This is the first in a potentially regular series of a sort of weekly Manchester United roundup. Here, all the relevant United news and stories will be addressed.
Red Devils Bash QPR
United finally got their first win of the Louis van Gaal era on Sunday, in spectacular fashion. With new signings Ander Herrera, Daley Blind, Marcos Rojo and Radamel Falcao all making their club debuts, the Reds gave Queens Park Rangers a thorough shellacking. The scoreline was 4-0, but it could’ve been even more slanted in United’s favour, if not for a few misses by Robin van Persie and a selfish non-pass by Adnan Januzaj.
All the new signings (including Angel Di Maria, who was playing in his second game for United) had brilliant games, bringing some much-needed spark and creativity to the team. Blind and Herrera can be largely credited with United’s midfield being strong for once. They were both excellent on the ball, and were both over 90% in their pass accuracy. Herrera was even rewarded with an assist and a goal. Gone were the sideways and backwards passes that led to their downfall earlier this season, replaced instead by dazzling runs, crosses and forward balls.
Van Gaal appears to have done away with the 3-5-2 formation that wasn’t working. Instead, he created a new, very fluid formation. When United had the ball, it could be best described as a 4-4-2 with a diamond in midfield, although that doesn’t quite do it justice. The centre backs – Tyler Blackett and Jonny Evans – remained at the back of the park, however they often spread wide, allowing for Daley Blind to drop back as a half back and stick to QPR’s striker, and letting fullbacks Rojo and Rafael go forward to attack. Thus, the diamond between Juan Mata, Herrera, Di Maria and Blind would often become a sort of arrowhead, with Mata flanked by Rojo and Di Maria on one side, and Herrera and Rafael on the other. In defence, United appeared to move to a much more structured 4-3-3, with the fullbacks returning to the back line.
Radamel Falcao didn’t join the action until midway through the second half, at which point the game was already won. Thus, he didn’t feature hugely in the match. However, he did show glimpses of his ability, and will have plenty of opportunities in the future. Young left back Luke Shaw didn’t feature at all, despite being named to the bench. Van Gaal is likely still worried about the youngster’s fitness, but he could make his United debut next weekend against Leicester City.
It was an emphatic, statement win for United. Now that Van Gaal has players he likes, he can begin to infuse his philosophy of attractive, attacking football into the team. All of a sudden, fans at Old Trafford have been filled with optimism, as the Reds now find themselves just a point behind both Liverpool and Arsenal in the standings. It’s probably best to remind said fans that it’s very much still early going, and that United haven’t been faced with any of their main top four rivals yet (no disrespect to QPR, but they will almost certainly be a bottom-half team). On October 26th, they’ll host Chelsea, in what will likely be the first big test of the new-look Manchester United.
Ferdinand Goes Candid
It’s not often that hosting QPR is a special event at Old Trafford, but there was some considerable buzz for this particular match, not only because of the new signings. Club legend Rio Ferdinand, who recently joined the West Londoners, returned to played his first game against his former team.
Ferdinand’s autobiography, #2Sides, is due to be released next month, however some very interesting excerpts have been leaked. In the book, Ferdinand slams former United manager David Moyes, sparing no expense in criticizing the poor Scotsman’s tumultuous reign. When he writes about a video session with Moyes, he says “Me and Vida [Nemanja Vidic] came out of there and looked at each other. ‘I don’t know what the **** he just asked us to do,’ I said.”
The book is filled with similar glimpses of just how out of his depth Moyes was at Old Trafford. Ferdinand cites tactical failures, such as the infamous 2-2 draw with Fulham last season: “Sometimes our main tactic was the long, high, diagonal cross. It was embarrassing. In one home game against Fulham we had 81 crosses! I was thinking, why are we doing this? Andy Carroll doesn’t play for us!” There are numerous other scathing remarks. It’s painfully obvious that Ferdinand and many of his peers held their manager in very low regard.
He may have won over some United fans by catering to their distaste after the abysmal season that was 2013/14. However, despite the circumstances, Ferdinand does come off as quite disrespectful. He doesn’t show signs of having given Moyes a chance, and makes it clear that he undermined the manager last season, despite himself not really being good enough to play for United.
Ronaldo Rumours… Again
It’s that time of year again – or, perhaps, that time of the week – when both United fans and media outlets spread rumours about Cristiano Ronaldo potentially returning to Manchester. They often use soundbites from Ronaldo himself, who has repeatedly said that he loved his time at United, and hasn’t ruled out a return someday. However, it’s always been unlikely that Real Madrid would be willing to sell a player of Ronaldo’s calibre. Just saying that he likes the club doesn’t mean the Portuguese winger wants to leave Madrid.
Yet, the rumours persist. To play along with it, it does seem like there are more sources this time than ever (and slightly more reputable ones, at that). It’s been reported that United now actually have a bid in place to sign him. It’s not impossible that he would want to come back, and, with the new Adidas kit deal recently signed, the Reds certainly would have enough money. Some (disputed) sources claim that he could be looking for change next summer. It’s unlikely Madrid are willing to sell one of the best players in the world, but money can be a very powerful tool.
Of course, it can’t be forgotten that Ronaldo signed a 5-year contract with Madrid just last year, and said repeatedly at the time that he plans to play out the entire thing.
Who knows? Maybe United fans will be reunited with the player they’ve been wishing for. However, it seems unlikely at this point.
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