The United Devils



Saturday 4th January 2020, Wolverhampton Wanderers host Manchester United in the FA Cup third round at Molyneux in an intriguing encounter. Wolves have experienced mixed fortunes recently in the Premiership. Nuno Espirito Santo’s team head into this game on the back of just two wins in their last six games. Despite their recent poor run of form, the side from the Midlands are still seventh place in the table, just a point behind the visitors, who are fifth-place. Wolves have a recent excellent record in the FA Cup as they reached the semi final last season and lost 3-2 in extra time to Watford. As far as home records are concerned Wolves are unbeaten in their last four matches with three wins and a draw. Their last defeat in the FA Cup at home was against Chelsea in 2017.
The inaugural FA Cup tournament kicked off in November 1871, and was won by Wanderers in the final at Kennington Oval on 16 March 1872. Manchester United have won the FA Cup on 12 occasions - a feat bettered only b…

On Tuesday 7th January Manchester United face City rivals Manchester City at Old Trafford in the second Manchester derby of the season. The game has even more significance for both teams as not only is it a local derby but it is a Carabao Cup semi-final game, in which both teams would like to progress to the final where they could face either Leicester City or Aston Villa.

Form goes out the window in derbies and cup matches like these, as anyone can win in a match, anyone can win a 2 legged tie and anyone can progress through to the final. However, saying this, Manchester City are huge favourites going into the tie. Manchester United have won just 2 of their last 5 games in all competitions while opponents Manchester City have won 4 out of the last 5 games. And it's not only recent form that favours Man City as in the Premier League this season, they have won 6 games more than United and have 13 points more than them in the table. Saying all this, you can't completely rule ou…

Fred, our £50m midfielder, was one of just two players that we signed in that audacious transfer window that preceded one of our worst seasons. Fred came in along with Diogo Dalot in that summer owing to severe under-backing on the board's part. While upset and annoyed, we were still quite excited to see Fred and Dalot make it into the first team. On his debut against Leicester, Fred tried elaborate tricks and skills which is unusual for a new signing. As a new signing, you just try to settle down and play the easy passes. Needless to say, Fred's skills were far from impressive as he kept losing possession in our own half and invited needless pressure from Leicester. This review of Fred became a mainstay to his game and often received criticism for just under-performing in general. He soon became a liability and was dropped for long periods with fans calling for him to be sold. The midfield trio of Scott McTominay, Ander Herrera, Paul Pogba emerged and seemed quite undroppabl…

Photo Credit: planetfootball.com
Marcus Rashford's star is on the rise. 16 goals and 5 assists in 27 games this season is a phenomenal return for a 22 year old, and this despite a barren run in August and September during which he scored just three goals and provided two assists. The knives were out back then with some suggesting that he wasn't fulfilling his early promise, like the Januzajs and Machedas of seasons past. What the naysayers didn't know, or care, about back then was the fact that Rashford played through injury because United were so light up front. Was that selfish, risking further injury whilst knowing that he wasn't capable of giving 100% ? Yes, of course it was, but what else would you want from your star striker?

So, apart from recovering from injury, what exactly is behind this sudden improvement in Rashford's form? To answer this question it is worth looking back at his United career on a season by season basis.

2015/16
In his debut season Rashf…

It certainly wasn't quite the response Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would have hoped for after the disappointment at Arsenal midweek, as his side failed to register a shot on target and drew 0-0 away to Wolves in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday.

Alongside that rather shameful statistic, the Reds midfield also completed just two tackles at the Molineux in a game that was not really worthy of a thorough analysis. It was the definition of a stalemate.

Though the performance was a bit dire and toothless, there are some positives to take away from the fixture. Brandon Williams was once again excellent. Game after game in which he features, the 19-year-old Englishman continues to knock on the door of becoming the first choice left-back. It almost feels like a matter of time now before it becomes a reality — sooner rather than later.

In-form Wolves winger, Adama Traore, came into this game in red hot form fuelled by his outstanding performances in the Premier League in recent weeks, a…

Manchester United went into the New Year with back to back wins against Newcastle and Burnley only to suffer another disappointing defeat to out-of-form Arsenal at the Emirates with first half goals from Pepe and Sokratis making the difference for Arteta in his first win for Arsenal. A big win for Arsenal but many questions for Manchester United who were pathetic on the night.

United made three changes to the side that beat Burnley with Williams, Young and Pereira all out for Shaw, Wan-Bissaka and Lingard. Paul Pogba failed to make the squad after sustaining another injury that will sideline him for four weeks and with McTominay also out for two months, Fred and Matic made the midfield two.

De Gea, Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire (c), Shaw, Matic, Fred, James, Lingard, Rashford, Martial

The first half began with a United attack and Rashford got off an early shot to test Bernd Leno but after that, Arsenal were rampant. Kolasinac charged down the Gunner's left, played in by Aubameyan…

When it comes to a derby match between local rivals Manchester United and Manchester City it usually delivers a game filled with quality and often form and league positions count for very little. Last night the match at Old Trafford had very little quality from the Red Devils and in fact the game was pretty much over by half time with Man City completely dominating the tie with a 3-0 half time lead. The gap between the two squads as far as the depth and strength of personnel Man City have at their disposal as compared to the team the Red Devils fielded was clear for all to see. With fixtures piling up and squads being rotated in order to keep players fresh Man City rested both their frontmen Gabriel Jesus and Sergio Aguero and it was a masterclass display from Bernado Silva which literally sealed the tie victory for Man City. The current holders of the cup were rampant before the break as Bernado Silva’s wonder goal, Riyaad Mahrez's cool finish an own goal from Andreas Pereira put…

Manchester United will begin 2020 with a massive clash at the Emirates against a bitter rival in similar circumstances to the Red Devils in recent seasons. Here's all you need to know:

Teams: Arsenal vs Manchester United
Date: 01/01/2020
Time: 20:00 GMT 
Managers: Mikel Arteta and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Location: Emirates Stadium
Referee: Chris Kavanagh

Team News:
Arsenal are likely to be without Granit Xhaka who remains ill and Calum Chambers, Rob Holding, Kieran Tierney, Sead Kolasinac and Sokratis remain out. Dani Ceballos could return alongside Gabriel Martinelli and Hector Bellerin.
For Manchester United, Paul Pogba is likely to return after being rested against Burnley with Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Luke Shaw also likely to return to the starting lineup despite excellent performances from Williams and Young at Turf Moor. McTominay is set to be out for eight weeks and will be a massive loss and while Diogo Dalot, Axel Tuanzebe, Tim Fosu-Mensah, Marcos Rojo and Eric Bailly are back in tra…

Disappointing game! Manchester United visited the Wolves' home after an abominable loss at the Emirates last weekend.

The FA Cup was our real shot at a trophy this season. After 2 losses in a row, I can understand if you guys are feeling so low. Anyway, the sorrowful rant aside, let's consider how the action happened and wherever it  probably went wrong.
First Half  United dominated the opening stages however they had no answer to Wolves’ deep and well-organised defensive position. The visitors tried heading in the right direction although the real threat came at the half hour mark in form of a Marcus Rashford effort from thirty yards out (that John Ruddy gathered with ease).

Wolves were comfy within their own half and started to search out their feet in the final third. A Ruben Neves shot from close range was controlled by Sergio Romero. A few moments later, Diogo Jota volleyed straight at the United goalkeeper.

Their best chance came shortly before the interval. A Neves pas…

Photo Credit: The Premier League
So, where do we start with this one?

To say this game was a kick in the teeth would be an understatement. After a decent run of results we had all hoped that the Everton performance was an aberration from which United would bounce back, stronger and more determined. All of that hope evaporated on a cold afternoon in Watford, officially the worst team in the Premier League, who before the match had just nine points from 17 games, a goal difference of -23 and a revolving door of barely adequate managers.

Given the lack of creativity on display the previous week it was brave of Solskjær to stick with the same starting eleven, particularly in light of of Mason Greenwood's recent performances. The teenage striker must be wondering what he has to do to get a start in the Premier League. Pogba was notably deemed fit enough for the bench having only played once since August because of an ankle injury (amongst other things). Unfortunately for the gaffer his…