The Hottest Football Blog

UNITED HAVE NO EXCUSE TO FAIL AT EUROPA

Injuries, bad luck, wrong calls, fixture glut, Manchester United’s manager, Jose Mourinho has had no shortage of excuses to give for his side’s short-on-standard achievements so far this season.

Don’t get me wrong, a reasonable number of those claims are valid; like how Marcos Rojo got knocked the moment he formed a promising partnership with Eric Bailly. And then we have the scenario where it seems the universe has sworn to frustrate the living daylight out of United. How else do you explain the fact that Paul Pogba has hit the wood work more times he’s found the back of the net?

Let’s not even get into the task of analyzing just how many times the Red Devils have had to settle for a draw despite outplaying their opponents. They’ve had 14 so far this season, making a mockery of their 25-game unbeaten run set in yet another draw against Swansea.

These and many other self induced misfortunes are the reasons why the Red Devils are gunning for a 4th place finish – something Wenger might be proud of but certainly not the Glazers family – despite spending a €150 million summer war chest in addition to landing the Harvey Specter of club football – Mourinho – to oversee everything. (more…)

By index, ago

Chris Smalling Taking the Criticisms from Jose Mourinho Positively

Chris Smalling has denied suggestions that he has fallen out of favour with Jose Mourinho.

There have been rumours that the duo are going through a rift, and it has been one of the primary reasons behind Jose Mourinho’s frequent criticism in public. The Manchester United manager has frequently criticised the commitment of players like Chris Smalling and Luke Shaw. Yet, the defender has taken those criticisms in a positive way. Smalling is currently on the sidelines with a new injury. His 2016-17 campaign has been blighted by injuries, and he has been able to make only 12 Premier league starts.

In the absence of a regular back four, Manchester United have struggled in most of the games. They have done 14 out of the 36 league matches. As a result, they are set to finish outside the top four in terms of league positions. (more…)

By index, ago

Jose Mourinho Once Again Demands Players to Play through Pain Barrier

Jose Mourinho is likely to be without Chris Smalling and Phil Jones for a crucial Manchester derby on Thursday night.

It is understood that Smalling has a knee issue while Jones is likely to miss out due to a foot injury. However, the manager says that both these issues are rather minor and that the players should learn to play through the pain barrier in order to succeed. This is not the first time Mourinho has criticised one of his players at United. Earlier in the campaign, he lambasted Smalling and Luke Shaw for showing a lack of commitment. Back then, Smalling had suffered a similar injury and was out for more than a month.

The pressure on Mourinho is intense at the moment even after an unbeaten league run since October. Since the 4-0 loss against Chelsea, Manchester United have not suffered a defeat in the league. Yet, they have not been able to occupy the top four for long periods of the campaign. (more…)

By index, ago

MAN UNITED SIGN GOALKEEPER

Manchester United have signed a goalkeeper Theo Richardson.

The keeper made the revelation on his personal Twitter after the deal was completed. The 18-year old was a former Leeds Under-18 star. He was the main man for the youth team but he was not offered a pro deal by the club.

“Good luck to #lufc second year scholar goalkeeper Theo Robinson who has been told he won’t be getting a pro contract and is free to leave,” Lufcyouth academy posted early last month.

Man United decided to seize the opportunity to offer the youngster a deal. He was undergoing trial at Old Trafford whilst on his second year of a two-year Elland Road scholarship.

Richardson has since changed his allegiance from Leeds to United on his public profiles. He was named in the 2-2 draw against Manchester City in the Premier League Under-18. He also featured in another match for the famous United youth team: he played the full game against Chelsea at Cobham though United lost 4-3. (more…)

By index, ago

United Felt Déjà Vu after the Draw with Bournemouth, says Juan Mata

Juan Mata has admitted that Manchester United had a sense of déjà vu after being held to a 1-1 draw with Bournemouth during the weekend.

It was yet another disappointing result for a team, which has had several 1-1 draws already this season. Instead, stalemates have been the biggest problem for United in their attempts to get into the top four of the Premier League. Despite being unbeaten in the league since 4-0 loss against Chelsea back in October, United have been on a poor run of form of late. They have been unable to capitalise on rivals like Liverpool and Manchester City dropping points.

United have managed only two wins in the last five league matches. Two of those games have finished as 1-1 draws. Against Bournemouth, United had almost 70% possession while they also had 20 shots on target. In contrast, Bournemouth managed only three shots on goal and were unable to break down United after being reduced to 10 men. (more…)

By index, ago

NAVAS CONFIDENT OF REAL MADRID FUTURE

Real Madrid first choice goalkeeper Keylor Navas has responded to rumours that Real Madrid could sign Manchester United keeper and long term target David De Gea this summer when their transfer ban is lifted.

The La Liga giants tried luring the Spaniard but failed to complete the deal due to clerical error in a last minute scramble. There are strong links that Coach Zinedine Zidane fancies the player as well so he could sanction the move.

Navas says he is not concerned with the speculations at Santiago Bernebeu when the club can resume signing players. (more…)

By index, ago

LIVERPOOL MUCH MORE DEFENSIVE – MOURINHO

Manchester United’s lavishness in concerting clear cut chances into great goals this season is a matter of concern to the manager, Jose Mourinho.

The Red Devil’s nine-game winning streak came to an end with Zlatan Ibrahimović’s late header that rescued the team from losing the match to Liverpool.

The $90 million Manchester United sign in, Paul Pogba missed a wonderful opportunity to put his side in the lead at the first half against Klopp’s side last Sunday. The France international dragged his shot too wide in an unpredictable opening 45 minutes bring the world’s most expensive player.

Pogba’s miss added to reducing the number of great opportunities converted by the club this term in the English Premier League to about 32.43 per cent, with united scoring just 12 to 37 opportunities they would reasonably have been expected to convert.

It was a strangely erratic display from the home team and Pogba chose a wrong day to have one of his least eminent performances, most notable for the first half incident. (more…)

By index, ago

Mourinho’s United To Mount Title Challenge

When Manchester United announced that Louis van Gaal had been relieved of his duties at the end of last season, there was only ever going to be one real candidate to take the hot seat at the Theatre of Dreams.

Jose Mourinho has had a certain affinity with United and their supporters since leading Porto a shock victory in the Champions League back in 2004; when the Portuguese’s side knocked Sir Alex Ferguson’s well-fancied Red Devils out of the competition. Even then, Mourinho always seemed destined to take over at United in the future… (more…)

By admin, ago

Rooney Tops Pile of Manchester United Goalscoring Legends

Manchester United has a long history when it comes to late goals, winning dramatic derbies and even a Champions League with breakthroughs right at the death in injury time. However, it is hard to remember any moment in the past when a late equaliser at Stoke City led to as much widespread praise and acclaim as it did on January 21st.

At any other point in Wayne Rooney’s career, his late free kick at the Britannia Stadium would have been seen as an important effort which rescued a valuable point in the club’s continued search for a place in the Premier League’s top four. But this most golden of goals actually took his total tally for United to an astonishing 250, surpassing Bobby Charlton’s record to make Rooney the club’s all-time leading goalscorer. (more…)

By admin, ago

José Mourinho Not Surprised with Zlatan Ibrahimovic Impact at Manchester United

José Mourinho has revealed that he is not surprised with the impact striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has had on the team.

Ibrahimovic moved to the club on a free transfer from Paris St Germain in the summer. Many were sceptical about the impact a 35-year-old player could have playing in the Premier League for the first time in his career. Since it is a newly, it would take time for a player to adapt irrespective of how good he is, but this argument has not been true in the case of Ibrahimovic. After scoring his 10th goal in the last nine games, Ibrahimovic has managed to become one of the top scorers in the league.

He is only two behind top scorer Diego Costa. Mourinho says that Ibrahimovic came to the club not to just pick up a lot of wages and stuff here and there. As a manager who has previously worked with the Swede, Mourinho says that Ibrahimovic is one of the immensely hungry players out there and he always likes to get his 110% to the teams he represents. (more…)

By index, ago