Lionel Messi’s 25th goal of the La Liga season gave Barcelona a 2-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao at the Camp Nou on Sunday.The Catalans went ahead in the fourth minute when Dani Alves cut the ball back into the path of striker David Villa, who powered the ball into the back of the net.The home side maintained their slender advantage until the break, but five minutes into the second half Bilbao were level when Iraola converted a penalty past second-string Barca goalkeeper Pinto.Messi made sure the Spanish champions did not drop points however, when he netted in the 78th minute by flicking in Alves’ cross.The win restores Barcelona’s five-point buffer atop the league, after Real Madrid had cut the deficit to two points with a victory on Saturday.A flying start ensured Sevilla came away with a 1-0 win against Hercules at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.Striker Negredo was involved early for the hosts, firing a spectacular inside-out left foot strike in the ninth minute that was kept out only by the cross bar.The 25-year-old Spaniard then provided a moment of brilliance to set up his side’s goal, chesting the ball down to Serbian team-mate Ivan Rakitic, who fired home the winner in the 21st minute.Osasuna ensured Espanyol’s losing streak continued as Jose Mendilibar’s men cruised to a 4-0 victory at the Estadio Reyno de Navarra.Javad Nekounam struck a brace for the victors, before Lolo and Soriano added late goals to move Osasuna into 14th place on the table.Bottom side Malaga denied fourth-placed Villarreal a first win in three matches with a late equaliser in their 1-1 draw at El Madrigal.Argentine Marco Ruben put the home side ahead after 36 minutes, but the cellar-dwellers defied their position on the table by levelling in the 82nd minute through Uruguayan striker Sebastian Fernandez.Elsewhere, a late penalty helped Racing Santander to a 1-0 triumph away to Getafe.Racing’s Pinillos converted the spot kick in the 88th minute, following Getafe defender Marcano’s dismissal.Deportivo La Coruna denied relegation-threatened Almeria victory in their 1-1 draw at Estadio de los Juegos Mediterraneos, with Aranzubia scoring a 90th minute equaliser for the visitors.
Nottingham Forest salvaged a 1-1 draw with an injury-time equaliser away to Middlesbrough in the Championship on Tuesday.Hosts Middlesbrough led through a goal from Scott McDonald in the 52nd minute at the Riverside Stadium.Forest goalkeeper Lee Camp produced a string of sharp saves to deny the home side throughout the first half, but he stranded when Julio Arca failed to connect properly with a Barry Robson cross. The loose ball fell to Australia international McDonald, who was left with a simple finish at the back post for 1-0.Camp maintained his heroics to keep Forest in the match, saving from Leroy Lita and Andrew Taylor twice. Forest had a penalty appeal turned down when Arca appeared to use a hand inside the area, before Robson looked to have won it for Boro, only to see his shot clip the outside of the post.The visitors snatched a point in the 92nd minute when substitute Dele Adebola seized upon the loose ball to bundle home an equaliser from eight yards out.The draw moves Forest up to fourth in the table, three points behind Swansea in the automatic promotion places. They are now undefeated in Middlesbrough for 28 years.Elsewhere, Portsmouth secured a fifth consecutive victory with a 2-0 win at home to Scunthorpe United.Second-half goals from Dave Kitson and Aaron Mokoena secured all three points for Portsmouth, who are now up to 12th in the table.Defeat leaves Scunthorpe third from bottom and four points adrift of safety.Doncaster Rovers climbed to 16th with a 3-1 win away to Derby County. Goals either side of half-time from Billy Sharp and a 71st-minute effort from Joseph Mills guaranteed a valuable three points for visitors Doncaster, with Steve Davies’ late strike no more than a consolation for struggling Derby.
Liverpool forward Luiz Suarez has admitted that he expected to lead the line with Fernando Torres when he signed on at Anfield.The Uruguayan, much scorned for his antics at the World Cup, arrived in Liverpool in January shortly after Reds favourite Kenny Dalglish returned as manager and was keen to link up with the Spanish ace.But Torres was sold to Chelsea for 50 million pounds shortly after his arrival and the former Ajax Amsterdam striker admitted he had not envisaged playing alongside anyone else but Torres.”I expected to play with Fernando,” Suarez told Goal.com.”Fernando is a very good player. He’s got great quality and it would have been nice to play with him.””It’s a shame that he’s gone as he is an excellent player and has great qualities. But at the same time there are many other great players at Liverpool.”Suarez, however, is excited about forming a partnership with the player brought in to replace Torres, Andy Carroll, who made his debut as a substitute for the Reds earlier this month.”When one top player goes, perhaps another great player comes in,” Suarez said. “Carroll and Torres are very different players.””Andy has had an injury and he’s just starting to come back into the game. They have different qualities and ways of playing the game, so you can’t really make comparisons.””Andy is a big, strong player with many qualities and it will be exciting to play with him.”Suarez, who hit 81 goals from 110 league appearances for Ajax, also asserted his desire for Liverpool caretaker boss Kenny Dalglish to remain at Anfield beyond his current short-term deal.”Yes, of course (I want him to stay). I’m looking forward to working with him more in the future,” Suarez said.”Having a manager like Kenny Dalglish is really great for me. He is a person of great history and importance at the club. He’s one of the best players the club has ever had and now he’s correcting me and training me.””I think it’s really great for me to work with a legend such as Kenny and I have enjoyed it so far.”
Everton boss David Moyes paid tribute to his captain Phil Neville after the veteran’s brilliant showing in their 3-0 win over Wolves on Saturday.Neville scored his first goal for three years – and only his fourth for Everton – sandwiched between strikes from Jermaine Beckford and Diniyar Bilyaletdinov to hand the visitors all three English Premier League points at Molineux.
Moyes was glowing in his praise of the 34-year-old, describing the former Manchester United player as a model professional.
“I don’t think there is enough you can say about Phil Neville which would actually sum up how good he is, not just on the pitch, but off the pitch and as a man, so anything he gets he certainly works for and deserves,” Moyes told Sky Sports.
“We have done really well today, we got our goals at important times, and they were some terrific goals.”
“Billy’s (Bilyaletdinov) was a real good goal – that is what he does for us – he scores great goals for us.”
“They started the way you would expect a side that are near the bottom of the table.”
“They want to get their crowd behind them and they started very strongly.”
“We probably got our goal against the run of play but I thought after that we had some good play and good goals, but maybe for their goalkeeper we might have scored one or two more in first half.”
Wolves boss Mick McCarthy, whose side remain second from the bottom on 32 points and one point from safety, conceded his men were playing like a team haunted by the drop but praised the fighting spirit of his men.
“We are a bottom-three team at the minute so quite clearly we are not one of the best teams in the league. But we have had great responses, as we did today for 20 minutes,” McCarthy said.
“For 20 minutes we were terrific weren?t we? We started really well. But then they scored the first goal and not us. It was their first cross in our box so hugely disappointing.”
“We almost equalised immediately and we had a bit of play. The free-kick we gave away, it was an unnecessary free-kick. And then Phil Neville, who hasn?t scored for I don?t know how many years, finds an unbelievable strike that goes through about 18 players.”
“I don?t think it made us look fragile actually, I thought we did alright. Then they got the second one and we continued to have a go.”
Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko scored his first English Premier League as his side edged Blackburn 1-0 at Ewood Park on Monday.The 27 million-pound January signing from Wolfsburg scored a 76th-minute winner three minutes after coming off the bench, sending City four points clear of nearest rivals Tottenham Hotspur and greatly bolstering their Champions League qualification claims.
Defeat leaves Blackburn without a win in 11 games and deep in relegation trouble, just a point above the drop zone with games away to sides below them still to come.
Rovers were without loan striker Roque Santa Cruz, who was ineligible to play against his parent club, while Blues boss Roberto Mancini stuck with the side that triumphed in the FA Cup semi-final showdown over neighbours United on April 17.
And City took the confidence from that victory into the game, dominating the early exchanges and slamming the post with a vicious David Silva volley from 20 yards in just the third minute.
Striker Mario Balotelli then tested Paul Robinson with a 25-yard free-kick and Michel Salgado was needed to clear off the line from a Gareth Barry flick as a goal looked increasingly inevitable.
But Blackburn fought their way back into the game and almost broke the deadlock themselves in the 40th minute, when captain Christopher Samba’s far-post header drifted inches wide.
They went even closer after the break as Brett Emerton’s cross found its way to Martin Olsson at the far post, but the Swede smashed his volley into the side netting from six yards out.
Rovers had come out for the second half a different side and City goalkeeper Joe Hart had to be alert to half-chances for Benjani and David Dunn.
But they fell behind in the 75th minute on a rare second-half City attack when Barry broke down the left and pulled the back for Silva.
The Spanish attacker’s shot was deflected into the patch of Dzeko, who steadied and fired home from eight yards.
Rovers threw everything forward in search of an equaliser and star man Phil Jones went closest with a header just over the bar.
And in a desperate fifth minute of injury time, Olsson hit a thumping 30-yard free-kick that Hart dived full length to keep out.
Liverpool are gearing up to make a £7 million pound bid for St. Etienne’s French wing wizard Dimitri Payet.
Kenny Dalglish’s men are in need of a top class winger who can provide the service for record signing Andy Carroll, caughtoffside.com are suggesting Payet is that man.
The recently capped Frenchman has been making waves in Ligue 1 this season and his twelve goals and numerous assists haven’t just caught the attention of Liverpool. Inter Milan, Napoli and Paris SG are also said to be trailing the skilful 24 year old.
Liverpool have been crying out for a natural wide man in recent seasons after the likes of Joe Cole and Maxi Rodriguez have failed to deliver when deployed on the wing. Damien Comolli has in the past ruled out raiding his old club, but his links to St. Etienne may enhance the possibility of the Anfield club brokering a deal.
The former Nantes man has been at St Etienne since 2007, but with a team of Liverpool’s stature homing in on his services, the temptation to test himself in the Premiership will no doubt appeal to Payet. The left sided Payet could be the answer to Liverpool’s search for a top quality winger.
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After last weekend’s cruel defeat away at Chelsea, Spurs were left languishing in 6th place after a resurgent Liverpool leapfrogged them into fifth place with just four games left to play. The holy grail of the Champions League now looks a distant dream after they fell 7 points behind Man City and what was once destined to be the start of something special is beginning to feel just like another false dawn – to put it quite simply, without securing Champions League football for a second successive season, Spurs season will ultimately go down as a failure.
It will seem odd to most calling Spurs season a failure, but let’s attach some perspective to proceedings shall we. Barring the club’s entertaining run in Europe, they’ve flattered to deceive for the majority of the campaign and only their exploits in Europe and manager Harry Redknapp’s status as a media darling have ensured that their season hasn’t come under closer inspection until now.
The league, as the time honoured tradition dictates, is your bred and butter. The soiree into Europe should not have been seen as an opportunity for a jolly around the continent, rather the establishment of the club among the European games’ elite – without 4th place this season, Spurs will be confined to the dark depths of the Europa League and channel 5 for another season, a dauntingly poor prospect for most fans and a big comedown from this season‘s exalted company.
At home in the Premier League though, is where Spurs have failed to catch fire on a consistent basis. Last season, Spurs finished the campaign with 67 league goals to their name; from 34 games this term they’ve registered just 50 league goals. They also managed to make White Hart Lane into a fortress of sorts last campaign, winning 14 and drawing 2 of their 19 home fixtures. This season, however, they’ve won just 8 of their 17 fixtures in North London and drawn a whopping 8. They’ve already conceded 2 more goals than they did the whole of last season in the league too.
Despite looking like a club that is just a player or two in the right areas short of truly challenging for the title, in reality, they’re a lot further away than that. Since the end of February, they’ve been in quite rotten form. While Man City have churned out the points needed to secure the coveted 4th place, Spurs in the meantime have drawn against Wolves, Wigan, West Ham and lost to Blackpool, four sides currently battling for their Premiership lives and ones which they should be dispatching with ease.
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In the domestic cup competitions they’ve sorely disappointed too. An extra-time defeat at the first hurdle to rivals Arsenal 4-1 in the Carling Cup was only topped by a humiliating 4-0 away defeat in the FA Cup third round away to Fulham.
Talk of a power shift in North London has been greatly exaggerated too. Redknapp has often talked about Spurs closing the gap on their neighbours, particularly in the wake of Spurs’s 3-2 victory over Arsenal at The Emirates back in November. However, last season Spurs finished just 5 points behind their Arsenal in the league whereas this season they’re already 12 points behind them with tricky away fixtures against Man City and Liverpool still to come.
Yes, the games against Inter Milan, AC Milan, FC Twente and Werder Bremen were great. Yes, the Champions League has been enlivened and enriched by their presence in this year‘s competition; their youthful naivety to has been like a breath of fresh air at times and they are most certainly detached from the boring, predictable, humdrum affairs we’ve been accustomed to seeing in the group stages. But much like Gareth Bale’s farcical victory in the PFA Player of the Year Award (surely awarded more for his performances in Europe than in the league – why oh why do they bother voting as early as February every year), Spurs have been characterised by their exploits and performances in Europe rather than their excellence across the board.
Spurs are undoubtedly a great side to watch. They have also coped admirably with a considerable number of injuries at the back for much of the campaign, yet the feeling lingers that without that crucial 4th place in the league to validate their progress, this season on a whole will have to go down as a missed opportunity.
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Europe has saved Redknapp’s season this year, for without it, there has been little else to shout about on a consistent basis – there have been dropped points against lesser teams, a chronic lack of goals up front and a squad that doesn’t quite boast the strength in depth that it appeared to have at the start of the season. They are inconsistent beyond belief domestically and are a constant source of frustration for their supporters.
The crux of the matter is that Champions League qualification should not be seen as a bonus, rather an achievable goal to aim for each year; Redknapp raised the bar last season, but this term Spurs have fallen short this term of what’s required of them and that’s why ultimately, despite their entertaining exploits in Europe, this campaign will ultiamtely go down as a failure.
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Jens Toornstra’s hat-trick helped ADO Den Haag to a 5-1 win over Groningen in Thursday’s Eredivisie Europa League play-off final first leg.Hosts ADO led courtesy of midfielder Toornstra’s opening goal in the 21st minute of the match at the Kyocera Stadion.
Toornstra doubled the advantage with his and ADO’s second eight minutes into the second half.
While the visitors did pull one back through Belgian fullback Jonas Ivens on 64 minutes, it took just four minutes for ADO to restore the two-goal cushion, when attacking midfielder Lex Immers struck to make it 3-1.
A two-goal margin would have left Groningen with hope of making up the deficit in the second leg, but when Toornstra found the net to complete his hat-trick on 74 minutes, the tie began to look over as a contest.
And with forward Ramon Leeuwin breaching the Groningen defence for the fifth time in the match with six minutes remaining, ADO look all but assured of a Europa League berth next season ahead of Sunday’s second leg.
Gerard Houllier has stepped down as Aston Villa boss with immediate effect.The 63-year-old Frenchman took charge in September 2010 following the departure of Martin O’Neill on the eve of the 2010/11 season.
But former Liverpool manager Houllier endured a turbulent time at Villa Park and suffered a heart scare on April 20 that left him unable to work for the remainder of the season, with assistant coach Gary McAllister taking over the first team in his absence.
Now Houllier intends to take further time off to fully recover, but said he will miss not being part of the set-up at Villa.
“I am extremely disappointed that I will not have the opportunity to manage Aston Villa next season,” Houllier said.
“My health has improved considerably since I was taken ill on April 20. I now intend to take the next few months to concentrate on recuperating fully before I may return to football.”
“I was very much looking forward to the prospect of my first full season as Villa manager and returning for pre-season training to prepare for the campaign ahead, a luxury that I did not have last season.”
“I am very grateful to the Villa fans for their genuine concern and encouragement and to the fans of clubs up and down the country for their kind sentiments.”
“I would especially like to thank my assistant manager, Gary McAllister, my staff, the players and all at Aston Villa for their support and, of course, for their efforts in securing a very positive end to last season.”
“It has been an honour to manage this great club and I wish everyone connected with Aston Villa every success for the future.”
Villa chief executive Paul Faulkner paid tribute to Houllier’s service to the club and wished him well in his recovery.
Faulkner also said the club had begun the search for a new manager.
“I would like to thank Gerard for his considerable efforts over the past nine months and for the dedication, commitment and work ethic he has demonstrated as Villa manager,” Faulkner said.
“We regret the circumstances of Gerard’s departure and, naturally, we wish him well in his continued recovery.”
“I know I speak for everyone associated with Aston Villa in expressing our hope that Gerard will return to full health as quickly as possible and we wish him all the best for the future.”
“As a board we are very conscious of the need to ensure that the club is prepared fully to meet the demands of the new season and, to that end, we have already embarked upon the process which will lead to the appointment of a new manager.”
In truth their fate brings to mind that of the Dark Lord ‘He who shalt not be named’ and ‘The Boy Who Lived’. One cannot survive while the other lives and likewise, it seems when one brother is in form and injury free, the other can’t get a look in and is found languishing on the sidelines. I’ve long held the suspicion that Fabio was a decent right-back and was featuring at left-back out of necessity rather than it being a specialist position where his best attributes come to the fore. In my opinion from what I’d seen of him, his left foot wasn’t all that great in a crossing sense and I did find it strange that many were so adamant that he was a left back and that is that.
Last season put that that myth to rest and he more than came into his own on the opposite flank.
One of them will definitely have a great season next year, which one I’m not too sure but for them both to have an excellent season, its going to take the usurping of Evra at left-back for that to happen, it’s possible but in my opinion unlikely as they’re both not what I consider natural left-backs, but both are first team right-backs next year in any case. Fabio’s coming of age performance v Barca cemented this notion and don’t rule out a regular call up for Brazil. by the end of next season
Areas of Improvement: Positioning, Reckless tackles, Ambidextrous Crossing, More impact in the final third, Showcasing more of their flair .
Anderson
Is it make or break next season? I’m not too sure, it depends on what expectations Fergie has of him, the signings we may possibly make in the midfield area and if so, whether Anderson finally finds himself a role in which he feels comfortable and better suited to his attributes.
In my opinion anyone who thinks Anderson will suddenly blossom into the PFA player of the year next season, ‘Do a Nani’, is expecting too much. Midfielders tend to take longer to mature than wingers, and are in their prime after the age of 25, whereas wingers can explode onto the scene even in their teens.
United’s first concern with Anderson should be getting an entire season out of him without injuries and niggles. Resting him when he need to be rested and supplying him with a regular run in the first team is crucial in developing him and judging once and for all whether he has what it takes to play for this club. He also needs to undergo an intense fitness regime in order to become more of a dynamo in the midfield.
Another season like this and it wouldn’t surprise me if Fergie did offload him, its time he showed serious progress, if not breaking through into the first team at least prove to the United faithful he can hack an entire season and be a reliable player when needed.
Areas of Improvement: Positioning, Stamina, General Fitness, Shooting, Set Pieces, Heading.
David De Gea
An expensive goalkeeping acquisition, in United’s case they don’t always tend to go well. That said, something tells me that the backroom staff have worked tirelessly behind the scenes to recruit the perfect keeper in terms of compatibility with United’s style and a like for like replacement for Van der Sar.
From what I’ve seen of him in La Liga and the Under 21?s, he is cool, calm and collected… just the right sort of personality for this current United side. We don’t really need a Schmeichelesque keeper anymore, as we’re not as loose at the back. Therefore a shot stopper in the Casillas mould isn’t what we need but rather a keeper who stays in the shadows, can concentrate for long periods and do the simple stuff without fluffing it under intense pressure. Hence why I genuinely believe De Gea was first choice even if Neuer was available.
On the floor he seems pretty decent, but then again any keeper playing behind Spain won’t be caught hitting the ball very long – that said, the fact he comes from the nation of Casillas and Reina bodes well and he isn’t no Valdes in that department trust me.
Areas of Improvement: Will have to up his aerial game in order to keep successfully in the EPL, Shot-stopping from long range.
Chris Smalling
I rate this lad extremely highly, in my opinion by far the most standout english talent at the recent U21?s and probably the best young defender at the tournament bar none. His ability to bring the ball out of defence and just keep the game moving forward under pressure is amazing, and its something which even the likes of Ferdinand are guilty of not doing enough of at International Level. and especially in the Barcelona final at Wembley where VDS was forced to kick the ball long on repeated occasions due to our defenders lacking the mobility and class in possession to take it to the catalans (granted abit of help from the midfield wouldn’t go amiss either).
Positionally he can get caught out when playing with less senior partners, but when alongside a Rio or a Vidic, he tends to excel and for this reason alone I really think he can cement himself as a first team regular as early as next year. Displacing one of Ferdinand or Vidic takes some herculean defending, but this lad is capable of those feats and many underestimate his talent, or shy away from just how much they’re taken aback by his performances in his short career to date.
Areas of Improvement: Positioning, Leadership, Long Range Passing, General Strength & Aggression
Continued on Page TWO
Phil Jones
Another new acquisition and one which has encountered a fair bit of debate as to where he will feature and what impact he will be expected to have next season.
To be honest it is difficult to see him having an immediate impact especially in the defensive positions due to the level of competition in those areas. In my opinion he’ll be used more as a utility man, coming off the bench for tiring legs and filling in against lesser opposition, injuries etc whilst he acclimatises to life at United. As for potentially filling in at defensive midfield, its one thing to do this for Blackburn Rovers where the technical level demanded from that level is not particularly high but for him to displace Carrick as the defensive mid or even complement him in a midfield trio (with a more creative player ahead) is asking possibly too much. He will definitely be given a chance to make a name for himself in that role and it probably is his best chance of finding an immediate route into the United first team but its placing a heavy burden on him to expect him to excel.
If he could give us something akin to Hargreaves in that role, that would be awesome though, we can all agree on that.
Areas of Improvement: Weight of pass, Movement off the ball, General standard of his technical game.
Daniel Welbeck
I’ll confess that I find it hard to envisage Welbeck making an immediate impact on this United team and have doubts as to whether he can make it for this club in the long term. That said, the role of Striker is one which is very difficult and especially as Welbeck seems to be more of a potential ’9? rather than a ’10?, his development will more likely take longer as his game will be built on strength, great hold up play and ability to score goals in the box.
This lad has a knack for goal-scoring, it can’t be denied and as long as he continues to do this, I couldn’t care less if his general play is not particularly lively or eye-catching but what does concern me is his languid style. Not that I have a dislike for this style, far from it but as we’ve seen with Berbatov, its a style that doesn’t perhaps suit United especially for when we wish to play at our best. Hernandez’ immediate impact for the first team has made that all too clear and its a shame that Macheda who possesses the fiery nature/swashbuckling style doesn’t have the same level of natural talent as Danny. There are signs that Welbeck can track back and put in a shift when needed, he can get across the pitch well, one hopes once he matures, his aggression will come to the fore and he can be a big player for us in the future. Next season, he will just seek to keep his name in Ferguson’s thoughts and score some important goals when called upon.
Areas of Improvement: Movement off the ball, Aggression, More purpose on the ball, Crossing (for when he’s employed out wide)
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Tom Cleverley
He wasn’t very good at the recent Under 21?s, which was a shame considering what a joy he’s been to watch for Wigan on loan. In my opinion he was hampered at international level, not down to a lack of talent but moronic management from ‘Geeet Staaack EEIN’ Three Lions on your Shirt Pschyo Stu. Played on the right, his lack of pace was exploited and he couldn’t really get forward and take players on, as we know he can at premiership level. His ability to come off the flank and strike with his right was also curtailed by this disastrous tactical move.
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Cleverley next season will hope that in the limited time he is given, it is in the right positions (Left Mid or AM) and then he will have to make the most of it, as I fear Fergie’s patience with regards to the likes of him, Evans, Anderson and Welbeck isn’t likely to be as much as the new signings and Smalling.
Can he make an impact? I hope so, there’s little glimpes of him where he just looks the part whenever he’s passing and moving in tight areas and he can pull out audiacious passes under pressure but then there are many games where he can just come across as pretty limited and the fact that he can’t even hold on to a first team place in the U21 team does beg the question of whether or not he’s United quality.
I wish him the best, as I do like his style of play and can see something in him.
Areas of Improvement: Aggression, Dribbling (with tricks), Crossing/Shooting with both feet, Heading, Positional Play (if he wants to make an impact centrally).
Conclusion
In conclusion, expect the twins to continue to make a strong impact on the first team, expect a big debut season from De Gea (as he’ll either fly or die), expect Jones to steadily find his own ‘niche’ role within the United first team set up without really troubling the back line, Smalling to put Ferdinands position under threat.
As for Welbeck, I expect a few goals here and there but don’t see him breaking into the first team set up as a regular and as for Cleverley, he’ll either make a strong impact in terms of either goals or controlling the game sort of performances, showing everyone what he is made of, or he’ll struggle to get games and leave the club in search of regular first team football.
Finally I reckon Anderson, if fit for the entire season will finally lay the foundations to excel for the season after and if not (remains injury prone), I can’t see him staying at the club for much longer.
Article courtesy of Rae M at the excellent The Busby Way