Does David Moyes Need A Class of '14?

We all know the story about SAF's brilliant 'Class of '92'. After a host of successive defeats, Ferguson decided to introduce a crop of young players from the United youth team into the first team. He did this because he was all out of options and quite simply did not know how to rejuvenate the squad without breaking the bank. For those who may not know the story behind the 'Class of '92' or have not watched the documentary yet, here's an excerpt from SAF's autobiography: 

SAF felt that the time was right to introduce a young group of players which included Giggs, Beckham, Scholes, Butt, Phil Neville and a very raw and talented Robbie Savage, even though Savage failed to make any appearances for United and later moved to Crewe Alexandra. I'm sure many United supporters will remember Alan Hanson's famous quote in regards to this move by Ferguson, "You can't win anything with kids." SAF not only went on to win numerous trophies with these "kids" but he also built an entire empire stemming from their hard work and determination. All it took was for one man to believe in them and give them the motivation that they needed. This is when United's youth academy became famous for developing raw talent and for being one of the best academies in all of England.

I truly believe that David Moyes can do the same with the youth players that United have. United's youth academy has not faltered in the slightest and I do not see that changing for many years to come. There is enough raw talent in United's reserve team, as well as the various other youth teams, to keep us supplied for years.

The players who are on loan at the moment, namely Jesse Lingard and Nick Powell have been doing brilliantly for their loan clubs Birmingham and Wigan. Powell is only 18 years old and he does need to develop further but I've seen enough of Jesse Lingard, both in the reserves and on loan, to make me think that he's ready for first team action. Zaha and Januzaj are two players that Moyes needs to start playing more regularly. Zaha came to United under the premise that he would be playing regular first team football, and his sheer physical presence would not do the team any harm out on the wings, especially when he is expected to brush aside bulky defenders and get crosses into the box. Januzaj is such an amazing player with so much potential. His preferred role is the no.10 one but he's doing brilliantly as a winger right now. He can provide crosses which unlock defenses, something which none of United's current wingers, except Nani when he feels like it, can do. United obviously need a world class creative midfielder who Lingard and Powell can learn from, and I hope that we manage to tie up that signing soon. 

Other youth/ u21 players, Davide Petrucci (midfielder), Will Keane (striker), Ryan Tunnicliffe (midfielder) are all very promising players. Petrucci arrived at United when he was just 17 years old, he's now 21. A number of injuries had blighted his first couple of years with United but he looks to be kicking on since then. He has developed under the careful guidance of a host of United coaches and knows the club and it's philosophy very well. Will Keane picked up a horrendous injury after having the season of his life (2011/2012) during international duty with the England u19 squad that made him miss an entire season. He was promised a place in United's first team but his injury has pegged him back. He continues to work very hard to get to the level he was once at, and looks very much to be a natural goalscorer. Ryan Tunnicliffe is an exciting prospect, having been a great midfield partner for Pogba and Morrison. He's an all-round midfielder, which is always nice to hear and he can tackle!

There's an endless amount of youth talent that Moyes has at his hands, but he will also do well to assess whether they are truly ready for the big stage. We know that Moyes is not afraid to introduce youth into a first team squad, like he did with Rooney at Everton, but he might need just a little bit more time to get to know our youth players better, and he has already been doing that, having being spotted at the United u19s UEFA Youth League game tonight.

This might very well be the time to take a leap of faith. Clear out the deadwood and give our lads a chance. I'd rather lose with kids than lose with experienced players who are not of United calibre in the first place. You get the feeling that some of the senior players, Ferdinand for example, do not respect Moyes on the same level in which they respected SAF. These young players will give Moyes the respect he needs to drive this team forward and they'll be motivated to impress the world on one of the biggest stages in the world, Old Trafford.

Please Can We Not Blame Moyes?

I write this utterly disappointed and bewildered. United supporters, people who have supported this prestigious club for years have been nothing short of ridiculous this week amongst the chaos of the Wayne Rooney-Chelsea saga. I, for one, couldn't care less about what happens with Rooney because I trust that the club are doing everything they can to keep him happy, which as we all know from 2011 includes the issue of a new contract and more money. 

No, what I want to address is the fact that so many supporters have taken the word of Jose Mourinho and Chelsea above those of David Moyes and Manchester United. Yes, I understand that the club has not issued a statement regarding the issue but why should they? We all know that United only issue statements for important happenings at the club such as new sponsorship deals, new signings, Sir Alex's retirement, etc. Why would the club issue a statement about a wantaway striker? That is not United's style. United have always trusted the manager to deal with such issues in press conferences (pressers) and they continue to do so with David Moyes. Why should anything be different now that Sir Alex has retired? United are no Chelsea, issuing statements about issues which Mourinho is too scared to deal with himself during pressers.

David Moyes stated in his first presser that Rooney is not for sale, and that is the official word from both the club and manager and it is still unchanged thus far. Why should Moyes be reiterating his statement? That's rather embarrassing is it not? The bid has already been rejected, what more is there left to say? Yet tomorrow, at the presser, Moyes will be saying those very same words yet again "Wayne Rooney is not for sale." If Sir Alex had said those words, none of us would be doubting it. Why do we as supporters choose to believe something that a club like Chelsea has said over what United have said? It is appalling. It's much like believing everything that Manchester City say. Yes, Mourinho has stated that Rooney is Chelsea's only transfer target but, David Moyes has said that Rooney is not for sale, yet people choose to panic just because Mourinho said blah blah blah.

Rooney was supposedly upset by what Moyes said about him and supposedly said that he will not play second fiddle to Robin van Persie. I say supposedly because these are the words from the player's entourage, not the player himself and word is that he is feeling "angry and confused" which led to the utterly hilarious Twitter trend #ThingsThatAngerAndConfuseWayneRooney. The even more bizarre thing is that some of you think that United leaked the whole spectacle to the press which is laughable. It is quite clear that Rooney's entourage is responsible for this one. Now, Moyes' remark in black and white looks rather harsh but it was taken completely out of context. Here is what Moyes said in full, and you'll realise he, as a manager, has not said anything offensive at all and no insult was intended: "I think Wayne can play up top, he can play dropped in. Overall my thoughts on Wayne is he'll be key. If for any reason we had an injury to Robin we are going to need him. I want to be able to play the two of them, I want to be able to use Danny Welbeck and Chicharito as well." That is all that Moyes said and of course Rooney supposedly overreacted. If anyone should be lightly offended, it should be poor Chicharito! The lad has been loyal to United since day one but he has spent half of his brilliant 50 goal career on the bench. Come on now Rooney, get into shape and show us why you should be started ahead of the league's top goalscorer in the 2012/13 season instead of incessantly whining and flailing your arms about, something that you have become quite famous for.

Now, in terms of transfers, I do agree with the majority of you that things have been a downright mess but I don't agree that all of the blame should be placed on Moyes' shoulders. Let's chat about good ol' Thiago for a bit. Now I for one did not expect to see Thiago in a United shirt at the end of the whole debacle. All that the papers were ever reporting were that United were "in negotiations" with the player. No bid was reportedly placed remember. No one knows if this is fact or fiction. But, I can tell you this much, Thiago was waiting for Pep and Bayern to come calling, and they did. Within a couple of days the Thiago deal was tied up and he was off to Bayern. If he really wanted to play for United, there would be no issues, everything would have been sorted out within a week or so and he would be on his way to Old Trafford. No, Thiago was waiting for his beloved Pep with his shiny new club to come calling his name, because that is where he really wants to be. A day after this happened United placed a bid for good ol' Fabregas, a bid which has not been rejected yet. But alas! How did this ever become public knowledge?? I smell a rat at the club, and I'm not kidding (Sir Alex also suspects this by the way). United would never, ever leak such information to the press. Remember how The Independent leaked the news of SAF retiring? Did the club leak that too then? Why would they? A lot of you would like Moyes to be more public in his pursuit of new players, something which he has said he will not do, yet you all still hold out hope. The only times United have publicly courted a player (refer to RVP) is when they have been confident of signing that player. Do you really want Moyes to publicly court a player that he isn't even sure of signing? Didn't think so. It would make everyone at the club look like complete asses if the deal falls through (which happens more often than not).

In any case, whether there is or isn't a rat making the rounds at Old Trafford and opening their big trap to the press, the responsibility of transfers rests solely on Mr Ed Woodward's shoulders. Don't blame Moyes, I doubt he even knows what's going on in negotiations half the time. Yes, the manager is a part of the transfer process but usually only towards the end when personal/club terms are being agreed and the player is ready to put pen to paper. Mr Moyes at the moment is getting our current squad into shape in time for next season and that is his priority at the moment, not signings, that alone should be Mr Woodward's priority. Mr Woodward wants to write his name into United folklore with a big name transfer which is all well and good, but don't go and mess it up. Now it is too early to judge whether or not Mr Woodward is useless because there are still SIX weeks left until deadline day. The thing that every United supporter lacks, including myself, is patience. If we want something, we want it then and there. WE WANT TRANSFERS AND WE WANT THEM TOMORROW! Quite spoiled aren't we? 

The message that Sir Alex gave all United supporters during his retirement speech is "Your job now is to stand by our new manager!" Let us all not forget that and give Moyes our full support. He's only 3 weeks in managing one of the biggest clubs in the world, let's not make his job more difficult by blaming him for things that are not his fault.

Goodbye Sir Alex Ferguson

How can we possibly get through one of the saddest weeks in United's history? We can't. All we can do is bask in Sir Alex's glory that he has brought to United. It is not easy for me to type out this post but I know that it will make me feel a whole lot better.

The rumour broke out last night at approximately 23:00. Half an hour earlier, everyone on Twitter was talking about some big announcement that Manchester United were going to make soon. Some people were saying that a newspaper is going to break the story while others were saying that it will be an official club announcement. Rumours were flying around as to what it could be. A new player? A new club sponsor? Something about an IPO? New owners of the club hopefully? The sponsor rumour seemed to be the most likeliest. And then, as I was scrolling down reading all of these tweets, someone said "Could it be that Sir Alex is going to retire?" It could not possibly happen. Why just last week he was talking about making a big name signing. A couple of hours later, The Telegraph newspaper released the story "Sir Alex To Retire From Manchester United After 26 Years". At first no one believed it. Then people started panicking. Then I went to bed.

I awoke the next morning to the very loud vibration of my phone "The rumours are getting stronger :( " Delon, a friend of mine, was concerned. I assured him that they were just that, nothing more than rumours. He also informed me that a press conference will be held at 10am (9am for those who live in the UK) to confirm or deny the rumours. I told him to keep me informed because I had a lecture to go to. I had just sat down in my seat when my phone vibrated again...all Delon could say was "It's been confirmed :( " It felt unreal. I was numb. I of course could not concentrate on the rest of my lecture, I just knew that one of the footballing greats had left the most iconic club in the world.

I got back home to my laptop, flung it open because one of my other friends was also in need of comforting and a slew of tribute videos clogged my Twitter and Facebook timelines. As I watched them I could not hold back the tears, for how could a man this great not be immortal? The success that he has brought to my beloved club is unparalleled. He is known for being a winner, for being a fighter. His quotes about Liverpool, Newcastle and various managers are charismatic as well as hilarious. There's so much to say about him, about his successes, about his persona, all of which I will discuss in my next blog post titled "Thanks For The Memories Sir Alex"

Sunday will be his last game at Old Trafford and I am sure that all United supporters are going to be very emotional. Today is one of the saddest days that United supporters will ever know. However, whoever the next manager of United is, let us all give him our full support and not turn out to be another Chelsea. Sir Alex will be one of the club's directors and ambassadors. Yes, losing Sir Alex is hard, if we do not win any trophies next season that will be even more difficult but remember one thing if nothing at all, "We'll Keep The Red Flag Flying High, 'Cause Man United Will Never Die."

Our Toothless Wingers

United's wingers have been under scrutiny for the entirety of this season, and rightly so. They have not been strong at all even when they've been given the opportunity to play for one of the biggest clubs in the world. Where did it all go wrong? From Best to Giggs to Cantona to Ronaldo, United's wingers have been known to strike fear into the hearts of defenders, and now, defenders swat them away as if they aren't even there.

Let's look at some overall season statistics. We'll start with the winger who's made the most appearances for United so far this season, Antonio Valencia:

Games started: 37
Goals scored: 2 (FA Cup & EPL)
Assists: 6

That is all the statistics you need to look at for a winger. To say that Valencia has been horrendous would be an understatement. I understand that he broke his ankle in the 2011/2012 season  and was out for 6 months but to perform so badly during an entire season whilst maybe 98% fit is inexcusable, especially when you're playing for one of the best clubs in the world.

From Valencia, it goes from bad to worse. Let's look at Ashley Young's stats:

Games started: 19
Goals scored: 0
Assists: 3

When I first saw the above stats, I thought that ESPN might have not realised that April Fools has passed. It was so shocking that I just stared blankly at the screen for about two minutes, for how could the stats of a WINGER be this bad? When United first bought Ashley Young in 2011, I was really excited because he was one if the best winger's in the league at the time but he has seriously underperformed during his stint at United and now I am questioning whether United would gain any profit from selling him at the end of this season.

United's best winger by far this season has been Luis Nani:

Games started: 11
Goals scored: 1
Assists: 2

Nani has the best games:goals ratio here. He has the undeniable ability to frustrate you and amaze you at the same time, with his subtle touches and strikes on goal (sometimes sailing way over the crossbar). Nani's only hindrance is that he is too inconsistent. He plays well in one game and is terrible in the next. He has been with United for 6 seasons now, and in 2 of those 6 seasons he was rated as being brilliant but he has faltered and gotten up only to falter again. It's frustrating for United supporters because we know that he has the potential to be one of the best wingers in the world, if only he were consistent. Ferguson criticised him earlier this season when we exited the Carling Cup for giving the ball away which let Chelsea score a late goal and knock United out. At the time I was shocked because I could not remember the last time Ferguson publicly called out a player for making a mistake in a match, but he was obviously very frustrated, and ever since then, Nani has not made many appearances for United.

With all that said and done, do you think that United should sell these wingers and get better ones or should we stick with what we've got and see how they do next season? Leave your comments in the box below or tweet to me @Chiara_MUFC

Appreciate The Players We Have

I know of a lot of United "supporters" on Twitter who continuously slag off some of our players. If they don't perform well in a single match, their head is instantly on the chopping block. What most of these "supporters" don't realise is how fortunate we are to have these players in our squad when they could have easily been in a rival team's one. 

What a lot of football supporters in general fail to realise is how long and arduous the transfer process actually is, and that's where David Gill comes in for United. When David Gill says that United are "looking at a player", he doesn't only mean that United are monitoring that player's progress but that they're also opening up lines of communication with that player's club and such if they haven't already so transfer processes sometimes start months in advance. 

There are basically 6 steps to a transfer process and I won't go into any boring details, I'll just list them quickly. 

1. A written offer has to be made and a fee for the player has to be agreed.

2. The player's personal terms have to be agreed (salary and sign-on fee).

3.  Bonuses and image rights for the player have to be agreed.

4. The player has to agree with the package that has been offered to him via his agent.

5. The agent's fees need to be agreed upon.

6. When the deal is done, the necessary documents need to be submitted to the relevant football authorities.

If you want to know more, you're welcome to read all the details: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/6314369.stm

Transfers can go really smoothly  and can get done within a couple of days or they can break down by the time clubs get to step 4 where the player is unhappy about the package which he has been offered and this is one of the main reasons that clubs often spend more than they were supposed to on a player. All the add-ons that is required to sign a player can also become a bit overwhelming for clubs and negotiations will again break down. Hence, there are a lot of things that could potentially go wrong when a club tries to sign a player, especially a player who is already one of the best.

This makes you realise how hard David Gill and other executives of the club actually work to ensure that transfer deals go through and get done, so be thankful for the players that we do have because United's executives worked really hard to get them in the first place.

Why United Need Kevin Strootman

United have been lacking in midfield prowess ever since Roy Keane left. We have failed to replace him and as a result, our midfield has suffered. If you are a true United supporter, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. Now, in the past couple of weeks Cleverley and Carrick have formed a good partnership with each other but we need more than just that, we need leadership, we need Kevin Strootman.

Stootman is one of the most talented young midfielders right now and if United manage to buy him at the end of this season, it would be an amazing coup. That's not to say that other English clubs are trying to pry him away from PSV Eindhoven in the forms of Liverpool and Arsenal but which player can resist a move to one of the biggest clubs in the world? And since he wants to play in England, United should have no problem in tying up the deal. Below I've compiled 5 reasons as to why United need Kevin Strootman:

1. Leadership Qualities

United have been missing a dominating presence in midfield ever since the departure of Roy Keane. Yes, Paul Scholes has been there running things in midfield but he hasn't been leading our midfield the way it needs to be lead. If we look at City's midfield, they have a dominating presence in the form of Yaya Toure. He is a physical presence at 1.88m tall and 79kgs in weight. More often than not, he dictates a lot of City's play. United need someone like that. Strootman is 1.86m tall and 78kgs in weight, very similar to Toure and he will be able to present a physical presence in our midfield as well as lead it since he can play as a creative, defensive or holding midfielder, very versatile. 

2. He Is Cheap!

We all know that the price of players has always been a sticking point with United. We missed out on Sneijder (thankfully) because United couldn't meet his asking price and we've missed out on Moura too for the same reason. PSV, believe it or not, want £15m for Strootman. 15! Now that, is a bargain in my humble opinion. He's one of the most promising young talents in Europe and PSV only want £15m for him. Ferguson's mouth would have watered when he heard that. Very affordable indeed.

3. Legacy

Sir Alex is building up one more legendary squad that is capable of winning anything and everything before he leaves United. Why do you think that United have signed so many players in their early 20s in the past 3 seasons? He's building up a squad so that when the new boss of United comes in, he won't have to worry that much about adding to the squad because that squad will already be the formula for success. At the age of 22, it's hard to believe that Strootman doesn't tick all the boxes for Ferguson. 

4. The Dutch Connection

Strootman has already made 15 appearances for Holland and he is in the squad to face Italy next month. The fact that he's made 15 appearances for his country means that he's had a chance to link up with fellow countryman Robin van Persie and if Strootman does come to United, it would be hard to imagine that he and RVP would not have a brilliant partnership. Dutchmen seem to be successful at United and since many clubs in the EPL are looking at players from certain leagues, Swansea-La Liga and Newcastle-Ligue 1, the Eredivisie might just be a new hunting ground for United.

5. Instant Favourite 

Lots of United supporters, myself included, are already huge fans of Strootman because we know that he is what United's midfield desperately needs. He is quite mature for his age scoring 5 goals in 9 games for PSV this season and gaining 15 caps for his country so that means that he isn't afraid of pressure and that he can perform when United need him most, just what every United supporter loves. 

If Strootman moves to Arsenal or Liverpool in the July transfer window, my mind will be boggled. Losing such a promising player to another club in the EPL would be less than ideal. I am certain that Sir Alex is quite aware of him though and I hope that by August this year, Kevin Strootman will be a United player.

Do Not Sell De Gea

There are a fair amount of rumours making the rounds since the January transfer window is coming to a close and those rumours include the sale of Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea with reports stating that Sir Alex is unhappy with his performances this season. 

I personally think that United should not sell De Gea for the simple reason that he has the potential to become one of the greatest goalkeepers in the world and if United do sell him, they will possibly regret it. He is an excellent shot stopper, some of the saves he has made have been world class. I know that a few of his performances this season have been shaky but that is partially due to our defense. United's defense has been anything but strong this season and it would be enough to put any goalkeeper under immense pressure. The fact that De Gea has kept us in games singlehandedly (the match against Spurs last weekend) and the fact that he's been able to put out good performances in spite of how weak our defense is, is nothing short of incredible. 

This is not to say however that De Gea does not have his shortcomings. For one, his physique is less than ideal for a goalkeeper. Yes, he's tall alright but he needs to bulk up. He gets bullied a lot by the opposition whenever United have to deal with corners and this is one of the main reasons as to why United has conceded a lot of their goals from corners this season. He also tends to let us down in matches when it matters the most. In the Newcastle game for instance, his performance was below par. 

Despite his pros and his cons, United supporters have to realise that De Gea is only 22 years old. Since when, have we as United supporters, demanded instant success from any player? Yes, there is a certain level of expectation at one of the best clubs in the world but can this really be how spoiled we are? Since when do we demand that United sign big stars with proven experience? There are a lot of players that United have signed that none of us knew anything about, Javier Hernandez and Cristiano Ronaldo to name just two. 

Did Peter Schmeichel or Edwin van der Sar gain instant "Legend" status in their first two seasons at United? Exactly. Schmeichel, believe it or not, was not very effective in the beginning and it took VDS quite a while to adjust as well. If United had not given these two goalkeepers the time they needed to develop and adjust to the Premier League, they would have become legends elsewhere.

Let me finish off by saying that yes, we expect De Gea to do his job but placing more expectation than is necessary on him is not going to solve anything, neither is selling him. United need to give him the time he needs to develop and we as United supporters need to be patient with him.

Stats this season in the EPL:

Games:     Saves:     Clean Sheets:
15             59           3

"He's just a unique talent. Ultimately, I think they come around in cycles. Iker Casillas was 17 when he got in the Real Madrid team, I saw Gianluigi Buffon when he was 17... The qualities we've all seen, and the manager has seen, have ticked the boxes. There is always an element of 'can they handle 76,000 at Old Trafford?' but I've seen him play at the Nou Camp, man of the match. Not fazed." Manchester United goalkeeper coach Eric Steele, July 2011.