Striking Unrivaled

Robin Van Persie was stretched out of Manchester United’s match against Olympiakos after the Dutchman had scored 3 goals which allowed the Premier League club on advancing into the next stages of the Champions League and after being pitted with Bayern Munich they will have to lock horns with the German titans for their 2^nd leg at the Allianz Arena.

The 1^st leg was already played and witnessed both clubs having to settle with a 1-1 draw. Van Persie has been absent for Manchester United for the past 4 matches and he is not expected to complete his recovery anytime soon despite what David Moyes had said about his injury.

The Scottish coach David Moyes stated a few days ago that the injury wasn’t as bad as it appeared to be but this injury has left out Van Persie for a significant amount of matches.

Bayern Munich’s Arjen Robben spoke out about the injury that his countryman is facing as the winger said that it’s a pity for him not being able to face Van Persie on such a big stage and occasion.

“I find it a pity that he is not there. The same is now true for Thiago. In the final phase of the season every player wants to be there. And if not, that’s painful. I know this from personal experience. Of course Van Persie has a special quality. But Manchester still has enough forward options: Rooney, Welbeck, Nani, Valencia … As I said: It will be a tough duel.” Robben told a sports search engine optimization site.

Manchester United have been able to cope surprisingly well with the absence of Van Persie as they have picked up victories against Aston Villa and West Ham United during some of the matches that the Dutchman has been out of action recovering from his injury.

Van Persie’s debut season with Manchester United was a sensational time for the Dutchman as he became the main engine behind United’s title charge but things aren’t going as well as it used to for the former Arsenal player.

On February 25 Manchester United to the Georgios Karaiskaki Stadium as they faced off against Olympiakos and lost 2-0. A short time later after their loss against the Greek club, Van Persie told the press that Manchester United are lousy and that he has not been feeling comfortable with the squad.

“We are lousy, in a lousy position in the league, out of the cups and this Champions League tie against Olympiakos looks a difficult one also Sometimes I try to find ways to do more but in the areas I wanted to play, my team-mates were often there. This makes it difficult for me,” Van Persie told NOS.

“Then I have to change my tactics to suit my team-mates, and play outside my zone. It’s a pity. We played too slow and could therefore create little’’.

Those were the statements that Van Persie released following their Champions League loss against Olympiakos and it has recently become more evident as each week passes and every match is played that something is going on surrounding Manchester United, more specifically with David Moyes and the players.

There is a sense of tension involving the performers of the club and the coach that was recommended by Sir. Alex Ferguson to succeed him and follow his legacy but a disastrous campaign has seen Manchester United being knocked out of FA Cup as well as the Capital One Cup and is unable on securing Champions League qualification spot.

Some days ago it was revealed that Manchester United released an ultimatum of 12 matches for David Moyes to switch things around and get positive results or else he would have to seek another club to coach.

If David Moyes wants to rescue what has been a mediocre season with Manchester United, he will need Van Persie to perform like he did when he arrived to Old Trafford in 2012.

Arsene Wenger has refused to be drawn on speculation linking Robin van Persie with a return to Arsenal. It has been speculated in recent weeks that Arsenal could make a bid for the former striker, who is growing increasingly frustrated at Manchester United. Van Persie joined United only in the summer of 2012 for £ 24 million. He lifted the Premier league title in his first season at the club, but the future of United is looking in major doubt after the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson. David Moyes, who has replaced in the summer, has not been able to reproduce the same consistency of results.

It is also thought that van Persie is unhappy with the training methods of Moyes, who he thinks has been very prehistoric. This has led to rumours linking him with moves abroad, while recent rumours suggest that he may even return to Arsenal. Wenger has fuelled the speculation even more by refusing to comment on this speculation ahead of the match with Manchester United on Wednesday night. Arsenal need to win this match at all costs in order to stay in the title race and also to rediscover the winning run.

The club suffered a heavy 5-1 defeat against Liverpool on Saturday.

“I don’t think that’s an ideal subject for us to treat today. I think it is best we don’t talk about that at the moment. Robin van Persie is a great player, we know that. It doesn’t mean he has to score [against Arsenal on Wednesday]. It depends how we defend against him,” said Wenger. The Frenchman also gave his support to Moyes, who he thinks should be handed more time to do well at United. Moyes has not won against the traditional top four in an away match in 48 attempts.

Robin van Persie has not featured for United in the last few weeks and this has coincided with a very poor run of form for the champions. They are unlikely to finish in the top four is this poor run of form continues. The striker is set to miss the upcoming big match against Chelsea along with Wayne Rooney. Both players have not been available for selection in the last few matches. Their futures have also been thrown into doubt due to various reasons. Rooney has just over 12 months left on his contract, while van Persie is thought to be unhappy with David Moyes.

Manager David Moyes, though, has reacted to the speculation by saying that van Persie is not going to leave United in January or in the summer. The striker was a major reason towards the club winning the league title last season. He has suffered numerous injuries during the early part of his career and it seems to be cropping up again. Van Persie has been out with muscular injuries since December, but the manager expects the Dutchman to be back in training sooner rather than later.

Sir Alex Ferguson revealed in his autobiography that he apologised to van Persie for not revealing his decision to retire when he signed from Arsenal in 2012.

“It couldn’t be further from the truth. I keep saying it is untrue but for some reason people don’t want to write it or hear it. But it is the fact. Most people know that I talk pretty straight. If there was something wrong I would be the first one to come out and say it. I have a really good relationship with Robin, as I do with all the players,” said Moyes, whose team are already more than 10 points behind table leaders Arsenal.

Robin Van Persie made the difference in Manchester United’s match against Arsenal as the Dutchman scored the only goal of the entire match but unfortunately for the national team of Netherlands their medical staff advised Van Persie to not play in their upcoming friendly matches against Japan and Colombia.

Former Arsenal player will miss out from Netherland’s match against Japan in Genk on Saturday and Colombia in Amsterdam which will be 3 days following their encounter against Japan.

Following the victory against his former team, he went to their dressing rooms and said how impressed he was by their performance despite losing against Manchester United.  Although fans are concerned about his celebration after scoring at the club he played in for 8 seasons.

Wayne Rooney provided the assist that allowed Van Persie on scoring the decisive goal and he spoke to the media about their current situation.

“I think that’s the main thing for any forward,” said Rooney. “You’re trying to work together to score goals and create goals.

“It’s great for the team if myself and Robin can create chances for each other and score goals that are helping us to win matches.

“It’s really enjoyable for us as players to play that way. We’re both creative players and I think that’s why we’re working well.

“We’ve started the season in good form, but we’re always looking to be better on the pitch.”

This victory for Manchester United shortens down their gap behind Arsenal to 5 points and maintains their spot in the top 5 positions of the Premier League with 20 points alongside Tottenham and Everton as they all share the same amount of points.

Manchester United striker Robin van Persie was an instrumental part of the team as they won the title last season. He became the top scorer in the league last season, while he is already three goals after having played just four matches for United this season. Even though he is 30 years of age, it is believed that this kind of form will see him stay beyond the duration of his current contract. This is also the desire of the player himself, who has said that he wants to stay at United for more than three years.

He has only three years left on the four-year contract he signed when he moved from Arsenal in the £ 24 million deal last summer. He has been the best goal scorer in the Premier league for the last few years. Despite this, the 29-year-old has the FA cup and the Premier league title to show for in his long stay in England. This season, however, he is looking to be more successful especially in the Champions league. This is one competition were van Persie has now scored as many goals as he would have liked. United were knocked out of the competition that early stage last season by Real Madrid.

They will be starting the new campaign with a match against Bayern Leverkusen.

“I have three more years to go and I would like to stay longer. I know, and I see people around me, making decisions where I think these guys will look back and say ‘was that a good one?’. I don’t want that. I want to play as long as possible at the highest level. That (winning trophies) is what it is all about. Last year we got one trophy in four. Now we have to look at it from the opposite side,” said van Persie.

He’s worked at some of the biggest clubs in European, if not world football and managed some of the biggest stars ever to grace a football pitch and yet Jose Mourinho still manages to divide opinion among supporters and the media.

An outspoken and controversial figure, the “Special One” has led FC Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid to all kinds of honours and picked teams involving the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Wesley Sneijder and Frank Lampard – to name just a few. However, he never seems to stay around at one club for more than a few years – an average of just 1.64 years in fact, as this infographic from The Soccer Store shows. Continue reading Mourinho Magic

Manchester United manager David Moyes has revealed that he has no intentions of selling star striker Wayne Rooney before the end of the transfer window. Rooney has been linked with a move to several clubs across Europe including PSG and Barcelona. However, it is believed that Chelsea are extremely close to making an official offer for the 27-year-old England international. Moyes, though, has said that he wants Rooney in his team because he sees him as the ideal substitute for Robin van Persie. This is likely not going to go down well with the Rooney camp, who are keen on moving away from Old Trafford.

Rooney handed a transfer request – his second of his Manchester United career – at the end of last season. Even though former manager Sir Alex Ferguson categorically stated that Rooney will not be sold, it now appears that the club may have to give into the wishes of the players after the latest statement from Moyes. Rooney will especially not want to be a substitute with the World Cup coming in less than one year. The 27-year-old only has two years left on his contract and United will certainly not one to see him in the final 12 months of this deal still wanting to get out of Old Trafford.

“Overall, my thought on Wayne is, if for any reasons we had an injury to Robin van Persie, we’ll need him. Wayne can play up on his own, he can play dropped in. It’s going to be a time to see how I work with Wayne. Manchester United isn’t about Wayne Rooney. Manchester United is about the team – the club. I won’t allow Wayne Rooney to become more important than the football club and the football team, because that’s the heart of it,” said Moyes.

Robin van Persie, who has been a major reason for Manchester United winning the title this season, has said that he wanted to scoring the injury time of the match against West Brom in order to give manager Sir Alex Ferguson a perfect send off. This was the 1500th and final match as a manager for Ferguson, who announced his retirement after 26 years in charge of the club, but United could only manage a draw with West Brom. However, it was just not a normal game after West Brom managed to come back from being three goals down twice in the match.

The score finished 5-5 at the end much to the disappointment of Ferguson. Van Persie, who has finished the season as the top scorer in the division, has said that he always believed during the match that United would get the winner in the injury time, which is usually referred to as the ‘Fergie time’. United have secured several late winners during Ferguson’s time at the club, but there was not to be a high finish for the manager. Van Persie has said that he is extremely delighted to have been part of a Ferguson team for at least one season.

“I was waiting for some Fergie time at the end. It didn’t happen but to score 10 goals was good fun for everyone, so I think the fans are pleased. After 26 and a half years at United and, before that, at Aberdeen, Sir Alex deserved it. He’s unbelievable and what the West Brom fans did was a nice touch. It’s right to show respect. It doesn’t always happen in football but today it did and I’m glad. Of course, we get a new manager next year and everybody is looking forward to that,” said the striker.

The new Blackpool manager Paul Ince has said that he is happy to have a slow start to his Blackpool career. The former Manchester United, Liverpool, and West Ham United midfielder has been unable to find work for the last 22 months. However, he was recently appointed as the Blackpool manager on a rolling contract. He got the first win as a Blackpool manager in the 2-1 victory over Watford during the weekend. It was a surprise result given that Watford are challenging for the automatic promotion spots, while Blackpool’s chances of finishing in the play-off appear to be slim.

However, this away victory gives Ince his first win as the Blackpool manager in the last five matches. Ince has revealed that he is extremely frustrated with his managerial career so far because people have not been giving him a chance despite his win ratio of more than 40%. He has admitted that he made mistakes during his managerial career, but he is learning along the way as well. He has said that he is extremely grateful to get the opportunity to manage a club like Blackpool. The winger Matt Phillips has praised the manager by saying that the new manager was a player of real quality, and he is willing to help the current players.

“I have been frustrated. There have been jobs that have come up that I fancied, but someone else got them. I could not understand why, because a victory ratio of 43 per cent as a manager is pretty good. I made mistakes along the way, as you do, because you’re always learning. But to have this chance to manage Blackpool is a real honour,” said the 45-year-old, who has played 53 matches for the England national team. He is one of the few black managers in the league.