LONG BALL MAN UTD ARE BORING: WHERE DOES VAN GAAL GO FROM HERE ?

The Red Devils crashed out of the Capital One
Cup on Wednesday after another performance
which lacked any dynamism in the opposition
half
COMMENT By Kris Voakes at Old Trafford
While Manchester United’s second successive
League Cup exit to lower-league opposition was
the main headline of Wednesday night, the
manner of their defeat to Middlesbrough was
even more frustrating than the loss itself.
Last season’s second-round humbling at Milton
Keynes Dons was at least a one-off, with Louis
van Gaal having sent out a team full of players
who were set to have no real future at the
club. That 4-0 defeat was embarrassing but
ultimately inconsequential in the bigger picture.
Yet Wednesday’s 3-1 penalty shoot-out defeat
to Aitor Karanka’s Middlesbrough left Van Gaal
with much to ponder, with the 0-0 draw in 120
minutes having provided the perfect showcase
of United’s current issues on a wider scale.
There were some positives to take from the
draws with CSKA Moscow and Manchester City
in the previous seven days, but in both fixtures
United had started slowly and rode their luck.
Too many of their passes went sideways, giving
their opponents very little to fret over. In both
matches United ended the game with a much
higher tempo and looked all the better for it.
But still there was no change in approach when
Boro came to town, despite Van Gaal making
nine changes to his starting line-up. There were
different faces, but the body of work was much
the same. United had plenty of ball, but very
little to show for it. Once more, it was their
opponents who had many of the better
opportunities in front of goal, with full-back
George Friend in particular missing a gilt-edged
chance before skipper Grant Leadbitter
spawned two very good openings.
For United’s part they improved slightly after
the break, but it wasn’t until extra-time that
they really asked questions of the
Championship side. And the fact that it took a
change to a 4-4-2 formation and long-ball
tactics for the 20-time champions of England to
pick holes in Middlesbrough’s defence says an
awful lot.
“I’m disappointed we are out, that we came so
close and we are still out,” said Van Gaal after
the match. “I thought we didn’t play so well in
the first half. They played in a compact way as
Man City did. In the second half we had much
more chances but you have to finish them. In
extra time we had even better chances, but
when you are not finishing the chances it is
difficult to win games.”
While it is true that Anthony Martial and
Marouane Fellaini both should have done better
with close-range headers at the end of extra
time, it would have been unjust on Boro to be
denied by that point.
The home side had a couple of big penalty
shouts, but Jesse Lingard could have seen red
for a nasty studs-up challenge in the first half.
Lingard hit the post, but Kike did too before
Daley Blind sliced into his own net only to be
saved by the offside flag. For every argument
in United’s favour, there was one for the
visitors. The difference was that Boro had the
better game-plan, and carried it out to
perfection.
So how has it come to this? Why have
Manchester United suddenly become a side
against whom teams can set up a base of six
or seven defensive players and hold out with
something to spare? Clubs arriving at Old
Trafford with men by the ball used to be asking
for trouble, but not any more. Should £300
million or more of spending really result in
desperation tactics against a Championship
side, with a series of long balls for Fellaini to
flick on?
The Red Devils have a squad packed with
potentially exciting footballers. Memphis Depay,
Lingard, Martial and Andreas Pereira are among
those who should be revelling in the wide-open
spaces of Old Trafford yet too often when the
ball comes to them the tempo has dropped to
walking pace.
United are not playing to the strengths of their
attackers, and it can be no coincidence that
this has happened regardless of their personnel.
There can be no denying that Depay has yet to
deliver his best football since arriving at Old
Trafford this summer. Again on Wednesday he
cut a frustrating figure, with his 70-minute
appearance littered with lost possession and
poor decision-making. But one player alone is
not to blame.
Were it just an issue with the way certain
individuals were performing, then the wholesale
changes would have done something to fix their
recent issues in front of goal. Instead, the high
turnover for the cup tie made no difference at
all. This was the latest in a string of dull, rigid
United performances. In five matches so far in
October, only at Everton have they started the
game with any kind of purpose. Coincidentally
enough, that is their only win this month too.
The issue is that Van Gaal’s desired approach
simply isn’t hitting the right note. His side have
dominated possession in most of their games
this season, yet the slow starts have laid the
wrong kind of platform in matches. Yes, they
have still created chances late on in games,
but United are not stretching and exhausting
opponents as they should be. Any side with
sturdy resolve and a high level of concentration
is finding them to be easy enough to deal with.
The lack of tempo and attacking flair is also
affecting the mood around Old Trafford. While
United fans are not the type to take out their
frustrations by booing, the general atmosphere
at the Theatre of Dreams has gradually
decreased as the Van Gaal era has gone on.
Some people might treat the Capital One Cup
as an unnecessary distraction, but it
represented one of four chances for Louis van
Gaal to collect his first piece of silverware as
Manchester United. Now he has three more
shots at glory, yet the exit to Middlesbrough
must serve as a warning to the Dutchman that
things need to be quickly addressed as he goes
in search of long-awaited success.

HAS MOURINHO FINALLY RUN OUT OF LIVES AT CHELSEA?

The Portuguese coach saw his side slump to
another defeat as the club crashed out of the
League Cup at Stoke City on Tuesday night,
and time is running out for the boss.
The League Cup has usually served as the start
of something for Jose Mourinho and Chelsea
but this time, following the defeat to Stoke City
on penalties, it could be closing in on the end.
There cannot be many more chances left for
the Portuguese manager at Stamford Bridge.
As Goal revealed on Monday, Chelsea owner
Roman Abramovich plans to review the former
Real Madrid coach’s position at the club during
the international break in two weeks time, and
while patience is running thin after two defeats
in the space of four days, it is unlikely that the
club will move before mid-November.
The 2-1 defeat to West Ham on Saturday
demonstrated the air of desperation permeating
the club, as Nemanja Matic was sent off, acting
as the catalyst for a complete emotional
collapse, with Cesc Fabregas and John Terry
booked for dissent and Mourinho ultimately
sent to the stands for an incident at half-time.
Tuesday night’s defeat, in the difficult
conditions of Stoke’s Britannia Stadium, was
less despondent and more controlled. There
were few histrionics, few outbursts at the
referee or stinging challenges, but the club still
ultimately sunk to another defeat as Eden
Hazard, usually reliable from the penalty spot,
missed the final spot-kick of the shoot-out.
Chelsea appear broken and Mourinho doesn’t
seem to know how to fix it.
Sitting 11 points behind Premier League
leaders Manchester City, it looks an almost
impossible challenge for Chelsea to retain their
Premier League crown but now, following
Hazard’s missed penalty, the Blues have also
failed to regain the League Cup trophy, won
against city rivals Tottenham last season.
That trophy was the 21st of Mourinho’s career,
adding his 22nd with the Premier League title,
but the Portuguese boss has never looked
further from adding to his tally. After that win,
captain John Terry, who scored in the final,
said: "It is the start of something. We've got a
great squad, with some great young players,
and hungry and experienced players too. It's a
great mix.”
Now, with the league almost a distant memory
and the League Cup gone for the season, the
perception is that the squad is ageing and
imbalanced and there should have been more
additions in the summer. What worked last
season is now failing and Mourinho is at the
centre of that. It is perhaps ironic that Hazard,
the player that failed to convert the decisive
spot-kick, has seen a usually good relationship
with the Portuguese manager fracture over
recent weeks, with the Belgian left out of the
2-0 win over Aston Villa and criticised for his
defensive efforts.
As well as playing host to some sort of bust-up,
Mourinho’s sides have been known for
beginning a winning cycle with the League Cup,
as they did in 2004-05 and 2014-15, but they
have also been known for grinding out dogged
results in robust fixtures at challenging away
grounds. The cliche in English football suggests
that a wet weekday away to Stoke can be one
of the biggest tests of an aspirational side,
with Chelsea usually rising to that challenge.
But, despite an improved performance since the
weekend, this season is different for Chelsea
and Mourinho may be quickly running out of
time as the defeats begin add up
Source (Goal. Com)

Fit-again Jones ready to fight for United place

Phil Jones is back fit and firing, and ready
to cement his place at the heart of
Manchester United's defence.
Manchester United centre-back Phil Jones is
unfazed by the potential arrival of defensive
reinforcements, with the fit-again Englishman
ready to fight for his first-team spot.
After overcoming thrombosis that ruled him out
of the opening games of the season, Jones
started only his second Premier League match of
the campaign as United drew 0-0 at home to
rivals Manchester City on Sunday.
Jones has partnered Chris Smalling in the centre
of United's defence for the past three games in
all competitions, having ousted make-shift
defender Daley Blind.
Despite his return to action, Jones is aware
United will continue to be linked with some of
the world's best defenders following an off-
season dominated by speculation over the
possible arrivals of Sergio Ramos and Mats
Hummels.
The 23-year-old England international, however,
is not daunted by new competition, insisting it is
part and parcel of life at the top.
"We are at Manchester United," said Jones.
"We are always going to be linked with Ramos or
Hummels or whoever it is, we are always going
to be linked with players.
"It's not a problem. It's something you have to
deal with from when you are under-14s.
"I remember being at Blackburn and someone
comes along at under-14s, or under-15s,
under-16s, under-17s, under-18s.
"That is football for you but you have to battle
your way through and show people.
"If you can't cope with that you don't deserve to
be at the club. There's competition here.
"We are at one of the best clubs in the world. I
would be a bit worried if we weren't linked with
the best players in the world.
"It's natural and it's healthy."