Of course, you’d be forgiven for thinking this is a warm up to a rousing chant of “Shinji One, Gerrard Nil”. It’s not. I’m talking about Rooney. More specifically Rooney playing as a central midfielder. You see, all the things United fans have taken great pleasure in mocking Gerrard for, certainly in his later years, seem to apply to Rooney. . In Ander Herrera there’s a midfielder who can actually do all the magical little things that I remember a young Paul Scholes doing. Short, sharp, intelligent one touch passes that open up the pitch, which change the direction of…
Author: David Folami
Eleven days after drawing 0-0 at the Abbey Stadium, United were far more convincing against their League Two opponents at Old Trafford. . Juan Mata, Marcos Rojo and James Wilson all found the net in the fourth-round replay at Old Trafford. . With Chelsea and Manchester City out of the tournament, United are the highest-ranked team left in the competition and they will face League One side Preston in the last 16. . Van Gaal’s message to the fans after the final whistle was clear enough – he fancies his chances of going all the way in a competition United…
Manchester United defender Paddy McNair has stated that he is willing to play anywhere for his side after he played 90 minutes in an unfamiliar right-back role in the 3-0 victory over Cambridge United in the FA Cup on Tuesday evening at Old Trafford. McNair also played the right-back role for the majority of the U21’s victory over Liverpool in the Barclays U21 Premier League the week before, against looking rather composed in the position. At the time, I did think that maybe this was similar to Gary Neville, being move to the right-back position by former manager Sir Alex Ferguson…
Louis van Gaal has explained his thinking behind why he played Marouane Fellaini in attack against Cambridge United. . Fellaini, 27, has been used in a number of different positions this season. The Belgian international has played in the holding role, a wide-central midfield role, attacking midfield and now in attack. . Against League Two outfit Cambridge, playing Fellaini in attack was hugely successful, as the 27-year-old bagged two assists as Man United qualified for the next round of the FA Cup. Furthermore, the Belgian was nuisance in the air for the League Two side as he kept winning his aerial battles.…
Ivory Coast midfielder Geoffroy Serey Die has signed for German Bundesliga side VfB Stuttgart from Swiss side FC Basel. . Serey Die, who is currently in Equatorial Guinea with the Elephants’ team participating in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, is expected to travel to Stuttgart at the end of the tournament after signing a two and a half year deal with the German side. . “We are delighted about the signing of Geoffroy Serey Die,” said Stuttgart Director of Sport Robin Dutt. . “He is an internationally experienced player, who will quickly come to terms with life in his…
Last season’s Bundesliga runners-up Borussia Dortmund slumped to a 1-0 home defeat by 10-man Augsburg on Wednesday to continue their spectacular implosion and remain firmly anchored to the foot of the standings. . The 2011 and 2012 Bundesliga champions completely lacked ideas in front of a sold-out 80 000 crowd and were easily outmuscled by European hopefuls Augsburg for whom Raul Bobadilla netted the winner in the 50th minute to seal his club’s first ever win over Dortmund. . Surprise packages Augsburg, who had Christoph Janker sent off midway through the second half, completely shut out Dortmund in the last half…
James Rodriguez headed the opener before going off injured in Real Madrid’s 2-1 victory over Sevilla on Wednesday which extended their lead at the top of La Liga to four points. . Real warmed up for the Madrid derby against Atletico on Saturday with three points but it came at a cost with Sergio Ramos as well as Rodriguez going off injured in the first half. . “I don’t think they will make it in time,” Real coach Carlo Ancelotti told a news conference. . Marcelo will definitely miss the next game through suspension after picking up a yellow card…
Tunisia’s football federation are refusing to apologise to the Confederation of African Football after accusing them of cheating, a member of the federation’s executive committee was quoted as saying on Wednesday. . In the wake of the violent scenes that followed Tunisia’s controversial elimination from the tournament by Equatorial Guinea last Saturday, the north Africans were fined $50 000. . They were also ordered to say sorry for “insinuations of bias and lack of ethics against CAF and its officials, or to present irrefutable evidence to substantiate the accusations”. . African football’s governing body gave Tunisia a deadline of midnight on…
Last-gasp goals from Raheem Sterling and Philippe Coutinho helped Liverpool reach the FA Cup fifth round and avoid the giant-killing fate of many of their Premier League rivals with a 2-1 replay victory at second tier Bolton Wanderers on Wednesday. . The hosts took the lead when former Chelsea and Barcelona striker Eidur Gudjohnsen coolly slotted home a penalty before Bolton were reduced to 10 men when Neil Danns was sent off after receiving two yellow cards. . But Sterling volleyed in the equaliser with four minutes left and a long-range Coutinho strike in stoppage time won the fourth-round replay…
Ivory Coast booked their place in the 2015 African Cup of Nations final following a 3-1 win over the Democratic Republic of Congo at the Estadio de Bata on Wednesday evening. . Goals from Yaya Toure, Gervinho and Serge Wilfried Kanon secured the Elephants’ place in the Afcon final for the third time in nine years. . Having netted 10 goals between them in two qualifying match-ups, goals were to be expected and that is exactly what the sides delivered in what was a thrilling semifinal encounter. . Both teams were guilty of starting slow at this year’s tournament, but…
Dutch midfielder Kevin Strootman is to undergo treatment of the left knee he was operated on in March, the Roma footballer said on Thursday. . “There’s a lot of speculation in the media about me and I would like to explain to all the fans what the real problem is,” Strootman tweeted. . “In the match v Fiorentina (Saturday) I got a knock on my left knee. It’s bruised and therefore I should rest my knee for a couple of weeks. . “This gives me the opportunity to remove some scar tissue which has bothered me a bit after the…
VfL Wolfsburg said on Friday they were close to signing Germany winger Andre Schuerrle and selling striker Ivica Olic to Hamburg SV but the deals have not been signed yet. . The 24-year-old World Cup winner Schuerrle, who joined Chelsea in 2013 has struggled to carve out a regular starting spot. . Croatian forward Olic is set to move back to Hamburg once the Schuerrle deal is sealed. . “I say no,” Wolfsburg sports director Klaus Allofs when asked whether the much-reported deals were sealed. . “We have two issues, Olic to Hamburg and Schuerrle to us. Fact is this…
Steve Bruce has been handed a boost as his Hull City side look to reverse a recent loss of form when they take on Newcastle United in Saturday’s early kick-off in the Barclays Premier League. . Hull sit in the relegation zone having lost three of their past four league matches. A lengthy injury list has hindered Bruce over recent weeks but he has received good news with the return to training of Nikica Jelavic, Abel Hernandez, Gaston Ramirez and Andy Robertson, while Alex Bruce also has a chance of recovering in time for the visit of the Magpies. .…
Arsenal’s new signing Gabriel Paulista could make his Premier League debut against Aston Villa but leading goalscorer Alexis Sanchez is not likely to be risked with a hamstring injury, manager Arsene Wenger said on Friday. . The 24-year-old defender joined the Gunners from the Spanish side Villarreal earlier this week and Wenger is confident the Brazilian will provide stiff competition for first-choice central defenders Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker. . “He’s ready to go. He’ll be in the squad, certainly,” Wenger told a news conference. “Maybe it will take some time to adapt completely, but overall it is very good…
Tunisia head coach, George Leekens, has assured that midfielder Jamel Saihi will stay on for the Afcon despite criticisms from the leadership of his French club, Montpellier. . Leekens stressed that Saihi is a key player for the Carthage Eagles and will remain with the team for the duration of the Africa Cup of Nations if they progress to the last four. . “I can assure that Saihi will not leave the camp and he will stay till the last match for us. He is a key player in our team and we will not let him leave. We will…
Algerian international striker, Islam Slimani, now looks all but out of this year’s Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea. . The Sporting Lisbon forward will miss the rest of the tournament due to a muscle injury that kept him out of their last group match against Senegal. . Slimani is not expected to be part of the squad to face Ivory Coast, according to reports from Algerian state television. . The Algerian striker picked up an injury in their first match against South Africa, and then suffered a relapse of the same injury in the second match against Ghana.…
Ghana’s national team reached rock bottom with fans after a World Cup debacle in Brazil, but two thrilling victories over Algeria and South Africa at the Africa Cup of Nations have the Black Stars buzzing again. . After a disastrous outing at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, marked by indiscipline, an embarrassing row over appearance fees and a first round exit, Ghana’s national football team are hoping to warm themselves into the hearts of football fans once more. . Fans gave the Black Stars the thumbs-down when they let them down in Brazil after raising hopes for another good…
Cameroon coach Volker Finke is giving his troops the thumbs up despite a group stage exit at the Afcon. . They Indomitable Lions crashed out after making a return to the elite African tournament following absences in 2012 and 2013. . They drew their opening two games with Mali and Guinea, before losing 1-0 to Cote d’Ivoire. . “I think really the Ivory Coast took advantage of a little mistake we made in the first half to score the goal,” Finke notes about their defeat to the Ivorians. . “We tried really hard. Everyone gave their best, so that’s why…
Manchester City winger Scott Sinclair has joined Aston Villa on loan for the rest of the season, the Premier League clubs said on Friday. . The 25-year-old has failed to secure a regular place in the City side since his move to the Etihad Stadium from Swansea City in 2012 and has made only two appearances in the league this season. . Sinclair spent last season on loan at West Bromwich Albion, making 11 appearances in all competitions. . Champions City said the temporary deal with Villa could be made permanent at the end of the campaign. . “I am…
Chelsea striker Diego Costa will miss his side’s top-of-the-table Premier League clash against Manchester City after losing his appeal against a charge of violent conduct, the English Football Association said on Friday. . The Brazilian-born Spain striker has been banned for three matches after treading down on Liverpool’s Emre Can in the first half of the League Cup semifinal, second leg at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday. . Chelsea, who are five points clear at the top of the table, will be without Costa for Saturday’s clash against Manchester City as well as games at Aston Villa and home to Everton.…