The Busby Babe - All Posts

West Bromwich Albion vs Manchester United: Preview & Team News -- Farewell Fergie!

2013-05-18T03:47:25Z

Sunday's game at the Hawthorns is one that's supposed to mean nothing, and yet, it's one that's going to mean so much to every Red. As you're probably aware, it will be Sir Alex Ferguson's 1,500th -- and last -- game as manager of Manchester United.

So much has been said about the legendary manager since he announced his retirement a week-and-a-half ago -- and so much emotion has poured in from Fergie himself, his family, his players, his staff, and his supporters in response. No one man is bigger than any football club but no football club has ever had a man as metaphorically as big as Sir Alex Ferguson. To point out the incredibly obvious, he's going to be missed so much.

Last week's game at Old Trafford against Swansea City, which was followed by a speech from the great man and the trophy presentation for his 13th Premier League title, felt like closure. The scenes at the Threatre of Dreams were incredible and the emotions likely swayed severely for most -- saying it was a mix of joy and sadness perhaps sounds simple for such a complicated range of emotions, but that likely catches the gist of the mood for the fortunate fans at the ground and for the tens of millions that were watching around the globe. The day as a whole was a beautiful penultimate scene and ultimately, a celebration. And this is without even mentioning that it was the Old Trafford farewell for the legendary Paul Scholes as well.

I suppose if last Sunday at Old Trafford was the penultimate scene of the Ferguson (managerial) era, then Monday's incredible parade through the streets of Manchester was the final scene. And if that's the case, then Sunday's upcoming game at West Bromwich Albioin is perhaps the epilogue.

My guess is that the away fans that travel to the Hawthorns will be even more vociferous than usual, even if West Brom are trying their best to prevent United fans from flooding their ground. There might be, though, a tinge more sadness in the songs and goodbyes. This will be the final goodbye.

As for the game itself, my guess is that no one is too terribly excited about it -- or not, at least, like you were for the Real Madrid ties or the first Manchester derby earlier in the season. Some basic team news to be aware of is that Darren Fletcher, Ashley Young, Chris Smalling, and Rafael will all be out due to either illness, injury, or suspension. In addition, in Fergie's pre-match press conference yesterday, he indicated that Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic will be on the bench with Jonny Evans and Phil Jones likely stepping in for them as central-defenders. Anders Lindegaard will be in goal too instead of David de Gea.

With Jones likely at center-back, and with Rafael and Smalling unavailable, that likely means either Antonio Valencia or Reserves runner-up for player of the year Marnick Vermijl at right-back. Other young(-ish) players that we could possibly see include Alexander Buttner, Tom Cleverley, Anderson, Nick Powell (!), Danny Welbeck, Shinji Kagawa, and Javier Hernandez (Chicharito). Something tells me that we won't be seeing Wayne Rooney. But maybe we'll see Scholesy one last time. However, his goodbye and appearance last weekend at Old Trafford feels like a proper final one (to me at least).

One interesting tidbit is that if United win this game, they will finish with 91 points -- that would equal the 1999-2000 side for the club's joint-highest in the Premier League.

KO: 4:00pm BST, 11:00am EST | The Hawthorns

TV: None (U.K.), FOX Sports Net (U.S.)

Manchester United transfer rumours: Phil Jagielka makes no sense whatsoever

2013-05-16T04:19:17Z

Everton's Phil Jagielka is a fine footballer. And the England international has been a tremendous servant to David Moyes. However, the speculation of the central-defender following his former manager to Old Trafford makes no sense whatsoever.

First of all, assuming that Rio Ferdinand is given a new contract in the upcoming weeks, Manchester United have no need to bring in another center-back this summer. Rio and captain Nemanja Vidic might no longer be at the peak of their powers, however, both defenders are still playing at an incredibly high level these days. Rio has just been deservedly named into the PFA's team of the year while Vida has returned in spectacular fashion by being his old dominant self in this season's latter half.

Rio and Vida certainly need to be carefully looked after because of their age and injury history. However, United can do this by selectively rotating them -- something Sir Alex Ferguson did very well this season -- because they have three quality young central-defenders in Jonny Evans, Chris Smalling, and Phil Jones. Evans, in particular, has been one of the best defenders in England the past two seasons and he's been brilliant in some of United's biggest games as of late. The 25-year-old Northern Irishman was superb against Real Madrid and his all-around abilities -- he consistently wins challenges, his positioning is terrific, and his ability on the ball is very good -- makes him ideal for battles both on the domestic and European front. If either Rio or Vida is unavailable for a big game, Evans is more than capable of deputising -- perhaps he even deserves to be first-choice.

Having three accomplished and experienced center-backs ahead of the 23-year-old Smalling and 21-year-old Jones is still probably a good thing for their developments. Smalling has flashed his potential at various times -- both for United and England -- but consistency has been a slight issue for him. He's likely not quite ready for a full-time role and him being depth feels like an appropriate role for him going into next season. Smalling still needs to improve before he's entrusted with more responsibility at United. He is, though, a tremendous fourth or fifth option at center-back.

The versatile Jones has had an impressive first two seasons at the Theatre of Dreams. He claims center-back is his future -- and it might be -- but he's been important as depth at right-back and in tactical roles in central-midfield as a man-marker and as a destroyer. If United don't bring in a physically-imposing central-midfielder this summer -- one like Moyes' current midfield general Marouane Fellaini -- then Jones will have a role to play in the center of the park next season. However, he will also be a tremendous fourth or fifth choice at center-back. United are well-stocked in this position.

Jagielka is set to take over for Phil Neville as captain at Everton -- and it's an appropriate role for him. The Englishman should be able to bridge the transition from Moyes to whoever is named the next boss of the Toffees. Jagielka, though, would not be a prudent buy for United. And remember, he's also 30-years-old -- his link to Old Trafford just does not make sense on many levels.

Moyes is inheriting a very good squad, but it does have needs. However, a 30-year-old center-back -- one that arguably is not an improvement on any of the five current ones on the squad -- is not one. Jagielka to United makes no sense whatsoever -- hopefully the club is fully aware of this.

Robin van Persie is The Busby Babe's player of the year

2013-05-16T01:20:12Z

In any title-winning campaign, there will be numerous key players that were major contributors to the success. Manchester United were no exception from this -- this is perhaps evident in the likes of David de Gea, Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick, and Robin van Persie all being named in the PFA team of the year. One could also make the argument that Rafael should have been involved too. In this title-winning campaign -- incredibly Sir Alex Ferguson's 13th in 26+ seasons -- there were two clear invaluable players: Carrick and van Persie. The choice for the club's player of the year clearly comes down to these two. And this was reflected in the voting for this community's player of the year.

In the comments section of our community's poll, the support for Carrick was quite vocal -- and to be quite honest, I personally was proud after writing so many pieces advocating for his influence over the years on this site. However, the votes that poured in -- even if they were silent in the comments sections -- clearly voiced their opinion that van Persie should be United's player of the season. The honest truth is this: both players are worthy -- it's just that only one could win.

Carrick has been United's constant this season on so many levels. He's the metronome that keeps the team's heart beating. His ability to control games was unrivaled in England this season. The song for the 31-year-old that supporters have been belting out in the season's second-half has been appropriate: he's dictating games the way the legendary Paul Scholes did for so many years. Carrick has upped the tempo and provided incisive passes when needed while he's also known when to slow the game down when United needed to protect a result. In addition, he's been the foundation in midfield: the likes of Tom Cleverley, Anderson, Phil Jones, and Ryan Giggs have all had their moments in the center of the park this season -- the constant that has been alongside them all has been Carrick. It's fully deserved that he's been named player of the season by his teammates.

RvP, though, is the people's choice for player of the season. This is evident by him receiving 44% of the vote to Carrick's 36% in this community's poll and also by him winning the Sir Matt Busby player of the year award -- which is also voted on by fans. And he's undoubtedly a worthy choice for this title-winning season (just as Carrick would have been had he been chosen instead).

Years from now, when we reflect back on this season, it will likely be remembered for Sir Alex Ferguson wrestling back the title from the 'noisy neighbours' in his final season -- and for the impact that RvP made in his first season at the club. The influence of the Dutchman in this campaign, and the boost he provided for it, is akin to what Eric Cantona did in his inaugural 1992-93 season. It feels like appropriate symmetry that these two similar influences will bookend Fergie's 13 league titles.

For the past few seasons, RvP has been the best player in the Premier League. However, because of the trophyless years accumulating at Arsenal, despite his brilliance there, his ambitions weren't being met. United were obviously a very good side, however, they were missing something last season when they barely lost out on the title to Manchester City -- a true talisman. RvP and United joining forces this season resulted in a dominant league campaign that was essentially decided by February.

The only blip on RvP's season is the relative goal-scoring drought that he went through in February and March. The unplayable version of the Dutchman would have been handy in the Real Madrid Champions League tie and also against Chelsea in the FA Cup. Nonetheless, the overall campaign that RvP had -- who again will be the golden boot winner -- was brilliant. And he continually displayed his genius in the league's biggest games.

He immediately endeared himself to the Old Trafford faithful with an early and clinical goal against Fulham in his Theatre of Dreams debut (in a United shirt that is). He then went on to score a sensastional hat-trick at Southampton (which included a late winner), he bagged goals against Chelsea and Arsenal, and then he scored the dramatic winner in extra-time at the Etihad. The world was RvP's proverbial oyster. And finally, he scored that incredible first-half hat-trick against Aston Villa that clinced the title. RvP had one of the great seasons in Manchester United history and he's fully deserving to be named this community's player of the year.

A few thoughts on the Cesc Fabregas rumours

2013-05-14T06:10:03Z

According to the London Evening Standard, Manchester United have made contact with FC Barcelona over versatile midfielder (and sometimes a not so convincing 'false 9') Cesc Fabregas. The upcoming summer transfer window will obviously spawn all sorts of speculation and it may be more rampant than usual with a new manager -- David Moyes -- soon arriving than it would have been with Sir Alex Ferguson still in charge. A plethora of players will be linked with a move to Old Trafford and some of them will seem feasible (e.g. Marouane Fellaini, Leighton Baines, and James Rodriguez to just name a few) while some others will be surprising links -- Fabregas falls into the surprise category. Nevertheless, here are some thoughts on the possibility.

Kevin McCauley, in a piece for SB Nation, does well to briefly chronicle the former Arsenal captain's time in the Premier League, and also his past two years at Barcelona. Cesc's versatility has been an asset for the newly-crowned Spanish champions -- but at the same time, perhaps because of his ability to play in a number of roles (and willingness to do so for the club that raised him as a child), he has not found a proper fit at Barcelona. As Kevin explains, the Spaniard has played the incisive role in a midfield trio (the result being that the brilliant Andres Iniesta is pushed out wide in attack), up front as the falsest No.9 ever, and in the tempo-setting Xavi role when the legendary midfielder was in need of rest or injured. However, he hasn't convinced in any of these roles.

If there's any truth these 'Cesc to United' rumors, I wonder where the talented 26-year-old would fit in at the club. Although there's a new manager arriving, his preferred 4-4-1-1 shape -- at least from the evidence of his 11+ year reign at Everton -- is not drastically different to Ferguson's. Where in that shape does Cesc fit?

At Arsenal, Cesc arguably developed into a world-class player for a time-being in the No.10 role in a 4-2-3-1 and as the most advanced midfielder in a 4-3-3. United currently have a talented 24-year-old playmaker in Shinji Kagawa while former talisman Wayne Rooney is an option as a No.10 (for now) as well. The former impressed at times this season but he never fully settled and established himself as an integral member of the squad. The thought (and hope) is that he might do so next season, especially if Rooney departs. United, in the past two or three seasons, have rarely been deployed in a 4-3-3 shape -- nor is this a shape that Moyes used much at Everton. Like Ferguson, the incoming manager seemingly prefers to have two relatively deep-lying central-midielders and an advanced-midfielder/secondary-striker type in behind a lead striker. It's difficult to see where Cesc would fit into all of this. Even if Rooney departs, how prudent would it be to bring in a similarly-aged threat to Kagawa? And would this be an efficient use of resources when there is other clear needs?

Perhaps Cesc could drop into a deeper role in midfield alongside Michael Carrick, the current stalwart of the United engine room. However, this combination would be prone to being run over. Even if the combative Phil Jones were to partner Cesc in a two-man midfield, neither has the positonal awareness to stay deep enough and compact with the back four. Jones' destructiveness is effective in midfield if he's given a specific man-marking sort of job or if he's free to fly around and throw himself into challenges. But he's probably not (yet?) the disciplined player that could protect Cesc in a two-man midfield.

The Spaniard is undoubtedly a very good player, despite his inconsistencies in recent seasons. However, he just doesn't logically appear to be a good fit at United. Purchasing a certain big-haired Belgian -- one that Moyes is very familiar with -- seems more prudent. Perhaps, though, Moyes might look at Cesc as a cornerstone piece for the future and rather than making the Spaniard fit to the squad, he'd rather have the rest of the squad fit around the talented midfielder. These are the sort of uncertainties when a new boss arrives. It will likely further complicate the upcoming silly season.

Poll

Would you be for Cesc Fabregas going Manchester United this summer?

Champions 20|13 trophy parade & Wilfried Zaha Championship play-off Open Thread

2013-05-13T15:00:07Z

For anybody wishing to discuss today's events -- the trophy parade through Manchester or Wilfried Zaha in a Championship play-off for promotion to the Premier League -- I thought I'd post an open thread. If you're going to the parade, we'd love to hear about your experience afterward. If you're watching on television, this is a good spot for discussion. Here's information on it from Manchester United's official website:

Old Trafford event
The parade will begin at the stadium with a send-off event in the forecourt area outside the East Stand. This event will commence at 18:00 BST and will be capacity-controlled so please arrive within good time to avoid missing out. The bus will then leave Old Trafford at 18:30.

Access
Fans will be directed to access the parade area from each end of Sir Matt Busby Way. The crowd barriers will be in place from 15:00.

Parking
Parking for parade visitors will be in N3. Any visitors for the Museum and Tour will need to park in N2.

Megastore
The Megastore will be open until 19:00.

Museum
The Museum will close at 15:00 with last admissions at 14:45.

More: Find out details about the parade route

Kick-off for Zaha's Crystal Palace versus Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium is at 7:45pm BST (2:45pm EST). The first leg from last Friday resulted in a 0-0 draw. The winner will face Watford at Wembley for promotion to the Premier League. Zaha picked up a slight knock on Friday but he's expected to feature tonight.

Vote for your Manchester United player of the year

2013-05-12T20:24:25Z

I've always found it an odd practice that player of the year awards are typically announced prior to the end of a season. However, Manchester United's season was effectively over weeks ago when they clinched the title after their impressive defeat of Aston Villa. Therefore, voting for the club's player of the year probably could have commenced then. The games since have been mostly stale, despite having had rivals Arsenal and Chelsea on the fixture list. Things obviously livened up this week with the retirement annoucements of Sir Alex Ferguson and Paul Scholes and the emotional celebration of their legendary careers earlier today at Old Trafford. Now things feel final -- on multiple levels.

Tomorrow is the parade through Manchester in celebration of the club's 20th title. In addition, the club's awards dinner for player of the year is on Wednesday evening. Therefore, now feels like an appropriate time to begin the poll on who this community thinks the player of the year should be. Voting on our poll will close on Wednesday afternoon. I don't want to influence the voting at all with descriptions of the candidate's seasons. Instead, I'll simply offer up the four players who made the PFA's Premier League team of the year (Michael Carrick, David de Gea, Rio Ferdinand, and Robin van Persie) and another (in my opinion) that should have in Rafael. Now go vote in our poll below!

Poll

Who is Manchester United's player of the year?

Michael Carrick

68 votes

David de Gea

20 votes

Rio Ferdinand

6 votes

Rafael

10 votes

Robin van Persie

84 votes

188 votes | Poll has closed

Sir Alex Ferguson confirms that Wayne Rooney has asked for a transfer

2013-05-12T18:17:14Z

It feels wrong to talk about Wayne Rooney on a great day like this. Nonetheless, there is some news that probably should be noted: Sir Alex Ferguson has just confirmed in an interview with Sky's Geoff Shreeves that Wazza, who was rumored to have put in a transfer request a few weeks ago, has indeed done so. The soon-to-be-retired manager, though, also said that the striker will not be sold. This is the second time in three seasons now that the England international has requested a move away from Old Trafford.

If Rooney is keen to leave, then hopefully he goes. The club is no longer reliant on him and at wages of £250k/week, his mercurial performances and petulant attitude now just makes him a source of frustration. Wazza is surely going to want similar wages elsewhere, if he leaves, so that's going to limit the number of possible clubs that he could join -- the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Manchester City, Barcelona, Real Madrid, and perhaps Monaco (who are rumored to have just secured the services of Falcao for next season) are the only ones that could afford his wages and transfer fee. With his inconsistent form, it's arguable if Rooney would help many of those teams. Perhaps though, a change of scenery would do him good.

Ferguson's stance that Rooney won't be sold is an understandable one. The club will surely be exploring transfer options and their denial that he's up for sale gives them some more leverage in any negotations. It would be hard for the club to turn down any offer north of £30 million for Wazza.

Update: Here's exactly what Fergie had to say on the matter...

"He's asked for a transfer, we refused it and that's where it lies. It was better he didn't play today; he can mull it over now. He's not happy about being taken off a few times but Wayne in top form would not be taken off. He should think about his future here because he will be here."

- Ferguson | Source: MUTV

Post Match Reaction: Manchester United 2 - 1 Swansea City

2013-05-12T17:17:51Z

There was no way we were not going to win that game for Fergie. What a day, full of emotion

Sir Alex Ferguson was given a guard of honor from both team as he walked out onto the pitch, with 76,000 supporters waving flags

And Lets not forget the magical Paul Scholes, who gave us a masterclass in passing the ball today, as he has done on hundred's of occaisions. What a truly special player he is. It has been a pleasure watching him for my twenty two and a half years on this Earth.

As for the game, we played some fantastic football in the first half. Javier Hernandez was a constant menace and he scored a typical Chicarito goal. A FK was swung in and defended shockingly. The ball fell to his feet and he duly obliged to finish. His career lives for those moments on a football pitch.

But Swansea did not read the script. They came roaring back in the second half, with their own wonderful centre forward scoring an 18th goal of the season. Michu has really been a find for them. And they could have scored more, as Manchester United were perhaps caught up in the occaison.

No matter. A Robin Van Persie corner was played in with perhaps four minutes left. Rio Ferdinand burried the volley in a manner that the Ginger Prince himself would have been proud of.

Fergie's post match/season speech was moving. I am sure we will post the full speach in full within the next 24 hours, but one moment was striking. He said the club, the fans, the players stood by him when the club and outlook was not quite rosy. He emplored us to get behind the new gaffer. The 76,000 strong crowd answered with cries of "David, David, David." A new dawn is coming for this club....

For many, this Premier League success is just another to add to an impressive CV. For others, David de Gea, Danny Welbeck, Tom Cleverley, Phil Jones, Shinji Kagawa..... This will be the first of many!

And once more, how fitting is it that it is the great man himself that lifts the trophy.

Thank you for everything Sir Alex. There will never be another like you