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Jonny Evans says United lack confidence.

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Manchester United defender Jonny Evans believes that Manchester United players are lacking in confidence following a rather difficult start to the Barclays Premier League campaign.

United currently sit in 9th place in the League table and are now thirteen points behind Premier League table toppers Arsenal, after United’s defeat on Saturday lunchtime, after Newcastle United went to Old Trafford and won 1-0.

But Evans believes that his side’s recent form comes from a real lack of confidence within the squad, and the fact that big name players are not performing to the best of their abilities, with Robin Van Persie unhappy and out of form, and midfielder Michael Carrick still not fit after a recent long term injury lay off, leaving the reigning Champions down to the bare bones.

“The lads have lost a bit of confidence. You can tell that with the possession and creativity,” said Evans.

“Players maybe are not playing how they naturally would. That happens when your confidence drops.”

The Old Trafford club have struggled in the top flight this season under David Moyes, as the former Everton manager took over in the summer following the retirement of l Sir Alex Ferguson in May. 

Moyes has faced critisism in recent weeks for his team selections, style of play and results, as United have already lost five games this season, with home defeats and lacklustre performances, and with two defeats in the space of a week against Everton and Newcastle United respectively, Moyes is feeling the pressure.

Evans stated in an interview following Saturday’s home defeat.

“Usually whenever we’re chasing a goal at Old Trafford, especially at the Stretford End, we put teams under an enormous amount of pressure,”

“But with the lack of confidence and creativity we didn’t produce that. It is hard to put your finger on it.

“We lacked a bit of sharpness in our passing and were sloppy in possession which allowed Newcastle to get control.”

United only lost five league games in total on the way to winning last season’s title and, despite the side’s struggles during the current campaign, Evans has refused to rule out winning the Premier League crown.

“It’s difficult [to win the league] in any season,” he said. “The fact we’ve lost five games already makes it harder.

“But we won’t give up “The most important thing is when we put the Manchester United shirt on and go out at Old Trafford or away from home, we make sure we give everything.e up. We are professionals. We want to keep going until the end.

United have already lost key games this season, including an awful 4-1 defeat in the Manchester derby back in September. The Red devils face Shaktar Donesk in the Champions League, before heading to Villa Park next Sunday. 

By Ben Reardon

@BenReardon1

 

EVERTON AND ARSENAL REACTION

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Two goals in the last 10 minutes at the Emirates Stadium saw table-toppers Arsenal draw 1-1 with Everton in a fiercely-contested match.

Mesut Ozil looked to have given the hosts all three points after he turned hom a Theo Walcott cross, but Gerard Deulofeu’s 86th minute stunner silenced the home fans and sent to two team away with a point each.

Here is some reaction from both camps after the full-time whistle.

Everton midfielder Ross Barkley: “I thought the draw was a fair result, it was end-to-end and we had as many chances as them. I couldn’t be enjoying it (football) any more. This season’s going well for me.”

Everton defender Phil Jagielka: “I thought we played well and were more than value for draw in the end. I think you are looking at two good footballing teams and when one has it it is quite difficult to get it back. Hope and realism are two different things. We’d love to win the league but at the moment we are just looking to keep in touch with the top four.”

Everton manager Roberto Martinez: “The first half performance was as good as it can be from an away side at the Emirates, to take the sting out of the game and stop Arsenal playing and creating a threat.

“Their goal came from nothing but to display the character and come back to score with a goal of that quality was fitting for a game of that standard.

“It is a good example of how we have been working to get in positions where we can win at Manchester United and come to the Emirates and get a draw. We are still learning and developing.”

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger: “Overall, we have to congratulate Everton as they played very well and started better but, saying that, Tim Howard made three excellent saves.

“We regret we were 1-0 up and couldn’t keep a clean sheet. We were caught a bit on the flanks. This team has a fantastic attitude and response always. They give everything. We know we have quality and at least we took a point.

“There is always room for improvement. The three points would have been better but attitude and quality of players is there and is a good basis for improvement.

“It was quality game with two teams who tried to play in an attacking way. It was an enjoyable game played in an enjoyable spirit.”

Arsenal’s ex-Everton midfielder Mikel Arteta: “It was a really tough game, a really high tempo game. They dominated the first 35 minutes or so but after that we had three clear chances.

“In the second half we were the better side. Everton are the best side we have faced this season in the Premier League.

“They been getting results because they are doing things right. They have a good mix of players and are hard to deal with.”

FA Cup Third Round Draw 2014

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What a round this is going to be.

Who is your tip to win the F.A Cup 2014 – leave you pick in the comments below

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Barnsley v Hartlepool or Coventry

Yeovil Town v Leyton Orient

Liverpool v Oldham or Mansfield

Nottingham Forest v West Ham

Bristol City v Watford

Southend v Millwall

Middlesbrough v Hull

West Brom v Crystal Palace

Kidderminster v Peterborough

Doncaster v Stevenage

Stoke City v Leicester City

Southampton v Burnley

Newcastle United v Cardiff City

Rochdale v Leeds United

Wigan Athletic v MK Dons

Charlton v Wrexham or Oxford

Manchester United v Swansea City

Port Vale v Plymouth

Norwich v Fulham

Aston Villa v Sheffield United

Macclesfield Town v Sheffield Wednesday

Sunderland v Carlisle

Bolton v Blackpool

Blackburn v Manchester City

Everton v QPR

Brighton v Reading

Arsenal v Tottenham

Birmingham City v Bristol Rovers or Crawley

Grimsby v Huddersfield

Ipswich v Preston

Derby v Chelsea

Bournemouth v Fleetwood or Burton

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Written out by Steve Milne

Manchester City are to rest their star players.

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Manchester City faces Bayern Munich in the Champions League midweek. Both teams have already qualified for the knockout stages and Manchester City will be keen to rest some of their stronger players with a tough Christmas ahead, playing the current top two in the Premier League.

 

The game against the defending Champions League winners will give player who are currently out of favour, like Joe Hart the chance to play and impress Pellegrini.

 

Pellegrini has already shown his priorities by claiming the game against Arsenal holds higher significance over the game in midweek.

 

“Of course, if you ask me at this moment, the game against Arsenal next weekend is more important than the game against Bayern Munich.”

“From the moment we qualified for the next round, the Premier League became more important than Champions League but that does not mean there is a possibility that the players who play against Bayern Munich will not play against Arsenal.”

Although Pellegrini will field a second string team, this will give player the opportunity to try and impress the manager and put them in contention for the game against Arsenal, as well as future opposition.


Written By Kyle Farrington

 

 

Manchester United are still in the hunt for the Premiership

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Manchester United finds themselves in ninth place in the Premier League so far this campaign. Having slipped to a fifth defeat before Christmas, many people aren’t just questioning their title credentials, but also their chances to finish in the top four.

 

Last campaign United lost a total of 5 games all seasons, their home form has been a particular worry for the defending champions. Old Trafford has been a place many teams have feared to play, but so far this season Manchester United have lost three games at home, two back to back in the last week.

 

Despite this Moyes is standing form in his beliefs that United can win the Premier League this season.

 

“I stand firm we will be very close,” insisted Moyes. “I hope we are in it at the end of the season.”

 

Moyes is still aiming to defend the title that Sir Alex Ferguson and his team won, but they can hardly afford to drop more points, seeing as Arsenal are twelve points clear with a game in hand.

 

Only towards the end of the season, will we know where United will be challenging for, it is clear however, there is no room for error left if they want to regain or even challenge for their title.


Written by Kyle Farrington

 

 

Moyes believes United are in transition

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After a tough start to his managerial career, Moyes remains defiant against his critics. The Manchester United manager still believes he is the right man to replace Sir Alex Ferguson and bring success to the club.

 

After a week to forget for Moyes and Manchester United, after 15 Premier League games some fans believe its time for a change in manager already, believing Moyes isn’t the right man to bring success to United.

 

Moyes wants fans to continue to give him time and let him continue to drive the club forward.

 

There will be [light at the end of the tunnel] because it is a transitional period and that was always going to be the case,” said Moyes.

 

Moyes claims he knew that taking over at such a massive club and succeeding one of the greatest managers of all time would be a very tough challenge, but continues to believe in his ability to turn thing around.

 

“They understand there is a big transition going on here and, like me, I don’t think they expected us to have lost five games at this stage of the season. We didn’t expect that.

“But I think they understand that there is a change going on. We’ll work, try to improve and try to get better.”

 

Moyes seems happy with the support he’s received at Manchester United so far and hopes it will continue as he tries to steady United’s season and move forward.


Written By Kyle Farrington 

Brendan Rodgers: I wouldn’t swap Luis Suarez for anyone

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Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has again heaped praise on Luis Suarez, insisting he can’t put a price on a striker who he ‘wouldn’t swap for anyone’.

Increasing comparisons are being made between Suarez and both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, widely considered the world’s two best players.

And after the Uruguayan international scored again today in Liverpool’s 4-1 victory over West Ham, taking his tally for the season to 14 in 10 appearances, Rodgers says he believes Suarez to be irreplaceable at Anfield.

‘I don’t think you can put a price on him and I wouldn’t want to,’ said the Reds boss

‘He has two and a half years here and if you look at his consistency in his game and how he is playing, at this moment in time he is up there with the best players in the world.

‘Whatever price people put on that then that is what people do, but at the moment it is not of interest to me or him.

‘Most teams in the world would want Luis Suarez. I think Aguero is a wonderful player as well but I wouldn’t swap Suarez for anyone.’

“I wouldn’t swap him, I get the chance to work with him every day and what he gives to training and what he gives to the team is just a relentless desire,” said Rodgers.

“When you have that in a player then you don’t want to let it go, he’s been a great privilege to work with. We have a strong relationship, he’s been fantastic and he’s a joy to watch.”

Written by Steve Milne – Leave me your thoughts below 🙂

Sam Allardyce disappointed with 4-1 defeat to Liverpool

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Sam Allardyce doesn’t believe his West Ham side deserved to lose 4-1 to Liverpool on Saturday, but admitted his players failed to recover from Guy Demel’s own goal.

The Hammers had kept the Reds – buoyant after a 5-1 trouncing of Norwich in midweek – at arm’s length during the first period, before Demel put into his own net three minutes before half-time.

Mamadou Sakho quickly made it 2-0 early in the second half and, although West Ham reduced the arrears through a Martin Sktrel own goal, Liverpool kicked on again to run out convincing winners.

“I think we showed in the first half that we didn’t deserve to be 1-0 down.” said the Hammers boss.

“The game at this level is 90-95 minutes long not 45. For me we didn’t recover from that [second] goal going into the start of the second half and that was the disappointing thing.

“We could have taken a lot of encouragement from the first half and the chance from Modibo Maiga that was well saved [by Simon Mignolet] is one you want to go in when you come to the big boys. But I couldn’t criticise as it was a super save off a very good header.

“The second goal killed us for a while, got Liverpool right up for it.”

The visitors’ cause wasn’t helped by skipper Kevin Nolan being sent off for raking his studs down the achilles of Jordan Henderson late on, while Allardyce was unhappy with Jon Flanagan’s tackle on Stewart Downing – which meant the former Liverpool winger was taken to hospital.

“Kevin Nolan shouldn’t have lost his cool but obviously he did and Stewart Downing is in hospital having his achilles and calf stitched up from a nasty challenge from Flanagan,” Allardyce said.

Written by Steve Milne – Leave me your thoughts below 🙂

RVP not going anywhere!

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With Manchester United struggling in the Premiership, rumours have been circling that Star man of last season, Robin Van Persie wants a move away.

 

After their second consecutive loss at home, rumours are circling around the team such as, is Moyes on his way out and now has RVP handed in a transfer request? This is the last thing United fans will want to hear with all tension around the club at them moment.

 

Moyes however has decided to try and put an end to these rumours after the game against Newcastle.

 

That is absolute nonsense,” said Moyes.

“I don’t know what harder or tougher word I could say but that’s as good as I’ve got.”

 

Moyes words on these rumours are currently the only thing that will give Manchester United fans any satisfaction as their results on the pitch are less than satisfactory.


Written By Kyle Farrington

Brendan Rodgers praises his side after ‘difficult’ 4-1 victory

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Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has heaped praise on his side after seeing them win 4-1 against West Ham, despite describing it as a “difficult game.”

Yet another goal from the in-form Luis Suarez and another from Mamadou Sakho, were bookended by a pair of Guy Demel and Joey O’Brien own goals, as the Reds ran out comfortable winners on the day.

And Rodgers was pleased to grab the win, one that sees them rise to second in the Premier League table.

“It was a difficult game, West Ham are a committed side,” he said after the game. “We started slowly but once we got the goal, it allowed us to flow better.”

The home side peppered the Hammers goal, but were denied by a combination of good goalkeeping and profligate finishing.

“In the end we had 29 attempts at goal, and we could have scored more than four, It was a great victory.”

The win takes the Merseysiders into second in the table but the Liverpool boss was keen to stress that his side must not get carried away with another 23 games still to be played before May.

“We just need to keep going,” he added. “We’ve got some difficult games ahead but it was always going to be difficult.

“We just go to the next challenge, today was a good day for us. Results went our way and that’s what you need to exploit and we’ve done that.”

Rodgers also praised the club’s fans for the part they have played in Liverpool’s fine start to the season.

“You’ve got to give the supporters credit as well because they play a huge part in our drive and relentless desire to get goals,” he said. “Their encouragement plays a big part.”

Writen by Steve Milne – Leave me your thoughts below 🙂

Chelsea’s leaky defence worries Mourinho

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Chelsea suffered defeat today to Stoke City. In a match Chelsea were expected to win against a team who don’t score many goals, today showed how unpredictable football can be.

 

Chelsea looked good first half and although they scored two away from home thanks to a brace from Schurrle, this was not enough to even take a point today as on loan winger Assaidi scored a 25 yard screamer in the dying moments of the game to take all three points.

 

In Chelsea’s last two away games they have conceded three goals, something which is not common for a team playing Mourinho’s way, as his teams are known for being well organised and defensively tight.

 

“It’s a big concern,” said the Chelsea boss. “I don’t organise my teams this way. Individual mistakes sometimes kill a team, and the way we work.

 

After conceding from two set pieces against Sunderland, conceding from another set piece will disappoint Mourinho and his players, due to giving away goals so cheaply.

 

The special one is not just concerned with the amount or type or goals they’re conceding, but feels the team aren’t scoring enough goals.

 

“We don’t score enough goals for the football we play.”

 

 

Chelsea have dropped down to third on goal difference and will look to remain as close to the leaders Arsenal, as possible over the Christmas period.


Written by Kyle Farrington