Red Devils 2018-19

[yinyang]

FRI 25 JAN 2019THE FA CUP - FOURTH ROUND
19:55
Venue: Emirates Stadium

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/46914273

TEAM NEWS
Arsenal will be without defender Hector Bellerin due to a season-ending anterior cruciate ligament injury.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan won't feature against his former club Manchester United as he continues his recovery from a fractured metatarsal.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has suggested United's Alexis Sanchez will feature against his previous employers following a recent hamstring problem.
Marcos Rojo and Marouane Fellaini remain unavailable because of injury.
Chris Smalling is training after a foot problem, while Luke Shaw has recovered from the illness that caused him to miss last weekend's win over Brighton.

MOTD COMMENTATOR'S NOTES
@Guymowbray: The first mega-match of this season's FA Cup comes early, featuring the competition's best ever sides, whose previous clashes have provided some of its most iconic moments.
Alan Sunderland….Ryan Giggs….their joyous, sprinting celebrations - many of us don't need to YouTube search to 'see' them.
It really could be a tie to give us new memories too, with both sides full of confidence having shown in the last fortnight that they can beat fellow 'big guns'.
Yes, we'll enjoy the ongoing drama of their Premier League race for the top four, but you can't beat a game with instant jeopardy - the feature film version of a smash hit series.

Get the popcorn in.
VIEW FROM THE DUGOUT
Arsenal head coach Unai Emery on Manchester United: "It's a different team. It's the same players but they're playing with a big performance now.
"I was watching their last matches and each player has a lot of confidence, with big performances, and now they are very dangerous.
"For us, it's good because it's a very big test for us in this competition."
Manchester United caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer: "That's the one fierce football rivalry of my years here as a player.
"We were always the closest rivals. They won the double, we won the treble. The games were just fantastic.
"We had a great team, and they had a very good team. There were some tackles flying in between the two teams. They were fantastic games."

MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head

• Arsenal have won their only two previous FA Cup matches at home to Manchester United.
• However, the Gunners have only won one of the last six meetings in all competitions (D2, L3).
• There has been a red card in five of the past eight FA Cup ties between the sides.

Arsenal

• Arsenal have only lost two home games in all competitions this season, winning 13 and drawing three.
• They have reached the fifth round or better in seven of the past eight seasons - their only failure to do so coming last season against Nottingham Forest.
• The Gunners have gone on to win the FA Cup in the previous three seasons they've knocked out United - in 2002-03, 2004-05 and 2014-15.
• Arsenal have won 12 of their last 13 FA Cup matches against fellow Premier League sides.

Manchester United

• United have won all seven matches under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, scoring 19 and conceding just four.
• They have only conceded one goal in three away games since Solskjaer took over.
• Manchester United have only lost one of their last 14 FA Cup fourth-round ties.
• Romelu Lukaku has scored 13 goals in his past 14 FA Cup games, including six in seven for United.
• With nine goals and nine assists, Alexis Sanchez has been directly involved in 18 goals in 19 FA Cup appearances during his time at Arsenal and Manchester United.

 

[yinyang]

 

[Gallego99]

Classic United. Beat them on the counter.

 

[Gallego99]

Winning streak came to an end today. Pity. They could have sealed all 3 points today if not for the poor marking and horrendous mistake mad by Pereira.

 

[yinyang]

Winning streak came to an end today. Pity. They could have sealed all 3 points today if not for the poor marking and horrendous mistake mad by Pereira.

Statistical probability too, realistically after consecutive straight wins. Ole’s 1st mistake of ill fitting Pereira, Lukaku with Rashford on wide left. Missed golden chance of hitting #4

 

[Gallego99]

Pereira will remain a fringe player for the rest of his career as a pro footballer. Good passing ability and nothing else. Lacks aggression and he's not likely to probe and find the spaces between the opponent's back line.

In this instance though, Jones should shoulder part of the blame. Burnley was pressing high with 3-4 players when the silly pass was made. He could have played it further forward, over the opponent's head. That's Jones-brain dead and clumsy.

 

[yinyang]

Closer to top 4 (than fat hope in JM's reign)?

 

[yinyang]

Fixtures with more hope (see last in Feb, home with Pool)

Saturday 9th February 2019
PREMIER LEAGUE

• Fulham 12:30 Man Utd

Tuesday 12th February 2019
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - CHAMPIONS LEAGUE ROUND OF 16

• Man Utd 20:00 PSG

Monday 18th February 2019
THE FA CUP - FIFTH ROUND

• Chelsea 19:30 Man Utd

Sunday 24th February 2019
PREMIER LEAGUE

• Man Utd 14:05 Liverpool

 

[red amoeba]

It will be a true wonder f they can navigate through Feb unscathed.

 

[yinyang]

Man Utd star Marcus Rashford closing in on bumper new £50m deal
at Old Trafford

MARCUS RASHFORD is closing on a bumper new deal with Manchester United worth almost £50m.

Man Utd news: Marcus Rashford is closing in on a bumper new £50m deal at Old Trafford (Pic: GETTY)

The England ace is in advanced talks about an improved contract that will see him pledge his long-term future to the club.
Starsport understands Rashford is poised to more than double his wages with a £200,000-a-week deal plus bonuses that reflects his status as one of Europe’s leading strikers.

United have been keen to tie down Rashford and fend off interest from Paris Saint Germain and Real Madrid, as exclusively revealed by Starsport in November.

The striker’s current £75,000-a-week deal runs until 2020, with the option of an extra 12 months.
But Old Trafford bosses are aware Rashford has become one of the most sought-after stars in the game and have no intention of losing him.
The new deal would keep him at Old Trafford until 2024 and make him one of the Premier League’s highest paid stars.
Rashford put talks on hold towards the end of last season over concerns about his role in the team and lack of starts under Jose Mourinho.
But he knows how valuable he has become to United, scoring six goals in 10 appearances since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer replaced Mourinho in December and ousting Romelu Lukaku as United’s No.1 striker in the process.

Meanwhile Solskjaer’s assistant Mike Phelan has urged United’s stars to embrace the current run of 10 games unbeaten and look to get even better.
He believes there is much more to come between now and the end of the season.
Phelan said: “We’re chasing a pack, but I have known Manchester United claw back points before.
“We can only do our own job, keep doing what we’ve been doing, keep pressing all of the right buttons.
“We’re going to lose a few games, which happens in football, but at this moment in time we’re winning a few as well.

“Our aim is to try and do even better, to try and push the players even further. Players are talented here because they’re here for a reason.
“It’s up to them to embrace Manchester United, the ethos, and everything around it. That’s the reason why they’re here.
“Winning is there, it’s got to be – the size of the football club demands that. We’re trying to build something.
“Ole is temporarily in charge and I’m temporarily here. Until anybody changes that, we will do everything we possibly can to make this environment pleasurable and reflect that on the pitch.”

 

[yinyang]

United up to fourth
Fulham 0-3 Manchester United
A top-four spot looked a long way off for Manchester United when Jose Mourinho was in charge.
Now, they're up to fourth, moving above Chelsea.

 

[yinyang]

Confirmed #4, after Chelskis koyak 0-6 to MC

 

[red amoeba]

Don’t sack sarri yet. Wait till end of season. We have to play them at OT.

 

[Gallego99]

Utd will be playing Chelsea at Stamford Bridge this Saturday and you're right-keep Sarri. They're on the verge of imploding.

 

[Gallego99]

United may just win EPL by a nostril hair if they keep the momentum going. I wouldn't be surprise if they complete the treble. At any rate, they will surpass all expectations for this season. The only bad news was they kept Jones for another 4 farking years!!!!

 

[Gallego99]

without the speed merchants Lingard and Martial, it was going to be tough. Sanchez looked like he didn't want to play. He's just a poor fit to the squad.
Lesson for Ole, you need quality backups if your key players are injured. Once they shutdown Martial and Pogba, United was completely neutered. Relying on right wing back, an ageing one at that is going to leave you vulnerable. We need a natural right winger. Get Kouli and ditch Rojo,Bailly and Jones. We need a playmaker other than Pogba and possibly another striker. Let the clumsy one go.

 

[red amoeba]

without the speed merchants Lingard and Martial, it was going to be tough. Sanchez looked like he didn't want to play. He's just a poor fit to the squad.
Lesson for Ole, you need quality backups if your key players are injured. Once they shutdown Martial and Pogba, United was completely neutered. Relying on right wing back, an ageing one at that is going to leave you vulnerable. We need a natural right winger. Get Kouli and ditch Rojo,Bailly and Jones. We need a playmaker other than Pogba and possibly another striker. Let the clumsy one go.

It’s better like this. Focus on the EPL. We don’t have the resource yet to challenge for multi front. The real test starts now. How they recover and bounce back.

 

[Gallego99]

I still believe they can do a Juve in Paris. That would be the ultimate test of character.

 

[yinyang]

 

[yinyang]

Sir Alex Ferguson to manage Man Utd in Champions League
20th anniversary repeat
By Simon Stone
BBC Sport

Sir Alex Ferguson will return to manage a Manchester United team at Old Trafford for the first time since retiring in 2013
Legendary former boss Sir Alex Ferguson will manage a Manchester United XI in a 20th anniversary repeat of their dramatic 2-1 Champions League final win over Bayern Munich.

The match, which will feature players from the 1999 game at the Nou Camp, will be at Old Trafford on 26 May.
United interim boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who scored the injury-time winner, is expected to be in the side.
Ferguson retired in 2013 and the Scot, 77, said it will be a "special day".

The most successful manager in the history of British football, he won 38 trophies during 26 years in charge of United.
The Champions League triumph - with victory over German giants Bayern secured thanks to two injury-time goals by Teddy Sheringham and Solskjaer - was part of a 1998-99 Treble that also included the Premier League title and the FA Cup.
The anniversary match will raise funds for the Manchester United Foundation.

Manchester United managing director Richard Arnold said: "The '99 Treble is one of the most important and historic moments in Manchester United's story, with a team made up of some true legends of the game.

"The final against Bayern Munich is a night etched in the memory of all our fans, and for so many of those names to be returning to Old Trafford to celebrate the anniversary of that momentous achievement is testament to the Manchester United Foundation and the work it does in our community."