David De Gea to Madrid?

The Sensational performances of David De Gea over the last 2 seasons have made him one of the most important players in the Manchester United Line-up, but with recent reports strongly linking the Spanish stopper to Real Madrid, it is putting all Man United fans largely on edge, looking forward to the summer transfer window. He is probably the best Goalkeeper in the Barclay's Premier League on individual performance, with 10 clean sheets and 79 saves in the league so far this season; he is statistically one of the best in World football. 

This form has provided a grounding for the possibility of a move back to his birthplace, Madrid, who are supposedly extremely interested in securing his services. This season Real Madrid have struggled in the position of goalkeeper, with Iker Casillas looking like his career is rapidly coming to an end. This was highlighted by his three crucial mistakes in their home defeat to F.C Shalke in the Champions League. I still believe that Casillas is a world class goalkeeper, after all he has more clean sheets this season than David De Gea, and in fewer games. However, this may be due to the stronger defence that Real Madrid has over Man United and also the total dominance that Real Madrid posses over other opponents in La Liga. Some of the supporters of Madrid have shown to be getting frustrated with the lack of a solid no. 1 at the Bernabeu, constant change between Casillas and Navas could be the origin of the problem in defence that Real have had this season. It is often the issue of consistency within the goalkeeping department that leads to a solid and less leaky defence. Possibly, by signing one of the best goalkeepers in the world the Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti may be able to install total confidence in his goalkeeper and have concrete consistency within the defence. 

The question for United fans would be how would they cope without the services of De Gea? Throughout the season he has turned in performances that have won United a number of games, and without a doubt if United had not had De Gea in goal their current league position would be lower. The acquisition of Victor Valdes seemed strange to me, a proven world class keeper coming into a side who already has a quality second choice keeper in Anders Lindegaard. Could the fate of De Gea already be decided and has Louis Van Gaal began to act quickly and already found his replacement for De Gea. His contract is set to expire in fifteen months and it would be a catastrophe for the player to leave on a Bosman ruling. If De Gea were to sign a new contract, presumably he would have been offered one after the last two seasons of great performances, he should have signed it by now, and the fact that he has not raises more suspicions further that maybe he is of to Los Blancos. 

Would the player's loyalty to Athletico Madrid mean that he would not even consider a move to Real Madrid? A source close to the family recently said that his parents wish for him to stay in England, and the stress free environment. It is also thought that due to the respectful personality that David De Gea has towards the Athletico fans they would not begrudge him the move to their fierce rivals Real Madrid. However I think the pressure would be huge for De Gea at Madrid; when he first joined Man United the stopper made a hat full of mistakes, if he had committed these mistakes in the Bernabeau the fans and the media would have been extremely angry and the white handkerchiefs would have emerged. Due to the huge power that the fans have at the club and the pressure that comes within being no. 1 at Madrid I feel De Gea would find this stress very difficult to handle. 

In conclusion I believe that he will move to Real Madrid. It is very suspicious that he has not yet signed an extension to his contract, and if he was going to stay at Man United I think this would have been confirmed by now. Also, it's the fact that I feel the Madrid fans and board feel it is time to invest in a new goalkeeper, and De Gea on paper, would fit this role perfectly. As a Spanish  national he knows most of the Spanish international players who are common in the side, and he has a great understanding of Spanish football, having previously played over 100 La Liga matches. I would actually prefer him to move on a free transfer or to renew his contract for approximately two more years and then leave after that. I feel it is inevitable that he will go back to Spain one day and Manchester United should look at getting the most matches they can out of this phenomenal talent. 



Ryan Crow (C)

El Clasico Preview

So its 'El Clasico' time again, arguably the most exiting and enthralling clash in world football, this year its set to be more explosive than ever, as the result will have huge amplifications on the eventual winner of La Liga. The last time the sides met in the league Real Madrid comfortably beat Barcelona 3-1 at the Bernabeu, however their recent record at the Camp Nou poses cause for concern going into Sundays clash. Real Madrid have only emerged victorious once from the Camp Nou since 2008 and have often struggled to use their attacking and energetic playing style against Barcelona on their home turf. 

The key will almost defiantly be in the midfield battle on Sunday. We all know the forwards from both teams such as; Messi, Neymar, Suarez, Ronaldo, Benzema, and Bale are all more than capable of finishing chances when presented to them. The trio of Barcelona forwards completely tormented the Manchester City back line on Wednesday night, and have this season have averaged an incredible 2.7 league goals between them this season, a devastating impact. The Madrid's forwards as mentioned above have managed to score 108 goals between them in 2014, which is extraordinary. This highlights the fact that the key battle within the war for this tie will be won and lost in the midfield area of the pitch. For the Los Blancos, the rejuvenated Luka Modric will play a huge part in this game, he is fit again and playing well once more. What i love about Modric is he has a duplex talent as a midfielder, he can defend and win the ball from defensive positions and also find a eye of the needle pass to thread a team mate through on goal, his battle with Ineista will be intriguing as the Spanish midfielder this season so far has not lived up to his huge name in European football. With just 3 goals this season and only a handful of assist it puts Iniesta in a fragile position when entering the field for the clasico. With the absence of Busquets, a huge performer for Barcelona these days, Ineista must recapture his old form and provide a telling display in a game which is so crucial for Barcelona's prospects for the season. 

Defensively both sides look rather weak, which is a common trait in Spanish football, where the contingent focus seems to be on attacking play.  Although both sides have improved defensively this year, between them they both still concede a goal every other game, and considering the clear gap of quality in the Spanish leagues below the top 4 this is quite a considerable amount of goals to be conceding. The key battles defensively will be between Mathieu and Pepe, and I say this because of the potential for ill discipline in both camps. As we know Pepe can be a hot head and he is no stranger to a sending off in a big occasion, take the world cup for example when he was sent off in Portugal's final group game. Him and his team-mate; Sergio Ramos must therefore maintain there calmness, as i previous clasico's they have been prone to receiving reckless and stupid red cards. For me, Mathieu is not a Barcelona player, and I'm not sure that he is capable of playing under the huge pressure that comes with being at a big club. I've been watching him in recent weeks and although a clean sheet was just kept against Manchester City, I thought he was the man in which the Man City players focused on exploiting. He has a lack of pace and can be reckless on times, also his decision making can be bizarre, if he starts against Real Madrid I think he is very likely to struggle with the pace and Physicality of Madrid's front line, and this could result in him being hugely exploited. 

To conclude, I think home advantage and a run of good form will see Barcelona win this clasico. They have won 9 out of their last 10 games in all competitions, and against opponents of difficult stature. In comparison to Madrid who have only won 6 of their last 10 games and lost 3 of them. However as we all know the outcome of the El Clasico is always unpredictable, form does not really count for much in these games, where both sides are filled with some of the best players in world football. It will be an intriguing spectacle and one that you won't be able to take your eyes off until the final whistle.

Prediction: 3-1

Ryan Crow (c)

Is English Football facing a decline?

After Chelsea F.C's lacklustre performance at the hands of P.S.G in their Champions League quarter final second leg tie, I found it hard to believe that as good a side P.S.G are, the French League is surely far inferior to the Premier League? With their away goal advantage Chelsea would be seen as the side who had the upper hand on the night, and with the 31st minute red card for P.S.G's star man Zlatan Ibrahimovic, you would come to the obvious conclusion that Chelsea would definitely see out the tie on their home patch. However this was quite the contrary as Chelsea, even with the advantage of an extra man, could not keep up with the fast paced, high intensity, quality football that P.S.G were displaying on the night. For me this was bound to happen at some point to an English side in Europe. After consistently watching European sides such as, Villareal, Shalke, Roma, and Wolfsberg it really highlights how far behind the English game has fallen to these arguably lesser clubs.

The key for me is the intensity of play for these sides, they play with more intensity, more drive and have more of an attacking persona than any English team I have watched in the last few seasons. If we look at goals scored from each of the 4 Divisions that are known to be of the best footballing quality in the world, we can see that the English Premier league the average team scores 2.7 goals a game, from La Liga, 2.75, from The Bundesliga, 3.16, and from the Dutch Eredivisie, 3.2 (SoccerStats.com). These average goals have a huge impertinence on the way in which teams play, in a more positive and attacking way. And if you look at the teams in the last 5 years who where in the Champions League finals there where only 2 English teams in these finals. In comparison to the 5 years previous where there where 6 teams out of 10 in the 5 finals. This is a clear indication that English teams are now struggling to keep up with other European teams, and it is crucial that we ask ourselves why.

It is Spanish and German sides who are arguably the best in European and International football at the current time. The issue of money cannot be implemented into their dominance, simply because the money within English football is still far superior, mainly due to TV rights etc. And one cannot argue that the quality of players is different from the Premier League to the La Liga. The premier league is blessed with audacious world class talent such as; Sergio Aguero, Alexis Sanchez, Eden Hazard, Yaya Toure, and Mesut Ozil. Taking Messi and Ronaldo for outliers in this argument, La Liga possesses players of equal quality; James, Pedro, Vietto, Busquets, Modric for e.g. The true issue between the distinction in quality for me lies at the fact of the winter break. Most European leagues engage in a winter break from the beginning of December through to the new year. This break gives players the time to recuperate, recharge their battery's and visit family and friends and generally let their hair down. In the English game due to the money and the power of the media it is unlikely that we will ever see a winter break. Players are not robots, they need time to rest after long gruelling seasons and world cups and European championships coming around every other year, if the English league had a rest period I feel we would see a significant increase in not only European competition but also International competitions also. 

In conclusion, there is no doubt in my mind that the quality is there in the English league for me and everyone else to see, take Arsenal for example, they had 4 world cup winners within there squad at the start of the 2014/15 season, and this therefore is evidence that the quality does exist. The impedance is on money and the Barclays Premier League's TV rights pay Billions of pounds each year to English clubs, and the clubs rely on this income to keep attracting the best players around the world, and they count not essentially afford to have a winter break, as a huge amount of live Football is broadcasted in the winter time. Even when we take away the factor of European Cups and amount of goals scored per game, its easy to see that teams are playing better football than us, and that is as simple as this argument gets. But they are able to play this more intense and high quality brand of football as they have more energy, because they are given a winter break. If English football was to engage in a winter break then we would indefinitely see a difference and a positive improvement in the intensity of play and therefore quality of football. Football teams across Europe are only going to improve, and there is a certain level of fitness where you cannot be any fitter. If the English game does not integrate a Winter break, even if it is just 2 weeks instead of 4, I can see U.E.F.A removing the 4th place qualifier from the Premier league and awarding it to a country who plays better quality football. This would be catastrophic for the English game in an economical perspective and may lead to English football going back to square one, and not being able to attract the best football personnel worldwide.

Ryan Crow (C)

Moyes to Louis Van Gaal, What's changed?

After watching yesterday's frustrating defeat at the hands of Arsenal F.C, I cannot help but think to myself, what has changed from the Man United under David Moyes to the new team under Louis Van Gaal? Firstly, the Win percentages between both managers, stands at exactly the same; 52.94% (Goal.com). This gives the fans of Manchester United a major cause for concern, simply because Van Gaal has spent roughly £140M pounds since his arrival at the club, and his predecessor Moyes spent a considerably smaller, £50M. So why after so much investment under the current manager, are the results and the performances not really improving? United Fans around the globe will be seriously worried about the potential for Manchester United not to make the top four this season. Extra significance is weighted on this as they must finish in the top four, or risk losing potential signings and sponsorship deals which keep the club running and moving in the right direction.

The main issue that I see regarding Van Gaal's management is consistency in the formation and selection of his teams on a week in week out basis. Without a doubt we have the quality in numbers and enough quality to be able to compete with any side on our day, but for a team to win titles and challenge for honours cohesion in the side is necessary. To get this cohesion consistency is needed with the surroundings and an understanding of what the role is within the team. It is clear for everyone to see that the 3-5-2 formation simply does not work with the current man united squad, it lacks creativity, and forward thinking, and it's not the United way to simply lump balls up the pitch. But its the swapping and changing from the 3-5-2 formation to the 4-4-2 formation that is causing the side to make mistakes and even play players in undesirable positions. Antonio Valencia is not a Right Back, and Ashley Young and Angel Di Maria are not Wing Backs. Players are suffering individually from being forced into area's of the pitch that they are incompetent in. And this was evident in the way that we gifted Arsenal the game yesterday night. Valencia, playing out of position and making a forced mistake. 

However the fundamental and crucial difference between the two respectable managers, is that the latter will almost defiantly be given time. Even if Van Gaal misses out on a top four place I am almost certain he will be given at least another year, where he will be expected to go for the title, not only a Champions league place. The board need to learn from the mistakes that I feel they made with David Moyes, who is now proving how Good a manager he is since taking charge of Real Sociedad, he has lead them from a relegation threat to a comfortable mid table side, a dangerous team to play. Moyes was not given the time at United, and I feel if he had been given another year, without a doubt he would have brought United up into the top four. We forget that Shaw, and Herrera where players that he desperately wanted, but the board did not get his backing. Things might have even been different last year if more trust was placed in Moyes in the transfer market. 

In conclusion, and moving forward as I mentioned before, Van Gaal will be given time, patience, and probably more millions to spend on new players. He is a proven manager with an excellent success rate, and I have complete faith in his ability as manager of Manchester United.