The Chilean forward is the latest scapegoat at Manchester United but the real problems come from the very topWith 32 minutes gone at Old Trafford an unusual event took place. Alexis Sánchez did something. Not something to make the highlights reel. Or indeed to pay back any significant part of the £130,000 of actual human wealth Sánchez earned for being a Manchester United player on Tuesday .With the score 0-0 and the game drifting – unless specifically stated otherwise, this game was always drifting – United won a free-kick 30 yards from goal. Sánchez spotted it, paused, then punted the ball hard and flat on to the head of the nearest defender. Related: José Mourinho says he was happy with...
David Luiz is impressing at Chelsea while Jordan Henderson’s place looks up for grabs and Huddersfield are on the rackBernd Leno was quick to do the decent thing and explain he was clearly not happy to see Petr Cech pull up with a hamstring injury, but at the same time the competitor in him cannot wait to seize his chance. The German keeper signed for Arsenal more than three months ago and has had to be patient to wait for Premier League football. Unai Emery had told Leno his time would come at some stage. “Some weeks ago he said you have to work hard, be calm, because I played for just one professional club in Germany and it is...
A dissatisfied José Mourinho clashing with a disenchanted Paul Pogba shows how much the club misses Sir Alex FergusonA new dimension to the José Mourinho-Paul Pogba saga has been provided by Dimitar Berbatov, rapidly making a name for himself in a Sybil Fawlty specialist-subject-the bleedin’-obvious kind of way as a spokesman for a gambling company. “Football should be about what happens on the pitch, not who has the biggest dick,” the former Manchester United striker said. “I’m fed up of seeing these headlines, you are all grown-ups and this sort of thing really needs to be kept in-house.” Related: No love left as José Mourinho’s scowl sums up Manchester United mood | Daniel Taylor Continue reading...
The bond the manager once was able to forge with players appears to have gone completely at Old Trafford, even if fans may still back him against a petulant Paul PogbaThe most startling thing, looking at José Mourinho, close-up, as he tried to pretend everything was still OK, were the dark rings beneath his eyes. His stare was wild, the eyes rheumier than we have seen them before. He looked, frankly, as if he needed a good night’s sleep. Sam Allardyce once noted how David Moyes had aged 10 years at Manchester United and it is starting to seem as if the same could be said of the current manager.OK, it’s a football game, not a fashion parade, but if...
Supporters of many different clubs talk about the ‘way’ their teams must play, yet it seems in the age of high finance such scruples are fading away and success by any means will sufficeThe Arsenal way. The Manchester United way. The Tottenham way. The West Ham way. Every supporter wants their team to be successful but also play with a certain style that is supposedly unique to their club. Yet in the multimillion-pound industry that football in the 21st century has become, are we all expecting a little too much?Petr Cech’s acknowledgement this week that the former manager Arsenal Arsène Wenger cared more about the aesthetic beauty of his teams than their effectiveness was the kind of candid admission professional...