Manchester United 2014-2015

[yinyang]

Preview of tomorrow morning's FA tie vs neighbouring Preston

FA CUP FIFTH ROUND
Venue: Deepdale Date: Monday, 16 February Kick-off: 19:45 GMT

Preston boss Simon Grayson will have to make at least two changes to his side for the visit of Manchester United, with goalkeeper Sam Johnstone and midfielder Daniel Johnson cup-tied.

Jermaine Beckford (ear infection), who scored when Leeds beat United in the FA Cup in 2010, will miss the match.
Manchester United will be without Michael Carrick (calf). Phil Jones and Daley Blind are also rated doubtful after coming off early in the win against Burnley.

MATCH PREVIEW

Grayson will fancy his chances of masterminding an FA Cup upset, given his previous experience of guiding a League One side to victory against Manchester United.
He was Leeds manager in 2010 when Beckford's solitary goal was enough to secure a 1-0 win at Old Trafford.
"Every time I go to Leeds, people remind me about it," said Grayson. "It's a different football club, different personnel, but I'll draw from the experience and what a great feeling it was to win at Old Trafford that day.
"You don't get the opportunity to do that very often. I want to try to replicate that if possible. You have to have that belief that you can do it."
Grayson won't be able to call upon Beckford this time, with the striker out for Preston, who he joined in November, because of an ear infection.

Manchester United
Simon Grayson was in charge of Leeds when they knocked Manchester United out of the FA Cup in 2010
However, he does have Joe Garner. The striker has scored 14 goals this season, and with Preston having won their previous three games, they are not short on confidence.

"You've got to go into a game like this and enjoy it," said Grayson. "Our players may never get the chance to play against the likes of Radamel Falcao, Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie again.

"The one thing you have to say to them before they go out is have no regrets.
"We know the task that's against us because of what they are and what they're capable of doing but we've got nothing to lose and they've got everything to lose. "There's always one shock, there's always a hero, and hopefully it's going to be a Preston North End player."

Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal expects "the world" will be against his side on Monday.
The Red Devils overcame Cambridge United in the fourth round, but were given a scare as they were held 0-0 at the League Two side, before winning 3-0 in the replay.
"I have already described that we have to play for the third time a lower team, and you know the world is against you, the environment is against you because everyone is with the underdog," he said.

"It is more difficult to accept but it's like that. However, the chance that you can survive is higher because you are playing against lower qualities.
"But you have to beat the team with better motivation in other circumstances and in the atmosphere where everyone is against you."

MATCH FACTS

This is the seventh time these sides have been drawn together in the FA Cup, with Manchester United progressing four times and Preston twice.

This is the first meeting in any competition since Manchester United won 2-0 at Deepdale in the FA Cup fourth round in February 1972.

Preston have won this competition twice - in 1889 and 1938 - and have been runners-up on a further five occasions.
Manchester United are the joint-most successful side in FA Cup history with 11 victories - but have won the competition only once this century, in 2004.

 

[ThosayMaureenNeo]

Yy,

If you guys don't win tonight I'll eat my soccer boots and yours as well.

 

[red amoeba]

Maybe a draw n return to O T

 

[yinyang]

Maybe a draw n return to O T

And no 2nd bite of cherry after. Preston was brylcreem boy's (aka Beckham) start up. Illustrious history of neighbourly team, with likes Dawson, Charlton too and Munich history

FA Cup: From Beckham's petrol money to the making of Moyes

By Gary Rose and Paul Fletcher
BBC Sport
FA Cup fifth round on the BBC
Venue: Deepdale Date: 16 February Kick-off: 19:45 GMT

Just 34 miles separate Manchester United and Preston but for the first time in 43 years the two will meet at Deepdale in a competitive fixture on Monday.

The FA Cup fifth-round tie brings together two sides who may not have shared the same pitch for a while, but elements of their respective histories are intertwined.

From David Beckham's Preston loan, David Moyes cutting his managerial teeth and an FA Cup hat-trick hero's near miss in the Munich air disaster, BBC Sport takes a look at some of the stories linking the two clubs.
From a near miss to FA Cup history maker

Manchester United
Alex Dawson, second from left on front row, was part of the Manchester United team tasked with rebuilding after the Munich air disaster



Alex Dawson played in FA Cup finals for both Manchester United and Preston, but only after fate prevented him from being involved in the 1958 Munich air disaster.

The Scotland-born forward began his career at the Red Devils and was one of a number of impressive youngsters starting to make an impression in the first team.

To gain experience, he had been involved in United's 1957-58 European campaign, travelling with the squad for away games, and had fully expected to be making the trip to Belgrade for the game against Red Star Belgrade.
"I'd got my passport and visa sorted," Dawson told BBC Sport. "United had just played Arsenal and we were waiting for a call from London, but the coach, Bert Whalley, came in and told us Matt Busby was leaving us behind. He needed cover at full-back because of a last-minute injury, so I missed out."

A few days later, the Manchester United team that travelled was involved in a crash that was to claim the lives of eight players.
When Dawson heard about it he had to phone his mum, who thought he had travelled for the game, to let her know he was OK before he and the rest of those players left behind had to start thinking about rebuilding.

Just 13 days after the crash, United were in FA Cup action, a fifth-round tie against Sheffield Wednesday.
The possibility of resigning from the competition had been considered, but Dawson and his team-mates were determined to continue.

"It was hard, just to think we would need to take some of those players' places," continues Dawson.
"Jimmy Murphy, who took charge of the team, was allowed to sign a couple of players, but we had a great reserve and youth team, so we all just said: 'this is it, we'll give the lot'.

FA Cup
Manchester United were beaten by Bolton in the 1958 FA Cup final
For that game against Sheffield Wednesday, 60,000 spectators packed out Old Trafford, a further 60,000 gathered outside.
"The entire country was behind Manchester United," recalled Dawson.

United won that game 3-0 and support from throughout England only became stronger as they progressed all the way to the final, where they were beaten by Bolton.

"I felt sorry for Bolton to be honest, they were the most hated team in British football then for beating us," Dawson added.
However, it was for his exploits in the semi-final win against Fulham that Dawson secured his place in history, the then 18-year-old scoring three goals. To this day, he remains the only player to score an FA Cup semi-final hat-trick.

"The goalkeeper had a good game, although he let a few slip through his legs," Dawson said.
"Jimmy Hill, who played for Fulham that day, said to me: 'you did me out of a cup final'. I just turned around and said: 'Jim you weren't good enough'. It shocked him."
Dawson left United in 1961 to join Preston and went on to become a legendary figure at the club, earning the nickname The Black Prince.

Alex Dawson Preston and Manchester United
Alex Dawson scored in the 1964 FA Cup final for Preston, but could not prevent them from losing 3-2 to West Ham
At the age of just 24 he was to play in his second FA Cup final in 1964, and although he scored he could not prevent Preston losing 3-2 to a West Ham side that included future World Cup winners Geoff Hurst and Bobby Moore.

"We had a good side when we reached the FA Cup final, a very good side," said Dawson. "Leeds were the big team then and we were in the Second Division, but Bobby Collins, who played for them at the time, told me their players were not worried about any other team but Preston.
"The current teams reminds me of that one, actually. Can they go all the way? Why not."
Bend it like Beckham - the first sightings

David Beckham


A 19-year-old David Beckham went on loan to Preston in 1994 before establishing himself in the Manchester United side
David Beckham spent just one month on loan at Preston after arriving from Manchester United at the end of February 1995 but the scrawny and quiet 19-year-old made a big impression.

"Frail but confident," was how team-mate David Moyes described him.
He came off the bench to score direct from a corner against Doncaster on his debut and struck a peach of a free-kick in a 3-2 win over Fulham on his first start - the core skills that underpinned his career were clearly already in evidence.
The record deals

Striker Jon Macken joined Preston from Manchester United in 1997 along with Michael Appleton and Colin Murdock for a combined fee of more than £1m. In 2002 he joined Manchester City for what was then a club record £5m.

In 2001, Preston paid what remains a club-record fee of £1.5m for David Healy. Northern Ireland's all-time record scorer scored 44 goals in 137 games before he was eventually sold to Leeds. He returned with Leeds eight days later - and promptly went into the wrong dressing room.

Beckham, with North End paying a portion of his wage and, apparently, stumping up the young midfielder's petrol money, played five games in total before Sir Alex Ferguson decided that a boy had become a man and recalled him to Old Trafford.

PNE missed out on promotion that year - a familiar story of play-off defeat - but the following season Beckham was in the stands at Leyton Orient, sat next to his father Ted, to see his old team-mates celebrate the 2-0 win that ensured they would be going up.
By that time Beckham had become a first-team regular at United and was a month away from winning the FA Cup, defeating Liverpool 1-0 in a stinker of a final, but he never forgot where it all started for him.

In 1972 the computer game Pong was released, cinema goers were enjoying The Godfather for the first time and Donny Osmond's Puppy Love was riding high in the music charts.

It was also the last time Manchester United made the trip to Deepdale.
Just as it has done this year, the visit of the Red Devils captured the imagination of Preston fans back then, with over 27,000 - 12,000 more than their average crowd for that season - packing out the ground.

Manchester United
Alan Gowling, back row centre, played in the same Manchester United side as George Best, front row left
Preston, then of the Second Division, certainly gave a United side featuring George Best, Bobby Charlton and Denis Law a run for their money, with the visitors needing two late goals from Alan Gowling to avoid an FA Cup fourth-round upset.

"It was a difficult match," Gowling, who finished his career at Preston, told BBC Sport.
"You go to clubs like Preston and you know it is going to be a battle. The crowd wanted an upset, particularly with a big side like Manchester United in town, and it made for a really great atmosphere at the ground.

"You hope your skills win out and, fortunately, that day they did."
United legends cutting their managerial teeth

Watching that game was a 15-year-old Mark Lawrenson. The BBC pundit and former Liverpool defender started his professional career at Preston.

His manager then was Charlton, who was in the Manchester United side in that 1972 game.
"I loved watching Bobby Charlton play that night, and a couple of years later when I signed for North End as a teenager he was the first manager I ever had," recalls Lawrenson.

"Bobby did not really enjoy being a manager, but he absolutely loved training with us kids and it was just fantastic for me as a 16 or 17-year-old to be coached by one of the best players ever.
"His ability was frightening and his balance and strength too. In the shooting drills he used to do at the club's old training ground at Willow Farm everybody would just stand there watching him bang them in. He would be hitting the ball with both feet and we would be saying 'my goodness, how good is this fellow?'

"Another United legend Nobby Stiles was Charlton's assistant and he was instrumental in my career.
Bobby Charlton and Nobby Stiles
Nobby Stiles (left) and Bobby Charlton (right) pictured here with former Manchester United team-mate George Best, were the management team at Preston for two years from 1973


"Everything about Nobby was fantastic - his mannerisms and his modesty. He was fantastic with all the players he worked with and he really looked after us all.

"I lived in Blackpool at the time even though I was playing for Preston and I used to have to get a bus every afternoon after training into Preston railway station to get the train to Blackpool.

"Nobby lived in Manchester but would go 20 or 25 minutes out of his way to take me to the station to let me get the train back. He didn't have to do that.
"He was a massive influence on me - he turned me from a winger into a defender at half-time of a game against Aston Villa reserves. He said 'You know what, I want you to play there', and that was me sorted."

The making of Moyes

David Moyes
David Moyes, who became Preston boss in 1998, had been taking notes on the managers he had played under since he was 22
Underwhelming would perhaps be the best word to describe the appointment of player-coach Moyes, 34, as successor to Gary Peters in January 1998.
Many saw it as another appointment that lacked imagination or ambition; the cheap option by a club that had done nothing but rattle around the bottom two divisions for years.
But then again, the majority of fans who had watched the committed Scot battle manfully in the centre of their defence for the last five years had little idea that he had been preparing for an opportunity like this since he was 22.
"Long before I took him on as my assistant he had been taking notes, after every single session," explained Peters.
Another Manchester United manager link
Darren Ferguson, the son of Sir Alex Ferguson, managed Preston for a brief spell in 2010. He arrived in January and was sacked in December that year, with Preston bottom of the Championship.
After his departure, Manchester United recalled their three players on loan at Deepdale - Joshua King, Ritchie De Laet, and Matty James - while Tony Pulis also recalled two on-loan Stoke players. Preston, already struggling, could not cope with the departure of five key players, and were relegated that season.

Sir Alex Ferguson will be back at Deepdale for the first time since his son's departure on Monday.
If Moyes could look unsure and clumsy in possession, it soon become evident that on the touchline he was feisty, in control and hugely talented.

Team-mate Kevin Kilbane enjoyed working with him, saying: "He always listened and always focused on the little details that made you a better player."

Despite losing four and drawing three of his first seven league games in charge, he kept North End up that season. His team then won the third-tier title the season after and reached the Championship play-off final in 2001.
Nobody was hugely surprised when a Premier League team took a punt on the brightest young manager in the Football League and he left for Everton in 2002 with PNE eighth in the table, before moving to Manchester United when Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.

But while Moyes moved on from Deepdale he remained a resident of Preston throughout his time as boss of Everton and United, only leaving his adopted city when he was appointed boss of Spanish side Real Sociedad late last year.

 

[yinyang]

If you guys don't win tonight I'll eat my soccer boots and yours as well.

Put your ass on the line. And what if you are TC, vegan ---how? :p

0-3? :p

 

[ThosayMaureenNeo]

Put your ass on the line. And what if you are TC, vegan ---how? :p

0-3? :p

Bet you some beers. MU to win by at least 2 goals.

 

[ThosayMaureenNeo]

Put your ass on the line. And what if you are TC, vegan ---how? :p

0-3? :p

Meat eaters eat boots....vegans eat socks.

 

[Wenger]

Man Yoo have been spending on transfers with a blank cheque and what kind of results have they produced? Draws and scrappy wins. AFC and other premier league clubs don't have deep pockets u know

Man Utd set for €200m spending spree
Louis van Gaal has reportedly been told he will have a stupendous amount of money to splash on Mats Hummels, Paulo Dybala, Memphis Depay, Kevin Strootman and Nathaniel Clyne

 

[yinyang]

Playing to gallery?

Louis van Gaal close to picking his ideal Man Utd team

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/31555984

Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal says he is close to being able to pick his preferred side for the first time this season.

Michael Carrick is the only absentee for United's trip to Swansea on Saturday.
Van Gaal said: "In the first four months I have only been able to select the fit players and, as you know, we have always had 10 or 11 injuries.

"Now, in the last few months we have only one or two players injured, so that is a big difference."
Van Gaal was appointed in May and took over following the World Cup campaign as Netherlands boss last summer.
United lost 2-1 at home to Swansea on the opening day of the season and won only one of their first five Premier League games.

But they have been beaten only once since early November to climb to third place in the table and the Dutchman expects mid-table Swansea to face a different test at the Liberty Stadium.

Changing faces - the Man Utd team beaten by Swansea on the opening day of the season:

De Gea, Blackett, Smalling, Jones, Lingard (Januzaj), Fletcher, Young, Herrera (Fellaini), Rooney, Hernandez (Nani), Mata. Subs: Kagawa, Keane, James, Amos

Changing faces - the Man Utd squad to face Swansea in the return at the Liberty Stadium:
De Gea, Valdes, Shaw, Blackett, Rojo, Smalling, Evans, Jones, McNair, Rafael, Pereira, Young, Blind, Fellaini, Herrera, Valencia, Januzaj, Di Maria, Mata, Falcao, Rooney, Van Persie, Wilson.

Van Gaal added: "We shouldn't forget a lot of my players in the first match were not there. Marcos Rojo wasn't there, Daley Blind was not there, Angel Di Maria was not there, Luke Shaw was not playing.
"A lot of players didn't play so when I see the line-up against Swansea there are a lot of differences - it's another match."
Here is the best of Van Gaal's news conference:
Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick
Michael Carrick has missed Manchester United's last five games with a calf injury
On losing to Swansea in his first game

"We came from the United States where we had won everything, so that was a big shock at that moment.
"After that we lost a lot of points even though we were the better team, because we couldn't score enough at that time.
"So, I think that match has a big influence on the first matches we had. Now I believe that every player knows the philosophy of me and my staff.
"Everyone wants to follow that philosophy and you can see that in the team spirit of the team which is unbelievable.
"When you see the score of the last 19 or 20 matches we are the best team in the league."

On losing to Swansea in his first game

"We came from the United States where we had won everything, so that was a big shock at that moment.
"After that we lost a lot of points even though we were the better team, because we couldn't score enough at that time.
"So, I think that match has a big influence on the first matches we had. Now I believe that every player knows the philosophy of me and my staff.
"Everyone wants to follow that philosophy and you can see that in the team spirit of the team which is unbelievable.
"When you see the score of the last 19 or 20 matches we are the best team in the league."

On how United are performing

"I am never 100% happy with the team form, a perfect match you can never play.
"We can play better than we show now, but the main thing is to win your match, not to lose.
"The most important thing is the spirit of the team and we have shown this year a lot of times team spirit and that is very attractive for the fans, but also for the coach, because then you can see a player wants to follow you."

 

[yinyang]

No surprise to rumour mill, perhaps his agent has a big part here too

Real Madrid weigh up bid for Radamel Falcao with Manchester United unlikely to make striker's transfer permanent

Radamel Falcao has struggled for form at Manchester United this season
The Old Trafford club are unlikely to choose to make his loan permanent
Real Madrid are considering a move for the Colombian striker
By ROB DRAPER FOR THE MAIL ON SUNDAY
PUBLISHED: 23:19 GMT, 21 February 2015 | UPDATED: 13:28 GMT, 22 February 2015

Real Madrid are considering whether to bid for Radamel Falcao at the end of the season with the Colombian striker unlikely to stay at Manchester United after his disappointing loan spell at the club.

But Monaco, Falcao's owners, say that they have no concerns regarding Falcao’s future as there are plenty of major teams who have contacted them to take the 29-year-old striker.

Falcao has scored just four goals and had just 14 starts for United since joining in loan on transfer deadline day – and United are not expected to take up their £43m option. Radamel Falcao was left on the bench against Swansea and not even called upon as a substitute

But Monaco vice president Vadim Vasilyev said: ‘It’s up to Manchester United to take a decision but I’m not worried for him because we have interest from other big clubs.

'Sometimes it’s just little thing that matter in football. When the technical quality is there, the mentality is there, sometimes it’s just the confidence of the coach or just little details. We tend to overreact if somebody doesn’t do well for a few years.

‘Had he stayed here – I know he wanted a bigger challenger and Man United is a great club – one of our problems is efficiency in front of goal. If he was here we would not be fourth, we would be first or second.’

Louis van Gaal is unlikely to make the forward's deal permanent and Real Madrid are potentially interested

Falcao couldn't score against Preston in the FA Cup and only has four goals to his name in the red of United

Falcao will be available if United do not take up their option. His agent is Jorge Mendes, who has a good relationship with Real Madrid and the Spanish giants considered buying Falcao last summer.

The forward was named on the bench for United's 2-1 defeat at Swansea on Saturday but was not called upon by manager Louis van Gaal. It could be farewell for Falcao at the end of the season as he leaves Old Trafford disappointed with his spell

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...riker-s-transfer-permanent.html#ixzz3SYbzpPVz

 

[yinyang]

Fixtures over next fortnight :p 2 home games to Gunners and Spurs may be defining

 

[yinyang]

David de Gea closes in on new long-term Manchester United deal as Carlo Ancelotti cools his interest in Spanish keeper
> Real Madrid have been monitoring David de Gea's progress
> De Gea has less than 18 months left on his Old Trafford contract
> United have made clear their intention to sign him to an improved contract
> Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has informed intermediaries he is happy with Iker Casillas and Keylor Navas

The news comes as a huge boost to United's hopes of extending the 24-year-old's contract
Manchester United legend Peter Schmeichel calls on club to tie up De Gea on a long-term deal

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...lotti-cools-Spanish-keeper.html#ixzz3SiLYybDH

David de Gea is closing in on a new long-term Manchester United contract after Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti made clear he is happy with his goalkeeping options.

Real have been closely monitoring De Gea's progress at Old Trafford, his outstanding displays for Louis van Gaal's side alerting the Spanish giants. United have made clear their intention to sign the keeper to an improved contract, but Madrid's interest had created a potentially alarming stumbling block towards fresh terms.

However, Ancelotti has informed intermediaries he is happy with Iker Casillas and Keylor Navas and that a move for De Gea is now not a priority for Real. The news comes as a huge boost to United's hopes of extending the 24-year-old's contract, which currently expires at the end of next season.

Manchester United legend Peter Schmeichel says a new contract for De Gea would send an important message as the Old Trafford club look to get back to the top.

Schmeichel, who won five Premier League titles, three FA Cups and one Champions League title with United, says the club must tie the stopper down to show their rivals at home and abroad that they mean business after a difficult 18 months following Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement.

'It's very important the club's best players sign new contracts to send a signal,' Schmeichel told Sky Sports.
'It shows that they believe in the Manchester United project and believe the club will go back not only to the top of the Premier League but also European football.'

 

[@rmadill0]

David de Gea closes in on new long-term Manchester United deal as Carlo Ancelotti cools his interest in Spanish keeper
> Real Madrid have been monitoring David de Gea's progress
> De Gea has less than 18 months left on his Old Trafford contract
> United have made clear their intention to sign him to an improved contract
> Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has informed intermediaries he is happy with Iker Casillas and Keylor Navas

The news comes as a huge boost to United's hopes of extending the 24-year-old's contract
Manchester United legend Peter Schmeichel calls on club to tie up De Gea on a long-term deal

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...lotti-cools-Spanish-keeper.html#ixzz3SiLYybDH

David de Gea is closing in on a new long-term Manchester United contract after Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti made clear he is happy with his goalkeeping options.

Real have been closely monitoring De Gea's progress at Old Trafford, his outstanding displays for Louis van Gaal's side alerting the Spanish giants. United have made clear their intention to sign the keeper to an improved contract, but Madrid's interest had created a potentially alarming stumbling block towards fresh terms.

However, Ancelotti has informed intermediaries he is happy with Iker Casillas and Keylor Navas and that a move for De Gea is now not a priority for Real. The news comes as a huge boost to United's hopes of extending the 24-year-old's contract, which currently expires at the end of next season.

Manchester United legend Peter Schmeichel says a new contract for De Gea would send an important message as the Old Trafford club look to get back to the top.

Schmeichel, who won five Premier League titles, three FA Cups and one Champions League title with United, says the club must tie the stopper down to show their rivals at home and abroad that they mean business after a difficult 18 months following Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement.

'It's very important the club's best players sign new contracts to send a signal,' Schmeichel told Sky Sports.
'It shows that they believe in the Manchester United project and believe the club will go back not only to the top of the Premier League but also European football.'

I don't believe Ancelotti is not interested in De Gea. Casillas is aging and Navas is good enough only as No.2. There is only one natural replacement for Casillas in RM and also the Spanish National Team and that is De Gea. It is not about whether De Gea will leave for Madrid, it is about when he will do so. So let's not kid ourselves that if he signs extension, he is staying.

 

[@rmadill0]

Playing to gallery?

Louis van Gaal close to picking his ideal Man Utd team

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/31555984

Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal says he is close to being able to pick his preferred side for the first time this season.

Michael Carrick is the only absentee for United's trip to Swansea on Saturday.
Van Gaal said: "In the first four months I have only been able to select the fit players and, as you know, we have always had 10 or 11 injuries.

"Now, in the last few months we have only one or two players injured, so that is a big difference."
Van Gaal was appointed in May and took over following the World Cup campaign as Netherlands boss last summer.
United lost 2-1 at home to Swansea on the opening day of the season and won only one of their first five Premier League games.

But they have been beaten only once since early November to climb to third place in the table and the Dutchman expects mid-table Swansea to face a different test at the Liberty Stadium.

Err, same outcome leh.

I think LvG is running out of excuses now. It is not just about injuries. It is about how he is setting up his team to play. We will need all the luck to stay in top 4.

 

[yinyang]

LvG is running out of excuses now....not just about injuries....about how he is setting up his team to play. ..need all the luck to stay in top 4.

 

[@rmadill0]

Well, we reach the top of the WAGE TABLE!!!

 

[yinyang]

Manchester United transfer news: Rafael da Silva facing exit as Louis van Gaal plans clearout
Louis van Gaal has spoken with Manchester United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward to discuss contract renewals and sales of players

MU will listen to offers for Rafael da Silva at the end of the season, with Louis van Gaal holding talks with senior figures this week over the Old Trafford futures of a further 10 players.

Van Gaal, the United manager, has spoken with executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward to discuss contract renewals and sales of players, including Rafael, David de Gea, Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao.
And with Rafael entering the final 12 months of his contract this summer and United maintaining a strong interest in Southampton defender Nathaniel Clyne, Van Gaal is ready to sell the 24-year-old, who has not played since the FA Cup third-round win at Yeovil.
Rafael’s prospects have diminished with Van Gaal claiming that Paddy McNair could be “the United right-back for the next 10 years” after handing the 19-year-old a new contract earlier this month.
Decisions have yet to be made on a number of other first-team players whose contracts expire either this summer or next, however.

Michael Carrick, who will be 34 by the start of next season, is expected to be handed a one-year contract before his deal runs out in June, with Ashley Young also expected to earn a new deal to replace the final year of his contract.

Falcao is struggling to convince that he merits a permanent move when his loan from Monaco expires in May, while Tom Cleverley, whose contract is up in June, has been told he can leave at the end of his season-long loan at Aston Villa.

Jonny Evans, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling are also entering the final year of their contract, with Evans understood to be most at risk of being sold this summer.

Goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard is likely to be sold, while the club will also look to sell Javier Hernandez if Real Madrid decide against making his loan deal permanent at the end of the season.

Defender Tyler Blackett has been rewarded for breaking into the first team this season with a new contract tying him to United until June 2017.

 

[yinyang]

March's fixtures. Next mon's home to Gunners will be for FA tie. The BIG one with Pool on 22/3, early game some more

WED 4 MAR 2015 - PREMIER LEAGUE
Newcastle v Man Utd 19:45

MON 9 MAR 2015 - FA CUP
Man Utd v Arsenal 19:45

SUN 15 MAR 2015 - PREMIER LEAGUE
Man Utd v Tottenham 16:00

SUN 22 MAR 2015 - PREMIER LEAGUE
Liverpool v Man Utd 13:30

 

[@rmadill0]

March's fixtures. Next mon's home to Gunners will be for FA tie. The BIG one with Pool on 22/3, early game some more

SUN 22 MAR 2015 - PREMIER LEAGUE
Liverpool v Man Utd 13:30

This is the 4th place decider.

 

[yinyang]

.. 4th place decider.

Better reinforce prior to Pool away. By beating Geordies tomorrow night (BST) and home to Spurs 15/3. :p