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Day: 9 May 2016

United Player Ratings: Norwich City vs Manchester United

Written by Magnus Henderson on . Posted in Sport.

United fans have been looking forward to the end of the season for a while now. With top four seemingly too big a haul, the Reds rely on FA Cup glory if they are going to salvage anything from Van Gaal’s second campaign at the club. However, being the unpredictable Premier League season that it has been, United needed to take all three points from Norwich if there was any hope of Champions League football next season. Norwich, on the other hand, needed three points desperately if they were going to have any chance of staying in the top division. Two teams hanging from metaphorical cliff edges by their fingernails based on fans’ expectation; surely this was going to be a thrilling contest…

Quite the opposite. United failed to break down one of the worst defences in the league and needed to rely on a Bassong error to open the scoring. They didn’t look like scoring again afterwards and their defence was flaky to say the least. If Jerome or Mbokani were more clinical, United could have easily lost this one. Fortunately for them, Mata managed to clinch all three points with his second half strike.

Player Ratings [10 = CR7 days (good); 1 = Bebe (bad)]

De Gea: 6

Nothing to write home about for the Manchester United player of the year. Had to be alert early on to clutch Jerome’s poor header but had little to do other than that. Distribution was not his best but another clean sheet is always good.

Darmian: N/A

Was only on the pitch for 15 minutes before picking up an ankle injury which ended his game. Looked confident going forward. Van Gaal was probably ecstatic that he managed to get his full-back substitution in before the end of the first half.

Rojo: 5

Not a good day for the Argentine but not a terrible one either. Looked really hesitant in a central defensive position and was caught out early when he allowed Jerome to peel off for a free header. Seemed to hoof the ball out of the back whenever it came to him. 71 per cent pass accuracy is not good enough for Van Gaal’s pass-it-out-the-back philosophy.

Smalling: 7

Commanding as ever protecting the United goal. Won ten aerial duels, six more than the next best, Jerome. Was not fazed by the introduction of a much more physical striker in Mbokani in the second half. Played the ball out of the back comfortably and effectively. Should have scored with a header from a corner in the first half. Probably United’s most consistent player this season.

Valencia: 7

Has looked much better than his normal self in the last two seasons since coming back from injury. Was United’s most attacking player and also defended well. Linked up well with Mata and Herrera which was the much more fluid side of United’s attack. Annoyingly, the most one-footed player to ever play football.

Carrick: 6

Played averagely in front of the back four. Spread the play well to either wing but is so slow with his movement that he is reducing United’s attacking pace when in possession. Made a few good defensive contributions and was replaced by Fosu-Mensah in the final minutes.

Memphis: 3

Woeful performance. Looks really short of confidence and lacking in motivation too. Early on, he gave up on loose balls which a player like Lingard or Rashford would have harried like excitable terriers. Had the worst pass accuracy of United’s attacking players, was dispossessed the most on the pitch and didn’t have a single shot on target. Went close with a free-kick in the dying moments but something radical needs to change in the Dutchman’s mindset if he wants to achieve his well-documented potential.

Lingard: 5

Ran tirelessly as he usually does but to little effect. His passing was decent at 89% but he seemed shot of creativity. Failed to have chemistry of any sort with Memphis on the right and was too far away from Rooney to effectively link up. Hard to blame him when he is so naturally a winger. He will be looking forward to better days donning the Red and White.

Herrera: 7

Ran tirelessly to a very good effect. In the role that suits him best: box-to-box midfield. Had a worse pass accuracy % than Lingard but played a third more successful passes than the Mancunian. Added a quick tempo to United’s play and his link up with Mata on the right was very fluid; the two have a close relationship and you can tell on pitch through the chemistry and dynamic they bring to the game. Made more tackles than anyone on the pitch (6) and looked dangerous in the Canaries final third.

Mata: 7 (MOTM)

So often is he isolated on the right hand wing, however, today he made it his own. Completed more passes than any other player on the pitch with the highest pass accuracy (96%). Sprinted a solid 30 yards to get into the position to score after Rooney had seemingly run into a dead end, and what a cool finish it was. Placed on the far right had side of the pitch by Van Gaal because he wanted two energetic midfielders in the centre of the park. However, when in search for a goal, it is hard not to dream about how much more fluid a central attacking partnership of Herrera and Mata might be.

Rooney: 6

Was very isolated up front by himself, which caused him to drop deep and look for the ball meaning that United played the majority of the match without a striker. Rooney struggles to make any runs past defenders and so his evolution into a midfielder makes much more sense now that his pace has gone. His touch was as abysmal as it gets; every ball sprayed towards him seemed to bounce off his shin into the path of a Norwich defender. Under pressure, both Rashford and Martial have shown that they are much more composed than the Scouser is. That being said, he did set the goal up on a plate for Mata (and later Schneiderlin), however, I am not sure if that way Rooney’s plan when he failed to take two shooting opportunities.

Subs

Borthwick-Jackson: 6

Came on for the injured Darmian and put some excellent crosses into the penalty area in the second half, unfortunately no-one made the effort to get onto the end of them. Put in a good shift defensively, shutting out Redmond who looked lively at the start.

Schneiderlin: N/A

Replaced Lingard in the 78th minute and managed to string a few passes together. Had a great opportunity to make it 2-0 but skewed the ball wide of the far post.

Fosu-Mensah: N/A

Made a cameo in midfield (apparently his strongest position) in the final five minutes but did not manage to impact the game enough.

 

Looking Forward

The Red Devils are going to need to put in a much more convincing performance against West Ham on Tuesday if any hope of retaining Champions League football is realistic. The Hammers lost against Swansea dramatically on Saturday but it is unlikely that they will put in as bad a performance as that against Manchester United, as it is their final ever game at the Boleyn Ground before moving into the Olympic stadium next season. Rashford, Blind and (hopefully) Martial will return to the starting eleven to make a stronger, more dynamic showing against the Hammers.

 

All statistic from WhoScored.com

Rio 2016: Worst Olympics ever?

Written by Jeremy Smith on . Posted in Sport, Uncategorised.

Marc Leishman is probably not the first name which comes to mind when arguing against the Rio 2016 Olympics. However, by the time of the posturing and the ceremony of the 2016 Rio Olympics is in full swing his name could very well be the most important, since Leishman, the 32-year-old Australian golfer, has officially decided to pull out of participating in the 2016 Games. Leishman has pulled out stating concerns about the Zika virus which he fears he could transmit to his wife who has a poor immune system. While this withdrawal will likely not bring the Games to a grinding halt it does raise the question as to whether the 2016 Rio Olympics will be a failure.

For the Leishman issue is merely a microcosm for greater concerns surrounding the Olympics and the Zika virus. Russia’s Sports minister Vitaly Mutko recently expressed that the Russian athletes were particular vulnerable to these diseases because of impact their heavy training system has on immune systems. Furthermore it is not just the Zika virus which is a cause for health risk for athletes and spectators. In December 2015 the Associated Press confirmed that virus levels in the waters intended for sailing events were widespread and showed no signs of abating. Therefore the tropical climate which Brazil is renowned for could in fact be its very own undoing in its attempts to host a successful games. Indeed the rowers could most be at risk from these appalling sanitary conditions with many having to get polio and hepatitis a jabs before travelling to Brazil with the Brazil Olympics committee conceding that the water will not be clean in time for the games and that indeed there is a significant risk of infection.

Yet health issues are not the only problems which Brazil indeed ironically at a time of crisis when strong political leadership is needed the Brazilian political system is offering just the opposite. The political instability in Brazil is ferocious and partisan with the vote for impeachment looming. There is a distinct possibility within the next week that a vote could be passed impeaching its Current Prime Minister Dilma Roussef. The ramifications this vote would have for Brazil especially leading up to the Olympics is huge. The Olympics can be an opportunity to place your country at the fulcrum of the world stage and potentially draw huge economic benefits as well as a sense of national unity. Indeed in the previous two Olympic held in London and Beijing while they both served different purposes both did manage to unite the country briefly around the idea of showing the best of what its counties had to offer. However in Brazil this expectation is becoming unrealistic due to the impeachment crisis which has essentially politically halved the country. The incumbent Prime Minster Roussef represents the Workers party, who have been dominant in Brazil for the last decade and whose follower’s ae loyally devotional. Yet in wake of impeachment it seems that she cannot dodge these allegations of corruption resulting in deeply divided country.

This political division has potential to have deeply negative ramifications in every process of the Olympics. Firstly you will have the deeply awkward moments during the opening ceremony where Dilma, even if impeached and barred from public office, will be bearing the Olympic flame as Brazil’s political representative. Furthermore in this political climate it is far less likely that the ebullient nature and spirit of goodwill of the London Olympics will be felt on the streets of Rio. Indeed it is of the wide scale corruption alleged in the Oderbrecht case which exemplifies the distrust between the Brazilian public and its apparatus charged with delivering the games. Oderbrecht is a company which is charged with building the rail service from the beach to the Olympic park yet it was discovered that a lot of the money given to Oderbrecht to build this infrastructure had been pocketed by politicians. It is instances such as this which have caused such outrage on the streets of Rio. Indeed the overseas spectators heading to Rio expecting its famed carnival atmosphere may be in for a rude shock following the political crises which have emerged preceding the games. Moreover it is not just political unrest which will be pervasive in Rio this summer many favelas have been displaced to outer suburbs, committing many human rights violations and it is a possibility that if you’re a spectator at the games you’re chances of interacting with the vibrant culture of the people of Rio are significantly diminished.

Previous Olympic Games have always been meant to serve a purpose, London’s in 2012 was intended to inspire a new generation to take up sport, Beijing in 2008 to announce China’s dominance as a world power. Rio will be looking to emulate the example of Beijing in 2008 however the preparations so far can be considered to be verging on disastrous. No doubt when the Olympics starts the people of Rio will attempt to be enthusiastic about a sporting event which could provide enhanced transport links and a chance for Brazil to display itself on the world stage. However considering the political division, widespread corruption and human rights violations present in its planning having such enthusiasm may be a hard task.

A United Perspective: Manchester United vs Leicester City

Written by Magnus Henderson on . Posted in Sport.

Manchester United hosted the league leaders, Leicester City, on Sunday for potentially one of the most important football matches in recent history. Three points for the Foxes would clinch them the title. In a world where finance now dominates football and investment is paramount for silverware, the rise of Leicester has been truly absurd. The most hotly-contested league in the world, which contains many of the richest clubs, is being led by a team which was promoted in 2014 and rock-bottom of the Premier League a year and a half ago.

It is already being debated, but if Leicester do win the league, it would probably be the biggest underdog success story in modern football. And so the fairytale continues; the Foxes needed to beat the team with the most Premier League trophies in England to obtain their first. United came back from Vardy’s record-breaking strike at the King Power to draw 1-1 in November, and needed to get three points off them the second time round if their push for top four was realistic.

Before the game it was hard to pin either team as favourites. United have performed much better recently, winning four in a row since their defeat to Tottenham, and have looked progressive in an attacking sense too. Leicester rolled over a poor Swansea team last weekend but did not look comfortable when they were tested by West Ham prior to that, needing a last-minute penalty to snatch a draw.

United yet again lined up in the 4-1-4-1 formation which has brought the team the most success in the past two seasons. The only change from the dramatic win over Everton in the FA Cup semi-final was Valencia in for Timothy Fosu-Mensah at right back. That meant that Fellaini and Rojo retained their places in the team, to the fans’ dismay; while the former did have one of his better games against Everton, his poor touch and lack of mobility slows down United’s attacking potency.

The likes of Ander Herrera allow United a more fluid offence. Rojo, like the Belgian, has had a pretty inconsistent season, and most of his best performances have not been exceedingly impressive. Borthwick-Jackson has seemingly disappeared from the first team squad despite looking very composed and creative for a 19-year-old; the young Mancunian helped the under-21s win their respective league on the 19th of April but has not been involved with the senior squad since.

Rooney once again took up his new box-to-box role alongside Fellaini, flanked by the youthful trio of Martial on the left, Lingard on the right and Rashford up top. The more experienced trio of Blind, Smalling and De Gea made up the heart of defence as usual and Carrick was instructed to dictate play from deep.

United began the quicker of the two sides, penning Leicester in their own half by winning the ball high up the pitch and probing with their wingers and wingbacks on both flanks. In the eight minute the Reds broke through Leicester’s typically solid defence. Lingard and Valencia combined down the right before the right-back clipped in an outside-of-the-foot cross to the back post where Martial side-footed in the opener.

The Frenchman’s new chant rang around the Stretford End, as it had done outside Wembley the weekend before; “Tony Martial came from France, the English press said he had no chance, 50 million down the drain, Tony Martial scores again”. It’s classy enough to even make the neutrals smile.

United continued to press Leicester relentlessly high up the pitch, which made them susceptible to counterattacks. Kanté was instrumental in breaking up United’s attacks in front of their penalty area while Drinkwater attempted to spread the play wide to Mahrez or forward to Ulloa and Okazaki.

Lingard should have scored shortly after the first goal, however he was denied by a fantastic reaction save from Kasper Schmeichel. Leicester grew in confidence and won a free kick to the left of the United area in the 16th minute. Drinkwater capitalised by clipping a cross into the mixer for Morgan to outmuscle and outjump Rojo for the equaliser.

Flares were lit in the Leicester end and partying ensued. The match played out with Leicester happy conceding possession—65 per cent by the end of the game—and hitting United on the break. The Reds were unable to up the tempo enough break through the tight defence. Both sides could have given away penalties; Rojo left a leg out for Mahrez to go over while Drinkwater pulled back Depay. The latter was sent off for a second yellow but Michael Oliver placed the foul outside of the box, controversially so. The game petered out as some predicted. Both teams have very good defensive records and that was proved in the second half.

One of the best moments of the match came after the final whistle. Leicester players applauded their travelling fans and so left the pitch after the United players. As the Foxes walked towards the tunnel, the remaining United fans inside Old Trafford respectfully gave them a standing ovation. Not often are club prejudices forgotten, but appreciation was deserved for their unbelievable achievements this season.

Ranieri smartly did not play to win, knowing with so little left of the season that a point would be valuable, even though three points would have won them the title. The result practically ends United’s chances of Champions League football next season, even though Manchester City lost. United fans had clearly accepted this with their chants towards the end of the match about Wembley, the only way to salvage some positivity from this season.