical information about himself or any of his players is not doing any good to his reputation. Not for the first time he criticises our players in public and that really hurts, Luke Shaw case in point. Following the departure of his Assistant Manager Rui Faria at the end of last season, his disciple for 17 years, I believe José needed personalities around him to help bridge what looks from the outside like a gap between him and the dressing room. I strongly believe the appointments of Michael Carrick and ex‑U18s coach Kieran McKenna in his coaching staff will surely have positive impacts in that aspect in the long term. One other worrying aspect from José’s United career so far would be the success in transfer market activity. We are used to see José doing master strokes in acquiring players. However I bet the past 2 years will not feature as high in the respective section of his CV. Excluding the 3 already mentioned above, he brought in Bailly for 30 million, might be everything you would want from a centre back but not consistent; Mkhitaryan

have your say on info@manutd‑malta.com

for 30 million, never really left an impact and was sold to Arsenal; Pogba for 89 million, jury is still out; Lindelof for 31 million, in my opinion not fit for the Premier League and Manchester United are proving to be too big for his shoes; Lukaku for 75 million, arguably the best of the lot so far.

With 52 million for Fred, 19 million for Dalot and an undisclosed fee for Grant, the tally is around 325 million in 5 transfer windows.

One may argue the owners could be right to step on the brakes with Mourinho’s request for additional r e s o urce s , if t he y actually did, however I can’t take funds as an excuse. This football club is bubbling with extraordinary positive financial results, breaking records year after year from a marketing and business point of view. The Neymar transfer last season has distorted the football market for years to come in a way which will inflate players’ prices with no logical reason. I expect that a Club with the size of Manchester United is able to cope with this and honestly hope that football has not become second priority for these owners.

However, and unfortunately, this ray of hope is slowly fading away.

José has lost trust with many fans, but not with me, yet. He has been criticised for master minding a negative approach with our style of play but the last few games (Tottenham – notwithstanding we lost, Burnley and Watford) have shown promise of attacking football. Long may it continue. United have been drawn in a tough Champions League group. It will hurt to see Cristiano Ronaldo back at Old Trafford this season but with a black and white shirt. Getting through to the last 16 will not be easy however notwithstanding the current situation I may be one of the few but I still believe!

Yours United Teddy

VOL 46 - ISSUE 1 - OCTOBER 2018

13

14

VOL 46 - ISSUE 1 - OCTOBER 2018

Fred W

hen the news broke out on the 21st June 2018 that Manchester United had signed Fred, the announcement was welcomed by the majority of Manchester United fans. In fact, in addition to being rated as a quality player

by Pep Guardiola, Rivaldo and current Brazil coach Tite amongst others, it is expected that the Brazilian will add something extra to United’s midfield especially when considering that the team has lacked flare and also a bit of Brazilian magic in recent years. Hence, the expectations are that Fred will be a key contributor as the team looks to improve in terms of the results and performances both domestically and in Europe.

Frederico Rodrigues de Paula Santos was born on the 5th March 1993 in the beautiful Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte and spent the crucial youth days of his career from 2003 until 2011 in his native country with Atletico Mineiro, Porto Alegre and Internacional. Additionally, his professional career commenced in 2011 when the player was promoted to the first team of Internacional where he managed to score a total of 7 goals from 33 appearances.

Fred’s European career began in 2013 when Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk secured his services and he managed a total of 101 appearances, scoring 10 goals in the process. During his time at Shakhtar, Fred had invaluable experience since he won domestic titles and also played in various matches in the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League, which hopefully will prove important as the midfielder looks to settle to life and the high expectations surrounding the biggest club in the world. On

the other hand, unfortunately, although he was picked for the Brazil national team to participate in the 2018 World Cup in Russia, an injury ruled him out of the tournament so in addition to having missed an invaluable experience, the Reds fans had to wait a little bit longer to see him in action.

In terms of his playing style and attributes, the Brazilian is quite a versatile player as he can play in different roles which include the centre of the park as well as a box to box midfielder.

With regard to strengths, the midfielder is well rated for his ability to both attack and defend and has been praised for his energy, pace and power, passing, dribbling, technique and his capacity to play with both feet. The midfielder can also adapt to various situations such as when there is the need to fight a lot for possession together with other moments like holding and playing the ball together. Another positive is that the player seems unfazed by the prospect of playing for Manchester United but given that it is still early days, the Brazilian needs to enhance such reputation by playing well on a constant basis and doing the talking on the pitch.

Conversely, Fred has also had his critics since some sections of the media believe that Fred would be a better fit with clubs such as Barcelona or Real Madrid who already have strong proven midfields rather than being expected to be a key player in a club which is more or less work in progress. In fact, to put things into perspective, the player is not expected to bang a lot of goals for the club because goals are not his main strength but he is expected to provide a breather in United’s midfield and therefore give players like Paul Pogba the chance to shine and perform a lot better than he has done in previous seasons. Hence, technically he can play in a less advanced role which would allow Paul Pogba to move forward and influence more directly United’s attack but question marks remain whether the Frenchman will fulfil his potential with the Red Devils.

In terms of life in the Premier League, so far

by Jude Cauchi

by Jude Cauchi

the Old Trafford faithful have witnessed an overall good performance from Fred during his Premier League debut against Leicester and also versus Spurs. To his credit, the player never shied away from the ball and was constantly involved in United’s attack where he showed a lot of pace and energy supported by some decent passes. Moreover, being good defensively is also a characteristic which Jose Mourinho looks in his players and overall the first signs show that Fred did offer support when the team needed to defend.

Having said that, as witnessed in the away defeat against Brighton and also in the second half versus Spurs, it will take time before the Brazilian fully adapts to the Premier League.

On another topic, during the pre‑season, whether the fans like it or not, the club and the manager Jose Mourinho were most of the times under the spotlight. Consequently, United’s negative pre‑season was the topic of the day especially as the players on the US tour produced uninspiring performances and only managed to win once against Real Madrid. In spite of this, one needs to acknowledge that the manager did not have a fully fit squad during pre‑season which made preparations for the new season more challenging and led the fans to believe that they had fallen further behind champions Manchester City and the chasing pack.

My verdict on the upcoming season is that Manchester United are not considered as title favourites and the way the team performed during the first 3 matches of the season only served to reinforce this perspective. On the other hand, although the result was very disappointing, there were positive signs in the first half against Spurs and on another day the Reds could have taken something more from the match. In fact, the passing and the rhythm were very encouraging to see and Fred was constantly involved in the action so with the right mentality and coaching, the Brazilian might truly become a key player in the squad. Until now, the fans can only wait and hope that both the player and the team keep improving as the season goes along, otherwise the fans may better prepare themselves for a very long season ahead.

VOL 46 - ISSUE 1 - OCTOBER 2018

15

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THURSDAYS

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TUESDAYS

08:00 - 20.00

FRIDAYS

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SATURDAYS

07:30 - 20.00

SUNDAYS

09:00 - 14.00

WEDNESDAYS 08:00 - 20.00

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Spinola Park, St Julian’s t. 2737 8520

Manchester United’s Transfer Strategy

& Summer Signings

by Silvio Scicluna

L

ike most football fans, on the eve of the start of the new Premier League season I settled down in front of my TV set to watch Transfer Deadline Day as it unfolded. At 6.00pm, as the window closed shut I asked myself why did I bother? But unlike previous windows, all the talk was that United might do some late business since José Mourinho had gone on record a couple of weeks earlier that he wanted a couple more players, although he was really expecting just one more to come through the Old Trafford doors. I should have known better when on the morning of deadline day, José sounded an ominous warning in his press conference that the indication he was getting was that no more signings were to be made, not even the one he had some hope for. You didn’t need to be a body language expert to conclude that the boss was not a happy chap.

This summer’s transfer window was always going to be a tricky one, what with it being World Cup year, and made even trickier by the fact that the majority of Premier League clubs (United not being one of them, it has to be said) had voted in favour of the window shutting down a day before the league starts.

To be fair, United did get some relatively early deals done by signing Brazilian international midfielder Fred from Shakhtar Donetsk, young Portuguese fullback Diogo Dalot from Porto and goalkeeper Lee Grant from Stoke. Now whenever José wants to strengthen the squad in a transfer window he normally pinpoints the positions, and for each position he gives Ed Woodward five player options. He has said this publicly himself. He doesn’t always disclose which positions although he has been known to do so sometimes. So, for this summer window we can conclude that he wanted five new players. A central midfielder to replace Michael Carrick, a young defender who can play both right and left fullback, an experienced backup goalkeeper to allow young Joel Pereira to go out on loan and two other positions which, since nobody else came in we can only speculate what they were. The understanding was however that

these were meant to be a central defender and a right sided midfielder. For the former, the speculation on Deadline Day included about five players although the favourite was Alderweireld from Spurs who fell out of favour over there and who could leave for a reduced price from next season unless he renews his contract. For the latter, Willian was the favourite but he decided to stay put at Chelsea once Conte was sacked.

As was to be expected many column inches were used by the media to magnify the issue when the transfer window closed shut and José’s requests were not met. Speculation was bandied about José being at loggerheads with Ed Woodward and the Glazer owners about the club’s transfer strategy and one must admit that there is an element of truth in these allegations. Although I wouldn’t go as far as to say that this matter has caused a major rift between José and the board, it is evident that there were differing opinions.

The press speculated that for the two remaining positions, José wanted a certain type of experienced player ready to hit the ground running, possibly in the late twenties age bracket, whilst Ed Woodward was campaigning for less experienced players, possibly in the early twenties age bracket but who would offer more value in the transfer market. Now you may agree or disagree with either side of the argument but I can see some relevance to both. On the one hand you have got the manager who for tactical and footballing reasons will have made his calculations on how best to challenge for the major honours and what personnel he needs accordingly, whilst on the other hand you have the club’s CEO who rightly or wrongly might be putting the economics of any potential deals uppermost in his reasoning. To be fair to Ed Woodward, the post‑Neymar market is so ridiculously inflated that he might have a point. But try telling that to the fans who in this case have rallied behind the manager and vilified Woodward for what many have classified as a very underwhelming transfer window for United.

The fallout from all this seems to have focused on the need for Manchester United to realign their future transfer strategies by appointing a Director of Football or Technical Director similar to what is in place at most major football clubs across the continent. This position entails having a mainly footballing person who would liaise closely with the manager in setting up a player wish list and focus mainly on transfers, unlike the current setup where Woodward must juggle the club’s commercial arm with trying to follow up transfer targets. As I’m writing this piece the names of Monchi (Roma), Fabio Paratici (Juventus), ex‑red Edwin van der Sar (Ajax), Dan Ashworth (FA), Paul Mitchell (RB Leipzig) and Luis Campos (Lille) are some of the names being mentioned most for this post.

As they say there’s no use crying over spilt milk and being the experienced professional manager that he is, José quickly accepted the situation and moved forward with the squad he has at his disposal. In Fred he has acquired a technically gifted Brazilian who will surely be an asset in midfield. Diogo Dalot is a relative unknown to many but José’s Portuguese connections will have ensured that United have snapped up potentially the best emerging fullback in Europe. And unlike many who were left scratching their heads at the signing of Lee Grant I was really looking forward to welcoming the experienced goalkeeper on board. I remembered quite clearly how he singlehandedly thwarted United in 2016 when he helped earn Stoke a 1‑1 draw at Old Trafford with a string of magnificent saves. And the early signs in the preseason friendlies confirmed my opinion of him. Now we can feel safe in the knowledge that we have excellent experienced cover for De Gea and Romero in case of injuries and/or suspensions.

As for incoming players there’s always January or next summer. With the squad numbers reshuffle this summer, #5 and #19 are now vacant. Who knows, maybe they’re waiting for specific players who for some reason were not attainable this window? Only time will tell.

VOL 46 - ISSUE 1 - OCTOBER 2018

17

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What is wrong with Manchester United?

by Robert Mizzi

I

think that at this moment in time, all the United supporters must be asking this question. I must confess to have spent sleepless nights trying to make sense of what seems a downward spiral which our beloved team seems to have been captured in.

I do not have inside information from Old Trafford and the AON training centre and what I am about to write about is my personal opinion of what has gone wrong over the past few years and at the end I will add my humble opinion on what needs to be done to possibly regain the ethos of Manchester United.

To start with, the club did not prepare well for the post‑Sir Alex Ferguson era. For a club of United’s stature and a club run by businessmen, our succession planning was, to say the least, a big fail. Apart from picking up the wrong successor, it seems the management failed to plan ahead and implement the changes required. If it was true that Sir Alex Ferguson was in control of everything, it should have been clear that a new style of management would have been needed and it does seem that this was not properly seen to.

The appointment of Ed Woodward as CEO and the person in charge of football matters was another colossal error in my opinion. I have said this a hundred times over and will repeat it again – the man is excellent when it comes to the business side of managing a club. However, when it comes to football and having to negotiate the transfer market, we can now safely say that he has not done great. You need a proper football person who knows all the tricks to be able to deal with the vicious football agents such as Raiola and Mendes. Make no mistake about it, these people are ruining football! They move ‘their’ players like pawns and are the main reason players are nowadays mainly concerned with making money.

No wonder Sir Alex did not like football agents!

Looking back at the players we have bought since Woodward has taken over, one cannot but note that few of them have been a real success at Old Trafford and even the big names we have signed have struggled. For whatever reasons, these players are struggling to fit in and give their 100%. This of course raises

a number of questions. Are we getting the players we really need for the club? Who is making the final decision on the players we buy? Is it always the manager’s choice?

This brings us to the manager! It was inevitable, wasn’t it!

I must admit that I was a huge fan of Mourinho before he joined United. His ‘arrogant’ ways were not only entertaining but effective in bringing the best out of his players. The Mourinho we have seen at United, however, is a mellowed down version of the Mourinho who managed to transform Inter FC from perennial losers to treble winners. Some argue that his ego was badly bruised following his adventures in Madrid but he still managed to go back to Chelsea and win the League ‑ only to suffer a mutiny of massive proportions the following season. Football critics have also mentioned this as a possible breaking point in his career. Be that as it may, Mourinho arrived at Old Trafford as one of the most successful managers around – having won everywhere he has been to date.

His first season was in my opinion a success despite finishing 6th. He won the Europa League thus gaining access to the Champions League (plus it was the only trophy missing at Old Trafford) and added also a League Cup win (apart from the Charity Shield). His objective was to take us back to the Champions League and he achieved that. It was last season that things started getting awry. We expected improvement but the quality of football deteriorated despite United finishing a respectable second. The Champions League campaign was a flop and Mourinho’s post‑match press conference did not help at all! The FA Cup final loss was, in my opinion, the biggest blow for Mourinho.

Had we won the FA Cup, the atmosphere would have been lifted with the general feeling being that another piece of silverware and second place is not bad despite the performances – let us build on from here.

We lost the final to a deflated Chelsea team managed by a manager who was clearly on the way out. Any yet Mourinho lost the tactical battle on the day – very unlike Mourinho. The pressure was on.

I cannot really use another word apart from shambolic when I refer to the latest transfer window and the pre‑season we have just seen.

Mourinho seemed unhappy throughout and this reflected on the preparation for the new season. While it is true that Mourinho has already spent a lot on players in his first two seasons, I am still trying to understand why he was not provided with what he asked for this time round – 6 months after the club offered him an extension to his contract! Were his signings a success? Personally, I do not think so but since the powers that be decided to give him an extension, they should have backed him all the way – or not offer an extension at all. This is a clear sign of a club which is in a confused state of mind and the start to this season clearly indicated this as the players are clearly not focused.

Despite Mourinho’s attempt to deviate the pressure from the players, it seems that not all the players are backing Mourinho. There are no leaders on the pitch and the way we have gone into total chaos when conceding against Brighton and Spurs are very worrying signs. So what do we do at this stage?

It is not an easy situation to deal with – at all.

After the loss to Spurs I asked if Mourinho was a dead man walking in my post match blog. It could have been the case, especially had United lost again to Burnley before the international break, to be saved by a Lukaku double. Unfortunately, I do not believe Mourinho can get us out of the mess we are in at the moment. Not at this stage. If I am proven wrong and made to eat humble pie once again, I will be the happiest man on earth!

Five years on, it seems that the board have realised that Woodward needs to focus on the business side and we do need a Director of Football. This person should be working hand in hand with the manager and identifying the players the club needs to buy and the ones that need to go. We need to start being shrewd in the transfer market and avoid the speculation that keeps building around every transfer window.

Deals need to be done quickly and efficiently according to a plan. In recent seasons, the impression I got was that it was pretty much a disjointed and confused approach.

Continued on page 21 VOL 46 - ISSUE 1 - OCTOBER 2018

19

Major Moves in the European Transfer Market

by Roderick Psaila

T

he Summer 2018 transfer market has been quite awkward, at least from the perspective of Premier League clubs, which because they had voted in an early closure of the market, they found themselves with a very short period to do business as a result of the World Cup in Russia and subsequently had to factor in the fact that top players went on holidays after their forays in the World Cup. The transfer window in the UK shut down in the first week of August and this matter clearly gave a competitive advantage to the other top clubs on the continent, which could continue to buy players till the end of August, without having to compete with richer English clubs. At the end, it wasn’t so bad in terms of outgoing players from the Premiership to other top leagues but certainly there were no incomings of players.

The table below shows how the money was spent across the top five leagues in Europe.

League

Deals

Value

% of total

Premier

452

£1.44bn

25.7

Serie A

400

£1.15bn

20.6

Ligue 1

309

£1.07bn

19.1

Bundesliga

233

£715.2m

12.8

La Liga

311

£1.22bn

21.8

Total

1705

£5.595bn

100

Apart from the Bundesliga, there is a relative equilibrium in the money spent in Spain, France, Italy and England, with the latter still ahead of the others but not in a significant way like the scenario in the previous few years.

The obvious question would be whether the fact that English teams are not spending significantly more than their European counterparts would result in more them failing to bridge the gap to the Barca, Real and Bayern of this world.

Delving deeper into the spending by individual clubs, the table below shows the net outlay of the clubs from the top five leagues, classified by the magnitude of the net outlay.

20 VOL 46 - ISSUE 1 - OCTOBER 2018

Club

League Net Outlay Position

Juventus

Serie A

£160.2

1

Liverpool

Premier

£156.3

2

PSG

Ligue 1

£113m

3

Chelsea

Premier

£83.5m

4

Everton

Premier

£68.6m

5

Arsenal

Premier

£63.6m

6

Barcelona

La Liga

£62.6m

7

Valencia

La Liga

£58.6m

8

Atletico Madrid

La Liga

£53.6m

9

Real Madrid La Liga

£51.6m

10

Notable absentees from the table above are Manchester United, given that the net outlay of the club was £43.5 million. It is well documented that Jose wanted at least another defender to join the ranks and for some reason, the club decided to refrain from paying the excessive amount of money that both Leicester and Tottenham wanted for Harry Maguire and Toby Alderweireld respectively.

Another notable absentee from the list is

Bayern Munich, which actually had a net revenue of more than £80 million, while Real Madrid only placed 10th in the list, as a result of the sale of Ronaldo to Juventus. Manchester City are also missing from the list of the top 10 net spenders.

Taking a look at the players who have costed most during this summer’s transfer window, some of the world’s top performers feature.

Interestingly enough, the table above illustrates how 5 out of 10 of the players that costed most play in a forward position, while there is no defender that features in the list. Mbappe placed top of the list, given that although his transfer from Monaco to PSG was agreed last summer, it became official this year. There is only one team that features more than once in the table as a buying club, Liverpool. It will be interesting to gauge who will make the most difference in his club during the coming season. My guess is Cristiano Ronaldo for Juventus. He might be the missing piece in the jigsaw that would push them over the line to win the Champions League. They certainly look strong enough to succeed this year.

Player

Buying Club

Role

Cost

Position

Kylian Mbappe

PSG

Forward

£159.3m

1

Cristiano Ronaldo

Juventus

Forward

£88.5m

2

Kepa Arrizabalaga

Chelsea

Goalkeeper

£71.6m

3

Alisson

Liverpool

Goalkeeper

£65m

4

Riyad Mahrez

Manchester City

Forward

£60m

5

Naby Keita

Liverpool

Midfielder

£52.8m

6

Thomas Lemar

Atletico Madrid

Forward

£52.7m

7

Jorginho

Chelsea

Midfielder

£50.4m

8

Fred

Manchester United

Midfielder

£43.7m

9

Vinicius Junior

Real Madrid

Forward

£40.2m

10

What is wrong with Manchester United?

Continued from page 19 Would appointing a new manager solve the problem? Not necessarily, but if the new person coming in demands wholesome changes over the next 12 months, both in the personnel and in the way the club is managed, we could start seeing light at the end of the tunnel. We need a Director of Football who knows his business.

We need our scouting system to start working efficiently again – identifying upcoming talents across the world and ensuring we build a strong future. We need to avoid speculation and getting involved in big name signings tied to football agents like the ones I mentioned earlier. We need to enforce a strict social media policy on all the players and staff and avoid

players clowning around. If you are earning 200‑300K a week, you should be focusing on your football not on social media! No one, and I repeat NO ONE, is bigger than the club!

Financial success is fine but it should not be a priority. If it is true that the Glazers have said that a top four position is good enough, they have not understood anything about Manchester United and they are showing no respect to the supporters. Winning the Engligh Premier League every season is not possible – granted – but declaring up front that coming 3rd or 4th is acceptable is not on. We should be aiming to challenge every year. We may

not succeed but the supporters want to see all the players giving their 110% on the pitch and showing a never say die attitude that had become the hallmark of Manchester United.

Sadly, this is not the case anymore.

The readers who, like me, have lived through the 70s and 80s will understand me perfectly when I say that I do not want to go through all that again. I waited 26 years to see United win the title and if it is going to take United another 26 years to recover from the post Sir Alex Ferguson era, please take note that most of us will not be around in 2039...Numquam Moribimur!

VOL 46 - ISSUE 1 - OCTOBER 2018

21

The strongest teams in the 2018/19 English Premier League

by Antoine Dalli

A

t the time of writing this article, Liverpool, Chelsea and unfancied Watford were leading the English Premier League standings with maximum points from four games. The 2017/18 Champions League runners‑up overcame bottom side West Ham (4‑0), Cr ystal Palace (2‑0), Brighton & Hove Albion (1‑0) and 2015/16 English champions Leicester (2‑1) in succession.

On their count, 2017/18 FA Cup Winners Chelsea collected full points in their four encounters vs.

Huddersfield (3‑0), Arsenal (3‑2), Newcastle (2‑1) and Bournemouth (2‑0). Reigning champions Man City (10 points), Tottenham (9), Man United and Arsenal (who have six points each) are all currently playing catch‑up with respect to the three front‑runners. But are Liverpool, Chelsea and Watford the three strongest teams in the 2018/19 English Premier League?

Liverpool were amongst the most active clubs in the summer transfer window as they secured Naby Keita (Leipzig, £52.75m), Fabinho (Monaco, £43.7m), Xherdan Shaqiri (Stoke, £13.5m), Alisson Becker (Roma, £67m) and Isaac Christie‑Davies (Chelsea, free).

German international midfielder Emre Can was the only regular player that left Anfield as he joined Italian giants Juventus as a free agent.

The team that bowed down to Real Madrid in last May’s Champions League final and finished fourth in the English Premier League (a massive 25 points behind winners Man City) was already strong.

With these new signings, one gets the impression that Liverpool have become even stronger than last season but one does not consider them the strongest outfit in this season’s English Premier League. In other words, one expects Liverpool to make another top‑four finish in the domestic league and enjoy a good run in the Euro‑laden Champions League, but they are not favourites to lift their first ever Premier League title – the first since they became First Division winners at the end of the 1989/90 season.

Antonio Conte’s Chelsea finished in a

22 VOL 46 - ISSUE 1 - OCTOBER 2018

disappointing fifth place last season... no fewer than 30 points behind eventual champions Man City. It was a hugely disappointing league campaign for Chelsea especially when considering that they had started the season as the defending champions. Chelsea’s eighth FA Cup final triumph (their first after a six‑year absence) at the expense of José Mourinho’s finely assembled Man United earned them some little consolation but it was not enough to help Conte save his job.

It was a summer of partial rebuilding for Chelsea, who appointed veteran Italian coach Maurizio Sarri. Although Sarri, 60 next January, is renowned for playing pleasing‑to‑the‑eye football, bar for his three year experience at the helm of Serie A outfit Napoli, he neither has international experience nor experience in coaching big clubs. In terms of new signings, the West London club has acquired the services of Italian international midfielder Jorginho from Napoli for an undisclosed fee, former England international custodian Rob Green (free), up‑and‑coming goalkeeper Spanish international goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga from Athletic Bilbao for a world record £71.6m and Croatia international midfielder Mateo Kovacic from Spanish giants Real Madrid (on loan).

On the other hand, the two main departures at Stamford Bridge were Belgian international goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who signed for Real Madrid for £35m, and Tiemoue Bakayoko, who was loaned to Serie A outfit Milan after a colourless season where he failed to make an impact on the team. Many also expected talisman Eden Hazard to follow in Courtois’ footsteps by signing for Real Madrid as Cristiano Ronaldo’s replacement. However, the deal did not materialise by the end of the summer transfer window.

In recent weeks, there were also rumours that Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich was toying with the idea of selling the club he has controlled since June 2003. Earlier this year, the 51‑year‑old Russian businessman was reported to have rejected a bid from Britain’s

richest man, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the boss of petrochemicals giant Ineos.

Fresh rumours suggest that Abramovich has no plans of selling Chelsea. Instead, he is interested in attracting a new minority shareholder at Chelsea to release funds.

Some rumours went as far as indicating that Abramovich may have brought in the same specialists who helped Manchester City’s Abu Dhabi ownership sell a 13 per cent stake to Chinese investors three years ago. Such rumours may have an adverse effect on the team’s fortunes, albeit if the first four league games of the season are anything to go by, so far they have had a positive rather than a negative effect.

Marc Navarro (Espanyol), Gerard Deulofeu (Barcelona), Ben Foster (West Brom), Ken Sema (Ostersunds), Adam Masina (Bologna), Domingos Quina (West Ham) and Ben Wilmot (Stevenage) represent Watford’s summer reinforcements... hardly any stellar names. Brazilian forward Richarlison left Vicarage Road to join former Watford coach Marco Silva at Everton for a fee reportedly to be in the region of £40m.

In January 2018, Javi Gracia became Watford’s 10th manager since the Pozzo family (also owners of Serie A outfit Udinese) took over the club in 2012. He is the type of manager who makes do with the material he has at his disposal as Watford’s blistering start to the season amply testifies. For the record, this is the first time ever time that Watford have won their first four matches of a top‑flight season, and they had not beaten Tottenham in the league for 31 years. Before Spurs, Watford dismantled Brighton & Hove Albion (2‑0), Burnley (3‑1) and Crystal Palace (2‑1). Needless to say, Watford fans dream of becoming the most recent version of the 2015/16 Leicester, who went on to claim their first ever English Premier League title.

Quite significant is the fact that Tottenham, who finished third last season, became the first English Premier League club not to make any new signings during the transfer

window since the concept as we know it today came into use 15 years ago. For the interest of perspectives, up to the 2001/02 season clubs could buy or sell players throughout the campaign up until March 31.

Thus, Spurs will have no new players to grace their £850m new White Hart Lane Stadium when it opens its doors either later this year or more realistically early next year due to safety issues currently plaguing the entire project. This is in stark contrast with other clubs, who have collectively spent over $1 billion on new players.

But the 46‑year‑old Mauricio Pochettino, who only last May extended his contract with Spurs until 2023 despite having big admirers in the shape of Chelsea, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, has guided Spurs into the Champions League for a third successive season.

It was reported that Pochettino’s new five‑year contract, worth up to £8.5million‑a‑year, makes the Argentine one of the highest earning managers in the English Premier League behind Pep Guardiola and José Mourinho. Pochettino highlighted that the lack of transfer market activity by Spurs, who have last been crowned champions of England in season 1960/61, is not an area of concern for him.

On the contrary, Pochettino seemed happy to have kept hold of his best players including Harry Kane, who captained the England national team in the 2018 World Cup, scoring the most goals (six) of any player and thus winning the coveted Golden Boot award, thus emulating former England and Tottenham great Gary Lineker who had finished as the top marksman in the 1986 World Cup finals.

One important consideration for Spurs is the fact that they had several players who were involved till the latter stages of this summer’s world cup finals in Russia. Who knows whether Kane and company will run out of steam as the competition intensifies?

All in all, one considers that two‑times league winners Tottenham have enough quality within their current squad to make another creditable quest for a top‑four finish but they are not yet genuine contenders for the English Premier League.

Unlike Pochettino, Man United boss José Mourinho vented his frustration at his club’s relative inactivity on the transfer market. The Red Devils, who are seeking to win their first English Premier League since season 2012/13, signed Fred from Shakhtar Donetsk, Lee Grant from Stoke City and José Diogo Dalot Teixeira from Porto. However, it is no secret that Mourinho wanted to bolster his team even further particularly his side’s porous defence with the signing of at least one central defender (emerging England international Harry Maguire of Leicester amongst others) but for some reason or another no further deals materialised.

To make matters even worse for the 20‑times English champions, they had an awful pre‑season – just one win (vs. Real Madrid 2‑1), three draws (vs. Club America 1‑1, San Jose Earthquakes 0‑0 and Milan 1‑1) and two defeats (vs. Liverpool 1‑4 and Bayern Munich 0‑1) in their pre‑season. In the English Premier League, Man United lost two (vs. Brighton 2‑3 and Tottenham 0‑3) of their first three games – their worst start in 26 years.

There were even reports in the media that the Portuguese tactician had fallen out with Old Trafford chief Ed Woodward for the perceived lack of support in the transfer window. The United manager and the club’s executive vice‑chairman clashed again over winger Anthony Martial. Mourinho was reportedly keen to sell the French international to raise funds to reinvest on players of his own choice.

However, Woodward was not of the same opinion as he believes that the 22‑year‑old still has unfulfilled potential and was unwilling to sell him for anything other than top price.

For the record, Man United had completed the £36m signing of Monaco forward Anthony Martial three years ago, making him the world’s most expensive teenage footballer at the time.

Mourinho was reported to have also fallen out with some of his senior players including fresh World Cup winner Paul Pogba. In fact, both Barcelona and Juventus are reportedly monitoring the situation with a view to making a bid for the French versatile midfielder in the January transfer window. Considering Mourinho’s acrimonious relationship with his boss and with at least part of the dressing room and the side’s suspect defence (to an extent that there were reports in the media

that Mourinho might move for out‑of‑contract veteran and former England and Chelsea captain John Terry), one foresees that Man United can claim a top‑four spot at best but are not to be considered real contenders for the English Premier League.

At the time of writing this article, Arsenal, who have not been crowned champions of England since receiving the nickname of Invincibles in season 2003/04 after emulating Preston North End (in season 1888/89) by becoming only the second club to finish a top‑flight campaign unbeaten, were level on points with Man United (and Leicester and Everton). Unai Emery has replaced Arsène Wenger, who had been in charge of the Gunners since September 1996.

Defenders Stephan Lichtsteiner (Juventus – free) and Sokratis Papastathopoulos (Borussia Dortmund ‑ £16m), goalkeeper Bernd Leno (Bayer Leverkusen ‑ £22m), midfielders Lucas Torreira (Sampdoria ‑ £22m) and Matteo Guendouzi (Lorient ‑ £7m) represent Emery’s summer recruits. At the same time, the Spaniard has released 12 players: Santi Cazorla, Per Mertesacker, Jack Wilshere, Alexander Crean, Marc Bola, Aaron Eyoma, Vlad Dragomir, Yassin Fortune, Ryan Huddart, Chiori Johnson, Hugo Keto, Tafari Moore. The feeling is that Arsenal may become more resilient under the former Seville and Paris SG mentor but they are not genuine title contenders, far from it. Their defeats vs. Man City (0‑2) and Chelsea (2‑3) in their opening two fixtures confirm this initial impression.

Defending champions Man City, who are currently two points adrift of the leading pack, are still in my opinion the strongest team in the 2018/19 English Premier League.

Their £61.02m capture of Riyad Mahrez from Leicester is Pep Guardiola’s major addition to an already strong and well functioning outfit.

Last season, Man City finished a massive 19 points above Man United, 23 clear of Tottenham, 25 better off Liverpool and 30 on top of Chelsea... it seems clear that during the summer recess City’s major rivals did not do enough to bridge the huge gap there is with respect to Man City. Therefore, unless City crumbles, one sees no reason why they should not keep their title crown even this time around.

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The UEFA Champions League Group H – analysis

by Stefan Attard

T

he 2018–19 UEFA Champions League group stage began on 18 September and is scheduled to end on 12 December 2018.

Manchester United were drawn in group H together with the perennial Serie A champions Juventus, the Spaniards Valencia and the Swiss club Young Boys. Manchester United will kick off their Champions League campaign against Young Boys followed by Valencia and Juventus.

The first group stage game will be played on Wednesday 19th September and the last game on the 12th December. The high‑profile group in this season’s Champions League has a lot more to offer than just Cristiano Ronaldo’s homecoming. Considering their recent form, the group looks particularly tough for the reds.

José Mourinho’s side are blowing hot and cold at the moment and could find it difficult to book a place in the knockout phase. Keeping Juventus’ brilliant team aside, La Liga giants, Valencia, are also capable of getting the better of any team on their day. Swiss high‑flyers Young Boys will be playing without any pressure as they look to cause a monumental upset.

Young Boys’ first reward for finally reaching the group stage is a high‑profile contest against Manchester United. Young Boys celebrate reaching the group stage for the first time after beating Dinamo Zagreb 3‑2 on aggregate.

The Swiss champions have made it through qualifying this season at their sixth attempt.

United, meanwhile, will be looking to lay down an early marker in what is the first game between the clubs – but also have reason to be wary given their recent form in Switzerland.

Young Boys are the current Swiss champions after winning their 12th domestic league title.

second year running and the 22nd time overall – fewer only than the 23 participations of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Porto. José Mourinho’s side finished top of their section in 2017/18, edging out another Swiss club in Basel, but then bowed out in the first knockout round, losing 2‑1 on aggregate to Sevilla (0‑0 away, 1‑2 home) in the Last 16.

United had opened their 2017/18 campaign with a 3‑0 home defeat of Basel thanks to goals from Marouane Fellaini, Lukaku and Marcus Rashford, but were beaten 1‑0 in Switzerland in their penultimate fixture. The Basel defeat was the only one of United’s six group games they failed to win. Last season’s defeat at Basel ended a seven‑game unbeaten European away record (W5 D2) – United have now not won in their last two away matches.

Among the great at tractions of this Champions League season is the presence of Juventus and Manchester United in the same group and the irresistible subplot of Cristiano Ronaldo and Paul Pogba returning to face their previous clubs.

Juventus has won a seventh straight Serie A title, which earned the Old Lady a place in Pot 1. Juventus’ new No. 7, Ronaldo attracts the spotlight after a summer move from Madrid to Turin, this time trying to lead his new club to Champions League glory once again.

After finally getting off the mark for Juventus in the league, Cristiano Ronaldo has his sights set on his favorite competition ‑ the Champions League.

Ronaldo was under pressure after three games without scoring for Juventus since his move from Real Madrid, but he broke his mini‑drought withtwo goals in Sunday’s 2‑1 win over Sassuolo in Serie A for the last seven seasons — and the league and Italian Cup double for the past four — but has struggled to transfer that domestic supremacy to the European stage.

Manchester United are the club with which Ronaldo won his first Champions League title in 2008. They are also the three‑time Champions League winners who finished second in the Premier League last season, thereby earning a direct entry to the group stage and a place in Pot 2. United are in the group stages for the

Juventus hasn’t won Europe’s premier club competition since 1996, although it has reached the final twice in the past four editions.

Splashing out a Serie A record 112 million euro for Ronaldo, the five‑time Ballon d’Or winner, sent out a message of its intent to go one step further this time around. Ronaldo certainly revels in the Champions League. Not only has he won the trophy four times in the past

five seasons, but he is also the competition’s leading scorer with 120 goals.

In last season’s UEFA Champions League, Juve finished second to Barcelona in their section before ousting Tottenham in the round of 16 (2‑2 home, 2‑1 away). Their season looked to be over when they went down 3‑0 at home to Real Madrid in the quarter‑final first leg – a repeat of the 2017 final, won 4‑1 by the Spanish side – only for Juve to score three times in the return. Ronaldo, however, had the last word against his current club, converting a penalty deep into added time to end Juve’s campaign. Juventus kicked off their 2017/18 UEFA Champions League campaign with a defeat in Spain, going down 3‑0 at Barcelona, but are unbeaten in four away games since, winning the last three. Winners in 1985 and 1996, Juventus have played in nine European Cup finals – losing a record seven, including all of their last five.

With their fourth‑place finish in La Liga, Valencia gained a direct entry to the group stage with a place in Pot 3. Valencia knows what a scoring threat Ronaldo can be: he scored 15 goals in 18 appearances against it for Real Madrid. Valencia mark their return to the UEFA Champions League after three seasons away with a home game against Juventus.

This is only Valencia’s second campaign in the competition in six seasons, and begins with a first competitive fixture against a club whose 2017/18 European campaign ended in Spain in dramatic circumstances.

This is Valencia’s 11th UEFA Champions League group stage campaign. Finalists in both 1999/2000 and 2000/01, they have not reached the last 16 since 2012/13. Valencia did not take part in UEFA club competition in either of the last two seasons. In their most recent campaign, 2015/16, they finished third in their UEFA Champions League section to move into the UEFA Europa League, where they beat Rapid Wien 10‑0 on aggregate in the round of 32 before losing on away goals to fellow Spanish side Athletic Club in the round of 16.

Manchester United have already endured a rough start to the season and will be severely tested to the limits by Juventus and Valencia. If United manage to get convincing victories over Young Boys and are able to hold their own at home against Juve and Valencia, they should at least make it to the round of 16.

VOL 46 - ISSUE 1 - OCTOBER 2018

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The Elephant in the Room

by Braden Galea

M

anchester United is a football club. Straight and plainly, it is not being run as such.

As part of the baggage that the late Malcolm Glazer acquired in May 2005, the club’s history, present success and future path were valued at a whopping £800 million, most of which was financed through borrowing. Back then, the American owners had acquired arguably the most supported football club in the world with a very loyal following reaching the hundreds of millions and a massive commercial brand that was very much under‑exploited. In the engine‑room advising the Glazers was a 33‑year old, little‑known accountant and investment banker from Essex going by the name of Edward Gareth Woodward.

Fast forward 13 years and a significantly well‑known Ed Woodward is the man calling all the shots at Manchester United on behalf of Joel and Avram Glazer who inherited the club from their late father who passed away in 2014. He took over the role that David Gill filled so successfully for ten whole years until his departure with Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013.

Nowadays he is the public face of Manchester United – more than the Glazers and more than anyone else. And being the shrewd financial person that he is with experience at PricewaterhouseCoopers and J.P. Morgan & Co, one must say that he has been a colossal success on the financial stage, making his bosses and shareholders who bought shares in the club since its initial public offering in August 2012 significantly richer. Whoever invested $10,000 into the club at initial share price of $14 per share in 2012, nowadays has shares worth a market value in the region of $17,800 (with share price going around $25 per share). Revenue for the club keeps increasing year on year and is translating into increasing bottom‑line profits.

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So why is Woodward hated by sections of the Manchester United supporters base when things seem to be going so well. Indeed it is because the supporters, those who passionately attend and watch football games, do not give a hoot about the financial matters as long as the club does not go bankrupt or is hit with a Financial Fair Play transfer ban. The top management and the supporters seem to be sitting at opposite poles, and the final word is undoubtedly that of whoever pumped the investment to purchase the club. It is a cruel fact but one that needs to be acknowledged and respected for what it is: supporters have no say in the running of the club and they never will. It is brutally honest, but true nevertheless.

The club is run by the management who is trusted by, and loyal to, the Glazers. After all, Woodward is the person they have faithfully entrusted to get them Manchester United.

So the Woodward Out campaign will never gain traction. And realistically, supporters will never stop attending matches when you have a reported estimate of 431 million die‑hard supporters worldwide willing to pay dearly to get into the legendary 75,000‑seater Old Trafford.

Manchester United supporters have grown to expect success after the unbelievable era of Sir Alex Ferguson. It has been instilled in their minds that Manchester United equals titles. Yet another harsh reality may be that the success of the past decades is exclusively attributable to one man: the father of modern Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson. After his departure, things were never going to continue like they were before. With the decisions made, it now seems that the way forward being charted is accelerating downhill in the football dimension, while things in the

financial world get rosier every quarter, totally unaffected by the results on the football pitch. And do the financial nuts and bolts in the engine room care? Of course they don’t.

Manchester United is a cash cow and they are milking every pound they can from the unfathomable marketing potential that the red and yellow club crest provides.

Anything from an official mattress and pillow partner from China, to coffee partner, to tire partner, to electrical, kitchen and bath product partner on the sleeves, to a transfer deadline day signing whisky partner Chivas Regal, a long list of sponsors queue with seven‑figure cheques to have their logo appear on the bottom part of ManUtd.com and on the banners around the football pitch. It pays to be associated with a club with such a numerous fanbase. The money keeps flowing, the pockets of the moneymen keep growing, and the football club keeps leaking slowly but surely. For there is a bigger chance that a child born today will grow to support Manchester City or Paris Saint‑Germain or Real Madrid than Manchester United. But the effects of this are too long‑term to be of concern to the moneymen. The cash‑cow is too tempting not to milk, and if it can still be done with minimum expense on feed, why not? Unless of course it is lucrative feed that makes the cow produce more milk.

This shows clearly from the signings being made. It is not just a symptom of the inflated transfer market. On one side it is sheer incompetence in player transfer dealings. On the other, it is a total dislodgement from what is fit for the football team. When a signing is made, there are three very likely events in recent times since David Gill’s departure:

An average player costs Manchester United an exorbitant amount of money that makes no economical sense whatsoever and is not commensurate with the player’s ability or his contribution to the team. He costs so much simply because it is Manchester United is interested in the player. (Fred or Anthony Martial? And how on Earth did Lukaku’s value explode from £28 million at Everton in 2014 to £90 million three years later in 2017?)

A very talented player is acquired and expected to set Old Trafford and Carrington alight with his football, only to disappoint and be shipped away the following season for a lower transfer fee than he was bought. (Angel di Maria, Memphis Depay or Falcao?)

A player is not part of a long‑term transfer strategy but one which sits out on the fringes of the first team (Darmian or Rojo?)

From the past few transfer markets it is evident that there is no plan and no idea about how things should be done. Maybe a lack of time afforded to building long‑lasting relationships with other clubs that may result in making things easier once a move is to be made also affects the price that the other party demands.

An over‑inflated market has an effect but how do other clubs get their business done then?

Why is United being turned into a dysfunctional form of Real’s Galacticos model, rather than building a team on United‑mould players

who are more passionate about the badge and the team than they are about their pay check? It is about time that a Director of Football is employed to free Woodward from the football aspect and let him roam freely in the financial matters where he has proven that he excels. One might also arrive to the stage of questioning the manager if matters to not improve on the field, and like I said in my last article, this season is the one last chance that Mourinho will get. No trophy, no Mourinho come summer, simple.

Supporters can complain about a million things but the one thing that will not change is that the veins of the club are dominated by money rather than by football. A Director of Football may be the solution for the long‑term as it dislodges the role of financial and football matters from under the same person, Woodward, who has proven to be excellent in finances but terrible in football.

Whatever decision that is taken will still ultimately be governed by the effect it has on the books.

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Situated on the Sliema seafront, L’Aroma restaurant is tucked away from the hustle and bustle of Malta’s shopping centre.

L’Aroma prides itself in the preparation of traditional Mediterranean cuisine using recipes passed down through the generations. The menu comprises a selection of

mouth-watering fresh fish, fine meat cuts and pasta dishes all at a great value for money. One of the house specialities, the traditional rabbit dish, is regarded by many locals as the best in town.

Whether for a relaxed dinner or a lazy lunch L’Aroma is a great spot to sit down, unwind and watch the world go by.

L’Aroma, 17 Għar il-Lembi Street Sliema t. 2131 7633 e. laroma.restaurant@maltanet.net

Champions League Nights Manchester United vs Benfica

by Michael Calleja

I

t was on the 9th of March 1966 in Lisbon that the famous Manchester United waltzed their way into the last four of the then termed ‘European Cup’, the forerunner of today’s UEFA Champions League. Manchester United had begun the 1965‑66 European campaign in fine form beating HJK of Finland 9‑2 on aggregate before comprehensively outclassing Vorwarts Berlin [then of East Germany] 5‑1 over the two legs.

The prospect of playing in a cauldron of hardcore Portuguese fans was compounded by the fact that in their previous 17 European Cup games in Lisbon, Benfica had scored an average of 4.3 goals...and never been beaten.

Despite Manchester United’s pre‑match training focusing on staunch defending, Best had other ideas. In what will go down as one of United’s finest moments in European history, the Red Devils raced into a 3‑0 lead in the first 15 minutes.

George Best grabbed two quick goals before John Connelly made it 3. Benfica did manage to get one back through a Shay Brennan own goal but Paddy Crerand and Bobby Charlton ensured the Reds routed Benfica 5‑1! This was simply a senstational scoreline which stunned all of Europe. Best meanwhile entered into football folkore and the Portuguese nicknamed him ‘El Beatle’ after famously posing with a sombrero hat on the way back home to Manchester.

These two wins guaranteed a passage for United into the Quar ter‑finals were they would face Por tuguese Champions SL Benfica. It may seem like a no‑brainer now, but back in the 1960s, Benfica were the Barcelona of today with a stunning European track record and an enormous European pedigree [winning the European Cup in 1961 and 1962]. Benfica had also reached the 1963 and 1965 finals.

This was by no means going to be an easy tie. The Por tuguese were famous for playing a very offensive style of football with the likes of Jose’ Augusto, Torres and above‑all Eusebio in their ranks.

The first leg had ended in a narrow 3‑2 win for United [with goals coming from David Herd, Denis Law and Bill Foulkes] and Sir Matt Busby had secretly opined that the tight margin would not be enough to guarantee a semi‑final placing.

In those days, playing in the old Estadio Da Luz was the most daunting prospect in Europe.

Graeme Souness would one day remark that the stadium was so big that the stands would seem to be almost touching the clouds.

had never said that before, ever,” George Best told biographer Joe Lovejoy decades later.

“We didn’t know how to keep a game tight.

We just knew how to batter teams, which is what we did.”

Perhaps United could play for a draw and frustrate the Portuguese? In a very uncanny and unconventional move, Sir Matt Busby requested that the team defend for their lives [in today’s modern terms....’park the bus’. “He

Even though United would eventually be eliminated from the competition by a very good and solid FK Partizan of then Yugoslavia, this game will live long in the memory of most United fans. At a time when Benfica were seen to be almost unbeatable, United dished out a lesson in football and established themselves as a truly European force.

We all know that the ‘rivalry’ with Benfica would re‑emerge a mere two years later when both teams would play out the 1968 European Cup Final at Wembley. I need not remind you what the scoreline was in that particular fixture.

MANCHESTER UNITED SUPPORTERS’ CLUB MEMBERSHIP CARD IS NOW ALSO A DISCOUNT CARD When presenting your Membership Card to these outlets:

Montaldo Insurance Agency Ltd 10% Discount (terms and conditions apply)

10% Discount on all Insurances to club members

10% Discount on direct bookings only.

10% Discount except public holidays

These offers are not to be benefited from in conjunction with any other that the shop may have from time to time. Therefore if a particular establishment has an offer on already on a particular product or service, the Discount Scheme shall not apply to that product or service.

VOL 46 - ISSUE 1 - OCTOBER 2018

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Now... What is that?

by Fr. Anthony C. Ferrante

H

er turn. She hobbled on her cane towards the only available seat left on the bus. A shove caused her to lose her balance! A young man went past her and plonked himself onto that seat. No use remonstrating, he had his way!

A Kenyan elite marathon runner noticed a suffering dehydrated Chinese runner. She stopped to pass some water to him. This delayed her enough to place 2nd in the race losing thereby a US$10,000 cash prize.

There is something common in these anecdotes. One is in a totally negative way, whilst the other is definitely positive. Now, what is that?

It is a sentiment that seems to become forlorn. RESPECT. Again, what is that? Respect is that sense of worth or personal value that is attached to someone. It is a given overall evaluation to someone based on various factors. These include such factors like achievements, the way in which people are treated, whether they are honest or not, or if there is consistency in helping others. There is a basic level of respect that ought to be shown for everyone regardless of certain circumstances.

It all begins with self respect. Self respect is the result of your own view of how you are living your life. It is aptly avowed that charity begins at home, and so does respect. By respecting yourself you give and define your own worth as a human being. If you do not respect yourself, it will be more difficult for you to respect anyone else. We may as well liken respect to a two way street: show respect in order to receive respect.

An important aspect in order to gain respect is to accept, defend and promulgate what is deemed as right, irrespective of the possible and adverse consequences; to be adamant in speaking up for whatever is right and condemn that which is absolutely wrong. Attitude and behaviour play a major part in gaining the respect that you may deserve.

Likewise, by being respectful towards others

you will be giving value to their own being and ideals, thus making them feel good by granting them that which they may rightly deserve.

Truly listening, not just hearing, to another’s point of view is one of the best ways to show respect for anybody. 6+3=9, right? But so is 5+4 or 7+2! It is obvious that we will not always agree on every topic. It is imperative that views are freely expressed and shared, regardless of whether there is common consensus or not.

Meanwhile, there is nothing wrong in showing someone a greater respect than to others.

Show kindness and courtesy to everyone but obviously some people simply deserve more respect than others. We would all agree that a consistently honest person deserves more respect than a habitual liar. Respect is for those who deserve it, not for anybody that demands it!

Common instances of respect or lack of it and the sentiment’s possible consequences: Disrespect of a weaker person which can also amount to violence may be termed as “bullying”.

Shunning humans simply because of their dif ferent creed or skin colour is tantamount to “racism”. When a couple bestow respect, even in disagreement, on each other, that is “love”.

Respecting persons even in healthy rivalry amounts to “ f r iendship”. O ur Lindelof aptly pinpointed this latter kind of respect when he spoke of his inter national rivals in the England team who incidentally are his team mates at Man Utd: “I just spoke with them you know and they gave me a hug and I congratulated them on the win and wished them good luck. I have wished them all the best and I will be cheering for England to win it now because they are my friends.”

Respect is one of mankind’s most noble sentiments. The highest levels of respect are always earned – never given. Before granting the highest level of self‑respect or respect for others, make sure the person is worthy of the honour.

Join us on MALTA

FOUNDED 1959

www.twitter.com/manutd_malta VOL 46 - ISSUE 1 - OCTOBER 2018

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Will England ever win a second World Cup?

by Alex Dudley

I

f you are like me, you would have been completely heart‑broken the day following that disappointing semi‑final. At that very bleak time it’s so hard to think of positives after being on such a high. Following England’s blistering start with a fifth minute Kieran Tripper free kick, it looked so unlikely that England would somehow let a Croatian side so short of ideas back into the game.

In the end it was the first half of missed chances that was ultimately England’s downfall and that was the toughest pill to swallow. But let’s not forget about the positive aspects that the Three Lions have come back home with...

The squad was the youngest that England have ever taken to World Cup finals and

that experience is something that shouldn’t be downplayed. They will head to the World Cup in 2022 and the European Championships before that in 2020 with a clear mind of what is needed and will not be unfazed by any challenge.

England’s win over Colombia on penalties has without doubt broken a massive hoodoo that has hung over every England squad. To win their first penalty shoot‑out ever in the World Cup is something that shouldn’t be forgotten and never downplayed. It will be an experience that all players can recall should they be put in that position again ‑ without doubt, they will.

They handled the pressure and surprised every fan ‑ with the majority of English people feeling the writing was on the wall and yet another exit at the hands of a shoot‑out. Not this time.

Pundits, ex‑players and any kind of football expert downplayed how far England would go, with the vast majority believing that anything past the group stage would be a success. They we re p rove n to be wrong following

controlled, emphatic and calm victories in the opening two games against Tunisia and Panama. Yes, they didn’t come up against a so called ‘big‑boy’ but you can only play against what is in front of you.

Colombia and Sweden are both no push‑overs and combined they have caused problems for Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Italy and Holland.

They were both tricky opponents that England made to look very average for large periods.

A semi‑final exit would have been seen as a roaring success before the opening game and that should not be forgotten. This was an unrivaled success for such an inexperienced side with no proven winners.

Adults today look back with fondness of teams that reached semi‑finals in 1990 and 1998.

This pushed their love of football on them and encouraged some to pursue playing the game and perhaps a few stars were born because of that. This England team has done exactly the same, gripping the nation for weeks on end, making the country feel proud and in love with this team again. If a few younger fans have found their love for the sport now, that will only encourage the number of players in the grassroots ‑ improving the standard, coaching and therefore the quality of players to choose from, resulting in a brighter future.

Stars were born in these finals. Some of those boys in white would not have been household names before the tournament but now everybody in the UK will know their names.

Kieran Trippier, Jesse Lingard, Harry Maguire, Jordan Pickford and Ruben Loftus‑Cheek’s stock would have all grown.

Trippier especially, he will go down as the best right‑back in the tournament and boasting a right foot reminiscent of a certain David Beckham, it will come as little surprise that England boast their record goals tally ‑ as well as their record number of goals from set‑pieces.

In a time where politics always takes center stage, especially with Brexit looming, the Three Lions found a way to unite the country and keep everyone’s (possibly even politicians’) minds off the upcoming chaos. Something only sport can do, fans were dancing in the streets and happiness

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was uncontrollable. It was the talk of every town up and down the country and that is something that has been missing from the national side for the last 20 years. The team did the country and themselves proud and there was nothing left on the pitch and that’s the most that you can ask for.

It hasn’t come home this time, but with Gareth Southgate at the helm it might come home sooner than we originally thought.

Southgate has proven to be an underestimated manager who brings with him an abundance of ideas of what needs to be done with not only the national side but also the progression of the Under 18’s and 21’s. The next World Cup will a good chance to see how some of the next crop of talent is able to perform on the big stage and to see whether they have what it takes when the pressure is on.

Players such as Aaron Wan‑Bissaka and Callum Hudson‑Odoi who have both started the new season strongly and with purpose will surely be put further under the microscope. Marcus Rashford will obviously still be young by the time the next World Cup rolls around and will be asked to do a bigger job. He would be the ideal second choice striker behind Harry Kane with Jamie Vardy looking too old for the 2022 competition.

The success of the younger sides would have raised expectations further with Everton’s Dominic Calvert‑Lewin and Liverpool’s Dominic Solanke both given more first team opportunities following their World Cup success but neither has really taken their chance and

will be seeking a loan move to find first team opportunities ‑ something that will be vital in their progression.

One thing is for sure, should England expect to win the 2022 World Cup they will not be given as easy of a route as in the recent tournament.

The chances of avoiding all of Spain, Germany, Italy and Brazil is next to none and that is why they will always regret Russia and look back on this summer’s performances with somewhat of an attitude of ‘what if?’

There will be more chances, but it will be harder. The media cannot lump the expectation on Southgate and his side in 2022 as 2018 was an anomaly and they should still be given time to build and grow as a team.

England will win a World Cup again in the future, but in 2022? That remains to be seen.

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Facts about the World Cup 2018

by Kenneth Abela

T

he World Cup 2018. So we think we know it all, having watched practically the whole tournament. We know that Russia’s Luzhniki Stadium witnessed one of the most thrilling finals as it hosted over 81,000 football fanatics who had gathered to see France defeat Croatia with a score of 4‑2, winning their second World Cup in 20 years. Our beloved England came close but not close enough, finishing in 4th place. There’s always the next one. The 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Or the one after that, the World Cup 2026 which will be hosted in the U.S. (a joint bid with U.S., Mexico and Canada) and is known as the “United 2026 bid” making the United States the sixth country to host it twice.

So let me bring readers up to date on some interesting facts and statics that they may not know about the World Cup 2018.

36 VOL 46 - ISSUE 1 - OCTOBER 2018

This World Cup marked the first time Russia had ever hosted this event. It was however Russia’s 11th World Cup appearance. Their highest ever finish was 4th place in 1966.

radio contact with the on‑field referees. Systems were in place for communicating VAR‑related information to broadcasters and visuals on the stadia’s large screens.

In total, 32 teams played 64 matches across 11 stadiums in Russia and scored 169 goals with an average of 2.64 goals per match.

In an interesting twist, the French team manager Didier Deschamps — who led France to the World Cup as a manager—also captained the winning French team at the 1998 World Cup. But Deschamps is not the only one to win the World Cup as a manager and player. Brazil’s Mario Zagallo and West Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer too have taken the titles home.

The distance between the easternmost host city (Ekaterinburg) and the westernmost host city (Kaliningrad) at the 2018 World Cup is over 1500 miles. For comparison, that’s about the same distance as Moscow to London.

It was the first World Cup to use the video assistant referee (VAR) system. VAR operations for all games operated from a single headquarters in Moscow, which received live video of the games and were in

During the World Cup, 36 referees gave 219 yellow cards plus four red cards and were assisted by 63 assistant referees. This number of sending offs is the fewest since 1978. The International Football Association Board’s technical director David

Elleray stated a belief that this was due to the introduction of VAR, since players would know that they would not be able to get away with anything under the new system.

There were 22 penalties.

Nine winning goals were scored in the 90th minute or later, excluding extra‑time.

Twelve own goals were scored during the tournament, doubling the record of six set in 1998.

Who won the FIFA awards? France’s young Kylian Mbappe bagged the Young Player of the Year award. Croatian captain Luka Modrić took the Golden Ball, Belgium’s Eden Hazard took the Silver Ball, while France’s Antoine Griezmann was awarded the Bronze ball.

England captain Harry Kane took home the Golden Boot (with six goals but no assists), Antoine Griezmann took the silver boot (4 goals and 2 assists) while the bronze boot went to Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku (4 goals and one assist). Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois won the Golden Gloves. Spain won the FIFA Fair Play Award.

And the best goal? After FIFA shortlisted the top 18 goals for the public to vote on, Benjamin Pavard’s second equalizing goal for France against Argentina was declared the winner.

At an estimated cost of over 12.5 billion euro, it was the most expensive World Cup, surpassing the cost of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

In June 2016 the Russian Organizing Committee called for applications for volunteers. The 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Volunteer Program received about 177,000 applications and engaged a total of 35,000 volunteers.

Notable countries that failed to qualify include four‑time champions Italy (for the first time since 1958), three‑time runners‑up and third placed in 2014 the Netherlands (for the first time since 2002) and four reigning continental champions: 2017 Africa Cup of Nations winners Cameroon, two‑time Copa América champions and 2017 Confederations Cup runners‑up Chile, 2016 OFC Nations Cup winners New Zealand, and 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup champions United States (for the first time since 1986). The other notable qualifying streaks broken were for Ghana and Ivory Coast, who had both made the previous three tournaments.

Both Iceland and Panama qualified for the first time, with the former becoming the smallest country in terms of population to reach the World Cup. We had two ‘dream teams’, one selected by the fans, and one by FIFA, based on statistical

performance. No United player made it to any of the two teams. Harry Kane made it to both teams.

French goalkeeper Alphonse Areola became the first World Cup winner in 36 years to claim a medal despite never being capped. And yet Areola has never played a minute for Les Bleus first‑team. At World Cups gone by, there are players who went home with winners’ medals despite not playing a minute of the tournament.

Borussia Dortmund’s Erik Durm received a medal after Germany won the trophy four years ago, yet he didn’t make an appearance in Brazil.

The World Cup trophy is called the “FIFA World Cup Trophy”. It was introduced in 1974 and is made of 18 carat gold with a malachite base.

It stands 36.8 centimeters high and weighs 6.1 kilograms. The original Jules Rimet Trophy was stolen in 1983 and never recovered.

Finally it is interesting to note that Hyundai created a commercial based on the rumor that the World Cup winning country sees a baby boom 9 months after the World Cup. It appears however that a country need not necessarily win the World Cup to see a ‘baby boom’. In fact in England, with England reaching the World Cup semi final, births reportedly will rise ten per cent in March 2019, with some 5,000 more tots than usual. The Three Lions’ run to the quarter‑finals in 2002, where Brazil beat England 2‑1, saw an extra 2,000 more births nine months later.

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VOL 46 - ISSUE 1 - OCTOBER 2018

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Best Youth Prospects in World Football Who will replace Messi and Ronaldo as the world’s best?

by Alan Abela‑Wadge

W

ith Cristiano Ronaldo on the eve of his 34th birthday and Lionel Messi the wrong side of 30 too, who are Europe’s bright prospects shaping up to be inheritors of the Ballon d’Or duopoly’s crown?

Ronaldo himself was asked this question and he responded with an array of gifted youngsters, one of them our very own Marcus Rashford. According to Ronaldo the contenders to become the World’s Best Footballer are: Asensio, Mbappé, Neymar, Dembélé, Hazard & Rashford.

To be fair, I think we can all name one of those players to win the Ballon d’Or once Messi & Ronaldo calls it a day. It’s more than a decade since Milan’s Kaká became the last player outside of the Ronaldo‑Lionel Messi duopoly to walk away with football’s highest individual honour. But let’s face it, Ronaldo is already on a semi‑retirement since he left Real Madrid. A player in his prime would have never headed to Italy! I believe that Ronaldo himself knows that his days of glory are behind him. Anyway, that’s not today’s subject. Our subject hereunder is to find out who will succeed these two legends.

Kylian Mbappé (Paris Saint‑Germain) Mbappé is expected to become the third‑most expensive player in history when the 19‑year‑old completes his move to PSG from Monaco, having spent this season on loan in the French capital after they saw off competition from Real. An initial fee of €145m with up to €35m due in bonuses, including up to €20m if he wins the Ballon d’Or, is an indication of his enormous talent. The son of an Algerian former handball star and a Cameroonian father scored well over 26 goals in his first full season with PSG and following that, a glittering World Cup followed in which Mbappé scored 4 goals including a magnificent goal in the Final against Croatia.

Surely, Mbappé got the makings of the next superstar. Considering he’s still a teenager, he already won something that both Ronaldo and Messi never managed, the World Cup!

While Neymar turns 26 on the same day as Ronaldo and Hazard has just reached 27 ‑ previously widely acknowledged as the prime age for any player – it is the emerging generation that looks most fascinating. From Spanish sensation Marco Asensio, France’s Ousmane Dembélé and Kylian Mbappé and who knows, maybe even English prospects Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Ryan Sessegnon, the fight is on to become football’s next global superstar.

Marco Asensio (Real Madrid) Be it for the intervention of a certain Rafael Nadal, Asensio could have ended up playing for Barcelona rather than in the famous all‑white strip of the reigning European champions. Back in the summer of 2015 the Real president, Florentino Pérez, called the 16‑times tennis grand slam winner and asked for his help in signing a player who had suffered from chronic knee injuries in his youth but was by then starring for Nadal’s hometown team, Mallorca. “He behaved perfectly and we closed the deal quickly,” recalled Pérez in an interview

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last year. It has proved a shrewd acquisition.

Having spent a season on loan with Espanyol, Asensio settled quickly into Zinedine Zidane’s squad and scored eight goals in his first full season, mainly with his wand‑like left foot.

Already a winner of La Liga and two Champions Leagues, Asensio can clearly stake a claim for the throne left vacant by Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid. Can he become the world’s best?

Who knows?! Surely got the potential!

Ousmane Dembélé (Barcelona) Five months after Dembélé moved to the Camp Nou for an initial £97m, the Barcelona jury is still out on him. Much was expected of the player with mixed Malian and Mauritanian heritage who grew up in the Normandy town of Évreux and started his career with Rennes before moving to Borussia Dortmund. But he suffered a ruptured thigh muscle on his full debut in September and another injury – a hamstring tear during the victory over Real Sociedad last month, only his seventh appearance for Barça – meant a further wait to discover whether he is capable of filling the void left by Neymar’s move to PSG. Dembélé certainly has all the attributes to live up to his price tag: explosive pace, the ability to beat opponents with either foot and exceptional balance. This season will surely be important for him after his injury ravaged first season.

The kid got potential so his name will surely be remembered over the next years.

got a lot of pace in him and a good finish too.

He surely stands a chance on further improving his overall game. Sadly he might just do that with Man City!

Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City) We have to be fair and mention this fella from across town. While Neymar remains the undoubted leader of Brazil, it was the exciting 20‑year‑old who finished as the Seleção’s highest scorer in the qualifiers of last summer’s World Cup with seven goals in 10 matches.

Jesus was quick to adapt to the rigours of the Premier League following his arrival from Palmeiras in 2016 for £27m and found the net a total of 17 times last season. Gabriel Jesus

Vinícius Júnior (Real Madrid) The 18‑year‑old was signed by Real Madrid last season for £38m and subsequently loaned back to Flamengo due to regulations in the Brazilian league. This year Real Madrid decided to keep him on their books and he will surely try to stake a claim for a starting berth with the Madridistas. Vinícius Júnior is rated very highly in his hometown however we’re still to see flashes of his brilliance in European football. Who knows? Can he succeed Ronaldo as Real’s great scorer?

Marcus Rashford (Man United) I had to include our very own Marcus in this list! Marcus Rashford burst on the scene in a Europa League match way back in February 2015. It seems like a lifetime ago! Since then, Marcus has played a total of 127 games already for Man Utd and found the net a total of 32 times. Quite an impressive tally for a kid just 20 years old! Rashford already played 27 times for England finding the net 5 times and he’s destined to be one of England’s most capped players once he calls it a day too. Before he does that, can he stake a claim to be called the world’s best? We certainly hope so!!

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Y & Z United Perspectives

by Kevin Tabone

T

he beauty of life is that every individual has opinions which differ from one another. On top of this, the different generations, with the latter 3 being X (1965‑1979), Y (1980‑2000) and Z (2000‑to date), to the mix and you get a nice platter! Of course, football is no exception to this and the scope of this article is to illustrate the different views of three members of the same family, but from different generations. In fact, this article came about after having completely different views on a particular United player. For the time being, I will not disclose who this player is, but I’m quite sure that this will come out in one of the future questions!

A small introduction of ourselves; myself born in 1982, being the oldest member of the family (even if I sometimes act as the youngest, especially where United is concerned) part of the Millennials (Y) Generation and my two sons, Justyn (didn’t have a say on the name unfortunately!) born in 2002 & Wayne (guess who decided the name now!) born in 2007 and members of the New Silent Generation (Z).

I hope you find this article interesting and if you feel the need to comment on anything please do so by sending an e‑mail to the editorial board on echoes@manutd‑malta.com.

So here goes …

Mourinho’s style of play is different from the one United fans were accustomed to during the Ferguson era. It is not that exciting. Are

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you happy to watch United adopt this style of football?

Wayne: Ferguson has a different playing style to Mourinho as Ferguson always tries to attack as Mourinho likes to take the game calmly. Of course there are the positives and the negatives to this. One of the positive is that you tire the other team out. But the negative is that if the other team does the same, it will end up a draw or a one goal game. I think although Mourinho made huge success with this method. I still think that Ferguson’s idea is better.

Justyn: Mourinho’s play style is quite a defensive one. Even though during most of the years United have been known to play quick attacking football, I don’t mind his playing style. In my opinion, I would rather play under his tactics and playing style and win rather than playing attacking football and be out of Mourinho’s comfort zone. However, against teams that are less of a calibre than us, I would expect to be more dominant as we have a team that is good enough to do well in the Premier League.

Kevin: After Sir Alex’s well‑deserved retirement, our club needed a manager to steady the ship.

The two managers we had post‑Fergie never gave the club or fans hope that this was going to be achieved and when Mourinho was chosen I felt that he was the best person for the job.

He had, and still has, all the ingredients to achieve the club’s targets of winning silver-

ware. I am sure that when this decision was taken by the board, they also knew the style that the Special One adopts. Unfortunately, in this day and age, media plays a huge part in influencing supporters negatively. Although Mourinho’s style is perceived as negative, I would rather call it solid. Let’s all remember that José managed a Chelsea side which had averaged nearly 2 goals‑a‑game during his title winning seasons and the only manager, apart from Sir Alex to have managed to retain the championship title. So, yes I am still happy to have a manager who focuses on results rather than performance.

Do you think Manchester United’s financial status will be affected in the next 5 years if they keep losing pace football wise with the likes of Manchester City and Real Madrid?

Wayne: By time Manchester United are getting poorer every year as we are not winning cups and we aren’t finishing in the top end of the table. We are losing money from buying players randomly and not succeeding and although we are always getting higher in the league table we are still going to be affected briefly money‑wise. But if we can win cups as well as finishing in the top side of the league we have a chance of getting into the normal routine.

Justyn: Even though Manchester United isn’t winning as much trophies as they are used to, the financial status of the club will always be

very good. This is because the fans are loyal and will keep going to games and filling up the stadium for every game. Also the fans will still buy the merchandise because the fans love the club a lot. Also a lot of sponsors still would want to sponsor Manchester United because of the size of the club.

Kevin: The brand is too big to be effected in such a short space of time. The commercialism of the game we all love has gained so much ground and it’s fair to say that we are masters of this element. There are times where the balance between the sport & commercial sides is not kept and this is wrong, because after all the club should be about the football first and business second. But this is the way football has gone and we either move towards the same flow or be left behind.

After Valencia, from the current squad, who would be the player ideal to take the Captain’s armband?

Wayne: I think Pogba is the best option to be the captain as he is confident. Although he is not the captain, he still gives instructions to other players. He gets along well with other players and is a playmaker. He is now also a World Cup winner and was a big player in the middle for France. He is more confident, tries to create chances and has a great shot.

Justyn: With Valencia getting older he will start to decline in his performance and his fitness. With this in mind, there has to be some thoughts on who the next captain will be. In my opinion, the next captain should be David De Gea. There are many reasons why I think he should become the next captain. First of all, he is one of the few that is left from the Sir Alex Ferguson era so he knows the club throughout. Secondly he has been one of the most consistent players in the squad for the last 5 years. Manchester United deserves a captain with that calibre of a player. Also he has never had issues with the club and when interest from other big clubs like Real Madrid came about, he stayed loyal to the club.

Kevin: Gone are the days where a captain is chosen based on the leadership (the Bryan

Robson’s or Roy Keane’s of this world) or club loyalty (Ryan Giggs’ or Paul Scholes’ of years gone by) characteristics. Personally I feel that the player chosen as captain should be the one who represents what the manager is all about. And I see no better player who fits this than Nemanja Matic. I would even go further

and say that he should be the captain today.

The player fought his way out of Chelsea to be with his preferred manager, speaks the English language fluently, plays in midfield (my preferred on‑the‑field‑position for a captain), plays regularly and also shows a high level of professionalism off‑the‑field.

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United’s USA Pre‑season tour O

veranalyzing pre‑season games is usually a weak attempt to predict a club’s future results. Most elite teams field weakened sides, tinkering with tactics, experimenting with new players and giving youngsters a chance. In the wake of a successful World Cup for United’s players – of which 11 participated ‑ we were never going to hit the ground running. However, we weren’t expected to nose dive before the season started, either, and to make matters worse, off‑the‑field problems overshadowed the disappointing displays, with Mourinho becoming ever‑more disgruntled with the board’s lack of financial backing. Evidently, the pre‑season does not exist within a vacuum, as the negativity surrounding the camp snowballed into the start of the season.

Returning to the USA for the 3rd time in 4 years, we produced a series of underwhelming and unconvincing performances, scoring a poor total of 5 goals, and winning just a single match in normal time. Even the most starry‑eyed United fan would struggle to pick out the positives from our stay in America, throughout which stadium attendance was far from impressive.

Results: vs Club America ‑ Mata 78’

1‑1

vs San Jose Earthquakes

0‑0

vs AC Milan ‑ Sanchez 12’ (9‑8 pens)

1‑1

vs Liverpool ‑ Pereira 31’

1‑4

vs Real Madrid ‑ Sanchez 18’, Herrera 27’ 2‑1 The tour kicked‑off with a dull 1‑1 draw against Club America, but considering 15 players were unavailable, it’s hard to be too critical.

The Mexican side drew first blood, but Mata equalized in the 78th minute. New third‑choice keeper Lee Grant and prospects Greenwood and Chong made their first official appearances for United, the latter whipping in a perfect cross which led to United’s goal. After sorting out an issue with his Visa, Sanchez was back in the fray for the second game vs San Jose Earthquakes, and vibrant interplay between him, Pereira and Martial finally gave fans

something to cheer about. Meanwhile, Garner, Tuanzebe & Gomes got some crucial first team experience, as Valencia went off injured and McTominay missed an easy goalscoring chance. The woodwork saved San Jose a couple of times, but there can’t be too many excuses for a second‑string United, who couldn’t score versus a team languishing in the middle of the MLS table.

After two forgettable performances, United were itching for a victory versus AC Milan, but had to settle for winning on penalties (9‑8) after another 1‑1 draw. Our Chilean talisman put on another electrifying display, opening the score after only 12 minutes, with Mata providing a spectacular assist. The Rossoneri refused to be brushed aside, equalizing only 3 minutes later via Suso, but despite some scintillating counter‑attacking moments, United were unable to score again. The penalty shoot‑out proved to be a frantic affair, with both Pereira and Donnarumma making multiple saves.

Despite the clear improvement, Mourinho was still far from happy.

The Red Devils’ toughest test of the tour arrived in the form of bitter rivals Liverpool, who played a strong starting eleven. Mane scored from the spot in the 28th minute, but Pereira’s superb free‑kick 3 minutes later gave United a fighting chance. In the second half, Liverpool’s quality was simply too much for us. After another penalty, a sensational bicycle kick from Shaqiri and a goal from Sturridge, they won 4‑1, with Mourinho again expressed his dissatisfaction with the players available.

The fifth and final fixture in the USA was our best result, as United wrapped up the tour with a convincing 2‑1 victory over European Champions Real Madrid. Sanchez once again stole the show, scoring one goal and setting up another for Herrera. Fred, our £52 million signing from Shakhtar Donetsk, enjoyed a vibrant 90 minutes during his first start for United, while De Gea was back between the sticks. The tour wrapped up with a 2‑1 defeat to Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena in Munich.

by Martin Calleja Urry

Once the dust settled, Mourinho confirmed he was no closer to finding a tried and tested formation with 11 regulars he can trust week in week out. Without the likes of Pogba, Rashford, Lukaku and Lingard, to name a few, the tour was never going to be about the United team we’re likely to see featured throughout 2018/2019.

His frustration (although exaggerated) was understandable, considering he was forced to field teams he wouldn’t dare dream of playing in the first round of the league cup, let alone in the Premier League. Besides the massive marketing boost the tour provided, it did little in the way of improving United’s chances of success this season. The experience on the tour will be vital for the up‑and‑coming bunch like Mitchell, Chong, McTominay and Fosu‑Mensah, but other than that, it’s hard to see the silver lining.

What we’ve learned from this tour is that a frustrated Mourinho may prove to be a recurring theme throughout the season, much to the detriment of the rest of the team. While we have a strong squad, the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City look to be in a league of their own this year, and Chelsea and Spurs will be no pushovers. Despite his combative persona and pessimism, Mourinho has the club’s best interests at heart. He’s clearly eager to succeed at United, but his cynicism is only a response to the lacklustre transfer activity this year. Vice‑chairman Woodward and the rest of the board risk following in Arsenal’s footsteps if they don’t back Mourinho up financially. While they’re more interested in financial figures and qualifying for the Champions League, the special one is not happy with mediocre results.

We can only hope that he’ll be rewarded in January, but by the time the transfer window rolls around, the damage may have already been done. Some fans have already started turning against one another, some insisting that Mourinho has lost the plot. With a history of imploding as soon as things don’t go his way, let’s hope that Mourinho is simply going through a rough patch. Onward and upwards for the Red Devils.

VOL 46 - ISSUE 1 - OCTOBER 2018

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The Defiant Ones

by Daniel Cuschieri

E

very day we get to read numerous stories, either through social media, newspapers or television about Manchester United and their playing staff, management, stadium and players that no longer play for the club.

The start to the season has not been the best by any standards. The manager has had to endure criticism from all corners, either the ‘fans’, media and old players who are now paid to give their views and what they would and wouldn’t do.

The ‘fans’ currently believe they have a right to voice their opinion just because they are behind a TV screen, laptop, on some blog and so forth. In my opinion some people find the success of this club replace their setbacks, therefore when the club goes through a rough patch they get angry because they expect MUFC to win every match, score tonnes of goals, clean sheets, entertaining football. In reality, the club

44 VOL 46 - ISSUE 1 - OCTOBER 2018

since Sir Alex Ferguson and also David Gill left the club was left in a better state that they both found it, however the team was aging and in my opinion there wasn’t any succession planning done. David Moyes joined, having the shadow of the club’s greatest manager over him, he had his name opposite him every home match.

Moyes in my opinion was not the man for the job, due to the fact his track record was not one that could handle the pressure of such a club.

Ex‑players have voiced experiences with Moyes whereby at times he confused them and that in‑turn affected their playing performances.

Moyes was sacked and replaced by Van Gaal, the club’s performances improved slightly however not at the way some are accustomed to. Van Gaal spent two years at the club, a lot of money was spent, players were sold. The whole foundation of the club was turned around: some needed, some not. At the same time Ed Woodward put the club on an advertising frenzy

whereby the club is now pro commercial and it is needed to service the current big names at the club. Van Gaal in his second year had the media on his back, the Mourinho rumours were in full swing and he soldiered it out towards the FA Cup final win. His last interview is a testimony to that whereby they questioned whether he was on the way out, rather than focusing on the FA Cup win. Van Gaal had some unlucky moments with injuries and got the best he could out of the players he had. The team played a very different style, which at times would bore someone to sleep, but the team didn’t have those players that could unlock a defence or star status as a lot of players let him down, such as Di Maria, Depay and Falcao to name a few.

The media enjoys a MUFC story and painting a negative picture they enjoy it even more.

A lot of the TV Pundits are ex‑Liverpool players who are right now enjoying the fact

the club isn’t doing well and Liverpool have been playing well these past years. Most of the stories and comments are carried to destabilise the club and its playing staff, putting doubts into players’ head that would affect their confidence. The benchmark that Sir Alex set the club on is so high that it is affecting the resetting of the foundations and the impatience from all stakeholders will continue to halt further growth, as sacking the manager and bringing a new one, I doubt will work miracles with the playing staff currently at his disposal. The players there are currently should be looking to finding ways to shut these TV pundits’ mouths and getting them to applaud them against their will. One must remember these people are paid to say certain comments, some comments referring to their playing days which was a different era.

Today players are softer and more commercial than focusing on playing. Recently a certain TV pundit passed a comment that Rashford should join Everton to further this career. That is quite brash coming from a Liverpool player being a childhood Everton fan. Comments like these sometimes can create doubts within a player’s head. Mourinho is in his third season and the third season syndrome comments and articles were on the fly. The club is not

in its best shape, however last season we lost the title to a great Manchester City side, however barely lost to a top four team. The problem is the consistency and lack of playing depth. The lack of competition is affecting the first eleven, as if Mourinho had twenty two strong players, the players would be playing out their skin for a first eleven place. However the club has a decent 15 players who boil hot and cold, especially Pogba would should be setting an example as a World Cup winner but is rather passing comments which should not be passed. Whether there is some tension between Mourinho and Pogba, one must be patient on the outcome, reason being both can make their names in MUFC history. They just need to get on with things and do what they do best, which is winning.

The manager has had the fair share of outbursts and who could blame him, with everyone on his back. The manager has managed other clubs but he has learnt that this is a different animal, this animal is constantly hungry for more, and anything less than a win is viewed as a defeat. I like Mourinho and I believe his is very smart, where he will take the media for a ride and deflect the media’s attention away from the team towards himself. Sometimes he

will hang a player out to dry, in an attempt to get the player to prove him wrong. Even after winning numerous times, coached a number of great players, he is still learning certain man management. Whether he will stay beyond this season, I do not know, however at this club he has the foundation needed to be remembered as an immortal, as the other clubs he managed have no spine in my opinion. I think he is in love with the club but hates that things aren’t going as planned. People will view his performance in comparison to Guardiola’s, who is a great coach in his own right, but who follows football knows that that City team has been built over a number of years and this United team is being patched together by three managers and having a fourth one will only make matters worse. The club, players and managers in the past have defied the odds and also defied pundits’ predictions and won, and this club will be strong again, maybe not this season but is just a couple of signings away from putting some other clubs and pundits in their place. It is strange how many ex‑Liverpool players went into punditry rather than football management… I guess that they weren’t used to winning, so all they can comment is on when a club is not doing well. Well they are the experts that one must go to then.

VOL 46 - ISSUE 1 - OCTOBER 2018

45

Round‑up of the Major European Leagues…

Man City, Juventus, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Paris SG start favourites to retain their respective domestic title crowns

by Antoine Dalli

Man City seem to have remained the team to beat in the English Premier League albeit Liverpool, Chelsea and Watford took an early lead in the table. In Italy, Juventus, fresh from seventh consecutive league title including four domestic doubles in the last four years, have become even stronger especially with the signing of veteran striker Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid as their extended dominance in the Serie A seem to be a mere formality. Same with Bayern Munich and Paris SG who remain the hot favourites to win the German Bundesliga and the French Ligue 1 respectively.

In Spain, Barcelona seem to be a cut above the rest. Despite the fact that after three league days Real Madrid are top of the table with maximum points level with Barcelona, Julen Lopetegui’s seem to be weaker without their Portuguese talisman Cristiano Ronaldo. Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid, fresh from their European Super Cup success at the expense of Real Madrid, have had an indifferent start to the season – four points from three games. Given the style of defensive football Simeone adopts, the 10‑times Spanish champions seem to be more equipped to make good runs in club cup competitions rather than mounting a creditable challenge for their 11th La Liga title.

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bill of almost £15 million should they sack the former Real Madrid and Man City coach as a result of their woeful start to the season.

T

he early indications in England are that Pep Guardiola’s Man City are still the strongest outfit. Liverpool have bolstered their squad in all departments and if they remain consistent, then they should offer Man City a decent challenge.

Chelsea, Tottenham and Man United are the three sides most likely to challenge for a top‑four spot, even though Spurs made modern history for not making any signing of new players.

Arsenal, under new coach Unai Emery, seem to be still work‑in‑progress and at best the Gunners can aspire for an Europa League berth.

Watford have taken the English Premier League by storm. But it is still premature to say whether Watford can go all the way and cause a big surprise like Claudio Ranieri’s Leicester did in season 2015/16.

At the wrong side of the table, one finds West Ham who are still anchored with no points to show from their first four games following defeats vs. Liverpool 0‑4, Bournemouth 1‑2, West Ham 1‑3 and Wolves 0‑1. Recently, the UK Times revealed that the Hammers, who spent more than £100 million on nine new players during the summer transfer window, have failed to include a termination clause in new coach Mauricio Pellegrini’s lucrative contract with the club when they recruited him from Hebei China Fortune this summer and as a consequence the club will face a compensation

By now Italian football followers have become accustomed that Juventus are of a completely different category compared with the remaining 19 Serie A teams. The Bianconeri are vying for an unprecedented eighth straight league title but this year more than ever before they seem to have set sights on finally ending their long wait to lift their third Champions League, which would be their first since season 1995/96 when they defeated Ajax after a penalty shoot‑out in Rome.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Emre Can (free agent, previously of Liverpool) and the headline‑grabbing return of veteran central defender Leonardo Bonucci from Milan represent Juve’s main signings as Massimiliano Allegri started his fifth season in charge of the ‘Old Lady’. After three league games, Juve are already top of the league with maximum points courtesy of wins vs. Chievo 3‑2, Lazio 2‑0 and Parma 2‑1.

Inter spent big this summer but so far they have still to produce truly convincing performances on the field of play. No wonder that so far, Luciano Spalletti’s men have collected four points from three games as a result of one win vs. Bologna 3‑0, a home draw with Torino

2‑2 after taking a 2‑0 lead, and an opening day shock defeat at the hands of unfancied Sassuolo 0‑1.

In similar vein, Napoli, Roma, Lazio and Milan have all shown inconsistencies in their opening fixtures. All four clubs, bar for Napoli have kept the same coach as the southerners have parted company with Maurizio Sarri (now at Chelsea) and hired Carlo Ancelotti, who made a return to the Serie A after a nine‑year absence during which he coached some of the strongest European clubs in the shape of Chelsea, Paris SG, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.

The early indications are that Juventus have all it takes to retain their crown whereas Napoli, Roma, Lazio, Inter and Milan will battle it out for the remaining three Champions League berths.

The possible surprise package of the 2018/19 Serie A can be Stefano Pioli’s Fiorentina, who have won both their opening two fixtures (vs. Chievo 6‑1 and Udinese 1‑0). Although sterner tests are in store for Fiorentina, who have resisted big money offers for their best two players in the shape of Federico Chiesa, son of Enrico, and Giovanni Simeone, son of Atletico Madrid coach Diego, they seem to be a truly balanced formation and have an outside chance for a Champions League berth should Napoli and the others falter.

from Bordeaux, centre back Clement Lenglet from Seville, central midfielder Arthur from Gremio, and Chilean hard‑tackling midfielder Arturo Vidal from Bayern Munich. The departure of veteran midfielder Andres Iniesta to J1 League outfit Vissel Kobe represents Barcelona’s biggest loss as they started the season with a 2‑1 win vs. Seville in the Spanish Super Cup – their 13th triumph in this competition.

Real Madrid are still coming to terms with the abrupt departures of coach Zinedine Zidane, who became the first ever coach to win three successive Champions Leagues, and Cristiano Ronaldo. Julen Lopetegui, who was sensationally sacked by the Spanish Football Federation just 24 hours before the 2018 World Cup finals got underway for having signed a pre‑contract with Real Madrid, is the new man in charge of the reigning European champions instead of Zidane. Although Real Madrid have made several signings during the summer transfer window with 18‑year‑old Brazilian left winger Vinícius Júnior from Flamengo for £40.50 million being their star signing, none of them including ex‑Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois have so far, made an impact at the Bernabeu Stadium.

Dortmund. Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, Thilo Kehrer and Spanish left‑back Juan Bernat represent Paris SG’s major summer signings.

In the French Ligue 1, Paris SG started firing on all cylinders with five wins from their first five games, scoring 17 goals in the process. In the French Super Cup, Paris SG hammered four past Monaco as they are set to continue their defiant dominance in France. For the record, Paris SG have won five of the last six French Ligue 1 titles, with the only exception coming in season 2016/17 when Monaco broke Paris SG’s domestic dominance.

In the German Bundesliga, Bayern Munich have remained largely unchanged with respect to last season. The five‑times European champions like Hertha Berlin and Wolfsburg have enjoyed a perfect start by collecting six points from their first two games.

Bayern Munich, Bundesliga winners in all of the last six years, are now under the charge of former Croatia long‑standing national team captain Niko Kovač. The 46‑year‑old Kovač, who played for Bayern as a central midfielder between 2001 and 2003, is just the fourth former player to manage Bayern Munich after Søren Lerby, Franz Beckenbauer and Jürgen Klinsmann.

In the Spanish La Liga, Ernesto Valverde’s Barcelona have signed right winger Malcom

Paris SG are now under the charge of German tactician Thomas Tuchel, formerly of Borussia

Kovač, who led Bayern to a resounding 5‑0 win over his former club Eintracht Frankfurt to lift their seventh German Super Cup, will be the third Croat to manage Bayern Munich after Zlatko Čajkovski and Branko Zebec.

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RISING FROM THE WRECKAGE SEASON 1958‑59

by Iain McCartney Part 1

“Some of our finest players together with some of the most experienced members of our staff are no longer with us. Matt Busby regains his strength, but the team you cheer today is about to start one of the most testing seasons in the history of the club” wrote Chairman Harold Hardman in the first issue of the club programme for season 1958‑59, when Chelsea visited Old Trafford on Saturday August 23rd.

“What has the future in store for us?” the United Chairman wondered, as did the supporters who had shed their tears and urged on the new United during their whirlwind journey to Wembley, as they scrapped for League points to maintain a respectable position and jousted with Milan on the European stage.

There had been no summer activity in the transfer market, but Munich survivors Albert Scanlon and Ray Wood had been welcomed back into the fold, both of whom were included in the squad to face a Munich X1 and Hamburg in the two pre‑season tour games.

The return to Germany, and Munich in particular, was something that Matt Busby had thought long and hard about as he lay, fighting his injuries in hospital. “It became my wish to bring United to play here, to try and repay some of the debt of gratitude we owe the people of Munich.”

Obviously making the poignant return to the German city by plane, where United took on a combined Bayern Munich and Munich 1860

side, was out of the question, so it was a similar prolonged journey by train as to that of the trek to Milan a few months earlier.

Leaving Old Trafford at 2pm on Saturday August 9th, it was 10.45am on the morning of Monday 11th when they arrived in Munich, having sailed from Dover to Ostend, where a special coach was added to the Corinthian night express train for United party on their long journey to Germany.

Many of the players had found sleep difficult on the journey as the train rattled along, but upon arrival at their destination, they soon forgot their tiredness, as they were warmly greeted by a host of photographers, autograph hunters and civic officials.

Season 1958‑59 a year after the crash.

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Matt Busby limped down from the train to rapturous applause and walked proudly down the platform to be met by Munich officials, who presented him with a large bouquet of red and white carnations, while each member of the party were presented with a small silver monk – the symbol of the city.

No sooner had their feet touched German soil and their baggage dumped at their hotel, than those who had survived the turmoil of Munich were off to the Rechts der Isar Hospital, with huge bunches of flowers for the sisters and nurses who had cared and nursed them back to health during those traumatic days in the not so distant past.

Such was the attraction of United to the city of Munich, that the crowds flocking towards the stadium prior to kick‑off caused traffic jams, the likes of which had never been seen before, with many latecomers finding the gates locked with a capacity crowd inside, amongst whom were several doctors and nurses from the Rechts der Isar.

On the field, the Germans proved to be just a little too strong for the visitors, running out winners by the odd goal in seven. It was a game that Albert Scanlon was pleased to get out of the way. “I’m glad it is over” he said, “I felt terrible. I felt very nervous and strange playing in my first proper match since the crash”.

While Scanlon was relieved the ordeal was over, Matt Busby was far from happy with his teams performance. “Something will have to be done”, he said, “I am not satisfied”. Neither was the United manager happy with the performance in Hamburg, where United lost 2‑0.

At least passion had once again become part of Matt Busby’s repertoire, as many had held the suspicion that the United manager might call it a day and walk away from football. It was a thought that Busby himself had certainly contemplated on more than one occasion.

He was to confess: “After the Munich disaster I had been afraid to look at the famous old Manchester United ground. I didn’t think I could stand the sight of other players on a pitch on which so recently those wonderful ‘Babes’ had romped.”

“But the grand old chairman, Mr Harold Hardman, a United director for half a century, had faith, the entire board had faith, and United made another great signing in new director, Mr Louis Edwards, whose coming in itself was a sign of his faith in the future. I must not let them down.”

“The name Manchester United had come to mean so much. It must carry on. It would carry on whether I played any part or not. I must play my part.”

“Most of all, I owed it to the memory of those

who had done so much to emblazon the words – Manchester United all over the globe.”

Busby was well aware that having won only one of their last fourteen League games the previous season a lot of work had to be done in order to re‑establish Manchester United as one, if not the top side in English football.

He readily admitted that Jimmy Murphy had concentrated more on the FA Cup run, something that he certainly did not disagree with, but he also felt that before plunging into the transfer market, that the players who had carried that enormous weight upon their shoulders deserved the opportunity to play their part in the rebuilding of the team.

The manager also insisted that diving into the transfer market would do little for team moral and neither would it do much to encourage the players who were perhaps not at their best in what had of course only been a couple of friendly fixtures.

Prior to the match in Hamburg, Dennis Viollet walked slowly round the empty stadium with his manager and was more than aware that Matt Busby was far from happy with his team’s performance in that opening fixture, despite it only being a friendly. “I know that he was aware that there were some players wearing the famous red shirt of United’s first team that normally wouldn’t have been given a run out in the “A” team. It was a desperately harsh fact, but it was there just the same. But most of all, I had the feeling that something had gone that could never be replaced…the team spirit.”

“Matt Busby wanted Manchester United, already acknowledged as the greatest team in Britain, to fulfil their destiny. He wanted them to be the best in Europe.”

“Will you ever be the same?” was the mocking challenge thrown down from those silent stands in Hamburg. I didn’t think so, but suddenly Busby stopped. He turned to me and looked me steadily in the eyes and said quietly, ‘Denis, I have had the best and I tell you, I will have the best again’, before walking away.”

With Busby back at Old Trafford and having taken up residency in his old office for the start of season 1958‑59, many wondered if he would make any swooping changes for the opening First Division fixture against Chelsea at Old Trafford, compared to Jimmy Murphy’s eleven that had finished the previous campaign in Milan. There was also much debate as to how United would fare during the coming campaign, with many of the opinion that although having weathered the storm following Munich, they would finds things slightly different this time around, with the possibility of being involved in a struggle against relegation.

As the season got underway against Chelsea, neither the prospect of a relegation battle nor the slightest hint that they would fail to cope were evident, as Busby’s selected

eleven, showing four changes to the side that played against Milan, tore the Londoners apart, with Bobby Charlton notching a hat trick and Dawson a double in the 5‑2 win.

Into the side came McGuinness, Dawson, Charlton and Scanlon, replacing Crowther (whose reported request for a transfer was deemed as totally untrue), Morgans, Webster and Pearson, with Viollet wearing the number nine shirt instead of ten, a line up that Busby stuck with for the opening four fixtures.

One young player who should have been challenging for a place in the United staring line up was Derry youngster Jimmy Sheils. The former Waterside Boys Club player had been understudy to Roger Byrne and could well have been called upon following the crash, but he was struck down with a knee injury.

“At that time, there wasn’t the same degree of expertise around the medical end of things and I was mis‑diagnosed which meant I would rest, come back in to play and end up being crocked again” said the young defender who rubbed shoulders and exchanged passes and tackles with those who had perished.

Being part of the United family at that time was an experience that Sheils would always remember, but he recalled with sadness how he heard about the crash and dashed up Warwick Road to the ground with fellow lodgers Joe Carolan and Jackie Mooney. “It really hit us all a few days later when he watched the cortege of coffins being driven to the gym. None of us wanted to train or play again and to be fair, the club was very decent to us at that stage. They sent all the Irish boys home to Liam Whelan’s funeral and I remember going to another two or three.”

“I’ll never forget the day Matt Busby came back to the club for the first time after the crash. He tried to meet us all individually but he broke down and no one could carry on a conversation with him. We were all in tears too.”

“I might have made it in 1959,” continued Sheils, “but cartilage operations were iffy things. I was all set to make a big play for a first team place, but a clash with a colleague who fell down on the wounded knee with all his weight meant that I was gone again for another season. The club brought over Tony Dunne and I left United and signed for Southend and I got a grand for a signing on fee.”

“When I saw I wasn’t going to make it at United, I readjusted my sights. I had only ever played once for the first team, against City in the Lancashire Cup Final.”

Whether Manchester United would have won the European Cup in that traumatic 1957‑58 season is something that will never be known, but because of the circumstances evolving around the disaster, an invitation had landed on the Old Trafford doormat in early June from Dr E. Schwarz, president of the European Football Union, asking the club if it would

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Warren Bradley

like to participate in the 1958‑59 competition.

The invite from the Executive Committee said that it had decided in view of the loss suffered

by United in the Munich disaster, that the invitation might be helpful to them and their young players to become re‑established in the football world. It was an invite, not simply made out of sympathy, but one that had also been taken with some financial consideration, as United would obviously have to dip into their bank balance at some point in the weeks and months ahead, in order to rebuild the team to a similar standard to what it was before the crash.

It was a gesture which was warmly applauded by everyone. Everyone that is except the Football Authorities, who rather callously refused to give the club permission to compete.

Club’s competing in the European Cup could be expected to earn around £20,000 from the first round ties, with the sum obviously increasing as progress was made. Such a sum was not to be brushed aside, as the opportunities of making vast amounts of cash through the game in the late 1950’s were few and far between.

A look at the club accounts from this time reveal £100,701 in the Deposit Account and £12,051 in the Current Account, not exactly vast sums of money, although the profit of £97,957 was a record for a football club at that time.

The income from a few European Cup ties in the months ahead however, would certainly have been more than welcome.

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When the invitation arrived at Old Trafford, there was only one word to the RSVP and that was “yes”, despite the team’s overall lack of experience, but unfortunately saying yes to UEFA was not all that was required. United immediately contacted the Football Association and the Football League, requesting permission to take part and in answer to United’s request, the Football Association responded positively, as it had done back in 1956, with that initial request to make the venture into the European unknown, but their Football League counterparts once again stood firm and said that United would not be allowed to take part.

Any thoughts, however, that Manchester United had secured yet another famous victory were soon thrown into disarray as on August 8th, a statement was released from Mr J. Richards of the Football League, which read: “The position is that Manchester United have made and won their appeal and naturally so far as they are concerned, the matter is at an end. The Management Committee has decided to pursue the questions, but there is nothing to say on that point at this stage. We have certainly not inferred that United are about to be expelled from the League.

Matt Busby, as he had done in the summer of 1956, advised his board of directors that they should accept such a generous invitation and a letter was sent to UEFA to that effect and with the club accepting the invitation and despite the huge debate surrounding the matter, the name of Manchester United was included in draw for the opening round of the competition which was made in Cannes on July 2nd, when they were paired with Berne in Group Two, along with the likes of Juventus, Schalke and Wiener Sports Club.

This in turn brought an instant reaction from the League’s ruling body – the Management Committee with its president and secretary, J. Richards and A. Hardaker issuing a joint statement which read: “The decision of the Appeals Board has raised again questions of principle which affect fundamentally the whole structure of the Football League and which, in the opinion of the Management Committee are of far greater importance of whether or not Manchester United play in the European champions club’s competition.”

Despite this positive step, correspondence continued to be exchanged almost daily between United, the Football League and the Football Association and at the United board meeting on July 8th a letter from the Football League was read out which refused to give the club permission to participate in the forthcoming seasons European Cup competition. It was decision which angered the board and secretary Les Olive was immediately instructed to reply.

Seven days later the board made the decision to appeal against the Football Leagues decision, with a letter sent to the Management Committee and on July 29th it was reported that the appeal had been upheld with the decision of the Board of Appeal as follows:‑ “The Board of Appeal has come to the conclusion that whatever the intention of the Football League was, they have not the power under League Regulation 33 to refuse permission to the Manchester United Football Club to compete in the European Champion Clubs Cup Competition for season 1958/59. In these circumstances the Board of Appeal has decided to allow the appeal and the Appeal fee will, therefore, be returned.”

“There is a meeting of the League Management Committee on Sunday August 17th. It has been called to deal with the usual business, but at the meeting, the Manchester United question will also come under discussion.”

But before the Football League’s meeting took place, the Football League Appeals Committee announced that it “upheld United’s right to take part in the European Cup” and that “the Football League had no power to refuse the club permission to take part.”

“The Management Committee has asked for a meeting of the Joint Standing Committee of the Football League to be called as a matter of urgency to discuss the situation and until that meeting has been held, no further statement will be issued by the League.”

The League Management Committee meeting on August 17th saw the Football Association also involved, but it still failed to see any conclusion or agreement reached. It was decided to refer the questions to the Football Association Consultative Committee for the final decision.

A joint statement read: “A special meeting of the joint committee of the Football Association and the Football League discussed the entry of Manchester United into the European Champions Cup competition. The representatives of the Football League made it clear that they did not wish to challenge the decision of the board of appeal. It was decided that the application of Manchester United to take part in the competition under F.A. Rule 18b (clubs wishing to play foreign teams had to ask the F.A. for permission to do so at least 14 days prior to the proposed date) should be referred to the Football Association Consultative Committee.”

So, United simply had to sit and wait, as had their prospective European Cup opponents Berne Young Boys.

MixedMANCUNIANPlatter

by Karm Galea

partnership. The partnership was revealed to fans in advance of the club’s first Premier League game of the season.

them to see each other in the bright sunshine.

He ordered a kit change to the blue and white second away strip. The players’ performance did improve but a late strike by Giggs is all United got for their troubles.

Ferguson was fined £10,000 by the FA which he later described as the best £10,000 he had ever spent but immediately after the game he was in no mode for jokes, as he rejected suggestions that his decision to change kit was based on superstition. He had explained that it was difficult for the players to immediately spot each other at a distance when they lifted up their heads.

Paul Scholes and his eleven During his playing career at Old Trafford between 1993 and 2013, Paul Scholes made 718 appearances on the pitch and won 11 Premier League titles (Slippy Gerrard note), two FA Cups and two Champions Leagues.

Juan Mata and his special assist One assist of Juan Mata that stands out in his memory as the one most special was the one to Mkhitaryan in the 1‑0 win against Saint Etienne in the Europa League. He explains that his grandfather, who had still never missed a professional match of his, was really sick. On the bus back from the Saint Etienne match in France, Mata had spoken to him on FaceTime and he remembers his grandfather’s voice came out slowly. The grandfather was struggling but Mata could make him out saying that the assist to Mkhitaryan had been great.

It was the last assist the grandfather had ever seen as a few days later he passed away.

United never wore the grey kit again. This slip‑up allowed second‑placed Newcastle to move within three points off the top, but United rallied to win their final three games of the season and clinch the Premier League.

MUTV asked Scholes to name his all‑star side and came up with some surprises. In a 4‑3‑3 formation he named Peter Schmeichel as his goalkeeper. In defence he chose Gary Neville at right full‑back, Jaap Stam and Rio Ferdinand in the centre of the defence and Denis Irwin was penciled in at left‑back. Scholes omitted himself from the selection and chose David Beckham and Ryan Giggs either side of Roy Keane. Completing the line up were Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Eric Cantona and the lucky pot In his book “It Shouldn’t Happen to a Manager”, Harry Redknapp who was close to Ferguson, revealed an interesting tale about Eric Cantona.

United and the winning spirit Chivas, the Scottish whisky, has teamed up with Manchester United in a three‑year global

The Southampton encounter and the kit change It was April 1996. The weather was scorching.

United arrived at The Dell, Southampton for a Premier League match with a statistic of having won 11 of their previous 12 games to overhaul Newcastle at the top of the Premier League table. Southampton were relegation‑threatened. United went down three‑nil at half time and something had to change. Paul Scholes came in for Nicky Butt but an angry Ferguson felt that the grey shirts the players were wearing was making it difficult for

Cantona, as a superstar at Old Trafford, earned far more cash than his younger team‑mates.

One thing that all players earned, though, was £800 for doing the club’s in‑house media work. One year it was suggested that they put all their money in together to make £16,000 for the first name out of the pot. David Beckham and the Neville brothers didn’t fancy it. They were young and wanted to be sure of keeping their £800, but Scholes and Nicky But did put their money in. The winner was Eric Cantona and straight away the players were all ‘Eric, you lucky b*st*rd.’

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What did Eric do? He cashed the cheques and shared the money between Butt and Scholes because he liked the fact that they had put in their money when they were on nothing like the same wages as the senior professionals.

John Terry both missed to see the shootout go to sudden death. Then it was Anderson’s turn. He kept his cool and sent the ball down the middle, beating Petr Cech.

This is how Anderson described this monumental moment:

Cristiano Ronaldo and what he said to Fernando Torres During the Champions League semi‑final of 2017, Ronaldo of Real Madrid and Fernando Torres of Atletico Madrid clashed. Torres moved his head towards Ronaldo during the coming together and the pair could be seen exchanging words.

Many commented on the passion being shown by the two players following the clash, suggesting the tension stemmed from the fact that they both previously represented Manchester United and Liverpool respectively.

“I had not touched the ball during my very brief moments on the field and was sitting on the bench. Giggs looked at me and said to somebody that I should take one. I was hesitant. 20 years old at the time. The history of the club was in my hands. I would not take the penalty. I would be joking. How could I? Ferguson was shouting to come on. He put me in, Oh my God! I took the ball. It was the longest walk in my life. I came with the ball and there was no way I would not be shaking. I was terrified. I looked at the goalkeeper who was a giant. Cech opened his arms and I said to myself ‘I am destroyed’ and decided to close my eyes, kick it hard and pray for the ball to go in. Then I took three, four steps back, lashed at the ball, closed my eyes and the ball just passed by Cech’s hand.

The rest is history. And we, glued to the television, trembling and dry at the mouth, thought how cool the players looked as they took the penalties. No wonder one has to be in the pot to know exactly what’s cooking.

According to a source who did lip reading, Torres asked Ronaldo what was wrong, followed by the word ‘clown’. Ronaldo replied by sending Torres home, followed by the word ‘idiot’. Torres then apparently concluded the verbal exchange, after Ronaldo had grinned at him, with the line “Son of a b****.”

However, a second source suggested, and it is safe to say that this is the preferred version

by United fans than the one mooted by the Spanish press, that Ronaldo had riled Torres by saying: “Like Man United over Liverpool, Real always over Atleti.”

On Ferguson and this little bit about our Supporters’ Club This is an anecdote I found while trawling the Net. The writer, a certain Cornell wrote this on RedCafe.net in 2006.

“I had witnessed SAF grow mad on three occasions. Here is one of them.

Anderson and his funny confession Champions League Final in Moscow.

Manchester United versus Chelsea. Final score 1‑1 after extra time. Penalties. Ronaldo and

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If I remember well, it was the summer when Manchester United signed Dwight Yorke. SAF was invited to Malta and he took Yorke, Van Der Gouw, Clegg and Wallwork with him. I remember that the club (our Supporter’s Club) was filled up with supporters who had arrived at the club some 2 to 3 hours before just to book a good place. I was assigned by the club to take care of the players inside the premises, something that I always like to do because it enabled one to have close contact with players and develop a good friendship.

At about 3pm SAF came with the players at the club, but Yorke wasn’t there. SAF seemed to be at ease and in a joyful mood. The first thing SAF did was to tell the supporters that Yorke would be there in about 30 minutes due to ‘important personal issues’ and then he joined the supporters, signing autographs and socialising with them. I gave little notice to SAF who was surrounded by the Supporters’ club committee members and decided to spend the afternoon talking to van der Gouw whom I consider as one of the most down to earth players in the world.

About an hour passed when suddenly SAF raced angrily from the main room right to the committee room. It was clear that something was wrong. Van der Gouw told the lads to leave everything and join the gaffer in the committee room and I escorted them to this room.

SAF was furious. His face was red, his eyes were filled with anger. The committee was trying to calm him down but it was in vain.

‘I will not let Yorke make me look as an idiot, that for sure’, he roared as he took my mobile (without my permission) and called Yorke on his mobile.

From the argument I could understand that Yorke’s lateness was not due to personal circumstances but to do with the fact that Yorke was doing some extra homework with a Russian lady. SAF was furious with him calling Dwight an idiot and a liar, and threatening him that he would surely fine him for such actions.

We stood there silent.

As if paralysed by SAF, everyone was surprised by the man who turned from a great gentleman into a monster in a split of a second. When the call finished, SAF looked at everyone right into our eyes, one after the other, starting from Van de Gouw and finishing with me. He knew that he had managed to scare the hell out of us and seemed satisfied of that result. He grinned and said ‘Yorke is not coming today but I’ll sort him out, don’t worry’. Then he walked over towards me, gave me, the mobile and said ‘thanks’. I confess that in my life I was never afraid of anyone, but SAF did manage to scare the hell out of me.

After that he went out, apologised for Yorke whom according to him ‘didn’t manage to solve his personal problems in time’ and left the club with a great smile on his face and as confident and at ease as ever. I admired SAF in how he tackled the problem and the way he protected his player despite the fact that he was furious with him.

Years had passed since then, yet the witnesses of that event had never talked with each other about that summer afternoon when we all witnessed, some for the first time, the SAF hairdryer treatment. I promised myself to do my best not to see it again but unfortunately it was not.’

Manchester United and their YouTube channel It needed just five months for Manchester United’s YouTube channel to reach one million subscribers ‑ the fastest any sports channel has reached this milestone. Within 24 hours of launching, United’s channel had amassed over 150,000 subscribers and 518,653 views on its first video posted, which up to the first week of August has increased to almost 19 million views. So far this year, the channel has published 358 videos and logged up nearly 56 million views.

Manchester United and a record that Liverpool can never break When United won the Europa League, they became the fifth team in European history to win all three of the continent’s major trophies, namely, the European Cup/Champions League, the UEFA Cup/Europa League and the Cup Winners’ Cup. Other winners of the three trophies are Ajax, Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Juventus. United had won the European Cup/Champions League in 1968, 1999 and 2008, while the Cup Winners’ Cup was won in 1991. Liverpool, though, never won the Cup Winners’ Cup during its 39 years of existence between 1960 and 1999. After Chelsea, the only other English Club that can still do the European Treble are Tottenham, who need to add the Champions League to their UEFA Cups win of 1972 and 1984 and the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1963.

To commemorate this milestone, the club will receive a Gold Play button from YouTube, which recognises the fact that Manchester United are one of the biggest and most successful channels on the platform around the world.

Transfermarkt and again cross referenced against official match reports for accuracy.

Using data from the last five seasons ‑ from 2012/13 to 2016/17 ‑ and applying an affinity algorithm that takes into account cards, fouls and penalties given, they have come up with some interesting conclusions.

Bournemouth are, somewhat surprisingly, the team most favoured by referees, with a 66% level of ‘referee affinity’. Arsenal and Liverpool follow with 64.6% and 62.72% referee affinity, while Swansea and Everton complete the top five. Chelsea are sixth with 61.72%.

What is interesting is that Tottenham and Manchester United seem to be considerably less favoured compared to their rivals.

Tottenham came up with 59.78% and Manchester United with 58.15%.

As one can see from the statistics that came out of the study, the idea that Premier League referees might subconsciously favour Manchester United is not borne out in reality. In fact, of the traditional ‘top six’, Arsenal appear to receive the most favourable treatment from referees.

Manchester United and the burst Liverpool balloon New research has examined data in an attempt to establish if any bias exists against certain clubs in the Premier League.

Free Super Tips have used a new algorithm to examine which teams are actually favoured by referee. Free Super Tips used data sourced from football‑data.co.uk and cross referenced against official match reports for accuracy. Penalty Data was sourced through

MEMBERS’ CORNER

For the record, during the period from which statistics were extracted, Liverpool, favoured by the referees more than Manchester United, won only the Football League Cup, while Manchester United, less favoured, won the Premier League, the FA Cup and the Europa League.

So bang goes Liverpool fans’ cliche that United are favoured by referees. The statistics have made fools of them and more fools are those that copycat them.

Ray Azzopardi - Manchester United Supporters’ Club Malta member since 1977.

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The Season So Far..

by Michael Gatt

It’s a bit of a difficult start with United showing mixed signals W

ith the huge amount of United players reaching the latter stages of the World Cup, it was never going to be an easy start. To add fuel to this, there was also the fact that there were rumours that there was a fall‑out between José Mourinho and Ed Woodward, as Woodward did not complete any major transfer deals according to the Mourinho wish list.

Fred and Dalot were signed at the beginning of the season, which could be said that both are good players.

I believe that Mourinho desperately wanted a central defender and a right‑winger. I still think that although the Smalling‑Lindelof partnership is improving with every game, it is difficult to see this duo form a long‑term partnership and be the spine of the team for the near future. The right wing is an issue. I do not think that Mata, Rashford, Martial or Alexis are comfortable playing there. Mourinho was cunning enough to play Lingard in the right wing position, where he played ok for the first few games of the season. This problematic position was evident in the game vs Wolves at Old Trafford, where Lingard, although good

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for big games, is not consistent enough.

This means that United will lack creativity in some important games.

U n i t e d s ta r t e d the season really badly, and in my opinion, there was an element of misfortune too. In the game at Old Trafford vs. Spurs, United deserved to get a better result than the 3‑0 loss.

They had a great first half, with really good attacking football, where we deserved to score at least a couple of goals, however it was not meant to be unfortunately and Spurs capitalised on the defensive errors.

The previous game against Brighton was indeed one to forget. Lindelof and Bailly had a night to forget, with both of them committing defensive blunders. Pogba, also was not up to scratch in the game. A lot of questions were asked, and at one stage, there were rumours that Mourinho was close to getting the sack.

But credit must go to Mourinho and the team.

They made amends, there was a reaction and they bounced back with 3 wins on the trot (by the time of writing this article). Two of these came in the league and away vs. Burnley, Watford and also in the Champions League against Young Boys.

This year there is a massive improvement in the performances of Luke Shaw and Sanchez.

I believe that the reason of our elimination from the Champions League is that these two players underperformed. Luke Shaw really gives United an amazing dimension down the left flank. He was United’s player of the month for August and it was truly deserved. His good performances earned

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him an England call up too, where he did well vs. Spain. The biggest factor behind Luke Shaw’s form, I believe, is that he had a good pre‑season, where he also went to Dubai a few weeks before in order to improve his fitness.

Sanchez was disappointing last season, but this year he is showing signs of improvements and a more sense of understanding with the players around him. I still feel he has not yet a high performance level for us, but I am sure that this is only round the corner. Obviously the game vs. Wolves was one to forget.

The front trio of United seem to be the most important factor at the moment. There are games where there is not a lot of creativity, which means that the two wings (usually Lingard and Sanchez) are failing to produce.

If we compare them to City and Liverpool, I think there is a big issue at United, as their players produce on a consistent basis and it is rare to see them have an off‑day. United invested heavily in Sanchez (not transfer fee, but making him the highest paid player) and Mourinho is not getting his return on the capital invested. Martial and Rashford could also be considered as too inconsistent.

With regards to Sanchez, it is good for United (not so good for him) that Chile did not qualify for the World Cup, so that extended period of rest in summer was, in my opinion, very beneficial for him. United have big games in the Champions league coming up and in order to progress against the likes of Juventus and Valencia, we need the players to hit good form and come good.

United have a busy October coming up and it is imperative that we keep up the good form shown of late. We already had two slip‑ups in the league and there are other teams that have maximum points after five matches (Liverpool and Chelsea). I still believe that this season will be a fight between Liverpool and City. I believe Liverpool had some good summer signings and have brushed up the team. It is up to United to keep on winning in order to reduce the gap.

I was also very happy to see Michael Carrick as one of José’s assistants. Carrick was a brilliant player with United and I like the fact that Mourinho gave him the role as one of his assistant managers. He speaks the players’ language and I am sure the other midfielders could be guided.

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