United In Cruise Control
As much as I wanted to see United slip up against lowly Shrewsbury, the simple truth is that that was never going to happen, especially as Louis Van Gaal went to great lengths to ensure that it didn't by sending out close to his strongest eleven to tackle the side 21st in League One. It's a mark of how badly United's season is going that LVG felt the need to go for broke against a side that the reserves probably would have pummeled anyway, but nonetheless it turned out that my prediction of a 3-0 United win was on the nose.
Chris Smalling put United in front, with a goal that pretty much summed up United's dominance in the opening half hour, as having a center back casually waiting in the penalty area from open play to scuff home a shot is symptomatic of total and utter control. And once that goal went in, the game was never in any doubt, with Juan Mata putting the game out of reach just on half time with a lovely free kick from just outside the area that probably should have been disallowed.
In truth though, whether or not it should have stood is totally inconsequential to the final result, as United were never going to lose their stranglehold on a game against lower league opposition who simply put didn't have the quality to ever trouble them. Apart from a couple of chances late on for the home side, it was the visitors who never showed any signs of letting their lead slip, and put the icing on the cake just after the hour mark, when Jesse Lingard turned home Ander Herrera's ball into the penalty area to make it 3-0. This is the sort of result to boost United's confidence against their return leg against Midtjylland, albeit against a team that anything less than the result that they achieved could easily have turned into a travesty. I wouldn't go so far as to say that this has relieved any of the pressure on LVG because frankly it's not going to instill any confidence in anyone, but this was a comprehensive display and if nothing else it prevents the pressure from being further applied until at the least Thursday, when United will have to navigate a game infinitely more difficult, as they try to reach the last 16 of the Europa League, their self-confessed only hope of Champions League football next season.
And staying with Manchester United for the time being, Lazio's president announced that he was selling Felipe Anderson for £47m (60m Euros) to the Manchester club, allegedly to a room full of journalists. The veracity of this is currently unclear but if true (and it looks likely as it's being widely corroborated) then this is a very good deal for the Italian club. Don't get me wrong, Anderson looks like another classy attacking midfielder, but at nearly £50m, he's also ludicrously expensive for a man who has only 16 goals in Serie A, admittedly only at the age of 22. This is another clear example of Manchester United's reputation as a big club, able to throw money at any situation to get what they want, biting back at them, as they don't have the power to negotiate with Lazio. The ball is entirely in Lazio's court and they'll squeeze their talent for every last penny and then some. I'm not saying that this would necessarily be a bad move for United, should it come to pass because Anderson is undoubtedly talented, but I question whether for nearly £50m, they should be buying established talent, or three or four players with Anderson's potential. The answer to that of course, is that without Champions League football, they simply can't pull the finished article. Neymar/Bale/Ronaldo/everyone transfer rumours are all well and good, but simply put, who would want to leave Barcelona or even Real Madrid right now? Granted, Madrid are a million miles away from Barca, but United are a million miles away from Madrid and moving from the Spanish capital to the red half of Manchester now would be a coward's way out.
Meanwhile, to put that move into context, Bolton Wanderers Football Club, that's the whole club, cost just £7.5m as they were taken over by the Sports Shield Consortium. This is terrific news for Bolton fans, who must have been wondering if they would ever see their club again after this season, as it looked as if Bolton might collapse completely into the wilderness at several points. There's obviously a long way for the club to go to pay off their debts, secure financial stability and, almost as importantly, launch a sustained football league campaign, but this is a big start for them. Their next objective must surely be Championship survival, which at 6 points behind Rotherham looks a long shot at this stage, but far from impossible and we've seen stranger things happen. Who knows, behind the scenes stability may spur on the players into an incredible run. Now they have something worth fighting for. Most importantly for all Bolton fans, their club has a future. It's alive. And it's not going anywhere any time soon. And in a current climate where a lot of clubs are struggling to stay in existence, this is a win for football, and a win for Bolton Wanderers.
And finally, in football news, Barcelona President Josep Maria Bartomeu has taken a massive potshot at Real Madrid by saying that the club's biggest rivals aren't the men from Madrid, but the Premier League, following the unprecedented amount of television money going into the English top flight next season. Barcelona may have the best team in the world by a country mile on the pitch, but off the pitch they need to take steps to secure that financially they can compete. Obviously there is more to football than money, and Barca don't need to worry about losing their top talents, but in a world where making quick money may be more valuable to certain young players with the wrong mindset, Barca could find themselves losing out on some top young talent coming through, should the likes of City throw money at the situation. And another thing to factor into that equation is the number of top class managers ending up in the EPL, with Guardiola, Wenger, Klopp, and probably Mourinho and Simone there next season.
That said, wait until Barca win everything again this year. Then come back and talk about rivals. Because right now, they are simply peerless.
The Hard and Fast Section
- Sorry for being late again tonight. Life.
- Smithy is running for FIFA President. Genius.
- Vettel fastest on first day of F1 testing. Interesting.
- Pulis in talks at the end of the season. Hmmmm.
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