Page 8 - Manchester United
- January 22, 2016
Louis van Gaal needed a win this past weekend to protect his job, and luckily for the once-revered Dutchman, he got one. Manchester United topped Liverpool 1-0 on Sunday, beating the Reds at Anfield and winning thanks to a 78-minute goal from Wayne Rooney.
In many ways, the victory was a confirmation that the Red Devils are still a strong soccer squad. It was a reminder that Van Gaal, even if most United fans seem to have turned against him, can still beat world-class managers like Jurgen Klopp in a head-to-head battle. It was also a reminder that Rooney, who has taken a lot of heat this season is still worthy of a leadership position-both as Manchester United's team captain and as the club's center forward.
Will the win keep Manchester United officials from mulling over the possibility of hiring a new coach? Probably not. A win is a win, but the Red Devils still only won by one point and are still earning plenty of criticisms for a "boring" style of play. Liverpool are also - January 17, 2016
There were 11 draws in the third round of the 2015/16 FA Cup, which means that the majority of the match-ups for the fourth round of the tournament won't be completely decided until we get to the third-round replays scheduled for January 19th and 20th. Despite the lack of complete information, though, the Football Association announced the draw for the tournament's fourth round on Monday, January 11th, giving fans a general idea of who their favorite soccer clubs will be competing with at the end of the month.
All 16 fourth round matches are currently scheduled for the weekend of January 30th. Read on for a quick run-through of that weekend's biggest must-watch fixtures!
The Key Matchups
There may be 32 football clubs - January 12, 2016
Most of the Premier League's top football clubs sailed through the third round of the 2015/16 FA Cup easily over the weekend, with Manchester City, Arsenal, Man United, Chelsea, West Ham United, and others all cruising through to the fourth round of the Football Association tournament. Read on for a recap of the winners and losers of the weekend!
The Winners
As usual, the Premier League's soccer teams got a bye into the third round, which means this is the first time in the 2015/16 FA Cup that we are seeing teams such as Man United, Arsenal, and others. Since so many of the league's top clubs were upset and eliminated in the fourth round of last year's FA Cup-including Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, and Chelsea-most of the Premier - January 09, 2016
When the Manchester United home jersey 2015/16 arrived last summer, it was the first time Adidas have manufactured a kit for the Red Devils since 1992. Adidas paid handsomely for the privilege of outfitting United's players, with a world-record 10-year deal that will be worth a minimum of £750Â million when all is said and done. So far, though, Adidas aren't 100 percent satisfied with their investment.
Adidas: Happy with the Jersey Revenues, Not Happy with the On-Pitch Play
One of the biggest headlines in the football world last week revolved not around players or coaches, but rather around the comments of Herbert Hainer-Adidas' chief executive. The CEO voiced his company's concerns over the Red Devils' recent performances, noting that Manchester United's current - January 07, 2016
A long, competitive, and exhaustingly busy Premier League festive period came to an end on Sunday, January 3rd, finally giving England's top football clubs a deserved break. The Premier League's teams will take the pitch again next week, on January 12th and 13th, but until then, we, at last, have a chance to let the dust settle and survey the current landscape of the league.
Arsenal's Chance
The big question in the wake of the busy festive period is whether or not 2016 might finally be Arsenal's year. The Gunners, of course, have been remarkably consistent throughout the entirety of Arsene Wenger's coaching tenure, finishing in the top five every year since 1996. However, not since 2004 have Arsenal - January 01, 2016
Now that Jose Mourinho has exited from his post as Chelsea manager, the Premier League hatchet committee has turned its focus toward Manchester United and Louis van Gaal. The Dutch manager seemed like just what the football club needed last season when he came in and took over the organization in the wake of a disastrous 2013/14 campaign under the management of David Moyes. But the Red Devils still only managed a fourth place finish in 2014/15, and while they made it to the Champions League via the qualifying rounds, they were ultimately ousted after the group stage.
Louis van Gaal: Bound for Departure?
That early UCL elimination was more or less representative of how the season has been going for Manchester United lately. The soccer club had a promising start, even sitting - December 29, 2015
Boxing Day brought several surprises and upsets in the English Premier League, with many of the division's top-ranked teams succumbing to losses. Key among those football clubs were Leicester City and Arsenal, who kept their spots at first and second place on the EPL table, but sacrificed some of their lead margin in defeats against Liverpool and Southampton, respectively. Manchester United also lost, intensifying the conversations that Louis van Gaal's days as the club's manager could be numbered.
A Rough Week
It would be easy to single out Arsenal as the English club that had the worst Boxing Day. Falling 0-4 to Southampton, the Gunners suffered not only the worst loss of the week but also their worst loss of the entire season. Playing an away match, - December 26, 2015
By Karl Matchett.
The transfer and managerial merry-go-rounds in the Premier League don't usually involve quite as high-profile teams swapping individuals as frequently happens in, say, Italy or France, but there are still occasions when clubs would clearly benefit from knocking on their rivals' doors and attempting to prise away a big name or two.
Manchester United are facing one right now, with the availability of a top coach who is intrinsically linked with a major rival: Jose Mourinho.
United have a boss in place, of course, in Louis van Gaal. All month long, it seems, there have been rumours surrounding the Dutchman's future though and his recent results don't exactly scream improvement. It's now six games without a win in all competitions for the Red Devils, and just three wins in the last 13. In the Premier
- December 22, 2015
Manchester United spent a lot of money during the summer transfer window this year. They took arguably the biggest risk of the entire summer, paying an upfront £36Â million for Anthony Martial, a still-green forward from AS Monaco. They spent £24.6 million on Memphis Depay, a Dutch standout who helped PSV Eindhoven win the Eredivisie title last season. They spent £24 million upfront on Morgan Schneiderlin, an established defensive midfielder with a record of success at Southampton. The spent an estimated £12.7 million on Matteo Darmian in a move to flesh out their defense. And they spent £6.56 million on Bastian Schweinsteiger, a veteran midfielder fresh of a 13-year stint at Bayern Munich.
Unfortunately, all of that spending hasn't converted to dominance for Manchester United. While the football club could hardly be said to be doing poorly so far in their 2015 2016 campaign, they certainly haven't returned yet to the lofty heights of the Alex Ferguson era. Louis van Gaal is - December 20, 2015
With the group stages concluded for both the 2015/16 Europa League and Champions League tournaments, UEFA announced the round of 32 draw for the UEL on Monday, December 14th. In addition to top group stage contenders from earlier in the Europa League (like Napoli, Rapid Wien, and Tottenham Hotspur), the round of 32 will also include the third-placers from the Champions League (including football clubs like Manchester United, Olympiacos, and Bayer Leverkusen).
The combinatory nature of the Europa League knockout stage always serves to inject some extra excitement into the proceedings. However, it also serves to make the round of 32 especially harder to predict. With that in mind, we are taking a look at the draw for the round of 32 and trying to decipher which teams will progress and which teams won't.
