Jesse Lingard has put in some huge performances for Manchester United this season, particularly during periods in which Jose Mourinho’s most high-profile signings, Paul Pogba and Alexis Sanchez, have struggled to find their best form.
But the United duo have enjoyed a revival over the last few weeks and through no huge fault of his own, the England international has become a bit of a casualty.
Seemingly more comfortable in central roles, Lingard’s impact has been limited since moving to the right wing to accommodate Pogba and Sanchez – and upon starting there last time out against Tottenham, he was tellingly subbed off after 83 minutes having struggled to have any noteworthy effect on the 2-1 FA Cup semi-final win.
With that in mind, we asked United fans earlier this week whether Lingard should be dropped for Sunday’s Premier League clash with Arsenal, and our poll has revealed that supporters are largely divided over his role in the team.
While 54% want the 25-year-old to keep his place against the Gunners, a significant minority of 46% think Lingard should be dropped. Who would you bring into the side to replace Lingard, United fans? Let us know by commenting below…
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Joao Miranda has once again cropped up in the Manchester United rumour mill, with the big Brazilian admitting that he’s a little tempted by the prospect of heading to Old Trafford.
A centre-back is very much on Louis van Gaal’s radar, with, despite the £150m spend of last summer, the Red Devils not yet a side moulded to his way of playing.
The links with fresh talent have been plentiful, with many stars in England and across the continent matching up to the skills and characteristics the iconic Dutchman has shown through the years that he craves.
And here are FIVE who could make the Theatre of Dreams the Theatre of Louis…
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Memphis Depay
A player to have worked under Van Gaal in the Netherlands side in the run up to and during the World Cup, Depay is well versed in what the United boss wants from his players.
Although he played a fringe role, the 20-year-old netted two goals in Brazil, and his contribution of 19 Eredivisie efforts this term has further shown that he’s a lethal final third player.
PSV Eindhoven manager Phillip Cocu has already confessed that the Red Devils target could be sold this summer… so LVG could get his man.
Kevin Strootman
Knee injuries have wrecked Strootman’s last two seasons, but the Dutchman is still on Van Gaal’s radar.
The midfielder, who plays for Roma, was very much LVG’s go to guy in the Oranje team in the build-up to the World Cup, with his feisty playing style and presence in the middle of the pitch key attributes.
The midfielder himself would offer a different option to the likes of Michael Carrick and Daley Blind, which could be vital in mixing domestic and European action.
Roberto Firmino
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Brazilian, full of flair and able to find the back of the net, Firmino could offer LVG the attacking spark his side have somewhat missed.
Able to drift in from a wide role of occupy the ‘No. 10’ position, the South American is dangerous, with a record of 22 goals since the start of the 2013/14 campaign under his belt.
He has been linked with United, too, with an offer of around £20m thought to be enough.
Edinson Cavani
Cavani has been linked with a move to Old Trafford to replace Robin van Persie this summer, and he seems to be suited to an LVG style of play.
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‘El Matador’ offers a nice blend of pace and physicality, which would give United a greater threat in the final third, with RVP and Radamel Falcao having been a little one dimensional this term.
He won’t come cheap, but Champions League football looks to be heading back to the Theatre of Dreams, so cash may be in place.
Nathaniel Clyne
Right-back is clearly becoming an issue for United, with Antonio Valencia and Rafael obviously not perfect fits for Van Gaal’s way of playing, with the duo not up to the job defensively.
Clyne, although solid going forward, is actually adept in his own third, and it’s no coincidence that he’s a part of the Premier League’s best rearguard – 22 goals conceded all season. A nice balance, then.
Not since 2001, during Glenn Hoddles time in charge, have Southampton won four straight Premier League games. In fact such a feat was considered unthinkable when they entered the top-flight arena guided by the steady hand of former manager Nigel Adkins. And while the club was largely chastised in the wake of his surprise dismissal it ultimately proved a shrewd decision. After a shaky start in the formative days of his tenure the Saints have hit stride under Mauricio Pochettino’s guidance. The Argentine has won rave reviews for the brand of football employed at St Mary’s with summer signing Jay Rodriguez, who has three goals in as many games, just one player benefitting from the changes instilled since his arrival. Pochettino now stands just one victory away from securing top-flight football for another year and will urge his side to make home advantage count.
The same can be said for West Ham who are locked on 37 points and sit a place behind Southampton in the table with a game in hand. The Hammers have enjoyed a positive run of late with victories over Stoke and West Brom, a defeat at Chelsea sandwiched in between, followed by an encouraging goalless draw at Liverpool last Sunday. That seven-point haul has pushed them closer to survival and eased any lingering relegation worries although manager Sam Allardyce still refuses to enter contract discussions until his side reach the 40-point safety net. And it’s difficult to blame Allardyce for leaving nothing to chance, given West Ham’s inconsistency this season. Not since March 2011 have they recorded back-to-back Premier League wins and have departed the South Coast empty handed on nine of their last 10 visits.
Team News
Luke Shaw, Jason Puncheon and Jay Rodriguez are all doubts for Southampton after coming down with a virus during the week. Other than that Mauricio Pochettino has a fully fit squad to choose from.
Andy Carroll is back for West Ham after he was ineligible for the game against parent club Liverpool. Midfield duo Joe Cole (hamstring) and Mark Noble (shoulder) are out as are defenders Winston Reid (hip) and George McCartney (knee).
What the managers said…
“I do not think it is something far-fetched if both Rickie and Jay are playing for England, as they have done really well recently. I think Jay has developed a lot in a football sense and I think he has great potential. He has a lot more to develop and has not reached his peak. He has more to give. To be able to play in the national side, you need more than just two months of playing well. If he is able to do that, than he is able to play internationally, for sure.” Mauricio Pochettino backs Rickie Lambert and Jay Rodriguez to earn England call-ups (Daily Mirror)
“We may (have to) sneak the points total up maybe one or two more, but I certainly think 40 now is definitely going to be good enough. Wigan have put a run together, Southampton have put a run together, Aston Villa have done it. I thought probably 38 but if you’re going to be absolutely (sure), we’re going to still go to the golden 40 aren’t we.” Sam Allardyce is confident West Ham will hit the magic 40-point mark (Sky Sports)
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Pre-Match Statistic: West Ham have lost each of the 10 away games in which they’ve fallen behind – the only Premier League team to do so.
Prediction: Southampton 2-1 West Ham United
Make your bets ahead of the showdown at St Mary’s by clicking on the banner below
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger made a huge announcement on Friday, confirming that he will step down at the end of the season.
The Frenchman has cut a frustrated figure over the last few seasons due to the club’s failings in the Premier League.
The club have not won the English crown since the 2003-04 campaign, and they have not come close in recent years.
In fact, the North London outfit are unlikely to finish inside the top four for a second consecutive season, meaning that they need to win the Europa League in order to qualify for the Champions League.
For so long, the majority of Arsenal fans have been keen for Wenger to walk away from the club following two decades in charge.
Many had hoped that the time would come at the end of last season, but the Frenchman ended up signing a new two-year deal.
Now, Wenger, who won three Premier League titles and seven FA Cups in charge of the Gunners, has decided that his time is up.
Prior to the announcement, fans had been already discussing potential replacements, with plenty keen for Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri to take the hotseat.
Interestingly, former Liverpool manager and current Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers is third-favourite with the bookmakers to succeed Wenger.
Sky Bet and Betfair have shortened odds to 9/2 on the Northern Irishman taking over at the Emirates.
During a two-and-a-half-year spell at Liverpool, Rodgers came close to guiding the Reds to their first Premier League title, but just fell short to Manchester City.
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At Celtic, the 45-year-old has had much more success by winning four trophies, including the Scottish Premiership.
Early indications suggest that Arsenal fans would be very unhappy if Rodgers arrived at the Emirates this summer.
Darren Ferguson left his role as Peterborough last Saturday evening by ‘mutual consent’ following a poor run of form in League One. One win in five leaves the Posh in 15th position but still just four points off a play-off position. In his second spell at the club, Ferguson spent over four years in charge and if the ‘mutual consent’ excuse is a cover up for the Scotsman’s dismissal then surely with the success he has brought to the club he can feel extremely aggrieved by this decision.
Peterborough chairman Darragh MacAnthony described Darren Ferguson as “one of the finest managers in our club’s history” which is something that is hard to disagree with considering how he has turned the club around in his two spells. It is then a mystery as to why the chairman didn’t think Ferguson was good enough to stop the rot and that there are better managers available at this time.
Darren Ferguson first took over as Posh boss in January 2007 initially in a player-manager role. After consolidating in mid-table during his first season, the 2007/08 campaign saw the club promoted from League Two and in his second full season promotion was once again achieved. This meant that in 2009 the club were playing Championship football for the first time since 1994 and for just the second time in their history, before Ferguson left to join Preston North End.
He returned to Peterborough just a year later at the start of 2011 with the Posh back in League One. He led the club to promotion once again in his first season back. Ferguson then managed to keep Peterborough in the Championship for two seasons until relegation in 2013, despite amassing 54 points which is a record for a relegated team at this level.
Last season saw the team end up in sixth place before a narrow defeat to Leyton Orient in the semi-finals. They also won their first trophy in 2014 lifting the Football League Trophy with a 3-1 victory over Chesterfield. For a club that have achieved little in its entire history, Ferguson led them to three promotions and Peterborough’s first ever piece of silverware. His two spells were the most successful in the clubs history and Darren Ferguson will go down as one of the all time great managers in the history of Peterborough United.
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With all that success in a short space of time, it seems like an extremely knee-jerk reaction to get rid of a manager after a couple of months of poor form. Given the tightness of the league, Ferguson could very well have been the man to turn it around but won’t be given that opportunity now. It just proves how hard management is nowadays, especially in the lower leagues and no matter how much success you have had, no manager is ever safe in his job.
Irrespective of where QPR end up next season, Joey Barton is expecting to make his loan move to Marseille a permanent deal.
The controversial midfielder has been on loan at the French club for the entire season and he is loving life in France and says an agreement between the two sides is already in place.
Barton, who was handed a 12-match ban for his actions on the final day of last season at Manchester City, tweeted: “It’s not up to QPR if I stay. [There is an] agreement already in place for me to stay.
“I’m loving life in France. Loving Marseille. They love me.
“I can’t see QPR wanting me on the wage bill in the Championship.
“All I want to do is give everything for this football club [Marseille]. They backed me when nobody else did. For that I will be eternally grateful. This club is now in my blood, its impossible to get it out.”
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Newcastle fans are once again applauding Rafael Benitez, after their knight in shining armour revealed one major aspect of his transfer strategy.
A couple of months ago, things looked rather gloomy on Tyneside, as fans were worried not only about relegation but also the prospect of losing Rafa Benitez.
The Magpies have picked up an incredible 13 points in their last six matches though, which now has the fans looking up to the top ten rather than down to the bottom three.
The players deserve huge credit for their turnaround, but the bulk of the credit will of course go to the most popular man on Tyneside, and the former Liverpool manager has now drawn even more praise from fans for his summer transfer strategy.
With plenty of talk about the short window between the end of the World Cup and the start of the domestic season (just 25 days), Benitez has stressed the importance of not rushing decisions based on World Cup performances.
Asked if he would be at the World Cup to look for summer signings, he said: “I don’t think so. We have people going around but now you can see a lot of players and you don’t have to be there.
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“Also I am not a fan of the Euros and World Cup in terms of signing players from there because when they go there, what do they have? Something you don’t have for ten months, it’s not guaranteed for ten months.
“When you go to the Euros and the World Cup, everybody wants to go and they are motivated. This motivation for one or two weeks, for some players it is enough to make a name and then go to a top side.
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“But after for ten months, maybe they don’t reach the level. I am not impressed with the World Cup or Euros in terms of signing players because they do well there.”
Perhaps the one thing fans value more than anything else about Benitez is his calmness, his ability to not get carried away in the eye of a storm, and this is yet another prime example of that.
Fans are absolutely loving the transfer comments, and some of the best Twitter reactions can be found below…
In an audacious case of misplaced priorities, Erik Lamela has dubbed Tottenham’s Europa League visit to Fiorentina this evening more important than their Capital One Cup final encounter with Chelsea on Sunday, as reported by the Daily Mail.
One can only hope Mauricio Pochettino doesn’t feel the same; whilst a fifth-place Fiorentina represent worthy enough opponents compared to the countless European minnows circling the Europa League, even without star man Juan Cuadrado, facing Premier League leaders Chelsea is a different proposition altogether.
Beating a Blues side at Wembley that have lost just three times in all competitions this term will take a performance parallel to the 5-3 drubbing the Lilywhites unleashed at White Hart Lane on New Years’ Day – made even harder by the west Londoners’ keenness to dish out some revenge after that historic defeat, especially following the injustice of losing Nemanja Matic to a controversial red card against Burnley last weekend.
Likewise, although the League Cup is viewed as a rather frivolous competition by the majority of Britain’s footballing public, Tottenham have the chance to claim their first piece of silverware since 2008, and will be in only their fifth final since their last FA Cup title in 1991. No offence to Spurs, but history suggests these opportunities don’t come around too often, and bettering the Blues on Sunday could have a huge influence on the rest of their campaign.
When Jose Mourinho first arrived in the Premier League in 2004, for example, he targeted the League Cup as his first and most important challenge, because he knew it would set a precedent of success for the years to come at Stamford Bridge.
That Chelsea side went on to lift two Premier League titles, two League Cups and an FA Cup under Mourinho, and although such consistent silverware isn’t expected of the Lilywhites, it could well have a similar effect on a young, ambitious and energetic squad intent on qualifying for next season’s Champions League. It’s also a monumental personal occasion for Pochettino as the first final of his management career, and the Argentine will be keen to maintain the psychological advantage he’s gained over Mourinho from earlier in the season.
Similarly, the Europa League can hardly claim superiority over the Capital One Cup, at least in terms of its reputation in England. Once dubbed ‘a killer’ by former Spurs boss Harry Redknapp, involvement in the continent’s second tier tournament has a tendency to eat away at domestic campaigns – something Tottenham know only too well – and unless you actually win it, it’s rarely worth the hassle.
Then again, perhaps Daniel Levy views things differently. Tottenham have, after all, participated in the Europa League in six of the last eight seasons without surpassing the quarter-finals and are yet to claim a European title since the UEFA Cup in 1983.
Why assemble a squad of holistic strength in depth, with little disparity of quality throughout, at such great cost and including players with vital experience on the European stage, such as Erik Lamela, Roberto Soldado, Hugo Lloris, Federico Fazio and Christian Eriksen, if you’re not in it to win it? The Lilywhites may lack a recognisable star like Luka Modric or Gareth Bale, but their current form and vibrant philosophy, installed so successfully by Pochettino this season, should be enough to see them make at least the latter stages.
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But if Tottenham fans were given the choice of beating Fiorentina to advance to the quarter-finals of the Europa League, or defeat their London rivals to claim their first trophy in seven years, I feel fairly certain of what their answer would be. I assume the same for the majority of their players, barring Lamela of course; before great form or strong campaigns, it’s silverware footballers tend to reminisce upon most when eventually hanging up their boots – even if it is the League Cup.
The Europa League is viewed somewhat more favourably abroad, perhaps giving some insight into Lamela’s surprising views, but the Capital One Cup is an enormous opportunity for Spurs, and would encapsulate perfectly how far they’ve progressed under Pochettino in just a matter of months. Whilst the Europa League offers greater revenue and exposure on the continent, the League Cup, and the Tottenham manager’s first ever final, must take precedence.
Borussia Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski has discussed a summer move to Manchester United, according to his agent.
The Red Devils have been tracking the Polish international for some time, and are believed to be keen to bring him to the Premier League in the near future.
Reports have emerged recently that the 24-year-old is set to leave Dortmund, after turning down an extension to his current contract, which is set to expire at the end of next season.
As well as United, Bayern Munich are said to be highly interested in the man who has become one of the hottest properties in the Bundesliga.
His agent, Cezary Kucharski, revealed that his client is likely to move on this summer, and that discussions have taken place with United:
“Yes, it is true; I have spoken to Bayern and Manchester United.” He is quoted by The Metro.
Despite having Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernandez and Danny Welbeck, as well as loanees Federico Macheda, Bebe and Angelo Henriquez, on his books, United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is still keen on drafting in Lewandowski.
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Although he is widely regarded as one f the top striker in Europe, he would likely be available for around £10m, with Dortmund keen to sell whilst they can still receive a solid fee for his services.
Aston Villa suffered another poor result in the English Championship on Saturday, this time losing 3-1 away to Norwich City.
With their automatic promotion ambitions going off the rails in recent weeks, their current poor form could hurt their chances of running the play-off gauntlet after the regular season ends.
Three losses and a draw in their last five matches mean that supporters’ frustrations are growing and they’re hoping that Steve Bruce can turn it around after good form for the vast majority of the season so far.
One player that is drawing plenty of criticism is Albert Adomah, who again was ineffective on Saturday, eventually hauled off shortly after half-time.
Fans are now calling for him to be dropped in upcoming matches, believing his run of poor form has gone on too long now.
The player has been impressive for much of the season, scoring 15 goals and assisting seven more, but is it time to give him a rest ahead of the crucial play-offs?
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Supporters took to Twitter to share their thoughts…