Manchester United gearing up for pre-season tournament in the United States.

The Stretford Stand

Man United will be going to the United States in this summer for the pre-season friendlies.

The Red Devils will be gearing up for the pre-season friendly tour taking place in the United States this year and clash with the defending European champions Barcelona and French champions Paris Saint Germain. Their performances and approach towards these friendly tours have been changing in the previous years.

The last 5 years have turned out to be very important for the Red Devils when it came to the friendlies. As of the 2010-11 pre-season games, United had agreed to play Guadalaraja on 30th July to open their new stadium Estadio Chivas which had a capacity of 45,000. Unfortunately the English giants lost that game 2-3. On 6th May that year, Manchester United announced that they’d be travelling to North America that summer for the 1st time since 2004.

Sir Alex Ferguson, then the manager had chosen his 22-man squad that included new signing Chris Smalling. United flew out over the Atlantic on 12th July without the players who participated the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. United started off their pre-season campaign against Scottish side Celtic. Dimitar Berbatov, Tom Cleverley and Danny Welbeck scored a goal each as the Red Devils cruised to a 3-1 win. The next fixture was against Philadelphia Union where a 76th minute winner by Gabriel Obertan saw the game ending in United’s favour. The following game was against Kansas City Wizards and a controversial goal earned the American club victory.

The United States tour culminated in a convincing 5-2 win over MLS All Stars. Young guns Federico Macheda, Darron Gibson, Tom Cleverley and new signing Javier Hernandez had shone in this game. The team returned to Europe and was set to face League of Ireland 11 in the 1st match to be played at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. World Cup stars Wayne Rooney, Michael Carrick, Ji-Sung Park and Nemanja Vidic had joined the United camp after their World Cup duties. The game was a big boost for United as they went to win this one by a huge 7-1 scoreline.

A testimonial match for retiring captain Gary Neville was scheduled on May 24 at Old Trafford. This match featured some of ‘Fergie’s Fledglings’ from the Class of 92, including former stars Nicky Butt, Gary’s brother Phil, David Beckham and the current United players, but they slipped to a 2-1 defeat.

Manchester United preceded their 2011-12 campaign with a tour to The United States for the 2nd time in a row. They took on New England Revolution and started off their pre-season tour with a 4-1 win over the Americans. In their next game, United were in top form as they beat Seattle Sounders 7-0.  The Red Devils played their next 2 games against American sides Chicago Fire and the MLS All Stars where they won 3-1 and 6-0 respectively.

They then played Spanish champions Barcelona in Washington DC where the Red Devils emerged victorious with the full time score at 2-1. Club legend Paul Scholes was given a testimonial in honor of his 17 years of service. The match was played at Old Trafford against New York Cosmos and won 6-0.  They completed the pre-season tour against League of Ireland 11 where United rounded off with a 4-1 win.

The 2012-13 pre-season tour was global tour which included trips to South Africa, China and Norway. The 1st game of this tour was against AmaZulu where a 1st half goal by Federico Macheda saw United coming off as the winners. They then played Ajax Cape Town which was their last game in the African continent. It ended in a 1-1 stalemate. Following this, the Red Devils travelled to China and played Shanghai Shenhua at the Shanghai stadium where new signing Shinji Kagawa scored the winner. They then moved to Norway to play Valerenga in Oslo which ended in a goalless draw.

United played out a draw with Barcelona in their penultimate fixture. The last game was against Hannover 96 whom they had not faced since 1965. The Red Devils were now ready to start their league campaign as they won the last friendly game by a narrow margin; it was 4-3.

The following season, United had scheduled the global tour of Australia, Asia and Europe before returning to Old Trafford for Rio Ferdinand’s testimonial match against Sevilla. The pre-season didn’t go quite well for the Red Devils as the new manager David Moyes suffered 3 defeats in 7 games which was described as ‘poor’ and ‘miserable’. Their 1st game itself in the friendlies turned out to be a shameful 1-0 loss against Thai All Stars 11. They managed to get only 2 victories in the pre-season campaign this time which was against Kitchee and A-League All-stars. United youngsters Adnan Januzaj and Jesse Lingard were the best of the young players to have featured in these friendly games.

Following the dismissal of David Moyes, Louis Van Gaal was appointed as the new boss and he brought the Red Devils back to more enjoyable pre-season games by winning all of them. These fixtures included the Chevrolet Cup tie with LA Galaxy which the Old Trafford club won 7-0. They then started playing in the International Champions Cup where they faced some familiar European names. These names were of Italian giants Roma and Inter who were beaten 3-2 and 5-3(penalties) by United in the group stages. They then faced the defending European champions Real Madrid where goals from Ashley Young and Javier Hernandez saw them through to the finals of the ICC. The last game in the States was against league rivals Liverpool where the Red Devils had beaten their rivals to lift the International Champions Cup. On their return to England, Louis Van Gaal faced his fans for the 1st time as United faced Valencia at home just before the season began.

Captains Rooney and Fletcher with the International Champions Cup 2014-15

Though Man United have a much stronger squad now and the Premier League title at stake, a good show in the friendlies this year is expected too as it will build up confidence in the players before the new campaign. 

Transfer Special : Wayne Rooney wants Harry Kane at Man Utd.

Wayne Rooney wants Louis Van Gaal to bring Harry Kane at Manchester United.

Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney has urged the club manager Louis Van Gaal to bring in young sensation Harry Kane to Old Trafford this summer to alleviate their woes up front.

The Red Devils are in the market for a star striker and captain Rooney believes that his England teammate would be the perfect candidate up for the grabs. United have not exercised the option to sign on loan striker Radamel Falcao from Monaco at a reported fee of 43 million pounds and are on a hunt to get a new forward for the club who can score goals and take them closer to a title challenge.

With the rising uncertainty of Dutchman Robin Van Persie, the Red Devils definitely need to get in a man who is very sharp in scoring goals and Harry Kane looks to be 1 of them. The young Englishman had a bright season with having scored more than 30 goals for Spurs in all competitions. He was also in contention to win the Premier League golden boot this season which went the other way to Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero. He has certainly proved to be an asset for the years to come given his age and potential. The Red Devils are hoping to secure him in a big fee of 40 million pounds, a significant amount for a player who has had only 1 good season in the top flight.

Rooney and Kane at a Euro 3016 qualifier match of England.

The boss, Van Gaal has a soft corner for players who can do more than just score goals in his system. He might take the skipper’s recommendation on a high note and would go a long way in believing that Kane is the right man to link up with the former Everton man in front of the goal.

United and Spurs have indulged in good business regarding transfers in the past, having bought Michael Carrick and Dimitar Berbatov for exorbitant fees over the past few years.

They are unlikely to face any competition from elsewhere with other top clubs having their hands full in that department and United are the only side who have been keeping an eye on the Englishman.

A look at Wayne Rooney's 1st season as the United captain

The Stretford Stand

Wayne Rooney has become a talisman for the England national side, and celebrated his long-term success with the Red Devils by taking the captaincy for the 2014/15 season with pride.

The frontman was given the honour over fellow attacker Robin van Persie, despite Louis van Gaal, who was then the manager of the Dutch national side, giving the former Arsenal starman the armband instead of experienced midfielder Wesley Sneijder. This move had provoked many people to guess that the same would happen at Old Trafford, but things turned out to be quite different.

Taking over the armband from former teammate Nemanja Vidic, Rooney had now stepped in to fill the boots left by the Serbian international who won five league titles with United. Rooney’s captaincy was tested first when he led the Red Devils in the International Champions Cup, the pre-season friendly tournament in the United States. United emerged as the eventual champions and were victorious against big European names like Inter, Roma, Real Madrid and national rivals Liverpool. Soon after taking the reins at the Theatre of Dreams on the field, Rooney had also succeeded Steven Gerrard as the England senior team skipper.

The pre-season tour was not considered as an important stage to test the Englishman’s captaincy skill as not all of the squad would line-up for van Gaal’s red army The Premier League was deemed an ideal competition to determine how well can he flourish as a captain. He had scored his first goal as a skipper in the Red Devils’ opening game of the season against Swansea at Old Trafford, and despite defeat, an individual performance from Rooney had silenced the critics for a moment. Nor did he just play as a permanent forward, but came in to play the role of an attacking or a defensive midfielder when needed. This had gained him a lot of appreciation from the football fans around the globe.



Other than that, the skipper had been a firm player when it came to score goals. His form of finding the goal had come back when he was played in as a striker, his preferred position by the boss. The Dutchman had often opted to use him as a lone player up front which actually helped him get back to his goal scoring form, with the support provided to him by the flanks and the central midfielders proven to work well with the Englishman leading the line as a lone wolf.

Wayne Rooney proved to be a successful captain in his 1st season under Louis Van Gaal

In his first stint as a captain, United reached the quarter finals of the FA Cup and were looking one of the teams who could clinch the long overdue trophy at Wembley. He was the leading goal scorer with the Old Trafford club, and 14 goals in 37 saw him become the first ever player in Premier League history to reach double digits in 11 successive seasons.

Rooney has also led the team back to the Champions League – which was the first priority of the team, while climbing to second in the list of Manchester United’s all-time leading goal scorers. He may soon become the club’s highest ever goal scorer, and could also become the greatest player in the history of the Manchester side with his current form rate.

The future looks bright for Wayne Rooney while donning the armband.

Transfer Special : Roberto Firmino is linked with a move to Old Trafford

The Stretford Stand

Versatile midfielder Roberto Firmino has reportedly gained interest from United after recent performances.The Brazilain is ever-improving in the Bundesliga, and could be the second signing at Old Trafford this summer.

Brazilian sensation Roberto Firmino has become the latest target linked to the Theatre of Dreams, and has been rumoured a potential target to follow Memphis Depay to Manchester United ahead of their potential return to Champions League football.

The 23-year-old who is currently on international duty, but is expected to be close a move to Old Trafford. However, he is likely to a carry an estimated fee of £13.1 million, shown in his recent impressive role in Brazil’s 1-0 friendly victory over Honduras on Wednesday – in which he netted the winner for his side. According to TalkSPORT, United have been keeping an eye on him from some time.

Firminio is noted to have played in a variety of midfield roles, contributing 10 goals and 12 assists as Hoffenhiem just missed out on the Europa League qualifications. The Red Devils are reported to have pipped arch rivals Liverpool to get the Brazilian’s signature, just like they did to catch hold of Dutch star Depay last month.

Roberto Firmino was in top form against Honduras

He is also widely regarded as one of the flag bearers of a new Brazilian generation, alongside the likes of Neymar, Coutinho, Lucas Moura, with the national side still recovering from last summer’s butchering by eventual winner Germany in the World Cup semi-finals.

The youngster has made a promising start to his international career too, averaging a goal every other goal after six appearances, including a phenomenal strike against South Americans Chile at the Emirates Stadium in march.

A review of Man Utd's player of the season - David De Gea

The Stretford Stand

Spanish international David de Gea was signed by the Red Devils as a replacement for long term keeper and Dutch sensation, Edwin van der Sar as he announced his retirement, and has enjoyed his greatest season to date at the Theatre of Dreams.

De Gea was welcomed to the Manchester club by then the manager Sir Alex Ferguson, and the number one, formally of La Liga side Atletico Madrid, took some time to settle in the English way of football. Nonetheless, he developed into the first choice keeper in the United camp. Admitteldy, questions were raised regarding his ability, but he turned out as a good investment for the Reds; and soon was in competition with other higher rated goalkeepers.

After guarding the net for almost every minute of United’s 2014-15 season, halted only by injury in the two concluding fixtures, de Gea’s skills were a pleasure to watch. Although he didn’t have as many clean sheets as the rival teams’ goalkeepers had, which many had blamed the unstable defense of United for that.

Unfortunately, the season didn’t quite start as expected, with United lost their opening fixture of the Premier League at home to Welsh side Swansea City. The defeat was soon followed by a nightmare, suffering a 5-3 hammering by recently promoted Leicester City. But after the bad times on the pitch, he was slowly starting to get back on his feet.

He had hit top form in the game against Merseyside outfit Everton, and saved Leighton Baines’ penalty to keep his side in the game. However, it was later in the match de Gea received the largest cheers from the crowd. United emerged victorious 2-1, and the shot stopper was named Man of the Match. Other than saving the spot kick, he displayed his reflexes in the dying minutes of the game where two important saves retained the victory for the Red Devils. A new era of goalkeeping at the Theatre of Dreams had begun.

De Gea's magnificent saves in the final minutes saved the day for United against Everton

Since that match, fortunes were bright for the goalkeeper. He had played a monumental involvement in United’s’ league campaign, with the club snatching fourth place and subsequently reaching qualification for the Champions League, Europe’s grand stage.

Whenever the Old Trafford back four were unsatisfactory, it was de Gea’s responsibility to keep the danger down, something displayed with finesse throughout the season. He was once again in the spotlight when facing top four rivals Arsenal. The North London club could manage to score only in the stoppage time of the second half – which caused minimal issues for Louis van Gaal’s men, with a comfortable two goal lead.

However, it was his heroics that United had won this game in a comfortable way. The talent of de Gea didn’t stop there, also displaying his world-class ability against league leaders Chelsea at Old Trafford. Keeping the likes of Eden Hazard, Cesc Fábregas and Nemanja Matic at bay, conceding just the single goal allowed the Reds to take a point against a resilient force.

Even when things were not looking good for United, he would always be at his best. After being knocked out of the FA Cup, United were on their top form and de Gea continued to impress against Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and local rivals Manchester City in consecutive weeks.

Sergio Aguero had maintained his form of scoring against United and had also given the lead to City. But the Red Devils came from behind to score a tremendous four goals, with de Gea holding out until the last 10 minutes, when Manuel Pellegrini’s side in full swing found the net just once. The win had almost confirmed United’s place in the Champions League for the following season, and the goalkeeper had earned his plaudits.

In the remaining six games, a lackluster conclusion to the campaign saw just one victory come against Crystal Palace. Strong reflexes and dynamic ability in one-on-one situations ensured Alan Pardew could only celebrate the one goal, and van Gaal celebrated victory.

De Gea made his last appearance of the season in the game against Arsenal, where he was sidelined due to a knock on his knee. Many believe that it could in fact be his last appearance in a United shirt, with reports suggesting a deal back to Madrid is reaching the final stages – which could see him replace fellow international Iker Casillas as the number one for Los Galacticos.

De Gea with the Manchester United player of the year award

The goalkeeper claimed the Players’ and Fan’s Player of the Year awards for a second consecutive season to top a memorable campaign, but de Gea’s reign could be over after his pivotal season.

Ambitions of Manchester United on return to the Champions League next season.

The Stretford Stand.

Champions League, the most elite completion in European Football is something that every top club wants to aim for, and of course it’s never easy.

And for Manchester United the stakes are at high as they come to face the biggest teams in Europe after a disappointing gap of just a single year. Champions twice under former manager Sir Alex Ferguson, the Manchester side couldn’t reach the competition following his departure when fellow scot David Moyes was assigned the man in charge.

The last time the Red Devils played in the Champions League, they were knocked out by the reigning Champions, and ended at 1-1 with United skipper Nemanja Vidic heading for the home side. The second leg produced something that most of the people predicting; Bayern writing of United as the full time score at the Allianz Arena was 3-1 in the favor of the Bavarian side – which ended United’s hopes of going forward in the UCL.

The last time Man United played in the Champions League was against Bayern Munich where they lost.

Louis van Gaal had completely changed the style of play with his arrival to the club, and the team looks considerably stronger and more confident than they were before. They have former European winners such as skipper Wayne Rooney, Michael Carrick, Juan Mata and Argentine winger Angel Di Maria. In fact Di Maria was the man of the match in the 2014 Champions League final against Atletico Madrid.

With the boss announcing his wish to add some more experienced star players to his squad, United will be hoping to put on a good show. They finished fourth in the league and their priority of playing Champions League football the following season was accomplished as their campaign was considered a success.

The ambitions of the manager and players should be the same next season. They should aim at finishing high in the European competition, even though many supporters will want their priority to win the Premier League. Van Gaal has won the competition himself previously with Catalan club Barcelona, and has a pack of mixture of excellent experience as well as youth players. A combination of players shouldn’t be any problem for the club to shine in Europe.

United could play the likes of Italian side Lazio or French club Monaco in the qualifier of the group stage, or may be handed an easier route to the group stages. With more players yet to set their foot in Old Trafford, the Dutch boss should at least try to reach for the quarter finals stage of Champions League.

It’s been far too long since the Champions League trophy was in the hands of United, last winning in 2008. Beating league rivals Chelsea in Moscow courtesy of a penalty shoot-out, the current rate of transfers and improvement going on means we could expect the English giants to lift the European crown anytime soon in the coming years. Though for next year, the Red Devils’ fans will be really thrilled to see their side play some great football against some of the best teams of the continent. It could also depend on who would United play in the later stages of the competition to see how far would the Manchester club go on their return.

The Red Devils have not won the European cup since the double in 2009.

But things are not going the right way for English for a number of reasons, with an English side failing to reach the quarter finals this past campaign. This is definitely something that van Gaal should consider and look to improve if he wants his club to progress further. From looking at the current situation, the team can actually do very well and they should be able to maintain their good form for the show to keep going!

The current squad of United is capable of challenging big teams in Europe.

Only time will tell how good the things would be looking for them, but right now they seem to be going on the right track, and with the way the team is going up there would be a nice smile on the Manchester United fans’ faces now.

A review of Van Gaal's 1st season with the Red Devils.

              Louis Van Gaal's first season at the Theatre Of Dreams.

The Dutchman was brought in to be the the man in charge of the Old Trafford club prior to the 'Chosen One's' - David Moyes sacking. Moyes had got the opportunity to fiil in the big boots of Sir Alex Ferguson but couldn't do the job in the expected way and eventually got sacked after a disastrous season with United that got the club at a shameful 7th position in the Premier League and no European football the following season.

The board of directors of Manchester United had then decided to appoint Louis Van Gaal as the successor to Moyes. Unlike Moyes,Van Gaal had got much appreciation from the people all over the globe and his history with the clubs he previously managed was amazing and in fact was the exact kind of uplifting United needed. He came in to Old Trafford after serving his nation -The Netherlands in the FIFA World Cup 2014 at Brazil and his impressive stint there was something that the United fans were expecting from the Dutchman for them. His team did a brilliant job in Brazil and wrote the critics off by becoming the 3rd best team in the World Cup. After being officially announced as the next United boss,Van Gaal had taken his 1st big step by appointing the club legend and former interim manager Ryan Giggs as his assistant. This decision was indeed a very important one as there had to be somebody around him who actually knew Manchester United. He had also appointed Wayne Rooney as the team skipper after Vidic had left. The next big step for the boss was to do some good business in the transfer window. Ander Herrera & Luke Shaw were the first set of player bought by him and they both featured in the pre season tour in the USA. Luke Shaw was bought from Southampton on world record transfer fee for a teenager worth £27 million. United won the International Champions Cup,the pre season tour by beating big names like Inter Milan, Real Madrid and league rivals Liverpool in the finals.

Louis Van Gaal's presentation at United with club legend Sir Bobby Charlton

They then started off their campaign by facing Swansea City at home which was the first game of the 2014-15 Premier League season. But it looked like former boss Moyes still haunted the Theatre Of Dreams as United started off their season with a disappointing loss. This was perhaps the most awaited game of the year as many had hoped for something different and possibly a positive change for United. Fate had still continued to remain unchanged as they drew the next 2 games at Sunderland & Burnley. The Dutchman had then done some very important decisions regarding the formation and the players as he roped in 4 new players to the squad which also included British record signing Ángel Di Maria come in from the European chanpions Rèal Madrid. Also Colombian striker Radamel Falcao had arrived on a loan agreement with AS Monaco. This is where Man United had actually started their campaign. The next game was against QPR where the new players had shone and earned a convincing 4-0 victory against the Rangers. Things were looking good for them before they faced newly promoted side Leicester City away. The Red Devils were having a 1-2 lead at the break but some unfortunate round of events in the 2nd half gave a huge blow to United as they were butchered 5-3 by a promoted side. This is where the United defense was criticized. It was of course difficult to replace the experience of seniors Evra,Vidic & Ferdinand with a pack of youth talents. The Red Devils then played their first rival game of the season against title challengers and leaders Chelsea at Old Trafford which was also a reunion for friends Van Gaal and Mourinho. United were lagging behind but an injury time equaliser by Robin Van Persie had restored the name of 'Comeback Kings' to United. They faced defending champions and local rivals city next at the Etihad Stadium where the game ended 1-0 in the favour of the home side with United at 10 men. The Red Devils were now traveling to the Emirates Stadium in London to face Arsenal. United had won their 1st rival game of the season as the north Londoners were beaten 1-2 at home. Things were going pretty good for the Manchester Club as they were on a winning course that also included a 3-0 hammering of long time rivals Liverpool. After this great run United had again started to falter.

Red Devils' trio of Rooney,Van Persie and Mata celebrate their 3-0 win over rivals Liverpool.

The Red Devils were slowly going back to the place where they had started the season. They were drawn to play rivals Arsenal in the quarter finals of the FA Cup. The north Londoners were looking to defend the Cup and they were successful to reach the finals this year too. Former devil,Danny Welbeck had scored the lucky winner for the gunners and didn't let his emotions come in between as he celebrated the goal against his boyhood club. Yet again United failed to make it to a cup final since 2010.

Surprisingly this was the turning point for United this year as they went on to win 6 consecutive league games since that FA Cup loss that had important fixtures such as rivals Spurs,Liverpool & City. The dramatic 4-2 win over rivals was considered as one of the best display by United this season. Unfortunately the team lost key players like Michael Carrick and Daley Blind in the following fixtures and they lost a big game against leaders Chelsea. Following this,they were beaten 3-0 away at Merseyside club Everton and West Brom were next to win over United. This was the 1st time the Red Devils had lost 3 in a row after a long period of time. In the remaining 3 games,they drew 2 and won 1 game. Their home,Old Trafford had turned into a fortress again which had been vanished under Moyes as they lost only 3 games in the league this season.

Van Gaal had done the job for which he was called in,to secure Champions League spot for next team. This was done in a very convincing manner with a few games to spare. His tenure had brought the spark in previous season's flop Ashley Young & Maroune Fellaini who were the star players of the United camp alongside Blind,Carrick,Herrera and De Gea.

The boss Van Gaal thanks the fans for their support to him and team at the last home game of the season.

This was the Dutchman's stint at his 1st season at Old Trafford,and there are still 2 more to go in his contract and hopefully those remaining 2 seaasons would bring in more succes to Manchester United and get the English giants back to their fame.