Manchester United's Shaw flank redemption

In 2014, Manchester United acquired the then world's most expensive teenager as a rough around the edges unpolished diamond from Southampton.

Luke Shaw was signed by Louis van Gaal as a generational talent for the future, a player who had attracted flirtatious glances from Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool before settling of £27m move to Old Trafford. Tas
ked with filling the void left behind by the departure of one of our greatest ever in Patrice Evra, it always looked a baptism of fire for a young man still finding his feet in the lower echelons of the English game.

For the record, Shaw is now eighth on that particular rich list having been surpassed by some of the finest young footballers on the continent such as Joao Felix, Kylian Mbappe and our own Anthony Martial to name but three. 

Since then, and it has been a hard luck story for a man once touted as potentially the finest left-back England will ever have. There has been crippling injury lay-offs, issues with his weight, frequent fall outs with Jose Mourinho and questions surrounding Shaw's attitude and temperament. 

Indeed, Shaw is fortunate to still be playing at all, never mind for Manchester United at the highest level after his horror leg break five matches into his second season at Old Trafford - sustained in a horror two-footed challenge from Hector Moreno against PSV.
Eleven months on the sidelines set Shaw back years. Upon his return, Mourinho would publicly tear strips off him, both privately and certainly very publicly, and seemed to single the young defender out for criticism. Shaw has perhaps also been unlucky that his own personal struggles have co-incided with a wider collective malaise.

To many, all this made Shaw the very epitome of the post-Sir Alex Manchester United: an expensive flop and not up to standard. But yet, seven years after his arrival at Old Trafford, Shaw is a man in the form of his life. So much so, that not only is he already the favourite for our Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award, but he is the best left-back in the country by a considerable distance at present. An England recall surely beckons as he looks to add to his tally of eight appearances for the national side, almost two years since his last outing for England, against Spain the Nations League. 

Even before his injury in November opened the door for Alex Telles, Shaw was our best defender and his star has only shone brighter upon his return. 
Dominant and decisive at Anfield as he pocketed Mo Salah and forced Sadio Mane to the fringes when Jurgen Klopp switched wingers in frustration. Shaw created United's three big chances at Arsenal and was again in full flow as his old club came to town despite only playing the first half. It's difficult to judge a team in circumstances such as this - a shellacking of a Saints side already down to the bare bones before the brainless sending off after 79 seconds of Alexandre Jankewitz. Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial ended their goal droughts and silenced any doubters whilst Shaw was simply magnificent.

The raison d'etre of the modern day full-back requires you to be able to attack and defend in equal measure. Both of these aspects of Shaw's game has improved beyond all recognition with his impetus going forward a clear tactic to stretch the Saints in Tuesday night's record equalling rout. 

First came the brilliant delivery to his fellow full-back Aaron Wan - Bissaka - it was such a peach even Shaw's notoriously goal-shy compatriot could not miss - and then doubled his tally for the season with a sumptuous delivery met by an equally excellent header from Edinson Cavani. 
Too often, with Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young moonlighting as makeshift full-backs, crosses would trundle into the shins of a defender or float harmlessly out of play. This is not simply hit-and-hope into a  area, but targeted, well thought-out crosses that require vision, pace, understanding and execution. As Bruno Fernandes fades into the pack, Shaw is undoubtedly United's best player.

The autumn arrival of Telles from FC Porto, to bolster the ranks and provide tangible competition at left-back, cannot merely be a co-incidence when it comes to Shaw's upturn in form. It's as if he's taken it as a personal insult and the Brazilian's arrival has only lifted our former Player of the Year to an even loftier level.

Set pieces have perhaps skewed his numbers somewhat, but he has never created so much in a season with three assists to his name and his defensive work having benefitted hugely from his improved fitness and maturity. He is now so vital to this side that his withdrawal at the interval against his old side should be seen as a significant compliment with Shaw given a breather in preparation for Everton on Saturday. 

Solskjaer's man-management skills have worked to perfection when it comes to Shaw, talking with kindness and compassion to a man who needed an arm around the shoulder and bringing in Telles as a reminder that no one is an automatic pick. Shaw almost had his career ended by injury and then by Mourinho - there have been carrots, there has been sticks, and now at last the green shoots of recovery have finally broken through the surface. Seven years on, Luke Shaw has finally risen to prominence as a brilliant player whose consistency and reliability exceeds his unrealised potential.

Manchester United's Shaw flank redemption is in full swing. 

Nine, nine, nine as records tumble on historic night

 Just when you thought you had just about seen it all, the 2020-21 season continued to amaze and dazzle on a historic night at Old Trafford.
A night when a season noted for crazy scorelines and ever fluctuating fortunes took another madcap twist as Manchester United equalled our own 26-year-old record in brutal, relentless and unforgiving fashion. 

I wasn't quite four the last time something like this happened, in March 1995 when United recorded the biggest ever margin of victory in a Premier League game with a 9-0 gazzumping (is that a word?) of hapless Ipswich. Before my time and only a memory for many a misty-eyed Red, you'd have hard pressed to find even the most ardent of fans who could have foreseen that history would one day repeat itself. 

As United put a beleaguered, demoralised and depleted Southampton side to the sword, it was hard not to feel a drop of empathy for the likeable Ralph Hassenhuttl and his merry band of men. On a night when records tumbled, Saints themselves secured their own piece of unwanted history as surely the first example of a side losing 9-0 in a professional match twice - in consecutive seasons as well no less. Brendan Rodgers' Leicester infamously inflicted the same fate back in October 2019 in eerily similar circumstances when an early Ryan Bertrand red card preceded an implosion of the like none of us had ever seen before. Until now. This time, just as in that Leicester tie it may have come with a caveat - Saints had ten men for 89 minutes and nine men for seven - but the extenuating circumstances still should not diminish from a truly remarkable feat of football par excellence. 

There have now been three 9-0s in Premier League history and United have had two of them - only two managers have ever won by that margin in a home game. Two men by the names of Alexander Chapman Ferguson and another chap called Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Sound familiar? Both were present as the carnage unfolded on Tuesday night, with the former master proudly watching his pupil from his lofty position in the posh seats as a deserted Old Trafford. 

Games with Southampton are often tight and edgy, as Michael Obafemi's 96th-minute leveller in the corresponding fixture last term - and Edinson Cavani's late, climb off the canvas heroics at St Mary's in November - perhaps attest. Admittedly, there was a significant caveat here as the visitors, already with a patched up team, were further depleted when Alexandre Jankewitz channelled his inner WWE impression as he turned from Saint to sinner inside the opening minute.

From then on, the result never really looked in doubt but a chronic failure to break down a low block and a defensive minded team has proved this side's Achilles heel for so long. Even when United had raced into a 4-0 lead by the break, the feeling was that United would ease off against a Saints side firmly set in a damage limitation mode, given the hectic fixture schedule and with minds perhaps elsewhere. 

But the most pleasing thing here was the ruthless and clinical streak from Solskjaer's United. An argument could be made that United should have waved the white flag in an act of surrender at 4-0 - the football equivalent of tanking where you take you foot off the pedal and allow your opponent to restore an air of respectability. But teams with an eye on the prize don't do this - you need to be almost nasty in your approach, take absolute advantage and inflict maximum humiliation. This what Pep Guardiola's Manchester City and Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool would do - don't relent and keep trying to score. Indeed, Solskjaer could be heard pushing his players forward in the search for more, even at 6-0 up in the closing stages. At half-time I said, only half jokingly, that I wanted more from the team. In a title race that might come down to goal difference, every strike is pivotal.

The outright record of our biggest ever competitive victory remained tantalisingly out of reach. That is still our double digit thumping of Anderlecht in our first ever European Cup home game in 1956. A Busby Babes side at the peak of its considerable powers put the Belgian champions to the sword to the tune of a Tommy Taylor hat-trick, a brace from Liam Whelan, Johnny Berry and a four from the indomitable Dennis Viollet. Manchester United 10-0 Anderlecht.

Even in a season where you have to expect the unexpected, this was something I've never seen before nor will likely ever witness again. The closest we have come to such madness in my lifetime was the 7-1 mauling of the mighty Roma in Europe in 2007, swiftly followed by the glorious 8-2 demolition when we shot down the Gunners in 2011. But both of those came with Sir Alex at the helm and the Reds in their prime, as opposed to the fallow and difficult years of the post-Ferguson years when it seemed such hallmarks were a thing of the past. Of course, there is always an element of fluke behind results like this one - everything we hit went in and the manner of Southampton's feeble collapse is one you very rarely ever see at this level. Opponents don't often completely capitulate in the way the Saints did and the lack of fans only further emphasised how bonkers this all was. 

As United became the league's top scorers and moved back level with City at the top, there was another first as the Reds saw seven different players get on the scoresheet for the first time ever (excluding Bednarek's og). This was only the second time this has ever happened, equalling another record, this one set by Chelsea against Villa in 2012 when seven men got on the scoresheet, the most for the same team in a single match. Aaron Wan - Bissaka chipped in with a rare goal, Anthony Martial helped himself to a much needed brace and fellow substitute Dan James got in on the act. Bruno Fernandes ended his goal drought and Edinson Cavani grabbed his first at Old Trafford with a sumptuous header. Scott McTominay, Marcus Rashford and an own goal from the hapless Jan Bednarek created another unique piece of trivia and completed the scoring in the joint third highest-scoring Premier League tie ever. 

Nine goals against nine men in 90 extraordinary minutes that really do need to be seen to be believed. As Saints look to erase the spectre of unwanted history - again - this was a statement that put Solskjaer's United firmly back on track.... and how! 

United's fringe players fail to impress

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer shuffled his pack for the visit of Watford but several fringe players failed to grasp their moment.
There were nine changes from the side that lost to Manchester City in midweek, with only Scott McTominay and Dean Henderson retained. With a huge midweek looming and the chance to go top of the league on Tuesday, Solskjaer handed overdue and much-needed breathers to Harry Maguire, Aaron Wan - Bissaka, Bruno Fernandes, Fred, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford. A largely second string United side dominated possession but struggled to create clear-cut chances in a typical FA Cup tie between Premier League and Championship - too close in quality for the bigger side to run away with it, not close enough to ensure a blood and thunder thrill-a-minute ding dong. 

Circumstance dictated that Solskjaer perhaps used the captain - with Scott McTominay stand-in skipper for the night - and the latter two against his wishes after Eric Bailly departed through concussion. 
As Dan James and Mason Greenwood, two of the fringe players handed a rare chance to impress, failed to do so, Solskjaer reluctantly called upon Rashford and Martial to put the tie to bed. He was right not to start Fernandes, with the only surprise perhaps being it's taken so long for him to get a rest. But even in absentia, he still impressed. United are so reliant on the Portuguese and we miss not only his drive and quality but his intensity and leadership qualities. 

It was a gamble he could have done without but showed that United are still overly reliant on their key men and the strength and depth - although much improved - still cannot accommodate wholesale changes. 

This was a shop window XI from United with Brandon Williams in an unfamiliar right-back role, Axel Tuanzebe at centre-back and rare starts for Juan Mata, Jesse Lingard and Dan James. Solskjaer challenged the fringe players in his much-changed side to impress him and prove they deserve to be involved more often. With a huge game and the chance to go top of the league looming on Tuesday, 

Greenwood wasn't at his best, drifting wide constantly rather than holding his central position. Although sub par, taking him off seemed a strange decision. He had little quality service and another 20 minutes could have helped his cause. Tuanzebe, on his fourth start of the season, was solid as usual, so too match winner and pick of the bunch in Red, McTominay. 

Williams, too, on only his third start this season at right-back, didn't take Solskjaer's advice as he struggled throughout against Watford's highly sought-after winger Ismaila Sarr. Williams certainly should not be the deputy for Aaron Wan - Bissaka. 

Lingard had not started since the League Cup game at Luton in September but, despite flashes of form, lost the ball 14 times against the Hornets, looked devoid of urgency and lacked composure. 

In a game defined by averageness, and one in which no one stood out or did dreadfully, Donny van de Beek made his ninth start for United. There were a few neat moments and a lovely link up with Juan Mata that almost led to a second goal but the £40m Dutchman was upstaged by his less illustrious partner to his right, in the wake of McTominay's man of the match performance - again, van de Beek wasn't amazing, but wasn't terrible either. He was just there. 

It may not have been a vintage United showing, but when so many changes are made it's always difficult to play as a fluid and cohesive unit. Ultimately, this was about the result and the Reds are safely through to the fourth round for the seventh successive year. 

United's 21 downloading in 2021?

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's tricky Reds are firmly in contention for the title as the new decade approaches.

In a world where life changed seemingly overnight, the end of 2020 marks the departure of a year like no other - a year of the like none of us have ever seen before, nor will ever likely see again. Yet in this strangest of times, a familiar and long overdue sight is enough to fill the hearts and warm the cockles of Manchester United fans up and down the globe.
A sight you began to wonder we'd ever see again. It was a sight we used to take for granted, one that become achingly familiar - glorious for everyone who loves this club, overwhelmingly sickening for everyone else. It is, of course, the view from a lofty position in the Premier League. Not since our last title in 2013 have United been as close to the top of the table at any stage in a season as they are now. Not since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, after that last title win, have United flexed their muscles as a genuine contender for the title. We may have finished second under Jose Mourinho three seasons ago, but that felt like a false position. We were never anywhere near the leaders, and didn't even try to catch them. In a poor season, Manchester United were a very distant and half-hearted second. 

But yet, as we finally say good riddance to 2020, a year that has felt like an eternity, United are again second in the table but, this time, within striking distance of Liverpool at the summit. We finished 33 points adrift last season, but are now only two points off the top with a game in hand. Not bad for a PE teacher with no tactics. 

 This time 12 months ago, the Scousers were already receding into the distance and Solskjaer's United were nowhere. This terrible year is, at least, ending on a high note.
What's more, United soared into second in a manner befitting of this great club - a manner ingrained in the very workings of this football club. A Fergie-time winner in a game where United had not played well, sealed by one of our own - a man who has displayed rare qualities in one so young, and the epitome of the human inspiration that has touch our hearts in an extremely difficult year. Is there anything more Manchester United than that? You love to see it.

This was a victory for football - a victory secured in vintage style against opponents who refused to attack and came with a solitary aim in mind, to park the bus and nick a draw. Last season, or even a few short months ago, Wolves would have succeeded in that mission. United simply wouldn't have had the staying power or the werewithal to keep believing and pushing
to the end. 

 The Reds may not have been at their best, but isn't that what potential champions do? Grind out results and win ugly when not playing well. How many times did we do that throughout our all-conquering reign as England's football tour de force. We often made a habit of it, so much so that teams used to quake in fear at the very sight of the time added-on board going up. Solskjaer's United may not yet have reached that stage of psychological warfare, but there are signs the club's long-term vision, their belief that Solskjaer is the man, is coming to fruition.  

This side never knows when its beaten and has spirit, character and courage in abundance. Again, as he continues to do every week, Bruno Fernandes made the difference. 32 goal involvements in 29 games for a man who still hasn't been here for a year yet. 

Not even the most staunch United fan, or even the most confident better, would have predicted this. You'd have got long odds on Solskjaer's side being Liverpool's closest challengers on New Year's Day, especially given our poor start and the constant pressure the United boss has been under. But yet here we are, clinging to the coat-tails of a Liverpool side that have been far from infallible. Of course, it's premature to say we will be their closest challengers but, as the old adage so often says, your position at the turn of the year is roughly where you'll end up come May (or maybe June)...
Do I think Manchester United will win the title? No, not this year anyway. We won't, but we certainly can, we're in the mix and genuine contenders for the first time since the retirement of Sir Alex. I would settle for closing the gap and pushing hard at the top. That in itself is progress. 

United go to Anfield on January 17th. We'll get a much better idea regarding our credentials after that. If we emerge unscathed, like West Brom but unlike so few others, we have a title fight on our hands. You suspect we still have a way to go, but nothing is certain in these bizarre, topsy-turvy times. Imagine ending Liverpool's unbeaten home run with a 97th-minute, wrongly-awarded, twice taken Bruno Fernandes penalty to put us top of the league... we can all dream, right?

And so, as we leave 2020 behind, the hope is for an upward trajectory and a better year for all (let's face it, nothing can be worse). Solskjaer's United approach the imminent changing of the calendar in fine fettle and in their best shape for almost a decade. Wouldn't it be fitting, so gloriously, so unexpectedly fitting, if the arrival of 2021 paved the way for the arrival of Manchester United's 21. 

United and Leeds rekindle a rivalry for the ages

 One of English football's longest running rivalries reignites after 16 years as Leeds visit Old Trafford on Sunday. 
For the first time since 2004, the Red of Lancashire's United meet Yorkshire's white football tour de force, following the Elland Road's side rise to prominence under the tutelage of charismatic, obsessive and maverick manager Marcelo Bielsa. 

After Leeds financial meltdown, spectacular fall from grace and double relegation (they certainly know a thing or two about going from tier one to tier three), the two clubs have met twice in both domestic cup competitions, with honours even. But Leeds promotion back to the promised land after almost two decades ensured that this age old ding dong re-emerged on the Premier League fixture list. 

For all the mocking and schadenfreude towards the men from across the Pennines, there's no denying that the two league fixtures between these two Uniteds are ones to be relished. It is a crying shame, but also perhaps a blessing, that there will be no fans present to witness the occasion. The old adage may say time itself is a great healer, but that won't be the case when these two very different clubs, sleeping giants from two very different cities, lock horns again on Sunday. United and Leeds may have spent the last 16 years in different divisions, but there's no love lost here - its a fire that continues to burn as fiercely as ever. 

This is a feud - much like the United vs Liverpool loathing - that transcends football and one steeped in history, tradition and mutual hatred. Like many a tangled tale, its a complicated affair.
Bizarrely, its one that kick-started back in the days of Shakespeare and the Tudors when the Plantagenet house of Lancaster (red) and the house of York (white) were embroiled in a series of civil wars to establish supremacy and to eliminate potential heirs to the throne. I don't pretend to know all the bitter, gory details, but you get the idea of where and how this all started.

It was an underlying sense of feeling only exacerbated over time, reaching a zenith in the 60s when the two Uniteds were competing for trophies under two men whom hated each other. Matt Busby and his side were widely respected and appreciated by neutrals and even rival fans, whereas Don Revie and his "dirty Leeds" were reviled throughout the land. A pivotal moment was the Johnny Giles saga - a man who rose through the ranks at Old Trafford before signing for 'them' and going on to become the mainstay of Revie's all-conquering Leeds side. Busby's United were the slick, easy on the eye, youthful team playing football as it should be played. Revie's team were physical and dirty with a poor disciplinary record and a penchant for the incendiary. 

Revie's United were often regarded as the nearly men - we pipped them to the title on goal average (or goal difference) in 1965 whilst Leeds twice lost European finals as United finally won the cup with the big ears three years later. Six years later, Busby's Reds were relegated and Revie's Leeds were dominant champions. The balance of power continued to swing until Manchester's finest asserted their dominance - sparked by the signing of Eric Cantona from, you guessed it, Leeds, in 1992. As United finally scratched a 26-year itch, salvation came, with delicious irony, from an enemy. Thirteen titles in 21 years, all sparked by a phone call and the arrival of Cantona the catalyst. Up until until that seminal turning point, it had been David O'Leary's youthful, exciting and aggressive side to carry the air of potential champions - it was they, not us, whom had widely been tipped to become serial winners. 

Leeds ignominious plummet to relegation led to a firesale while Alan Smith - the lifelong Leeds fan who had declared he would never play for United - later did exactly that. Denis Irwin and Rio Ferdinand also followed the same path in swapping Elland Road for Old Trafford, as did Giles, Joe Jordan and the two Gordons, McQueen and Strachan. 

A common denominator here is that these two Uniteds - two of the biggest and most iconic football names in the land - have a long and colourful history of fights, fisticuffs and feuding. Many are local, many involve subplots, but there is something particularly fierce, perhaps even more so than our rivalry with Liverpool - there is something especially visceral about this one.

Its a rivalry just as fierce off the pitch as on it - with banners, Munich songs and reference to the two Leeds fans stabbed in Turkey in a European game at the turn of the century. 
Both managers like to play the expansive stuff, so the first cross-Pennines league meeting in 16 years may prove to be a festive cracker to warm the cockles.