David Moyes Highlights Shinji Kagawa's Weak Point

David Moyes, coach of Manchester United, was visibly impressed with Shinji Kagawa’s performance in their 4-1 win over Aston Villa over the weekend. He provided the pass that led to Wayne Rooney’s first goal of the match and created another that gave Juan Mata a penalty that was converted for United. 

The Japanese international was often overlooked by Moyes and the few times he was featured, he was played out of position most times. Before this weekend’s win, Kagawa was yet to score a goal and make any assist in 12 premiership games. Luckily for him, he was able to correct that in their 4-1 win at the weekend.

After the victory, the coach had this to say about Kagawa "I'm glad with Shinji. I thought he played very well at West Ham, too, but he made a very good pass to Juan for the penalty kick [on Saturday]. I want see more from Shinji in those moments because he's a very good footballer. He is technically gifted and can create good situations. It was also an excellent pass [for Wayne Rooney’s header]"

Moyes had good reasons to expect more from the Japanese play maker. In the match against Villa, he made just a single key pass. Against West Ham United the previous week, he made four. In all he has made about 10 key passes, an average of less than one per game.

I really do hope that Moyes’ talk would inspire him and make him do especially as we confront German champions Bayern Munich this Tuesday in the first leg of the UEFA champions League quarter final. And if Moyes is truly serious about seeing an improvement in Shinji Kagawa, he had better give him more play time and play him in his natural position.

Is Moyes Giving Januzaj Same Treatment He Gave Rooney At Everton?

Manchester United over the weekend thumped Aston Villa 4-1. Rooney’s brace as well as a goal each from Juan Mata and Javier Hernandez completed the routing of Villa. The fourth goal of the match was simply breathe taking.

A superb run down the left flank by United’s teen sensation Adnan Januzaj followed by a through pass to Chicharito who carefully tucked the ball into the net made it four for the Red Devils. The fast rising teenager was simply an amazing sight to behold. His every touch of the ball was masterful. His impact as soon as he came into the fray was fully felt.

The question then is why isn’t Januzaj getting enough play time under Moyes? Why have such a game changer and leave him wasting away on the substitute bench? It’s a question only United’s coach David Moyes can provide answers for.

And he did offer an explanation. He said he didn’t want the talented youngster to get fatigued too soon. In David Moyes words "I think Adnan has played an incredible amount of games for a 19-year-old. We have to be mindful of that. We have seen signs in training that we have to be careful what we do with him. He is a great talent and he is someone we know will go a long way at Manchester United. But we are just being careful with him. We have to do the right things and he has played a lot of football.”

Is this the first time Moyes is leaving a young talented player on the bench even when his first team players aren’t getting any good result? Absolutely not. Moyes brought Wayne Rooney through Everton as a sixteen year old teenager. Was Rooney given enough play time to prove himself? No. In fact he was on loan for a part of the 2004-2005 season.

What was Moyes’ response then? "He's just an 18-year-old who has done unbelievably well and is progressing and, like everyone else, you have ups and downs. His ability is not in question; his talent is not in question. I think it's just a matter of time until he comes back into good form. We have played him in a lot of games this season already and we need to look at that."

If Rooney had been put to better use at Everton, they just might have won a silverware. With this same treatment meted out to Januzaj, should we be hopeful of trophies under David Moyes?

Manchester United Board Shopping For Moyes’ Replacement - Real Madrid's Carlo Ancelotti Been Considered

Given the series of poor results and under-achievement of the coach, the Manchester United board may have finally began shopping for a replacement for their embattled, under-performing coach David Moyes. Reports say that they are strongly considering the highly experienced coach of Real Madrid, Carlo Ancelotti. 

Although the rumour making the rounds for a long time is that the board would give Moyes enough support and more time, but there had not been any meaningful improvement in the team’s play since he took over as coach. Under Moyes’ watch, United had lost two of their derby to city rival Manchester City. Loses to German champions Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League might as well seal his doom.

Why Ancelotti? According to French journalist Julien Laurens of Le Parisiens newspaper, Sir Alex Ferguson contacted Ancelotti to succeed him at Old Trafford but he politely declined. This then left Ferguson with no better choice than to settle for the then Everton boss David Moyes.

United are hoping to leverage on Ancelotti’s wealth of experience having successfully managed some of Europe’s biggest clubs. The Italian has won domestic league titles in three different countries and has a rich experience of English football. He won the Premiership League and FA Cup in his first year as coach of the west London club Chelsea. He is already used to coaching world class talents and having a bigger budget to shop from.

They are optimistic that he would be able to guide United to winning trophies again. While Ancelotti may not be doing too badly at Madrid, he may likely be sacked should he fail to win any silverware in Spain. This would pave the way for United to bring him down to Old Trafford.

The victory against Aston Villa may have kept the wolves from Moyes’ door for now, but he may not escape the axe if the results do not improve very soon.

“Manchester United Lack Class To Repel Bayern” Samuel Kufffour

Ex Ghanaian International and former Bayern Munich defender Samuel Kuffour has revealed that Manchester United of England lack the class of players that could repel visiting Bayern Munich as the two sides face each other in a first leg UEFA Champions League quarter final match. 

The ex Bayern Munich defender is yet to forget his club’s painful loss to United in in the 1999 European Cup final. Almost fifteen years after the encounter, he still cannot watch the game on television as the loss is still so painful. According to him "After the game I was just crying. I went straight to the airport to go back to Berlin for an operation.

"I have never even watched the game, I don't want to see it. If it is on TV, my friends will call me and say, 'Hey, they are showing your game.' I say to them that I don't want to watch it. It still gives me pain. I need to let it go but I'm still holding it in my heart. It's very difficult and I don't want to watch it.

Samuel, 37, spent a total of 12 years with Bayern Munich after he joined them from Torino as a 15 year old lad. He had a long and glorious career with the club that included six Bundesliga titles.  Kuffour is presently a soccer pundit in South Africa but still visits Bayern Munich regularly and describes the club as “a family”.  "I have good relationships with a lot of players there," he says. "Schweinsteiger was my boy.”

He had a word of advice for United "I think Manchester United need to buy some quality players. They need to go into the market. For me, to play against Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole was an honour, it was a privilege. They were really good at the time and it made me play better.

"The players they have at the moment are not at the highest level and the fans should admit that. I don't blame David Moyes," Kuffour says. "Bayern will have more possession and that will be a problem for United, because some of their players aren't getting younger."

Would United be lucky again against the visiting German machines? We’ll find out at the end of hopefully 90 minutes on Tuesday night.

Manchester United Receives Massive Injury Boost

As English club Manchester United prepare to face German giants Bayern Munich in Tuesday’s first leg quarter final match, their defensive department received a big boost with ace defender Rafael declaring himself fit for the encounter.

Further relief came the way of United as Rio Ferdinand, Chris Smalling and Jonny Evans, all three defenders who had missed out of last week’s 4-1 win over Aston Villa, took part in a training session. Left back Alex Buttner who also suffered a hamstring injury in that encounter also trained with the team. This would serve as a big boost for the Red Devils who would need every player full fit to curb the rampaging German champions.

The 23 year old defence ace sustained an injury in United 4-1 win over Aston Villa and had to be substituted. But has now declared himself fit for the clash against Bayern tonight. Talking to the press, the Brazilian said “I am OK. My thigh was a little bit tight. We just wanted to make sure I would fit for Tuesday”.

The last time both clubs faced each other in 2010, the red card shown to Rafael in the 50th minute was what cost United the match. In that match, Rafael had set up the first goal which made them level on aggregate and United were 3-0 ahead till the 41st minute. Rafael was then sent off in the 50th minute of the game for a tug on Ribery’s shirt. The 10 man United later lost 3-2 after Arjen Robben had scored the winner for the Bavarians. Now Rafael relishes the opportunity of redeeming the loss he caused.

As the European champions visit Old Trafford on Tuesday night, my fears are: would David Moyes throw caution to the wind by playing a more penetrative Shinji Kagawa or would he securely lock down our midfield? A mid field manned by Ryan Giggs, Micheal Carrick and Mourane Fellaini would be a more conservative option. If we must lose, let’s cut down our losses.

Chamapions League - Bayern Are Favourites Against Manchester United – Mario Basler

English champions Manchester United have a herculean task ahead of them as they square up against reigning European champions Bayern Munich on Tuesday April 1, 2014 in the first leg quarter final match. 

The Bavarian club has been in super form this season losing just two matches of 44 games in all competition. The current Bundesliga champions retained their crown this season after a 3-1 win over Hertha BSC just last week.  However same cannot be said of Manchester United who are about 11 points away from a the 4^thplace EPL team.

United would be coming into this encounter riding on the back of a surprise 3-0 win against Olympiakos at Old Trafford after a 2-0 loss in their previous encounter. Dutch man Robin Van Persie scored a hat-trick that booked the Red Devils a quarter final ticket.

Mario Basler, the scorer of Bayern consolation goal in their 2-1 loss to United in 1999, told bundesliga.comthat in Tuesday’s encounter “Bayern are favourites”.

Reproduced below is the said interview…

bundesliga.com: The two teams meet again in Manchester on Tuesday. How much are you looking forward to the game?

Basler: Manchester United vs. Bayern München is a great match-up with a lot of history, but I think the result will be more clear-cut in favour of Bayern this year. I’m expecting them to win .

bundesliga.com: Could United still pose a threat to Bayern on account of the fact that they’re some way off the pace in the Premier League, allowing them to focus all their attention on the Champions League?

Basler: Manchester United are always a dangerous opponent. Every team that reaches the quarter-final is dangerous, but Bayern are still the clear favourites for me, even though United’s squad is strong.

bundesliga.com: What do Bayern need to watch out for against United?

Basler: Bayern will focus on their own game. A lot will depend on the form of the two teams on the day, but I don’t think Bayern will lose to United, not by any stretch of the imagination.

bundesliga.com: Is there any risk of Bayern underestimating United?

Basler: Not at all. Bayern are so consistent and don’t underestimate any opponent. They just focus on their own strengths.

I totally agree Bayern are the favorites at the moment. They are simply the best team in the world but like United showed in 1999, we have a chance and I won't be surprised if we shock Bayern Munich and go through over the 2 legs.

David Moyes on March 19 was quoted as saying: "we can win the Champions League." Here is a good opportunity for him to prove that. While United may not be favourites in this encounter, but should we lose, we’ll take solace in the fact that we lost against the best team in Europe.

Dutchman Could Replace David Moyes As Manchester United's Manager

Given the string of poor results and form of English champions Manchester United, no one will be surprised if there are plans under ground to replace David Moyes. 

Though there’s a seeming willingness by United’s board to give him more time to get the desired results, the steady fall of the reigning English champions from UEFA League to Europa League hopefuls is a serious cause for concern that requires urgent attention.

Already someone is been rumoured to be considered as a replacement for David Moyes should there be no improvement in the fortunes of the team: Louis Van Gaal, who is the current head coach of the Dutch national team.

Should Van Gaal be given the job, he would be coming to United with a wealth of experience and huge success in almost all the major leagues in the world. Ironically, Louis Van Gaal is yet to coach any club side in England. He may just be the one to turn Manchester United’s football fortune’s around although given his age (  62 years old) he may not be long in that position.

According to Ronald De Boer, youth Coach for Ajax, he believes Van Gaal has all it takes to succeed in the Premier League with United. “He is one of the best coaches in the world and can really prepare a team. He can find weaknesses in any opponent and present them with solid opposition as he analyzes the game really well. He has so much quality he would be successful in England, especially if he is given time to set out his team.”

While there is very little to suggest that the Glazer family and United’s boardroom would considering sacking Moyes, Metro reported that "Louis van Gaal would jump at the chance to become Manchester United boss if under-fire David Moyes is axed. 

Moyes is under increasing pressure at Old Trafford and Hilland manager Van Gaal is part of a contingency plan being considered by United chiefs if Moyes cannot halt the club’s decline”.

Van Gaal current contract with the Dutch national team would expire this year after the world cup.

In his career as a coach, Louis van Gaal has won the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich, La Liga with Barcelona, and the Eredivisie, UEFA Cup, UEFA Super Cup, and the Champions League with Ajax.