Luis Van Gaal: so far, not so good

Two years ago, he was described as a man with great reputation and aura, a progressive personality who would restore glory back to the red half of Manchester; someone who would come in and patch the broken pieces together and restore greatness a la Sir Alex Ferguson. Such were the words used to describe Luis van Gaal who was going to replace the then finished gaffer David Moyes after a very successful World Cup in Brazil.

The case has been akwardly different since then. His first season was seen by everyone as a building process highlighted by the British record transfer of Angel Di Maria from Real Madrid and the introduction of his 'Philosophy' to the club. Filled with ups and downs, he impressed in his debut season doing a slightly better job than his predecessor Moyes and helping his team to Champions League spot with an added spice of dominating possesion.

His second season however, has seen his team's style of play widely criticised highlighted by van Gaal's much touted 'Philosophy' of dominating the game but lacking that final cutting edge in front of goal which has already cost them darely following their elimination from Europe's elite competion. Pundits and fans have all voiced out their anger and frustration refering to the team's style of play as 'dull' and 'inflexible' with no Plan B whatsoever with the stats backing up their claims as they scored 21 goals in 16 league games compared to Sir Alex's last season with the club which saw United score a whooping 33 goals in just 14 games despite boasting the best defence in the league conceding fewer goals than any other team in the league.

His strictness and no-nonsense attitude led fans to liken him to a 'Dictator' accused of making his players too terified to express themselves on the pitch. Players like Anthony Martial and Juan Mata are often used out of position, Morgan Schneiderlin not getting regular games and particularly, the curious case of Wayne Rooney who has been out of form but is still fielded regularly as a result of favouritism by the manager. The clock is ticking and as we move further into the season, Systematic measures must be taken by van Gaal in desperate times to drag man utd closer to the title or else he could kiss it goodbye.

Twitter Reactions to Champions League draw

Finally.....the much awaited Uefa Champions League draw has been made. It wasn't rosy for two of the three English clubs as they found out their fate this afternoon as seen above from Uefa.com! Chelsea have been drawn against their slayers last season in form of French Champs PSG while Arsenal face the nightmare they least expected in Barcelona. On the other hand, Man City got a lighter draw which was a sigh of relief from last seaon as they face Dinamo Kiev.

Twitter has been rumbling since the draw and here are some reactions from fans on Social media.

Platini is on suspension but he still left
instructions at UEFA on how to punish
Arsene Wenger.
-JJ. Omojuwa (@omojuwa)
December 14, 2015.

Barcelona may be UEFA 's way of punishing Arsenal for mucking up last season's easy fixture against Monaco
- Colin NOT Collins
(@ Colin Udoh)
December 14, 2015

Gbese. PSG vs Chelsea again! Aren't UEFA tired of this fixture. Coz we Chelsea fans are tired of it.
-Damilare Joseph
(@dre4success)
December 14, 2015

PSG vs Chelsea because we didn't have
enough fun with that last season.
-Rafael Hernandez
(@RafaelH117)
December 14, 2015

I'm getting tired of seeing PSG vs Chelsea
- Gerry
(@HdzGerry)
December 14, 2015

'What a farce'! Man City could play
Champions League tie in front of no fans.
bbc.in/1Rk1aTe pic.twitter.com/
TQrPGAVw2m
- BBC Sport
(@BBCSport)
December 14, 2015

Would English teams fare well in this year's knockout stage?

The rise of Jamie Vardy

     Four years ago, a certain player by the name Jamie Vardy was playing for Fleetwood town in the conference infront of a few hundred fans. Fastfoward to the present and he is the man of the moment, sung and admired when playing infront of over 30,000 fans at the king power stadium.
     The brilliant Englishman as you all probably know broke a prestigious Premier league record by eclipsing Ruud Van Nistlerooy's run of 10 goals in 10 games by scoring in 11 consecutive games for the first time in history. He has now become the most talked about superstar this season and is thriving under the spotlight he never thought of having during his record goal chase. He is now one goal away from equaling the all time record of Sheffield Wednesday's Dunne for the 1931/32 season with 12 goals.
     Once rejected by Sheffield Wednesday at age 16, Vardy has proved that hardwork pays off when he was signed by Leicester City from Fleetwood in 2012 for a record fee of £1.5m for a non-league player where he helped them win promotion to the Premier league and scoring his first league goal in a 5-3 thrashing of Man Utd last season. His style of play with blistering pace and battering full backs has not gone unnoticed this season as he has the top speed by any player in the league with 35.4 km and covered a total of 124.5 km, the most distance covered by any player only bettered by Spur's Harry Kane. He also has the most shots on target to his name showing his great killer instinct when facing goal.
     The Leicester forward's rise to prominence under Claudio Ranieri - The Tinkerman has been phenomenal with his top of the line performances this season and has laid down a strong case to achieve his ultimate dream of spearheading England's attack at the Euros next year.

Luis Suarez completes move to Barcelona

Luis Suarez has left Liverpool and completed a £75million move to Barcelona.
Liverpool have finalised the terms of a club-record fee with Barcelona for the sale of striker Luis Suarez.
Official talks began over a week ago and were
productive from the start with the Catalan side agreeing to meet the Uruguay international's buy-out clause, believed to be £75million.
The Uruguayan will be travelling to Barcelona next week for a medical, to sign his five-year contract and to be officially presented to the media and fans as an FC Barcelona player.
FC Barcelona and Liverpool FC have reached an agreement for the transfer of Luis Suárez. The Uruguayan will be travelling to Barcelona next week for a medical, to sign his five-year contract and to be officially presented to the media and fans as an FC Barcelona player.
Luis Suárez is one of the most productive strikers in European football. Since turning professional (2005/06) he has always scored at least ten league goals a season, whether at Groningen, Ajax or Liverpool. The 27 year old is heading for the Camp Nou as holder of the Golden Boot after hitting 31 goals for Liverpool last term, which means he has topped the scoring charts in both Holland and England.
The 17th Uruguayan to play for FC Barcelona is not just a prolific scorer, he also has a strong competitive spirit and a powerful figure, and he's coming to Barça in search of even more. Luis
Suárez thus adds his name to the impressive list of world class strikers that have played for the club in recent years, and is the fifth to have arrived with a Golden Boot among his honours.
© FC Barcelona

Ashley Cole in Rome Ahead of Potential deal with AS Roma

Roma on Monday welcomed former
Chelsea Player, Ashley Cole who has travelled to the Italian capital, with Roma posting a photo on their official Twitter feed, with the message: "Welcome to Rome, Ashley!".
The 33-year-old is a free agent following his
release by Chelsea in May and had been linked
with a number of teams in both the Premier
League and Europe. Cole, long a lynchpin of the Chelsea and England teams, had become a fringe player in Jose Mourinho's squad last season. The Portuguese coach preferred Cesar Azpilicueta at left-back for much of the season, in which Chelsea finished third behind champions Manchester City and Liverpool.
Cole made just 17 Premier League appearances, his lowest total in a single campaign for the club. Since his move from Arsenal in 2006, he won one league title, four FA Cups, the Europa League and the Champions League. Cole earned 107 England caps, but announced his retirement from international football before the World Cup after he was left out of Roy Hodgson's squad for Brazil.
Roma fans have flocked to the airport in great excitement to greet the arrival of former England International according to the Telegraph ahead of his imminent move to the Serie A giants.

Markovic and Origi deals set to be sealed by Liverpool

Liverpool agreed a fee – thought to be close to £10m – with Lille for the 19-year-old striker before the tournament, during which Origi has put in some eye-catching displays. It is expected he will remain at the French club
on loan next season.
The club are also stepping up their bid to
convince Alexis Sanchez to swap the Nou
Camp for Anfield as part of the move that
would take Suarez to Barcelona.
According to The Times, a fee has been agreed for Benfica and Serbia winger
Markovic, 20. The Anfield giants have been in talks with Benfica over Markovic and are set to agree a fee in the region of £25 million as also reported by Metro for the Serbian winger.
Chelsea have also been tracking the highly rated- rated-20-year-old, and it would delight Brendan Rodgers to beat Jose Mourinho to his signature.
Liverpool could receive around £70m for Suarez from Barcelona and they are intent on investing it to strengthen their squad. Talks with Markovic have been positive and Rodgers hopes to finalise his transfer this week, while they are also due to discuss personal terms with Origi.
Meanwhile, the newspaper claims that
Liverpool have not given on Sanchez, despite the Chile forward's apparent desire to join Arsenal or Juventus, and are in talks with the player's representatives.
But Liverpool will accept a straight cash deal
for Suarez after Barcelona made it clear they
are willing to meet Suarez's buy-out clause –
which is said to be between £63m and
£80m.

Emre Can seals £10m move to Liverpool

Liverpool have completed their second
signing of the week by securing the 20-year-
old midfielder Emre Can from Bayer
Leverkusen.
The move for the Germany Under-21
international, which comes 48 hours after
the club secured Southampton's Adam
Lallana for £25m, is understood to involve a
£9.75m fee.
Liverpool had to wait until the summer
transfer window officially opened on 1 July
to register the necessary paperwork and
secure international clearance.
Can, who becomes the third player through
the doors at Anfield this summer, following
Lallana and Rickie Lambert, told the club's
website: "I am proud to be a part of the
family and I am looking forward to playing
here. I will give it my best.
"Liverpool is a great club and the fans are
among the best in the world. I am looking
forward to the first game and can't wait to
step on the pitch for the first time at
Anfield."
© The Gaurdian

Diego Costa to Chelsea deal done and dusted

Chelsea have confirmed they have reached an agreement with Atletico Madrid for the transfer of Diego Costa to Stamford Bridge.
The Blues have met the Spain international's buy-out clause and he will wear Chelsea's jersey for the next season.
A statement on Chelsea's official club read , "Chelsea Football Club can confirm an agreement has been reached with Atletico Madrid for the transfer of Diego Costa, with Chelsea meeting the buy-out clause for the
Spanish international."
The West London club had Fernando
Torres, Demba Ba and Samuel Eto'o as their first choice strikers last season. However, Chelsea have allowed the latter leave the club after his contract expired.
Jose Mourinho has criticised his striker's form failing to fire for the Blues last season. The arrival of Costa should help the Stamford Bridge club strengthen their attacking division for the new campaign. Costa becomes Chelsea's second signing of the summer after the Blues signed Cesc Fabregas from Barcelona.
The addition of the Spanish duo should
bolster their squad and put them as the firm contenders to win the title next season.

© soccerlens.com

Adam Lallana completes Liverpool switch

Liverpool FC have completed the signing of Adam Lallana from Southampton FC for a fee reported to be in the region of €31m.
England striker Rickie Lambert joined Liverpool from the Saints earlier this summer and 26-year- old Lallana has followed his international team- mate to Anfield, putting pen to paper on a long-term deal.
Speaking to the Liverpool website, Lallana said: "It's a huge step. Liverpool have got so much history and after the season they had last season, I can't wait to get started and carry on and build on that. Champions League football is back; everyone is telling me that the atmosphere on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings at Anfield is something special."
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers added:
"What is apparent about Adam is that his
character is on a par with his talent. He is an
exceptional young man and someone who has a love for the game – and, most importantly, a
desire to progress and improve. Adam is
motivated by being the best he can be and being part of something special. We believe he fits right in with what we are trying to do at Liverpool."
Lallana had a career-defining campaign last
season, the playmaker's sparkling displays and nine goals in 38 league appearances leading to his selection in the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) Team of the Year and the England World Cup squad. His departure breaks a 14-year association with Southampton, who he linked up with from AFC Bournemouth's academy in 2000.
Lallana joins something of an exodus from St
Mary's this summer, with manager Mauricio
Pochettino taking the helm at Tottenham Hotspur FC and left-back Luke Shaw completing a switch to Manchester United FC. Liverpool, meanwhile, also brought in Emre Can from Bayer 04 Leverkusen.
The five-time European Cup winners are back in the UEFA Champions League group stage for the first time since 2009/10 having finished second in the Premier League last term.
© UEFA.com

Barcelona to include 'Bite clause' in £40m Suarez move

Liverpool are demanding £80m
while Barcelona only want to pay £50m
total, which could include Chilean
forward Alexis Sanchez as a £30m
make weight in the deal according to The Daily Mirror.
Barcelona will also back Suarez in his
battle to fight the ban or have it
reduced. Suarez is believed to be ready
to hire top lawyer Juan De Dios Crespo
who is a specialist in sporting cases.
Suarez, who maintains his innocence
and claims it was an accidental clash
after he lost balance, is ready to take
his case to the Court of Arbitration for
Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Many Barcelona fans don't want to see him at
the Nou Camp and Barça know this. That's why any deal with the striker must have a few
clauses to appease the Catalan giants' fans as the saga continues.