Benatia, Rojo, Vidal, Di Maria?

Analysis of Manchester United’s Possession & Counterattacking Play Part 2

Analysis of Manchester United’s Possession & Counterattacking Play Part 1

Keep Calm,The Academy is there

Why Kagawa needs a run of games

Matchday 6 Preview: Manchester United vs West Bromwich Albion By Aditya Nayak (@AdityaNayak12)

After an eventful midweek clashes in the league cup it is back to premier league fun again. This week sees Manchester United host West Brom at Old Trafford. The last time these two teams met it resulted in an astounding 5-5 draw with United throwing away their lead a whopping three times in the game. Despite the exciting the scoreline what the game is really remembered for is it was the last game Sir Alex Ferguson played as a manager for Manchester United.

Much has changed since the draw at hawthorns and currently the form that the Albions are in it would a sheer miracle if they manage to walk away with anything from old Trafford. To make matters worse West Brom were defeated midweek against a young Arsenal Squad despite fielding the first team and Manchester United are the wounded tigers this weekend after the Embarrassment at Etihad last week. Moyes would want nothing but a dominating victory on the part of the Red Devils to get back on track in the premier league.West Brom on the other hand would be hoping to capitalize on United's Shaky start to this Season.

Teams News:

Manchester United:  Robin Van Persie Looks to be set to return for the Red Devils after missing out on two games due to injury. Rafael who was forced out due to an hamstring is also expected to feature in Saturday's clash. Young and Valencia may be finally benched after their poor run of form in the last few games.

West Brom: Claudio Yacob the Albion midlfielder will play after recovering from a dead leg. The Striking pair of Anichebe and Anelka look doubtful to return and play from their Respective Injuries. Chris Brunt's Groin injury will keep him out of the weekend clash along with Zolton Gera and Ben Foster who are not available due to injury.

Stats:

Total: 114 games

Manutd Wins: 50

WestBrom Wins: 37

Draw: 27

Kick Off: Saturday 28th September, 20:30 IST (15:00 GMT)

4 Things To Be Done In January Transfer Window For Manchester United

Manchester United are well known for their Slow Starts to a season but this year under the new management of Moyes United have managed just 2 wins in the 5 games and having won just a single point against their rivals Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester city. Fair enough to say looking at the performances a lot need to be changed in the Squad to keep up to the level of Manchester City or chelsea this season.

Out of the Top 6 clubs it seems like Manchester United are the only one who have a made a fiasco out of the Summer transfer window.Arsenal looked revived with the coming of Ozil whereas Liverpool have made some right Transfer making them look all the way much stronger. United Managed to buy Fellaini a very much needed addition to United squad but only one player will not suffice. The Red Devils might have won the League last season with almost the same team but this year already looks like it wont be enough Especially with the long standing poor form of certain players.

So what are the changes that are necessary this January at Old Trafford? Lets have a look:

1. An Established Center back: Yes, the squad may have Vidic and Rio as defenders but they are not getting any younger. Rio's Persistent back problem doesn't allow him to lunge into tackles and certainly was visible in the derby embarrassment in Etihad last week. The pair may survive another year at most and United will have to search for replacement especially because Evans, Jones and Smalling are still to establish themselves as strong Defenders.
Potential targets: Subotic (Borussia Dortmund) , Matt Hummels (Borussia Dortmund), Garay (Benifica)

2. A Brand New Left Wing: Patrice Evra has been outstanding in his forward runs throughout last season and te new one as well, but sadly forward runs is not the main trait to look forward to in a left back. Over the past 2-3 seasons Evra's defensive positioning has been horrendous and has let to opposition wingers to make a mickey out of him. We have in us Buttner and Fabio but as of now they are too young to play regularly and in important games. Solution? buy an Established left back how can stay good for two-three years until Buttner and Fabio take over. May not be by january but definitely by next summer transfer we need to have a good strong defensively capable left back.

That would be the first half of Left Wing Revival, the second half would as most of United fans would agree ill be to offload young. Ashley young's promising start to United career has turned into an horror show from the past season. As if the Poor form weren't enough his weird sense of seeing the green football field as a swimming pool has let most of Footballing world in disarray and has made him a villian in front of his own fans. His starts for United this season has been nothing short of disaster and automatically put him in the list of Manchester United's worst Transfer signings. It is High time the Premier League Champions to have a proper winger who can well... cross and trouble the opposition. United Would much better off employing Nani/ Kagawa in the left wings.

Potential Left back targets: Leighton Baines (Everton)
Potential Left Winger Targets: Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund).

3. Getting it Right on the Right: There was a time When Valencia Would burst through the Right Wing display his physicality and go through the Left back of the opposition and then provide the perfect Cross to the striker for the finish. It was these traits that won him fans Player of the year and the number 7 jersey not two seasons ago. But seems like all that is long lost in the present Valencia. The Ecuadorian winger  seems to have lost the plot at playing the winger. Maybe it was the pressure of the no7 that got into him or maybe it was because the defenders understood him perfectly now whatever it was it is all gone wrong for the player and as well as for United. Maybe he deserves a few more chances but certainly those chances aren't to be given in the big games. Starting Valencia and Young together has meant nothing but Doom for the Red Devils and if Valencia doesn't improve in the coming games the probably he too should be offloaded and replaced with a more non classical right winger who can cut inside into the box or go wide and provide the cross.Zaha Awaits to be Unleashed and there is also Nani who can be deployed should Valencia never find his form again.


4.  Strengthen the Middle part: Fellaini signing was a much needed addition to the midfield which would seems lost when Carrick and Cleverley were employed together.  Ever Since Darren Fletcher went out with his bowel Disease United have been struggling in the midfield and especially against big teams. Carrick has been consistent and has done his job to perfection but he was no where to be midfielder having Creativity and ball winning ability. Cleverley too was siilar kind to Carrick and starting them together might have worked once or twice but in the long run it was bound to fail. Fellaini in that sense  has been the right signing for United. But is just having Fellaini Enough? No it isn't. Cleverley has been average player and of United are dominate the midfield it certainly not going to be enough. Anderson has the creativity but he seems to be excelling only on his chosen days and is very much injury prone player. So even with Fellaini the Red devils are left with only two dependable midfielders and that is certainly a problem. Come January there is definitely a need to add one more midfielder to the stack and also probably offload Anderson so that he can get his playing time elsewhere.

Potential Midfield Targets: Herrera (Athletico Bilbao) , Alex Song (Barcelona).



Write in Your Suggestions as to how United can Strengthen their squad come January. You can also Reply to me with your review/ suggestions on the article via my twitter handle @AdityaNayak12

Manchester United: The Bird With a Crippled Wings

In the Days Old, Manchester United were just like the phoenix bird with their never say Die Attitude making them come out of  the most impossible Situations in magnanimous style. These were the times Where United soared high on its wings. wing play has been an eternal part of United's play. From the days of Beckham United have been relying Wingers making the inch perfect Crosses and strikers rewarding the good cross with a goal. The only time there was an exception in such play was during Ronaldo Era when United shifted to a more European style free flowing football.

Today we see almost all the top teams shifting to the 4-2-3-1 formation with their Wingers not only cross but also look for opportunities to get inside the box and try and score themselves. where as United with the departure have gone back to their classical style of play, they might have won the title a further three times during this period but on the long run this style seems to have crippling United progress in Europe and also to some extent in the Premier League.

Wingers like Young and Valencia to be honest have little place in this modern day football and united Sticking to them and even further starting them every game, hampers United's chances of winning the games. especially against the top teams. As a Proof, we have experienced  defeats at our own home to the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City far too often in the last 3 years and also struggle at Anfield, Emirates etc. Furthermore With their Current form, Valencia and young cross quality has been below Average even for a classic Winger and  adding to it they have been very poor defensively.

United have been using the right formation this season and now only need to put faith in Nani, Zaha, Kagawa instead of Young and Valencia. Breaking away from the classic style of football is the only option the Red Devils are left with if they need to establish themselves as a proper threat in Europe and in the league. Sticking with the current play would leave 20 times Champions of England as nothing but outdated bunch of men. Hoping United have learned their Lesson from the Derby  embarrassment of last weekend and believe Moyes makes the Necessary changes needed.

What we Learned from Manchester United v Chelsea Clash

Here are some points from yesterday’s match. Feel free to share your own in the comments!!

• Wayne Rooney of old is back:

• Running the channels, harassing defenders, playing long diagonal balls, making tackles deep in United’s half, and blasting shots from range. If there was ever an indication that Wayne Rooney is getting back to his old self, last night was certainly it. Rene Meulensteen recently commented that everything needs to be right in Wayne’s world on and off the pitch.  With a performance like that, you could certainly say Rooney is focused and determined. He looks set to stay now.

• Manchester United are a special club:

• Mourinho said it and Moyes affirmed it. This is a special club and we also have special fans.  To give that amount of support to a player who seemingly wants out says a lot about our fans’ loyalty to players ’til the very end.  Although there were some boos back in May, the Old Trafford faithful have taken heed of Sir Alex’s comment to back our new manager and applied the same to Wayne. They let Rooney know the appreciation we as fans have for him and his performance was spurred on with incessant chanting from the crowd.

• Mourinho’s tactics:

• Much has been made of Mourinho’s starting line-up and the fact he started with no recognised striker. You could certainly speculate it was mind games and a gesture to Rooney saying “come here, this spot is waiting for you”. From a pure footballing perspective, it seemed Mourinho thought Schurrle’s movement and the support from midfield would draw out United’s backline and leave gaps but United remained compact and organised.
  

• United’s tactics:

• Tactically, not much has changed from last season. However, one major change was the frequency in which Valencia and Welbeck drifted towards the middle of the pitch along with more emphasis of play in the middle of the pitch as well.  Welbeck /Rooney would sometimes drop deep to help Carrick and Cleverley with numerical disadvantage in midfield.  What Moyes has added to the team is also becoming clearer. There was more intensity to our game and for all the criticism this team has received,we dominated Chelsea throughout the whole match.  Our tempo didn’t seem to fade as we continued to play quick, one-touch passes through midfield and from the wings.
  

• Cleverley & Welbeck:

• Tom gets a special mention for a great performance.  While it wasn’t an amazing attacking display from the England international, he harried Chelsea’s midfielders but also made sure his positioning  was disciplined and coincided with what Carrick was doing too.  The pair seemed to share an understanding in pressing, dropping deep, and supporting the flanks and strikers.  Cleverley moved play along well while taking up good positions deep in midfield and he made a few interceptions.  According to Squawka Football, Cleverley had around 9 defensive actions with 55% being interceptions.

• Welbeck had a disappointing game and if he is going to feature more in Moyes’ team selections, he needs be more composed and display more conviction in his game.
  

• Low quality match:

• Although it was an enticing match, the quality on show was very poor. There were a lot of misplaced passes, loose touches, poor crossing and passes to no teammate in particular. Both sides were quite wasteful in the final third and was more possession-based more than anything else.  There were definitely some moments of quality from the home side (Rooney shot from long range) but neither keeper faced much danger throughout the 90 minutes.
  

• No Kagawa?

• I too was a bit surprised to see Kagawa not feature in yesterday’s match. There seems to be a real genuine worry that the Japanese midfielder is not in Moyes’ plans.  However, we have to keep in mind that yesterday was only our second game of the season. Kagawa’s preseason has been stop-start.  He had Confederations Cup earlier in the summer which also delayed his preseason preparations.  Yesterday was also a chance for Moyes to stick it to Mourinho regarding Rooney. He mentioned that he only planned for Rooney to play for around 60 minutes but such was Wayne’s enthusiasm, Moyes was in no position to take him off. If Kagawa isn’t getting many games come October, then I would start to get worried. For now the season, has just begun. 

Thanks for reading.

Writer: Edikan Umana @OTismyhome

A Closed Chapter: Thiago Alcantara

Admit it! This was probably you when it was announced Thiago was set to join Bayern Munich.  It just didn't seem fair. For weeks, we were set to sign Thiago but it never happened. So what really happened?

Days after Thiago signed, it was revealed from the player himself how Pep was the crucial factor in his decision to go to Bayern.  Thiago's quotes made it seem like we were never in for him and Bayern was his one and only choice.  Yet Thiago's father and his image rights holder both said differently.  So was Thiago lying about our interest? Did we ever initiate any interest in Thiago?  Was the Spanish and English press lying to us the whole time? How come Bayern were able to conclude the deal so quickly? Does Barca saying we made no official contact mean anything?

Thiago quotes:
Let's start with the Thiago quotes on United's interest because there's a minor distinction which was missed in the translated version of his interview.  It's a shame more attention wasn't brought towards it because how you interpret this whole story could be largely shaped by these words. So let's dive in.
Thiago stated: "The truth is that in no moment did United come to us and talk to us. It came from the press, it was always a lie."

But his father said that he was close to joining United but couldn't reach an agreement so what's all this about? Let's clear up a few things.  Mazinho is NOT Thiago's agent.  It just seems like it because he's the one you'll usually see quoted in the press talking on Thiago's behalf. Thiago's agent is actually Pep's brother, Pere Guardiola.  Mazinho's role is like a personal advisor to Thiago.

Secondly, where it says "us" should read as "me or my representative".  Who is Thiago's representative? Well we just established it as Pere Guardiola.  It's entirely possible that Thiago sees his father as his father and not necessarily as his representative.  It's slightly confusing since Mazinho has spoken to the media on Thiago's behalf and made noise about his son's potential exit from Barca. You would think under these circumstances he's being a representative.  However, Thiago only cited one representative and we know his legal representative is Pere.  We also know according to Graham Hunter, that there was interest from Manchester United as he was the one who put United in contact with Mazinho a few years ago. This makes sense as both Craig Norwood & Alistair Fergusson, who are privy to United-related information, both confirmed that Mazinho was in Manchester to speak with the club about Thiago.

So what does this mean overall? United may not have contacted Thiago or Pere directly but Mazinho was certainly involved and acting on Thiago's behalf so we know the interest was there.

United's interest and contacting Barca
As I stated earlier, United have been tracking Thiago for some time. In 2011, we tried to sign him and received a flat-out "NO" from Barca as they were intent on keeping him.  When Thiago's release clause dropped to around £15m, it was no coincidence we were one of the first clubs to be linked with him.

In June, news came out that Manchester United were interested in both Cesc Fabregas and Thiago.  The Fabregas interest seemed strong as Denis Irwin, club ambassador, publicly stated we were looking to bring the Spanish midfielder to Old Trafford.  At this time, David Moyes had not officially taken over from Sir Alex Ferguson which seemed to stall any proceedings with the Thiago move.  James Ducker from the Times reported United were hoping to seal the Thiago deal before leaving for the Asia tour.  It was later revealed from journalists such as Jonathan Northcroft, a good friend of Moyes, who shared a meal with Moyes in Malaysia, that although we were interested in Thiago, he wasn't a priority for Moyes compared to Fabregas. Sounds like a possible explanation for why, from United's perspective, the deal stalled giving Pep an opportunity to contact Thiago again and we all know what happened there.

So what's this about Barca saying we didn't make official contact with them? Does it matter? Technically it doesn't.  From what I understand and have read, if you're the buying club and you activate a player's release clause, the only communication between the two clubs would be for the release papers. Since the Spanish FA acts as an intermediary if the buying club triggers a player's release clause, there really does not need to be any contact between the buying club and selling club.  The Spanish FA along with the relevant tax officers and lawyers would handle the VAT process. The only way for official contact to mean something is when you're negotiating a fee. In our case, it looks like we were trying to handle paying the release clause and VAT but negotiations stalled when Mazinho wanted the playing time clause in Thiago's contract.  Something which has caused debate between some fans. If United don't sign Fabregas, would agreeing to the playing time clause been such a bad idea? A discussion for another day.

Bayern
When Pep said it was Thiago or no one, you just knew it was over. It's rare for managers to come out like that if they're not confident of a deal happening. Barca fans sensed it was over as well as they said when Pep comes out in this way, a deal is usually all but done.  Bayern decided to agree a fee with Barca and by doing so, kept the relations between the clubs amicable. Even though it didn't appear Bayern were interested, once Thiago made his decision, Barca weren't going to get in his way. As Thiago told RAC1, Barca didn't make much of an effort to keep the player.  Since both parties were for the deal, it was concluded quickly.

Conclusion
So looking back what should we, as United fans make of missing out on Thiago?  We witnessed a player choose loyalty to his favorite coach over a club where he would probably enjoy more playing time. Pep will probably give Thiago a lot of minutes but looking at the quality in Bayern's midfield, it's hard to see Thiago being a first choice starter either.  I don't think we can really blame Moyes or Woodward on this deal. I strongly believe if Sir Alex was still here, we would have gotten Thiago.  This is not a critique on Moyes at all.  However, I don't think the managerial change did us any favors either. Since Sir Alex was here when we first submitted a bid for Thiago in 2011, it's fair to speculate he was more keen on Thiago than Moyes. Nothing much wrong with that. You could argue Fabregas is a better signing for Moyes as Cesc has prior EPL experience so there's less of a risk. Moyes officially took over on July 1 and when he came into the office, I don't think sanctioning a deal for Thiago was his top priority. He had many things to take care of. One of them was attending to Wayne Rooney and attempting to convince the player to stay.

It's no fun missing out on a top talent like Thiago.  He looks set to be one of the best midfielders in the world and it's always an honor to say you had one of those players in your team.  Being 22, he was the perfect age for our club as we like to develop young talents into world class stars.  Unfortunately, he chose to join a coach he feels he owes part of his career to and who gave him a chance in the first place.  We have little to be ashamed about.

Thanks for reading.

Writer: Edikan Umana @OTismyhome

Time to clear the air on Cesc Fabregas

Before I start this article, I wish to spare a few words for Tito Vilanova. Barcelona called for an unexpected press conference with news that Tito is set to resign after a second relapse in his fight against cancer.  The fact that Vilanova wanted to continue his tenure as Barca boss after his treatments in New York shows he’s a very determined person. It’s heart-warming to know he went out a champion in his dream job.  I wish him all the best and hope he is successful in beating this cancer.

Now for Cesc….

Friday morning, news spread about David Moyes confirming Manchester United’s bid for Cesc Fabregas.  He even confirmed that Woodward’s reason for returning early was to work on the deal.  All we’ve heard from Barcelona is that their VP has said they’re not listening to any offers for Fabregas and that he’s not for sale.  With news of Vilanova stepping down, the rumors will likely begin to circulate in England around Fabregas leaving Barcelona.  Tito and Fabregas have known each other for a long time and despite what some reports say, they have a very good friendship.  As it stands, no one knows who will replace Vilanova, but I doubt there will be any developments on Fabregas until the new manager comes in.

Now, let’s take a look at a few claims we’ve seen in the media on why Fabregas could move to United:

Claim #1: Barca are open to sell Fabregas as the club need money.

I’m not sure this is true. Papers reference the Neymar transfer as one reason the club need money.  Barcelona spent around £15m which is the transfer fee owed to Santos.  The rest of the money will be paid to third parties over the course of Neymar’s contract.  None of that money factors into Barcelona’s summer budget which is believed to be around 60m euros.  They’ve also sold Thiago for approximately £25m.  Barcelona’s debts have been decreasing since 2011 so they look to be in good shape as they bring in a lot of revenue.  What I suspect is that when the media refer to Barcelona’s debt, they are referring to “total liabilities”.  There is more than one definition of debt, but when you’re reading it in the paper or any other medium, they don’t directly tell you which one. In 2012, Barca’s total liabilities amounted to €578 million.  Sounds like a lot of debt doesn’t it?  Whether you know this or not, deferred income is also factored into total liabilities. In 2012, deferred income accounted for €104 million of Barcelona’s total liabilities.  What’s deferred income you ask? A good example is season ticket revenue for matches not yet played.  That’s right.  Money yet to be earned from season tickets can be considered  “debt” in very loose terms but really it’s not.  It’s viewed as a liability because accountants consider the cash received as not being fully earned until the matches actually take place. So total liabilities isn’t really the best indicator of how much a club really owes. That won’t stop journalists and others using it as attention-grabbing debt figures though.

Debt info source by swissramble here.

Claim #2: Fabregas considers a move to United with doubts over playing time.

There are three things to consider here. The first is does Fabregas really favor a move to United? If so, why? Talking with other United fans, it seems that most agree it’s because he’d be a first-choice starter, he’d be our new Scholes, linking up with van Persie and of course trophies. I fully support David Moyes as our new manager. But I think it’s a bit far-fetched to think we’re set to win the title just yet.  Let’s just say the midfield signing we pick up this season is Fellaini. Would that be convincing enough to say we’re favorites for the title again?  It’s true. The title is won in May and it’s certainly not won on paper, but Moyes is going to take time to adjust to this new environment. It’s a different pressure to what he experienced at Everton and I think it will require patience on our part even though we have a title-winning squad.  The guarantee of success left when Sir Alex stepped down. That doesn’t mean we as United fans shouldn’t be hopeful though.  We may just have to wait a little longer than expected.

Secondly, Fabregas got plenty of game time this past season.  He was only behind Valdes in La Liga starts (30) and while he was subbed off early in some of their games, I doubt each time was because he wasn’t fitting in with the tactical plan.  He has netted 11 goals this past season and provided 11 assists.  Not bad for a player considered to be on the periphery. If there was ever a reason not to sell Fabregas, his goalscoring exploits as a midfielder is certainly one of them.  Barcelona were criticized last season for being too dependent on Messi.  Selling Fabregas could make them even more dependent on the Argentinian maestro. It certainly wouldn’t be smart to expect Neymar to replace those stats with the Brazilian just arriving and doubts on whether he’ll even be a success at Camp Nou.  Fabregas has said he would reconsider his future if Barca decided to sell, but getting him to sign won’t be as straightforward as we’d like to think. I’ll explain why a bit later.

Thirdly, this could be a ploy by his agent. One of the justifications for why Fabregas may move to United is because the club wouldn’t have gone public with the bid and Woodward wouldn’t have left the tour early if there wasn’t some type of encouragement by Barcelona or the player himself.  This could be true but it doesn’t rule out the possibility that Fabregas’ agent is using United’s willingness to buy the player to sweeten a potential for Cesc’s former employers.

Claim #3: Arsenal are set to pass on the option of buying Cesc back as they have other priorities.

This is the one claim I find to be most outlandish.  It just doesn’t make any sense to me.  At the beginning of the summer, we heard Arsenal brag about their warchest and that they could even afford to buy the likes of Rooney.  We all know they really want to bring in a striker but I’m sure they have enough money to fund that and bring Fabregas back to the Emirates. This gives me an opportunity to talk about the first option clause. There seems to be a misconception regarding what this first option clause really means and I hope I’ve gotten it right now after not reading it correctly the first time.

First off, it is NOT a buy-back clause.  Arsenal cannot just go up to Barca with £25m and say “We’re taking Cesc now and there’s nothing you can do about it”.  Here’s my understanding of the clause: 

If Barca receive an offer, let’s say United since we’ve confirmed bidding for him, and accept it, Arsenal can use their first option/first refusal clause in Fabregas’ contract.  What does this mean?  No matter the offer, Arsenal can buy him back for roughly £25m and there’s nothing Barcelona or United can do about it. If Barca accept an offer from United and Cesc only wants to go to United, then Arsenal will have to concede defeat and let him go to United.

So if Arsenal have worked so hard to put a first option clause in Fabregas’ contract, why would they suddenly bypass the chance of getting him when he’s available? If I was an Arsenal fan and United bought Cesc even though he wanted to return to Arsenal, and I find out the club decided not to use the option which gives them the power to easily buy him back, I’d be quite livid! I don’t think #2 will happen for a number of reasons.

There’s been little indication Fabregas actually wants to go to United.  We’ve only heard rumors that he would be open to the move.  Like I said before, this could be a ploy by his agent. Now that we’ve looked at this first option clause, it makes sense why his agent would tell United Fabregas is open to the move. It makes it easier for Cesc to go back to Arsenal.  Secondly, why would Arsene Wenger pass up on one of his favorite players? He has worked with Cesc ever since the age of 16 and seen him become a fine player.  There’s an emotional value as well as a financial one and I’m sure Wenger is monitoring the current situation very closely.  I see it similarly to Sir Alex’s relationship with Ronaldo.  Sir Alex made no secret to his desire of working with Cristiano again when he was manager.  If Sir Alex knew Ronaldo was available, don’t you think he’d fight hard to bring him back to United?  I think Wenger views it the same way with Fabregas.  The player has also made it known that he’d be open to returning to Arsenal. Look at the following quotes back in 2011:

“Apart from Arsenal and Barcelona, I don’t see myself playing anywhere else,’ he told Sky Sports News. ‘I will definitely be going back (to Arsenal) whenever I have time to watch games and to see the guys, and you never know in the future, why not? ‘I hope I will stay here for a very long time, and maybe even retire him, but why not? In life, you can never say never, and if there is one place to go back to, it is Arsenal for sure.”

What has changed since then that would suddenly make him want to choose United? Wenger is still there and they’re in a better financial situation than when he left. His return would a be a major boost to their club and challenging for the title.  We also know that by phone, Sir Alex and Ronaldo regularly stay in contact with each other.  It seems to be the same with Wenger & Fabregas and I wouldn’t be surprised if Wenger’s been planning for Cesc’s return with his recent quotes.

So if Fabregas is considering leaving Barcelona, I think he’s headed back to Arsenal.  It’s either that or he’s staying unless he wants to return to England and Arsenal somehow dont want to him back or he’s set his heart on United.

If Fabregas is going to stay, here are two views from Barcelon fans Rafael Hernandez (@RafaelH117) & “El Pulpo De Badia” (@ousbass) supporting why he will remain at Camp Nou:

Rafael H: (on Cesc’s status at Barcelona) “Fàbregas is not one of the favorite players for the fans, he’s undersappreciated and heavily criticized. I don’t like Cesc that much to be sincere with you, but he’s necessary to the club. Cesc is necessary, he offers many alternatives to our midfield, and Xavi can’t play regularly anymore.” (on Barca’s debt) “Barcelona doesn’t have any financial problems, it’s fake, the debt is getting smaller every year, Rosell is doing a good job at this. Rosell can’t let Cesc after Thiago, he knows he won’t last long if he sells for less than 40-50m”  When I asked him about Tito’s resignation linked with Cesc’s departure, he told me it’s “completely unrelated”.

“El Pulpo de Badia”: 1.lack of attacking mids 2.cesc is a coach desired player 3.he’s important to barçanolism 4.him leaving could cost rosell presidency

So there you have it. The many reasons why I think Fabregas won’t become a United player. He’s a player I’d gladly welcome but I think this deal is out of our hands. It’s possible we’re really confident as we’ve heard from the player that he wants to move to us and all that I’ve written would be essentially futile. But if I were to place a bet, I would bet on Fabregas going back to Arsenal rather than United. Cesc’s respect for Wenger is unquestionable and I think he views Wenger similarly to how Thiago views Pep. As a “unique coach”.  We will see what happens soon but don’t be surprised if Fabregas is not donning the United jersey next season.  If he is, it would be a massive and I repeat massive coup!

As always, thanks for reading.

Writer: Edikan Umana @OTismyhome

Transfer Latest: Thiago, Fabregas & Rooney

Wow! In a matter of days, Manchester United have lost the race on Thiago, submitted a bid for Cesc Fabregas, and now rejected a bid from Chelsea for Wayne Rooney. We will cover each story in more detail later on, but for now let’s run through a quick summary.

Thiago: So what happened here? Going by all the reports in the papers, Thiago to MUFC seemed imminent. Maybe he was going to Bayern Munich all along and we were always his second option. After Bayern officially confirmed the signing, some papers in the English press made it out to be a case of United not really being interested, hence why we never made contact (There’s a point missed here which I will cover later).  However, Charlie Wyett, journalist at the Sun, said that when he and other journalists sat down with Moyes, when the topic came to Thiago, it was summarized as “interested but not a priority”.  The following Monday after Thiago’s transfer to Bayern, Manchester United submitted a bid for Cesc Fabregas.  So now we know who Moyes’ primary target is and it aligns with what Denis Irwin said a month ago.  Don’t worry, we will have more on Thiago. I’m sure I’m not the only one who found it strange for United to pass up on a player that we’ve been tracking for 3 years.

Fabregas: On Monday, Manchester United submitted a £25m bid to Barcelona for Cesc Fabregas.  It’s been the understanding that United listed Cesc and Thiago as targets with the idea that one of them would come to Old Trafford. Now that Thiago has gone to Bayern, the club has seemingly set its sights on acquiring the services of the Spanish midfielder.  Papers such as Telegraph, Times, and the Guardian would have you believe Manchester United are submitting the bid on the grounds that Barcelona need money. They reference the money spent to buy Neymar and that Cesc isn’t a first choice regular in the squad.  Further suggesting he would need more games to get into the Spain squad for 2014 World Cup.  If his involvement for Spain in Euro 2012 is anything to go by, Del Bosque is happy with the minutes he’s getting. Besides Valdes, Fabregas started the most games in La Liga this past season.

What’s important to know is that Fabregas said he wants to stay but apart from a Barcelona source referenced by the Press Association saying Fabregas isn’t “transferable”, the club haven’t made much of an effort to say he’s not for sale. They’ve just lost Thiago and I doubt they want to sell Fabregas in the same window. Personally, I doubt we’ll get him but if Barcelona are willing to sell the player, there’s a chance he might come to United.

Rooney: England’s Golden Boy who according to his camp is at “the peak of his career” looks to be on his way out of Manchester United. Sir Alex revealed back in May that the player had asked to leave and now after David Moyes’ comments to the media, Rooney is “angry and confused”.  What’s strange is that if you look at the full quotes of what David Moyes said it’s really not bad as the media are making out. Instead of telling you the full story, the media have taken Moyes’ quotes out of context.  Moyes stated that he wants to play both van Persie & Rooney together. His comments meant Rooney would take van Persie’s role and lead the line if the Dutchman got injured but not that Rooney would be on the bench or a squad option. Moyes also said that he sees Rooney as having a major role in the team because we need to score “as many goals as we possibly can.” It’s a shame because the media seems more interested in making Moyes look bad rather than providing the full context of what he actually said.  I think it’s clear Rooney’s camp are using Moyes’ comments as another opportunity to accelerate the move to Chelsea more than anything else.

Since Chelsea have now bid for Wayne Rooney, it doesn’t look like he’s going to be at Manchester United for much longer.  Chelsea have denied that any Chelsea player was offered as part of the bid and Manchester United have denied making up Mata & Luiz as part of the swap for Rooney. There’s more juice left in this saga and Chelsea will most likely come back with another bid. Mourinho has talked about Rooney on two occasions now and it seems he’s the one the Chelsea manager really wants.

Breaking: Press Association stated that Ed Woodward is on his way back to Europe for “urgent transfer business” and it’s not about Rooney but an “incoming transfer”. What could it be? Time will tell.

More analysis to follow.

Thanks for reading.

Writer: Edikan Umana @OTismyhome

Missing out on Thiago, no problem at all

The rumors saying Thiago Alcantara has chosen Bayern over United have finally been confirmed, Pep has finally spoken and United fans are on a worldwide mourning filled with bad memories over a well documented list of players who once snubbed United a list that has the likes of Ronaldinho, Lucas Moura and now potentially Thiago Alcantara. The decision to choose Bayern over United is one which will leave a lot of questions than answers on Thiago’s will and the ones advising him in his decisions.

Let’s go back to why he is trying to leave Barca in the after place. Shall we? He can’t get a place in the starting 11 and he wants first team action to break in the Spanish world cup squad fair enough. At Barca his position is limited by people like Xavi, Iniesta, Cesc, and probably Sergio Busquets.

Let’s look at the Bayern that he wants to go to, do they have a readymade role in their first eleven for him, they already have Bastian Schweisteiger, David Alaba, Luiz Gustavo, Javi Martinez among a few and let’s not forget the highly rated Toni Kroos. Question is, how does Pep Guardiola look to break that and accommodate Thiago?

I still feel Thiago would be wise to know united are probably a team that needs him more than Bayern because choosing Bayern at this point then perhaps he might as well stay at Barca because he will be jumping head first straight at Bayern into what he is running away from Barca, how wise would that be?

United should not by any means feel bad, well there are many players and let’s face he (Thiago) is a fine talent alright but he is no Messi or Ronaldo (with all due respects to him) that we would really feel that bad in losing out on him, there are many other players out there.

The real regret though would be missing out on Kevin Strootman whom I now see is nearing a move to Roma, I'd have wanted to see him but then again we are forgetting what united already has and that people like Anderson, Cleverley, Kagawa, et.c these are all good players of coz I’d love to see Anderson get a chance in an injury free season for him to really wire things out and Clevz was brilliant last season and we should expect these guys to develop something that am sure will happen given the chance.

A lot of United fans have been crying out on why United appear to have lost their aura in the transfer Market having lost out on key signings such as Lucas Moura, Mesut Ozil, David Villa, Ronaldinho 10 years ago and the list goes on. For starters it has nothing to do with a team losing its transfer charm because for those who know their United history is not the first time we are going to be losing out on a top player and even the ones named above were not the first ones to snub United, Gaza and Shearer did snub United too many years ago but United still created Scholes, Butt among a few and they did get top goal getters in the form of Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke, Ruud Van Nistelrooy and RVP many years later, the reality is in life you lose some and you win some it’s no different in football transfers.

Should he (Thiago) be another one that got away there are players that United can go for, Ilkay Gundogan is one although it’s hard to see how Dortmund would be willing to sell another key layer having lost Gotze, Xabi Alonso is another target albeit on a long shot since he may consider the fact that he has history with Liverpool and another realistic option that might still work is to trust the resources that are already in Place and that would be surviving with Carrick, Cleverley, Anderson, Fletcher (fingers crossed that he comes back) and Shinji Kagawa as well as the old head and legs of the long serving Ryan Giggs.

Missing out on players does not reduce a team of United’s caliber to that of say Wigan Athletic, United will always remain what is is and that is one of the biggest clubs in the planet.

Writer: Geoffrey Lea @geoffiejeff

Why Thiago’s release clause is so complicated

“I don’t get it! All we have to do is pay the stinking release clause and the player is ours right?!”

That’s what you would think, however this is not the case in Spain. It’s not like Gotze’s transfer to Bayern where all the player had to do was activate the release clause and there’s no negotiations necessary.

Before I start on my summary of release clauses in Spain, I would like to say I have only learned about them recently so I will not dive into the finer details. I would have to know the Spanish language in order to do that.

So here’s what you need to know about release clauses in Spain.

First of all, in Spain, La Liga players are obligated to have release clauses inserted into their contracts under Spanish law.  As a result, clubs can arrange for a player’s release clause to be set quite high.  In Thiago’s case, at the end of July his release clause rises to 90m euros.  There is also another case to consider here.  How release clauses are activated depends on whether or not a Spanish club comes in for the player.

For instance, if Madrid meets Thiago’s buyout clause, if Thiago wishes to leave Barcelona for Madrid, Barcelona are forced to sign the release papers and Thiago now belongs to Madrid. Case closed. End of story. Unfortunately, this doesn’t work for foreign clubs. It’s much more complicated.

Foreign clubs actually have to negotiate with the selling club. This doesn’t mean a non-Spanish club can’t activate the clause or the player can’t activate the buyout clause. It’s just not straightforward and here’s why.

All the parties  that are involved make the deal quite complicated. Tax authorities and lawyers have to check and make sure the deal is compliant with FIFA and UEFA codes of conduct, Spanish and EU contract law and of course, Spanish tax laws.  Only then can the deal move forward.

Technically, if a non-Spanish club is going to obtain the release papers from the selling club, the money has to be provided by the player.  It’s a breach of contract so the player is literally buying out his contract allowing him to leave.  The interpretation of the phrase “provided by” is vague and we saw this when Bayern Munich brought Javi Martinez from Bilbao. Bayern were given approval by Martinez to pay the money to the Spanish FA who act as intermediaries for these type of situations. The money was then given to Bilbao as compensation for losing Martinez. If Martinez had to pay for the clause himself, then he would be subject to income tax which could double the price.

Just to clarify, when the club meets the buyout clause, they can be subject to VAT(tax added onto the buyout clause) if it’s decided it should be applied. Who decides whether or not it’s applied I think falls at the discretion of the tax authorities. However, I don’t know with 100% certainty. In Bayern Munich’s case, the ruling was that they didn’t have to pay VAT because no services or goods were being exchanged.  Some disagree with the decision and think that a VAT should been applied.  I guess in Manchester United’s case, we have to pay the VAT.  Another clarification is that since Bayern Munich paid the release clause with Martinez’s permission instead of on his behalf, they did not have to pay the income tax.

What you may find surprising is that Spanish clubs usually do not exploit the buyout clause of other Spanish clubs.  They choose not to because it hinders relations with the other club.  You wouldn’t want the very same club coming back sometime later and taking one of your players by simply meeting the release clause.  So instead, clubs usually choose to agree on a fee and carry on from there.

So here’s the million dollar question, what does this mean for Manchester United & Thiago? Here are a few scenarios:

A) Thiago buys out his contract, MUFC pays release fee on his behalf and is now subject to income tax. (Total fee: up to 40m

B) MUFC triggers the buyout clause and most likely subject to VAT. (Total fee: up to 25m euros due to parties involved)

C) MUFC & Barca negotiate a fee to agree on. (Total fee: could be between 18-24m euros depending on negotiations)

We can essentially rule out scenario A as the deal could rise as high as 40m euros due to income tax.  Scenario B is much more likely and if MUFC have gone along this route, we could be waiting for tax authorities and all relevant parties to sanction the deal.  Also, there will be extra fees for the lawyers and tax officials involved.  The agent will want his fair share too.
If MUFC go with scenario C, it would be the most amicable way of going about the transfer. The release clause fee would essentially be used as a starting price for the two clubs to negotiate.  Reports have said Barca are stalling the deal and it could be alluding to these type of negotiations.  However, we don’t know what’s going at the moment and since both clubs have said essentially nothing about the deal, it’s hard to tell.

Manchester United is known for being quiet when it comes to negotiating deals.  The deal could be very advanced and we are just waiting for everything to be finalized before announcing anything.  We know that Thiago’s clause rises at the end of July and that he reports back to training on the 15th.  So if any deal was going to happen, you’d imagine it would have to be soon.

Thanks for reading.

Writer: Edikan Umana @OTismyhome