Echoes from Old Trafford - March 2018

NEWSPAPER POST

Volume 45- Issue 3, March 2018

“I always said as a kid that I’d like to play for United and I once spoke to Sir Alex Ferguson about it. We chatted for around 20 minutes. And I told him that my dream was to come here to Manchester United.”

Alexis Sánchez

Manchester United Supporters’ Club-Malta Founded 1959, is officially recognized by the Manchester United Football Club.

In this issue  EDITORIAL ENGLISH................................................................................

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 EDITORIAL MALTESE...............................................................................

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

Official publication of the Manchester United Supporters’ Club Malta editorial team Clint Camilleri · Braden Galea · Michael Calleja

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

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 THE MUNICH EXPERIENCE....................................................................

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 MANCHESTER – MUNICH –MALTA – UNITED........................................

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 JUAN MATA...........................................................................................

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 MIND THE GAP......................................................................................

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 CAN POGBA AND SANCHEZ PLAY TOGETHER......................................

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 THE CHRISTMAS PROGRAMME ..........................................................

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 7 THINGS TO DO IN MANCHESTER.......................................................

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 THE MOST NOTABLE DEALS THAT MATERIALISED DURING LAST JANUARY’S TRANSFER WINDOW........................................................

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advertising executives Antoine Portelli contributors Michael Calleja James Handyside Joseph Tedesco Jude Cauchi Julian Tabone Roderick Psaila Robert Mizzi Alan Abela-Wadge Antoine Dalli Fr. Ferrante Stefan Attard Norbert Bugeja Silvio Scicluna Kenneth Abela Iain McCartney Karm Galea Braden Galea Michael Gatt Steve Donoghue

printing Progress Press patron Sir Alex Ferguson

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 OOOOPS ..............................................................................................

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club founder John Calleja

 WHERE ARE THEY NOW? – ROY KEANE ................................................

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club committee

 REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS FOR 2018 ...................................................

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Joseph Tedesco

 WHAT MAKES A SUCCESSFUL FOOTBALL MANAGER ...........................

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James Handyside

 JOSÉ MOURINHO – HOW HAS HE CHANGED UNITED? ..........................

Joe Catania

President, Match Tickets Coordinator Vice President, Social Activities Coordinator Secretary, ICT Manager, Tours Coordinator

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Kevin Tabone Robert J. Muscat

Assistant Secretary

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

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Braden Galea

Assistant Treasurer

 MANCHESTER SUPREMACY ................................................................

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 MAJOR LEAGUE’S ROUND-UP .............................................................

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 SEASON SO FAR...................................................................................

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

Treasurer, PRO

Antoine Portelli

Advertising Executive, Venue & Facilities Coordinator

Charles Cauchi

Membership Secretary, Fund Raising Coordinator

Clint Camilleri

Media & Publishing Coordinator

Egidio Sciberras

Souvenir Shop Manager Gozo representative ­ Joe Xerri translator Tiziana Caruana

MALTA 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 3 - MARCH 2018

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Manchester United Supporters’ Club Malta Tour to Old Trafford

Watch Manchester United take on Watford in the Premier League Departure : 10th May 2018 Return : 15th May 2018 Price : from â‚Ź895 per person includes: Air Malta flights Malta-London/Manchester-Malta; 20kg checked luggage; 5 nights accomodation on Bed & Breakfast basis; Return Airport Transfers; Exclusive VIP Event at Old Trafford; Match Ticket; All Taxes & Charges; 2

Contact James Handyside on 9942 4624 or info@manutd-malta.com for bookings

VOL 45 - ISSUE 3 - MARCH 2018

Editorial

OF INCONSISTENCIES AND FRUSTRATIONS

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hat started as such a promising season is certainly unravelling into one of Manchester United’s most disappointing campaigns in recent memory. To compound matters is the fact that the title race has been wrapped up ages ago making the season extremely depressing and painfully unexciting.

slipped to a devastating 16 points behind Champions-elect, and noisy neighbours, Manchester City.

Despite the obvious negativity, at least young players are once again getting the chance to train and play with the first team. As manager José Mourinho recently said regarding

United’s results have certainly not been good enough in the league campaign and some recent painful defeats against the likes of Tottenham (0-2) and Newcastle (0-1) have certainly placed added pressure and unnecessary burden on the shoulders of José Mourinho.

So at least, there is some form of continuity to the Sir Alex era, where even though the league campaign is all but over, promising young players are still given their fair share of exposure with the Seniors squad. This is certainly one facet of the club which should always be ‘preserved’. The investment in young players should never be taken lightly and long may this philosophy continue.

Granted, losing to Spurs is nothing to be ashamed of. The Londoners have proven their mettle in both the league campaign and in Europe. What upset most United fans however is the manner in which the team suffered defeat. To concede a soft goal after only a couple of seconds and then equally concede a ridiculous own-goal in a way also summed up United’s season…a team with so much promise and flair is nevertheless prone to some catastrophic errors at the back.

In fairness, there have been moments of brilliance from United throughout the season but most fans agree that the major stumbling block towards sheer consistency is the backline. As Roy Keane recently said: ‘They haven’t sorted out the defensive problems they have had over the last few years and that will continue. Two centre-halves need to do better.

I’ve always thought with Ashley Young in your back four, you are going to struggle.’

Even though, ironically enough, United still retain the best defensive record in the division, conceding just 19 goals in 27 games, Roy Keane’s statement highlights the fact that United’s defensive frailties in the back four are the main reason why the Red Devils have fatally

McTominay, for example, didn’t arrive here from the moon. Before he came to the first team, he trained with us many times last season.

He came with us in pre-season and then we realised that Andreas Pereira was leaving in the summer, so we decided: ‘Okay, we are not going to sign another player, we have Scott McTominay ready to step up’. All these kids, they trained with us. Not today [Friday] because they [the Under-23s] play today but, yesterday and before yesterday, they trained with us.’’

On a different note, Champions League nights are back and boy did we miss them! The twolegged encounter against Sevilla FC promises to be a cracker! At least United are back on the world stage, playing the in the Champions League and with a genuine chance of making it into the Quarter-finals. English teams have so far been quite impressive in Europe which is why United can use that ‘British impetus’ to genuinely make a mark. Sevilla on the other hand will looking to avenge their two-legged defeat at the hands of fellow English club Leicester City [at the same stages of the competition last year], so this tie has all the ingredients for it to produce another epic encounter. promising youngsters Tahith Chong and Angel Gomes and whether or not they would shortly be promoted to the Seniors team: “It depends what you mean by promotion,” José said. “If, by promotion, you mean that they are training regularly with us, then they have been promoted for a long time. Scott

Supporting the team in times of difficulty is what this club is all about. Despite the inevitable Premier League campaign, let us remain positive and back the Manager to complete the task at hand and deliver much needed silverware to the club. In José we trust!

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MALTA MALTA

FOUNDED 1959

The Echoes Editorial Board & the Committee of the Manchester United Supporters’ Club Malta would like to wish you and your families a Happy Easter.

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Editorjal DWAR INKONSISTENZI U FRUSTRAZZJONIJIET

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ak li beda bħala staġun promettenti qiegħed bla dubju jinbidel f ’wieħed mill‑aktar staġuni diżappuntanti fl‑Istorja reċenti ta’ Manchester United. Biex ikomplu jikkumplikaw ruħhom l‑affarijiet, il‑ġlieda għat‑titlu ilha li ngħalqet żmien u dan kollu għamel l‑istaġun estremament tedjanti u bla interess. Ċertament, ir‑riżultati tal‑United ma kinux tajbin biżżejjed fl‑istaġun tal‑kampjonat u reċentament, it‑telfiet kiefra kontra Tottenham (0‑2) u Newcastle (0‑1) żgur tefgħu iktar pressjoni u piż bla bżonn fuq spallejn José Mourinho.

Lkoll naqblu li titlef kontra l‑Ispurs mhix xi ħaġa tal‑mistħija. Il‑Londoners urew il‑qawwa tagħhom kemm fil‑kampjonat u kemm fl‑Ewropa. Dak li dejjaq l‑aktar lill‑partitarji tal‑United, madankollu, kien il‑mod ta’ kif it‑tim sofra t‑telfiet. Li tikkonċedi goal ħafif wara biss ftit sekondi u ugwalment titlef ċans tiegħek ta’ goal b’mod redikolu sa ċertu punt ukoll ġabar fi ftit kliem l‑istaġun tal‑United...tim daqstant promettenti u ta’ klassi jibqa’ xorta waħda suxxettibbli għal żbalji katastrofiċi fid‑difiża.

ewlenija għalfejn ir‑Red Devils żelqu fatalment b’16‑il punt devastanti wara c‑Champions eletti u ġirien strobjużi, Manchester City.

Minkejja n‑negattività ovvja, għallinqas il‑players żgħażagħ qed jingħataw ċans jitħarrġu u jilagħbu mal‑ewwel tim. Bħala coach, José Mourinho reċentament tkellem dwar iż‑żgħażagħ promettenti Tahith Chong u Angel Gomes, u dwar jekk hux se jkunu qed jiġu promossi daqt biex jilagħbu mat‑tim tal‑kbar: “Jiddependi x’tifhem bi promozzjoni,” qal José. “Jekk, bi promozzjoni tfisser li qed jitħarrġu b’mod regolari magħna, allura ġew promossi għal żmien twil. Scott McTominay pereżempju, ma ġiex hawn mill‑qamar.

Qabel għadda għall‑ewwel tim, l‑istaġun li għadda

Biex inkunu għidna kollox, il‑United kellu mumenti brillanti matul l‑istaġun iżda ħafna mill‑partitarji jaqblu li l‑ikbar sfida għal konsistenza assoluta hija l‑linja tad‑difiża. Kif qal reċentament Roy Keane: ‘Għadhom ma solvewx il‑problemi ta’ matul l‑aħħar snin fid‑difiża u dawn mhux se jieqfu. Hemm żewġ centre‑halves li jeħtieġ jaħdmu iktar. Dejjem ħsibt li se tbatu b’Ashley Young parti mill‑erba’ fuq wara.’

Anki jekk, ironikament, il‑United għadu jżomm l‑aħjar rekord tad‑difiża fid‑diviżjoni permezz ta’ 19‑il goal biss kontra f ’27 logħba, l‑istqarrija ta’ Roy Keane tenfasizza l‑fatt li n‑nuqqasijiet fid‑difiża b’erba’ tal‑United hija r‑raġuni

kien jitħarreġ ħafna drabi magħna. Ġie magħna waqt il‑pre‑season u mbagħad irrealizzajna li Andreas Pereira kien se jitlaq fis‑sajf. Għalhekk iddeċidejna: ‘Okay, mhux se nġibu player ieħor, għax għandna lil Scott McTominay imħarreġ u lest’. Dawn it‑tfal kollha tħarrġu magħna. Mhux illum [il‑Ġimgħa] għax [l‑Under‑23s] jilagħbu llum, iżda lbieraħ u qabel il‑bieraħ, tħarrġu magħna.”

Allura, tal‑anqas hemm xi forma ta’ kontinwità mal‑era ta’ Sir Alex Ferguson; fejn anki jekk l‑istaġun tal‑kampjonat għadu ma ntemmx, players żgħażagħ promettenti xorta jingħataw ftit viżibilità mat‑tim tal‑kbar. Din huwa ċertament aspett wieħed tal‑club li jeħtieġ ikun ‘preservat’ għal dejjem. L‑investiment fil‑players żgħar għandu dejjem jittieħed bis‑serjetà u kellu bżonn li din il‑filosofija tibqa’.

Fuq nota oħra, l‑iljieli taċ‑Champions League reġgħu bdew u n‑nuqqas tagħhom ħassejnih mhux ftit!

Il‑konfront kontra Sevilla FC fuq żewġ rounds żgur se jkun wieħed emozzjonanti! Għall‑inqas il‑United reġa’ qiegħed fuq il‑palk dinji, jilgħab fiċ‑Champions League u b’ċans ġenwin li jasal fil‑kwarti tal‑finali.

It‑timijiet Ingliżi s’issa kienu impressjonanti fl‑Ewropa, u huwa għalhekk li l‑United jistgħu jużaw ‘Impetus Ingliż’ biex ġenwinament iħallu marka.

Sevilla, min‑naħa l‑oħra se jfittxu li jivvendikaw it‑telfa fuq żewġ rounds kontra l‑club żgħir Ingliż ta’ Leicester City [fl‑istess stadji tal‑kompetizzjoni s‑sena l‑oħra]. Għalhekk, din ir‑ras imb’ras għandha l‑ingredjenti kollha biex tipproduċi għal darb’oħra konfront epiku.

Li tissapportja lit‑tim fil‑mumenti diffiċli huwa dak li jsawwar dan il‑club.

Minkejja l‑istaġun inevitabbli ta’ dan il‑Kampjonat, ejjew nibqgħu pożittivi u nappoġjaw lill‑Coach biex ilesti l‑ħidma tiegħu u jġib dik il‑fidda li tant hemm bżonn fil‑club. F’José aħna għandna fiduċja!

2,000,000 MALTA

FOUNDED 1959

Thank you VOL 45 - ISSUE 3 - MARCH 2018

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CLUBNEWS In early December, the Committee started distributing the 2018 Calendar to avoid any unnecessary inconvenience during the members’ Christmas Party. This year’s edition of the A3 full colour calendar is of a very high quality and is once again free for all local members upon presentation of their membership card at the Souvenir Shop.

Firstly, the Children’s Christmas Party was held on Friday 15 th December and was attended by over 70 children. The children were entertained by Sandra Mallia and from the number of positive comments received this party can definitely be considered as one of the best in recent years. As usual, Father Christmas paid a visit and surprised all the children in attendance with a gift. A massive thank you goes to all those who sponsored an under‑privileged child and to Club member Godfrey Cassar for his assistance.

The Members’ party took place two days later, on Sunday 17th December, and Club President, Joseph Tedesco took the opportunity make a brief speech and augur everyone present a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Once again, those who wished to attend the event with a guest could do so by purchasing a ticket in advance for the nominal fee of €10.00.

The Christmas lottery was also drawn during the Members’ party and the winners were as follows: 1st Prize

C. Muscat

Ticket No. 01899

2nd Prize

K. Spiteri

Ticket No. 01029

3rd Prize

L. Bugelli

Ticket No. 01427

4th Prize

S. Fenech

Ticket No. 01809

Congratulations also to Tyrone Muscat who won a replica shirt of his choice in the Membership Renewal lottery.

On behalf of all the Committee, I would like to thank all the members together with their family and friends for participating in this lottery and also to the sponsors who kindly donated the prizes.

The Committee once again recognised those members who had remained loyal to the Club by paying their membership for 25 and 50 years consecutively.

this year to make the event more poignant and put more of an emphasis on the tragic events that unfolded on that bitterly cold Thursday in the Munich snow. Before mass, a short documentary about the Busby Babes was shown and this was followed by the playing of the song Flowers of Manchester – a song synonymous with remembering those who lost their lives in the disaster. The Club Chaplain, Fr. Anthony Ferrante, then celebrated Holy Mass. The Committee would like to thank Club members Joe Cilia and Richard Bullock for their help and assistance in organising the mass.

50 years Frankie Azzopardi Carmelo Galea 25 years Raymond Abdilla John Dimech

Traditionally, December is usually a very busy month for the Committee and the club is a hive of activity. This year was no exception as two major events were held in the space of a few days.

by James Handyside

Peter Dimech Carmelo Gerada Alessio Grech

Well done to all and once again, thank you for your continued support.

The Club President, Joseph Tedesco, travelled to Munich where he attended the remembrance ceremony held at the site of the crash 60 years ago. He laid a wreath and left a Club scarf at the foot of the monument which marks the fatal events of 6th February 1958.

Our Supporters’ Club has always tried to maintain a sense of social responsibility and despite the many financial challenges our club faces always tries to help the less fortunate.

This year was no different and the Committee decided to donate €1,000 to Dar tal-Providenza from the proceeds of the Christmas lottery.

On Sunday 18th February, the Committee organised a Sunday Lunch at Ta’ Klaricc Restaurant. This was the second such event organised by the Committee in recent months and was attended by around 50 people. The food was excellent and all-in-all the event proved to be another great success.

Anthony Micallef Steven Tedesco

January 2018 uring the month o f J a n u a r y, t h e Committee reviewed in detail all the activities held during December.

The scope of this review was to try and make these events better next time around. January brought about the organization of a number of events to be held in the following months, including the Munich Remembrance Mass and a social activity taking place in February.

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January also saw the first repayment being made to investors who assisted in the purchase of the club’s premises.

February 2018 n Sunday 4th February, the Club celebrated its 59 th birthday and also commemorated the 60th anniversary of the Munich Air Disaster. The Committee decided to do something a little different

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The commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the Munich Air Disaster.

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Club founder John Calleja presenting a memento to Members commemorating their 50 years of continuous membership.

Presentation of mementos to Members commemorating their 25 years of uninterrupted membership.

The Members’ Christmas Party.

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Presentation to Christmas Lottery winners during the Members’ Christmas Party.

The Children’s Christmas Party.

Clint Camilleri Presenting Pogba Shirt to Inspire on behalf of MUSC Malta.

Sunday Lunch at Ta’ Klaricc Restaurant.

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TEDDY’S corner

Dear All Now it’s more than clear. José’s second-yearleague winning syndrome finally came to a halt and it is only a matter of time for Manchester City to be crowned the next Premier League Champions. This hurts however, being honest, from my personal perspective it is not the biggest disappointment of them all considering the fact that it’s City and not Liverpool. Some might disagree but I am pretty sure that the absolute majority of local readers will agree with that. Our main rivals remain Liverpool and I still love to see that clock ticking with the under script…this will be our year (27 years

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and counting). Having said that one cannot deny the scousers have made some decent progress this season and with a couple of world class signings next season to strengthen their defence and midfield I won’t bet against them being title challengers again soon. The only sight I am dreading is our players doing the guard of honour for the City players when we play them in their Council House this April should they be mathematically crowned Champions in the game preceding the derby.

Let’s forget for one moment the shambolic draws during the Christmas period against Leicester, Burnley and Southampton, the last

have your say on info@manutd-malta.com

2 miserably at home (and possibly also erase the League Cup elimination against Bristol City from the memories). December was a disaster having lost the derby to City as well in what can be described as a very submissive performance.

Let’s also forget the losses against Spurs and Newcastle (our last PL game on the day of writing) when our players on the pitch seemed they did not mentally turn up for the game.

Being fair to City they have been exceptional this season. This is more or less the same team from last year with the additions of goalkeeper Ederson and full back Kyle Walker being the most regular players in their first eleven from the ones acquired this season for the astronomic

and not the trophies the Club is going to win.

Let’s not compare with the 90s and hope the Class of 92 can happen again. Leicester was a freak. We have to be realistic and accept the fact that notwithstanding United had to go through this huge post Fergie transition the Club has remained competitive and still wins the odd trophy even though the Club owners seem to be more interested in extending the list of sponsors rather than adding silverware to our history.

In recent weeks our Manager has been in the spotlight more than ever before due to his cautious approach during a football game. United fans were used to entertaining, attacking football under Fergie which delivered trophies and success. When attacking football during that era failed to deliver I remember fans complaining about what they referred to as ‘lack of maturity in key games’. In the meantime, not knowing exactly what they actually prefer, the anti Mourinho brigade amongst Manchester United supporters is increasing by the day.

There are 2 options. Either accept him as he is, trusting his philosophy which in the past has proven to be successful with major Clubs like Real Madrid and Inter. Otherwise keep moaning and moaning on each occasion we fail to win or perform to the standards set by Sir Alex in his 26 year tenure. I love football because it brings with so many different opinions but I hate people dictating opinions and at the moment there are quite a few armchair judges out there writing opinions in capital letters.

fee of 315 milllion euro. Guardiola managed to infiltrate his philosophy in this group of talented players and we have to admit that this season is a one off. We have never seen anything like it. In my opinion, if they maintain their form with 11 games to go, this will beat the invincible Gunners’ season 2003/2004. Thank God our Merseyside rivals had one of their top days and beat them at Anfield otherwise they would be in pole position to create one hell of a benchmark.

Let’s give credit where it’s due and set our aims for next season. This might also sound submissive but in fact this is reality. It seems many people cannot understand how the

game we love so much has changed and will keep changing. I speak to fans and read comments on social media and rightly so people expect United to be always on top. However from what I read it seems there are quite a few who are still living in the past. The Fergie years are gone my friends. The possibility to test with a group of kids is considered a suicide when comparing the huge amount of money being invested in the world of football nowadays. The agents and the sponsors have taken over. The social media has taken over.

The businessman has taken over. When a Club invests heavily in a player nowadays they count the shirts they are going to sell

I have an opinion about Pogba’s and Martial’s attitude. I have an opinion about whether Mata and Lingard deserve to be in the first eleven or not. I have an opinion about the value added by signing Alexis Sánchez. And I am pretty sure that mine differs than yours about al 3 but here I have a limit of words so I will dedicate space for my opinion about this in the next issue. However I am 100% sure that we all agree about one thing i.e. the most worrying factor in our squad is that we do not have a captain in our team.

We miss the leadership of Gary Neville. We miss the voice and shouting of Roy Keane. We miss the determination of our Captain Marvel Bryan Robson. None of the players in our team today is anywhere near the qualities of a proper captain. And when the going gets though, on and off the pitch, the captain has a role to play.

I was hoping Pogba with his everything would fit that role but I was mistaken, big time I would say. I have a lot of faith and hope in our new Academy product Scott McTominay and if you had to ask me today who I hope will fit the role of a good captain (maybe in the future after he continues to flourish and gain respect) I would surely point my finger at him. He has personality, is a home grown talent and in my opinion has all the ingredients to become a Man Utd star player. I wait and hope.

Wishing you all the readers of this wonderful publication a Happy Easter.

Yours United Teddy

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of Munich with Parading our flag in the centre hundreds of Man Utd Supporters.

Finally managed to take a pict ure as a group…the flag became a cent re of attraction straight away.

Giving away MUSC Ma la scarves… thanking the people of Munich.

Pictures of George Best in a shop in the centre of Munich.

The Munich Experience

by Joseph Tedesco

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hen on that Sunday morning, at the end of the mass we organise every year at the Supporters Club to commemorate the Munich tragedy, I told the substantial crowd of members who turned up to pay their respect that I was going to Munich for the 60th anniversary commemorations with some Club members to pay tribute at the Munich memorial on behalf of MUSC Malta, little did I know what I was going to go through. I had absolutely no idea what was going to happen. All I knew was that a few weeks before, my friend Joe Glanville insisted that this is an occasion that I should not miss and I have to say that only thanks to his insistence I can now say I have lived the most emotional Manchester United experience in my whole life. I will owe this experience entirely to you Joe, for ever.

The Munich tragedy planted the roots of the foundation of our Supporters Club.

Club Founder John Calleja and the founding members will vouch for this. In fact, our Club

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was officially founded 1 year later, nearly to the date, on 4th February 1959, 2 days before the first year anniversary. The Munich tragedy has also laid the building blocks of my passion for this football team. When I say passion this goes beyond the trophies and the glory days.

For those who know me I never moan about a bad result or a nightmare performance. I am by nature a positive person and for me United is about supporting and understanding the meaning of being a loyal fan no matter what. Such a tragedy in those days could have easily meant the end of an era for a Club which was flourishing with talented young football players. However, thanks to the courage and motivation of people like Sir Matt and Jimmy Murphy, notwithstanding the hardships which that disaster brought along, the Club rose from the ashes. After 7 years they won the league again and after 10 years United became the first English Club to win the European Cup, the competition which Busby believed in so much and the trophy his famous babes would have

e connections.

More scarves…and making mor

g triggered rauhaus…our fla Landed in Hofb . se au pl ap a huge round of

Flags and more flags…trademarks of long standing years of passion and dedication for United.

surely lifted if their fate had a different outcome.

When I first read the story about the tragedy and what happened after, I remember I was very impressed. I became obsessed to know why and how and in an era where internet was only available in Star Trek films, I had to do my own research from books. At the end I wrote a small thesis about the Munich tragedy which after sometime, when I had the tool, I transformed it with Power Point and presented it to the Club members before one of the anniversary masses held at the Supporters Club. The Munich tragedy created a sense of ‘never give up’ mentality in the corridors of my mind, it gave me a purpose to fight for what I believe in like when Sit Matt challenged the English FA to take United playing in Europe, it thought me that life is all about ups and downs and made me understand why ‘We never die’ chant is my favourite United chant of them all. Hence, one of my top 10 tick boxes in life included ‘visit the Munich memorial’ and being there on a specific anniversary made it even more special.

We had to hang our flag somewh

ere in the bierkeller.

Full house…an incredible atmosphere generated with beer, chants and love for United.

Duncan Edwards… ever so popular.

Joe and Kennet h showing our MUSC Malta sc arf with pride.

Joe G and I were accompanied by 2 other Club members Joe Busuttil and Kenneth Fenech. They are both fanatical about United but above all 2 great enjoyable characters. We landed in Munich on Sunday afternoon on a snowy runway. The scene of the snowy runway immediately set our perspective and brought memories of 58 straight away. With our luggage we were carrying a large cardboard tube holding the lovely flag designed, printed and donated by our friend Matthew Sullivan from Red Box (in Mosta). The idea of the flag was all Joe G’s. He had briefed us about this Facebook group known as Stretford Enders Worldwide. The people leading this group were actually the organising Committee plotting the events in Munich. After requesting to join the group all 4 of us were accepted as members of this closed group. Joe G was seeing various Supporters’ Clubs’ representatives posting in the group and all preparing their flags for Munich.

He wanted to make sure that Malta will have its own flag during our visit and thanks to his perseverance and Matthew’s capabilities MUSC

The Big Lily flag…a huge United flag that has travelled the globe supp orting the team.

Malta had its own Flowers of Manchester flag flying high in Munich. It basically appeared on all the main tv stations reporting about Munich such as Sky and BBC. What a great idea! Joe G had also been trying to order a wreath of flowers in Munich via local florists in Malta but with no success. As soon as we got to the hotel we kicked off our hunt for a florist to order this blessed wreath. We obviously needed to have it ready by Tuesday at noon. Unfortunately we did not have any luck on Sunday.

We reserved Monday morning for an excursion to Dachau concentration camp. I had never been to such a camp before. These are experiences which should teach all of us about the values of freedom and democracy. Hearing about the unbearable cruelties of the Nazis left us all contemplating about why the human race, after the holocaust atrocities, still brainwashes people’s mind to blow themselves up and kill innocent people. There were many questions but not many answers.

The passion for United and Munich in tattoos.

With Tracey Malone…the girl who sang the Flowers of Manchester song so brilliantly during the commemoration at Manchesterp latz.

From Dachau we headed straight to the centre of Munich where United fans were gathering with flags to give away scarves, badges and souvenirs to the people of Munich as a thank you sign for the help given to the tragedy victims and their families 60 years ago. Here we officially opened the flag for the first time and to our surprise the number of people taking photos and selfies with our flag reminded me of the recent launch of the Triton fountain in Malta. We had also brought with us some MUSC Malta scarves which we gave away to the first 20 lucky people that we met. We also took with us some Malta to Wembley books which we gave to each and every member of the organising Committee as a thank you for the work they put in to organise the events of these 2 days. After the parades in the City centre the fans headed to the famous Hofbrauhaus, one of Munich’s oldest beer halls. We were led straight away to the main stage and were greeted with a huge round of applause when we paraded our flag. The hall was soon packed

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Malta presented by MUSC The beautiful wreath . ion rat mo me com the during

The original commemorative monument…closer to the ex airport runway.

The wreath and

the flag hanging outside a house in Manchesterplat z.

r MUTV Stewart Gardne With our friend r. to ta mmen presenter and co

with fans and after a few beers the whole place turned into an amazing paradise for a United fan with supporters dancing and singing chants from popular Manchester repertoires, non-stop for about 3 hours. It was like the old Stretford End was transferred for a few hours to this beautiful bierkeller (beer cellar). One of us was visibly crying. What a night!

On Tuesday morning Joe G was invited to join the organising Committee at the Klinikum rechts der Isar Hospital, the hospital where the victims of the tragedy were treated way back in 1958.

The Committee prepared 2 wonderful paintings which they donated to the Hospital. Joe told us that during this secluded event they heard some touching stories from 2 nurses and 2 physicians who were there 60 years ago and were invited for this event. While Joe was at the hospital, Joe B, Kenneth and I were looking for a florist and finally we found one who was ready to do this wreath for us in an hour. Joe G had thought about everything and he had asked

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With Profs Peter Ma urer the Son of Prof Georg Maurer wh o saved Sir Matt’s life.

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With ex nurses Katharina Koppe and Elisabeth Weber… they also worked at the Klinikum rechts der Isar Hospital…

Katharina was in charge of looking after Sir Matt

Matthew to prepare a nice silk tag as well to tie to the wreath. The final result was stunning!

In the early afternoon we headed straight to Trudering where Manchesterplatz is located and where the ceremony was taking place next to the memorial. As soon as we arrived we tied the flag to a railing in front of a house just on the side of the memorial. We hung the wreath next to the flag and created a nice background for those present to take photos and selfies. We were there early but soon the crown started to gather. There were fans from all over the world.

I met people who came from Australia and USA specifically for this event. Amazing!

There are actually two memorials. The original one is a small wooden memorial in the vicinity of the old Munich Airport depicting Jesus on the Cross, decorated by a stone trough filled with flowers. The trough bears a plaque with the inscription (translated to English) ‘In memory of the victims of the air disaster of 6 February 1958 including members of the football team

of Manchester United as well as all the traffic victims from the municipality of Trudering’. On 22 September 2004, a dark blue granite plaque set in a sandstone border was unveiled, just metres away from the wooden memorial. With a design in the shape of a football pitch, it reads, in both English and German, “In memory of all those who lost their lives here in the Munich air disaster on 6 February 1958”. The ceremony nowadays takes place next to the granite memorial.

Joe G took me to see the original monument and a huge field a few metres away were the old airport runway was situated and where the BEA aircraft had its fatal crash. The feelings I had when I was standing on that field can never be expressed in words. Devastating! On our way back to the stone memorial we came across Profs Peter Maurer, the Son of Prof Georg Maurer who had saved Sir Matt’s life and the 2 nurses Joe had met in the morning at the hospital and I took a picture with them. We also met Denis Irwin and 2 other representatives from Manchester

Flags hanging in respect outside houses in the Manchesterplatz area.

With Stewart Gardner near the Munich memorial.

With the Presid ent of the Bayern Munich Supporters Club of Munich.

ngs presented by the Joe with the 2 painti e who organised the organising Committe nich to the th anniversary events in Mu 60 spital.

Ho r Isa der hts rec Klinikum

Dieter esentative and pular fans repr g the fans. sin es Tony O’Neill, a po dr ad ich or of Mun Reiter, the May

Our flag and wreath near the Munich memorial..

Laying the wreath near the Munich memorial on behalf of MUSC Malta.

United. They were the official delegation sent by the Club in Munich for this event.

The ceremony kicked off at about 1.30pm by a formal address from the mayor of Munich Dieter Reiter. After the mayor football legends KarlHeinz Rummenigge and Uli Hoeness, the latter now President of Bayern Munich, delivered some touching speeches. One thing which could easily be sensed during these speeches is the high level of respect Munich reserves for Manchester United. Between speeches there was a German brass band playing music, accompanied by the inevitable United chants from those present. The organising Committee chose Tony O’ Neill, a popular United supporter, to deliver a speech on behalf of the fans. Tony, a reformed but a notorious ex hooligan in the past, is the big tall guy you will see nowadays heading the security at the entrance of Hotel Football in front of Old Trafford stadium. He delivered a truly emotional speech narrating the events of the tragedy and the aftermath. At

The Klinikum rechts der Isar Hospital.

the end of his long moving speech, the mayor of Munich was called on stage again and together with Tony they presented 2 cheques to the CEOs of 2 local foundations, Libero and Buntkickgut.

The organising Committee had organised a fund raising campaign during the build up to this event and the money collected were donated to these foundations selected by the Council of Munich. Another noble initiative by the organising Committee! At 3.04 sharp Tony led those present to carry out 2 minutes of deafening silence, a ritual carried out by thousands of United supporters around the world every year. The silence was broken by the wonderful voice of Tracey Malone who sang the Flowers of Manchester with so much passion.

For me that was the pinnacle of my emotion.

At the end of the song there was a long range of applause amidst chants of ‘United’ and ‘We never die’. Enchanting! Once the ceremony had come to an end we laid our wreath of flowers in front of the monument with loads of other lovely bouquets and flower arrangements.

We spent a few hours there talking to fellow United supporters, parading our flag and taking commemorative pictures. It was great to see a guy approaching us and proudly showing us he is a member of our International membership scheme. Classic! Notwithstanding the adverse cold weather it seemed we were glued to the scene but the time had come to roll back the flag in the cardboard tube and start making our way back to the hotel. I am sure that Joe G, Joe B and Kenneth will agree that the memories of the past 2 days will live in our hearts forever.

On behalf of MUSC Malta I wish to thank Steve Donoghue and all the Committee members from Stretford Enders Worldwide for their highly appreciated efforts for organising these remarkable events.

Every year there is a remembrance ceremony on the 6th of February in the city of Trudering. This was a special anniversary being the 60th. I just hope that I will live long enough to be able to go to Munich again for the 70th anniversary in 2028.

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Manchester – Munich – Malta – UNITED (A 2018 Euro away day that will never be forgotten)

by Steve Donoghue from Stretford Enders Worldwide.

L

et me take you on a journey…It’s a short journey, but one that anyone who was there will never forget. It’s started at Old Trafford ten months ago. And before we knew it, the date was on top of us. Before the game against Huddersfield Town we were standing outside, looking up at the Munich clock along with a few hundred fellow reds. Many of you would have been through this remembrance many times over the years, but this one, the 60th is special for the reason that many of us of a certain age may not see the 70th and we (my Salford red Soldiers and I) were all in agreement. We will just have to go over to Munich to pay our respects.

There was a group of us, who got our heads together, and we started contacting the people and officials that could help us make this pilgrimage a memorable one. I won’t bore you with all the liaison details, but by the end of January 2018 everything was in place to get the red army moving, and moving with a purpose.

Munich 2018 was not just a chance for a big booze up (although that’s what all fans do isn’t it) it was an opportunity to make friends, and build future relations better between our two great Cities Manchester and Munich. Two places now and forever linked in history due to an unfortunate accident, a devastating disaster back in 1958.

Sunday 4 Feb, we had a few scouts out and about in the Bavarian city centre, handing out flyers and busking Utd songs telling anyone and everyone that United’s red army is coming…in Peace. Not only in peace, but in friendship. The word was out.

And by Monday 5 Feb’ about 150 of us met in Marienplats Square (which is the equivalent to Albert Sqr in MCr). A gothic town hall, with a clock tower, and a large meeting place. And sure enough at dead on 5pm hundreds of United supporters gathered from all over Gtr Manchester, Salford, Gorton, Wythenshawe, Wigan, and further afield Benidorm, Dallas, Atlanta, Malta, Belfast, Hull, and more. As the clock tower struck 5pm the cry went up, Lads, lads, its time…time to do The Pledge and we all gave away our scarves, badges and some gave

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their shirts to total strangers, the people of Munich, young and old, it was a RAOK (random act of kindness) it was the only way we could say Danke’ thank you from MCr. Who knows one of those few hundred people could have been related to a fireman, a nurse, a doctor, an airport emergency services member who ran to our players aid on that fateful day. How can you tell a whole city’s population how much we owe them ? This was some small way of doing just that. Those people had huge smiles on their faces, they must have gone home and said, “Hey, Mam, Dad, Grandad look what those Manchester fans gave me, just said thank you and walked away. It was a huge success, and we thank you all for taking part.

And that wasn’t it for the day, as the Sun went down the red army went up, and up in volume and numbers, by the time we had walked the few blocks to the Bier Keller there was upwards of 700 beer thirsty reds in the main hall, and the rest is sheer football folklore. It looked like a scene from somewhere between the Muppet theatre and the Last night of the Proms…just fantastic. There was a moment when 30-40 armed police arrived ready for an “off” but when the reds organisers, management and chief looked through the windows to see hundreds of reds singing and drinking the place dry, he could see our red army were not the marauding red Ruskies and were just enjoying life to the full, he turned his men around and they left smiling. Not a bad word was passed, and even the management and staff ended up realising that “Manchester reds” was not your normal stereotypical little Englanders they had come to read about at their morning breakfast tables. We just wanted to sing and dance and drink and be merry.

Tues 6 Feb’ Now this is the only regret I had of the trip, and that was that we couldn’t invite every single red travelling to this historic project.

Why? Because, we were visiting the Isar Hospital the place, where all the Busby Babes were treated. As we all know, some never survived and some never ever recovered properly, so this place has a very special place in all our hearts. And because it is a working hospital we

were restricted to how many could attend this occasion. The last thing the hospital officials wanted was hordes of football fans flooding the hospital corridors causing security issues. We were their guests and their rules, fair enough.

We told them every single handpicked delegate was a well travelled supporter who would respect the venue and the staff. Well, we can’t thank our hosts enough, they welcomed apx 20 of us with open arms, warmth and humanity (We realised, back in 58 it wasn’t long after the end of the 2nd WW and feelings would still have been raw for many locals, given that we had obliterated their Riem airfield beyond recognition) But sport and football in particular knows no borders, football is universally loved, and as the word went out that fateful dark snowy frozen day that a BEA airline had crashed and it was carrying Manchester Utd players, the good people of Trudering came to their rescue. Locals with shovels and blankets, the village firefighters joined the airports emergency services as well as doctors and nurses who had only just finished a 12 hour shift volunteered to stay on and help anyway they could. For that we are Forever Grateful.

It took us 3 months to trace through hospital records to find 5 doctors and nurses who treated and operated on our boys. They are all now elderly, but as soon as we told them of our plans, they all said right away they would be honoured to be invited to be our special guests for the day. Believe me when I say on behalf of all the group organisers, “We were the ones who are humbled and honoured to be in their presence. The fact that we were able to listen to private stories of bravery, unselfish sacrifice from people who were already exhausted, found the inner strength and ability to work through the next 12-15 days non stop to do what they could…”do what we could”, No you saved as many players and travellers as you could, we couldn’t have asked for more. Well, when I say to a man (and woman) amongst our group at the end of the speeches and film footage we were shown gave our hosts a standing ovation. A thank you none of us will ever forget. Your “Maltese Falcon” Joseph Glanville was amongst the group at the hospital and I could see the pride on his face, a tear in his eye (as we all did) a state of pride that we Manchester United fans all share. This was a mutual respect on both sides. They could not believe so many reds would travel all this way in winter to pay our respects, never mind invite total strangers who didn’t speak any English, as our VIP guests and chaperone them safely to and from Trudering.

A standing ovation from the Flowers of Manchester, to the Munich Saviours of our Babes.

This was no ordinary Euro trip, it didn’t just fall into place, it was bloody hard work from a group of reds (who many know, but did not want our fellow supporters to think we were an elite group, we are no better than anyone else, we were just the engineers that oiled the cogs, and every single one of you who donated 1p or £1k are the real heroes that helped make this happen. It has always been about our United Family. We just look after our own, we get things done, and move on. Our hosts could not believe that we would offer gifts to a whole city, offer flowers and artwork for the hospital, offer support for two great youth charities, place a commemorative bench on the memorial site.

Give away hundreds of scarfs, and give more gifts to their cities football Club. But Man Utd supporters are not just any old fans. We respect our Clubs history and each other’s sacrifices to that history. We didn’t do it for plaudits, we did it because we have to. We have to never forget what happened back on 6th Feb 1958 and the people who gave everything to help us. It’s the very least we can do, and this 60th anniversary was the ideal time to do what we did, and we did it with pride and humility. WE as Manchester United fans did us all proud.

Weds 7th Feb. After a very emotional few days we have moved on to the last day of our trip aka: pilgrimage. Some of the group organisers actually went to Belgrade with flowers and the “The Flowers of Manchester” flag, United’s support is truly remarkable. The amount of

I’m sure our paths will cross again in some far flung corner of OUR Red Planet. Respect to everyone in Malta Supporters Club for your undying loyalty over the decades. Thank you.

Joseph’s Unveiling Invitation.

Red Docs at the hospital.

work that went into this trip is awe inspiring and I am so, so, privileged to have played a small part in it. The fact that we got the two cities Football Clubs involved in our Clubs tragedy to allow us to get out on their pitches and fly our flag, in the spirit of Jimmy Murphy, we never gave up till we succeeded.

You will all have seen the speeches and human pilgrimage to Trudering (we cannot do it justice in the short space we have here), but nobody will ever forget Tony O’Neill’s emotional and soul searching speech. The warm welcome that the Mayor and CEO of FCBayern gave us. The Pain that every one of us felt, for our Busby Babes.

And the pain their surviving relatives still have to live with. We will never ever forget them.

especially the hospital invite. I must say I thoroughly enjoyed it from cover to back page, it took me back to my youth, as a Stretford Ender who danced the night away on 29 May 1968 all the cuttings instantly swept the years away, every page made me smile. It was so in depth it was mesmerising I couldn’t put it down, I loved it. Just how a fans scrapbook, should be. Beautifully bound it is a credit to you guys faithful unswerving loyalty. Now I have to say “some” of the organisers are camera shy and some are not, but believe me when I tell you, every single one of them are utterly overwhelmed by the thanks and gratitude shown to us all since our return.

So, here we are after an incredible journey. Just before we left the wonderful city of Munich, we were approached by two fine Gentlemen who just like so many others of the United family we enjoyed time, beers, songs and travel with throughout our trip. When out of the blue Joseph Tedesco and Joseph Glanville came and offered us copies of this marvellous tome, Malta to Wembley as thank you gifts for all the organisers had done to make this short but memorable Euro away so special,

The Salford lot who worked on the hospital project.

And some of other organisers at the Charity.

The famous Stretford Enders back in 1968 & in FC Bayern in 2018.

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Juan Mata

by Jude Cauchi

E

legant, brilliant, superb... One runs out of adjectives to describe this special player who any football club would be lucky to have at their disposal. In fact, the Spaniard seems to be one of the fans’ favourite everywhere he plays maybe also because of the nicest human characteristics which he possesses. Hence, while it is difficult to contest the fact that besides having all the football attributes such as intelligence, good readership of the game and quality set pieces, being a decent guy that shows respect for the fans is something that Manchester United supporters do appreciate.

Juan Mata was born on the 28th April 1988 in the town of Burgos and the passion for football was inherited from his father who was a footballer playing for his local team.

Similarly, Mata also commenced his football career at Real Oviedo before eventually joining Real Madrid’s youth academy at the age of 15.

The midfielder made rapid progress in Madrid as he was instrumental in helping the youth side in their quest for trophies.

In June 2007, Mata moved to FC Valencia where he established himself as one of the best players in La Liga. In fact, in his debut season, he helped his side to win the Copa Del Rey where he scored twice against Barcelona and also scored in the final against Getafe. The efforts coupled with the impressive performances that he put in during his first season earned him a personal reward as he was voted as the Best Young Player by both the supporters and team-mates.

Consistency followed during the upcoming campaigns at Valencia since impressive performances were maintained which made him a key player at the club. In fact, during the 2008/09 season, he ended the season with 11 goals and 13 assists with only Xavi at Barcelona having registered better numbers, and he continued to improve in the following two seasons with a total of 17 goals in 68 matches.

As a consequence, other clubs become interested in his services and the season 2010/11 proved to be his last one for the club since a move to Chelsea FC was sealed in the 2011 transfer window.

be back among Europe’s elite competition. In fact, Juan will always be remembered for the spectacular bicycle kick he scored at Anfield which all but ended Liverpool’s hopes of finishing above United.

When a player moves to the Premier League, usually it takes time for him to settle into the culture and the particular way of playing especially as football tends to be tougher and quicker compared to other leagues. Having said that, Mata was quick to adapt to life in England as he had a fantastic first two seasons at Chelsea where he won twice the award of the club’s Player of the Year. During his debut season, Juan Mata registered a total of 12 goals in all competitions.

From a club’s point of view however, things did not improve in the following season as the Reds were knocked out in the group stages of the Champions League and were knocked out by bitter rivals Liverpool in the Europa League. In terms of the Premier League, too many draws during the campaign condemned United to a fifth place finish. On the positive side, the club did manage to win the FA Cup and once again, Mata proved to be an inspiring figure as he helped the Reds to level the score and eventually win the match in extra time against Crystal Palace.

Additionally, apart from enhancing his reputation as a world class footballer, the move to Chelsea helped him to win major trophies in the form of the UEFA Champions League and FA Cup plus the Europa League in his second season. On the other hand, the player was also involved in a final loss against Brazilian club Corinthians in the 2012 FIFA Club World Cup. Moreover, when in 2013, José Mourinho returned for his second spell at Chelsea, the Spanish midfielder fell out of favour with the Special One since he spent most of his time on the substitute bench. To the Chelsea fan base’s displeasure, a lack of playing time coupled with interest from Manchester United convinced Chelsea to sell the Special Juan to United.

It was in fact in January 2014 where the journey with Manchester United commenced.

In contrast to his debut season at his former clubs, the player had to cope with the fact that Manchester United was in transitional period after the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson. In fact, the club finished the season empty handed and in seventh place which resulted in the sacking of David Moyes and the appointment of Louis Van Gaal.

In his first season under the Dutchman, Mata helped the Reds to finish in the top four and

Some things are meant to happen in life and after months of speculation, Juan Mata was reunited with José Mourinho in May 2016 when the Portugese replaced Van Gaal and took over the reins at Old Trafford. In contrast to the media speculation that Mata would be sold, the Spanish International has thrived at Old Trafford under Mourinho and is considered as one of the most important players at the club.

To date, Mata has made 172 appearances and scored 39 goals for United.

On the other hand, while the player was instrumental in helping the Reds to win trophies, there is speculation that the player will leave the club at the end of the season since his contract will expire in the coming months. While, one cannot contest the fact that competition for places is huge at Old Trafford, there is still some hope that Juan might sign a contract extension especially as one cannot understate the fact that the Spanish midfielder has won almost everything in the game both domestically and internationally and in the absence of a Premier League in his trophy cabinet, this can serve as an extra motivation for the player to help the club win more trophies in the near future... So please ...SIGN HIM UP!

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MIND THE GAP

by Julian Tabone

I

t was always going to be like that. Manchester City running away with the league the way they did would do considerable damage.

Manchester United are not used to playing for second spot.

Trying to be consistent to be “the best of the rest” is just not on and no matter what everybody says, it is hard to keep a club like Manchester United motivated in that.

like finishing second and I look forward to see his reaction – just like Ferguson used to do.

performances such as the defeat away to Spurs are a testimony.

It has not been a bad season so far.

Mourinho needs to stay on to make sure that the gap is closed down. Without speculating, a replacement for Carrick, a steady centre half to accompany Bailly and a consistent left-winger may be needed in order to achieve that.

As Mourinho pointed out in his match conference ahead of our recent home league clash with Huddersfield, we are “better than last season in every aspect - points, position, number of goals scored, number of goals conceded, better in everything.”

In the mean time, we should pride ourselves on the improvements being noted and on the promise of what might possibly be awaiting us.

This was perfectly manifested in the defeat against Newcastle. The lethargy and the lack of desire was painful to watch and it was reminiscent of some of the lowest times experienced in the past 4 years, but it was pretty understandable. Whether we like it or not, 16 or 13 points adrift, really does not make a lot of difference. 2nd place or 4th – in modern day football – does not make a lot of difference.

He may be right.

It was pretty much the same thing last season.

It is a very tricky situation and not an easy one. January – with 5 consecutive wins and 0 goals conceded before the away match against Spurs – we were great. Then came the defeat at Newcastle and we were back to square one again with pundits jumping to rushed conclusions and questions pointing in every direction.

Lukaku has already found the net 21 times.

Debates about Pogba’s best position, defensive frailities and lack of punch in front of goal start to re-surface.

The signs are all there.

When it was obvious that fourth spot was out of reach, Mourinho concentrated on the Europa League and it worked.

Manchester United is all about winning titles, not playing second fiddle. Lifting cups is what brings back the winning mentality and the right desire.

Ferguson, did it with Vidic, in the 2006 League Cup Final. With a couple of minutes left, he introduced the newly acquired Serbian just to give him a winners’ medal and the taste of victory. That match and that move may have spelled the end of Ruud Van Nistelrooy (who sat on the bench in place of Louis Saha) but it was a clear sign of the way Ferguson worked and the way he was shaping up his team that would go on to great heights in just 2 years’ time.

I would like to think Mourinho is coming from a similar school of thought. Winners just do not

Compared to last season – with the number of points we have after 27 matches played - the distance between the team at the top and the chasing pack would be a normal one and we would have a fight in our hands. But it is not like that. The only fight that is still open is the fight for second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth.

More dramatically, when things start going a bit pear-shaped, many tend to resort to quickfix solutions and start speculating about the next transfer window.

The truth is the way Manchester City has started off the season – and the way they carried on has made it practically impossible for anyone else to get close.

As already argued, conceding the title so early has got to come with a price. Lifeless

Jesse Lingard, for instance is by far the most improved player and he is now a first-team player and not merely a squad player.

Antonio Valencia too was a mirror of consistency.

Nemanja Matić started off well and offered good balance.

Rashford is getting more experience.

Luke Shaw seems to be regaining confidence.

Sánchez will improve us.

Rewind 14 years ago – Arsenal and Chelsea were dominating – and it seemed we were miles away.

The team needs moulding to regain consistency.

Leadership is needed in every department – at the back, in the middle of the field and possibly a strong point of reference upfront. It takes time. But we will get there.

Until then, we need to remain united – strong in the belief that we will close that gap and that we will rise again. Just as we proved time and time again.

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Can Pogba and Sánchez play together?

by Roderick Psaila

I

am writing this article the day after United won their FA Cup tie against Huddersfield to book their quarter final place, where they will play Brighton at Old Trafford. The tie will be remembered mostly for the incident of the Mata goal just before half time, which was overruled by the VAR, a dubious decision which shows that there is a long way to go before this new technology can be accepted by the fans.

It wasn’t United’s best performance of the season, although on a positive note, the way we defended with order and the ruthlessness in front of goal by Lukaku are not matters that should be discarded.

he’s the best in the world but that he is one of the top ten midfielders in the world. Whoever does not agree, I challenge you to name ten midfielders that would you would rather have in your team instead of Pogba.

So, the question would then be, “Can José afford to not find a proper place in his team for one of just three world class players he can avail himself of?” No, he cannot and he won’t.

José is a serial winner and despite always remaining faithful to his own philosophy, he

The topic of the moment though, during the last week or so has been the indifference of Pogba in our latest matches. A few opportunist journalists in the British media assisted by a couple of ex-Looserpool greats who have made their living as armchair critics (also known as pundits) have jumped on the opportunity to claim that Pogba’s loss of form is due to the arrival of Sánchez at the Theatre of Dreams. Whether this is just a coincidence or not, only time will tell. Instead of discussing the speculation and possible friction between José and Pogba about Paul’s best position, I chose to look into the issue and analyse it from a tactical viewpoint. Not that I am in a position to teach anything to anyone about what role should players occupy in the team, but as many other United fans, I also have my opinion, which I’m happy to share.

In three weeks that he has been a United player, Sánchez has already shown his worth. Admittedly, we lost twice during this period but he has most of the time been one of our best players.

Sánchez is quick, agile and is a fine dribbler with a low centre of gravity, which makes him a nightmare for defenders to play against. He has a good shot and a football brain that will serve the team. All things we had seen when he was a Gunner, but watching him in the United shirt, it makes you appreciate more how good he is. Sánchez is world class, as is De Gea and as is also Pogba, at least in my opinion.

When I say world class, it does not mean that

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wants to win and he will find a way to get the best out of Pogba. And he will make him a better player.

Paul has shown along the years that he is most comfortable in a three-man midfield, and thankfully José is famous for preferring a three-man midfield. Maybe, José does not have the ideal personnel that allows him to deploy his midfield players in line with his philosophy and that might be the problem. However, the arrival of Sánchez might induce the Manager to set the team up in a different shape and

obtain the best out of both players. My United team and how it is set up, using the current players in the squad would be the below, and I will explain why.

I won’t discuss the back five in this article but focus on the midfield and forwards. The team is set-up with a diamond formation at the centre of the pitch. Matic plays the holding midfielder role. Lingard plays on the right side of the diamond. He has energy to spare and he will be able to track the opposition’s full-back when the latter goes forward. Pogba plays on the right of the diamond and he will be able to cut inside on his favoured right foot going forward. He is closer to Sánchez and the striking duo from this position. Moreover, I believe that playing in this position, Paul will have a focal point – the opposing right full back – to help him do his defensive duties. Several times during matches, I have noticed Paul chasing shadows in midfield, just following where the ball is played, rather than keeping his position as José I’m sure would want him to.

Such a formation will also ‘free’ Sánchez or Martial from having to defend close to our box. Sánchez at the top of the diamond would suit him perfectly. His aggression would be useful to counter opposing midfielders and his vision can be exploited for the benefit of the two forwards. Sánchez is perfect to link up play and with two target points upfront, I think that we would have a strike force which is second to none, at least in England.

Martial and Lukaku upfront can find each other in their sleep, as they have frequently shown this season.

Hence, to answer the question in the heading, of course Pogba and Sánchez can play together and be effective. Good players always find a way. And I am convinced that the above set-up and formation is the way to do it. Does anyone have the Manager’s number?

Send me an email with your thoughts on roderickps@gmail.com. Any comments are most welcome.

The Christmas programme Does it really shape the Premier League table?

A

colleague of mine who follows our beloved Red Devils from a distance (not a fanatic like me) sometimes stops for a few minutes of discussion on footy and I bring him up to scratch with how United are doing and so on. One thing which he always reminds me is that his father always told him that if you only do well before Christmas, all you get is…turkey. The obvious connotation to the traditional Christmas lunch makes me smile every time but all of us who have been following football, especially English football for some time, believe that there is an element of truth in that saying.

Over the years the Christmas programme in the English footballing scenario has been widely debated. Some foreign coaches and players have found this to be absolutely insane and some have even widely criticised such a busy programme. The reason for this traditional festival of football over the holiday season has its roots in bumper crowds attending these matches….even on Christmas day!

The Christmas Day match was a custom that lingered longer on the Lancashire coast than anywhere else in England. In 1957, the final year of a full schedule, 38 matches were played on Dec 25. By 1959, as public transport workers were given the day off and buses and trains no longer ran, there were just two games left.

But in Blackpool, they kept at it, ploughing a lone furrow for a further six years. The last ever English league match played on Christmas Day was staged in 1965. After Blackpool beat Blackburn Rovers 4-2 at Bloomfield Road on Dec 25 1965, only in Scotland did the Yuletide fixture list remain intact.

As we all know, recent times have seen the English game prospering thanks to multimillion pound deals with the TV channels and this has obviously become another determining reason on why the English FA seem keen on maintaining their festive period programme as intense as it is. Many managers complain about the fact that their teams have to play so many matches in such a short period of time. And the situation does not seem to be getting any better. This season, the first 11 rounds of this Premier League season were completed across the course of 87 days. The next 11 rounds of Premier League fixtures were completed in the space of just 47 days - between 18 November and 3 January.

So what impact has this amassing of fixtures have on the actual final table? Is it truly the defining period of the season and is there the possibility of this hefty programme ever being completely done away with? Personally, I do not think that this is something that will be seriously considered given the commercial benefits the clubs gain during this period.

Income from gate-money, TV rights and selling of club merchandise will always win over the

claims by managers that players need to rest and risk injury by playing so many games in such a short period of time.

The big clubs can of course handle this period better than the smaller clubs who for obvious reasons have much less possibilities to rotate players and keep the squad fresh. And yet, ironically, it is the managers of the big clubs who seem to be complaining the most.

Most of us do seem to support the idea that whoever is top of the league on Christmas day will go on and win the league. Well, this has not always been the case if we take a look at statistics. Since the start of the Premier league, exactly half of the 24 teams who have been top of the Premier League on Christmas have slipped from the summit. Norwich were the first to do so in the 1992/93 season, while Liverpool were the last to falter, during the 2013/14 season.

Taking a closer look at the past 10 seasons, we will take round 22 as the base point (normally this is at the beginning of the year) and compare the club at the top in January with the final table.

The table below indicates this analysis.

Season

2016/17

2015/16

2014/15

2013/14

2012/13

Top 3 of the EPL Final EPL Table after 22 rounds - top 3 teams Chelsea

Chelsea

Arsenal

Spurs

Spurs

Man City

Arsenal

Leicester

Leicester

Arsenal

Man City

Spurs

Chelsea

Chelsea

Man City

Man City

Southampton

Arsenal

Arsenal

Man City

Man City

Liverpool

Chelsea

Chelsea

Man Utd

Man Utd

Man City

Man City

Chelsea

Chelsea

2011/12

Man City

Man City

Man Utd

Man Utd

Spurs

Arsenal

2010/11

Man Utd

Man Utd

Man City

Chelsea

Arsenal

Man City

2009/10

2008/09

2007/08

Chelsea

Chelsea

Man Utd

Man Utd

Arsenal

Arsenal

Man Utd

Man Utd

Liverpool

Liverpool

Chelsea

Chelsea

Man Utd

Man Utd

Arsenal

Chelsea

Chelsea

Arsenal

by Robert Mizzi

The trend over the past 10 seasons clearly indicates that the team at the top of the table in January stands a great chance of winning the title. In fact, in 8 out of the last 10 seasons the team leading in January went on to win the title.

Does this mean that the festive period is indeed the defining period of the season?

Whilst the above statistics seem to indicate so we need to thread with caution here. There is no doubt that the 7 or so matches played by every club could have a telling effect on the rest of the season but the table above indicates the position gained by the teams after 22 rounds. Surely, we cannot disregard the points accumulated over the first part of the season.

The table above does indicate a sad trend for our team. We have failed to make the top 3 in the past 4 seasons and we were never even in the top 3 at the turn of the year. I am convinced that our manager is working hard to reverse that trend and although challenging for the title cannot be seen as realistic, we stand a good chance of keeping our place in the top 3.

Should we be happy with a top 3 finish? A club of United’s stature should always be aiming at winning the league but as we have learnt over the past 4 seasons, no team has a divine right to win matches. You have to earn your 3 points on the pitch and the only way of challenging for the title is by picking up points consistently over the 38 matches.

In my opinion we are on the right track with José Mourinho despite criticism about our team’s style of play. Admittedly it has not always been pretty but winning ugly used the happen even in the golden times of Sir Alex. It’s just that us football fanatics have very short memories at times.

Although the festive programme does give an indication of the ability of teams to perform well and grind out results in such a short period of time, I believe that being consistent and picking up points throughout the season is the key to mounting a title challenge. What does to seem to be indicative is the fact that in most cases the team at the top in January does manage to win the league. The only two exceptions in the last 10 years were the 2015/16 and 2013/14 when Arsenal were leading and ended up losing out to Leicester and Man City respectively.

Let us all hope that come next January we will be top of the league and we can eventually hold on and win the EPL. The manager will surely believe this can be done and he will bring in more players to try and get the desired results. The other teams will of course try to do the same. I end this article with my usual salutation….Numquam Moribimur!

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Situated on the Sliema seafront, L’Aroma restaurant is tucked away from the hustle and bustle of Malta’s shopping centre.

L’Aroma prides itself in the preparation of traditional Mediterranean cuisine using recipes passed down through the generations. The menu comprises a selection of

mouth-watering fresh fish, fine meat cuts and pasta dishes all at a great value for money. One of the house specialities, the traditional rabbit dish, is regarded by many locals as the best in town.

Whether for a relaxed dinner or a lazy lunch L’Aroma is a great spot to sit down, unwind and watch the world go by.

L’Aroma, 17 Għar il-Lembi Street Sliema t. 2131 7633 e. laroma.restaurant@maltanet.net 26 VOL 45 - ISSUE 3 - MARCH 2018

7 things to do in Manchester

by Alan Abela-Wadge

M

anchester - the home of the famous Manchester United (and some other club that wears baby blue and they’re a bit too noisy for our liking of course). I’ve been to Manchester countless times, I know it’s over 15 times for sure, however I can’t remember the exact figure. Apart from my love for Manchester United, there’s something about this city that will always pull me to come back to it. In this article, I’m going to name the top 7 things to do in this mesmerizing, British north-west Metropolitan city.

7) Food: Why is it that I always have to mention food? If you love good food, then the former United legend Rio Ferdinand’s restaurant, Rosso, has firmly established itself in the Manchester dining scene for top of the range Italian food. If you like something more simple, head out to Chinatown and enjoy some cheaper authentic Chinese food. I’ve tried Chinese food from literally all over the world, China included, however the ones in Manchester’s China Town surely rank up there! If Chinese food isn’t for you, be sure to head over to the many restaurants around The Printworks entertainment hub. You can find any cuisine that might satisfy your tastebuds.

6) The Music Scene: The Hollies, The Smiths, The Chemical Brothers, The Charlatans, Oasis & The Bee Gees! What’s common to all these great bands? They all hailed from the beautiful city of Manchester. The music scene in Manchester has always been a buzzing one and I’m sure that this won’t change in the future. Back in 2011, my brother Keith, his brother-in-law Mario and myself had the

Manchester Cathedral.

opportunity to enjoy a live concert of Angels & Airwaves in the Manchester Academy and it was definitely an experience that we will never forget. Yes, the music scene in Manchester is certainly one of the best traits that this city can have to offer. Be sure to check out any live gigs when you’re heading over to Manchester.

You’ll be grateful that you did!

5) Museums: Manchester is blessed with various museums that will certainly peak your interest. The Museum of Science & Industry (MOSI) is free to visit, and you can lose several hours seeing a working cotton mill or experiencing a Victorian sewer (including its smell!). If you like dinosaurs and mummies, then the Manchester Museum is the one for you. The working class history is showcased in the People’s History Museum, which showcases the political struggles for equality in Britain. Being a political animal myself, I really loved my time here! There’s also The Imperial War Museum North housed in a futuristic, aluminium-clad building in Trafford Park, which looks back at the effect war and conflicts have had on the people of Britain, and just a 5 minute walk away you can enjoy the famous Manchester United Museum. As a United fan you really MUST visit the Manchester United Museum if you’ve never visited before. You’ll get to see all the history of the club, including the Busby Babes area. We all know that we’re a great club with a great history, however you’ll definitely get to learn something new once you visit this museum.

4) The Manchester Cathedral: The refurbished Manchester Cathedral hides a wealth of history behind its sturdy doors.

The Angel Stone is the last remaining part from an early Saxon Church (circa 700) and was found embedded at the South Porch in the current cathedral in Victorian times. The architecture of the Manchester Cathedral is mesmerising and I’m sure that you’ll love your experience there even if you’re not an architectural buff.

3 ) Shopping: Who doesn’t like to shop?

I try to fool myself by saying that I don’t like shopping however just ask my dear wife Tiffany!

Whenever I’m left alone to wander in a shopping mall, I always tend to

spend a little too much. If you love shopping, then Manchester is definitely the city for you!

There’s the Trafford Centre, which is home to 280 stores and 5 anchor tenants. The Trafford Centre (now known as intu Trafford Centre) also has a cinema, adventure golf, a Sea Life centre and LEGOLAND® Discovery Centre. If you’re staying in the centre, then you can visit The Manchester Arndale, which hosts over 200 shops as well. I’ve been to both multiple times and still struggle to decide which one is the best. So save yourself the heartache and visit both.

2) The Lowry: The Lowry is a mixture of art gallery and live entertainment venue, where you can see theatre and top comedians as well as get to enjoy beautiful paintings. This is of course the place to see some of the Lancastrian artists. The Lowry is also very popular for live shows and if you’re going to spend some days in Manchester, I would urge you to visit their website and keep abreast with what’s on. I had the opportunity to enjoy a few shows over the years and the level of authenticity and creativity is always something inspiring.

1) The open spaces: Something which I always love to enjoy at these big cities and at the same time wonder how they managed to do it, is their open spaces. Manchester is one of these cities of course. Piccadilly Gardens has undergone a huge redevelopment to become a major public space in the city, hosting live concerts and events, particularly in the summer. It got various fountains as well as grassy areas to sit and have fun with your loved ones.

BONUS! – Hotel Football:

Situated just next to Old Trafford, Hotel Football is a new hotel that is owned by Manchester United giants Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt, Philip Neville and Gary Neville. The hotel has an actual 5-a-side football pitch on its roof!

How’s that for cool? I haven’t stayed in this beautiful hotel yet but I’m planning to.

Manchester is definitely one of my favourite cities and somewhere that I can never get enough of and that’s not only because it’s home to my beloved Manchester United!

VOL 45 - ISSUE 3 - MARCH 2018

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The most notable deals that materialised during last January’s transfer window

by Antoine Dalli

T

he January transfer window is a golden opportunity for European clubs to bolster their respective squads so that they are more equipped for the second half of the season, thus being in a stronger position to reach their pre-set targets come May. It is not customary for the best talent in circulation to change hands during the January transfer window as clubs are usually reluctant to lose their biggest assets midway through the season.

This year, clubs in the five major European leagues have completed 573 deals worth a staggering £817.1 million. The 20 English Premier League clubs spent an unprecedented £430 million between them, an average of £21.5 million per club. According to an analysis carried out by Deloitte’s Sports Business Group, the value of this year’s wheelings and dealings exceeded the previous record set in January 2011 by £205m.

The question that follows... which club from the English Premier League, Spanish La Liga, Italian Serie A, German Bundesliga and French Ligue 1 has concluded the best deal?

Sánchez was only six months away from becoming a free agent.

Wenger’s side also signed the pacey and prolific striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Borussia Dortmund for a remarkable £56 million and reunited their marquee signing with former team-mate Mkhitaryan and also convinced Mesut Ozil to commit his future with the club after putting pen to paper on a lucrative £350,000-a-week contract until June 2021, making him the best paid Arsenal player. Like Sánchez, Ozil was on the verge of becoming a free agent come June.

After a mixed start, Dutch international defender Virgil van Dijk is fast adapting to his new environs, thus vindicating Jurgen Klopp’s decision to make him the most expensive defender in the world after sanctioning a £75 million deal with unfancied Southampton. Van Dijk is the sixth Liverpool signing from Southampton since 2014 (after Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren, Nathaniel Clyne and Sadio Mane) for a total cost of £166.5 million.

Since signing for Arsenal from former European champions Barcelona, Sánchez has been involved in 121 goals (80 goals, 41 assists) in 166 games. United made the former Udinese hit-man the English Premier League’s bestpaid player at a reputed £500,000 a week.

The fact that Man United did not fork out any cash in this deal is an obvious bonus for them because had the two players been in identical contractual situations, then Manchester United would have been expected to pay several millions on top of the transfer of Mkhitaryan to get Sánchez. This did not happen because

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In the Italian Serie A, most clubs took a prudent approach in the January transfer window. Apart from the teams flirting with relegation who made several changes to their respective squads, from the so-called big guns Inter were the exception as they signed Lisandro Lopez (defender) from Benfica and Rafinha (midfielder) from Barcelona. Joao Mario was loaned to West Ham. Former Juventus, Sunderland and Napoli versatile striker Emanuele Giaccherini will try to revive his ailing career whilst on loan with Chievo.

In Germany, Bayern Munich, who are literally running away with the Bundesliga, remained practically unchanged. The fivetimes European champions signed Sandro Wagner from Hoffenheim for £10.7 million. The 30-year-old striker signed a two-and-a-half year contract with Bayern Munich for whom he had played a decade ago.

For the record, Wagner scored five times for Joachim Löw’s Germany since making his debut last year.

Arsenal were amongst the busiest clubs in the January transfer window. The Gunners lost contract rebel Alexis Sánchez but in return they secured the services of Manchester United out-of-favour attacking midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan in a rare straight swap deal (a value of £36 million was apportioned to both players).

Although no money changed hands, the impact on the fortunes of the two clubs is expected to be significant.

Many expect the Armenian to shine at the Emirates where Arsene Wenger’s attack-minded style is more suited to his capabilities. It is no secret that Mkhitaryan rarely was on top of his game during his short spell at Old Trafford. Perhaps Mkhitaryan’s best moment with the Red Devils since his lucrative move from Borussia Dortmund was his 48th minute strike against Ajax in last May’s Europa League triumph.

was the headline grabbing transfer of the lot. Aymeric Laporte from Athletic Bilbao to Man City for £57 million, Cedric Bakambu from Villarreal to Beijing Guoan for £35 million, Inigo Martinez from Real Sociedad to Athletic Bilbao for £28 million, Francis Coquelin from Arsenal to Valencia for £12 million and Javier Mascherano from Barcelona to Hebei China Fortune for £8.7 million were other major transfers that materialised in the Spanish top flight league.

High flying Manchester City made up for losing Sánchez to arch-rivals Manchester United by signing central defender Aymeric Laporte from Athletic Bilbao for £57 million. Cenk Tosun (striker, from Besiktas to Everton for £27 million), Lucas Moura (right winger, from Paris SG to Tottenham for £23 million), Adrien Silva (central midfielder, from Sporting Lisbon to Leicester for £22 million), Theo Walcott (striker, from Arsenal to Everton for £20 million) and Guido Carrillo (striker, from Monaco to Southampton for £19 million) complete the list of the 10 biggest transfers in the English Premier League in January 2018.

Other signings of note were made by Chelsea, who secured the services of veteran French striker Oliver Giroud from Arsenal for £18 million and Emerson Palmieri for £17 million from Roma.

In the meantime, Antonio Conte’s Chelsea offloaded Belgian international striker Michy Batshuayi (on loan) to Borussia Dortmund.

In the Spanish La Liga, Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool to Barcelona for £142 million

Meanwhile, Bayern Munich have already started laying the foundations for next season with the signing of German international midfielder Leon Goretzka, 22, from Schalke 04. Another major transfer in the Bundesliga was Manuel Akanji who moved from FC Basel to 2013 Champions League beaten finalists Borussia Dortmund for £18.7 million.

Clubs in the French Ligue 1 completed 90 deals worth around £96 million. The major Ligue 1 transfer moves were Lucas Moura from Paris SG to Tottenham for £23 million, Guido Carrillo from Monaco to Southampton for £19.1 million, Pietro Pellegri from Genoa to Monaco for £17.5 million, Martin Terrier from Lille to Olympique Lyon £9.9 million and Diafra Sakho from West Ham United to Stade Rennes for £8 million.

The January transfer window came to an end on the final day of the month. From then onwards, it was up to club managers and coaches to make sure that the new signings settle in their new environs in a smooth way so that they can add value to their new teams.

Ooooops....!

by Fr. Anthony C. Ferrante

P

acing nervously to and fro, strutting like a fiery rooster, gesticulating, ranting, ordering, confronting officials! That is the order of the day for some managers on the touchline. Antonio Conte, the Chelsea manager is notorious for his animated style on the sidelines. He is regularly seen racing in and out of his technical area and barking orders at his players. These antics have sometimes led to some of them being directed to the stands and eventually to being banned from the touchline for a number of games. Man Utd’s José Mourinho has not only been sent to the stands. He also received and served touchline bans for letting his emotions get the better of him, after which he admitted to somewhat curbing his touchline antics for fear of being sent off again, and most especially in away matches! In the meantime, he still avows that he does not change his nature or his passion. He says he likes to be closer to the game and likes to communicate with his boys and be closer to the touchline. This is in a quite striking and strong contrast to some managers who seem to be cold blooded enough as to just sit out the event. It cannot be denied that character, passion and enthusiasm together with a wilful desire to gather points are the cause of all that behaviour.

Chanting or just carousing, lauding or damning, clapping or booing, are some common traits that are expressed by supporters. That is not to speak of collective advice to some notorious player such as urging the individual to “shooooot”. It is all part of the game and it can never be eradicated. However, even if all this is to be accepted as “normal” behaviour, certain

types abound who just pretend to “lead” without ever proving or showing that they can do better. These are the infamous armchair critics, followers who believe that they can criticize or offer know-how when in truth they do not have the expertise or first hand knowledge regarding the activity, in this case football. Probably, this is the result of unbridled self-esteem, exaggerated enthusiasm or uncontrolled fanaticism. It is understandably obvious that we like to watch our players at their possible best, we love

cheering, and a victory, especially on long time rivals, is most welcome and pleasing.

However, why...why...assume to know better and think that you have all the answers whilst criticizing people even when you never did their job or walked in their shoes?

After England’s defeat of Malta in last September’s World Cup qualifier, the t r avelling Eng land suppor ter s had frustratingly booed their own team before late goals eventually led them to a flattering

4-0 win. Harry Kane hit back at armchair critics. He believes criticism is unfair, coming from people who don’t understand what it takes and points out that it is probably why they are sitting at home watching whilst players are out on the pitch. The term armchair critics aptly refers to those followers who usually sit comfortably and cosily in an armchair to watch a match. These people also rant, gesticulate, curse and scream out advice in front of a screen whilst not a w a r e that they are not being heard at all. Most probably they do all that with a can of beer in one hand whilst munching titbits! From their comfortable stance, in contrast to players who are exerting themelves out there, rain or shine, they judge, condemn, swear, curse...whatever.

Sometimes, this kind of behaviour does regretfully extend to places of work.

Let us not be naïve. We have to realize that this kind of criticism runs strongly with the leadership game. In football, when things are not going smoothly and brightly, it is the manager who comes in for a fair share of armchair criticism.

The manager is no good! Sack him!

Incidentally, these are the same types of judgement which are so frequently hurled at anyone in any leadership role! “This is no good! That should have been done or, that should not have been done!” It does make it so much easier to be an armchair politician, an armchair leader, an armchair principal, an armchair judge, or maybe even an armchair shepherd of souls.... why not???? It is so much easier to talk and offer advice without incurring any risk. Since the armchair critic is not being involved in the particular situations, he will never be accountable for certain actions or decisions!

Join us on MALTA

FOUNDED 1959

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NEW

Josè Mourinho How has he changed Man Utd?

by Stefan Attard

A

fter two hugely disappointing tenures after the great Sir Alex Ferguson, on May the 27th 2016, Manchester United named José Mourinho as their new manager. Despite being FA Cup holders, it is safe to say that the Portuguese took over a club in disarray.

Half way through his initial three-year contract, United’s hierarchy seems to have enough reason to believe that they have found the man to guide the club back to where it belongs – to the pinnacle of the domestic and European football after a hugely disappointing period after the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era. After recent speculation that Mourinho might be disappointed at the club, all Manchester United fans are relieved and happy that the boss will be staying at the helm after signing a new contract. During the first eighteen months at the club, Mourinho certainly managed to evolve the team, winning three trophies in the first season. Mourinho became the first United manager in history to win a major trophy in his first season when he secured the EFL Cup at Wembley last February. The boss also led the club to success in the only competition it had never previously won, when he masterminded the UEFA Europa League win in Stockholm last May. Upon signing the contract, the boss reiterated that he is happy and honoured to be managing Manchester United. Following his signature, Mourinho had the following to say:

“I am really honoured and proud to be Manchester United manager. I would like to say a big thank you to the owners and to Mr Woodward for the recognition of my hard work and dedication. I am delighted they feel and trust that I am the right manager for this great club for the foreseeable future.”

Ed Woodward maintained that the club was delighted that they managed to extend the manager’s contract. “His work rate and professionalism are exceptional, and he has embraced the club’s desire to promote top quality young players to the first team. He has

brought an energy and a sense of purpose to everything that he does, and I am sure that will continue to bring results for the fans and the club.”

Transfer activity The activity of the boss during the transfer window has been pretty impressive with the latest coup being that of the acquisition of Alexis Sánchez to team up with the likes of Pogba, Matic and Lukaku. During his tenure, Mourinho parted way with the like of Schneiderlin, Depay and Rooney to be replaced by arguably greater talents. Interestingly, during the three transfer windows, Mourinho recruited eight new players and sold twelve. This is less than half of our rivals City who splashed their cash on no fewer than 19 players.

indecision when it comes to tactics against the Premier League’s elite. This season, United’s intentions against the top clubs have certainly looked to be more adventurous, however, the results have not been good.

Every United fan is right to feel that this United side is still not the finished article just yet.

However, having said that, United interestingly scored more goals, conceded fewer and the club’s points total is better this season than any other point since Sir Alex’s retirement.

Earlier this season the manager lamented that United’s spending is not enough when compared to that of Manchester City. Indeed, the Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund has spent around £2 billion on the club, developing a state of the art facility and spending heavily in the transfer market. From the Abu Dhabi takeover to Sir Alex’s retirement City had already overspent the Reds by 450% on transfer fees alone. Contrastingly, the Glazer family has not invested one single penny since their takeover but at least allowed the club to invest their own generated money in recent years.

United’s future under Mourinho The manager has achieved a lot in his first 18 months at the helm and there is certainly more to expect; however, it is of utmost importance for the boss to be backed up by the Glazers and Ed Woodward. Despite being a good 13 points behind the likely champions (at the time of writing), all United fans are likely to feel that the team has been on an upward trajectory this season. In fact, United have made their best start to a Premier League season since Sir Alex’s final year at Old Trafford. The Red Devils are among the top scoring sides in the league and also rank near the top when it comes to lowest goals conceded. The high expectations when it comes to the Red Devils mean that a lot of journalists still criticise and scrutinise the manager; however, one simply cannot ignore that United have certainly improved from the blighted days of Moyes and Van Gaal.

Despite some of our best players not playing to their full potential, United would have been challenging or even on top of the league in previous league campaigns. Having said that, there are still opportunities for the team to improve during the course of the second half of the campaign. The only issue for the boss this season is that Guardiola managed to assemble arguably the strongest team in Premier League history. It is likely that Manchester United will break into the first three for the first time since Ferguson’s retirement.

Mourinho’s performance against the top 6 One stark aspect under our manager is certainly United’s performance against the top six. Having soundly lost to Tottenham United, they have failed to win any of their eight fixtures at Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham, managing only one goal in the process. Decembers’ win at Arsenal was an anomaly which did little to help Mourinho’s

There is no doubt that United have employed the best man to take the club back to the top.

After all, the boss was the only manager in the Premier League era that has won the league with a negative net spend at Chelsea in 201415 season. Pep Guardiola will never have to achieve the same at City. Every United fan has the right to believe that we are into something good. Watch this space!

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WHERE ARE THEY NOW

Roy Keane

by Norbert Bugeja

W

hat can you write about such a loyal servant who played for the club for 12 years and always gave nothing less than 100 % in every game he played in the glorious red shirt.

Keano’s journey started in 1993 when he joined Manchester United from Nottingham Forest on what was a record fee at that time. Rumours say he nearly joined Kenny Daglish’s army but some wrong paper work prevented the move.

If that is true we have someone extra to thank for such a great signing.

Keane was a perfect replacement to another midfielder who was already 36 at the time Bryan Robson. Keano would form one of the strongest midfield partnerships with Paul Ince in his first years at United. Neither Keano nor Ince were players you would like to face in a partnership which was hard as nails and that never took prisoners. He later in his career teamed up with Paul Scholes in what in my personal opinion is the best ever midfield partnership, and together with Beckham and Giggs on the wing was a dream to watch.

During his time at United, Keane won 7 Premierships, 1 Champions League, 1 Intercontinental Cup (getting also the winning goal), 4 FA Cups and 4 Community Shields, and was also part of the Treble Winning team. He won the Player of the Year and was also part of the Team of the Century.

Keane’s career, apart from success was never short of controversy and was never on a mission to make new friends. He always spoke his mind out and he had still has enough for anyone.

On Mick McCarthy: “That Man can rot in hell for all I know.”

On playing for Ireland: “I love playing for my country but my sanity is more important.”

On Pundits: “Will those on telly yesterday be remembered for what they achieved?”

But one of the most controversial was: “And don’t ever stand over me again sneering about fake injuries. And tell your pal [David] Wetherall there’s some for him as well. I didn’t wait for Mr Elleray to show the red card. I turned and walked to the dressing room.”

of faking injury in 1997 in what resulted into a season-ending injury. Keane got fined and banned after that.

In 2005, Keane left United following a controversial outburst interview to MUTV and joined Celtic.

One thing which Keano would be remembered for is the way he stood up for Gary Neville in the Highbury tunnel against Vieira, even though after as a pundit he said that: “Gary needs to be run after the Highbury tunnel every now and then.”

Following that move he retired from football and attempted his luck at management but wasn’t as successful, as managing to get a promotion to the Premiership with Sunderland was the only honour to show. He later became a pundit and his playing style and his way of expressing his opinion didn’t change at all.

The Vieira vs Keane added something special to every Manchester United vs Arsenal game.

Passion, commitment and fighting spirit that used to go beyond the financial part of the game which is the part we hear most about nowadays.

Once Keane was asked about concussions in football and he replied:

Right now he is as an assistant manager with Ireland.

Big thanks Keano for the memories and for the passion, commitment, fighting spirit and the never-die attitude when playing for United.

And we can really say that:

This was written in his autobiography following a tackle on Haaland after he accused Keane

“If you’re worried about the physical side of any sport, then play chess”

“THERE’S ONLY ONE KEANO”

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34 VOL 45 - ISSUE 3 - MARCH 2018

Realistic Expectations for 2018

by Silvio Scicluna

A

s 2017 turned into 2018, every individual looked forward to what can be expected of the new year. Their hopes and aspirations.

Their fears. And just like every individual, rest assured that Manchester United as a football club will have laid out their expectations for the year ahead.

As the title of this article suggests, the expectations have to be realistic. When he was in charge, Louis van Gaal made the mistake of stating that the expectations at Manchester United were too high. No sooner that Mourinho was appointed that he rubbished those comments by saying that he has no qualms with expectations being high at a club of United’s standing and that the club should be aiming to win the top honours each and every season. We all agree with that and I am sure all United fans would have liked to be in a position at this stage of the season to expect that our beloved team would be making a push towards Premier League glory come May. But, being realistic I think there is universal acceptance that, barring an almighty collapse, our noisy neighbours will be crowned champions in the not too distant future.

At the beginning of the season we had four fronts in which to compete in our quest for silverware but now we are down to two. Besides the Premier League we are unfortunately also out of the Carabao Cup which we did so well to win last season. The surprise defeat to Bristol City did leave a somewhat bitter taste but it seemed to me that the Championship promotion hopefuls showed more desire than us on the day.

At the time of writing United sit in second place in the Premier League, a point ahead of third placed Chelsea, three points ahead of fourth placed Liverpool and six points ahead of fifth placed Tottenham. We have also just been drawn away to League Two side Yeovil Town in the fourth round of the FA Cup. And in February we resume our Champions League duties with a two-legged tie against Sevilla. If I had to worm my way into José Mourinho’s psyche and try to second guess his expectations for the second half of the season I would say that his targets for United in 2018 would have been readjusted to lift at least one trophy and finish in the top 4 in the league. Realistically that trophy will have to be the FA Cup. I was ecstatic when we won it in 2016 after a long twelve year drought and at that stage we had drawn level with Arsenal as the clubs that won it most. Alas, Arsenal won it again in 2017 so I would really love to see us winning the FA Cup again this year. As regards the Champions League we are now in the knockout phase after comfortably winning our group. Without wanting to sound too presumptuous I feel United have enough to eliminate Sevilla over

two legs especially with the second match at Old Trafford. Our opponents are going through a somewhat transitional period having just replaced their manager and are having an inconsistent season in La Liga. But one has to sound a note of caution here for two main reasons. One is that they are a Spanish side with a very good European pedigree and, secondly, when the competition resumes in February the English clubs are always at a disadvantage due to the fact that not only is there no winter break in England as compared to the other major leagues, but more matches are packed into the Christmas/New Year period than at any other stage of the season.

Therefore fatigue and exhaustion play a major part at that stage and Mourinho himself was on record earlier in the season as saying that the Champions League starts in earnest in February. Therefore, a realistic expectation for United in the Champions League would be a quarter-final appearance at best. If we do make it through to the QF’s and maybe get a favourable draw, then one might start to dream. But let’s stay realistic.

month and many names are being bandied about. As a rule José doesn’t usually tend to buy players in January but this year could be an exception. Much will depend on the injury situation and whether the current long list of unavailable players will have abated by the time the window shuts, but yes it is not an unrealistic expectation to say that we might be welcoming a new player within our ranks for the second part of the season. If not in January then surely in the summer transfer window the expectation will be that United will be busy in backing Mourinho to continue strengthening the team for a concerted push for the top honours next season.

Although hopes of a title victory are all but extinguished, there remains the realistic expectation (or hope) that United can secure Champions League football for next season by way of a top 4 finish since we currently have a reasonable cushion over the fifth placed team.

But in my view United have to aim for top 3 rather than top 4 so as to guarantee a place in the group stages rather than the prospect of having to play a potentially tricky opponent in a pre-qualifier in August.

As I write this article United are in the second day of their mid-season warm weather training camp in Dubai. In my opinion the decision to go for this trip was a wise one indeed as the club made the most of a free ten day period in between one match and the next to organise something which will not only allow the players to make use of top notch facilities in mild climatic conditions but also aid the manager and the coaching staff to put the players through more tactical drills which they have been unable to do for some time now due to the hectic fixture schedule. Surely a much needed opportunity to recharge the batteries, enhance team bonding and go again with the aim of making those hopes and expectations for the second part of the season a reality.

The new year also brings with it the January transfer window and there is an expectation that, unlike last year United might be doing some business this time round. Transfer speculation will be frenzied throughout this

Off the field the expectation for 2018 is that Manchester United, as one of the richest and most valuable football clubs worldwide will surely continue to grow commercially.

Periodically, expect the club to announce more and more financially lucrative deals with new partners as the commercial arm of the club continues to prosper and more inroads are made to reach out to emerging markets.

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What makes a successful football manager?

by Kenneth Abela

‘Famously leading the England rugby team to victory in the 2003 Rugby World Cup, Sir Clive Woodward not only guided and inspired players on a personal level, but implemented coaching methods and data analysis never before seen in the world of rugby and at the very cutting edge of sports science’ * I have taken the liberty of setting the ball rolling with this quote about the managerial abilities found in another contact sport, rugby, to lead on to the discussion on what makes a successful football manager. But first a football quote from the great Sir Alex. In his autobiography, Managing my Life, Sir Alex Ferguson describes former Celtic and Scotland manager Jock Stein as follows: ‘For any young manager seeking to further his education in football, Jock Stein was a oneman university ... Stein had just about every attribute required of a great manager but none of his talents was more significant than his judgment of players, not only as performers but as people.

Whether a man was playing for him or against him, Jock specialized in probing assessments of strengths and weaknesses.’

player of the opposition would be playing or comes on during the game. The strategy also depends on whether it is a home game or an away game, on whether he is playing against a weaker team or a stronger team, and whether the competition is the English Premier League or the Champions league.

And so on and so forth.

3. Decision making: A top manager has to decide which players to buy and which ones to sell. He needs to pick the best eleven players to start a game and choose the best substitutes on the bench should he need them. He needs to make decisions about managing the workload of players to save them from injury.

4. Commercial acumen: In today’s day and age, being commercially savvy and being able to

2. Tactics: Every football fan tends to agree that a top football manager is expected to be a master tactician. He has to be able to craft a strategy comprising, amongst others, team composition, style of football, formation, and the pace of the game, so as to maximize his team’s chances of winning the football match. United manager Mourinho reveals how he identifies and prepares not only for each match but moreover for each phase of a match. The team is trained for each eventuality, from a system on how the game would start through to being on the losing end during the game, to which

8. Autonomy to make decisions: A number of Premier League managers confess about how their role in their clubs is different from other clubs such as Manchester United, and how they don’t have the same freedom to make decisions as maybe Sir Alex Ferguson used to have.

9. Luck: Good old lady luck can play a big role. Alex Ferguson’s job was reportedly on the line at an FA Cup game against Nottingham Forest when Mark Robins scored one of the most important goals in United’s history when he scored the winning goal at the City ground in 1990. United went on to win the Cup and the rest, as they say, is history!

To conclude, in spite of a Manager having all these attributes, do the powers-that-be always appear to take logical considerations when deciding if the Club Manager is to be retained or shown the door?

Here are just some examples which throw up some questions:

So what are the attributes that one expects to find in the best football managers, 1. Man management: Many experts believe this is the number one quality that separates the best managers from the rest. A manager has to know how to get the best out of every player.

He not only needs to know every player’s strengths and weaknesses but also the best way in which the strengths can be used and weaknesses can be improved upon. Man management is becoming more and more important in today’s world of football, since the biggest players are not just carrying large wages but more often than not, larger egos.

even cutting short his reign. Many view this to be the reason for the premature departures of managers that followed Sir Alex at United. Louis van Gaal has himself revealed he made Manchester United continue to pay up his contract by turning down the Belgium job as an act of “revenge” and says he still blames former players for his Old Trafford exit.

optimize the resources at one’s disposal is as important as anything else. And this applies even if the club has the deep pockets of a Russian billionaire as in the case of Chelsea or a rich state’s royal family as in the case of Manchester City.

5. Ability to connect with fans: It is difficult to see a manager doing well and staying in his role for a long time if the fans are always on his back. Just as companies have to listen to their shareholders, the football club owners and chairmen have to listen to their fans.

6. Alignment of objectives with the Club Chairman: A good understanding of club’s objectives and staying on the same wavelength as the owner or chairman goes a long way in a manager’s success. Arsene Wenger is the best example of this in the English Premier League.

7. Player power: Undue player power can result in making a manager’s life very difficult or

• Despite Roberto Mancini having in 2012 led Manchester City to their first Premier League trophy since their League Cup victory in 1976, why was he given the sack the following season?

• Why was Kenny Dalglish fired from Liverpool despite being fans’ overwhelming favourite and leading them to their first trophy in six years?

• Why was Roberto Di Matteo asked to leave soon after leading Chelsea to a Champions League victory – something that even the likes of José Mourinho, Luiz Felipe Scolari and Carlo Ancelotti failed to achieve?

• Why was Claudio Ranieri fired the season after doing the impossible and firing Leicester City to the Premier League title in 2016?

One must feel for the managers. *The Journal, Magazine of the Chartered Insurance Institute , January 2018.

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

by Iain McCartney Part 4

FINAL - APRIL 24TH - BRISTOL CITY – CRYSTAL PALACE – 1-0 MOGER, STACEY, HAYES, DUCKWORTH, ROBERTS, BELL , MEREDITH, HALSE , J. TURNBULL, A. TURNBULL, WALL.

Gilligan took a pass from Staniforth in his stride, but he was soon hustled off the ball and the opportunity was gone. Hardy then got the better of Roberts and Bell, before passing to Staniforth, but the Bristol outside right saw his excellent centre wasted by Burton who shot wide of Moger’s goal.

SCORER – A. TURNBULL. BRISTOL CITY – CLAY, ANNAN, COTTLE, HANLIN, WEDLOCK, SPEAR, STANIFORTH, HARDY, GILLIGAN, BURTON, HILTON ATENDANCE – 71,401 Charlie Roberts won the toss and elected to play with the wind, leaving Bristol City to kick off and from the offset, they took the game to United. Gilligan took on the United defence and Hilton’s centre causing something of a minor panic. First, Roberts and then Stacey cleared the danger and it wasn’t until Charlie Roberts was fouled a few minutes later that United managed to gain any real foothold in the Bristol City half. This initial foray came to nothing, as Sandy Turnbull, who up until kick-off had been something of a doubt for United due to a suspected broken rib, headed past the post.

Charlie Roberts seemed to be at the heart of everything, marshalling his defence and prompting his forwards and in one of the latter instances, he fed the ball through to Wall. The winger’s shot, however, was brilliantly blocked

by City goalkeeper Clay, fisting the ball away to safety whilst on his knees, with Wedlock clearing the immediate danger.

Slowly United clawed their way into the game, with the half back line of Duckworth, Roberts and Bell beginning to take command.

Meredith, grasping at one of the clearances out from defence, sent one of his excellent centres into the City goalmouth where Annan completely missed the ball, but fortunately for him, Clay was on hand to make something of a desperate save.

Meredith and Halse on the United right were by now becoming a constant thorn in the

side of the Bristol City defence, the former with his constant trickery, the latter with his speed, but despite forcing a number of corners, the initial breakthrough simply failed to mater ialise.

A powerful Duckworth drive hit the side ne t t ing , w hile opportunities also fell to Jimmy and Sandy Turnbull, but both efforts failed to even hit the target, never mind the back of the net.

During the opening forty-five minutes, there was one minor off-field distraction, when one of the supporters who had decided that the branches of one of the trees which over-looked the ground provided a better advantage point, lost his balance amid the excitement and fell from his perch. Undaunted, it was only a matter of minutes before he was again seen clambering back up to his lofty position.

Bristol City were allowed few opportunities to break, such was the pressure they were under from United, but on one of the occasions that they did manage to do so, Wedlock got the ball wide to Hilton, who in turn drew the United defence a little out of position. From his centre, the unmarked Hardy sent a firm shot towards Moger, but the ‘keeper was able to make a superb save, grabbing the ball just below the cross-bar.

With twenty-four minutes gone, United once again pushed forward, Roberts urging on his team mates superbly, and an opening was presented to Halse. In the clear, the inside right shot for goal, but was disappointed to see his effort smack the underside of the bar and bounce back into play. However, before any of the City defenders could react, Sandy Turnbull pounced and drove the ball home from close range.

It was certainly a goal well in keeping with the play, as other than the few opening minutes,

Charlie Roberts leads out United.

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United were clearly the better team and deserved their lead.

to increasing the score.

With those, and other missed oppor tunities, United should have been four or five goals in front by the interval, but between the wind blowing several passes astray and their sometimes casual manner, they had to be content with their solitary goal advantage.

for goal. Moger flung himself to the right and somehow managed to claw the ball away.

Within five minutes of the re-start, Bristol City almost snatched the equaliser.

The shot from Halse rebounds off the underside of the Bristol City Burton shot for goal, Moger crossbar before Turnbull (not in picture) scores. threw himself to the side A knock to Meredith held up play for a couple of and saved, with the ball scrambled away to minutes, but the Welshman was soon restored safety. Meredith then came close to doubling to fitness and tormenting the Bristol defence United’s lead, but play suddenly swung to the and thrice in as many minutes he, along with opposite end of the field. Hardy found Hilton Duckworth and Halse, more or less strolled and from his pinpoint cross, Gilligan headed through their defence, but the accuracy of United’s shooting left a lot to be desired, with the ball going over or wide of the woodwork.

With play moving quickly from end to end, Meredith sought his revenge in his footwork, bamboozling Spear, but Clay saved Sandy Turnbull’s effort as he got on the end of the Welshman’s cross, while Moger was again called upon to keep United in the lead before Hilton shot over.

As the second half progressed the game was more evenly balanced, although at times there was considerable foul play, forcing the referee into pulling more than one player to the side for a quick word or two. Meredith came in for more close attention than most and following one rather robust challenge it looked as though the Welshman had seriously damaged his collar-bone.

Meredith was seemingly running amok and after having moved onto a Sandy Turnbull pass

Hilton was one of the few Bristol City players who enjoyed much in the way of freedom against the sterling United defence and from one of his forward forages, Staniforth sent a long range effort narrowly over.

Play slackened a little as the inter val approached, although it was Bristol City who were now playing the better football, but they failed to trouble Moger in the United goal.

Burton and Hardy caused a few minor problems with Staniforth working hard to propel his side forward. On a couple of occasions he might have beaten Moger, but after moving in from the wing, he elected to pass to a team mate rather than try for goal himself.

At the opposite end, United still kept Clay in the City goal on his toes, with Sandy Turnbull and George Wall both coming close

Halse moves in to halt a Bristol City attack.

and although hampered by Cottle and Spear, he still managed to get a shot at goal, but his low drive was just inches wide.

From one of the Welshman’s corners after he had toyed with Spear, Jimmy Turnbull headed narrowly over. Opportunities were numerous, but still only one solitary goal separated the two teams.

An injury to Hayes forced the United left back off the field for six minutes and even with United reduced to ten men, Bristol City failed to grasp the advantage. Upon the defenders return, he was limping badly and was forced into taking up something of an outside right position, with Stacey switching flanks and Duckworth and Halse dropping back. Despite this set back and something of a reduction in their attacking options, United, although stretched at times, kept their opponents at bay.

An aerial view of Turnbull’s winning goal.

Billy Meredith was by far the outstanding

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and Moger making something of a rather lucky save.

critics say, but they need not have laid on the butter with a trowel.

Both the Turnbull’s had opportunities to increase United’s lead, but Jimmy, when only a few yards from goal, shot over and then Sandy found himself upended by Annan when almost clean through. The resulting free kick coming to nothing.

“Perhaps Lord Charles would not agree that “there were few incidents in the second half worth looking at”, perhaps he did not see that thousands of people left the ground a quarter of an hour before the finish; perhaps he failed to observe the excess vigour shown by some of the players, or even the loss of temper by J, Turnbull, when on being given off-side, that player deliberately kicked the ball out of play. All these things are noticed and commented upon by the critics, but Lord Charles Beresford, who was apparently the most popular personality on the ground said his nice things nicely, and no one was one penny the worse. But the praise was not deserved and apparently only Manchester united and their supporters among the real everyday followers of football appreciated this last Palace Final.”

But the chance of the second half fell to Bristol City. Stacey made a poor attempt to clear, leaving Hilton with an open goal, but the outside left somehow managed to send his shot wide of the post. Gilligan then shot over after Roberts had been forced to give away a corner and Jimmy Turnbull, once again faced with only Clay to beat, shot over the bar.

player on view, beating both the City left half and left back at ease, but the tight marking of his team mates failed to see his passes create much in the way of scoring opportunities.

Wedlock pushed his front line for ward whenever possible, while Hilton twice found himself in an ideal position in front of goal, but on each occasion placed the ball wide, while it was also considered by many that the Bristol City short passing game was not suited to cup-tie football, something that troubled the United defence only on the very rare occasion. Had they used their wingmen to more effect, then the result may well have been much different.

A Jimmy Turnbull foul presented City with yet another opportunity to level the score, but Gilligan shot wide, then twice in as many seconds the United goal had narrow escapes, Halse managing to scramble the ball clear

With f ive minutes remaining, any attempts made by Bristol City to snatch an equaliser were simply cleared anywhere by the United defence and with no further scoring, it was the Manchester United supporters who celebrated as the referee signalled the end of the game, with many of those supporters having been seen attempting to move towards the stand side of the ground for a better view of the cup presentation.

In the newspapers of the time, opinions on the Final were certainly split. ‘Flanuer’ in the ‘Weekly Record’ wrote – “The views of Lord Charles Beresford and of the professional critics who saw the Cup Final between Manchester United and Bristol City are somewhat at variance. The critics are generally agreed that even for a Final it was a poor game, and some go so far as to say it was one of the worst specimens seen at the Palace. But Lord Charles said it was one of the finest games that had ever been played in the country, and Dr Macnamara endorsed the great sailor’s observations by describing the match as a first-class game, played in true, gallant, and sportsmanlike fashion. Every man to his trade, and Lord Charles and the doctor will no doubt shine more at the Admiralty than as amateur critics of football. Of course they would be too gallant to say what the professional

In the ‘Times’, their correspondent wrote in his summary of the ninety minutes – “The match was of the kind to which followers of the game have become accustomed since professional clubs have had matters all their own way in the most important competitions. The play, which was extremely fast, with only an occasional sign of slackening, was marked by accuracy of kicking, strong tackling and contrary to custom, heavy charging. In allowing the fair, but robust charge, to go unpunished the referee exercised a wise discretion in the true interests of Association football.”

He continued; “As an attraction to the general public the match equalled most final ties, except the one in which the presence of Tottenham Hotspur specially interested London. Nor did the scene differ much from that to which one has grown accustomed at this event. On a very pleasant afternoon the sports arena looked its best, the green turf of playing pitch and trees in the background throwing out in strong relief the thousands of people who came from the west country, and because there was little in the play to cause excitement, Manchester United looked like winners from the start and nothing happened in the nature of a surprise.”

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

Montaldo Insurance Agency Ltd 10% Discount (terms and conditions apply)

10% Discount on all Insurances to club members

10% Discount on direct bookings only.

10% Discount except public holidays

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.

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MixedMANCUNIANPlatter What if late goals are removed?

T

he scope of this exercise was to see if late goals in favour of United might have affected United’s points tally and hence the position in the league table. Some might say that it was a futile exercise and they may be right, but I have wanted to do this for some time. Then it is up to you, the readers, to pass the final verdict to disprove or approve the myth that United win trophies by late goals. United haters say our team is lucky (in scoring late goals), forgetting, in the process, that opponents also score late goals against United. These same haters seem to have lost from their dictionary the words resolve, perseverance and belief, of which Manchester United players have aplenty.

For the scope of this exercise, Premiership seasons 1992 to 2013, ie. during part of Ferguson’s time at United are under scrutiny and goals scored from the 85th minute to the end of the game are considered to be late goals. Goals after the 90th minute injury time and after extra time after a particularly drawn knockout game are listed as 90. These late goals will be theoretically removed from the result, so affecting the points lost from each particular game and hence affect the league table or a knock out competition outcome.

So have fun with numbers.  Season 2005/06 The Premier League title won by Chelsea on 91 points, United ranking second on 83 and Liverpool third on 82. The League Cup was won against Millwall. United became the first club in Premier League history to score 1,000 goals, the 1,000th being scored by Ronaldo in a 4-1 defeat at the Riverside Stadium.

Late goals which made an impact on the league table were an away 2-1 (o.g. 90) win over Wigan and a home win (1-0 Ferdinand 90) over Liverpool. This late goal was particularly welcomed as it helped United end up second in the table, a point above Liverpool. Had United not scored these late goals, they would have lost 4 points from the final table.

For the record, 10 late goals were scored in this campaign, with 2 being relevant.

Verdict: United would have dropped to third and surpassed calamitously by Liverpool.  Season 2006/07 The Premier League title was won by United with 89 points, followed by Chelsea on 83 and United were losing finalists in the FA Cup.

Late league goals which made an impact on the final outcome of the league table were an away 2-1 (Ronaldo 88) win over Fulham and a elating home win (1-0 O’Shea 90) over Liverpool. Had United not scored these late goals, they would have lost 4 points from the final table.

Verdict: United would have remained champions.  Season 2007/08 League title won by United with 87 points, followed by Chelsea on 85. The Community Shield was won against Chelsea on penalties and the Champions League trophy was added to the list of honours, with Chelsea beaten also on penalties.

Late goals in the league which made a heavy positive impact on the table were a 2-1 (Ronaldo 88) home win over Everton, a 1-1 (Tevez 90) away draw at Tottenham and an away 1-1 (Tevez 88) draw against Blackburn.

Had United not scored these late goals, they would have lost 4 points from the final table.

In the Champions League knockout phase, an away 1-1 (Tevez 87) assured the tie ended 2-1 in favour of United. Had this goal not been scored, United might not have been in a position to win the Champions League.

For the record, 18 goals were scored this season with 4 being relevant to the success of the club.

Verdict: United would have lost the title to Chelsea and might not have been in the final of the Champions League.  Season 2008/09 The Premier League title was won by United with 90 points. Liverpool placed second with 86 points. United won the third consecutive league title for the second time and equalled Liverpool’s 18 league titles. The Community Shield, the League Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup were also won. Manchester United were beaten finalists in the Champions League final.

Late goals which made a telling impact on the league table were a 1-0 (Vidic 90) home win over Sunderland, an away 1-0 (Berbatov 90) win over Bolton, a 3-2 (Macheda 90) home win over Aston Villa and a 2-1 (Carrick 86) away win at Wigan. Had these goals not been scored, United would have lost 8 points from the final table. In the Champions League a home 2-2

by Karm Galea Part 2

(Tevez 85) draw against Porto saw United win the tie and eventually advance to the final.

For the record, 12 late goals were scored of which 5 were relevant.

Verdict: United would have lost the title to Liverpool (a horrendous nightmare) and dropped to third.  Season 2009/10 The Premier League title was won by Chelsea with 86 points, followed by United on 85.

The League Cup was added to the collection.

Late goals in the league which helped United be runners-up were a 4-3 (Owen 90) home win over Man City and another win over Man City, this time a 1-0 (Scholes 90) away win. Had these goals not been scored, United would have lost 4 points from the final table. In the Football League Cup, a 3-1 (Rooney 90) home win over Man City allowed United to win the tie 4-3 on aggregate. Had this goal not been scored, United might not have progressed to the final. Late goals in the Champions League group stage were a 1-0 (Valencia 86) away win over CSKA Moscow, a 3-3 (Valencia 90) home draw against CSKA Moscow. Had United not scored these late goals they would have come second in the group table and then who knows the outcome.

For the record, 16 late goals were scored in all competitions, with 5 being relevant.

Verdict: United would have remained second.  Season 2010/11 The Premier League title won by United on 80 points, followed by Chelsea on 71. This was the 19th League title, surpassing Liverpool and knocking them off their perch. The Charity Shield was won against Chelsea. United were beaten finalists in the Champions League, succumbing to Barcelona.

Late goals which made an impact on the final table were a 2-1 (Chicharito 86) away win versus Stoke City, a 2-1 (Park 90) home win over Wolves, an away 2-2 (Vidic 86) draw at Aston Villa, a 3-2 (Berbatov 88) away win at Blackpool, a 1-0 (Berbatov 88) home win against Bolton and a 2-2 (o.g. 84) away draw at Fulham. Had United not scored these late goals, they would have lost 10 points from the final table.

For the record, 13 late goals were scored, with 8 of them being relevant.

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Verdict: United would have lost the league and ranked second.

In conclusion, here is a list of how things are and how they would have theoretically been.

 Season 2011/12 The Premier League title was won by Man City on 89 points. United finished second, also on 89 points but with an inferior goal difference. One can never forget the alleged shenanigans, meaning secret or dishonest activity or manoeuvring, that went on between Joey Barton and Tevez to bring on extra time, in which time, in another match, Bolton and Stoke ended up in a draw, thus assuring QPR stayed in the Premier League. Some sources said QPR switched off in the final minutes, allowing Aguero to score. The Charity Shield was won over Man City.

 1992/93-Premier

A late goal that affected the position of United in the league table was in a 2-1 (Giggs 90) away win at Norwich. Had United not scored this goal, 2 points would have been deducted from the final table.

For the record, 15 late goals were scored in this season, 2 of which were relevant.

Verdict: United would still be runners-up.  Season 2012/13 The 20th Premier League title (13th in the Premiership era) was won by United on 89 points, followed by Man City on 78 points.

League won but ‘lost’ 6 points. United remained Champions.

 2006/07-Premier

League won, plus FA Cup (Double) and Charity Shield but ‘lost’ 4 points and remained Champions. But the FA Cup was lost, so no Double.

 2007/08-Premier League won, plus Charity

 1994/95-Runners up in the Premier League

 2008/09-Premier League won, plus Charity

 1993/94-Premier

plus won the Charity Shield. United remain runners-up.

League won, plus FA Cup (second Double). United remain Champions but the FA Cup is lost and so no Double.

League won plus the Charity Shield. United remain Champions.

 1996/97-Premier

League won. United

Shield and Champions League. No longer Champions due to ‘lost’ points and might not have been in the Champions League final.

Shield, League Cup and FIFA Club World Cup but dropped to third in the League due to ‘lost’ points.

up in the Premier League plus the Charity Shield. United remain second.

 2009/10-Second in the Premier League but

won the League Cup. United remain second.

League won plus the Charity Shield but United drop to second place due to ‘lost’ points.

 2010/11-Premier

 1997/98-Runners

League won, plus the FA Cup and Champions League but due to points ‘lost’, no Premier League, noFA Cup and no Champions League and definitely no treble.

 2011/12-Second in the Premier League but won

the Charity Shield. United remain second.

 1998/99-Premier

the Premier League. United remain Champions.

 2012/13-Won

and United remain third.

So we see that the habit, if we can call it that, more likely the tradition of United scoring very late goals has been instrumental in United winning silverware, especially in the 1998/99 season. More than using the words ‘habit’ and ‘tradition’, one can safely repeat the words already written in the first paragraph, namely resolve, perseverance and belief are what brought success to United.

 2002/03-Premier

League won but due to ‘lost’ points United come second.

As an aside, talkSport have produced the following information.

 2003/04-Third place in the Premier League

Top 10 clubs with the most 90th-minute winning goals in Premier League history.

League won and United remain Champions.

 1999/00-Premier

League won and United remain Champions.

 2001/02-Third placed in the Premier League

but the FA Cup was won. United remain in third place.

For the record, 13 late goals were scored with 6 being relevant.

 2004/05-Third place in the Premier League.

Verdict: United would still be champions.

 2005/06-Second in the Premier League but

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remain Champions.

 1995/96-Premier

 2000/01-Premier

Late goals that gave United important points which affected the league table were in an away 3-2 (van Persie) win over Southampton, a 3-2 (Chicharito 87) away win at Aston Villa, a 3-2 (van Persie) away win at Man City, a 4-3 (Chicharito 90) home win over Newcastle and a 2-1 (Ferdinand 87) home win versus Swansea. Had United not scored these late goals, 10 points would have been lost. But the gap between United and City was big enough to absorb the loss.

won the League Cup. United drop to third due to ‘lost’ points.

United remain in third place.

1-Liverpool on 28, 2-Arsenal on 21, 3-Chelsea on 20, 4-Everton on 19, 5-Manchester United on 18, 6-Newcastle and Tottenham on 17, 8-Aston Villa on 13, 9-Wigan on 12, 10-Bolton and Southampton on 11.

Manchester’s Supremacy B

y the 27th matchweek in the Premier League, the table seems to be inclined in favour of Manchester, with City and United holding the top two positions. With Manchester City guided by Pep Guardiola seemingly set for the Premier League crown, United have made significant strides of improvement over the previous seasons since Ferguson’s departure.

The domestic trophy looks to be unattainable for Mourinho’s men as Manchester City are a class of their own with a 16-point advantage.

The belief at the beginning of the season was that Manchester United are destined for the trophy in May as happened with every club that Mourinho has managed in the second successive season. Yet, despite a very good start in terms of goals, the team has played entertaining football which is however no match for the might of their noisy neighbours, which has been destroying opponents and winning matches hands down. City have amassed an astonishing 79 goals in the first 27 matches, with a 59 goals difference. United on the other hand have scored 51 goals, the least amount in the top four. Yet, David De Gea has guarded the goal exceptionally well again this season, conceding only 19 goals, the least in the whole of the Premier League table, including City who have conceded 20 goals by the 27th matchday.

Manchester City as still participating in all four competitions: the Premier League seems to be in the bag, a Wembley final of the Carabao Cup awaits against Arsenal on the 25th February, they play Wigan in the Fifth Round of the FA Cup and an easy draw against Basel in the UEFA Champions League should see them through to the Quarter Final. United on the other hand are realistically only challenging for the FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League, with an away draw against Huddersfield Town and a double leg against Sevilla from Spain respectively.

The stars of both teams are Sergio Aguero and Romelu Lukaku. Aguero has scored 21 in the league and 28 in all competitions, while Lukaku has bagged 12 in the league and 19 in all competitions. The Belgian summer acquisition who joined from Everton for £75 million has so far failed to capture the imagination of the Manchester United faithful and live up to his hefty price tag. New acquisition Alexis Sánchez, our new number 7, has scored once in the first three matches played but shone brilliantly in setting up play for other players with his creativity and quick feet.

Both clubs have spent excessively in recent seasons. In the summer transfer season, City spent an astonishing £217 million on players while United spent £169.5. It is a well-known fact that big clubs have to pay a premium to be able to conclude any transfer nowadays, many times paying exorbinant transfer fees. In being at the right place at the right time, Manchester United could finalise transfers for reasonable fees such as those of Nemanja Matic and Alexis Sánchez (swap with Henrikh Mkhitaryan going the other way to Arsenal). However, being one of the top clubs in Europe, supporters have to accept that the club and its environment have nowadays changed drastically, and the club will have to remain among the top spenders in the transfer spending charts to be able to have a realistic chance of challenging for trophies.

With José Mourinho having now extended his initial contract with United until 2020 with an option of a further year, barring any significant dip in performances or change in circumstances with the board, stability is the key to move forward. Manchester United faithful have to accept the fact that this season belongs to City but should sustain the team and the manager with their support in the push towards the upcoming seasons. Looking back, bad choices

by Braden Galea

were made with the appointments of David Moyes and Louis Van Gaal. The two former managers had a win percentage ratio of just over 52%. Mourinho on the other hand has so far a 62% win percentage ratio. Mathematically, it also proves that the right choice was made when appointing the Portuguese. The question however remains why such appointment was not made immediately after Ferguson’s retirement.

Just by way of comparison, Pep Guardiola has a win percentage ratio of 70.53%, more than his two predecessors Manuel Pellegrini (59.88%) and Roberto Mancini (59.16%). When City ranked 3rd in the 2016/17 season, they won 23 matches.

This season, by the 27th matchday, Manchester City have already won 23 matches, losing just one and drawing three. Also, they have scored 79 goals this season, compared to the 80 goals that they scored in the previous season in the whole campaign. With 11 matches remaining and persistent blasting on opponents, it is fair to assume that this goal tally will continue to increase in the coming months.

Being accustomed to winning as Manchester United supporters were in the era of Ferguson, it is hard to accept the truth that in recent years, the team has not been actively challenging with a realistic chance of lifting the Premier League trophy. United will surely be back to the top spot domestically in the coming seasons if the team that has been built matures into a compact unit.

With the belief that Mourinho is the right man to guide the club forward, and with the necessary backing of the board in the transfer season, no matter what it takes to secure transfer targets that make sense in the bigger picture of the team, the right time will come when Manchester United lift the Premier League trophy again. The rise of Manchester City in recent years does not diminish the fact that Manchester was, is and will remain predominantly red.

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43

Major Five European Leagues Round-up…

Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Paris SG and Barcelona maintain their healthy leads as title race is still wide open in Italy

second Europa League in the club’s history (following their 1969/70 triumph vs. Anderlecht 4-3 on aggregate), they first have to knock out Gennaro Gattuso’s back-to-form Milan. In the FA Cup, Arsenal (vs. Nottingham Forest 2-4), Liverpool (vs. WBA 2-3) and Manchester City (vs. Wigan 0-1) have already found themselves out of the competition after they were knocked out by lower divisions outfits.

B

ig spenders Manchester City have improved by leaps and bounds in Pep Guardiola’s second season in charge of the Sky Blues. With a game in hand, Guardiola’s side lead the English Premier League by no fewer than 13 points clear of nearest pursuers and bitter city rivals Manchester United. Thus, barring a monumental collapse, one expects City to lift their fifth Barclays Premier League come May, their third title success since season 2011/12.

With the 2017/18 English Premier League title a seemingly foregone conclusion, the attention turns on the race between four teams vying to occupy the remaining three Champions League slots. Manchester United (59 points), Liverpool (57), Tottenham (55) and outgoing champions Chelsea (53) have all played 28 games and are all currently in contention. Sixth-placed Arsenal, who have 45 points from 27 games, are a bit far behind to consider themselves genuine contenders for a top-four finish. The Gunners’ best bet to qualify for next season’s Champions League is to win next May’s Europa League in Lyon. But for Arsenal to lift their

44 VOL 45 - ISSUE 3 - MARCH 2018

Meanwhile, in the last weekend of February, former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola claimed his maiden English silverware as Manchester City ran riot of toothless Arsenal to lift the League Cup for the third time in five years. Arsenal have now lost a record six League Cup finals and it remains the only silverware that their French manager has not won during his 22 years spell in charge of the Gunners.

by Antoine Dalli

Italian champions Juventus. Nonetheless, Juve, who have a home fixture against Atalanta in hand, remain hot favourites to topple Maurizio Sarri’s side at the top of the table for a number of reasons.

To begin with, Massimiliano Allegri can count on a more resourceful and experienced squad.

Nevertheless, Napoli have only their remaining 12 Serie A commitments to focus on after their premature exits from the Champions League, Europa League and the Coppa Italia. On the other hand, Juventus have a crucial return leg of the Champions League Round of 16 against Tottenham coming up on the 7th March at Wembley Stadium. Moreover, Juve are hot favourites to reach their fourth straight Coppa Italia final after beating Atalanta 1-0 in Bergamo in the first leg last January.

Another reason why Juventus are favourites to lift their seventh straight Scudetto is because they will host Napoli in their own backyard in the top-of-the-table meeting on the 34th day. Should Napoli resist and maintain their leadership status until the end of the season, then it would be their first league title since season 1989/90. By stark contrast, should Juve have the upper hand then it would be their seventh straight Scudetto, their fourth under former Milan coach Allegri.

Things are tight at the top of the Italian Serie A. Napoli have been leading the standings practically from the word go. With 12 games to go, the southerners enjoy a slight though significant four-point lead over the defending

Lazio (52 points), Inter (51) and Roma (50) will in all probability contend the last remaining two Champions League spots, albeit Milan (44) and to a lesser extent Sampdoria (44) may also have their say. In particular, Inter and Roma have been rather inconsistent in recent weeks whilst, in contrast, Milan are coming more and more into the picture particularly after the advent of new coach Gattuso.

16, are currently sixth with 39 points under their belt, two points adrift of Villareal but 10 points below fourth-placed Valencia.

It will be either Barcelona (65) or Atletico Madrid (58) this season in Spain. The Catalans enjoy a healthy seven point lead with 13 games to go, including the direct encounter at the Camp Nou Stadium on 4th March. In recent weeks, Real Madrid (51) have improved by leaps and bounds and have consolidated the third spot.

The current European champions alongside Barcelona and Atletico Madrid are firm favourites to represent Spain in next season’s Champions League. There are three teams which are currently vying to occupy Spain’s last remaining European cup spot. Vincenzo Montella’s Sevilla, who travel to Old Trafford on 13 March for the return leg of the Champions League Round of

In Germany, Bayern Munich have improved tremendously ever since they parted company with veteran Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti last October and instead re-appointed Jupp Heynckes, the coach who had led them to an unprecedented treble in season 2012/13. In the German Bundesliga, Bayern Munich are simply cruising towards their record-extending 28th league title, their fifth in a row.

In similar vein, Paris SG are literally running away with the French Ligue 1. After 27 league games, Unai Emery’s side enjoy a seemingly unassailable 14 point lead over reigning French champions Monaco. On 31 March, Paris SG will take on Monaco in the French League Cup final. Only last Summer, Paris SG overcame the same team 2-1 to claim the French Super Cup.

Like last season, Bayern’s direct rivals, namely Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig have faltered too many a time to be considered genuine challengers for the German title. Thus, Bayern Munich’s current 19 point lead (after 24 games) over the 2013 Champions League beaten finalists Borussia Dortmund comes as no surprise.

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VOL 45 - ISSUE 3 - MARCH 2018

45

The Season So Far..

by Michael Gatt

Mourinho’s Focus should be on Cups once Premier league is Out of Bounds

M

ourinho’s traditional second season league success at all the past football clubs he has managed, will definitely not repeat itself this year. The Premier League is out of bounds and by the time of writing this article, Manchester City has the Premier League wrapped up. There are no two ways about it, the title is theirs (unfortunately).

Pep Guardiola’s table-toppers have taken 89 per cent of the points on offer to them this term and their lead over second-placed United resembles much more bigger than a ‘big gap’. Just a short word on City…it hurts being a United supporter and see our second biggest rivals (after Liverpool) play such wonderful football and literally beating Arsenal 3-0 last Sunday in the Carabao Cup final, without

46 VOL 45 - ISSUE 3 - MARCH 2018

literally getting out of second gear. Guardiola has managed to get this team as the best in Europe in his second season.

An important cup this year is the FA Cup. It is imperative for United to at least get into the final as City capitulated at the DW Stadium against a Wigan team 46 places below them in the English league league.

It was a reminder that Guardiola and City, for all the quality they’ve shown this season, are not invincible. Now talk of an improbable quadruple has stopped, it’s time to look at the far more likely prospect that come May the Blues will be celebrating a Premier League and Carabao Cup double.

Of course, such success would normally constitute a superb season - but Guardiola will doubtless struggle to see it that way if José

Mourinho one-ups him in the trophy stakes for a second successive campaign. United have been dour at times under the Portuguese and the bottom line is clearly have not shown the amount of progression that City have under Guardiola.

But, that being said, they’re still very much in the running to win two trophies of their own.

United put in a long due performance against Chelsea last weekend, or if critics would suggest, they only played well in the second half. It was a great performance in that second half, with all players showing personality and playing to the their abilities for once. We saw a powerful performance from Lukaku, and Pogba looked very much at home in the 4-23-1 formation. Mentioning Lukaku, he could finish the season with 30 goals, not bad for a lone center forward in a cautious system that can leave him isolated. Thirty goals would be

where standards should be high, and because Ibrahimovic’s 28-goal return reminded Old Trafford again of the joys of a prolific center forward. Ibrahimovic, a more charismatic presence, was more clinical than Lukaku is now, but again there has to be mitigation as the Belgian is still only 24 and United are less dynamic this year.

There is inevitable focus on the £75 million that Lukaku cost, increasing expectations when really he deserves to be judged more properly on his second season, especially if José Mourinho works more closely to his strengths. The delivery from Antonio Valencia in particular has been poor and crosses and cutbacks have always been something that Lukaku has enjoyed.

A favorable FA Cup quarter-final draw at home to Brighton puts the Reds in pole position to reach April’s Wembley semi-finals, while Sevilla, although in resurgent form, represent easier opposition than Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Juventus in the last 16 of the Champions League.

United are now the team to beat in the Cup following City’s unexpected exit and have strong pedigree in the competition, having won it for a 12th time in 2016. a completely acceptable return for a striker in his first season at a club.

Going back over the past decade, Manchester United’s season-by-season best goal returns have been 28 (Zlatan Ibrahimovic), 17 (Anthony Martial), 14 and 19 (Wayne Rooney), 30 (Robin van Persie), 34 (Rooney), 21 (Dimitar Berbatov), 34 (Rooney) and 26 (Cristiano Ronaldo).

So the rising wave of criticism of Lukaku should take into account his contribution of 21 goals (including Uefa Super Cup) and six assists in 39 games, with a minimum 13 games to play and the possibility of more in the FA Cup and Champions League. Thirty is achievable and very respectable.

The demands are high because this is United,

Only Arsenal, with 13 wins, has enjoyed more success. It would be a great achievement if we could match Arsenal’s success.

Meanwhile, on the continental front the Reds have lost just once in their last 17 fixtures - a sequence of games that includes May’s Europa League win over Ajax in Stockholm.

They haven’t tasted defeat in a European game

VOL 45 - ISSUE 3 - MARCH 2018

47

at Old Trafford since 2013 and in Mourinho, who was the man to mastermind that loss during his spell as Real Madrid boss, United have a manager whose CV boasts two Champions League successes, a Europa League triumph and a UEFA Cup win. Put simply, Mourinho knows how to get the job done in Europe and I am sure that we will overcome Sevilla in the Champions league last 16. I also agree with Mourinho, that it is at the quarterfinal stage, a team would be able to sniff some success at Europe. At the moment it is too early, but with a favorable quarterfinal draw, I am sure that anything is possible even if the likes of Barca, Real Madrid, PSG and Man City look to be on a different level from Man United.

Having a look at the previous games, United where very disappointing against Newcastle (away) and Spurs (also away), where we lost both games without playing half as well as we should. When a United team loses, there will always be some serious questions, which shall be asked, especially the defense.

Smalling was made the scapegoat after the Newcastle defeat, and Jones and Rojo have been mostly not available for selection. Bailly has just returned to the first team fold, and I hope he can have a clean run of games. Luke Shaw is also fit, and had some outstanding performances but Mourinho prefers Young to Shaw, and I think it this trend is likely to continue till the end of the season. But I see Shaw coming back strong to the team next year.

If United do manage to complete a Champions League and FA Cup double in May, Mourinho will be able to legitimately claim bragging rights over his old foe for a second successive summer even though City would have won the league by a comfortable margin.

48 VOL 45 - ISSUE 3 - MARCH 2018

NEWSPAPER POST NEWSPAPER

POST NEWSPAPER

POST

Volume 44- Issue 2, December 2016

Volume 44Issue 1, October 2016

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NEWSPAPER POST NEWSPAPER POST NEWSPAPER POST

Volume 45- Issue 1, October 2017 Volume 44- Issue 3, March 2017

4, Volume 44- Issue June 2017

“This is what I came for.

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, ss to Manchester some happine ld ory will bring e else, we wou “Maybe this vict ld obviously, me and everyon ious. lives, that’s obv wou that lost their I don’t know. I ple peo ud.” the pro hy for , I am really side ball change this trop foot the But if I focus on José Mourinho

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Andy Cole

Manchester United Supporters’ Club-Malta Founded 1959, is officially recognized by the Manchester United Football Club.

ta Supporters’ Club-Malthe d by Manchester United is officially recognize Club.

Founded 1959, Football Manchester United

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