In November this year Sir Alex Ferguson will have been in charge at Manchester United for an astonishing 27 years. With the changes in football and the modern game where we see managers last such short periods of time, it is unlikely that we will see another like Ferguson.
Throughout his hugely successful time in charge at Old Trafford, the Scotsman has always had the ability to build new teams to keep United’s success rolling.
The club have enjoyed a very good season so far with the league looking all but wrapped up, the FA Cup still very much alive, and the Champions League as well.
Ferguson will however be aware that it is important to continually improve the squad to continue his legacy. So what players should he be looking at as possible future signings for the club?
Click on James Rodriguez to unveil the 10 transfers Fergie should consider
Even the greatest managers fail sometimes and despite all his trophies at Old Trafford, Sir Alex Ferguson isn’t perfect. For every Eric Cantona, Jaap Stam and Ruud van Nistelrooy, there’s a whole host of signings that Manchester United fans will try desperately to erase them from memory.
Old Trafford can be an unforgiving place for a player, especially considering the Reds often have to pay over the odds for signings. The pressure can be difficult to handle and individuals often face levels of unwarranted criticism. Rather like Ernst Stavro Blofeld, failure simply isn’t tolerated at Manchester United and that hunger for success has clearly worked, especially seeing as the Reds have overhauled Liverpool’s number of titles.
That feat isn’t thanks to any of the people listed below however, some of whom were so bad, it’s not implausible to suggest they were planted by Liverpool to try and destroy United’s legacy. See what you think of United’s worst XI signings from the Premier League era:
Click on William Prunier to unveil the XI
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Now is the time for Wigan to live up to their tag as the Premier League’s escapology specialists. The Latics are currently in the relegation zone, three points from safety, and saw they survival prospects take a hit last weekend as they limped to defeat at West Ham and results went against them. Now its time for Roberto Martinez’s side to begin the process of unlocking the chains and climbing out of the top-flight dunk tank. Replicating the feats of last season won’t be plain sailing in their five remaining games and they have to make home form count after two consecutive losses away from the DW Stadium.
After coming from behind to slay Manchester City last Sunday Tottenham are on a high and can reclaim a position in the top-four with victory in the North West. They are just two points behind Arsenal and have a game in hand on their North London rivals, who go up against newly-crowned champions Manchester United tomorrow. Andre Villas-Boas will have been pleased by his teams second half response against City as they scored three times in seven minutes to earn a much needed win. Wigan, however, are something of a bogey team for Spurs and they’ll be seeking to avenge the 1-0 defeat suffered in the reverse fixture at White Hart Lane earlier in the campaign.
Team News
Wigan boss Roberto Martinez looks set to reinstate winger Jean Beausejour to the starting XI after being forced into a defensive reshuffle following the news that Antolin Alcaraz (hamstring) faces three weeks out.
Aaron Lennon has overcome a knee injury and is back for Tottenham. Also fighting fit are Gareth Bale and Jermaine Defoe after they both made a scoring comeback in the victory over Manchester City. Sandro (knee) and defensive duo Younes Kaboul (thigh) and William Gallas (calf) remain unavailable.
What the managers said…
“The speculation about Real Madrid comes from the coach having speculation all over the world about his exit – Real Madrid are looking for a coach. The fact he made it public that he is looking for an exit has ended up with a lot of speculation. For me it is always an honour but I am completely focused. At the moment I am very, very focused on trying to get another year at one club. The same club!” Andre Villas-Boas insists every ounce of his focus is on Tottenham (Telegraph Sport)
“The players have been very focused on the league. Their performances have been phenomenal. Arguably, the games at Manchester City and West Ham were our two most dominant performances away from home. You shouldn’t just judge football on results. If they want to play in the FA Cup final, that comes through very good performances in the league.” Roberto Martinez adds an incentive for his players to secure Premier League survival (Telegraph Sport)
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Pre-match Statistic: Jermaine Defoe enjoys playing against having notched 10 goals in 12 Premier League games against them.
Prediction: Wigan Athletic 2-3 Tottenham Hotspur
Make your bets ahead of the showdown at the DW Stadium by clicking on the banner below
The aim of any aspiring Tottenham manager on FM13 is to avoid the state of flux Spurs find themselves in on the periphery of the European elite. Utilising the generosity of the infamously prudent Daniel Levy, it is possible to transform the fortunes of the North London club into genuine Premier League title contenders.
Couple the potential fire sale of the likes of Livermore and Huddlestone with Levy’s £35million warchest and you have the potential to be the envy of managers the world over.
It is crucial to maintain the legacy of your predecessor Andre Villas-Boas and the plans he laid out in his tireless fortnight in charge. Therefore, a fluid 4-2-3-1 formation will be used to build around the Welsh wizard Gareth Bale and create a domestic and European dominating outfit.
Click on Davide Santon to see what kind of bang you can get for your buck as Spurs on FM13
The England national team face two very different types of test this week as they take on Moldova tonight at Wembley before facing Ukraine away on Tuesday in crucial World Cup qualifiers.
Roy Hodgson has targeted ten more points to secure qualification from Group H, but the difficult juxtaposing fixtures will be made even harder without Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney, who will miss out on both international encounters after a collision with Phil Jones in training that’s left him with a gory gash down the centre of his forehead.
England will be without their main man, who’s netted eight goals in 11 outings since Hodgson took over as head coach in summer 2012, but his absence could prove a blessing in disguise for the Three Lions.
When it comes to strikers, the England boys are rather short on established international quality. Andy Carroll, Jermain Defoe, Daniel Sturridge, Danny Welbeck and Rickie Lambert have all featured in the past year for the former Fulham and Liverpool boss, but none have managed to find the net on a regular enough basis to topple Rooney’s position as the starting XI’s lone centre-forward.
[cat_link cat=”England” type=”tower”]
Not that their performances would necessarily guarantee a spot in the first team; Hodgson sees the United forward as one of a rare few shining stars, and as previously stated, Rooney’s form has been at its most prolific for England under the 66 year old’s management.
Jermain Defoe has netted four times in eight appearances over the last two years, but a start for the Three Lions is an uncommon occurance for the Tottenham man, due to Hodgson’s England ‘Plan A’ being centred around a single striker.
The 31 year-old looks set to miss out again this week as he joins the squad struggling with a calf injury, along with Daniel Sturridge who picked up a knock at the weekend for Liverpool but could feature against Ukraine on Tuesday.
It will give England’s new cult hero Rickie Lambert another chance to impress following his match-winning goal against Scotland in August. The former non-leaguer’s personal story of his rise to the top is captivating and inspiring, and the vast majority of Three Lions fans will be glad to see him starting tonight against Moldova.
Admittedly, the quality of the competition is weak, but this will be a huge test for the 31 year-old. Affairs against international minnows are often lose-lose situations for the England team, with anything less than a hefty thrashing often deemed unacceptable by the English media and the public. But Moldova are no San Marino – they’ve already claimed five points in the current qualifying campaign, and their unique system of paying players in either bonuses or fines depending on results, as explained in the Telegraph by Tony Hawks, will motivate them for the Wembley challenge.
Most likely, they’ll set up shop by camping deep in their own half, and it will be up to Lambert to prove he’s firstly capable dealing with all the pressure involved in England affairs against lesser opposition, and secondly that he’s got the quality to penetrate a defensively-minded XI intensely focused on stopping him from scoring.
The Southampton star showed all the skills to do so last season, netting 15 Premier League goals to finish as the division’s highest scoring Englishman tied with Frank Lampard, but now he has to do it on the international stage where anything less than all three points and a healthy contribution to England’s goal-difference will be viewed as a failed venture.
Moving onto Tuesday night, and it will be Sturridge’s turn to impress if he can recover from his niggling groin complaint. Since arriving at Anfield from Chelsea in January, the 24 year-old has been unstoppable, claiming 13 goals and five assists in 17 Premier League appearances for Liverpool including three in three this season. The striker’s only England goal came against San Marino earlier this year, and the Ukraine encounter strikes the right balance in terms of quality of opposition for Sturridge to make a more noticeable announcement on the world stage.
But just as for Lambert tonight, Sturridge will feel the unique pressure England players are put under by a mixture of high expectations and natural pessimism from Three Lions supporters. If three points against Moldova is a given, a win away to Ukraine is certainly not. Whereas Lambert will simply have to go through the motions to get his quality to tell, his Liverpool counterpart will need to put in a high-octane performance as well as find the net if he’s to be the integral cog in an England victory.
For both men, it’s about proving they have the quality and the mentality to play for England, with one eye on the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. But for Roy Hodgson it’s an opportunity to see how the Three Lions play without lynchpin Wayne Rooney. Despite the healthy scoring record, England have fallen flat in vital matches due to a lack of craft and penetration going forward, with Group H fixtures against Ukraine, Poland and Montenegro previously all ending as 1-1 draws.
At the same time, the performances have been laboured and one dimensional; set pieces appear to be the main attacking threat, and trying to keep the ball often proves more trouble than it’s worth for England’s technically limited roster.
To suggest that’s down to Wayne Rooney would be unfair, but Hodgson’s game plan is centred around getting the United striker on the ball as much as possible with mixed results. The 27 year old can produce moments of magic out of nothing, but more often than not, a ball to feet from midfield ends with Rooney being surrounded by two opposing defenders and readily dispossessed. For the Red Devils, he finds space and opens up his body in front of goal, but in an England jersey, he spends the majority of his time facing his own half and rarely gets the chance to penetrate behind the opposition back line.
In typology, Sturridge and Lambert aren’t directly comparable to Wazza Roo and thus Hodgson will be forced into modifying England’s style accordingly. Lambert is direct in physique but comes with unique quality on the ball, whilst Sturridge’s game is filled with flair, close control, pace and lethality in front of goal. Rather than searching for Rooney as often the sole attacking outlet in the final third, both strikers will require a different kind of service from midfield rather than simply passes to feet in the hope the United forward can turn his immediate marker.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
And if either forward, or indeed both, prosper significantly in Rooney’s absence, the England boss will need to reconsider how he sets up in future games. Both Lambert and Sturridge’s domestic form is hard to ignore, but proving their worth internationally will make a much stronger case for regular inclusion in the England starting XI.
Hodgson appears adamant to field either 4-5-1 or 4-3-3 formations, and admittedly, the days of the Three Lions playing in an ill-fated 4-4-2 are well and truly dead. But if another prolific goalscorer emerges for England over the next week, it could see Rooney pushed deeper into a supporting role, similar to how he’s most commonly utilised for Manchester United, which in turn, may provide a different and more creative dynamic going forward.
More than anything, Lambert and Sturridge’s outings this week will highlight to Hodgson that he has other viable options up front than the current one-man attacking game plan if the striking duo produce promising performances. Rather than losing our only established international centre-forward, Rooney’s absence will serve as a blessing in disguise, and hopefully encourage the England boss to venture away from the Three Lions’ limited one-dimensional style.
Will Rooney’s absence serve as a blessing in disguise?
In part it’s owed to the good form of the attackers; the other side is the extremely light schedule.
Liverpool are looking good value for a top four spot in the Premier League come May. Brendan Rodgers has shown his own versatility as a manager to balance out his team so as to get the most out of Liverpool’s greatest strength, its attack, while integrating the new arrivals to such a level where their own shortfalls are never consistently exposed as they would have been in the past.
It would be a bit of a stretch to say Liverpool have a unity about them that is absent from their closest rivals. They’re a team with good players who are in or around where they ought to be, though importantly without the hindrance of midweek football.
But it’s the means to an end, that being to get Liverpool back to the summit of the Premier League. The league at present is unpredictable and some are either cautious to hand out labels as to who the genuine title challengers are or will flat out deny such a status to some. Liverpool, however, will know that this isn’t the end of the road. Top four is very much a possibility, but as a collective are they good enough to win the race for the title come May?
I ask the question because they’re being aided in a great way by having the entire week off between league matches to recoup while others are either off travelling around Europe or tied into domestic cup games. The flaws that are present in this Liverpool side – not always looking certain of a win, Swansea and Newcastle as examples, and the fact that the majority of the team’s goals are coming from only two sources – are being masked by the freshness of key players.
That isn’t really a needless swipe at the team, but who would have thought of this Liverpool side, regardless of summer activity, to be a genuine title challenger? Of course, that could be said for others, but the gap is bigger to close from seventh to first than it is from fourth or fifth.
Nevertheless, Rodgers appears focused in what needs to be done. A lack of midweek games could arguably force a team to eventually lose focus, but Liverpool continue to press in such a way that it discounts that theory for them. The win against Fulham on the weekend was convincing. The loss to Arsenal the week prior shouldn’t really knock Liverpool off course; they’ve beaten other big teams in the league this season and are capable of doing so again.
But there is a lot to take from the way Liverpool are handling things this season which can be applied to many. The race for European football often precedes the value of a domestic trophy. There is far more of a desire to put a club in the black than put a trophy in the cabinet. But on occasion, teams do need to have a good grasp of their own league before they can make a successful or at least meaningful transition into European football.
What if this Liverpool side were playing in the Europa League as they did last term? It’s unlikely, though not impossible that they’d still be in second place at this stage. European excursions can limit how far clubs can go in their own league. It stretches the squad to its maximum, forcing, eventually, for managers to sacrifice one for the other, by which time, due to fatigue, it may be too late to grab a top spot once again.
Liverpool have been put in a position where they can do it the right way. This squad are reaching their maximum – that being a top four side – but that’s because they have no other commitments. If Luis Suarez moves on next year, the club will be armed with a combination of his received transfer fee, the lure of Champions League football and the revenue it brings. That takes the club into a higher tier in the market and allows for further build.
Teams have shown in the past how difficult it can be to juggle more than one top competition. But by gradually easing themselves along the development path, Liverpool not only have a good opportunity to land Champions League football for next season, but also build even further on that. Importantly, this group of players will have the experience and understanding of what it takes to finish in the top four. Successfully managing an increased schedule comes with further additions via the market. But as the lack of Europa League football and the loss in the League Cup is showing, you sometimes have to take a step back to move forward.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Will Liverpool’s light schedule see them into the top four?
The meteoric rise of West Brom and England’s Saido Berahino has provided the media with a considerable number of stories so far this season.
From relative obscurity, the 20-year-old has become one of the Premier League’s most talked about players; so much so that there is already speculation linking him with a move away from the Baggies, with Arsenal and Chelsea both said to be weighing up bids.
Yet a potential transfer is just one of a number of rumoured possibilities for the striker with talk of a place in Roy Hodgson’s World Cup squad also having been mentioned.
It says much for the value of Premier League goals then, to a player who’s only previous experience, prior to this term, came from loan spells at Northampton, Brentford and Peterborough respectively.
Now, having said to have opened talks with his current club over a new deal, it seems there could be some tough decisions on the horizon for the youngster.
Whilst the evolution of current club WBA under boss Steve Clarke has been impressive to say the least, it is evident that they are still some way off being a real force in the top-flight. Without a win in their opening four games, it took a 3-0 demolition of a struggling Sunderland to lift the Hawthorns outfit, a result that was promptly followed by an unexpected 1-1 draw away at Arsenal, in which Berahino bagged an equaliser.
Now lying in tenth, with 14 points from 11 matches, it is difficult to say what course the Baggies season is likely to run, but pragmatism aside, it’s clear that it is unlikely to be as fruitful as those of Berahino’s London based suitors.
Both the Gunners and the Blues are struggling for strikers this season, with Arsenal largely reliant on the in-form Olivier Giroud, whilst Chelsea’s misfiring trio of Torres, Eto’o and Ba have just three Premier League goals between them; a record that makes currently league placing of fourth a fairly remarkable feat.
Thus bids for Berahino could well be immanent, with both sides able to offer him a more lucrative contract than Albion.
Indeed, his current deal has arguably been the source of much of the speculation regarding his future, with reports alleging that his wage is just £850-a-week, making him one of the Premier League’s lowest paid players.
Last week the Daily Mirror reported that the striker had rejected West Brom’s offer of a new £7000-a-week deal and though it is thought that ongoing negotiations appear promising for the Midlands outfit, the lure of European football with a prospective move to the capital might prove difficult to resist.
This all seems a little impulsive though. Berahino has, after all, only scored six goals for his side this season, three of which came in the Capital One Cup win over League Two Side Newport County. And though goals against Arsenal and later Manchester United are impressive, his record hardly yet smacks of a proven goalscorer.
But it seems that the media hype surrounding the player has become something of a whirlwind; admittedly aided the man himself, who’s exploits for the England under-21’s has made for similarly impressive reading in recent weeks.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Yet these feats alone still don’t really tally with a prospective move to a top club, at least not yet anyway.
A name that springs to mind in connection to this case, is that of Federico Macheda, who’s debut goal for Manchester United saw him heralded as some sort of footballing prodigy, an outcome that never really came to pass.
And so, as the speculation and lofty rumours build regarding the future of the young Berahino, albeit potentially justified, could there be something to be said for letting him mature at his own pace, without constant pressure from the press and expectations of a title-challenging club. West Brom, and indeed England, could well be on to a good thing here, so can we nurture it and avoid the pitfalls many young players have fallen victim to in the past?
Yesterday afternoon produced arguably the lowest point in David Moyes’ managerial career, as Manchester United endured a 2-2 home draw to a Fulham side that sit at the bottom of the Premier League table.
The Scot once again argued that fate had conspired against him, leaning on a series of record-breaking statistics produced by Opta to suggest his Red Devils team were in control of everything but the scoreline during Sunday’s Premier League clash at Old Trafford.
But Moyes will know that this is a results-based business, and the one against the Cottagers was particularly shocking. Before the 2-2 draw with the Premier League champions, Fulham had lost five of their last seven, including an FA Cup defeat to Sheffield United in mid-week, who currently sit in League One’s relegation zone.
Even amid such a dangerous downward spiral, it was the visitors who appeared more confident of achieving something at Old Trafford than Manchester United. Perhaps the squad were still struggling to come to terms with last week’s defeat to Stoke, but that’s hardly an excuse worthy of Premier League champions, or one Moyes would have entertained whilst he was at Everton.
Overall, David Moyes has won just two games out of a possible nine in 2014, and although at this stage the debate remains rather hypothetical, it does force one to consider the worst case scenario. Essentially, at what point does the Scot’s position at Manchester United become untenable?
Let us not get mixed up in hyperbole and exaggeration, the blowback from Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement was always expected this season. The retired Scot is the greatest manager the Premier League has ever seen, one of the most converted in the history of English association football, and one of the best in the modern era of European competition.
He was a monolithic enigma that the Red Devils could never have successfully replaced on a long-term basis without investing time in a manager that that would have to endure a steep learning curve of self-development, but eventually produce results. The other option, of replacing Ferguson with an established world-class head coach of the Jose Mourinho or Carlo Ancelotti variety, would have produced an unstable, almost ad hoc relationship between the club and the manager.
So with that in mind, one can safely assume that Moyes still has the full backing of the board, who had planned all along for a rather turbulent year. Even as early as the summer, members of the Manchester United family were reminding the public whenever possible that it had taken his predecessor three years at Old Trafford to claim his first piece of silverware in 1989, and another three to claim his first league title.
This was an appointment which always looked to the future rather than the current campaign, best illustrated by the six-year contract Moyes was offered by the United hierarchy.
But even so, Moyes’ efforts this season have undoubtedly tested their patience, and their commitment to the Scot’s appointment being a long-term project rather than a quick fix.
Regardless of the pejorative effect Ferguson’s retirement has clearly had on the squad, few envisaged the Red Devils would be nine points away from a Champions League place with just 13 fixtures remaining, especially just a matter of months after they had strolled their way to a Premier League title. Just to put United’s poor showing this year into perspective, their eight league losses since the summer amount to more defeats than last term’s Italian, Spanish, German and French Champions have endured combined this season.
Even with the added influence of £37million mega-signing Juan Mata at his disposal, the Scot still can’t construct anything close to a convincing performance on the pitch, let alone a result, whilst United’s stock price has tumbled to such an extent that the club’s value on the market has lost £395million since May 7th 2013 – the day before Ferguson’s secretly planned retirement had found its way into the tabloids. £220million of that eroded from United’s stock in December 2013 alone.
So what scenario could actually lead to Manchester United pulling the plug on Moyes’ tenure? Had he lost to Fulham yesterday afternoon, would he now be unemployed? Should the Red Devils finish in the bottom half come May-time, would that unprecedented slump in standard be enough due cause to put the Scot’s head on the chopping block?
Or could yet another defeat to an incredibly ordinary Premier League side be enough to trigger a sudden vote of no confidence from the boardroom? Will the stock price only tumble further until United’s corporate interests become endangered? Or will the MoyesOut hashtag receive such online backing that the call for change from the fanbase becomes impossible to ignore?
Only time will tell, but at the moment a lot of factors are working against the Old Trafford boss, by no means exclusive to results. Even Moyes’ lack of confidence is becoming dangerously noticeable; following United’s recent defeat to the Potters, the Guardian’s Jamie Jackson responded to the Scot’s habitual analysis of misfortune by stating “the old standby of bad luck [is] the sign of a manager running out of answers”.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
It’s quite clear that at some point before the end of the current campaign, Manchester United will have to stick or twist. The boardroom would like to think they’re forgiving enough to grant David Moyes another chance next season, but whether the Scot warrants another opportunity will undoubtedly depend on if he can create anything remotely positive out of this term’s last 13 fixtures. At this moment in time, Moyes has done nothing to suggest he’s capable of turning it around.
The United boss is delicately balancing on a tight-rope. Causes for longevity, stability, patience and sensibility aside, should the Red Devils’ form become any worse, it will be a standard the reigning Premier League champions cannot possibly abide. It will then become a matter of which force, be it the corporate side, the fans, the players or the boardroom, pushes him out first.
Click below to see Arsenal v Man United EXCLUSIVELY LIVE!
Manchester United manager David Moyes may have pulled off a 1-1 draw with Bayern Munich in the Champions League but there are still glaring holes to be filled within the Man Utd ranks come the summer transfer window.
The likes of Toni Kroos, Luke Shaw, William Carvalho, Ilkay Gündogan have all been touted as potential summer targets and would bolster the withering United ranks, but with an unproven track record so far this season at the helm of United, trust is still a major issue for many fans.
The discontent at United this season is unprecedented, to the extent that a bewildered bunch of so-called “fans” dished out £840 on a “Moyes Out” banner to fly over Old Trafford during the Aston Villa match last week. It’s troubling times to be a United fan and with a potential 200m war chest to work with in the summer, many fans are seriously questioning whether Moyes knows what to do with that amount of cash.
It’s difficult to argue with the anti-David Moyes brigade when you look at the quality he brought in back at the beginning of summer. Quality might be a wildly loose term to describe Marouane Fellaini, who has looked out of his depth all season and completely off the pace. You just need to search “Fellaini” into Twitter to see a torrent of abuse towards a player who has shown himself to be decidedly “mid-table” in his performances. Throw into the mixer that a player such as Shinji Kagawa started on the bench against Bayern Munich and again the anti-Moyes hoard get your vote.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
But can he make the key tactical purchases required to take United back into title contention next year? Nemanja Vidic, who scored against Bayern, will be out in the summer, as will Wilfried Zaha, Javier Hernandez and Rio Ferdinand, so we scoured Twitter to find out what the fans think of Moyes’s potential summer spending spree:
Brazil are the most successful national team in world football. Their style of football is attractive, with fans from almost every other country wishing their nation could play the game with such beauty.
They are known as the Samba Stars and they’ve been able to boast some of the best players ever in the world. Pele, Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, Neymar… to name but a few.
But what England players could’ve made it into the Brazilian set up over the years? Have we had players as good as Brazil’s?
Well here’s EIGHT that could’ve had a chance…
[ffc-gallery]
Click on Gazza to reveal
[/ffc-gallery]
New Brazilian BBQ Steak Flavour! In stores now!
Paul Gascoigne
On his day, Gazza was as good as any player in world football. He was instrumental to England’s ’90 and ’96 major tournaments.
His control of the ball and general midfield dominance meant he would have walked in to any Brazil squad during his best years. Some would argue he is the most talented English footballer of all time. That’s how good he was.
[ad_pod id=’memegen’ align=’center’]
Stanley Matthews
For 30 years, Matthews was known as the best dribbler of the ball around. He loved the ball at his feet and he loved to beat a man, which is why he would have been the perfect foil to Brazil’s tricky stars.
They didn’t call him the Wizard of Dribble for nothing, after all.
[ad_pod id=’memegen’ align=’center’]
David Beckham
Brazilians are well known for their dead ball abilities. So there’s no reason why one of England’s best ever-dead ball takers couldn’t be South American.
David ‘Golden Balls’ Beckham will always be remembered for the free-kick against Greece that took England to the 2002 World Cup – a goal any samba star would be proud to call his own.
[ad_pod id=’memegen’ align=’center’]
Glenn Hoddle
Hoddle was the player Gazza was compared to on many occasions. He was something of a luxury player for England – something Brazil have had many of over the years.
Many fans that watched him play will tell you how delightful and entertaining he was to watch and with a left foot to die for, and a footballing brain that was way ahead of its time, it’s not difficult to see why he wouldn’t of looked out of place in the yellow of Brazil.
[ad_pod id=’memegen’ align=’center’]
John Barnes
When given the freedom to play, Barnes was one of the best players in the world.
Barnes was both skillful and exciting, which is pretty much all you need to be if you’re going to make the Brazil squad.
He loves music too, so he’s bound to have a few samba-style moves for the pitch as well as the dance floor.
[ad_pod id=’memegen’ align=’center’]
David Dunn
Obviously a joke inclusion, but he certainly thought he had the silky skills to make it as a Brazilian.
Remember the Rabona he tried when playing for Birmingham against Aston Villa? If not, here it is…
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Ronaldinho would’ve been proud.
[ad_pod id=’memegen’ align=’center’]
Joe Cole
On his day, Joe Cole was arguably the most skillful and talented player of his generation. A product of West Ham’s famed youth academy, it didn’t take long for Chelsea to realise his potential and bring him to Stamford Bridge.
He was just as good for England as he was for the clubs he played for and, had he been Brazilian, he could’ve got on the team sheet.
[ad_pod id=’memegen’ align=’center’]
Matt Le Tissier
The didn’t call Matt Le Tissier a genius for nothing. He was technically gifted and scored some of the most extraordinary goals you’re ever likely see – the kind that normally come from the feet of Brazilians.
He could take a penalty, too – scoring 47 out of 48 penalties throughout his career.