Number 36 Crystal Palace – My Man United

editorial

A happy winger is a happy life

We’re going to Wembley. How long is it since we said that? Too long. We haven’t won the Carabao Cup yet and it won’t be easy, Newcastle are flying, but the fact that Ten Hag has done it at the first available opportunity, well, you can’t ask for much more than that.

That feels good, and getting that loan deal for Marcel Sabitzer over the line on deadline day felt good, too. In our main feature today, Ayantan Chowdhury offers a glimpse into United’s new midfielder and contrasts him with the man he will probably replace for much of the season due to Andy f*cking Carroll’s moronic performance last week, Christian Eriksen. As you see us just getting two loan players to fill two gaps while Chelsea go around like they’ve found the infinite finances cheat code on Football Manager, does it bother you as much as it might have done, say, a year ago? Maybe it should be bothering us a little more, but Erik ten Hag has instilled such confidence and positivity around Old Trafford that you have faith that what he has in spades can’t be bought at any price.

That feel-good factor seems to have put a smile on Jadon Sancho’s face, and it was great to see him back on Wednesday. Darragh Fox looks at his return in this issue, and that surprise number 10 role. In Erik we trust and it could turn out to be a masterstroke.

Fred scored again on Wednesday and he, too, seems to be flourishing under the new management. In this week’s Devils’ Advocate, Red Moon and Red Billy are arguing about whether he deserves a starting spot. To be fair, with Casemiro chiselled into the team sheet, it’s between him and Sabitzer at this point.

Even Antony has been showing signs of improving after a pretty underwhelming start to his United career, although Eckers this week is still having to watch through his fingers, it seems. Well, all the most exhilarating rides are ridden that way, aren’t they?

All this success and joy is down to one man, of course. What? Erik who? No, CEO Richard Arnold of course. Or so The Telegraph would have us believe. Red Billy has a look at the laughably rose-tinted sycophantic article that appeared in the broadsheet and wonders who was behind it – and why.

The good news is not all confined to the men’s team. Alessia Russo is staying with United women, at least until the end of the season. It’s a huge boost and as Zoe Hodges reports, fair play to the club who refused what would have been a world record transfer offer for her on deadline day. Let’s hope they can go a step further and nail her down to a new contract.

Life is good, United fans. Let’s hope the lads don’t go and spoil the mood by dropping points again against Palace. 4-0 FC will do nicely.

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.

Bayern Munich turned down Manchester United approach for Ryan Gravenberch

Manchester United rejected the chance to sign Saul Niguez on loan

Joe Hugill and Sonny Aljofree set for “innovative” Altrincham loan moves

Axel Tuanzebe completes loan move to Stoke City

Facundo Pellistri in line for a new contract after impressing Erik ten Hag

Despite Christian Eriksen injury, Manchester United unlikely to recall Hannibal Mejbri from loan

Bayern Munich want to sell Marcel Sabitzer no matter what

bring in the Sabitzer Howitzer

Ten Hag has found the perfect replacement for the injured Eriksen

Manchester United are still fighting on all four fronts with a trip to Wembley confirmed in the Carabao Cup. It will be the first domestic Cup final since the 2016-17 season. As Erik ten Hag celebrates along with his team, one player who will be watching from the sidelines is midfield magician Christian Eriksen, who had to be taken off during United’s FA Cup victory over Reading after a horrible tackle from Andy Carroll.

With the news of the Dane’s prognosis arriving on deadline day, the Dutchman asked the club to bring in a replacement considering the punishing schedule coming up where the Red Devils play almost every three days. With Donny van de Beek also out for the season and Scott McTominay not available for a few weeks, the 20-time English league champions needed the right fit. Intermediaries jumped at the prospect of taking their client to Old Trafford but Ten Hag was adamant he would not take someone just because of their name or because of the business prospects.

And that opportunity presented itself in the form of Bayern Munich star Marcel Sabitzer, who was spotted watching his new teammates in action on Wednesday. A few pundits did raise the question as to why the Dutch coach preferred to bring in the Austrian considering he has not been a sure-shot starter at the Bavarian giants since his move last summer. But Ten Hag knew what he wanted and had seen enough from the 28-year-old to know that he would be the perfect short-term solution.

Due to his difficulties in Munich, it is easy to forget what a player Sabitzer was at RB Leipzig. From brilliant passing range to ability to shoot from distance and energy to match, the Austria international seemed to have it all. To top it off, Julian Nagelsmann and former United manager Ralf Rangnick were huge fans of his work-rate and ability to play all across the midfield and Ten Hag is aware of what sort of player he has decided to bring to The Theatre of Dreams.

Ten Hag, was once coach at Bayern Munich II and he knows a thing or two about players from the Bundesliga and Sabitzer is one who had impressed the former Ajax coach. “I know the player already a long time from [RB] Salzburg,” he continued in his post-match press conference. “Especially from [RB] Leipzig. He performed fantastically, so I expect that he will do the same here. I think he has a great attitude; he is at the right age, and I am sure this opportunity will motivate him greatly and he will perform strongly for us.”

United fans will not have fond memories of Sabitzer after the Austria international masterminded Leipzig’s 3-2 triumph over Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side which knocked the Red Devils out of the Champions League two seasons ago. One of his major contributions that night came in just the second minute with United’s back-line completely caught out when the Leipzig captain played a skillful, arching ball across their box that Manchester City loanee Angelino thumped home at the back post.

Sabitzer had grown increasingly frustrated at his reduced game-time since Nagelsmann brought him to the Allianz Arena in 2021. He started just eight Bundesliga games and one Champions League match for Bayern last season and it hasn’t improved a great deal this term. Since German football restarted after the World Cup, Sabitzer has been on the field for just five minutes amid intense competition from the likes of Joshua Kimmich, Ryan Gravenberch, Thomas Muller and Jamal Musiala.

And that is exactly why Sabitzer will be eager to prove that he deserved more minutes and show to people why he was considered as one of Bundesliga’s hottest properties a couple of seasons ago. His agent and Rangnick have previously commented on his hatred for losing and how he is always fired up and that can only be a positive for Ten Hag if honed properly.

On careful viewing, the Bayern midfielder offers an upgrade on Eriksen is some aspects even if their skillsets are slightly different. The key qualities Sabitzer will bring is box-to-box energy, composure in possession and a very good long-range shooting ability, including from free-kicks. Eriksen has impressed as a creative force, picking passes and carving out chances, but Sabitzer should offer more of a goal threat. For Leipzig he recorded 52 goals and 42 assists in 229 games. He also has the engine to help out more defensively should the need arise and if he plays with Casemiro, United’s back line should be well shielded.

The Bayern Munich star wins 3.06 tackles per 90, compared to Eriksen’s paltry 0.89 per game. In this statistic, Sabitzer ranks in the 92 percentile of midfielders in Europe. He also wins 1.84 tackles a game to Eriksen’s 0.54. The same trend is true for other defensive metrics such as dribblers tackled, dribbles contested and clearances made. Sabitzer is also statistically better than Eriksen in intercepting. The Austria international averages 1.23 interceptions per 90, to Eriksen’s 0.6.

Not to mention the famous ‘Sabitzer howitzer’ which had become a common sight at Leipzig, with the midfielder unafraid to strike the ball from 30 yards or more. The only thing remaining is for the player to adjust to the intensity of the Premier League and shake off any rustiness he might be carrying due to a lack of competitive minutes in the last couple of months. But if he does play to potential, Ten Hag and United could just have made the most under-rated signing of the window among the top English clubs.

Ayantan Chowdhury

Meet the opposition: Crystal palace

The Eagles dealt a devastating blow last time around and will be looking for more of the same

Manager: patrick vieira

The former Arsenal legend dealt a severe blow to United last time around which will have pleased fans of his former club. The Frenchman had enjoyed a comparatively better time last season as the Eagles reached the FA Cup semifinals while also recording Premier League victories over United as well as City. But it has proved to be tougher in his second season with an early exit in the FA Cup as well as disappointing results in the league including against Everton and Nottingham Forest. But the team seems top be getting their act together as seen in their two huge results against the Red Devils and Newcastle.

One to watch: Michael Olise

United fans were just about to start dreaming of going up to the Emirates with a bounce in their steps when Olise decided to change everything. His free-kick, struck to perfection, meant United dropped points for the first time in nine games. The France U-21 international had started just two of Palace's first seven matches, blanking in all six of his appearances over that run. However, he has since established himself as a key player, starting 10 of the last 11 contests. He has been involved in a team-leading six goals since, scoring twice and assisting four.

club and fans

Crystal Palace have been a consistent mid-table team, always finishing in and around the same position and have always given the big guns a hard time on more than a few occasions. There have been complaints from some fans about the French manager being too rigid in his formation and playing players out of position, but the manager believes he has the answer to that conundrum: the January transfer window. The club brought in two midfielders on Deadline Day, spending £10.5million for VFB Stuttgart young gun Naouirou Ahamada while Arsenal defensive midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga arrived on loan.

united old boy: wilfried zaha

Zaha will remain Sir Alex Ferguson's parting gift as Manchester United manager, having signed him before retiring from his post. For one reason or the other, Zaha's time as a Red Devils came to a disappointing end. But he has been Palace's best player since he re-signed for the London outfit. Zaha enjoyed his most prolific campaign as an Eagles star last season under Vieira. He has once again been their talisman this current current campaign with his total of six goals being at least double that of any other Palace player. However, some respite for United as MPalace face being without Zaha for up to six weeks due to the hamstring injury he suffered against Newcastle.

interesting stats

Crystal Palace have become somewhat of a bogey side for Manchester United in recent times. The Old Trafford side have won only once in their last five attempts against the Eagles and are winless in their last two games. United have never gone three games without a win against Palace since the 1970s. The team from South London have taken seven points from the last four away games against the Red Devils, one point fewer than what they managed in the previous 21 encounters. Generally speaking, Palace have been quite poor post the World Cup break, with their last win coming on New Year's Eve. It will be a difficult encounter in Manchester as the Reds have won their last five home games.

FORM AND INJURIES

Palace will be buoyant ahead of the contest at Old Trafford after holding both top-four sides Manchester United and Newcastle to creditable draws. But in general, their form has been shocking since domestic football resumed post the World Cup break. They had lost all but one game before the previous United encounter since the World Cup but due to their bright start to the season. they possess enough of a cushion not to be too worried about a relegation scrap as of now. However, major problems loom across the horizon. Ten players will be out of contract next summer and the Palace owners do not have several hundred million to spend in one window to alleviate those issues.

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

Head-to-head record with United (opens in new tab)

match preview

All the latest information about the upcoming game.

Team News and Predicted XI

One thing we can say with a great degree of certainty after the last week is that Erik ten Hag is not a fan of rotation.

Faced with an easy home FA Cup tie against Reading and a 3-0 aggregate cushion for the EFL Cup second leg against Forest, and having a mounting injury crisis, many expected a number of tired legs to be rested. But with the odd exception, they weren’t. So it seems inevitable that unless tactics call for a particular tweak, the manager is going to field his strongest XI against Palace, the only question is, who he considers that to be at this exact point in time?

Well, David de Gea will definitely be back in goal despite Tom Heaton keeping a clean sheet in midweek. Diogo Dalot may or may not be returning to fitness but Aaron Wan-Bissaka is match fit and playing well, so he will start. Luke Shaw will stay at left back as he continues his recovery from a short layoff. It seems clear that Ten Hag’s preferred centre back pairing is Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez, so they will probably start as well, with Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof on the bench once more.

Christian Eriksen is out until late April at the earliest and Donny van de Beek is also ruled out for the season, with Scott McTominay also expected to be absent for a week or two. This leaves few options in central midfield. Marcel Sabitzer should be available to make his debut, having signed on loan from Bayern Munich on deadline day. But given the gradual way Ten Hag introduced Casemiro into the United side, we think it’s more likely that the Austrian will be given half an hour from the bench rather than the full 90. So Casemiro and Fred is the predicted starting defensive midfield pairing.

The in-form Marcus Rashford should be back on the left wing having been rested against Forest and the largely disappointing Antony will probably continue on the right, with Bruno Fernandes in the number 10 position. Jadon Sancho played 30 minutes on Wednesday but we think it’s unlikely that he’ll be started just yet and so will probably come on again. Whether that will be in one of the wing positions or in the surprise number 10 role that he was asked to play on Wednesday remains to be seen. The sight of Bruno being shifted out to the right wing to accommodate Jadon through the middle caused most fans to miss a beat but it worked superbly, so it could be the sign of things to come.

This leaves the issue of who plays up top and it seems logical that Anthony Martial gets the nod having also played 30 minutes, and scored, in the EFL semi. Wout Weghorst has been a very capable deputy but he now maybe needs a rest and Martial’s greater pace, trickery and movement should be more beneficial in breaking down Palace’s stubborn defensive unit. It will also be good for the Frenchman’s confidence to be brought straight back in.

Video: Manager's Press conference (when available) (opens MANUTD.COM in new tab)

Report: MANAGER'S PRESS CONFERENCE (when available) (opens THEPEOPLESPERSON.COM in new tab)

Match officials

Referee: Andre Marriner.

Assistants: Simon Long, Scott Ledger.

Fourth official: Josh Smith. VAR: Tony Harrington. Assistant VAR: Harry Lennard.

sancho's smiling, and we are too

After a reboot, the England man’s career at United can start again

It was difficult to pick out a single moment amidst the sea of positivity pulsating out of Old Trafford on Wednesday. Manchester United’s first final in over four years, achieved via a 5-0 aggregative win in which it felt like the team never had to get out of 3^rd gear, would make even the most pessimistic fan smile. Tom Heaton deputising admirably in goal, Bruno Fernandes painting art with his right foot, or Marcus Rashford continuing his insanely productive season with two assists in three minutes were individual stand outs. Yet perhaps the biggest cheer of the night came as the crowd caught wind of Jadon Sancho preparing to enter the fray, with good reason as well.

Fans have not seen Sancho on the football pitch for over a 100 days, stretching back to the 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge back in October. Initially ruled out with injury and then the season pause engendered by the World Cup in Qatar, Sancho almost became an afterthought in this time. This ambiguity was further confounded by confusion as it was revealed that the winger had been sent to Holland to train alone, under the careful stewardship of coaches recommended personally by Erik Ten Hag. Even as English football resumed post-Christmas Sancho was nowhere to be seen, continuing to cut an isolated figure whose future was growing increasingly unsure.

Manchester United’s form in these 100 days was exemplary however. Yet the price of this excellence has been unrelenting fixture congestion, with the club the only English side continuing to fight on four competitive fronts, and injuries have accrued. Christian Eriksen is potentially ruled out till the end of the season while Donny van de Beek is definitely ruled out for it. Anthony Martial has suffered his usual maladies, prompting the club to aggressively pursue Wout Weghorst on loan, and it feels the team is one injury to Marcus Rashford away from attacking impotence.

Which is why the sight of a smiling Sancho was so satisfying to see last night. The prospect of the English winger returning with a renewed and reinvigorated mentality, capable of harnessing the attacking prowess he wielded with such dominance in Germany, is an exciting one for fans, and potentially a vital one for his manager. Ten Hag acknowledged at the end of 2022 United’s need for better depth:

‘…we need players and we need numbers to cover. So we need good players, not just the numbers, we need quality players to cover.’

Jadon Sancho, in the right mental and physical state, playing with confidence and conviction, represents a quality player. He also represents a player capable of playing on either wing or, as demonstrated last night, as a number 10. The fact that Ten Hag brought Sancho on in that position, while shifting Bruno to the right-wing, may indicate two things. One, the need for more technical creativity in the middle of the pitch with the absence of Eriksen and two, Sancho may represent an option Ten Hag wishes to fill this void with. The versatility and quality he can offer may prove vital to the remainder of United’s season, as the games continue to come thick and fast.

Sancho was all smiles as he entered the fray yesterday. These smiles were matched by his manager and team mates who appeared to appreciate the magnitude of the moment for the young winger. And while Sancho’s mental state is paramount, the physical effects of his isolated training were evident to see in his slimmer appearance as well. Similarly, his first touch and passing looked sharp. Having come on at 0-0, 15 minutes later it was 2-0 and the game was won. It was a very positive cameo within the context of a very positive night.

Smiling, slim and sharp – Sancho’s career at Manchester United may just be getting started.

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).

our top transfer tip

🔥🔥🔥

Rated 2 out of 5

HARRY KANE (SPURS)

Reports are saying Victor Osimhen could be Ten Hag’s preferred choice as his style of play is better suited, but he would go for Kane if Osimhen’s price is exhorbitant, which it probably will be. The Kane to United story is likely to go on drip feed between now and June, but if Spurs don’t qualify for the Champions League and United do, you can almost hear the player yelling “yes please!” as The Sun is claiming.

🔥🔥

Rated 2 out of 5

Dusan Vlahovic (Juventus)

Italian journalist Rudy Galetti reckons Juve have put an €80 million price tag on Vlahovic’s head and that United and Arsenal have already registered some sort of interest. Probably not first choice but an interesting name to add to the striker shortlist, which also includes Kane, Osimhen, Dortmund’s Benjamin Sesko and Benfica’s Gonçalo Ramos.

Rated 2 out of 5

victor osimhen (napoli)

Osimhen is being linked with a host of clubs and with a contract that goes on to 2025, Napoli are not going to let him go cheaply. There is no buyout clause and figures of around €130-€140m are being bandied about.

United have made noises that despite him being first choice, they are not going to pay that sort of figure, but with the likes of Real Madrid now being linked, it certainly won’t be an easy one to bring home at any price.

🔥🔥🔥

Rated 4 out of 5

David Raya (Brentford)

With David de Gea’s contract still not resolved, could United be set to replace one Spanish keeper with another? The Brentford man will probably be sold in the summer as he’ll be entering the last year of his contract and The Athletic say United are interested (along with Spurs and Chelsea), which is a very credible source.

Photo of the week: trinity

Getty Images

richard arnold: our lord and master

United’s CEO is getting some incredibly complimentary press lately

A strangely timed homage to Manchester United’s CEO Richard Arnold appeared in The Telegraph on Tuesday.

Arnold took over the reins of Britain’s biggest club from the unpopular Ed Woodward, who resigned after the failed European Super League fiasco. Having been secretly recorded in an impromptu meeting with fans at a pub near his home some months ago, Arnold has largely escaped the animosity that his predecessor attracted.

One of the pro-Glazer things Arnold said in that pub chat was that money was never an issue and that the club would buy whatever player the manager wanted. However sincere that statement seemed at the time, it has not been corroborated by reality as United have consistently been outbid on targets and/or failed to stump up sufficient cash for others. This mismatch between Arnold’s pledge and reality has never been more in evidence than the recent winter transfer window, in which no money whatsoever was made available for transfers.

With the touch-and-go last minute drama over an emergency loan to replace injured Christian Eriksen, United fans’ anger with the club’s owners was building to another crescendo as they watched their rivals strengthening while an already thin Red Devils’ squad had lost three players – Cristiano Ronaldo, Donny van de Beek and now, Christian Eriksen – and had only brought in Wout Weghorst on loan.

So on the day the window closed and the news of Eriksen’s extended absence was announced, it seemed serendipitous to find a eulogy of the canny CEO adorning the pages of a trusted paper such as The Tele. A cynical fan might be forgiven for suspecting that a favour might have been called in, or palms greased, to publish such pro-Arnold rhetoric on the day most likely to see him pilloried and held to account by angry supporters.

The article talks about how Arnold has introduced a “no d—heads” policy at Old Trafford, getting rid of players who think they’re bigger than the club. Translation: you can thank Richard Arnold for getting rid of Paul Pogba and Cristiano Ronaldo. What a hero.

Then we get an “insider” saying how, unlike Woodward, Arnold never gets involved in football decisions but simply attended meetings because he “wanted to make sure he understood why they were being made”. Again, heroic. The article says that it was Arnold who went to the Glazers “to request the club’s owners significantly loosen the purse strings” to sign Casemiro. “Richard exerted just the right level of accountability”, the normally impartial James Ducker writes.

We then get an explanation of how “He was central to convincing the Glazers to allow United to spend around £75m more than they had budgeted for last summer; but he is also a man of principle. “Extra money was coughed up on the understanding that there would be little if anything to spend this month.” And because Arnold is so highly principled, he couldn’t go back on his word to the Glazers, so he smoothed tensions on both sides by calmly pointing out to Ten Hag, who was “privately angling for more funds to sign the Netherlands forward Cody Gakpo”, that a deal’s a deal. “He’s pretty good at managing those tensions,” another source said.

He is then given credit in the article for “shifting power” away from the club’s Mayfair offices to Manchester. He has also provided “the empowerment of key department heads, notably those running football,” Ducker said. “Murtough, Ten Hag and their teams now have autonomy to dictate football matters, free of the influence of a small posse of corporate financiers, and the results have been clear for all to see, on and off the pitch.” Ah, so United’s success on the pitch so far is due to Richard Arnold, not Erik ten Hag. Or so the article seems to be telling us.

We are then told how he was never Woodward’s sidekick, is not a friend of his and that he is not the “obnoxious” character that he is painted to be. “Numerous United staff have … on how he always listens, runs a genuine open-door policy and “will take the mickey out of himself or hold his hands up when he’s wrong”.

After several lines about what a jolly good chap he is, Ducker then explains how “Arnold – who declined to be interviewed for this article…” … Modest as well then… “ – has reopened the channels of communication with Sir Alex Ferguson and the club’s former chief executive David Gill and enjoys a strong relationship with both.”

But as if all that wasn’t enough, then comes the news that our intrepid CEO was “influential” in the Glazers’ decision not to take their most recent dividend payment, which resulted in £20 million being “reinvested in the club”.

The article is reminiscent of one published by The Sun reporter Neil Custis about Woodward when under the cosh during the January 2020 transfer window. Perhaps Ducker is genuinely impressed with Arnold and wanted to write something positive precisely because he has been in the firing line. But fans are not likely to be impressed with what comes across as political rhetoric and if Woodward’s experience is anything to go by, this sort of article will make them more, not less, angry.

Ultimately, United did make a last-minute effort to sign Marcel Sabitzer and so the pressure is well and truly off Arnold now in any case. But the fact that this article was published on deadline day morning in the first place is surely an indication that somebody, somewhere thought some positive PR for the CEO was an urgent necessity.

Red Billy

The devil's advocate

“Fred deserves a starting spot in the United side”

The case for ...

Erik ten Hag has been credited with improving many of Manchester United’s players in his short reign so far. But one player who flies under the radar a little, despite his impressive performances, is Fred.

Previously the Brazilian was given a role that required him to do many roles in midfield by past managers. Playing in a pivot is a huge responsibility, particularly in the Premier League. So it wasn’t long before he was made a scapegoat for poor displays on the pitch.

Ten Hag came in and recognised Fred’s qualities and gave him a simpler role that didn’t ask much of him. And he’s excelled ever since, even as an option off the bench. Suddenly the former Shakhtar Donetsk man is our hidden weapon and it’s paid off for him. He now has four goals and two assists in around 1000 minutes. He’s probably done better than he ever has for the Red Devils with what few minutes he’s had.

Christian Eriksen and Casemiro formed a formidable midfield with Bruno Fernandes, but it’s safe to say the former was left wanting defensively at times, and his better skill set is his passing and vision. Now the Dane is injured, Ten Hag dipped into the loan market to sign Marcel Sabitzer – an absolutely necessary signing. But, he shouldn’t be thrown right into the XI because there’s a more deserving player.

Fred and Casemiro excel alongside each other for Brazil, and there’s no reason why they shouldn’t in the Red of Manchester, especially when they’re both in such great form. If we’ve learned anything, it’s that Fred’s enjoying being given the freedom to run further forward, and just be tasked with winning the ball back. He doesn’t have to be a great passer, he just has to move the ball along to better players. And with Casemiro a better passer than many imagined, we won’t be missing Eriksen that much just yet. In fact, Fred’s better defensive security might do us a favour in the short-term.

Ten Hag has to set the standard for rewarding bench players who perform well with a starting XI spot. And who better at the moment or more deserving than Fred? It’s his opportunity to prove what he can do in Eriksen’s absence. And show his form isn’t temporary and rather the result of a tweak in his role to better extract his talent. If his form dips, then bring in Sabitzer and it’s fair for everyone. The Austrian can’t expect to walk right into our XI having done nothing to prove his worth. And we’re not necessarily as desperate for him to start as we were with Wout Weghorst thanks to Anthony Martial’s injury.

Ten Hag’s gotten Fred cooking, so let the Brazilian have his time in the kitchen and let’s see what he serves up. So far it’s been tasty.

Red Moon

The case against...

Does Fred deserve a place in the starting XI? Well, if you’re taking deserve to mean is he professional, hard working, loyal and an all-round good guy then yes, he deserves it. But if by “deserve” you mean “warrant”, then I’d say no. Fred was never really good enough to be a regular first team starter and is unlikely to be going forward.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Fred, I love to see him coming off the bench and I hope we give him a new contract and keep him at Old Trafford. His energy, the distance he covers, his intelligent running off the ball are all second to none and his personality seems spot on – tenacious, smiling, tough, communicative. I would go so far as to say any club in the world would be glad to have a Fred in their squad.

But even when he’s on top form, playing Fred from the start of the match against most teams – in matches when United are not going to be outclassed – means sacrificing in other areas. You are starting a player who has an extremely limited passing range and who is not able to read the game well enough defensively to break up play and put in a well-timed tackle like a Casemiro can.

Again, to be fair to Fred, he never pretended to be a DM and that role was kind of foisted on him by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but arguably even if deployed a little higher up the pitch, the kind of box-to-box midfielder he is really does come into his own when trying to break down possession and transition on the counter. Probably why Solskjaer, the man whose only tactic was to counter, believed in him so much.

Put Fred in, say the West Ham team or Everton team and he would probably transform them. But have we missed his tireless energy by replacing him with Christian Eriksen? No. Eriksen covers enough ground, though not as much. He chases down enough balls and presses enough, though not as much. But he has the passing range to launch attacks and counter attacks, bring the ball out of defence and open up the opposition defence with through balls … these are game winning qualities that far outweigh the slight deficit in work rate between him and Fred.

But 2-0 up, take off Eriksen and replace him with Fred, bob’s your uncle. Fred looks amazing playing that role under Ten Hag and long may he continue.

Red Billy

newton heath

Classic United matches from yesteryear

FA Cup Final replay, 17th May 1990 – United 1 Crystal Palace 0

After the enthralling 3-3 draw that the underdogs of Palace secured at Wembley just 5 days before, United again made the journey to the capital on Thursday night to battle it out with the South Londoners, this time a winner guaranteed to be announced.

Alex Ferguson stuck with the same 10 outfield players who had fought until the very end of the 120 minutes played in the previous encounter, but had already made his mind up over one very important change. Scottish goalkeeper Jim Leighton, who had so loyally served under Fergie at Old Trafford and also at their previous club Aberdeen, where they won the 1983 European Cup Winners Cup together after defeating Real Madrid in the final, before following his fellow Scot south, had finally pushed his boss of 10 years too far.

Leighton had become somewhat of a liability, in stark contrast to the success he enjoyed in Scotland with both club and country. Having won numerous domestic trophies and becoming Scotland’s second most capped player ever, the vastly experienced keeper had been brought to United by his former manager for £750,000 in 1988. Conceding just 35 goals and keeping 14 clean sheets in his first season, the club looked to have secured a rock between the sticks, but after seeing 5 goals put past him in a humiliating defeat to newly promoted neighbours Manchester City, and having a howler while conceding a further 3 in the first match of the 1990 FA Cup Final, Ferguson had seen enough.

Les Sealey, another veteran goalkeeper of the game, with over 400 league appearances to his name, had joined United on loan earlier in the season. And despite only playing twice, the 32-year-old was entrusted to play in goal in what would be the biggest game of his career. The only change in the line-up, the pressure on Sealey was huge, but his 14 years as a professional would shine through, with numerous saves throughout the match, he would go on to be the clubs first choice keeper for the following season, playing in both the League Cup final and United’s glorious Cup Winners Cup final success against Barcelona.

The match itself didn’t quite live up to the high expectations of the first tie however, with few chances created by either team, Palace came closest to breaking the deadlock in the first half, Gray’s thunderous free-kick saved by the legs of Sealey on the line. As the game progressed Palace began to tire once more. United threw bodies forward, and with Brian McClair now playing behind Mark Hughes, the defenders were slow to react to a run from left back Lee Martin, the former youth player evading his marker, chesting down a pin point pass from Neil Webb, and unleashing a shot with his supposedly weaker right foot, the ball crashing into the roof of the net to give United a 1-0 lead on 59 minutes.

United defended resolutely, with the relatively new centre-back pairing of Steve Bruce and Gary Pallister particularly strong, and Sealey thwarting any attempt made on his goal, the Reds saw out the game and lifted the FA Cup for the seventh time, equaling the record of the time, and giving Alex Ferguson his first taste of domestic success in England.

Poor Jim Leighton would miss out on a winners medal, although Sealey gave his to the Scot, only to see it returned in his pocket soon after. The FA later awarded Leighton a medal, due to his playing in the first match, but he declined it and never received any recognition. He also only ever played one more match for Manchester United, a lowly League Cup appearance against Halifax Town, falling to fourth choice keeper by the following season, saw the end of his stay at Old Trafford, although him and Sealey remained good friends until the latter passed away in 2001.

Cup Final hero Lee Martin enjoyed 4 more seasons with United, promoted from the youth team he spent a total of 12 years with his boyhood club, before playing all around the UK for various other teams. He remains a hugely popular figure at the club alongside the late Les Sealey. Proof if it were needed, that when it came to the big calls, Alex Ferguson knew exactly when to use youth and experience in equal measure, pushing aside loyalty or history, to ensure the best for Manchester United.

United line-up: Les Sealey, Paul Ince, Steve Bruce, Gary Pallister, Lee Martin, Mike Phelan, Bryan Robson, Neil Webb, Danny Wallace, Brian McClair, Mark Hughes.

Paul Speller

eckers

Wingers are annoying as f**k

It’s the fourth game of the the 07/8 season. United are labouring at 0 – 0 in the second half at home to Spurs. Two draws and a derby defeat have dampened the buzz around exciting new signings Nani, Anderson, Tevez and Hargreaves. The crowd is getting restless.

Making any heat of the moment predictions about the latest recruits would be foolish. They’ve only had a few short weeks to settle in to a new league and are clearly still fitting into the team. Even so, Nani’s latest in a long line of failed attempts to beat his man elicits audible groans. A man behind me loudly tells his mate, “That Nani is f***ing shit.” After watching the Portuguese run down blind alleys and give the ball away for almost an hour I get the sentiment.

Minutes later our new winger picks up a loose ball 30 yards from goal. There isn’t much on. He takes a split second to size things up before unleashing an absolute rocket into the visitors’ top corner. Old Trafford erupts. Nani has finally landed. Behind me I hear his most vocal K Stand critic laughing as his mate gives him grief about premature ejaculation. I find it funny while also realising that it could quite easily have been me being ridiculed.

These days, even when United are in good form I spend as much time cursing and drawing attention from concerned family members as I do expressing joy. And no position on the pitch has the potential to toy with your emotions quite as much as the winger. It’s in their nature to take chances – and risk often leads to failure on a football pitch. Failure boils the blood.

I don’t sit in K Stand anymore but I’m pretty sure that the bloke from a row behind (the Nanitagonist) has harboured similar thoughts about Antony this season. Despite scoring a few goals in a red shirt, the Brazilian hasn’t quite lived up to that crazy price tag. Although the fee wasn’t his doing, maybe it’s weighing on him a bit. Whatever the reason, the occasional flashes of brilliance have been lost amid a series of ineffectual displays.

Frustrating – the adjective that dogs even the very best wide men – is probably the right word for him. There’s no doubting the talent but his reluctance to take on his man or use his right foot to cut outside has stymied his progress. He looks predictable. When he has tried to switch on the flair it’s been in the wrong areas of the pitch, feeling more like a hollow gesture than a statement of genuine intent.

Antony is frustrating in a different way to United’s flyers of old. It’s not that he’s trying things that aren’t coming off – it’s that he’s not trying enough and seems to be playing within himself. Some of this might be tactical instruction, maybe Ten Hag doesn’t want him to lose the ball cheaply and risk a counter-attack. However, it seems unlikely that the former Ajax man has been told not to attack the space in behind his full back or use his weaker foot by a manager who knows better than most his strengths. Whatever the reason, for a guy who seems so outwardly cocksure, it’s odd that he frequently seems so reticent on the pitch.

All that said, he’s still fairly young and needs time to fully adapt. After all, when people talk about our legendary wingers they’re invariably referencing the big moments. The compressed procession of mindless brilliance that is a YouTube highlights reel. Fans forget how much scepticism there was about, say, young Ronaldo’s ability to maximise his potential. They gloss over (or ignore) the doubts about his lack of end product and focus instead on what he became. Likewise, nobody talks about how often Ryan Giggs lost the ball, backed out of 50/50s, overhit a cross, or ran down blind alleys. They focus on him gliding past the Arsenal team in ’99.

Like it or not, wingers are annoying as f***. Part of it comes with the territory, traditionally they’re the player with the most freedom to experiment. While the defence is constantly monitoring and midfielders are trying to control the centre of the pitch, the wide player’s main job is to beat his full back and make things happen. Defensively, the most that is expected of a winger is to track back and not leave their full-back exposed. It’s a fairly simple brief but, ultimately, they end up being judged by how easily they can take a defender out of the game and create – or take – a chance.

If Antony wants a clear example of how quickly performances and opinions can change he could always look across the pitch at Marcus Rashford. It’s only a matter of months since the England ace was completely out of sorts and facing open criticism from a decent chunk of the fanbase. Now he’s looking like one of the best players in the country again.

The best template for him to follow right now would probably be to mould his game on someone like Arjen Robben. The Dutchman was about as one-footed they come but had an uncanny knack of luring his defender into a false sense of security, accelerating away and firing an unstoppable curler into the far corner. When he picked the ball up on the right side of the box, everyone in the ground would know what he wanted to do and yet he still managed to do it week-in-week-out. At least that’s how it looks on YouTube.

He might never be as good as Robben but that’s no shame. Very few are. So, while we wait and hope for our mercurial attacker to come good we might just have to accept that he’s going to frustrate as often as he inspires. He’s only a winger, after all.

Scott Eckersley

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