Will Daniel Sturridge get a chance to regain his verve? Will Ranieri fine-tune for a relegation battle? Will Ravel Morrison return to Old Trafford?A clutch of (fool)hardy Lincoln City fans queued through Wednesday night in sub-zero temperatures in order to get their gloved hands on the last tickets for their club’s biggest and indeed only fourth-round FA Cup tie since 1976. Those fans were evidently not discouraged by the fact that the National League leaders had suffered their heaviest defeat of the season the previous night, when they were beaten 3-0 by Barrow, whose rugged approach on a treacherous pitch fairly knocked Danny Cowley’s men out of their impish stride. The Championship leaders, Brighton, will probably not resort to such...
José Mourinho has won the League Cup three times with Chelsea and can open his account at United by being reunited with an old friend at WembleyAnother Wembley winter date for José Mourinho looms, the latest in a long list of cup finals for the Manchester United manager. His first, though, in the job he craved for so long and perhaps the most significant for some time. Related: Oumar Niasse earns Hull second-leg win but Manchester United reach EFL Cup final Related: Hull City v Manchester United: EFL Cup semi-final – as it happened Continue reading...
José Mourinho is well placed to see off Manchester City and Liverpool but Chelsea, Arsenal and Spurs are set to go for the biggest prizeAlarm bells have started to ring in the north-west of England. The EFL and FA Cups may be providing a temporary distraction but the inescapable fact is that London clubs occupy the top three positions in the Premier League.This was not widely anticipated at the start of the season, when it was thought coaches of the calibre of José Mourinho, Pep Guardiola and Jürgen Klopp would be slugging it out for the league leadership, not squabbling between themselves for the one remaining Champions League place. Related: Football transfer rumours: Leverkusen winger Julian Brandt to Liverpool? Continue...
Wayne Rooney’s goal at Stoke kept José Mourinho’s side near the top for points won in the last 10 minutes of matches but they have also lost seven pointsSir Alex Ferguson may be long gone, but Manchester United’s knack for scoring late goals appears to be alive and well. Wayne Rooney’s equaliser in the fourth minute of injury time against Stoke City on Saturday not only rescued a draw for his side and took him past Sir Bobby Charlton’s all-time record of 249 goals, but it also ensured United retained second spot in this season’s table of most points picked up following goals registered in the last 10 minutes of matches, having amassed nine in total.In 2012, a study commissioned...
It is a tribute to Rooney’s appetite and adaptability that he has surpassed Sir Bobby Charlton as Manchester United’s leading scorer. His goals and trophies make him the most influential English footballer of the last 25 yearsIt is one of the slightly lost details of Wayne Rooney’s unveiling as a Manchester United player, but at the time Sir Alex Ferguson felt the need to defend blowing United’s entire transfer budget for the following year on a teenager. “The fact is he is 18 and he could spend all his career at this club,” Ferguson pointed out to the gathered media while his player, all gawky jug ears and clear, hard, unblinking teenage talent, held up a red shirt and smiled...