Jadon Sancho would be an amazing signing for any team, United included. It becomes a luxury problem to have so many attacking options, but it brings hard decisions. Someone has to be benched, and Ole will have to deliver that news to someone.
Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford are well established in world football, and Greenwood now deserves his chance to continue his progression, and I don’t want to see him stalled. We know United can afford to pay for Sancho, and if it happens, the club will be happy, but it will also be tricky. Over £100m is a lot of money, especially now in the current situation, but I’m sure he will be worth it.
Everyone at United will be watching this transfer. Rashford will know Sancho better than most from playing for England, and they will welcome the competition, but the attacking players will have doubts in their mind now.
Then, they will also use it as motivation, they’ll want to earn their spots in the team. If they pay a record fee for Sancho, no one expects the guy to sit on the bench, so at least at the start Sancho will be higher up the pecking order. Bear in mind, United had Ole, Dwight Yorke, Andy Cole, and Teddy Sheringham– plenty of attacking options, and Ole will think he can manage this fine.
Fulham are back
For me, Fulham fully deserved to win the game last night, they were clever in how they played and they made the least mistakes, which I always talk about. If you don’t make mistakes in football you are more likely to win, and it was a big mistake from the Brentford goalkeeper to put Fulham ahead.
It was also great awareness from Joe Bryan to see that the keeper was anticipating a cross, it was a great goal. The second one was even better, it was pure football, I loved seeing those one and two touches in the penalty area, as well as that finish.
It’s a fantastic achievement and performance in that game which really mattered. Overall, their season has been a great success and they have fully deserved to be promoted. It is great news for Scott Parker, in his first full season as a manager he has achieved something amazing and has brought them back to the Premier League where they belong.
Now, the difficult part starts. When the party is over, and everybody cools down, they need to start planning for next season with the big teams, the best players and the big money. They need to plan and learn from their mistakes of the past. They have been in this situation before but this time I’m hoping they stay in the league for good. They are going to have to buys some players for the team, the squad needs strengthening for the Premier League because it is a completely different animal, but I’m sure Parker and the club knows that. He probably already has some names in mind.
United’s big opportunity for silverware
The Europa League is a big opportunity for United to win silverware, especially after they missed out on the FA Cup. It would be a great finish to the season after getting third place. You always want more trophies, and it’s a good opportunity to go and win something now.
The pressure isn’t off because they finished well in the league, you should always feel pressure when you play for United. This cup is hard to win and even if it is second to the Champions League, it’s prestigious in its own way.
Winning this trophy would cement Solskjaer even further with the fans. I think he now has the full support of the board, and this is a good opportunity for him to make a big impact relatively early in his career.
The likes of Leverkusen, Olympiakos, Roma, Inter- these are all big clubs and will give United a big challenge if they meet in this competition. Often there are shocks, and even if United are favourites, sometimes the underdog comes out on top. On paper, they’re are favourites, but football isn’t played on paper and you shouldn’t underestimate other teams or you will suffer.
Sevilla are another strong side that United could come up against in the later stages.
For some reason United find it difficult to play against Spanish teams, they play very technical football, and pass the ball around a lot. You can’t let them set the tempo of the game if you want to succeed against them. Sevilla are a tough side and they have history, I remember two years ago when they knocked out United in the Champions League. Ultimately, it’s good to play tough teams to test yourself and see where you are in your development as a team. At the end of the day, this is Manchester United, you respect every team but fear no one, other teams should fear United.
If United win this, you finish third and win the Europa League, and because the break is so short, you carry huge momentum into next season and that gives you a boost.
Champions League return
As I said before, I think Bayern have been very impressive in the Bundesliga, and I think they are very strong. Even though they have been off for a while, they know how to prepare and keep fit, and I think they are still favourites in my book to win it.
Sergio Ramos is a huge loss for Madrid this weekend, he is very hard to replace, both as captain and the guy that pulls the strings from the back. It’s a big chance for City to knock out one of the most prominent teams.
City need to try and exploit that hole in Madrid’s defence, and hopefully Sergio Aguero is fit enough to play and help to do that. Ramos is the rock for that Madrid team, without him it’s very different for them.
Karim Benzema is one of the top five strikers in world football. He had the misfortune to be compared to Ronaldo for so long, but now Cristiano has left you see how good Benzema is. He is a brilliant goalscorer. For people who understand football, they hold him in the highest regard, and people close to football can recognise what is good and what is not. Maybe he hasn’t the same PR agent as Ronaldo, which is why he doesn’t get the publicity!
Champions League Predictions
Manchester City v Real Madrid: Purely because Ramos is missing for Madrid, and City badly want this European trophy to properly establish themselves, Pep will pump his team to try and win this as much as he can. If they miss this opportunity, they don’t deserve to win the Champions League, and I think they will beat Madrid here. 1-0.
Juventus v Lyon: Lyon obviously lost the French final on penalties, and that was quite a while ago now. Juventus have Ronaldo, they have been playing amazing football, and they can take this game comfortably I feel, they should have too much quality for Lyon. 3-0.
Bayern Munich v Chelsea: It’s obvious to say Muncih will proceed to the next stage here, they are my favourites to win this tournament. I don’t think they will be affected by the break they’ve had, and they put on an exhibition in the first game against Chelsea. It will be very difficult for Chelsea to mount any comeback, though they will feel like they can maybe catch Bayern out. They also lost against Arsenal in the cup final, and they must regroup from that also. It’s a miracle if they pull it off. 2-0.
Barcelona v Napoli: I read Messi saying ‘if we continue to play like this we will lose against Napoli’ after Barca threw away La Liga. That said, this game is at Camp Nou, and if they open up the pitch and pass the ball well, they should have too much quality for Napoli. Napoli have some excellent players like Mertens, Lorenzo Insigne, these guys are dangerously fast and Barca must be careful. 2-1.
My favourite Champions League Comebacks
Liverpool against Barcelona was an amazing comeback, and so was Barcelona v PSG. These two games had loads of goals, and were the best example of how a game of football is never over until the final whistle goes. In both situations, the teams who were winning would have felt they had the game won, and maybe relaxed, but that is something you should never do.
With Leverkusen, I scored when we came back to beat Liverpool after they were 1-0 up from the first leg, and we won 4-3 on aggregate. After the first leg, we knew we were the underdog, and we used that to our advantage. People gave us no chance, and that gave us freedom to play as we liked, to play free-flowing football. We had an excellent team of players, and when you have players like this you can win any game of football, especially when the other team has written you off.
For more famous comebacks, check out our video on the biggest prices seen on the Exchange…
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My Champions League 5-a-side team
This is hard because most of the best guys I played with were at United. In goal, I would have to say Edwin Van der Sar. He was great, so knowledgable and respected within the dressing room and on the pitch. He always backed up his words with his performance, he was a vision of calm in every game, and was one of the first goalkeepers to learn to play with their feet properly.
This will surprise you, but I put myself in defence and those who know me will know I’m pretty damn good! I read the game very well, and the pitch is very small so if you can read the game, you can be clever where you position yourself. I always played at the back in 5-a-side in training, I was like Beckenbaeur and Baresi in one!
I also want Nemanja Vidic in there. I collect the ball after he finishes smashing people around! Having him in the team makes you so relaxed, guys like him and Rio can defend, be smart when they need to, be powerful when they need to. Vida was tireless, and always sacrificed his body for the team. You see him after a game, tooth missing, nose bleeding, and he just shrug his shoulders like it’s nothing. You would wish you wore shin pads when he played in training!
In midfield, I’d Paul Scholes. In 5-a-side in training, he was always two steps ahead of everyone else. He always knew where to put the ball whether the pitch was big or small, he was just a genius. His goal against Barcelona was one of the best I have seen in the Champions League.
Up front, I have to say . I could say other players also, but purely on scoring ability it has to be him. He just knew how to score goals wherever on the pitch, and also I could nutmeg a defender and pass to him to score!
Ronaldo rumours about PSG move
I have heard rumours that Ronaldo may go to PSG.
It would be no surprise to see him like Ibrahimovic and play at 39, and even at 35 he is still so sought after as a player. Money is no object for PSG, and if both parties want it, it can happen. Imagine Ronaldo with Mbappe and Neymar, wow!
He would enjoy playing in France, it’s not as strong as Spain, Italy, or England. It’s similar to Germany, PSG are like Bayern and everyone else is way behind. He has succeeded at different clubs, while Messi stayed at Barca. They are two different paths but both are equally good. Where you succeed isn’t as important as how you succeed, and both guys have done amazing things in their lives. Messi could end up president of Barca I think! It’s like Giggsy and Beckham, Giggsy stayed at home his whole life and achieved amazing things, while David travelled and became a superstar globally. Personal choice is important.
Source: Betfair Premier League
