Echoes from Old Trafford - October 2017

NEWSPAPER POST

Volume 45- Issue 1, October 2017

“He’s a massive signing.

They’re all big-money signings nowadays but he’s proven in the Premier League. He’ll get goals and that’s what United missed last season. I think he’s got plenty of those in him.”

Andy Cole

Manchester Manche Man che cheste heste sterr United Unitted d Supporters’ S p Sup Su por orter e s’ s Club-Malta Club-M Clu b-Malt b-M altaa alt Founded Fo Fou o nde ou ed 1959, 1959 9, is is officially offici ffi all ffic allyy recognized recogni eco ogni n zed ed by by the tth he Manchester Maancche Man este te er United Uni nit n ited d Football Foo o tba oo b ll Club.

Club.

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In this issue 3  EDITORIAL MALTESE ........................................................................... 5  EDITORIAL ENGLISH ............................................................................

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

7

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

9

 ROMELU LUKAKU .............................................................................

12

 MANCHESTER UNITED NEW SIGNINGS .............................................

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Official publication of the Manchester United Supporters’ Club Malta editorial team Clint Camilleri · Braden Galea · Michael Calleja advertising executives Antoine Portelli contributors Michael Calleja Tiziana Caruana Robert Muscat Joseph Tedesco Jude Cauchi Silvio Scicluna Roderick Psaila Robert Mizzi Julian Tabone Stefan Attard Paul Vassallo Antoine Dalli Fr. Karm Ferrante John Calleja Norbert Bugeja Braden Galea Kenneth Abela Iain McCartney Karm Galea Michael Gatt

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 ZLATAN IS BACK ................................................................................  TRANSFER RUMOURS THAT DID NOT HAPPEN ....................................

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 BEST FORMATION THIS SEASON ......................................................

19

 REFLECTIONS FROM THE 2017 SUMMER TRANSFER WINDOW ............

21

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 DO NOT BE AFRAID ...........................................................................  MAIN PREMIER LEAGUE CHALLENGES .............................................

 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE OPPONENTS ...................................................

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 WHERE ARE THEY NOW – NICKY BUTT ..............................................

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 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE NIGHTS ..........................................................

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 THE TWO NEMANJAS .......................................................................

printing Progress Press

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39

 WINNING ..........................................................................................

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patron Sir Alex Ferguson club founder John Calleja club committee Joseph Tedesco Joe Catania

President, Match Tickets Coordinator Vice President, Social Activities Coordinator

 MIXED MANCUNIAN PLATTER ..........................................................

42

James Handyside

 SILENCING THE LAMBS ...................................................................

45

Robert J. Muscat

Assistant Secretary

Braden Galea

Assistant Treasurer

 THE WAR YEARS ..............................................................................

46

 MAJOR LEAGUE’S ROUND-UP...........................................................  SEASON SO FAR ..............................................................................

Secretary, ICT Manager, Tours Coordinator

Kevin Tabone

Treasurer, PRO

Antoine Portelli

Advertising Executive, Venue & Facilities Coordinator

49

Charles Cauchi

Membership Secretary, Fund Raising Coordinator

51

Egidio Sciberras

Clint Camilleri

Media & Publishing Coordinator Souvenir Shop Manager Gozo representative Joe Xerri translator Tiziana Caruana

MALTA

club chaplain Fr. Anthony C. Ferrante (Carmelite)

Quarries Square Street, Msida MSD 1101 Malta.

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

business partners

FOUNDED 1959

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

THE VIEWS IN THIS MAGAZINE ARE NOT NECESSARILY SHARED BY THE CLUB. VOL 45 - ISSUE 1 - OCTOBER 2017

1

NEWSPAPER POST NEWSPAPER

NEWSPAPER POST

POST

NEWSPAPER

a very Issue 4, h season but hy been a toug FA Cup – it’s to win this trop “We have our fans. It’s a great feeling u - Juan Mata the FTUFS 6OJUFE good end for NF XJUI .BODI STU UJ IF k GPS U

Volume 43June 2016

Volume 44Issue 1, October 2016

POSTT

NEWSPAPER POST T

Volume 44- Issue 2, December 2016 Volume 44- Issue 3, March 2017

“This is what I came for.

I came to win and I’m winning.�

Volume 44- Issue June 2017

4,

hester, happiness to Mancwe would y will bring some else, “Maybe this victor obviously, me and everyone that’s obvious. lives, would I don’t know. I le that lost their proud.â€? y for the peop really troph am I this e side, chang the football But if I focus on ho JosĂŠ Mourin

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

“Man Utd are a giant club and giant club s the best man are for agers.�

JosĂŠ Mourinho

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“He’s a talented player. He can shoot with both feet, pass the ball with both feet and you don’t realise how big he is�

Ryan Giggs

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Manchester Manches Mancheste Manche M anchester chester ch heest h esster ter err United Unite Uni U nited ed Supporters’ Supporters orte rters’ ers’ rs’ Club-Malta Club-Ma Club-Malt Clu Club-M Club-Malt ub-Malt -Malt a ta Founded ta Found unded d 1959, 19 1959 195 59, 59 9,, iss officially officia offici officc lly recognized reco recog recognized re d by the Manchester tth Manche Manch he hester ester United Unit Football Footballll Club.

Club

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Join the community within the pages of Echoes magazine. We are the only Official Manchester United Supporters’ Club on the Maltese Islands and the oldest Manchester United Supporters’ Club in the World. Our member readers don’t just read our content – they check to see which businesses are supporting our Club. And they are grateful for the support. Put your business in front of our members.

Call Antoine Portelli on (356) 9961 9185 to discuss advertising or to receive a copy of our current rate card.

We thank-you in advance for taking the time to get in touch.

Editorial

JOSÉ’S RED AND WHITE ARMY

M

anchester United have made a blistering start to the 2017-18 season, winning five out of the first six Premier League games. José Mourinho has certainly built a team strong enough to challenge for the title with the likes of Romelu Lukaku and Nemanja Matić already hitting the ground running.

The Red Devils certainly got off to a flyer and have already notched up some impressive wins against West Ham (4-0), Swansea (4-0) and Everton (4-0). The defence has been bolstered by the key additions of Victor Lindelof who is further protected by the mercurial Matić. Up front, Lukaku has certainly defied the critics by scoring in virtually every game to ensure José’s gamble paid dividends. United have looked particularly dangerous when going forward [hugely ironic considering we seemed to suffer when trying to create goal-scoring opportunities] and Mourinho’s trump card is that his midfielders are also capable of coming up with the goods when the time beckons.

Let us also turn our gaze to the other title contenders. Our neighbours Manchester City have also laid down the gauntlet and seem to be firm candidates for the Premier League title. After a slow start, defending Champions Chelsea are slowly clicking into gear and Spurs are slowly and steadily beginning to find their all-familiar form. With the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal still in the top-flight mix, the 2017-18 Premier League season certainly seems to be shaping up to be another cracker of a campaign!

On the European front, fans will be pleased with the opponents drawn as United are certainly firm favourites to progress from the group stages. That was certainly not the feeling of the Manager who opined that games at this level are never easy and the travelling factor will also play a crucial part in the overall team fatigue. Nevertheless, in Basel, Benfica and CSKA Moscow – the Red Devils are certainly

pitted against familiar opponents. Basel and United had faced each other in the 2002/03 UEFA Champions League campaign whilst United had played CSKA Moscow throughout the 2009/10 season. All encounters were nervy and tight which is why Mourinho’s words seem to make much more sense. And of course, who can forget the club’s titanic battles against Portugal’s biggest club - Benfica? This is no easy group and there e will be no easy victories. If United are to progress, ss, they will certainly have to play at their very best in order to navigate safely past these European uropean adversaries.

Speaking of historyy and legacy, the club would like to wish founder John Calleja all the very best as he now enjoys a wellearned retirement.. To note that this will be the first ever Echoes choes issue without his much-vaunted contribution! ribution! Good luck John and take care!

our magazine for adverts and notices. In this connection, companies wishing to advertise in our hallowed magazine are invited to make contact with Mr. Antoine Portelli by sending an email to: advertising@manutd-malta.com.

Finally, a big thank you to you, the fans, who constantly keep this club going! Running a voluntary organisation is no joke but your passion and dedication are certainly key traits that keep the Committee going!

On behalf of the Editorial team, we would like to wish all our loyal readers the very best for the 2017-18 football season! Glory Glory Man United!

We also kindly ask sk all supporters to renew their membership cards rds as soon as possible. le.

Our organisation n certainly dependss on your contribution n and input which iss why we urge all fanss to sign up and get their membership sorted for what is shaping up to be another memorable e season!

Our advertising o platform has also ith improved and with Echoes certainly hot ot in demand, businesses/companies es/companies will be pleased to note that we are allocating more ore space in

VOL 45 - ISSUE 1 - OCTOBER 2017

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Editorjal L-ARMATA ĦAMRA U BAJDA TA’ JOSÉ M

anchester United kellhom bidu intensiv tal-istaġun 2017-18 b’ħames rebħiet minn sitt logħbiet tal-Premier League. Bla dubju José Mourinho bena tim b’saħħtu biżżejjed biex jiġġieled għat-titlu bi players bħal Romelu Lukaku u Nemanja Matić, li sa mill-bidu tal-istaġun lagħbu b’entużjażmu kbir. Ċertament, ir-Red Devils bdew bil-kbir u diġà akkwistaw rebħiet impressjonanti kontra West Ham (4-0), Swansea (4-0) u Everton (4-0). Id-difiża ngħatat spinta kbira bl-inklużjoni importanti ta’ Victor Lindelof li qiegħed ikun megħjun kontinwament minn Matić l-imprevedibbli. Fuq quddiem, Lukaku sikket lill-kritiċi billi prattikament skurja f ’kull logħba biex jassigura d-dħul tad-dividendi ta’ José.

Il-United dehru partikolarment perikolużi fl-attakki tagħhom [ironiku ħafna meta wieħed jikkunsidra li konna nbatu kull darba li nippruvaw noħolqu opportunitajiet ta’ gowl] u l-mossa speċjali ta’ Mourinho hija li l-midfielders tiegħu huma kapaċi joħolqu meta l-ħin ikun beda jagħfas.

Inħarsu issa lejn l-isfidanti l-oħra fit-tellieqa għat-titlu. Il-ġirien tagħna ta’ Manchester City ukoll jidhru li sabu saqajhom u jidhru kandidati sodi għat-titlu tal-Premier League. Wara bidu kwiet, id-difensuri tat-titlu, Chelsea, qegħdin ftit ftit iżidu u l-Ispurs qegħdin bil-mod il-mod u kostantament jibdew jiġu f ’tagħhom. B’timijiet bħal Liverpool u Arsenal li għadhom daqsxejn f ’limbu, l-istaġun tal-Premier League 2017-18 qiegħed jieħu forma ta’ staġun eċċitanti ieħor!

Fuq il-front Ewropew il-partitarji jidhru kuntenti bl-avversarji li telgħu fil-poloz għaliex il-United huma ċertament favoriti biex javvanzaw mill-istadji tal-gruppi. Dan però żgur ma kienx il-ħsieb tal-Manager li fl-opinjoni tiegħu l-logħbiet f ’dan il-livell qatt m’huma faċli, u l-fatt li jinvolvi l-ivvjaġġar ukoll se jħalli impatt kruċjali fuq il-fiżiċità ġenerali tat-tim.

Madankollu, f ’Basel, Benfica u CSKA Moscow – ir-Red Devils huma ċertament issimpatizzati meta

jilagħbu kontra avversarji familjari. Basel u United kienu lagħbu kontra xulxin fl-istaġun 2002/03 tal-UEFA Champions League filwaqt li l-United kienu lagħbu kontra CSKA Moscow tul l-istaġun tal-2009/10. Il-konfronti kollha kienu intensi u missielta u huwa għalhekk li kliem Mourinho jidher li jagħmel iktar sens. U ovvjament, min jista’ ma jiftakarx il-battalji titaniċi tal-club kontra l-ikbar club Portugiż – Benfica? Dan mhuwiex grupp faċli u mhux ser ikun hemm rebħiet faċli. Jekk il-United javvanzaw żgur se jkollhom jagħmlu ħilithom kollha sabiex ikunu jistgħu jegħlbu b’mod sigur dawn l-avversarji Ewropej.

Kif qed insemmu l-istorja u t-tifkiriet, il-club jixtieq jawgura lil John Calleja kull suċċess hekk kif issa qiegħed igawdi l-irtirar mistħoqq tiegħu. Ta’ min jinnota li din l-edizzjoni ta’ Echoes hija l-ewwel waħda mingħajr il-kontribut kbir tiegħu! Xewqat sbieħ John u ħu ħsieb! Ġentilment, nitolbu wkoll lill-partitarji kollha sabiex iġeddu t-tessera tagħhom mill-aktar fis possibbli. L-organizzazzjoni tagħna tiddependi fuq il-kontribuzzjoni u s-sehem tagħkom, li huwa għalhekk li nħeġġ u lill-partitarji kollha biex jissieħbu fiha u jiffinalizzaw it-tesserament tagħhom għal dak li jidher li se jkun staġun memorabbli ieħor!

Il-pjattaforma ta’ reklamar tagħna tjiebet ukoll u grazzi għad-domanda kbira għal Echoes, in-negozji/il-kumpaniji se jkunu kuntenti bil-fatt li qed nallokaw iktar spazji għar-reklamar u l-avviżi fil-magazine tagħna. F’dan ir-rigward, dawk il-kumpaniji li jixtiequ jirreklamaw fil-magazine irrispettat tagħna huma mitluba jkellmu lis-Sur Antoine Portelli billi jibagħtu email fuq: advertising@manutd-malta.com.

Finalment, ngħidu grazzi kbira lilkom il-partitarji li b’mod kostanti żżommu ħaj dan il-club! Li tmexxi organizzazzjoni volontarja m’hijiex ċajta iżda l-passjoni u d-dedikazzjoni huma ċertament l-elementi prinċipali li jħeġġu lill-Kumitat biex ikompli għaddej! F’isem it-tim Editorjali nixtiequ nawguraw lill-qarrejja leali kollha tagħna l-isbaħ xewqat għall-istaġun tal-football 2017-18! Glory Glory Man United!

2,000,000 Thank you VOL 45 - ISSUE 1 - OCTOBER 2017

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NEW

CLUBNEWS July 2017 he new collection of Adidas replica shirts and apparel were available for sale from the Club’s souvenir shop. Members who renewed their membership before the end of August were entitled to a 15% discount on the entire collection.

• Martin Ferguson • Gary Neville • Ryan Giggs • Paul Scholes • Sheila Crompton

T

Members are entitled to a 10% discount on all Adidas apparel and accessories purchased from the souvenir shop on presentation of a valid membership card throughout the season.

The month of July saw the completion of the installation of the new audio / visual system.

The new state of the art system now means that those attending the Club on match days can enjoy the games in High Definition video with crystal clear sound. The system incorporates two big screens and four HD televisions, and was installed by GenAudio at a cost of approximately €18,000.

Friday 21 st July was an important date in the Club’s calendar – the Annual General Meeting was held. Despite the election of a new Committee being due, no election was held as only 10 nominations were received.

During the Annual General Meeting, Mr Richard Bullock was unanimously approved as an honorary member of our supporters’ club.

Richard is considered to be the Committee’s right hand man and is more often than not the first person you see when visiting the Club on match-days. He joins the illustrious list of honorary members of our supporters’ club, namely: • Sir Bobby Charlton • Barry Moorhouse • Ken Merrett

During the first Committee meeting of the new season the roles of each committee member for the next two years were assigned as follows:

Sir Alex Ferguson was once again unanimously approved as the Club Patron.

As stated in the Club Statute, the attendance of committee members for meetings would be published in the Club’s magazine. During the 2016-2017 season, the Committee met a total of 10 times (August 2016 – July 2017). Below is the attendance of each member: Committee Member

Attended

Excused

Joseph Tedesco

10

0

Joe Catania

9

1

James Handyside

6

4

Kevin Tabone

10

0

Charles Cauchi

9

1

Robert Muscat

7

3

Antoine Portelli

9

1

Clint Camilleri

9

1

Egidio Sciberras

10

0

Braden Galea

10

0

Kenneth Portelli

5

5

August 2017 Once again, those members who renewed their membership before the end of July were eligible to participate in a lottery to win a new replica shirt. The draw took place during the half time interval of the UEFA Super Cup game again Real Madrid. Congratulations to our lucky winner Arthur Zammit.

Puttinu Football Marathon MUSC Malta Donation Presentation.

by Robert Muscat

Joseph Tedesco President, Match Tickets Coordinator Joe Catania Vice-President, Social Activities Coordinator James Handyside Secretary, ICT Manager, Tours Coordinator Kevin Tabone Treasurer, PRO Charles Cauchi Membership Secretary, Fund Raising Coordinator Robert Muscat Assistant Secretary Braden Galea Assistant Treasurer Antoine Portelli Advertising Executive, Venue & Facilities Coordinator Clint Camilleri Media & Publishing Coordinator Egidio Sciberras Souvenir Shop Manager Following the draw for the group stages of this season’s UEFA Champions League, the Committee met to discuss the possibility of organizing an early season tour to Old Trafford, hoping to combine two home games. Unfortunately plans had to be shelved due to the exorbitant cost of direct flights to Manchester. The Committee is however planning one or two tours for later in the season. More details will be made available once all possibilities have been explored.

September 2017 During the international break, the Committee decided to organise a day trip to Sicily.

Although this was a private trip, and no club monies were spent on funding it, the trip served as an excellent team-building exercise and provided an informal meeting opportunity for all committee members and several ideas for the season ahead and more importantly the Club’s upcoming 60th anniversary were discussed. It is hoped that a similar trip will be organised for members next year as part of the 60th anniversary celebrations.

On Sunday 24th September, the Club once again participated in the Puttinu Cares football marathon held at the Marsa Sports Ground, despite the inclement weather. A donation of €1,100 was also presented to this very worthy cause – the funds raised from the ongoing sales of the Malta to Wembley book, both locally and in Manchester.

VOL 45 - ISSUE 1 - OCTOBER 2017

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have your say on info@manutd-malta.com Dear All, 2003 at Porto, 2006 at Chelsea, 2010 at Inter Milan, 2012 at Real Madrid and 2015 at Chelsea. These 5 combinations represent the second-year-league-winning syndrome associated with José Mourinho. Ever since his breakthrough in top football management, our Portuguese manager has always managed to win the league in his second spell at each of the clubs he managed. Pressure is on.

The promising start witnessed so far augurs well for the continuation of the syndrome and for the fans of Manchester United. The last time our team won 5 and drew 1 from the first 6 was in season 2011/2012. Coincidentally the

game we drew in that season from the first 6 was Stoke away (same as this time). The bad omen is United finished runners up on goal difference with City winning their first Premier League title. Also, that season United drew Benfica and Basel in the Champions Group stage and failed to qualify. Scary!

It has once again been a very busy summer in the transfer market at Old Trafford - Lindelof at £40 million, Lukaku at £75 million and Matić at £35 million. Lukaku and Matić fees could rise to £40 and £90 respectively while hero Wayne Rooney made his way back home to Everton. Love him or hate him, Rooney has been one of the greatest players that has worn the jersey of Manchester United. If it wasn’t for

that transfer request a few years ago, Wayne would have no critics at Old Trafford. Some have not forgiven him though, notwithstanding his record-breaking goal-scoring contribution.

In my opinion he deserves the status of a football talisman. Just hope he will not become the second Paul Gascoigne. Thanks for the memories Wayne!

From the new acquisitions till date, Lindelof has clearly not settled down. In the few games he played, he does not look confident and safe at all. I am sure the manager had scrutinised his abilities well and that there is some quality which still has to materialise. His name was being linked to Manchester United since last season, clearly indicating José has been

VOL 45 - ISSUE 1 - OCTOBER 2017

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keeps the same scoring ratio. United fans are used to high tempo, attacking type of football but for José the result matters most so I am sure he will fit in Ibra once he is back to full fitness.

The only position where the Manager does not seem to be sure about the first choice resource is left back. After 9 games (1 Super Cup, 6 Premier League, 1 Champions League and 1 League Cup) we have seen Blind, Darmian, Shaw and even Young taking that role. There is still Rojo on the sidelines. They are actually all versatile players and could play in different positions but none of them is classified as our Valencia on the right at the moment.

There has also been a lot of movement in the youth ranks, as always. I was surprised to see Josh Harrop getting sold to Preston North End after his goal scoring debut towards the end of last season. Decisions! Not surprised at all to see Adnan Januzaj leaving the club after a very unstable career at Old Trafford. Anti Climax!

Fosu Mensah and Borthwick Jackson joined Crystal Palace and Leeds respectively, both on loan. Both deals are justified in my opinion since they both need more play time to prove their worth to the manager. But the biggest surprise of them all was the controversial loan move of Andreas Pereira to Valencia. I feel Andreas has what it takes to challenge for a midfield spot and it seems I share the same opinion of the manager about him, but apparently it was Andreas’ decision to move.

There is one good reason to follow the La Liga now. Hope to see him back soon! interested to add him to the squad for some time and the special one rarely gets a signing wrong. We wait and hope. The signings of Lukaku and Matić with all their experience in the English Premier League are proving to be crucial assets. Personally I can understand Everton were given an offer they can’t refuse for Lukaku but I still cannot understand what was behind Chelsea’s reluctance to keep Matić. Madness! Both players worked with the Manager in the past and till date have both fitted in perfectly in the squad setup.

The Manager has now built a strong backbone in the team’s formation, that famous central backbone often associated with Mourinho’s winning formations in the past. De Gea in goal (could also be counted as a signing when one

takes into consideration the incessant pressure coming from Real Madrid for the nth time), Bailly in central defence, Matić and Pogba in front of him ruling the midfield and Lukaku up front. On the flanks of the backbone there are the likes of Mata, Mkhitaryan, Rashford, Valencia and Lingard. Not bad! I also have to include the much improved Jones and Martial and, yes, the never-stops-surprising Fellaini. He’s been in the best form ever, the Manager said recently. Ander has not met the expectations yet following his player of the year crown achieved last May but one will hope he will get back to the standards he set last season. Come January, add Ibra to this lot. Some will argue (undersigned included) that he will slow the pace we are finally getting accustomed to but no one will complain if he

Do I believe we have what it takes to win the league? Yes I surely do. City are looking great.

Chelsea cannot be underestimated, but I feel we have a better squad than both of them, not necessarily a better first 11. The message so far is loud and clear. With that backbone, United can challenge any team in the Premier League. With a bit of luck, they can challenge the great Clubs in Europe as well. One should not underestimate our opponents in the Champions League group stage. I might sound a bit over-enthusiastic, but I truly believe we have what it takes to challenge on all 4 fronts! Only time will tell!

Yours United, Teddy

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VOL 45 - ISSUE 1 - OCTOBER 2017

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Romelu Lukaku

by Jude Cauchi

Goals

win you football matches and it’s fair to say that Manchester United did not score many last year considering all the missed opportunities to finish games off when the team was dominating proceedings in matches. Precisely for this reason, Romelu Lukaku was brought to Old Trafford. To the club’s advantage, the Belgian has a positive track record in the Premier League given his outstanding record in front of goal and will hopefully prove to be an excellent addition to this Manchester United team aiming to challenge for the title.

Romelu Lukaku was born on the 13th May 1993 in Antwerp City, Northern Belgium. The player was born in a family that breathe football and this helped the Belgian striker to reinforce his passion for the game especially given that he has been watching Premier League football since the age of nine.

Early in his career at the age of five, the boy started to practice his football with associate club Rupel Boom where he spent four seasons before being spotted by scouts coming from a professional and well established youth academy in Lierse SK. During the two seasons he spent at the club, the player did experience some highs and lows given that he scored 121 goals from 68 games but the club was also relegated from the Belgian professional league which paved the way for him to join the academy of well established side Anderlecht.

This was a step that proved very important in the Belgian’s career given that he signed his first professional contract at the age of 16 in 2009, making his debut as a substitute eleven days later against Standard Liege (his side lost the match 1-0).

The striker became an established member of the team during the 2009-10 campaign where he scored 15 goals to become the league’s leading top scorer and helped his side to clinch the league title. During that season, Romelu also managed to score 4 goals in the club’s Europa League run to

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the quarter final. The following season, he managed to replicate his form, scoring 20 goals but his side did not manage to retain the Belgian title.

That proved to be his last season in Belgium as he signed a five year contract with Chelsea in August 2011. Unfortunately for him, first team opportunities proved to be very limited and although Chelsea had a very successful season in 2011 (winning the UEFA Champions League in that particular year), the player did not feel part of that success given the lack of first-team action. In fact, during his time at Chelsea, the player was only restricted to 10 appearances which led him to seek loans to other Premier League clubs in West Bromwich Albion and Everton.

Mourinho, many Manchester United fans were very surprised.

In his short span of time at the club, the Belgian striker has so far already experienced some of the highs and lows of playing for a club of the size of Manchester United. He experienced the former in the opening 2 matches of the Premier League with two goals on his debut against West Ham followed by another one away at Swansea. With regards to the latter, apart from the UEFA Super Cup defeat to Real Madrid, during the last appearance against Leicester City, the player did miss some good chances including a penalty which luckily did not come back to haunt him as the Reds still managed to secure a 2-0 victory.

As an Everton player, the Belgian became a fans’ favourite, especially given that he managed to score 53 goals in 110 Premier League appearances (excluding the 15 goals he scored while he was on loan). Moreover, statistics from the Premier League during the last 4 seasons are quite impressive considering that the Belgian ranks in third position and is only behind strikers such as Harry Kane and Sergio Aguero.

Is Romelu Lukaku the player that can help Manchester United to secure the 21st Premier League title? I am a firm believer that he can, since the player brings a different element to United’s attack, especially with his overall presence in the box together with his strength and his pace, which is impressive considering the size of the striker. On the other hand, competition for places is likely to be big this season especially given that the club has resigned Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimović with the aim of reinforcing the club’s chances of doing well both domestically and in Europe.

Surely a player with such a huge experience as the Swedish can only help the Belgian’s self-development. To the striker’s advantage, with the signing of Nemanja Matić from Chelsea together with established players such as Paul Pogba, Mata and Mkhitaryan, the Belgian is expected to have better opportunities to score.

Following his impressive performances, Lukaku declared his intention that he wanted to move to another big club where he can play regular UEFA Champions League football and a battle for his signature was on the horizon with Chelsea the favourites to re-sign him.

Therefore, when the news broke out on the 10th July that Romelu Lukaku had signed for the Reds to re-unite with former manager José

In terms of the Premier League, the year 2017 has already started with a bang and hopefully with Mourinho’s track record and other big signings such as Lukaku and Matić, the Reds can mount a successful challenge for the Premier League this season, something which the Reds have not done since the Great Scot called it a day. So hopefully, the time has come for the Reds to be successful again.

During his loan spells in the Premier League, Lukaku made 66 appearances and scored 32 goals (17 for the Baggies and 15 for the Toffees). These impressive statistics considering his age led Everton to make a permanent move for the Belgian and the boy eventually signed a five year deal with the Merseyside club in July 2014.

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United’s Summer Signings

by Stefan Attard

A

fter hit and miss signings during the David Moyes and Van Gaal’s tenure, the transfer business done under José Mourinho has been very good. Last summer’s signings listed by the manager were all hits with Zlatan ending up being the top scorer, Paul Pogba and Henrikh Mkhitaryan scoring the Europa League final and Bailly showing real signs of quality resembling that of Nemanja Vidic. That was perhaps the best transfer window business done in Manchester United’s history.

This summer, Manchester United managed to get three of the four targets the manager asked for while Zlatan Ibrahimović re-signed for the club until the end of the season, having scored 28 goals in 46 games last term. United did their business early and thanks to this all the new signings had plenty of time to integrate with their new teammates and settle at the club having trained and played in various matches during the pre-season. The boss himself admitted that he was happy with the transfer window despite the club not signing the fourth target he requested.

Whilst many of us United fans would have loved to sign all the four players, we were all calm and watched the chaos and drama unfold on transfer deadline day. Chelsea and Arsenal’s moves and bids on transfer deadline day suggested that both clubs were not entirely happy with their squads. Having said that, both clubs made huge money signings with Arsenal spending big on the French striker Alexandre Lacazette and Chelsea grasping Alvaro Morata to fill in the boots of their top scorer Diego Costa.

After the media claimed that United were intent on signing Alvoro Morata and Chelsea’s signing of Romelu Lukaku was only a formality, Lukaku chose United over Chelsea. It appears that Chelsea only signed Morata because Conte failed to land his top target Lukaku.

Moreover, in perhaps the surprise move of the transfer window, Chelsea gave the green light to Nemanja Matić to sign for United. Since then Nemanja already won several man of the match awards and many journalists are already comparing him to the legend Roy Keane.

Victor Lindelof As I mentioned in my previous article regarding the January transfer signings, United managed to sign Victor Lindelof 73 days before the first Premier League game.

Like the other signings this gave the Swede plenty of time to settle; however, out of the three signings Lindelof seems to need more time to settle. The manger himself confessed this which

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comes to no surprise given that both Matić and Lukaku both have years of experience in the Premier League. At the time of writing United have only conceded two goals in the Premier League and the defense has been very sturdy.

The performance of Bailly and Jones means that it is very hard for Lindelof to earn a place in the starting eleven in important games. This season the Swede may probably have to impress the manger during the League Cup and FA Cup games when Mourinho rests his first choice center backs.

Nemanja Matić The signing of Nemanja Matić took the football world by surprise especially after a title winning season at arch rivals Chelsea.

Antonio Conte himself suggested he did not want to let Nemanja Matić leave Chelsea for Manchester United. United forked £40million for the Serbian. There were suggestions that the move had been personally sanctioned by Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich as a reward to a player who helped Chelsea to two Premier League titles.

But Conte gave a brusque response when asked about Matić’s departure, saying: “You have to ask the club about this.” Conte signed Monaco midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko as a direct replacement.

Matić was perhaps our most vital signing which arguably made United possessing the best midfield in all of England and which can now be compared to other European giants. In signing Matić, United got a strong defensive presence who destroys attacks and a player with great passing ability. However, the real gift of Matić is that he gives Paul Pogba the freedom to roam like he wants to in order to be a more attacking presence. The fruits of Matić’s labour are already being seen in this regard, with Pogba already scoring and claiming man of the match awards on a couple of occasions.

Matić had a great spell under Mourinho back at Chelsea and many people thought those days were over, but that incredible form seems to be making an appearance at United as well.

On the other hand the United manager was delighted to land Matić after previously signing him for Chelsea. The manager knows Nemanja very well from his Chelsea tenure and labeled the Serbian as a ‘genius’. After giving him his uncompetitive debut against Sampdoria Mourinhio said that Nemanja “needs time but [he has] experience, intelligence, a genius in the way he thinks – he thinks football.” If United are to win anything this season I am sure that Matić will be in contention for the

player of the season not just for United but also in the Premier League.

All in all, excitement was never the point in Matić’s signing; instead, Mourinho bought control, sensible but active passing, and sound defensive instincts that serve to bolster both United’s back four and the team’s attack.

Romelu Lukaku After the news that Ibrahimović was going to be out for the long term and Ronney’s departure to Everton, the immediate question asked by many United fans was who was going to chip in with the goals. In title wining seasons, many teams tend to have a proven ruthless striker who often scores over 25 goals in the Premiership. While Rashford and Martial have undoubted potential -which is even more evident with the start they both had to the season, both forwards are perhaps a couple of seasons away from being the cultured strikers who are almost a guarantee to reach this milestone.

On the 10 th of July, Manchester United announced the signing of Romelu Lukaku from Everton on a five-year contract with the option of a further year. Although the fee was officially undisclosed, it was reported to be worth an initial £75 million, plus £15 million in add-ons.

The Belgian international made his debut against Real Madrid on the 8th of August in the UEFA Super Cup, and scored his first competitive goal for the club. His league debut came five days later at home to West Ham where Lukaku scored twice in his Premier League debut for the Reds in a a 4–0 win becoming only the fourth Manchester United player to score two goals on his Premier League debut.

Since then, the forward has shown that he looks to be capable of leading the line at Manchester United under José Mourinho which saw him scoring in six consecutive Premier League games (and counting, at the time of writing). Having managed to score so many goals for teams like Everton and WBA it is almost a guarantee that Lukaku will be aiming to win the golden boot this season.

The post-Fergie days of Manchester United blowing extraordinary amounts of money on mediocre targets appear to be long-gone. Indeed, José Mourinho has enjoyed two ruthless summer transfer windows, pin-pointing his key targets and landing them early while the rest of the league panic. Thankfully, our days of utter incompetence appear to be over. Wouldn’t it be sweet if we signed Antoine Griezmann in January?

zlatan is back

by Robert Mizzi

Zlatan returns – was it a good or a bad decision?

A

s I am sure all readers know by now, Zlatan Ibrahimović has re-signed for Manchester United and will be wearing the number 10 shirt when he returns to action. His one year contract comes after discussions with the player following the cruciate ligament injury suffered against Anderlecht earlier this year.

The club had in fact released the player last June but after discussions and an assessment of the progress made by the player after the injury, Mourinho has clearly decided that having Zlatan on board will be an added bonus for the squad. The manager was in fact quoted as saying that, “after his contribution last season he deserves our trust and we will be patient waiting for him to return.”

With United starting the season on fire, a number of media critics and even United supporters have been debating whether resigning Zlatan was a wise move or not. Some are arguing that now that Mourinho has found the right balance, adding Zlatan to the mix again would mean losing out on the much sought after right formula which our beloved Red Devils have been struggling to find over the past three years or so.

In my opinion, such arguments are rather short-sighted. Football is a game. It’s neither science, nor maths. The beauty of football is that it is totally unpredictable and a winning team should be prepared to deal with this unpredictability. Over a long and tiring season there will be injuries, suspensions, loss of form and instances where no matter how well prepared the team is, adaptation will be required. To survive all this and be successful, a large squad is needed. I am sure Mourinho does not need me telling him all this but it does seem that some of the supporters forget all this just because we have started with 3 wins on the trot. Indeed, some people do have very short memories and have already forgotten the important fact that even last year we had started with 3 wins. True, we have added important players this year but there is no doubt that a big squad is needed to be able to compete on all fronts.

I have a number of reasons why I personally agree with the decision to sign Zlatan again.

Firstly, Zlatan now knows the club. Technically speaking, he has remained at United throughout. His rehabilitation following his injury has been taking place in the United training grounds all along. Some of you will surely have seen the short video of Bailly having a death wish and taunting Zlatan with a kick up his backside...only to vanish very quickly out of sight. This familiarity with the environment will surely help and Zlatan’s ‘arrogance’ is an ingredient if we are to seriously challenge for the league this season. Comparisons are odious, I know, but the positive influence and winning mentality I can see Zlatan emitting on the younger players is comparable to what Cantona did for the club 20 years ago. The younger readers will probably not remember this but Cantona’s influence did the trick back then so I am hoping that Zlatan’s influence will do the same this time round.

The question coming from the sceptical supporters is if Zlatan will take the place of Lukaku or Rashford once fit and ready to play. As mentioned earlier, the season has just started. We are all happy with the impact of Lukaku and Matić on the team and the fact that both seem to have hit the ground running. Expecting them to keep the current form throughout the entire season, especially when United will start playing twice a week and over the hectic Christmas period is clearly not realistic. And while in midfield we seem to be well covered, with Carrick, Herrera and Fellaini all struggling to get in the starting lineup this season, up front we do seem a bit too reliant on Lukaku. In my opinion, Mourinho wanted to have another experienced goal scorer available. Rashford and Martial have started the season well but both are yet to reach maturity as players and having to rely exclusively on them for goals if Lukaku is not available seemed a bit too risky for the boss.

I would also add that United’s best season was surely the one in which our beloved Red Devils won the famous treble. Very few teams have managed to achieve this and it may be useful reminding all readers that in that season, United had no less than four top class strikers in the form of Andy Cole, Dwight Yorke, Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The way Sir Alex managed the strikers that season epitomises one of the many hallmarks of greatness attributed to Sir Alex Ferguson.

Some may argue that those were different times and today hardly anyone plays with two strikers like United did in those days. Apart from the fact that I do not totally disregard the option of having to play with two strikers in any particular match, the fact is that we do need to have more options up front and hopefully Zlatan will provide us with such options.

Another argument being bandied about on social media is that Zlatan will demand to play when he is fit and if he does not, he can become a disruptive element. All I can say about this is that I have faith in Mourinho. He has demonstrated time and again that he can handle big players and their egos and make them toe the line. I also have faith in Zlatan and I am sure that he is intelligent enough to understand that there are objectives to be achieved and he is part of the plan - but he is not the plan!

To conclude, a word about what ex-Gooner Paul Merson had to say about the return of Zlatan.

In a nutshell, he opined that United are now better without Zlatan and that he is too slow and slows United’s attack. So essentially, in Merson’s opinion, Zlatan was not needed. I would have expected Merson to see the wider picture and observe what Zlatan can bring to this United team. Granted that he cannot bring the speed of Lukaku, Merson should have seen the other attributes such as experience, physical presence and that little bit of magic that only a few selected players have. My only concern regarding the return of Zlatan to United is his ability to regain not only the fitness levels needed to play in the Premier League, but also to recover psychologically from an injury that causes a player to lose a lot of confidence in his ability. Then again, I am referring to normal players and as we all know by now, ‘Lions don’t recover like humans’.

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Transfer rumours that did not materialise

by Kenneth Abela

T

he list of players rumoured to be changing clubs in the 2017 summer transfer season has been, as always, endless. And Manchester United is surely no exception. Tottenham’s Danny Rose, Inter’s Ivan Perisic, Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann, Monaco’s Thomas Lemar, Arsenal’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Barcelona’s Sergi Roberto, Paris Saint-Germain star Julian Draxler and Serge Aurier, Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo, Morata, Marco Asensio, Raphael Varane and Gareth Bale, Fulham’s Ryan Sessegnon, Leicester City’s Riyad Mahrez have all had a mention.

Hereunder are the top Manchester United transfer sagas this Summer, which regrettably failed to materialize, at least for this summer.

Antoine Griezmann, Atletico Madrid, Spain It was the transfer saga that started off the summer, would Antoine Griezmann be coming to Old Trafford? The Red Devils are long-term admirers of the France international and were surely encouraged by the player’s previous will to head to Old Trafford.

But after the La Liga giants were hit with a transfer ban, Griezmann agreed to stay at the club, at least for the time being. José Mourinho could still reignite that interest next year with Sky Sports and AS journalist Guillem Balague claiming Griezmann was “determined” to move to United. He also reveals that next summer could be the right time without the burden of feeling like he would have let the Spanish side down due to their inability to find a replacement.

Ivan Perisic, Internazionale, Italy United had originally hoped to sign 28-year old Perisic before Inter flew to China for their preseason tour on July 18.

The Mirror had reported that: “United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward is understood to have met Perisic’s agent, Fali Ramadani, in recent days to try to push through a deal.” However United had a £35million offer rejected for the exWolfsburg star earlier on in the transfer window, with Inter holding out for £50m. United’s tactic appeared to be that they were banking on Inter folding as the deadline loomed, while Inter had baited United by demanding Anthony Martial in exchange.

In the end, the winger rejected the move to Manchester United and the Croatian international opted to stay at the San Siro. Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano tweeted: “Perisic is ready to renew with Inter: 5 million a year for his new deal.”

Danny Rose, Tottenham Hotspurs, England With Juan Mata, Marouane Fellaini, Sam Johnstone, Andreas Pereira, Ander Herrera, Daley Blind, Ashley Young and Michael Carrick’s deals due to expire next year, United had shown interest in Danny Rose although in truth they probably never expected to sign him this summer.

A deciding factor will be the form of United left-back Luke Shaw, who, although has hardly played over the last year, his form could influence the decision on the Tottenham want-away.

Thomas Lemar, Monaco, France Duncan Castles, writing in the Daily Record, claimed that José Mourinho was looking to the France international winger after failing in a bid to prise Gareth Bale from Real Madrid. He had netted 14 times and assisted a further 17 goals in all competitions last term as part of Monaco’s exciting young side that thrilled fans in the French league and Champions League.

Monaco had valued Lemar at €60m, and United had monitored the 21-year-old as a younger alternative to Ivan Perisic.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Arsenal, England With Manchester United still struggling to sign a fourth player as the end of the transfer season came closer, there were suggestions they could turn to Arsenal to make their final recruitment.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, 24, has entered the last year of his Gunners contract.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger had insisted that he would fight for him to stay. However, he admitted the Arsenal board could feasibly overrule him if they receive an acceptable offer.

Arsenal subsequently accepted an offer of around £35 million from Liverpool.

Raphael Varane, Real Madrid, Spain Manchester United were at one point interested in signing Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane according to reports in Spain.

United have been linked with the French international before, but the report states Real Madrid will be unlikely to accept an offer for the 23-year-old, so a deal always looked highly unlikely to materialise, more so given the arrival of Lindelof and the good form of Eric Bailly and Phil Jones and with the option of Chris Smalling on the bench.

Gareth Bale, Real Madrid, Spain Mourinho, who used to manage Real Madrid, would clearly have loved to steal Gareth Bale away from Real Madrid during this summer’s transfer window, but alas it was not to be. José Mourinho seemed to concede defeat after his squad fell to Real 2-1 in the European Super Cup. Mourinho was asked if plans of bringing the Welshman to Manchester had fallen apart and had the following response: “I think so — clearly the club wants him and he wants the club — game over even before it started — everybody knows he is going to stay.”

The press had earlier reported that José Mourinho had ordered Manchester United bosses to offer

Gareth Bale £500,000-a-week to make an Old Trafford transfer, but that United were refusing to pay more than £90 million for Bale.

Ryan Sessegnon, Fulham, England Sky Sports News reported that Manchester United were showing ‘significant interest’ in Fulham teenager Ryan Sessegnon. The latter was also a target for Tottenham.

The 17-year-old is one of the leading young talents in English football, having already made 26 Sky Bet Championship appearances and represented England at U19 level.

Sessegnon, who can play anywhere down the left, was part of England’s victorious Euro U19 Championship-winning side and has since signed his first professional deal at Craven Cottage.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid, Spain BBC Sport reported in June that Ronaldo was left upset after being accused of tax fraud and wanted to leave Spain. A move back to United, whom he left for a then-world record £80m in 2009, had been mentioned as a possibility.

Manchester United manager José Mourinho had however ruled out signing Cristiano Ronaldo back from Real Madrid. Mourinho said it cannot happen due to the “economic difficulty” of doing the deal. Asked about signing Portugal captain Ronaldo after his side had beaten LA Galaxy 5-2 in the first match of their pre-season tour of the United States, Mourinhio replied: “I am not going to get my club to waste time on players who are mission impossible. Ronaldo is such an important player for his club. A player of great economic power. We have not been able to find any reason that could have made us think that Ronaldo could leave.”

Alvaro Morata, Real Madrid, Spain During pre-season, Mourinho is reported to have said that he did not believe another Real Madrid player, striker Alvaro Morata, will end up at Old Trafford either.

“It is a shame,” he said. “He is a player who made it to the first team with me and I have a special liking for. I enjoyed watching his evolution in Juventus and Madrid. But we have not reached an agreement with his club and I don’t think he can end with us.”

Morata eventually joined Chelsea.

Finally, on the bright side United did sign Victor Lindelof from Benfica, Romelu Lukau from Everton and Nemanja Matić from Chelsea.

Notable players who went the other way included Cameron Borthwick-Jackson who was loaned to Leeds United, Tim Fosu-Mensah who was loaned to Crystal palace, Adnan Januzaj who was sold to Real Sociedad, and of course former captain Wayne Rooney who returned home to Everton after 13 years of service at Manchester United.

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6th Generation Intel® Core™ Processor

BEST FORMATION THIS SEASON N

ow that the season has started and United have started of very well, we can can have a look at the many formations that we tried out during pre-season. If anything the first few matches thought us that Mourinho already knows his best team this year. Something that he didn’t have last year! In my opinion here’s how we’ll line up in games more often than not this year.

Goalkeeper: David De Gea David De Gea is arguably the greatest goalkeeper in the world at the moment. No one is taking his position away from him. The goalkeeper has been rumored with a move away to Real Madrid but once again United held onto their prized asset. De Gea seems hungry to win the league!

Right Back: Antonio Valencia Mourinho admired Valencia this season and hailed him as “the best right-back in the world”. With Matteo Darmian not knowing where his best position is, the Ecuadorian defender has even less competition at the right-back position. Look for Valencia to take hold of the right-back position from day one.

Honourable mention to Ashley Young, that kid can certainly put a shift or two every now and again.

Center Back: Eric Bailly José Mourinho’s first signing proved to be a worthy one. The Ivorian was a brute in the back and nobody outmuscled the big center back. He had a slight battle with injuries but overall, Bailly was the best defender for United last season.

Center Back: Phil Jones Jones has been with United for a few years however he has always had a start/stop type of campaign. If he manages to remain fit, there’s little doubting that Jones can turn out to be a top, top player.

Left Back: Daley Blind Matteo Darmian is consistant, however he lacks the technical ability that Blind have and that leaves a gap for Daley Blind to come in.

José Mourinho isn’t Luke Shaw’s biggest fan, so the manager may look to the Dutchman for his reliability.

Central Midfielder: Nemanja Matić From the very first game he played in United’s red, Matić looked like he belonged in this team all along. His consistency, his passing, his vision. These are all skills that sets him apart form his opponents. He’s a top midfielder and as Mourinho said, he’s a Mourinho player.

Central Midfielder: Paul Pogba The most expensive player in the world (until PSG beat it twice over) did not live up to his fee

by Alan Abela-Wadge last season and will look to show off his world class abilities this season. The Frenchman has already started off on a flyer and is one of the best midfielders in the world and will get a chance to showcase it throughout the season.

Left Wing: Marcus Rashford The young Three Lions star took over for Zlatan Ibrahimović at the center forward position when he went down with an injury last season.

He filled that role quite well but may be forced to play out wide if he is to cement a starting role at United. I’m sure he wouldn’t worry to much since he’s very well skilled at cutting in from the left all the time.

Right Wing: Henrikh Mkhitaryan Henrikh Mkhitaryan The Armenian winger had a slow start to life at United but really came into form as the season went on. Mkhitaryan flourished in the Europa League last campaign and will have to bring that form into the Premier League this season. In the first few games he certainly did that already! Mourinho is a fan of his and the winger will have to produce on the goal front to keep the manager’s faith.

Attacking Midfielder: Juan Mata Mata is always the least celebrated player among United’s stars. He’s consistent and always deliver an excellent shift. He has a keen eye for goal and will definitely try and chip in with at least 10 goals this year. With Marcus and Henrikh on each side Mata will definitely flourish a bit more this year.

Forward: Romelu Lukaku Big Romelu will definitely be the main man this year at Old Trafford. Purchased for over 90 million he will have to prove himself to be a top finisher across all the major competitions.

This season so far he managed to start off very decently and has already started to pay back part of the sum. Watch out from some constant finishing from Lukaku!

Others that will be very important throughout the year;

The season is long and injuries are investable.

He’s a list of players that will definitely play a central role across all major competitions: Michael Carrick – The captain will definitely play a smaller part this year, but I’m sure that when he’s called upon to do a job, he will be consistent and he will perform well.

Mouranne Fellaini – Mourinho loves Fellaini.

His passion and his commitment are commendable and the unsung hero can give you plan Z when you really need a goal. I’m sure we’ll see him quite often.

Anthony Martial – It was a close call between him and Rashford, however I’m sure we’ll see Martial as often as we’ll see Rashford this year.

They will end up sharing the games between them.

Ander Herrera – Arguably the best player last season. Herrera will find it more difficult to get games this year however he will definitely play. They will be games when we need a more solid midfield and he will play instead of Mata so that Herrera and Matić can guard the midfield while Pogba does the damage.

Other games Herrera will play instead of any of the midfielders to give others a bit of a rest.

Herrera can also be that midfielder that comes on at 2-0 to kill off the game and strengthen the midfield.

Victor Lindelof – The new signing will take some getting used to, however he will come good very shortly. Mourinho treated Mkhitaryan this way this year however after a while he came through and flourished. I’m sure that Lindelof will be just the same!

Zlatan Ibrahimović – The big man is back at United. This time wearing Rooney’s vacated number 10. Zlatan is a beast and no matter what, he will return in full fitness and strength very soon and he will give Lukaku a run for his money. Expect Zlatan to be our best new player from January onwards.

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Reflections from the 2017 Summer transfer window

by Antoine Dalli

R

ewind 38 years: a certain Trevor Francis became the first British player to break the seven-figure barrier when Nottingham Forest prised him away from Birmingham City for an overall transfer fee of £1.18M (the initial outlay of £950,000 spiralled to £1.18 million with the addition of VAT and other sundries). Back then, it must have felt like the sporting equivalent of putting a man on the Moon.

For the interest of perspectives, the deal sanctioned by then Nottingham Forest manager Brian Clough was technically not a world record.

At the time, two Italian strikers by the names of Giuseppe Savoldi and Paolo Rossi had already surpassed the two billion Italian lire mark, which equated to well in excess of £1 million.

But at the time, Serie A was not as popular in Britain as it is today, and the reporters who gathered around the signing ceremony on Feb 9, 1979, had a breathless sense of history in the making.

How things have evolved since Francis’ move to two-times European Cup winners Nottingham Forest. Nowadays, a million-pound fee forked by a club for a footballer has become rather customary. Not only that, but a player who is sold for £1M is considered ordinary to put it mildly. Transfers involving £20M or thereabouts have nowadays become the order of the day in the five major European leagues particularly in the English Premier League.

Last summer, spending on the signings of new players reached new heights amongst Europe’s major five leagues. According to world’s football governing body FIFA, English clubs spent more than double the amount on transfer fees in the summer window than any other European league.

Despite the fact that Brazilian ace Neymar became the world’s record signing with a staggering €222 million move from five-times European champions Barcelona to nouveau riche Paris SG and 20-year-old Ousmane Dembele making a big-money move to Barcelona from 2013 Champions League runners-up Borussia Dortmund, it is the English top flight that remains the biggest spender in Europe.

things into better perspective, the following were the biggest transfers in the five major European Leagues: In the English Premier League: 1) €85 million, Romelu Lukaku to Manchester United from Everton; 2) €80 million, Álvaro Morata to Chelsea from Real Madrid; 3) €70 million, Naby Keïta to Liverpool from RB Leipzig; 4) €60 million, Alexandre Lacazette to Arsenal from Olympique Lyonnais; and 5) €57.5 million, Benjamin Mendy from Monaco to Manchester City.

In the German Bundesliga: 1) €41.5 million, Corentin Tolisso to Bayern Munich from Olympique Lyonnais; 2) €24 million, Andriy Yarmolenko from Dynamo Kyiv to Borussia Dortmund; 3) €21 million, Kingsley Coman to Bayern Munich from Juventus; 4) €20 million, Niklas Süle to Bayern Munich from 1899 Hoffenheim; and 5) €20 million, Maximilian Philipp to Borussia Dortmund from SC Freiburg.

In the Spanish La Liga: 1) €105 million, Ousmane Dembélé to Barcelona from Borussia Dortmund; 2) €40 million, Paulinho to FC Barcelona from GZ Evergrande; 3) €36 million, Vitolo to Atlético Madrid from Sevilla; 4) €30.5 million, Nélson Semedo to Barcelona from Benfica; and 5) €30 million, Theo Hernandez to Real Madrid from Atlético Madrid.

In the Italian Serie A: 1) €42 million, Leonardo Bonucci to AC Milan from Juventus; 2) €40 million, Federico Bernardeschi to Juventus from Fiorentina; 3) €38 million, Andre Silva to AC Milan from FC Porto; 4) €30 million, Franck Kessié from Atalanta to AC Milan; and 5) €25 million, Andrea Conti to AC Milan from Atalanta.

In the French Ligue 1: 1) €222 million, Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain from FC Barcelona; 2) €30 million, Keita Baldé to Monaco from SS Lazio; 3) €25 million, Youri Tielemans to AS Monaco from RSC Anderlecht; 4) €17 million, Ismaïla Sarr to Stade Rennais from FC Metz; and 5) €16 million, Yuri Berchiche to Paris Saint-Germain from Real Sociedad.

FIFA’s analysis of the five major European leagues – England, Spain, Germany, Italy and France – shows clubs reached a new level of spending last summer, with a total of $3.67 billion (£2.75bn) – a 31.7% increase on last year, despite the fact that the number of deals only went up by only 6.2%.

Manchester City spent over £200M on Bernardo Silva (Monaco), Ederson (Benfica), Kyle Walker (Tottenham), Benjamin Mendy (Monaco) and Danilo (Real Madrid) to further bolster Pep Guardiola’s star-studded team. If the Citizens were prudent enough to spread the risk by utilising their transfer kitty on several players, the same cannot be said of Paris Saint-Germain’s lavish spending.

English Premier League sides were responsible for more than one third of that total, spending $1.4bn (£1bn) on a total of 526 players, and recouping just $477m (£358m) in sales. To put

PSG, six-times winners of the Ligue 1, adopted a rather different transfer market strategy in that they devoted practically their entire transfer budget on the signing of left wing

Neymar. Unai Emery’s side also signed Dani Alves (free agent), Kylian Mbappé on loan from archrivals Monaco and Yuri Berchiche from Real Sociedad for £14.40m.

Seven games into the new Ligue 1 season, Paris SG are already setting the pace… 19 points as a result of six straight wins and one draw (a stalemate vs. mid-table Montpellier).

Emery’s side are the hot favourites to win Ligue 1. Not only because they signed Neymar but also because Monaco lost some of their best players last summer: Benjamin Mendy, Bernardo Silva (both Man City) and Tiemoué Bakayoko (Chelsea).

However, it is a fact that Neymar, like his illustrious predecessor Zlatan Ibrahimović (from Milan in 2012), was not signed to merely help Paris SG lift their seventh Ligue 1. Neymar is expected to help Paris SG bridge the gap with respect to the crème de la crème in the Champions League. History teaches us though that one player is rarely a game-changer.

However, a look at a typical Paris SG starting line-up, one finds that Neymar is not the only stalwart within their fold: Thiago Silva, Thiago Motta, Marco Verratti, Adrien Rabiot, Edinson Cavani, Julian Draxler and Mbappe are Neymar’s teammates.

Neymar, who cost a whopping 138% more than the £89m Juventus cashed in from Manchester United for French midfielder Paul Pogba last summer, has been in commanding form for the Ligue 1 leaders but it is still to be seen whether he can put Paris SG on the same class with the likes of Real Madrid, his former club Barcelona, Juventus, Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Manchester United.

In recent weeks, Neymar made the headlines for the wrong reasons after clashing with striker Cavani, formerly of Palermo and Napoli, over a penalty and a free kick. There were reports in the media that Neymar’s former teammate Lionel Messi was unsurprised by Neymar’s appetite to cause disruption given how much he wanted to be Barcelona’s main man. According to the same sources, 30-year-old Messi was aware of how much the Brazilian wanted to overthrow him in the dressing room – despite the duo publicly insisting they got along.

Off the field of play, there was an inevitable domino effect in the market. Many considered the transfer fees Man City paid for Kyle Walker and then Benjamin Mendy making them the most expensive defenders in history was ample proof of the hugely inflated transfer fees generated nowadays in modern football.

Such transfer fees brought a barrage of criticism.

(Continued on page 37) VOL 45 - ISSUE 1 - OCTOBER 2017

21

DO NOT BE AFRAID

by Fr. Anthony C. Ferrante

W

hy all the hype? The event was widely reported on the media, and not only in the UK. It was the sort of news that alleviated somewhat the “routine” of fighting and crime.

After all it was an exceptional event that could not be overlooked. Not that there were not similar turning points in the life of certain celebrities before this.

There is one outstanding characteristic however in this happening that interested football followers and most especially Manchester United supporters anywhere. A former Red Devil had given up his football professional career, and joined the Order of Preachers (OP).

Initially in his footballing career he had donned the beloved Red Shirt, but he had now changed into the White Habit of the Domenicans. I would say that from a Red Devil he had now become a White Angel! He was ordained as a Catholic Priest on the 8th July 2017 at St Saviour’s Priory in Dublin, by Archbishop Joseph Augustine Di Noia, himself a Domenican. All this came about after having begun formation for the Catholic Priesthood and furthered his studies at the Pontifical Irish College in Rome.

Philip Patrick Stephen Mulryne was born on the 1st January 1978 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He began his footballing career as a youth team player at Manchester United where he played his part in the FA Youth Cup winning team in 1995.

Mulryne became a Northern Ireland full international on his debut in February 1997 against Belgium. That was even before he made his first team debut for the Reds. He had to wait until the following October to make his debut for United against Ipswich in the Coca Cola Cup when United succumbed to a 2-0 defeat. Despite being capable in his normal position as a central midfielder, one

has to admit that at that time, this position was virtually monopolised by accomplished stars such as David Beckham, Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes. This put him quite low in the pecking order, so Mulryne only managed a single League appearance for United when he played the whole match against Barnsley on the last day of the 1997–98 season. Having been unable to secure a regular place in Sir Alex Ferguson’s side, Mulryne parted with Manchester United to continue his playing career first at Norwich City and later at Cardiff City and Leyton Orient. His start at Norwich proved promising, but a broken leg sustained in a tackle with Christian Daily of Blackburn

Fr. Philip Mulryne during his visit at MUSC Malta.

Rovers ruled him out for most of the 19992000 campaign.

How is it then that he is being mostly associated with Manchester United? Admittedly he did appear in a greater number of matches both for Norwich City and even for Northern Ireland.

Suffice to note that for The Canaries he made 161 appearances whilst netting 18 goals. There is only one answer to that: Manchester United IS the reason why. Once a Red, always a Red. I am bound to think that Father Philip himself would readily endorse this, and I believe

that he showed it openly when on the 26th July 2017 he readily accepted an invitation to visit the MUSC (Malta) premises. He was accompanied by Deacon Alan J. Adami OP, a fellow Domenican and friend. Fr Philip’s suntanned and beaming features, enhanced by his white habit, added lustre to his clear Irish eyes as he was welcomed by the President and the Club Committee. Then he did not falter in accepting to don a United scarf and to sit for photographs in it.

Philip Mulryne may not have exactly come across as a man of God during his days as a player. In 2005 he was suspended from the National squad for a breach of discipline and missed two World Cup qualifying games. Mulryne also previously dated model Nicola Chapman. Yet the Lord’s ways are still not those of us human beings!

Fr Philip now clearly states the fact that: “This is a new chapter now in my life.” He hung up his football boots after retiring from professional football aged 31, and he dived into some charity work.

Archbishop Di Noia hit the nail on its head: “Whatever gain you had, you have counted as loss. In a real sense, your experience as an athlete has helped to prepare you for this moment: you have known the meaning of working hard to attain a goal, and now the goal is Christ.” Mature deliberation has led the former “Irish bad boy” not to be afraid to embrace the service to which he realized he had been called.

Father Mulryne is now assigned to the Dominican Priory at Newbridge, Co. Kildare.

As a Chaplain he will join the Chaplaincy team at Newbridge College. The former professional football player will now be looking forward to score more and more goals for his Lord’s team.

He has become the Lord’s midfielder.

Join us on MALTA

FOUNDED 1959

www.twitter.com/manutd_malta VOL 45 - ISSUE 1 - OCTOBER 2017

23

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

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10% Discount on A LA CARTE MENU

Alencia Jewellers Triq il-Htajriet, Mosta:

20% Discount

20% discount on Silver Jewellery, silverware, pearls, crystal 30% discount on yellow gold and white gold No discounts given on brand watches.

K-Optics 10% Discount (does not apply to contact lenses and solutions and also to discounted /sale items) Tel: 7984 3204 5% Discount for purchases over € 50 10% Discount for purchases over € 100

Tal-Familja Restaurant

10% Discount (excluding Saturday dinner and Sunday lunch)

.

10% Discount on presentation of membership card

Old Trafford Stationery

10% Discount (terms and conditions apply)

451 & 453, Fleur de Lys Road, Birkirkara 156A, The Strand Gzira 30% discount on engagement rings 10% discount on silver jewellery 10-20% discount on silver ornaments Also various discounts on gold jewellery

12% Discount on over €50 spent (Terms and conditions apply)

JJ SCERRI CO. LTD. Importers & Distributors of Electrical Appliances and Household Goods

Centro Casalinga

10% Discount except public holidays

15% Discount on all small electric home appliances 10% Discount on all white goods

Montaldo Insurance Agency Ltd 10% Discount on all Insurances to club members

Tal-Barklor Restaurant 5% Discount on total bill (Excluding Public Holidays)

10% Discount on total bill (Does not apply for on Sale items)

10% Discount on direct bookings only.

5% Discount on total bill

10% Discount (terms and conditions apply)

10% Discount (terms and conditions apply)

These offers are not to be benefited from in conjunction with any other that the shop may have from time to time.

Therefore if a particular establishment has an offer on already on a particular product or service, the Discount Scheme shall not apply to that product or service.

VOL 45 - ISSUE 1 - OCTOBER 2017

29

Main Premier League Challengers Strengths & Weaknesses P

rior to the start of the season, most experts were adamant that this had to be the most wide-open Premier League ever and that anyone of the top six teams could end up as champions at the end of the season. City spent big again and with Guardiola in his second season were deemed to be big favourites, Chelsea as reigning champions, United who continued to build on a squad that won three trophies last season, Liverpool with some electric pace upfront, Tottenham by confirming a team which did so well in the previous two seasons and Arsenal with the acquisition of Lacazette to spearhead an already well-oiled machine. Even Everton, despite losing Lukaku were being fancied by some critics that they can create a shock and potentially win the title.

Five matches into the season, the picture is somewhat clearer, and even though things could change over the next eight months, my opinion is that the Premier League winner will come from three teams, just three from the group of seven.

For each of the three teams, I shall mention three strengths, followed by two weaknesses.

Chelsea’s Strengths Chelsea’s main strength is their experience all • over the pitch, underlined by the experience of becoming champions last year. Courtuois, Luiz, Cahill, Azpilicueta, Fabregas, Willian and Hazard have all been part of the teams that won two Premierships in the last three years.

Add to those the iner a brought by Kante last season, Pedro’s history with Barca and Morata’s success with Juventus, and one cannot not be in awe of the collec ve winning experience.

• Conte’s typical Italian shrewdness and the concept of never accep ng defeat have to be included as another strength. Conte is certainly a great mo vator. His teams have always achieved and the bad losers’ a tude has been an a ribute of their campaign last season.

It was shown again this season, par cularly against Spurs, where despite being able to pull back the score in the last five minutes, they managed to re-group and scored the winning goal right away. Also, the tac cal knowledge and awareness of Conte was demonstrated last year, when following a disastrous start to the

30 VOL 45 - ISSUE 1 - OCTOBER 2017

season, he changed the system of the team to 3-4-3 to overwhelming effect.

• Chelsea do not only have the experience though. They also have technical abili es at will. Luiz can be a master at the back in front of Courtuois solidity. Kante is a machine and in Hazard they have one of the finest players in the world and an obvious match-winner.

Chelsea’s Weaknesses • Winning the Premiership is incredibly difficult but being confirmed champions at the second me of asking is even more challenging. Being the team to beat brings a huge pressure as you are expected to win every match and opposing teams seem to raise their game against the champions. Last season, Chelsea started badly and went under the radar for a long period and a er that their momentum carried them through. This season will be different and they will struggle to shake off the lesser teams. Just watch.

• Chelsea have lost two massive players in the summer and have not been able to replace them adequately. Matić is a huge influence in midfield and selling him to United will come back to haunt Chelsea. His authority will be missed and Bakayoko will take me to adapt.

Same with Diego Costa. As much as I hate the guy, Costa is some player. He has presence upfront, is good in the air and with both feet, scores goals and terrorises defenders. Morata is an excellent player and will score goals but lacks the aura provided by Costa.

Prediction – 3rd Man City’s Strengths • City are the most technical team in the Premiership, no doubt about that. And I don’t mean the first eleven but the squad as a whole. Aguero, Jesus, Silva, De Bruyne, Sane, Sterling, Bernardo Silva, Gundogan and Mendy are incredible talents and all of them extremely good on the ball. They will take some stopping and I am almost sure that City will end the season as top scoring team in the Premiership.

• Guardiola is a top coach, as evidenced by his CV. Anywhere he managed, his teams played scin lla ng football, being Barcelona, Bayern or City. I once heard him saying that his job as a coach is to find ways of how his players work their way into their opponents’ penalty area and in a posi on to score. Once he achieves that with his team, then his mission is accomplished and it’s all about whether the players can finish. It’s an interes ng philosophy and one can see how much City players work hard off the ball, always looking to create space and giving opportuni es for the player on the ball.

by Roderick b R d i k Psaila P il

• City have deep pockets and once more they have been the biggest spenders in the Premiership this season. The most important aspect of that though is that they spent well in my opinion.

Bernardo Silva will slowly adapt to the speed of the league and he will be there to step in that midfield should David Silva or De Bruyne miss matches. Kyle Walker is proven in the Premiership and he will add power and speed to that right flank, similar to what United have with Valencia. Mendy on the le will however be the winning card for City this season. He is fantas c. Strong, quick, technical, brilliant crosser of the ball with that le foot of his and also possesses a great shot. Mendy is the best wing back in Europe and will be a source of plenty of goals for City this season.

City’s Weaknesses • City are not strong enough at the core.

They added strength on the flanks and at the back, they have strong players but they will suffer against a few teams in the league, who will play them off the pitch. I saw their match against Bournemouth where they were very lucky to win and in the a er-match interview, Kompany men oned how he was very happy that they stood up to the opponents and remained strong.

Now Bournemouth are not the most powerful or tall team in the league, but for them it was a feat. I fear for City against teams which will pack the midfield and defence and challenge City to break them down. The likes of West Brom, Stoke, Burnley, West Ham, Leicester, Spurs and United can bully City players, especially in set pieces.

• That City defence remains suspect. I think their defence will struggle without the experience of Kompany, should he become unavailable for a sustained period of me. I cannot imagine their back three of Mangala, Stones and Otamendi having to cope with some of the strikers of the top teams in the Premiership. I think all three of those players are somewhat ‘an accident wai ng to happen’ individually, together it would probably be a disaster.

Prediction: 2nd United’s Strenghts United bought best. The acquisi on of Matić • was a masterstroke by Mourinho. He will add so much to United’s team. Power, height at both ends of the pitch, cover for the back four, posi onal play, experience of winning two Premier Leagues, and he will release Pogba to move further forward and link up with the

strikers. Lindelof has not lit the house on fire since his arrival but once he adapts, he will be an able deputy for any of the two occupying the central defensive partnership. Lukaku on the other hand is an improvement over Zlatan for United. He may not be the finished ar cle and should con nue to improve but his runs in behind the opposi on defence has added another dimension to United’s play, something which last year did not exist. Add to that his hold up play and the tens of goals he will score over the season – I expect 30 goals minimum from him – there is no doubt that Lukaku was a great buy.

• United have Mourinho. José is a smooth operator. He has eye for detail and can turn a match on its head with his subs tu ons. José is a serial winner and he probably is the best manager around when it comes to winning trophies. His teams may not be the most entertaining but they achieve.

• United are full of power and pace this season.

Sta s cally, United are the second tallest team in the Premiership and that height will result in more goals and eventually more points. In today’s game, some of the matches especially between the top teams can easily be decided by a set piece and height will certainly help. And I can’t see many teams winning against United this season if the United score first, simply because the pace up make United devasta ng on the counter.

United’s Weaknesses • I s ll think that there are a couple of posi ons in the United team which have not been adequately filled. Certainly at le back, no one seems to have made the posi on his, which is quite disappoin ng especially with the kind of money spent on Shaw, albeit the la er being unlucky with injuries. Also on the right side of midfield, I really would like José to find a place for Lukaku, Rashford and Mar al in the same team.

• I am not convinced about the impact that the return of Zlatan can have on the United dressing room. Hopefully I am wrong but I can see his return threatening the chemistry there is between Mar al, Rashford, Lukaku and Pogba.

Prediction: Champions Liverpool – are you kidding me? Next year will be their season!!

Send me your thoughts on roderickps@gmail.com

VOL 45 - ISSUE 1 - OCTOBER 2017

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Analysis: Champions League Opponents

by Silvio Scicluna

W

hen I sat down to watch this year’s UEFA Champions League draw, I must admit to having mixed emotions. On the one hand I was excited for Manchester United just to be in the draw, given that this has recently not been the given it once was and last year I missed the feeling of anticipation (being in the Europa League draw just doesn’t generate the same feeling). On the other hand I was a bit wary of the calibre of opponents we could draw, given that we were not among the top seeds.

In the end I needn’t have worried since, on paper at least, United were dealt quite a favourable draw. Following the allocation of the top seeds into their groups, when it came to allocating teams from pot 2 (our pot, which if truth be told also contained some big guns which we couldn’t be drawn against), we were drawn against Benfica, avoiding the likes of Real Madrid, Bayern and Juventus. On to pot 3 and again we managed to avoid the likes of Napoli and Roma when we were drawn against FC Basel. Probably the part where we did not get a completely favourable draw was when teams from pot 4 were allocated and, although we managed to avoid the likes of Celtic and RB Leipzig we were drawn against CSKA Moscow.

Historically, all three clubs are not new to United. We have met Benfica on nine previous occasions with a good degree of success (won six, drew two and lost one), the best being when we beat them 4-1 after extra time at Wembley in 1968 to win our first European Cup. Basel have been our opponents on four previous occasions and for whatever reason we have only managed to beat them once, drawing twice and losing once. As for CSKA Moscow, even here there have also been four previous encounters with United winning two and drawing the others. When taken from the aspect of qualifying from the group, being drawn against this year’s opponents, in our recent past this has not exactly been a bed of roses. In fact, when being associated with these clubs in a group, United have failed to qualify to the knockout rounds on three

previous occasions. In 2005/06 we had Benfica in our group and finished bottom. In 2011/12 we had both Benfica and Basel and we finished third. And in 2015/16 we had CSKA Moscow in our group and again finished third.

If we were to analyse briefly the background and attributes of all three of our opponents we can note that Benfica have the biggest standing of the three. Domestically they have been champions of Portugal a record 36 times and also have two Champions Cup triumphs to their name, both coming in successive years in 1961 and 1962 when they were arguably one of the finest club sides in the world. Their most notable players to look out for include the likes of Brazilian goalkeeper Julio Cesar, defenders Eliseu and Luisao, midfielders Eduardo Salvio and Rafa Silva and strikers Jonas and Mitroglou.

Twenty times Swiss champions FC Basel have in recent times made a name for themselves in European football, earning a reputation of being hard to beat at their compact St. Jakob Park stadium whilst playing an attractive style of attacking football. They have reached the last 16 of the Champions League three times (2003, 2012 and 2015) and in the Europa League they were semi-finalists in 2013 and quarter-finalists in 2014. Notable players in their ranks include defenders Suchy, the captain, midfielders Elyonussi and Serey Die, and striker van Wolfswinkel.

CSKA Moscow were previously the national army football team but are now an independent professional football club. In both guises they have been successful domestically, winning their national championship thirteen times.

Their best seasons in Europe were definitely in 2004/05 when they won the UEFA Cup and 2009/10 when they reached the quarter finals of the UEFA Champions League. They also made the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League in 2011 and 2012. Undoubtedly their most well known players are the Russian internationals Akinfeev (goalkeeper), Ignashevich, the

Berezutski twins (defenders) and midfielders Dzagoev and Golovin.

From a travelling point of view, both for the club and for United’s away supporters, those who were watching the draw live would surely have been quite happy at first with trips to Portugal and Switzerland not particularly taxing. Then, however, came the unwanted prospect of a long and tiring trip to Russia. Thankfully the Moscow trip is scheduled for September rather than later on in the winter and United have a home fixture in the league upon their return.

In general, the way the fixtures were drawn is also quite favourable with a home tie against Basel first up and another home tie with CSKA Moscow to finish off which could be important if we would still be in need of a point or three to qualify.

To conclude, with all due respect to our opponents (which José Mourinho will surely give them given how meticulous he is in his preparation and by never underestimating any opponent), United are widely expected to qualify from this group and it would be a huge disappointment to the club and its fans were they not to. Then again in recent years we have made heavy work of trying to qualify from so-called “easy” groups. José himself stated that he would have preferred to be drawn in a group with one giant club and two lower ranked clubs rather than a balanced group where all teams can take points off each other. Sometimes it is better from a motivational aspect to be drawn against tougher opponents whom we would not be favourites to beat and hence be able to play with less pressure. Who can forget the group we were handed in season 1998/99 when we were thrown in with Barcelona and Bayern Munich together with Brondby. Not only did United manage to qualify from the group but as the whole world knows, we went on to lift the UEFA Champions League in the most dramatic of circumstances to complete a historic treble with the previous lifting of the Premier League and FA Cup trophies.

VOL 45 - ISSUE 1 - OCTOBER 2017

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WHERE ARE THEY NOW

Nicky Butt

by Norbert Bugeja

Na na na na na, Nicky, Nicky Butt, Nicky Butt, Nicky Nicky Butt...

T

hat was a song which was sung by the United supporters during his time at Old Trafford and even on the occasional visits when he joined Newcastle. Nicky was part of the class of 92’ and even though he stayed at Old Trafford for 12 years he just picked up 270 games for Manchester United.

He was a tough no nonsense midfielder who would have been a starter in any Premier division side but at United he had a certain Roy Keane and Paul Scholes to compete for a place in the starting eleven.

Luckily for him, Keane got his good share of suspensions and also had long term injuries which made his tally of games much higher and these included one particular night in Barcelona. Keane got 2 bookable offence in the semi-final vs Juventus and got to miss the final. Nicky Butt got the nod in the starting line up. In that season Butt would play a record 47 games in what was the most memorable season in Manchester United’s history.

During his time at Manchester United, Nicky Butt won 6 premier leagues 3 FA cup 1 Champions League 1 Intercontinental Cup and 4 Community Shields.

In 2004 Nicky Butt handed in a transfer request and moved to Newcastle who at that time had Sir Bobby Robson as their manager. His transfer value was £2.5 million.

At Newcastle he started playing more regular football though obviously titles and awards were very limited. He managed to help the team achieve an Intertoto Cup and a Football league Championship to show for his efforts

during his time at Newcastle. He later moved to China and after he hang up his boots.

On an international level he played 39 times for England and the highest review ever received was by Pele during the 2002 World Cup he said that Nicky Butt was the best player of the English team.

What did Butt do after retirement?

In 2014, Butt was part of the class of 92’ which bought Salford City with the intention of taking them to the Football league... later the Class of 92’ sold 50% stake of the club to billionaire Peter Lim. 2012 marked his return to Manchester United he started his coaching as a coach of the Reserve team. In 2014 he moved together with Paul Scholes to assist Ryan Giggs as interim manager following the departure of David Moyes. In 2016 Brain Mclair left the role as head of the Academy.

So Nicky Butt decided to use the experience gathered throughout his career to help the upcoming footballers at Manchester United.

Best of luck to Nicky and thanks for your loyalty.

VOL 45 - ISSUE 1 - OCTOBER 2017

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Champions League Nights 1997-18: Feyenoord 1 Manchester United 3.

by Michael Calleja

C

hampions League nights have a certain aura about them. You can just about feel an extra ‘buzz’ amongst the crowd and these games can become even more magical and meaningful when your team happens to obtain a priceless and emphatic result.

That is certainly what happened on the 5th of November, 1997. Having won the first three group games (Away v Kosice 3-0, Home v Juventus 3-2 and Home v Feyenoord 2-1), United faced the daunting task of taking on the Dutch outfit at the De Kuip Stadium in Rotterdam.

Goals from Scholes and Irwin had just about edged the Dutch at Old Trafford and few pundits/critics gave the Red Devils any chance in Rotterdam. After all, the Dutch were incredibly solid at home and United did not possess the best of away records in Europe.

Moreover, United were still coming to grips with the ‘European game’. Sir Alex Ferguson would recount in his autobiography that British teams would often suffer against continental opposition with the latter often lulling the Brits into a false sense of security. It was only once British teams would pound the penalty box that Latin teams in particular would hit them on the break and grab a couple of goals. Put simply, Continental opposition had mastered styles and tactics which we nowadays take for granted i.e. transitions, counter-attacking systems and change of speed. These concepts, whilst known to teams like Manchester United,

(Continued on page 21)

were executed so well by teams such as AC Milan and Ajax that British teams had a lot of catching up to do.

However, on this November night, United would finally get to grips with the new system and consequently master the Continental game.

Feyenoord were certainly geared up for this encounter. They knew that come what may, they had to get something out of the game if they wanted to keep their Champions League hopes alive. Buoyed on by a vociferous crowd, the Dutch took it to United and came out all guns blazing. United however, were patient and resilient. They knew what to expect from Feyenoord and Ferguson had planned out the perfect game plan to stifle the Dutch attack.

On 30 minutes, United then struck. A Gary Neville long ball was played into the path of the speedy Andy Cole whose neat touch was enough to chip the ball over future Liverpool keeper Jerzy Dudek. 1-0 to United! Ten minutes later and United then struck again. A neat exchange between Sheringham and Beckham led to Becks passing to Cole who slotted in from close range. It was 2-0 at half-time and the Dutch had no idea what had hit them. United had, like seasoned European veterans, played out a cool and composed first 45 minutes and hit the Dutch where it really mattered – on the break and with quick, fast flowing football.

The second half was more of the same. United were in majestic form with Giggs particularly a

thorn in Feyenoord’s side. He went close on a couple of occasions but reserved his best until the 73rd minute. Pallister started a move which allowed Giggs to run on his favoured left foot.

The mercurial Welshman then skipped past the keeper before laying the ball to Cole who had nothing but an easy tap-in. 3-0 to United and it was simply marvelous! The Red Devils were making England proud and the travelling army of fans couldn’t believe their luck. The men from Rotterdam were being put to the sword by the hard-working team from Lancashire.

Feyenoord did manage to reduce the arrears after 86 minutes thanks to Igor Korneev but the game will also be remembered for a serious incident which happened in the second half.

Paul Bosvelt tackled Denis Irwin in horrible fashion – leading to Irwin having to leave the pitch on a stretcher. This sparked a fiery encounter between Ferguson and Feyenoord’s technical staff. No matter how many times you see the incident, the images are truly disturbing and Irwin was lucky that his career wasn’t ended on that glorious but difficult night.

It was the perfect way to silence their critics.

United had established themselves as a European giant and teams from all across Europe would now also have to worry about United’s away form. Ferguson had moulded a side built on flexibility and tactical nous. It is certainly no surprise that this team would eventually go on to win the following [1998-99] Champions League edition.

Reflections from the 2017 Summer transfer window

For instance, 1986 World Cup leading scorer Gary Lineker delivered his Twitter verdict of Kyle Walker’s £53 million move from Tottenham to Manchester City: “Imagine how much he would cost if he could cross the ball”.

In this regard, Manchester United were clever to beat the Neymar effect because they landed key targets Romelu Lukaku (Everton) and Nemanja Matić (Chelsea) before Neymar’s eye-watering switch to Paris SG changed the transfer market landscape.

After Neymar left, Barcelona were under pressure to make a big-name signing. After Jürgen Klopp was reported to have turned down an offer

in excess of £100M for Brazilian ace Philippe Coutinho, Barcelona had the audacity to spend €105M plus up to €42M in add-ons on Ousmane Dembele, making him the second most expensive player in history behind Neymar, despite that the Frenchman having played only one season for Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga.

Needless to say, Borussia Dortmund made a huge profit on a player they signed from Ligue 1 outfit Rennes for just £13.5m a year ago, although the French club’s president told L’Equipe that they are entitled to around “€30m-€40m” owing to a sell-on clause agreed when Dembélé joined the Bundesliga side.

Dembélé was superb for Dortmund in the

2016/17 season as they finished third in the Bundesliga and won the German Cup with the 20-year-old scoring the first goal in a 2-1 win against Eintracht Frankfurt – Dortmund’s first piece of major silverware in five years.

August 31 brought the curtains down on the 2017 summer transfer window. Only time will tell who was the best signing of the lot. Until then, a winner has already emerged from last summer’s transfer window: Neymar’s fatheragent Neymar Snr. who has reportedly bagged a cool €62 million in one week (€26M “loyalty bonus” from Barcelona and €36M in agent signing on fee from Paris SG) without his son even playing in an official match for Paris SG.

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The Two Nemanjas

(Matić and Vidic - their contribution to Manchester United)

W

hen United signed Nemanja Matić from Chelsea, the only eyebrows that we raised were because of his price tag.

I admit I was not a big fan of his but I had never really had a close watch at him.

Six matches into the new season those doubts have been washed away.

The stats around him speak for themselves: whether it is interceptions, passes, tackles or merely touches, he is head-and-shoulders above the rest.

Mourinho – who likes to have his own players that can play the system he wants them to play is clearly a fan of his. When describing the Serbia International, Mourinho was quick to point out: “I think he’s one of these players where there are no question marks in front. He doesn’t need time to adapt, he’s not a young guy who came from another country, he’s not somebody that needs to learn the Premier League. He’s one of these players that gives me what I like in players, which is consistency. And that’s something I really like in players - consistency. It’s the way I trust the player is going to perform, so I think it was a fantastic signing for us.”

Few of us can argue against that.

He has arguably been one of the shrewdest buys in recent history. Whether he is found sitting in front of the defence or even moving forward, Matić has been a success. His role has also freed up Pogba who can now play in a further advanced position and express himself in a better way without worrying of leaving empty spaces behind him. That too is paying us dividends.

Without stereotyping, Matić’s style of play is

by Julian Tabone

synonymous to that of his fellow countryman.

reached its peak a year later in Moscow.

Players from Serbia are traditionally physically strong and imposing in their game. Serbia has indeed produced its share of top class players in the past decade or so.

Matić has arrived in a team that is still a work-in-progress and in Mourinho’s words, it needs at least another transfer window to be completed.

Players such as Branislav Ivanović (Chelsea), Dušan Tadić (Southampton), Aleksander Kolarov (Manchester City), Neven Subotić (Borussia Dortmund) and more famously Dejan Stanković (Inter) and Predrag Mijatović (Real Madrid) spring to mind.

At United, following Vidic, the club did also sign two more Serbians: Zoran Tošić and Adem Ljajić in 2009. The expectations for these two – precisely because of Vidic - were different.

We had high hopes for both of them but for a variety of reasons it didn’t work out for them.

Matić is up there amongst the very best.

As for Matić, the signs are pretty encouraging.

Of course, there was another Serbia international that left his mark. Another Nemanja as well.

Both Vidic and Matić are strong and dynamic.

Nemanja Vidic was an unknown quantity when United snapped him up in December 2005.

Like most of us, I had a similar reaction too.

We had never heard of him, never seen him play and did not know his qualities. Today Vidic is a United legend having won 15 major honours including 5 Premier League Titles and the Champions League.

His style of play – complimented by his central defence partnership with Rio Ferdinand – was a joy to watch. His determination, his agility and his dedication were qualities we love to admire in our players. And Vidic had that in abundance.

Matić is on a similar path and with a similar mission – that of bringing the title back to Old Trafford.

When Vidic made his debut in 2006, United had not won the league for 3 long years.

Vidic was another piece of the jigsaw that eventually won back the title in 2007 and

Vidic put his head where it hurts and Matić is the same, whether it is shielding the back-four in the best possible manner or putting steel back in our midfield – something which we have craved ever since Roy Keane left almost 12 years ago.

Mourinho has repeatedly expressed his surprise at the fact that Chelsea have let Matić join United. It may be banter. It may be the usual ploy or mind game, but what’s certain is that United have found another Serbian giant who is committed to our cause.

Vidic came to United as an unknown quantity and left as a legend.

We knew a thing or two about Matić when he joined but most of us still needed to be convinced. It may still be early days, but there are few doubts left. If he can maintain the start he’s had, he may very well be on the right path to greatness too.

Time will tell.

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OLIVER REED’S LAST PUB. MALTA’S MOST RENOWNED HOLE IN THE WALL. ARCHBISHOP STR • VALLETTA • MALTA

Winning I

t is an exciting time to be a Manchester United supporter. For those fans that know the club well and follow it through good times and bad, the time has come to feel positive and energized about the coming months.

After a relatively short period that felt like a lifetime, where the club was suffering from the inevitable dip following the glorious reign of Sir Alex Ferguson, José Mourinho has come in with his glittering CV to steady the ship.

In the first season under the guidance of Mourinho, who did not have an easy task of imposing his mentality on the team to replace the infamous philosophy of Van Gaal, Manchester United remarkably added the Community Shield, EFL Cup and UEFA Europa League to its trophy cabinet.

The latter completed the last piece of the jigsaw whereby Manchester United has now won all club competitions that can be won. Pogba and Mkhitaryan netted for United against Dutch powerhouse Ajax. Both players were Mourinho signings.

Another signing that received the flak from supporters for an extended period of time is Marouane Fellaini, a Moyes panic-buy that ended up costing more in the final hours of the 2013-14 transfer window than had United made a move for him earlier in summer. Fans genuinely believed that he was not fit to pull the Manchester United shirt. This opinion they voiced it in social media as well as in Old Trafford. The contact between Mourinho and Fellaini upon the appointment of the Portuguese was reassuring – José guaranteed that the Belgian would not be sold. In fact this was renewed this summer when it was rumoured that Galatasaray were interested in taking the Belgian with the unique hairstyle off the Manchester United books. Mourinho had

The Portuguese wasted no time in bringing his own ideas and shaping his own team, retaining elements from past managers but discarding others, most notable of which were Van Gaal signings Depay, Schneiderlin and Schweinsteiger, who were all shown the route to the exit. With him, Mourinho brought in giants, literally. In fact, only Mkhitaryan has a height of less than 6 feet from the seven signings made

by Mourinho. Matić, Zlatan, Bailly, Pogba, Lukaku and Lindelof are all towering players that give Manchester United remarkable strength in the aerial department, whether in attack, midfield or defence. A feather in his cap has also been the ability to retain the services of fan favourite goalkeeper David De Gea. Without the Spanish shotstopper, Manchester United would have fared much worse than 7th (2013-14 under Moyes), 4th (2014-15 under Van Gaal), 5th (2015-16 under Van Gaal) and 6th (2016-17 under Mourinho) in the league tables since Sir Alex left.

stated that there was a higher likelihood that the Turkish side sign him as manager than taking Fellaini away from his team. Fellaini’s performances have improved dramatically ever since that reassuring call.

He has been the last port of defence in a defensive department that did not always neutralise the barrage of the opposition. Yet, with an admirable sense of justice, Mourinho gave the nod to Sergio Romero to play in the Stockholm Final against Ajax after he had been the guardian of Manchester United’s goal for most of the second-best European competition adventure. Romero, himself a Van Gaal signing, repaid this trust with a clean sheet and an excellent performance.

After the so-called treble of triumphs in 201617, supporters’ thirst for success has grown exponentially. After all, Mourinho has always won the league title in his second season at every club that he has managed. So if the history books give us that trend, it can only strengthen the determination to see Manchester United lift the trophy in May after a four-year lull. Manchester United rightfully feel that four years is a long period: too long in fact. Another English club had become

by Braden Galea

laughing stock with their supporters’ “this will be our year” statements dating back to 1991. Manchester United is a different story of a club with success ingrained in recent as well as distant history.

As always happens, in politics as well as football, a great leader can never be replaced immediately. There will never be another Sir Alex Ferguson and there will never be another Sir Matt Busby. It takes a period of uncertainty and disappointment as the replacement of a great leader never succeeds in filling the massive boots of the predecessor and continuing on their legacy. It took four failed managers after Busby to give United supporters Sir Alex. It took three (if you count the temporary stint of Giggs) to give United supporters José Mourinho. Mourinho has his own style which does not come close to either Busby or Ferguson.

He is his own man with his own style and his own ideas. The common factor of all three is one – winning mentality. The result of this common factor is success.

The dream of every Manchester United fan is that it will be our captain who lifts the coveted Premier League trophy. Things have started very positively as Manchester United won the first three matches in the Premier League campaign, scoring ten goals in total while conceding nothing. Albeit a 2-2 Stoke result in the fourth match, a positive can be drawn that United fought back from one goal down to be leading 2-1.

Yet it was not to be a win as Choupo-Moting netted the equaliser. There is however a long way to do in the bruising campaign where United will be looking to fight on all fronts, including the UEFA Champions League where things also started positively with a 3-0 win over Basel in what has been described as an easy group. Yet, we all know that the term “easy group” is a myth when it comes to the elite competition.

The signings of Lukaku and Matić this summer have perhaps been the foundation of any future success enjoyed by our club. Despite not managing to secure a winger in the mould of Perisic, Martial seems to have stepped up to the plate and improved significantly after refusing to leave the club. It seems that the team is now balanced and complete. All that is left is now to make the individual components work in tandem towards the common goal of the top management, manager, players and us supporters: winning in style, winning comfortably and winning trophies.

VOL 45 - ISSUE 1 - OCTOBER 2017

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MixedMANCUNIANPlatter

by Karm Galea

W

hat happened to our players after the memorable night of the 26th May 1999 and Ferguson’s?

“Football, bloody Hell!”

play for City, we do applaud him for when, in the penultimate appearance of his career against Liverpool at Anfield, the Great Dane made a string of superb saves to deny Slippy G, Hamann and El Hadji Diouf, keeping City in the game before Anelka scored City’s late winner. Priceless.

recently donated Euro 150,000 to the club to help them buy their current premises in Sta. Venera. The local club is recognised as the oldest United Supporter’s Club in the world.

Jean Ronny Johnsen joined Aston Villa for two years after leaving United. Then he joined Newcastle for a few games. In 2005, Johnsen announced his retirement from football but then changed his mind and signed a one-year contract with Norwegian club Valerenga. Subsequently, he renewed his contract till 2008. He played a total of 59 games for Valerenga before hanging up his boots for good. In 2016, Johnsen was an ambassador for United in Malaysia to witness the partnership signing between the club’s global partner Gulf Oil International and KA Petra Son Bhd, a local gas marine provider.

Ronny is married to Nina Elisabeth Ardal and they have two children, Lars Erik and Therese. Ronny’s time at United was marred with many injuries and he spent so much time in the treatment room at Carrington that a bed there was named after him. Still, when he left United for Aston Villa, he took with him a unique record as he is the only player in football history to have made four successive trophy-winning appearances. How did he manage that? He was there for each of United’s treble-winning moments, i.e. the league game which clinched the title, the FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League final in 1999. His fourth winning appearance was as a substitute in the game against Tottenham in 2000, a match in which the title was won.

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Ahead of his testimonial in 2011, Gary Alexander Neville revealed he would spend the proceeds towards a supporters’ club and hotel near Old Trafford. Despite objections from Manchester United, Neville’s plans were approved and together with Ryan Giggs launched a hospitality company named GG Hospitality, with plans to build footballthemed hotels and cafes around the UK, initially in Manchester and London. Hotel Football, just opposite Old Trafford, opened its doors in 2014. Neville is now a wellknown, respected journalist with Sky Sports, taking over as match analyst on Monday Night Football. He spent a few years as the England’s manager assistant and tried his luck at management with Valencia where however he failed miserably. After that, he returned as a pundit with Sky. Gary’s father was a former professional cricketer and his mother, Jill used to play netball in the local leagues and is general manager and club secretary for the football league club Bury.

Gary was a talented cricketer as a schoolboy and played alongside future England captain Michael Vaughan. In June 2007, Gary married Emma Hadfield. They have two children, Molly and Sophie. In 2009, Neville was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Bolton for his outstanding contributions to football. In 2004, it was announced that Neville, together with Giggs, Scholes, Butt and Phil Nev had agreed a deal to purchase Salford City with plans to get the club to The Football League. Later on, a 50% stake in the club was sold to billionaire Peter Lim. In their first season of playing under this new management, Salford City obtained promotion, as documented in the Class of 92 television programme for the BBC. In 2009, Gary Neville joined The Sunday Times of Malta team of columnists. He has a longstanding connection with Malta and the local Manchester United Supporters’ Club and

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Peter Boleslaw Schmeichel MBE, who was born to a Polish father and held Polish citizenship until 1970, left United in the summer of the ’99 treble and became the owner of his childhood club Hvidovre IF but withdrew from the club in June 2002. He joined Sporting Lisbon in Portugal for two years where he won the league in 99/00 after Sporting hadn’t won the title for 18 years. Schmeichel also played in EURO2000, representing Denmark and retired from international football soon after. After Sporting Lisbon, Schmeichel joined Aston Villa where he will be mostly remembered for his goal against Everton, which made him the first goalkeeper to ever score in the Premier League. After one year at Aston Villa, he joined Man City for one season before retiring from football for good. Peter’s son Kasper grew up, became a professional footballer and won the Premier League with Leicester, while our arch enemies across the M62 are still waiting, yawning, scratching, bin dipping and moaning for their first taste of Premier League glory. Schmeichel worked as a pundit for the BBC, being a regular analyst on Match of the Day until 2005. Later he began hosting live UEFA Champions League matches on Danish TV. Peter took part in Soccer Aid and played for the Rest of the World team. He was also a contestant on the 2006 series of the BBC Strictly Come Dancing.

Schmeichel had the honour of having a dog, a Great Dane, named after him in the popular series Coronation Street. In February 2008, he became the host of the European version of the Discovery Channel programme, Dirty Jobs.

Although we did not like to see Schmiechel

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42 VOL 45 - ISSUE 1 - OCTOBER 2017

Jakob ‘Jaap’ Stam left United after an allegation in his autobiography upset Ferguson. He had a successful period at Lazio in between 2001 and 2004 in which

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he played 70 games and then joined Milan between 2004 and 2006. His last playing season was with Ajax in 2006/07. Ferguson has since admitted that selling Stam at that stage was an error. Stam had just come back from an Achilles injury and it was thought that he had lost a little bit of his presence on the field. United got an offer from Lazio for £16.5 million, for a centreback who was 29 and it was an offer that could not be refused. Since retiring from playing football, Stam spent 4 seasons as an assistant with FC Zwolle, Ajax and Jong Ajax. He has now evolved into a successful manager with Reading FC, leading them to the playoffs. His contract was renewed till the end of the 2018/19 season. Jaap says he picked up a lot from Ferguson, including the hairdryer treatment which he uses to good effect. United’s connections with Stam were not severed completely as in October of 2008 he returned to United as a scout for the club and was responsible for most of South America. Stam has been involved with Soccer Aid, which puts celebrities and football legends together for charity games in aid of UNICEF. He was involved in four of the matches in 2008, 2012, 2014 and 2016.

record 963 games, winning 13 Premier League trophies, 4 FA Cups, 3 League Cups, 9 Charity Shields, 1 Super Cup, 1 Intercontinental Cup, 1 Club World Cup and 2 Champions Leagues.

After retiring as a footballer, Giggs took up the role of Assistant Manager to van Gaal.

When Mourinho was appointed manager, Giggs refused to work with United. He is now seeking a managerial role while doing some punditry work in between. He has now attained his Uefa Pro Licence.

playing time in the UEFA Champions League Final win over Bayern Munich would be his last in a red shirt. He does not remember much about that night as it was high tension followed by extreme joy. He lost his medal on the pitch while jumping around but found it in the end after a considerable time of frantic searching. Three operations and two grueling years of rehab later is where he learned the lessons he is now passing on to others. Eventually Ferguson called him into his office for the inevitable chat. He was on his way to Everton. After Everton came Charlton, Djurgarden, Enkoping and finally with Hammarby, after which he retired in 2010 after a playing career constantly haunted by injuries. Jesper had also competed in a serious of dance competitions particularly the Let’s Dance 2017 edition on Swedish channel TV4 and won the competition. Jesper is now a psychologist and lectures together with his brother, helping and showing people how to handle setbacks and how to keep performing.

David Robert Joseph Beckham left United in 2003, where he joined Real Madrid and played there for four seasons, winning one title. After that, Beckham joined LA Galaxy.

While with Galaxy, he had 2 loan spells with AC Milan, ending his time with Galaxy at the end of 2012. In 2013, Beckham joined PSG, playing 14 games for them and finishing his career with a French Cup winning medal.

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Dwight Eversley Yorke, the young boy who was plucked from the beaches of Tobago against his mother’s wishes to join the world of English football at Aston Villa, played with Blackburn Rovers, Birmingham City, Sydney FC and Sunderland FC during the time it was managed by Roy Keane after he left United and there he played as a defensive midfielder rather than his favoured striker role. The Smiling Assassin was renowned for his ability to score from almost anywhere.

He has completed his coaching badges and was quoted as saying he was interested in a coaching career. He is still active physically and in April 2011 completed the London marathon in 3 hours and 32 minutes. Yorke was once in a brief relationship with Page 3 model Katie Price and had a son, Harvey, who is blind and autistic. Yorke disputed the paternity until it was proven by a DNA test. He featured extensively in an episode of Australia’s The Biggest Loser, which was aired in 2006. For his contribution to the national team in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he was made a Sports Ambassador for Trinidad and Tobago. In February 2017, he was denied entry to the United States for a legends match because of an Iranian stamp on his passport. His autobiography, Born to Score was released in 2009. Dwight is now facing bankruptcy as the company he set up in 1997, Dwight Yorke Promotions, now has net assets of only £2 (two pounds Sterling).

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Denis Joseph Irwin, who has been regarded

by Ferguson as, pound for pound, his greatest ever signing, continued playing with United until 2002, after which he went to Wolves for two years. After that he stopped playing and did some work as a pundit. Nowadays he is a regular on MUTV. Irwin is the joint most successful Irish footballer in history, a record he shares with Roy Keane, having won 19 major trophies in his career. Irwin’s net worth in 2017 was estimated to be approximately 134 million US dollars. The net worth includes stocks, properties and luxury goods such as yachts and private airplanes.

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Ryan Joseph Giggs Wilson OBE continued his playing career until the end of 2013/14 season in which he finished as caretaker manager at United for the last few games. In his 24-year spell with United, he played a club

Nicholas ‘Nicky’ Butt soldiered on with United till 2004, after which he joined Newcastle, playing with them till the end of 2010, apart from a loan spell with Birmingham City in 2005/2006. He finished his career with a one season stint with the Chinese club South China. Butt is currently the Head of Youth Development at Manchester United.

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Lars Jesper Blomqvist had quite a long career after he left United. His 67 minutes

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Andrew (Andy) Alexander Cole, whose father migrated to the UK from Jamaica in 1957, worked as a coal miner in Gedling, Nottinghamshire, joined Blackburn Rovers after United. After that he played for Fulham, where he scored one of the goals of the season against Liverpool, Manchester City, Portsmouth, Birmingham City, Sunderland, Burnley and with Nottingham Forest. He ended his playing days in 2008.

In 2009, he was hired by Paul Ince to coach Milton Keynes Dons’ forwards on a temporary basis. He was also hired by Huddersfield Town on a part-time basis to work with strikers. In 2010, Cole was back at United, working at the Carrington training ground while finishing his coaching badges. In 2002, Cole married his long-time girlfriend Shirley Dewar and had a son, Devante, who is also a professional football player. In 2008, he was questioned by police after an alleged assault on his wife in their Cheshire home but was released on bail. Six months later, he won damages in an action against owners of the Daily Star for defamation regarding the publication of material concerning the assault allegations and for harms caused against his family by sensational reporting. Cole was named in the Panama Papers in April 2016. In 2014, he suffered kidney failure and in 2017 underwent a kidney transplant. Andy has set up his own charitable foundation, called the The Andy Cole Childrens’ Foundation, which helps AIDS orphans in Zimbabwe. In 2010, Cole wrote in his column in The Independent that he had loathed and pretty much detested former team-mate Teddy Sheringham for 15 years after Sheringham did not offer to shake Cole’s hand as Cole was substituted on for Sheringham to make his England debut in a match against Uruguay at Wembley.

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days at the end of the 2007-08 season at the age of 42. Sheringham is currently the manager of the Indian Super League club Atletico de Kolkata, who have Robbie Keane in their squad. Upon his retirement from professional football in 2008, Sheringham made a name for himself on the poker world scene, playing in various competitions worldwide. He made the final table in the £5,000 No Limit Hold’em Main Event in Vilamoura, finishing 5th out of a field of 384 players and winning £93,121. Teddy was inducted to the National Football Museum Hall of Fame at a ceremony in London in 2009. At 50 years of age, Teddy finally got married to a PR worker, Kristina Andriotis from Nottingham, 20 years his junior, in Portugal. The couple’s home is named Camp Nou after the Barcelona stadium. In a playful nod to the age gap between the pair, the couple decorated the house with a sign which said: ‘An old rooster and a young chick live here.’

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will forever be immortalised in the heart of all United fans.

Solskjaer’s career was plagued with injuries as since early 2003, his knees began to give him problems. This injury kept him out for the best part of two seasons. After ending his career with United, Solskjaer tried his sort in coaching, first with the United reserves and then with Molde with whom he won back to back leagues before moving to the Premier League again as the manager of Cardiff. After an unsuccessful time at Cardiff, Ole returned to Molde which he has managed ever since.

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Although not playing in the Final due to suspension, it is worthwhile to mention the next two great players who would have been in team had they been eligible to play.

Roy Maurice Keane supported Celtic and Tottenham as a child, but as time progressed his most admired footballer became Bryan Robson at United. Keane unexpectedly left United by mutual consent in November of 2005 as tensions between him and the United management escalated. He went on to play

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Edward Paul ‘Teddy’ Sheringham MBE whose dad was a policeman and who always advised Teddy to be grateful for what he got in life, went on to play for Tottenham, Portsmouth, West Ham and Colchester, ending his playing

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44 VOL 45 - ISSUE 1 - OCTOBER 2017

for Celtic before retiring from active playing to become a manager with Sunderland and Ipswich Town, followed by the positions of assistant manager for the Republic of Ireland and later for Aston Villa for a few months before giving it up to focus solely on his duties with Ireland. Keane retired from professional football in June 2006 following medical advice. Keane is the joint-most successful Irish footballer of all time, having won 19 major trophies, 17 of which came at United. This is a long way from the time when, at age 14, he was turned down from the Ireland schoolboys squad after a trial in Dublin, and by a number of English clubs, one explanation being that he was just too small to make it at the required level. Keane’s testimonial took place at Old Trafford in May 2006 between United and Celtic. Keane played the first half for Celtic and the second half for United, with United winning 1-0. The capacity crowd of 69,591 remains the largest crowd ever for a testimonial match in England. All of the revenue generated from this match was given to Keane’s favourite charity, the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind. Keane is married to Theresa Doyle and they have five children.

Paul Aaron Scholes, who is asthmatic and suffered from a knee condition that affects young athletes, is the son of Stewart (who was a superb footballer who played in Middleton into his forties) and Marina. He went on to play for United until 2011 and retired in January 2012 following a number of injuries.

He reversed his decision and returned to play for another season, finally retiring at the end of the 2012/2013 season. Scholes did some coaching work with United, however he decided to focus solely on his part ownership of Salford FC and some punditry work as well.

Scholes ended up his United career as the most decorated English footballer of all time, having won a total of 25 trophies, including 11 Premier League titles (why does Slippy G. come to mind?) and two UEFA Champions League titles. Having previously informally helped out Nicky Butt with the United under-19 during the first half of the 2013-14 season, Scholes agreed to rejoin the United backroom staff on a temporary basis after the sacking of David Moyes as a favour to Ryan Giggs, following the latter’s appointment as interim player-manager on April 2014. In July 2014, Scholes became a pundit on a four-year contract with BT Sport.

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Silencing of the lambs A

t the time of writing this article, MUFC have has a blistering start to the season with 5 EPL wins and a draw, away to Stoke, which over the years has always been a tricky fixture for the club.

This season, the players appear to have gone a step further than last season by converting the chances they had and converting such chances into goals. Improvements in the individuals’ games cannot go unnoticed especially in the continuous rise of Marcus Rashford and also the re-emergence of Anthony Martial, sure but not least the calmness of Matic.

The club over the past 3 – 4 seasons has invested heavily in new players, some came with a great CV but didn’t make the grade at the club, and others stuck it out and flourished either under Van Gaal or our current manager José Mourinho. With such spending, comes scrutiny and also pressure, Van Gaal received it first hand and during a number of pre and post interviews. Whether Van Gaal silenced his critics with lifting FA Cup, remains a dilemma to many. In my opinion, the won a trophy however the team should have performed better in the league and certain players shouldn’t have been sold. So with such decisions, lambs and ‘professional opinions’ start to manifest either through social media or during interviews on tv programs, matches and so forth.

The board at the club with Mourinho’s appointment made a statement of intent, the club will not be left to decline after the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson and the unsuccessful appointments of the Moyes and Van Gaal.

The stature of the club is so big, that a draw is viewed as a defeat unfortunately, for the critics it is in this club’s DNA to fight back from adversity. The club’s history proves that… time and time again. The media is flooded with ex-liverpool footballing players not legends… players. Which always ride the bandwagon to continuously lay into the club and their approach in getting back to the club. It is funny coming from a lot of retire professionals who

by Daniel Cuschieri

the season with such a goal rush. The team has not be spectacular in their play, however they have been free scoring which was a concern last season and the lambs had a field day. The confidence in all individuals play is evident and in most cases it is hard to find fault in their game. This season the club can have a great run in all the cups and also really challenge for the title.

Though it is still early in the season, lambs have already tried to find fault in United’s place and which has already come back to haunt them. Liverpool need a miracle to really challenge for the title, Chelsea are missing Matic, Spurs lacking edge and experience. I believe it will be a two horse race with a team from Manchester winning the title. Mourinho, I think is on a mission to replicate the success of Sir Alex and putting in a length of time at a club which previously was not something he did. He has been sacked twice by Chelsea, he left Inter and also Real Madrid.

didn’t get the opportunity to taste certain success that some players at MUFC, did taste.

I refer to pundits as critics as they are mostly negative rather appreciative in their comments towards the club. Even fans at times, get on the bandwagon to criticize the club, which in all fairness we would all give an arm and a leg to be in their position.

Mourinho, has rejuvenated the club and I cannot recall a season whereby the club started

The more silverware Mourinho will win, the more lambs he will be silencing and having the length of time at the club will put to bed the stigma attached to this tenures at clubs, whereby which lambs then to forget that wherever he has managed, the man have brought in trophies. Big fees, big players, bigger pressure, bigger platform, bigger results and that is what Manchester United is all about.

The squad needs a couple of more signings and the squad can dominate for years to come, and only the brave or the crazy will bet against this team chasing top honours regulary.

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REMEMBERING THAT FIRST TIME MANCHESTER UNITED’S FIRST FA CUP SUCCESS IN 1909

by Iain McCartney Part 2

ROUND THREE – FEBRUARY 20TH - BLACKBURN ROVERS – H – 6-1 UNITED - MOGER, STACE Y, HAY ES, DUCKWORTH, ROBERTS, BELL, HALSE, LIVINGSTONE, J. TURNBULL, A. TURNBULL, WALL. SCORERS – A. TURNBULL 3, J. TURNBULL 2, LIVINGSTONE. BL ACK BURN ROV ERS – A SHCROF T, CROMPTON, COWELL, WALMSLEY, CHAPMAN, BRADSHAW, CAMERON, LATHERON, DAVIES, AITKENHEAD, ANTHONY. SCORER – DAVIES. ATTENDANCE – 38,500 Although blessed with a third successive home tie, they were once again drawn against Lancashire opposition ensuring the g ame would al s o have s ome local rivalry as well as the usual cup-tie atmosphere. It would also be something of a testing encounter, as opponents Blackburn Rovers had a pedigree when it came to the FA Cup, having won it on five previous occasions.

fainting due to the pressure in front of the stand and on the bankings on the other sides of the ground.

Mangnall’s side were determined that their visitors were not going to add to their success in the competition, certainly not in this par ticular season and they were on the attack from the offset with a strong sun behind them.

Bell sent the ball down the left flank towards Sandy Turnbull, who in turn picked out George Wall, but the imminent danger was cleared by Cowell. Roberts then sent over a free kick, but the header from Halse was also cleared by the Rovers defence.

Continuing to attack, a centre from Halse was headed into the goalmouth by Sandy Turnbull, but just as Jimmy Turnbull was about to reach it, Ashcroft managed get his foot to the ball and nudge it away.

At the opposite end, Blackburn’s first attack saw Anthony make progress down the left, but Latheron fired over. Aitkenhead missed from close range, and then another opportunity was missed after Cameron gained possession from a throw in, but although his centre dropped invitingly in front of the United goal for Davies, Moger dashed from his line to clear the danger.

An hour and a half prior to the 3.30pm kick-off, there were already over 15,000 in the ground, a figure that had risen to over 38,000 by the time they players emerged from the dressing rooms, with a sizable contingent having travelled from the Blackburn area. The limited reserved stand seats, priced at five shillings had sold out quickly.

But with ten minutes gone, the deadlock was broken. Wall and Sandy Turnbull manoeuvred the ball forward and on to the United right and from there Halse found the advancing Wall, who calmly trapped the ball, passing to Sandy Turnbull little more than three yards from goal to score easily.

A few minutes after 3.00, it was advised that the gates should be shut, even although there were still hundreds outside. Such was the mass of bodies within the tight and compact ground, many found an advantage point on top of the stand roof, which not only allowed them an excellent view of the proceedings it kept them well away from the crush of bodies below, with countless unfortunate supporters

A head injury to the goal scorer forced him off the pitch minutes later, but even reduced to ten men United held firm, although the visitors slowly pushed United onto the defensive, missing three good opportunities to snatch an equaliser. Full backs Hayes and Stacey were often stretched, whilst Moger made countless outstanding saves to keep United in front.

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The second half got underway in spectacular fashion, with Wall flashing a shot narrowly wide of the post a mere two minutes after the re-star t, but the crowd had only a further minute to wait for that second goal to materialise.

As Blackburn attacked, the United defenders appealed for off-side against Crompton and for some unknown reason, the England man stopped, perhaps expecting the referee to award a free kick against him, but the ball was soon passed to Jimmy Turnbull who bore down on the Blackburn goal. Sensing the danger, Ashcroft moved quickly off his line in order to block the United man’s advance, but it was to little avail, as the ball was slipped past him and into the net. It was now all United and Livingstone soon made it 3-0, his shot from twenty yards out beating Ashcroft, who could only get a hand to it as it dipped down under the crossbar.

T horoughly dishear tened, Blackbur n somehow managed to pull a goal back through Davies, although they were seldom in the picture and it was only a matter of time before they found themselves further behind, Sandy Turnbull adding a fourth with a low drive, followed fi ve minutes later by a fifth from the other Turnbull in the United front line who ran through the Rovers defence single handedly to score. With one minute remaining, United rubbed in their superiority with a sixth, Sandy Turnbull claiming his hat-trick.

But despite the score line, there was not much between the two sides, the main difference being the different styles of play rather than the individual skills of the players on view.

One well rehearsed ploy adapted by United saw them make a short pass in front of the Blackburn goal, which would see one red shirted player make the pretence of going to shoot, but proceeding to step over the ball, deceiving the defenders and allowing it to roll to a team mate, thus creating, if it came off, an unexpected opening.

ROUND FOUR – MARCH 6TH - BURNLEY – A – 0-1 (ABANDONED AFTER 72 MINUTES) BURNLEY – DAWSON, BARRON, McLEAN, CHETNEY, LEAKE, MOFFATT, MORLEY, OGDEN, SMITH, ABBOTT, SMETHAMS.

SCORER – OGDEN. UNITED - MOGER, STACE Y, HAY ES, DUCKWORTH, ROBERTS, BELL, MEREDITH, HALSE, J. TURNBULL, A. TURNBULL, WALL. ATTENDANCE – 15,471 Round Four once again saw United drawn against Lancashire opposition, but this time they were forced to travel out with the city limits and make the journey to Turf Moor Burnley.

In the previous round, the claret and blue’s had disposed of Tottenham Hotspur in front of a packed audience and in an effort to increase the ground capacity, with the expectancy of an even larger crowd against their near neighbours, they dismantled one of the stands, moving it back several yards, allowing for an additional 6,000 or so to be accommodated, pushing the ground capacity to well over 30,000.

T he weekend re construction work was too little avail, as heavy over-night frost was followed by snow showers, which by kick-off time had turned to sleet, forcing transport in local areas to more or less grind to a halt, whilst also forcing many to reconsider their plan for the days, with most deciding to remain at home rather than stand in the freezing conditions at Turf Moor. The expected bumper crowd failed to materialise and only 15,471 clicked through the turnstiles, hoping for some excitement to warm them up, with the temperature dropping by the minute, giving them something make their journeys out into an extremely cold afternoon memorable.

The pitch was covered in a heavy carpet of snow and it was debatable whether referee H. F. Bamlett would actually start the game. But start it he did and within ten minutes, with the wind and snow behind them, Burnley took the lead. Smethams crossing the ball towards the United goal and Ogden managing to steer the ball into the far corner of the net, well out of the reach of United ‘keeper Moger.

United, undeterred by that early setback and the inclement weather, did manage to make some headway with Sandy Turnbull and Halse forcing Burnley ‘keeper Dawson into making three excellent saves. The former also had an excellent opportunity to level the score, but took the ball too wide and the final angle was simply too fine to force the ball home.

began to fall even heavier, the players finding the conditions far from suitable, but still they plodded on.

United, now with the storm behind them, enjoyed the greater percentage of the play, but despite this, they still could not find a way past an extremely resolute Burnley defence.

So, the following Wednesday, it was back to Turf Moor with just over a thousand more in attendance than had witnessed the first encounter. The pitch for the replay was little better than a quagmire, due to a rapid thaw and in all honesty, it was in a worse condition than it had been four days previously.

United, although enjoying a fair percentage of the play, were now beginning to show signs of tiredness and were allowing the home side to creep back into the game, with their supporters sensing victory as the game moved towards the final eighteen minutes.

Their hopes, however, were suddenly dealt a crushing blow.

Sandy Turnbull tried to get Wall away on the left, but his pass was too strong and then Roberts also picked out his outside left in the Burnley penalty area, but the United outside left was pulled up for offside, an offence that both sides were found guilty of on numerous occasions.

A shrill blast from the referee’s whistle echoed around the ground, but with no infringement having taken place, players and spectators alike were uncertain as to the official’s action.

It soon became clear, however, that the referee had simply brought the proceedings to a premature halt.

It was a decision of his own making, as none of the players, despite the non-football like conditions and with the snow still falling from the leaden sky, had even hinted that the game should be abandoned. Although it was later suggested that the United players had been muttering about having the game brought to a premature end for much of the second half. The weather was still deteriorating, but having endured some seventy-two minutes and having indeed started the game in the first place, it was felt that the referee should have allowed the game to reach its closure. Others felt that the referee had done the correct thing.

The people of Burnley held glimmer of hope that the Football Association would go along with a precedent from an earlier abandoned game, when only the minutes remaining were played out, but there was no possibility of this happening and the game, much to their displeasure, was ordered to be replayed in its entirety.

ROUND FOUR – MARCH 10TH - BURNLEY – A – 3-2 UNITED - MOGER, STACE Y, HAY ES, DUCKWORTH, ROBERTS, BELL, MEREDITH, HALSE, J. TURNBULL, A. TURNBULL, WALL. SCORERS – J. TURNBULL 2, HALSE. BURNLEY - DAWSON, HOWARTH, McLEAN, CHETNEY, LEAKE, MOFFATT, MORLEY, OGDEN, SMITH, ABBOTT, SMETHAMS.

At the opposite end, Ogden hit the post with Moger beaten.

SCORERS – OGDEN 2.

As the second half got underway, the snow

ATTENDANCE – 15,471

But despite those adverse conditions, United adapted to them much better and Burnley’s second bite at the cherr y, was little more than a nibble, as United, with the wind behind them in the opening forty-five minutes began strongly.

Slowly, the home side began to test the United defence and Moger did well to save from Smethams at the second attempt, the United ‘keeper then doing well to block another attempt from the same player.

A Wall centre was headed just wide by Jimmy Turnbull and then Duckworth robbed Smethams and sent Halse scurrying forward.

His pass, however, got stuck in the mud and Howarth cleared. Moffat gave away a corner with Meredith’s kick finding Roberts who managed get a shot on goal, but Dawson managed to stop it on the line.

But with sixteen minutes gone, it was Burnley who took the lead. Smethams, a continuous threat to the United defence, broke away from Stacey while in an obvious offside position and crossed from the right. Moger managed to push the ball onto the post, but much to his dismay, it rebounded to the feet of Ogden who accepted the golden opportunity and tapped the ball into the empty net.

Undeterred, United continued to push forward and Burnley left-back McLean had to clear from his own goalmouth on three separate occasions, but it was the home side who were the more dangerous and they almost increased their lead, but Stacey managed to clear the immediate danger.

In the twentieth minute, a Jimmy Turnbull shot had Dawson well beaten, but the ball smashed against the cross bar and Howarth cleared for a corner. The flag kick was only partially cleared by the Burnley defenders, falling to the feet of Halse, who beat McLean before shooting into the far corner of Dawson’s net for the equaliser.

Within eight minutes, United had the advantage. Meredith crossed from the right and Jimmy Turnbull threw himself towards the ball but failed to make contact. Fortunately, the ball broke to Wall who delivered a telling pass into the goalmouth and Jimmy Turnbull

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made no mistake this time around, finishing the move to put the visitors 2-1 in front. The goalscorer, however, was soon to come in for rough treatment from the Burnley defenders and was injured twice by some over zealous play.

A Meredith shot was almost turned into an own goal by Leake but the resulting corner was cleared to safety, as the visitors piled on the pressure and despite the rather adverse conditions underfoot, the ball was moved about quickly, with the play flowing freely from end to end.

Moger saved from Abbott and as play once again swung to the opposite end of the ground, Sandy Turnbull missed an excellent opportunity following some fine play by Halse and Wall.

After the interval, during which the Burnley players were refreshed by a glass of champagne there was a strong wind now sweeping around the ground, but the half time liquid refreshment did little to invigorate the home side and indeed had something of

the opposite effect, with the home side’s game deteriorating badly.

Stacey cleared from the ever dangerous Abbott, while McLean just manager to get to the ball before Halse. Leake then headed a Burnley corner just over the United cross bar. Then Wall broke clean through the Turf Moor defence, but held onto the ball too long, allowing Dawson to race from his goal and save. The Burnley ‘keeper then made another excellent save from Jimmy Turnbull, but with seventeen minutes of the second half played, he was beaten for the third time

by Jimmy Turnbull.

Burnley had adopted the rather strange tactics of attempting to dribble with the ball, coupled with short passes, which due to the conditions was certainly not advised. They were, however, rewarded with a consolation second goal in the dying minutes, when Ogden nudged the ball past Moger amid a goalmouth scramble.

By that time the outcome of the game had been a forgone conclusion, due mainly to United’s superiority and the Burnley player’s inability to reproduce the form of the previous encounter. They were also very fortunate not to find them selves even further behind when the referee refused to award United a penalty following a foul on Wall.

The 3-2 victory propelled United into their

first ever F A Cup semi-final and joining them in that semi-final draw were Derby County, Bristol City and the team that they were to be eventually paired with, Newcastle United.

It was perhaps, in the case of logistics, the best draw they could have had, with the tie scheduled for Bramall Lane Sheffield. The pairing of Derby and Bristol City saw their tie being played at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge.

SEMI-FINAL - MARCH 27TH - NEWCASTLE UNITED – BRAMALL LANE, SHEFFIELD – 1-0 MOGER, STACEY, HAYES, DUCKWORTH, ROBERTS, BELL, MEREDITH, HALSE, J. TURNBULL, A. TURNBULL, WALL. SCORER – HALSE NE WC A S T LE UNIT ED – L AW RENCE , McCRACKEN, WHITSON, HOWIE, VEITCH, M. WILLIAMS, DUNCAN, HIGGINS, SHEPHERD, STEWART, WILSON ATTENDANCE – 40,118 From early morning until around two o’clock there was a large exodus of supporters from Manchester and although exact numbers could not be confirmed at the time, it was suspected that “every follower of the Clayton club who could afford to, availed himself of the opportunity of cheering on the champions to victory.”

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Major Five European Leagues Round-up…

All A llll R Reigning eigning C Champions hampions fforced orced tto oP Playing laying ccatch-up atch-up a already! lready!

by Antoine Dalli

A

t the time of writing this article, the Five Major European Leagues had already stopped for the international break of the season. Although to varying extents, one thing is so far common between the Big Five European Leagues… the reigning champions – Chelsea, Juventus, Bayern Munich, Monaco and Real Madrid – are no longer perched at the summit of their respective leagues. Far from that, all five of them are already forced to playing catch-up to remain in touch with the early pace-setters.

In the English Premier League, Man City and Man United are the early pace-setters and both seem to have everything in place to go all the way in what promises to be an epic title challenge between the two Manchester teams as has happened in season 2011/12 when the Citizens won with the title in the final moments of the last game against QPR, in what is considered to be arguably the most dramatic finish to an English season in history.After seven league games, City and United have garnered 19 points each and looked rock solid all the way. City have a slightly better goal difference than United (20 compared to 19). The two sides’ first meeting of the season will take place at Old Trafford on December 9 in what promises to be a crucial milestone for both.

Chelsea, Arsenal (13 points each) and particularly Liverpool (12 and level on points with unfancied Burnley and Watford)

have, so far, proved to be way behind City and United. Tottenham, despite playing all their home Premier League and Champions League encounters at Wembley Stadium due to construction works taking place at White Hart Lane, have up to now kept with the pace of the front runners. Tottentham started on the wrong foot as they lost to Chelsea (1-2) and drew with Burnely (1-1) and Swansea (00) earlier on but recovered remarkably since then. Liverpool have a chance to enter back into business if they beat the Red Devils and Spurs in two crucial encounters exactly after the international break. At the wrong side of the table, one finds Everton and 2015/16 champions Leicester in 16th and 17th place, with seven and five points respectively. At this moment in time, the two sides’ main preoccupation is climbing back to safer terrain.

In the Italian Serie A, Napoli have started the season firing on all cylinders. For the third season running, Napoli are under the charge of veteran coach Maurizio Sarri. The southerners have maintained a 100 per cent winning run in their first seven outings thanks to wins against Verona 3-1, Atalanta 3-1, Bologna 3-0, Benevento 6-0, Lazio 4-1, Spal 3-2 and Cagliari 3-0. As the score lines clearly indicate, Sarri’s side have won in style many a time.

Juventus, vying for their seventh straight Scudetto, have dropped their first two points

of the campaign courtesy of a 2-2 away draw with Atalanta on the seventh day. In that game, Massimiliano Allegri’s side forfeited a 2-0 lead and also missed a late penalty through the up-and-coming stalwart Paulo Dybala.

Inter, now under the charge of former Roma and Udinese mentor Luciano Spalletti, are level on points with Juventus but have been far from convincing. Sterner tests are ahead of Inter starting from their mid-October derby match against troubled Milan and followed by their away trip down south to Napoli.

Milan have been off to a stuttering start despite spending big during the summer transfer window. Vincenzo Montella’s men have lost three of their first seven outings including setbacks against direct rivals for a Champions League Lazio 1-4 and Roma 0-2. Milan’s other defeat came at the hands of Sampdoria on the sixth day. Lazio are, so far, the surprise package of the Serie A. The team from the capital have been in commanding form despite operating under a strict financial budget and club chief Claudio Lotito’s reluctance to spend big. Up to now, Lazio, who also lifted the Italian Super Cup in August at the expense of Juventus, have collected 16 points… one more than bitter city neighbours Roma, who have a game in hand (away vs. Sampdoria which was postponed on the third day).

At the wrong side of the table, Fiorentina are currently 12th with just seven points to show from their first seven games. Further down, the future of Udinese, Cagliari (six points each), Spal, Crotone (five), Sassuolo (four), Verona (three), Genoa (two) and Benevento (nil) already look bleak. Verona, Genoa and Benevento are still chasing their first success of the term.

Given the short fuse many Italian club owners have when it comes to dealing with coaches, one would not be surprised if some clubs resort to the change of coach during the international break… with Sassuolo, Genoa, Benevento, Milan and Fiorentina topping this list.

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In this regard, Bayern Munich have acted fast as they parted ways with former Parma, Juventus, Milan, Real Madrid and Paris SG mentor Carlo Ancelotti late in September (and appointed former club player Willy Sagnol as interim coach) after the side’s colourless performance in their 0-3 Champions League defeat vs. Paris SG. Bayern have looked a lot vulnerable this season. After the seventh day, the defending German champions have 14 points, level on points with Hoffenheim, and are currently five points adrift of Borussia Dortmund. Even under Sagnol on the seventh day, Bayern Munich looked far from their best defensively as they forfeited an early 2-0 lead to share the spoils away with mid-table Hertha Berlin.

The two teams will clash at Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion on November 4, a game which will shed more light whether it will be Bayern Munich’s sixth straight triumph in the German Bundesliga or Borussia Dortmund’s first since season 2011/12. The German Super Cup offered some little consolation for Bayern Munich as they came twice came from behind before beating Borussia Dortmund 5-4 on penalties to win the German Super Cup.

In the Spanish La Liga, Real Madrid are surprisingly fifth after match day seven. The

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current Spanish and European champions have, so far, won four, drew twice and lost once and looked far from invincible in the domestic league. This stuttering start came as a surprise because before the 2017/18 season got underway, Zinedine Zidane’s side lifted their 10th Spanish Super Cup after outclassing eternal rivals Barcelona 5-1 on aggregate, and their fourth European Super Cup after overcoming Man United 2-1 in Skopje, Macedonia.

As things stand in La Liga, Barcelona have won all their first seven games and contrary to what many expected they made the absence of Neymar go unnoticed. Argentine stalwart Lionel Messi has been in spectacular form, scoring 11 La Liga goals this term. Sevilla, with 16 points, are Barcelona nearest pursuers while Valencia and Atletico Madrid are joint third, a point behind Sevilla but one ahead of Real Madrid.

After the international break, Barcelona travel to Atletico Madrid in a game which will shed more light on the title ambitions of both teams.

This season’s first El Clásico will not be played before December 23.

In the French Ligue 1, Paris SG have been in commanding form, winning seven and drawing once in their first eight outings, scoring a remarkable 27 goals in the process. So far, reigning champions Monaco have kept the pace as Leonardo Jardim’s side are three points behind. Marseille and Nantes have 16 points each. Monaco will host Paris SG in their own Stade Louis II on November 26.

The Season So Far..

by Michael Gatt Impressive Start to the Season

M

anchester United continued their impressive start to the domestic season, with an eighth victory in nine matches (by the time of writing this article), thanks to decisive goals from Romelu Lukaku and lately have been a really exciting team again.

I also believe there is a certain luck in playing teams at the right time, where this was evident vs. Everton, vs. CSKA Moscow and vs. Crystal Palace, where the former two teams where considered to be the big tests of the campaign so far. Everton where coming from two consecutive three nil defeats, so obviously was a great time to play a demoralized team and CSKA have come towards their end of their domestic campaign, whereby the players are not in the best physical shape.

Ahead of the opening match day there were a lot of suspicions as to whether the Red Devils would be able to make the necessary improvements on last season’s efforts and lodge a bid for the Premier League crown.

Mourinho had invested heavily during the summer on three key players in Lukaku, Matić and Lindelof. I believe these signings put lots of pressure on established players in the side, in that the bar has been raised for a level of a Manchester United performance. For example, Herrera was player of the year last year, and he hardly has featured this year due to the fact that Mourinho is opting for two central midfielders (most of the times 3 last season), and the impressive form of Matić, Pogba and eventually Fellaini who has replaced him. I still believe the signing of Matić will prove to be the best bit of business, which Mourinho has done in the past window. He is really a key player, in the way he sits back, very disciplined in front of the back four, giving a license to release the other attacking players, whereas also providing an insurance for the defense, whereby we have hardly conceded goals in the new season.

I would also like to point out that with the signing of Matić, Herrera looks a very average player, when you look at the performances of Matić this year. Herrera was more often than not playing in the position of Matić in the previous campaign.

Finishing 24 points behind last year’s champions Chelsea was far below the

expectations for a club like United. When the fixture list was announced for this campaign, at the beginning of the season, it looked like the Old Trafford club had been given a great opportunity to hit the ground running and gain an early advantage. Mourinho always had a

reputation in his years at Chelsea for hitting the ground running early. Then, there was no sign of a ‘traditional’ top four rival waiting early on for José Mourinho’s men. In contrast, Chelsea where tasked with an away trip to last year’s runners-up, Tottenham Hotspur and a home

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tie against London rivals Arsenal all inside the first two months of the season.

The first serious challenge of the season will be when we take on archrivals Liverpool on Saturday 14 October. It may be an unpredictable game, due to the fact that it will be the first game that United will play after the international break. I think it is a blessing in disguise that Martial has not been selected for France, as well as Herrera and Mata whilst Fellaini’s Belgium has already qualified for the World Cup. These players will be pivotal to the game vs. Liverpool and they should be fresh and ready for the battle. A win vs. Liverpool will obviously mean that United will challenge this year for the title without any doubt.

Looking back at earlier games, an away trip to Swansea looked like it could be a frustrating afternoon and a potential two points dropped approaching half-time, but United stayed patient and eventually got the breakthrough, albeit with a degree of luck. They then pressed on, attacking with a ruthless efficiency, something which had been completely absent from their style of play just a couple of seasons ago, and reaping the rewards with an emphatic 4-0 victory.

The urgency and eagerness to win the ball straight away after losing it paid dividends once more against Everton. After weathering a storm from the Toffees following an early strike

by Antonio Valencia, the Reds overwhelmed the Merseyside club late on with three goals in the final ten minutes thanks largely to their persistence in attacking areas.

With last weekend’s victory ensuring they

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continue to match near-neighbors Manchester City, who sit in front of United due to a superior goal difference, the fine early season form could prove pivotal later in the campaign.

and Rojo back for the Christmas and New Year Campaign. I believe these players will bring fresh legs and will give the squad a tremendous boost in the second half of the campaign.

As Mourinho’s men continue to progress in various competitions there will be a greater strain on the squad and an increased chance of key personnel picking up injuries.

All these small details might well prove the difference between a first Premier League crown in five seasons and narrowly coming up short by the end of May next year.

Building up a good tally now is vital, tal, whilst there is no FA Cup to juggle alongside defending their League Cup crown and trying to make an impression back in the Champions League appears a sound strategy. I believe elieve that Mourinho will make the Premier league gue his top priority this year and will think of Champions hampions League glory the following year. I still think United need another transfer window dow to get another world-class player, for example ple Gareth Bale, in order to address the balance ance with teams such as Real Madrid, Barcelona ona and Paris Saint Germain. e The other important thing to realize about going on a winning run now ow is the confidence it will give the team. Ass the clean sheets continue to rack up so too willl the belief they can make Old Trafford a fortress ss again. I believe that Old Trafford will become e a fortress again this year, and all those wasted d draws in the previous draws will all be turned ed to wins in the current campaign.

When a rough patch strikes, which hich is an ost sides inevitable consequence for most he morale challenging on multiple fronts the gained from the earlier peaks will prove nding out invaluable when it comes to grinding points. United will have Pogba, Ibrahimović brahimović

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