Ole ole Ander Herrera.. Adios and gracias

After 189 games in the Red of United, Ander Herrera will run out at Old Trafford as a Manchester United player for the final time tomorrow. Herrera's deal is due to expire, the club have not offered him a new one and he looks set to sign for PSG on a free, having agreed terms with the Ligue 1 champions after five years as one of our club's best post Sir-Alex signings. Arriving from La Liga in 2014 for £29m as Louis van Gaal's first signing, Herrera was the string-pulling heartbeat of our engine room and developed into a key man in a United side that at times seems to be in a constant state of turbulence.
In an emotional farewell message posted on United's Twitter, Herrera made official what has looked likely for some time, after widespread speculation about his future.

So how will the man from Bilbao be remembered? The answer, certainly from my perspective, is with great affection.

Whilst there have certainly been more skillful, edge-of-
your-seat players to don the iconic Red, Herrera was a rare breed - a foreign import who quickly became a fans favourite for his combative, courageous, hard-working and all action style. He reminded me of a Roy Keane-esque identikit and held a love and affinity for our club that you don't very often see in an overseas player. He hated losing and epitomised everything a Manchester United player should be. As Tony Adams once said: "Play for the name on the front of the shirt and they will remember the name on the back."

  Every tackle, every act of bravery, every act of shithousery, every lung bursting rung and every single thing that proves that what Ander Herrera is, is something United currently lack.

Not forgetting that time he spat on the City badge at the swamp.

This United squad is a discombobulated rabble of half arsed players who don't give a shit, but  Herrera is one of the few who is both genuinely good enough and does actually care. Letting him leave looks a massive mistake and one that I hope we don't live to regret.

An expert of "the needle", Herrera was adept at boiling the collective piss of opposition players and fans alike simply through his no nonsense attitude and putting his body on the line. His man marking masterclass on Eden Hazard for Chelsea's visit in the April of 2017 will live long in the memory, and capped a wonderful season in which he was our skipper in all but name and ended up as winner of the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award. In a United squad where true leaders and out and out captains are conspicuous in absentia, Herrera should have been that man. He will be sorely missed and I'm gutted that he won't be a part of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's plans to rebuild United. The mess Manchester United are in, the leadership and authority the club lacks, they are letting go of a proper leader. It might be tough to find another one soon.

A player who forever gave his all, Herrera wore his heart on his sleeve, never put in anything less than 100% and developed into one of the finest box to box midfielders in the land. He perhaps never got the credit he deserved from observers, fans and pundits, but he was crucial. During his five seasons under three different managers, Herrera won both domestic cups and was named man of the match in the Europa League final after he covered every blade of grass in that final against Ajax.

When times were dark, he gave his all to light the fire. When it seemed as though no one cared, he did care every single time. Because of that, he became a player every United fan could relate to and connect to. Someone we could identify with. He became a cult hero, a terrace icon, a fans favourite.

Antonio Valencia will also leave United on a free transfer this summer after the club opted not to trigger a one year extension in his contract, while Juan Mata is yet to agree terms on a new deal at Old Trafford.

Ole ole Ander Herrera. Gracias and adios Ander, good luck at PSG and all the best for your future.

Five Premier League stars that could make a difference for Man Utd.

It is no secret that Manchester United need a monumental overhaul and with the summer transfer window looming fast, it is sure to be a busy summer at Old Trafford. We need ten players in and ten players out, but it’s going to take more than just a few months for us to get what we need. It looks the mother of all rebuilding jobs for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and it should never have come to this.
As many as six players could leave United, with the club looking to bring in at least four. With that in mind, here we take a look at five Premier League based talents who could make a difference to us.

Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham)

The Belgian has been a mainstay of both his club and his country’s rise to prominence. Although he’s in the twilight of his career, he’s still got a good few years left in him yet. Alderweireld is one of the best centre-backs around and would be the perfect grit-and-guile foil alongside Victor Lindelof. A dearth of good centre-halves has been United’s Achilles heel for years, we still haven’t adequately replaced Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic. This man is perfect for that job.
He’s been linked with United in the past but the Spurs man won’t come cheap. Daniel Levy is notoriously hard-nosed when it comes to doing business with so we’ll have to be very astute to prise one of his top assets away from north London.

Ryan Fraser (Bournemouth)

We haven’t had a good wide man since Ronaldo left but I rate Bournemouth’s Ryan Fraser. 25 and at his peak, the Scot has had the season of his life for Eddie Howe’s Cherries. Deployed as a right-footed left winger, he can also cover both full-back positions if needed. Bournemouth’s creator-in-chief has plundered eight goals and 15 assists in tandem with Callum Wilson (who I’d also take at Old Trafford) during this impressively eye-catching campaign. If we were to sign him it would mean a revamping of style as well as personnel as we have no natural width and play narrow. United have a rich legacy when it comes to the free-wheeling winger, but the traditional type has become a dying Premier League breed. Bournemouth are one of the few sides to still play that way and Fraser is an integral part of this.

Ruben Neves (Wolves)

I’ve been an admirer of this lad for years even before his mightily impressive debut Premier League season. Part of a tenacious, brave and agile Wolves side, Neves was instrumental in their superb seventh-placed finish and has contributed to twelve goals this season. More than that, he is the archetypal ball-carrying flair player so conspicuous in absentia at United. We need an upgrade on Nemanja Matic who simply isn’t good enough and Neves, 22, would certainly give us that. His skill, vision and range of passing are among his best attributes and, whether we keep hold of Paul Pogba or not, Neves is a Man Utd player in all but name. He is too good for Wolves but they will be desperate not to sell him.

Declan Rice (West Ham)

Wan-Bissaka and Rice. It might sound like part of a takeaway order, but in fact, both are two of the finest young homegrown talents in the Premier League. Coming to the end of his second season at West Ham, the 20-year-old is the latest product of the Hammers famed Academy.
Superbly nicknamed the ‘Basmati Busquets’, he was impressive against United at Old Trafford a few weeks ago, linking the play with energy, guile and nous. Strong in the tackle and composed on the ball, he can also play as a ball playing centre-back and has become a big game player after impressing against the top six. It is surely a matter of ‘when’ rather than ‘if’ Rice gets a big money move elsewhere. He was rewarded for his sparkling form with a debut for Gareth Southgate’s England team after being the subject of a tug-of-war between the Three Lions and the Republic of Ireland (who he is eligible for through his grandparents). He would be a class addition to a United squad in need of open-heart surgery. Solskjaer is said to be a fan.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka (Crystal Palace)

The breakout star of 2018-19, Wan-Bissaka has been tipped to reach the very top. The most exciting talent to come through the Crystal Palace Academy in years, he’s burst on to the scene and has already attracted attention from the league’s leading lights.
United are in desperate need of a top class right-back and the 21-year-old ticks all the box: he’s a quick, fearless and dynamic young talent that we’re crying out for. Ashley Young, Antonio Valencia and Matteo Darmian aren’t up to standard and new blood is required. With the addition of Wan – Bissaka, and Diogo Dalot and Luke Shaw to provide competition, United’s full-back positions would be in their best state for ages.

Scott McTominay is Man Utd's one lone beacon of hope

Amid the wreckage of Manchester United's 2018-19 season, there is one survivor. One man who has shone like a beacon as United's only glimmer of hope during nine desperate months in which the storm clouds have enveloped Old Trafford in darkness.
Scott McTominay - like United - began the season in an ignominous manner. Guilty through no fault of his own with the trials and tribulations of the Jose Mourinho era, the jury was very much out on the latest member of the club's homegrown alumni to step off the conveyor belt of talent. I'll be the first to admit I had my doubts too. Tall and rangy but seemingly not much else, McTominay was both a blessing and a curse for Mourinho. 6ft 3 and strong in the tackle, he was the perfect exponent of Mourinho's raison d'etre, and the fact he's an Academy graduate allowed the pragmatic Portuguese to tick that box, too. Yet he was also hung out to dry by the man who rated him so highly he created an award for McTominay. Twice deployed in a back five during that defeat at West Ham and the draw at Southampton, it hardly did much to change opinion.

Scott came to symbolise everything that was wrong with the nadir of Mourinho's tenure.
When Jose departed Old Trafford in December, it seemed as though McTominay would follow too, somewhere into the lower echelons of the second tier.
Five months on, and the player known affectionately as McSauce has seen his stock risen so highly that he's being worshipped as our saviour. McTominay looks indispensable and it's him - not Paul Pogba - that we should be building our team around. The image shows him sitting dejectedly on the bench after the draw at Huddersfield. It's obvious how much this season has hurt him... if only the rest of this shitshow cared as much as he does. I'd rather have 11 McTominay's than 11 Pogba's - he might not be the most brilliantly skillfull player but he compensates for that by putting a shift in and giving 100% for the badge. He'd die for this club, and his unrelenting work rate makes him stand out like Andres Iniesta in a lazy team of statuesque bottle jobs.

It has been a coming of age season for the Lancaster-born Scot. United faced PSG and Barcelona in two Champions League knockout ties, and surrounded by a galaxy of stars, McTominay was inspired. His first senior goal at Wolves was quickly followed by his second one yesterday. In a startling season for Manchester United, another startling stat has emerged: McTominay now has more goals in the last eight games than Romelu Lukaku, Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard, Alexis Sanchez, Juan Mata and Anthony Martial have managed between them. Yet some continue to blame Ole for a mess not of his own making. Ashley Young couldn't lead a pack of ants to a picnic but McTominay has shown maturity and leadership beyond his tender years.

He is one of only four players - with Luke Shaw, Victor Lindelof and Marcus Rashford the others - to have shown he truly deserves to be here next year.

Match report: Huddersfield 1-1 Man Utd

This pitiful bunch of Man Utd players were finally put out of their misery as our top four hopes were ended by one of the worst sides the Premier League has seen. It was only the Championship-bound Terriers 15th point of a woeful season, and mathematically ended United's already slim hopes of Champions League football in 2019-20, not that we deserve it anyway. In truth, the top four was not ended today - we have been utterly pathetic all season bar the three magic months when everything Ole Gunnar Solskjaer touched turned to gold. Spurs, Chelsea and Arsenal have barely been no better but with nothing to play for against Cardiff with one game left, I want to see youth now. Scott McTominay, the one shining light in a desperately dark season of gloom, was the only man in Red worthy of the name.

Jan Siewert's Huddersfield were relegated in March - the joint earliest demotion ever -  and on a run of eight successive losses, but with the club destined for the drop after a two-season stint at the top level, and chairman Dean Hoyle going with them, there was an emotional backdrop at the atmospheric John Smith's Stadium. Hoyle is selling the club to local businessman and another long-standing supporter in Phil Hodgkinson.

McTominay put United ahead when he fired in from the edge of the box beyond Jonas Lossl, but Isaac Mbenza's first goal for the club restored parity after the interval. In a frantic finish, young United substitute Tahith Chong had a shot saved and Paul Pogba hit the bar before David de Gea denied Karlan Grant a winner at the other end.

De Gea, under scrutiny after a string of disappointing mistakes, twice saved well from Grant, whilst Juan Mata was by far United's most creative player and almost set up an opportunity for Pogba to double United's lead.
Pogba hit the bar in each half with curling shots but he was another highly-paid member of the United squad whose overall impact failed to match his reputation.

 Home-grown McTominay, United's April player of the month, was again the visitors' outstanding performer.
There was more than an element of luck about the Scotland midfielder's goal as Huddersfield keeper  Lossl completely failed to deal with his eighth-minute shot from just inside the penalty area but there was an enterprising industry about McTominay's performance that his team-mates clearly lacked.

Hoyle even got something to celebrate as Mbenza scored his first goal in 23 Huddersfield appearances.
There was nothing subtle about his debut goal. The Terriers keeper punted the ball downfield, it was was not dealt with by Luke Shaw, allowing Mbenza to run clear of the United defence and slot past the advancing de Gea.

Phil Jones headed over from five yards having been picked out by Mata, and Marcus Rashford then also should have done better but miscued when well placed, epitomising his recent struggles. 


It was an another embarrasing footnote in another embarrasing season for United.

Overall team performance: No rating
United Faithful Man of the Match: Scott McTominay.

The worst Man Utd side in living memory have sleepwalked into this mess

Huddersfield had lost 23 of their last 25 games in all competitions. In their last six alone, they had conceded 21 goals. The Terriers, relegated since March and on course to record one of the lowest points totals in Premier League history, were sinking into the Championship without a trace.

Enter Manchester United.

Yet they were the team to mathematically end any lingering hopes of Champions League football for 2019-20. In a season when Tottenham, Chelsea, Arsenal and - albeit briefly - ourselves have played musical chairs and Russian roulette with the carrot of the top four, United came a distant sixth in a pathetic three horse race. I'm beyond ranting. I'm not upset and, most damningly of all, not in the least bit surprised. It's happened too many times that nothing surprises me any more with this football club. So bad was it at the John Smith's Stadium, you could make a case for all eleven of those pathetic, half-arsed, lazy, lethargic, woeful, useless and lackadaisical players to be moved on. You could argue that every single one of those players could be upgraded. Every.Single.One.

Ed Woodward has had seven summers at Old Trafford so surely he has to get this one right. The whole club needs a shake up from top to bottom. Whilst City and Liverpool continue to demand excellence and strive for perfection, our penny pinching puppeteers in the corridors of power are killing this club, running it into the ground and ripping its soul out. The zenith of their ambitions is to do the bare minimum required to get us competing for a top four place. In the era of the Big Six, two miss out and its looking increasingly likely that United are going to be one of them for the foreseeable future. Watford, Wolves, Everton and Leicester all could well have caught us if the season had been extended by a few more weeks. It is no co-incidence that all are well run clubs with good recruitment. United face an almighty fight to stay ahead of those four - as well as trying to close down the chasing pack - in the coming seasons. It's going to take a decade to fix this mess. Ole might be at the wheel, but there's no engine and the vehicle he's driving is smashed to smithereens, beyond any tangible repair.

Blame Ole Gunnar Solskjaer all you want but it shouldn't have mattered what the line up or the formation was. We should be beating the fodder of hopeless Huddersfield with nine men and our eyes closed. In fact, in a team containing Ashley Young - it is mind boggling how this man is our captain - Phil Jones - just why? - and Nemanja Matic - it was like playing with eight. When Scott McTominay put us ahead at Huddersfield, we were asking the question of 'how many'. At full time, 'how many' was still relevant. How many should we get rid of?  Solskjaer sat motionless and powerless for much of the last 30 minutes. On the rare occasion he stood, his hands were stuffed in his pockets, dumbstruck, demoralised and deflated. It appears he has given up on some of these pitiful players.

Luke Shaw is a contender for the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year but yet made his third such mistake when he failed to get under a hoof down field and Isaac Mbenza raced through to score. As a professional footballer at a Premier League club, how is he not correcting these mistakes or, perhaps more pertinently, why has the coaching set up not picked up on it?

 This is the worst United side I have ever seen and we have sleepwalked into this situation. Five months ago, United had eleven players sitting on expiring contracts. Jose Mourinho fell out with a lot of players - Anthony Martial and Paul Pogba, our French connection, to name but two. When he left, they've continued to show no effort, no stomach for the fight and still look as though they don't want to be here. David de Gea has held this club to ransom not twice but three times. We show too much loyalty, overindulge our players and favouritism is rife.Half of these twats want more money but are doing the square root of zero to warrant it. Some fans are split over whether we should bend to their wishes or get rid.

How startling it is to see Ander Herrera, of all people, urgently rally his teammates. Herrera was the only one who showed any remote leadership in response to the setback and the club's failure to agree a new deal with him means he has agreed to join Paris Saint-Germain. If only Alexis Sanchez would join him. Yet we think nothing of keeping players who are nowhere near up to standard.
Sanchez began the game moaning at a teammate and ended it by disappearing down the tunnel unassisted and injured. You wouldn't blame Woodward, sat in the same aisle as Sir Bobby Charlton, if he hopes that was the last time their highest-earner appeared in a red shirt.
The 19-year-old Tahith Chong replaced Sanchez in what could be the unofficial changing of the guard. Chong did more with his first touches than Sanchez managed in 54 feckless minutes. Chong was close to firing in an 88th-minute winner. Whatever the understandable reasons behind United's pursuit of Sanchez 16 months ago, they signed him at exactly the wrong time.

Scott McTominay's resurgence - he was, again, the only bright spot, and Sanchez's demise, perhaps  underpin the recruitment reboot Solskjaer and Mike Phelan are overseeing. They want players genuinely enthralled by the prospect of playing for United and there is a reluctance to court marquee names. On the evidence at the John Smith's Stadium, it is easy to see why.

Match preview: Huddersfield Town vs Man Utd

United's under-fire keeper David De Gea will keep his place between the sticks for our penultimate game of the season at relegated Huddersfield.
De Gea has endured the worst goalkeeper crisis of his career after a string of high profile errors in recent weeks, including Chelsea's damaging leveller last time out at Old Trafford. That had led many to question whether he should be dropped but, with back up Sergio Romero injured, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will keep faith with Dave.

In terms of their gossamer thin top-four chances, all United can do is win and hope for the unexpected elsewhere.
As bizarre as it seems though, their own victory might be the part that lets them down - even at a ground where 14 others have won away this season. Huddersfield achieved what many thought nigh on impossible by surviving last season on their debut campaign at this level, but Jan Siewert's side have suffered a nasty bout of second-season syndrome to sink back into the second tier almost without trace - pilfering a second-lowest ever points tally of 14 in the process.

Their goals-for column is a joint record low of 20, equalled only by the Derby County side of 2007/08 that will be remembered as the Premier League's worst ever. Huddersfield's 2-0 defeat at Palace on 30 March also equalled yet

another unwanted record for the league's earliest relegation. In short, they have been terribly out of their depth and surely even we cannot mess this one up.

 Huddersfield, who have propped up the table since December, joined Derby County and Ipswich Town as the only teams in Premier League history to be relegated with six games left to play.

Their forward Laurent Depoitre is in contention for a first appearance in more than two months after recovering from a foot injury.

Mathias Jorgensen is out because of illness but Aaron Mooy and Ben Hamer are back in training.
Manchester United are missing Eric Bailly, whose season was ended by a knee injury sustained last weekend.
Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Romelu Lukaku, Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard are doubts, but Marcus Rashford is fit. Highly rated Academy starlet Mason Greenwood would have been involved if not for injury, but the likes of Academy graduates Tahith Chong, Angel Gomes and James Garner will be hoping to feature as Solskjaer looks set to shuffle his pack. This dead rubber could be a final chance to players who could leave in the summer, and allow Solskjaer to decide who he keeps and who must go against the fodder of Huddersfield and Cardiff - sides we should be beating no matter who plays.

Solskjaer said: "In long-term planning we have to think about being in the Champions League next year and the fact we might not be [in it].
"You would be surprised how many players' agents have been telling us their players would love to be a part of Manchester United in the future.
"That is the lure and the potential and size of the club, and we will get back to the good days."

Form guide: Huddersfield Town L L L L L L  Man Utd  L W L L L D
Match odds: Huddersfield Town 11/1 Draw 6/1 Man Utd 1/3
Referee: Lee Mason (Bolton)

Luke Shaw should be United's Player of the Season

It's that time of year again when the topic of discussion turns to contenders for a club's Player of the Season awards. United's annual end of year bash which sees the gongs given out will be held at Old Trafford on Thursday May 9.

David de Gea has been a shoe in for the Reds pick of the bunch in recent years, having won the award named in honour of Sir Matt Busby for four of the last seasons - only the soon to depart Ander Herrera has broken his compatriot's stranglehold on the crown. With an atrocious, error-strewn De Gea in the midst of the worst goalkeeping crisis of his career, and United's season potholed by inconsistency, there is no clear winner this time around.
It's fair to say that no one in Red has covered himself in glory, but there's one man who has been a picture of consistency, calm and composure, a steady hand on the tiller in the roughest of seas. Step forward, Luke Shaw. Our number 23 has enjoyed a stellar season having finally achieved what he threatened for so long and made that left-back spot his own. He has become the player we all hoped he one day would be. Notably leaner, meaner, fitter and faster, and still only 23, Shaw has come of age. Liverpool's Andy Robertson aside there have been few better full-backs in the country this season.

Shaw's troubles with form and fitness at United have been well documented, but Luke has emerged from the cocoon of the Jose Mourinho era to spread his wings and fly into a new era as one of the few to emerge from 2018-19 with any tangible credit. Victor Lindelof runs him close and Marcus Rashford would be right up there if not for the last two weeks, but for me, Shaw gets the nod as our Player of the Year. Winner of three player of the month awards, I struggle to think of an occasion where he's had a bad game or not performed well. You could argue he should have done better for City's second, decisive goal in last Wednesday's derby but in truth the fault was minimal.

He prepared better than ever, rearranging his diet and workout plan, and eventually became United’s best full-back. There is no longer uncertainty surrounding Shaw and he’s been consistent all season, hence why I’d give reward him with the Player of The Year award. Next season I expect him to kick on again.

It has been great to see Shaw develop into one of the league's best full-backs  and long may it continue. Kudos, Luke.