Wednesday, 23 October 2013

MANCHESTER UNITED-REAL SOCIEDAD PREVIEW


                                                          
            



    








  
MANCHESTER UNITED- REAL SOCIEDAD PREVIEW…TIME FOR REDEMPTION FOR BOTH SIDES. PRIDE AT STAKE



David Moyes seems to have run out of ideas. In actual fact, majority of Manchester United fans are perplexed by what they are witnessing this season. The red army lie in a distant 8th position in the League- 8 hefty points behind early front runners, Arsenal and what’s more painful is that the managers substitutions have been borderline idiotic and clueless. The new man at the helm lacks the tactical know how to change a game as recent results have shown. If not for Adnan Januzaj, maybe relegation would have been the case with eight matches already played.

On Saturday, with United leading 1-0 and aiming to put the game beyond the reach of Le Sheriff’s Saints, Moyes pulled off one of the most shocking decisions the OT faithful have ever witnessed- Taking out the tired and under performing Wayne Rooney for Smalling, when Kagawa and Chicharito were waiting to be called upon. The puzzling part of the whole bewildering drama is that neither Wazza nor RVP performed well and he couldn’t muster the courage to take out one or both of them. It was terrible. Now any team coming to the Theatre is confident of at least leaving with a point. A far cry from the Fergie days. Although the great man experienced some difficulties in his first five years as manager of the 13-time EPL Champions.

The Champions League has represented a brief relief from the blunders of domestic action. Tonight, Carlos Vela’s Real Sociedad visit Manchester with the hope that they can spring yet another surprise. Very likely that they can. It was another Basque side that destroyed the red devils in the Europa League last year. Marcelo Bielsa’s Bilbao came, saw and ruthlessly demolished SAF’s men with what Moyes has called one of the most outstanding away performances he has ever seen. Iker Muniain, Ander Herrera and company tore their hosts a new one and went on to complete the demolition job at San Mames.

But things are a bit different now. That was the Europa League and the opponents were high on confidence. Today’s match up pitches two struggling teams against each other with one’s fortunes slightly better than the other’s. Manchester United might have demons to bury in the League, but in Europe, they jointly sit atop their group alongside Mircea Lucescu’s Shakhtar on four points from two games played. Victory today for them might spell the end of any hopes the Anoeta side have of progressing from the group.

Since putting Lyon to the sword in the playoffs, Sociedad have fallen apart, only claiming one victory at the Mestalla. Shakhtar dismantled them in game one and Leverkusen saw off their resistance last time out in Germany. Coming to Old Trafford now might be the best thing for them as they can capitalize on the poor form of their opponents tonight.

Sir Alex Ferguson chose to launch his book on the eve of a very important match for a team he managed for 27 years, revealing some very astonishing details of his reign which has not gone down well with some of his soldiers. It seems the great Scot can have everything his way. The timing is not perfect, but what has happened has indeed happened. Focus is key for members of the current squad, including the beleaguered Wayne Rooney who expected to be lambasted by his former boss. He might charge him for libel. Who knows? Patrice Evra has also been in the news all week after he tongue lashed Les Blues Legends, Bixente Lizarazu and Luis Fernandez for constant criticisms of him. He went further to drop the bombshell that he is bidding farewell to his beloved club of the last seven years, at the end of the season. Good luck Monsieur

PROBABLE LINEUPS-
MANCHESTER UNITED-
DDG, Rafael, Jones, Evans, Evra, Carrick, Fellaini, TonyV, Kagawa/Januzaj, Rooney, RVP

REAL SOCIEDAD-
Bravo, C.Martinez, Gonzalez, I.Martinez, De la Bella, M.Pardo, Bergara, Prieto, Griezmann, Vela, Seferovic

For Manchester United, it is likely that Adnan Januzaj will play a part once again, After his jaw dropping displays in recent weeks, the club had no other option but to include him in the Champions League squad after previous omitting his name for what they termed as tactical reasons. All bullshit. Antonio Valencia should find a place in the Starting eleven after impressing in the first two games. Roo and Robin should partner in attack once again and the imposing Fellaini who has done nothing since his arrival, is set to fill one of the central midfield spots. Of course we know one name is ever present in United’s midfield. Rio and Vidic are major doubts for the game. Cleverley and Welbeck have a chance to feature.

The Basque club haven’t fared since dismantling Lyon in the qualification round and new manager, Jagoba Arrasate who was Montanier’s assistant last season, has found his predecessor’s boots too big to fill. A morale boosting win at the Mestalla should restore the confidence within the set-up. More pleasing for the Spanish club is the return to fitness of Captain, Xabi Prieto. Frenchman, Antoine Griezmann has opined that they are not in Manchester for sightseeing and Carlos Vela who credits RVP for his growth and development, has become a key player for the club. His goals last season played a huge part in qualification for this elite competition. They are without Esteban Granero (long term knee injury) and ILLARRA has since gone to Real Madrid.

Ohireime P Eboreime
Twittter-ohiskaka1990

No comments:

Post a Comment