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