Number 11 Sheriff Tiraspol

editorial

Ten Hag’s transformation has breathed new life into tired stars

The cancellation of Sunday’s Premier League match against Crystal Palace could be a blessing in disguise for United, as it will give Erik ten Hag a chance to reflect on the backward step his side experienced in the 1-0 home loss to Real Sociedad last Thursday.

There are plenty of reasons why the momentum of four wins on the bounce couldn’t be continued; primarily the sad occasion of the death of Queen Elizabeth II, but also the fact that it was the third match in 8 days, the need to rest players and of course the outrageous penalty award that was ultimately what cost the Reds the game.

Yet for all that, it felt like we were watching last season’s United in terms of the slow, laboured build-up, the lack of aggression, the lack of creativity and the inability to carve out openings. It’s easy to blame the above for that, or indeed to blame the restoration to the side of the likes of Harry Haguire and Cristiano Ronaldo, but there is more to it than that. These are all things that had been transformed recently and that transformation has been mirrored in the improving form of some of United’s key players, who were a shadow of their former selves last season. Perhaps it was the absence of those stars, rather than the presence of others, that was the reason for the change.

Bruno Fernandes, who turned 28 years of age this week, is thriving under the new manager and is one of those players whose return to form will be crucial to this season’s success. It is almost inarguable that it was his signing that turned the side’s fortunes around in the 2019/20 season and, on reflection, perhaps saved Ole Gunnar Solskjaer from losing his job sooner than he eventually did. In our main feature article, Seth Dooley draws parallels between Bruno and another talisman who joined the club half way through a season and transformed their fortunes, Eric Cantona, and asks whether the Portuguese could emulate the Frenchman’s legacy at the club.

Our other feature is on Marcus Rashford, who has surprised many with his performances as a makeshift centre forward during Anthony Martial’s absence. Darragh Fox reports that Rashford asked the manager for the chance to play up top and the results speak for themselves.

What is particularly exciting about both Bruno’s and Marcus’ resurgence is that in both cases, you know there is even more to come. That is probably true of a lot of players, with Jadon Sancho, Antony and Casemiro, for example, all looking like they are finding fourth gear at last and poised to hit overdrive. Others, such as Diogo Dalot, Scott McTominay and Christian Eriksen, are possibly already in the form of their life.

Let’s hope that the winning form is “business as normal” for Ten Hag’s United now and that the trip to Moldova will signal a return to winning ways. One advantage United will have is the neutral venue, the reason for which is explained in our Match Centre, which also contains all you need to know about this new opponent. By “all you need to know”, it’s probably more honest to say, “all that we could find”. 😇

Latest united news

The top news stories about United this week, handpicked for you. Clicking on any headline will open the full story from The Peoples Person in a new window. See the dedicated transfers page for more transfer news.

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Bruno Fernandes: Cantona 2.0?

United’s Portuguese Magnifico turned 28 this week and is still building his United legacy

Registering more Premier League assists than any other player, including De Bruyne and Salah, since he joined Manchester United, Bruno Fernandes turned 28 years old this week in what is his fourth season playing for the club.

Often erratic but consistently compelling, Fernandes plays his game in the grey area between wasteful and artful.

Yes: some fans become frustrated by his emotional – and sometimes nonsensical ̶ style of play. A perfect example of this would be against Leicester City. Under the cosh in the second half and holding on to a narrow 1-0 score line, Fernandes decided to try to lob Danny Ward from 50 yards out rather than to be sensible; keep the ball; manage the game; or build an attack.

But his qualities and results are undeniable.

Noted for his immediate impact upon signing for United in January 2019 after Ole Gunnar Solskjær personally scouted the midfielder in Lisbon, Fernandes’ statistics were incomparable.

15 direct goal involvements in 14 Premier League games are undoubtedly impressive – but it was also his impact on other players. Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford were two of the best attackers in the League following his arrival.

This ability to not only influence games with crucial goals and assists but also influence teammates to an incredibly fruitful degree caused many to compare Fernandes’ arrival to that of Eric Cantona’s.

In his next season at United, Fernandes scored 18 League goals – coincidentally the same tally which Cantona netted in his second season at Old Trafford.

His proficiency in altering and influencing games from an attacking midfield/second striker position also fits the Cantona profile.

Last season, however, showed the Portuguese’s fallibilities. Instead of inspiring his team during a difficult period and urging positive performances, Fernandes often acted petulant and overly reactive. Whilst many were calling for him to be awarded the captain’s armband and replace Harry Maguire as the designated leader, Fernandes reacted by displaying reasons why he should not.

Increasingly complaining to referees, Fernandes’ form dipped coinciding with the team’s overall disastrous performances under Ralf Rangnick. United’s “magnifico” was virtually incapable of clutching games by the scruff of the neck and altering the declining results (in a Cantona-like manner, you could say). And even so, he still managed to contribute 14 assists across all competitions. It is the high expectations and overall performances which damaged his reputation.

What is interesting, nonetheless, is Cantona’s lack of on-field presence in his third season following the infamous kung-fu kick at a fan (who was shouting hateful and distasteful insults about the Frenchman’s family). United were unable to pip Arsenal to the title at the end of that season.

After his return from suspension, Cantona guided United to the 1995/96 Premier League title – at the same age which Fernandes has turned today.

Of course, that is not to suggest that United will go on to win the title this year. It is simply an example of one former maverick’s ability to rejuvenate himself and his team and recapture world-class form and leadership. Indeed, at 28 years old Cantona had already led United to two league titles.

With Erik ten Hag revealing that he has already been consulting Sir Alex Ferguson, it may be of interest for the Dutchman to ask a fellow disciplinarian manager for advice on dealing with an unpredictable but potentially pivotal character and talisman.

Seth Dooley

Meet the opposition: Sheriff Tiraspol

The Moldovan minnows have plenty of European experience under their belts

Meet the opposition: Sheriff Tiraspol

The Moldovan minnows have plenty of European experience under their belts

Squad page - opponents' official site (opens in new tab)

Head-to-head record: United have not played Sheriff Tiraspol before

match preview

All the latest information about the upcoming game.

Team News and Predicted XI

Having rested a number of players for the Real Sociedad match and then seen Sunday’s Premier League match with Crystal Palace cancelled, Erik ten Hag is expected to return to a team similar to the one fielded for the last four Premier League games.

This means a return to the back line of Dalot – Varane – Martinez – Malacia, with David de Gea in goal.

Scott McTominay is likely to be restored in the holding midfield position despite Casemiro’s decent showing against Sociedad. The Scotsman’s fine form should see him hold on to his place, although it’s a close call and it’s uncertain how long he’ll do so.

Bruno Fernandes is also likely to come back into the midfield in place of industrious, but less creative Fred. The Portuguese is expected to play in a hybrid number 8/10 position again and to don the captain’s armband again in Harry Maguire’s absence.

Marcus Rashford has fully recovered from the knock that saw him limp off against the Gunners after scoring a brace, so he will probably oust Ronaldo to lead the line again, with Antony to his right and Jadon Sancho to his left.

With no further need to worry about the postponed match against Leeds United on Sunday, and an international break to follow, Ten Hag will know that keeping his players fresh is not an issue. After losing the home match against Real Sociedad last week, he will not want to take any risks.For all reasons, it makes sense to go in strong on this one.

Tactical Analysis

On Thursday evening, Manchester United will travel to Moldova to take on one-time Real Madrid slayers Sheriff in the Europa League.

As we said above, the odds are that Ten Hag will play his strongest XI for this game, especially considering his rotated side let him down by losing to Real Sociedad in their opening game of the Europa League.

The Spanish side were always going to be United’s most difficult opponents in the group but it doesn’t bode well to kick off the campaign without even a single point.

Nonetheless, Sheriff are a different team and a different challenge. Going full strength is needed to rack up points on the board quickly to set the tone for the remainder of the games. It seems the man to watch out for is winger Steve Ambri (see more on him in Meet the Opponents), who has notched up three goals for his new team so far.

Sheriff’s 4-3-3 formation will also mean United will need to match their midfield’s intensity or risk losing even more points.

Against Real Sociedad, the struggle was in breaking down a defensive setup. Chances are that Sheriff will set up in the same way and so the players have an opportunity to redeem themselves.

This will mean Christian Eriksen will have the important task of unlocking their defence from deep but he’s proven himself a bargain purchase already.

What was also missing against Sociedad that Ten Hag will hope to see vs Sheriff is an intense tempo. Too often the ball was played slowly or when an attack was happening it was slowed down by indecisiveness or lack of quality. There can’t be a repeat of that, particularly against a side that has hit the ground running this season and is topping their league table.

They also won their first Europa League fixture, making it all the more important to steal the three points from them to even out the results once more.

Sheriff also have a relatively young squad so energy will be key to the result, and United will have to work hard for the three points. Ideally, fans will want to see a dominant win having fallen short against Sociedad and against their own high standards they’ve recently set. With a total squad market value of around £13m, Sheriff shouldn’t even come close to getting a result against the Red Devils.

Having said that, they’ve proven capable of slaying giants and Manchester United have let themselves down recently.

Red Moon

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Match officials

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Rashford's Resurgence

The England man is enjoying life as a centre forward under Erik Ten Hag

On paper 2021 would have seemed like the best year of Marcus Rashford’s life. In November Prince William awarded Rashford an MBE in recognition of his help to ‘vulnerable children during the Covid-19 pandemic.’ Marcus described the day as ‘special for me and my mum…Very proud.’ A few months prior, Rashford was a part of the first English squad to reach a major international final in 55 years; a magnificent tournament that united the country and created a feverish attitude of excitement. In a friendly before the opening match, Rashford captained England for the first time, leading the team out against Romania and scoring the winning goal.

In February, Rashford reached 250 games for Manchester United, becoming the 4th youngest player to do so for the club. He’d scored 83 goals and 51 assists in the process, totalling 134 contributions. Ronaldo had 159 at the same juncture, while Rooney a whopping 162 – both world-class players playing in much better iterations of Manchester United than Rashford has. United would go on to finish 2nd that season and reach the final of the Europa League. Later, in the first week of 2022, Rashford would lead the club out as captain for the first time.

A resounding example of annual success? No.

England lost the final to Italy on penalties, with Rashford coming off the bench to miss one, after having rarely featured in the tournament (he accumulated 82 minutes across 6 games). Sickening racial abuse ensued.
Poor form to close out the 2020/21 season was the reason for Rashford’s lack of international inclusion, as United lost the Europa League in similarly gut-wrenching fashion on penalties, with the forward accused of ‘missing a sitter’ in the 2nd half. And it was form that endured, and worsened, going into the 2021/22 season.

Rashford missed the opening portion of the campaign having undergone shoulder surgery (one he opted to delay to allow availability for the Euros), but could never find any semblance of form upon his return. 4 goals and 2 assists represented his worst personal Premier League return in 5 years, while collectively United were an absolute shambles. 2 managers dismissed, a toxic dressing room and the worst Premier League finish in the club’s history barely scratches the surface of the truth. And it was Rashford who received much of supporters ire. Calls for his transfer were met positively online with accusations of a ‘bad attitude’, and a sense the surgery did little to improve Rashford physically, compounding an already beleaguered player.

Enter Erik Ten Hag. If one player could embody the uplift the Dutchman has breathed into his new squad it would be Rashford. A rough start has been followed by 4 back-to-back wins with 7 goals scored and Rashford leading the line. He has 3 goals and 2 assists in his last 4 games, having put Leicester, Arsenal and Liverpool to the sword in the process. This maintains the remarkable ‘big game’ record the forward possesses.

Rashford has, according to Gary Neville, requested to be played as the starting striker for United. It’s a plea Ten Hag has accepted and immediately reaped the rewards from; refreshing confidence from a player who looked so bereft of it six months ago. Physically Rashford looks back to his decisive best, which may indicate his struggles were to do with the mind, rather than the body. His manager confirms this, claiming the forward’s improved form ‘…started with happiness.’ With Ronaldo looking every bit of 37 years old, and Martial’s persistent injury concerns, a happy Marcus Rashford represents an important component of Ten Hag’s rejuvenated Manchester United.

Darragh Fox

Rashford's Resurgence

The England man is enjoying life as a centre forward under Erik Ten Hag

A resounding example of annual success? No.

Darragh Fox

transfer rumours

What’s hot, what’s real and what’s not

In this section we look at some of the most active transfer stories of the week about United, both comings and goings. We give each story a fire rating (how hot the story is, out of five) and a star rating (how reliable the story is, out of five).

🔥🔥

Rated 1 out of 5

gavi (barcelona)

“Prefers to stay at Barcelona” is an expression United fans will be sick of hearing after this summer’s Frenkie de Jong saga. So it’s adding insult to injury to hear the same said of Gavi, despite United having held meetings to register their interest in the young phenomenon.

They are not alone, most of Europe’s elite are queueing up to get their hands on the starlet, whose contract expires at the end of this season. Barcelona want to renew, but can’t yet afford to …

🔥🔥

Rated 1.5 out of 5

brian brobbey (ajax)

Brobbey admitted Erik ten Hag, who had him on loan at Ajax, phoned him this summer about a move to United but the 20 year old had already committed himself to a permanent switch to the Amsterdam club.

However, the Dutch star has described United as his “dream club” and is desperate to work with Ten Hag again.

Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano believes that if Brobbey has a consistent season in front of goal in Holland, he could well be a priority for United next summer.

🔥🔥

Rated 1 out of 5

ivan Toney (Brentford)

Give me Sport reporter Dean Jones claims that United could make a January move for the Brentford man if he keeps up his current form.

United were also linked with Toney in August as a potential replacement for Ronaldo if he had left.

toney would not be easy to prise away from Brentford in the middle of the season, though. Valued at €35m, the Bees could be looking for twice that amount with the protection of 3 more years on his contract.

🔥🔥

Rated 2 out of 5

Santiago Arias (free agent)

There’s been a flurry of speculation this week that United could be ready to sign the free agent Colombian as a backup to Diogo Dalot.

Despite speaking highly of Aaron Wan-Bissaka recently, Erik ten Hag has resisted using him, even choosing to play Victor Lindelof at right back against Sociedad rather than bringing on the Englishman. His presence in the director’s box just before he was due to be on the sub’s bench was also odd.

As for Arias, the former Granada man is “ready to pack his bags” for the move.

Photo of the week: tribute

Getty Images

The devil's advocate

“Eric Bailly is right that United favour British players”

The case for ...

In what is a surprise to absolutely nobody, yet another Manchester United player who has left the club, albeit temporarily, has aired some dirty laundry.

Eric Bailly was the culprit this time and complained of the club’s apparent bias towards the English players. Of course he wasn’t actually referring to the club itself but rather his former managers, presumably Ralf Rangnick and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The Ivorian blamed this apparent bias for his lack of success at United and lack of ‘true’ opportunities. Naturally he faced plenty of stick for what he said. After all, he’s been injured for most of his time at the club and lost his place to Victor Lindelof.

On the surface, it’s easy to lambast Bailly because it sounds like he’s making excuses for himself. However, he admitted he struggled with consistency, perhaps due to his injuries, and simply stated when fit, and on his day he was good enough to start for the club, but didn’t. And he blamed this bias for that specific part of his argument.

Fans consistently complained that neither Solskjaer nor Rangnick were dropping Maguire despite his errors, poor form, and obvious cry for help. So it seems strange to have forgotten about those complaints.

Many times Bailly was available for selection but was strapped to the substitutes bench instead, forced to watch the Englishman ahead of him in the pecking order make mistake after mistake with no repercussions. It’s then fair that he would complain and see no reason for why Maguire is starting matches other than his nationality.

It’s not necessarily an insult, it’s natural that clubs start more players of the nationality of the country they exist in and in England it’s no different. The only difference is, most clubs wouldn’t start their local players over other players for no reason other than their nationality.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Maguire was dropped to the bench two games into Erik ten Hag’s reign and been confined there ever since. If we assume Lisandro Martinez wasn’t brought in, Bailly might’ve had a chance of game time and proved he’s past his fitness issues.

We all know the former Villarreal man was referring to Maguire but fans were outraged the likes of Luke Shaw, Marcus Rashford, and Scott McTominay were all consistently winning starts for no apparent reason too.

Bailly might be exaggerating the truth or making excuses but he wasn’t making things up out of thin air. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.

Red Moon

The case against...

United don’t favour British-born players. It wasn’t just Harry Maguire that was picked over Bailly, it was Victor Lindelof and Raphael Varane, too. I think a lot of us, myself included, would have maybe dropped Maguire before a United manager did. But it wasn’t because he was English that they plodded along with him for so long, it was because they’d paid over £80 million for him, so they’d invested a lot in him, and also because he was the captain.

Sometimes you could argue that being British counts against players, that they have to work twice as hard to be recognised as good enough. Look at Dean Henderson. He has arguably deserved to be in goal for United for a long time, but he is constantly overlooked for David de Gea, who is one of the world’s best shot stoppers, but is not an all-round keeper. He is not suited for the modern game, whereas Henderson is.

Last season, Marcus Rashford, English, was dropped for Anthony Elanga, Swedish. Of course it’s true that Rashy was off form, but by Bailly’s argument, he would have been picked regardless anyway. Bruno Fernandes was off form too, but was he dropped? No. I’m not saying that’s because he was Portuguese, but it certainly wasn’t anything to do with Englishness.

Daniel James, another Brit, couldn’t replace Rashford because he had already been sold. Not much favouritism there.

Another Englishman, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, has been dropped for another Portuguese, Diogo Dalot. Luke Shaw has now been dropped for Tyrell Malacia. Even Maguire is now bench-warming, too. Where is the British bias?

I could use the argument that there needs to be at least, what is it, eight home-grown players in every Premier League squad. So United do need to make sure that there are a few in there. But I don’t think that really affects the starting XI too much nowadays.

It may become more of an issue post-Brexit of course, because it’s now much harder for a foreign player to qualify as “home grown” for Premier League purposes (because they have to have played for an FA-affiliated club for 3 years before turning 21). But that could again result in a greater bias toward foreign players, not a lesser one – at least at academy level.

If there was any bias toward any nationality at Old Trafford over the years, I’d maybe say that United could be accused of being a little pro-Scots. Sir Matt Busby, Tommy Docherty, Sir Alex Ferguson and David Moyes is an awful lot of Scottish managers. And some would argue that players such as Darren Ferguson, Andy Goram, Jim Leighton, Darren Fletcher and Scott McTominay might have got more first team minutes than they would have, had they been of any other nationality.

Admittedly, when you look back at some of the rumoured transfer targets of Solskjaer’s reign and insert them into his first choice XI, you might have room to argue. The likes of Declan Rice and James Maddison, for example. But the club didn’t buy those players in the end, so it’s a moot point.

Red Billy

newton heath

Classic United matches from yesteryear

On this day, September 15th 2015: Philips Stadium, Eindhoven. PSV 2-1 United

As Louis Van Gaal walked his United team out in his homeland, the Dutchman was coming face to face with a manager he knew very well.

The former Holland and Barcelona boss had coached PSV manager Phillip Cocu at both, the midfielder earning over 100 caps for the Netherlands as well as playing 205 times for the Camp Nou club.

Cocu had only taken over at PSV 2 years previous, his first full time coaching job.

And although in his 24th year of senior management, Van Gaal’s tactics were put to the test by Cocu and his Eindhoven side, in front of over 35,000 Dutch fans.

As United embarked on another round of Champions League football, after a season of missing out, match day one got under way with United’s summer signing, from their opponents, Memphis Depay, looking to show his former club exactly why United splashed £31m on him.

And the 21 year old forward made an impressive start, looking comfortable at the Phillips Stadium, offering an attacking outlet on the left wing.

United started to look threatening, with fellow signing Anthony Martial linking up well with Depay, and the away team were dominating possession.

But in the 15th minute, England left back Luke Shaw rode two challenges, and upon bursting into the box was scythed down by Héctor Moreno, the severity of Shaw’s injury etched on the defender’s face.

After some lengthy on-field treatment, the United defender was taken off on a stretcher, to sympathetic applause and a sheepish Moreno escaping unpunished. Despite causing Shaw a double leg break, no card was shown and no penalty given, to the shock of the travelling fans.

United’s players continued despite the set back, and as another Dutch player, Daley Blind, played Depay through on goal, the young winger cut inside, beat two defenders and easily beat keeper Zoet, just before half time.

As United looked certain to take a 1-0 lead into the break, PSV won a corner in added time at the end of the first half. As the ball was swung in from the left, who else rose highest but Moreno, the guilty Mexican’s header deflecting off of the back of Blind’s head and into the net.

With the tie level at 1-1, both teams made attacking changes in the second half. United continued to rain shots on the PSV goal throughout, and Depay had numerous chances to double his tally.

But it was the home side who s ire’s again, another header from a left sided cross, this time Narsingh beating David De Gea.

United continued to attack, with 17 shots on goal and 62% of possession, the signs were there but The Reds were just not clinical enough in front of goal.

Van Gaal’s side were wasteful again, as they had been previously, with the manager fuming “Its the same game as against Swansea. We are dominating the game, we are creating chances and we are not finishing”

With a 2-1 defeat to start their 2015/16 Champions League campaign, a lengthy layoff with a serious injury for one of United’s brightest young stars, and the players struggling to adapt to the Dutch philosophy of Van Gaal, it would continue to be an up hill battle for United for some time.

Line up: De Gea, Darmian, Smalling, Blind, Shaw, Schweinsteiger, Herrera, Young, Mata, Depay, Martial

Paul Speller

eckers

What’s in a song?

What’s in a song? For this formerly-teenage Red, one of the most appealing parts of going to Old Trafford was the buzz of being around sweary, beery adults singing foul-mouthed songs about the most personal characteristics of opposition players and fans. These songs were usually creative, instantly memorable and hilariously offensive.

To this impressionable mind, being a little interloper in the adult world was a rite of passage.

Aside from the initial ‘wow’ moment of walking out into the vastness of the stadium and seeing that beautiful green – or brown – pitch, the atmosphere was always a big part of the football drug. Being able to abandon the usual social norms and unleash the darkest corners of the id quickly became a transgressive thrill. Soon enough, learning the United songbook became the only homework that mattered.

United fans have got one of the best songbooks in the country. And that’s not just bias talking – if you listen to the crowd during any Premier League game, you’ll soon realise that most other clubs have, at best, 2 or 3 go-to chants. For the majority, just singing their club’s name over and over again passes for an atmosphere. Well, that and endless renditions of “Fuck VAR” and “Where were you when you were shit?”.

Compare that monotonous dirge with United away days, where a few thousand Reds routinely out-sing home supporters for 90 minutes without repeating a single chant. It’s borderline miraculous and is a major reason why our support is (begrudgingly) admired far and wide.

It’s a real shame then that so many Reds continue to sing one particularly horrific chant whenever we play the Scousers. Chances are, you already know which one.

“The Sun was right… you’re murderers.”

Yeah, that one.

Look, there are plenty of chants between these two clubs that stumble along the line of acceptability. But none are as singularly appalling as that one. No matter what your opinion of Liverpool – the city or the club – glorifying the deaths of, and subsequent smear campaign against, 96 innocent fans brings shame on the whole fan base. It needs to stop. It’s no different from Leeds fans doing Munich airplane gestures to show how edgy they are. We should be better than that.

Cue hysterical shrieking from some quarters about the unhealthy sanitation of the game. Well, nobody is insisting that United fans stop singing offensive chants. Maybe just stop singing the one that revels in fans dying.

Ultimately, times change. Songs about South Koreans eating dogs or Romelu Lukaku’s genitals came and went and are no longer missed.

As a club, we understand tragedy better than most and are sensitive when our own tragedy is used against us. Singing that song makes hypocrites of us all.

Next time we play, sing about feeding Scousers and how nothing is ever their fault. Tell them to sign on and ridicule Jürgen Klopp’s ridiculous teeth. Just don’t sing that hateful, sickening ode to the innocent loss of life.

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