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Manchester United - The Dutchman's Devils

Started on 19 October 2014 by Josh_MU
Latest Reply on 31 December 2014 by Feliks
Josh_MU's avatar Group Josh_MU
10 yearsEdited

Pre-season Report

Hello and welcome to the first of many reports about Manchester United’s adventures this season. Here we will be reporting on each game, giving our verdict and singling out a player who impressed us that game. United travelled to America for their short pre-season tour, giving the squad a chance to gel and prepare for the new season ahead. The Red Devils faced Colorado and Chivas whilst they stopped over in America.

Game 1; Colorado vs Manchester United



What a poor performance this was. Our first game of our pre-season saw Colorado destroy our make-shift defence which is simply not good enough considering that we’re going to be heading to Stamford Bridge in a few weeks time. Just three minutes into the game, Danny Tiedt found himself in some space and won a free-kick after a poor tackle from Blackett. Mari swung in the free-kick which De Gea superbly saved but our defenders were sleeping as Tiedt was first to the ball and dinked it over De Gea to make it 1-0 Colorado.

And just five minutes later, they were in again with Mari, Kamler and Tiedt all forward against our four defenders. Some simple but effective passing move saw them open up our back four and Kamler laid it off to Mari who curled the ball past De Gea to put Colorado 2-0 up within the first eight minutes of the game. Louis van Gaal looked frustrated and confused as his team were getting destroyed by a MLS team (no disrespect to all you MLS fans!)

But finally, a moment of sheer brilliance as our new signing, Angel Di Mari, picked up the ball on the half way line and advanced forward, shifting the ball past two of Colorado’s midfielders and he soon enough found himself 25 yards from goal. The Argentine measured up his angles and curled a delightful ball around Kelly and into the top corner of the net. What a great start from our new number seven! A superb finish.


Di Maria got us back into the game when he found himself 25 yards from goal to which he curled the ball around Kelly and into the back of the net.


However, just two minutes later, Colorado got their third of the game when Blackett’s poor touch allowed Tudela to advance through on goal, and the midfielder passed it past De Gea to Tiedt who got his second of the game and restored Colorado’s two goal margin just 10 minutes into the game. Van Gaal showed his frustration at the defending by throwing a water bottle on the ground, it was not a great day for the new Manchester United manager.

United continued to push and had many opportunities to get back into the game, with van Persie hitting the post twice in a space of 5 minutes and Di Maria causing all sorts of problems on the wings but failed to convert an easy chance. The game finally ended with Manchester United losing the game 3-1 despite dominating the majority of the game but failing to convert their chances.

Overall, we weren’t impressed with the defending by our team, however we had a catalogue of injuries and had to resort playing Phil Jones at right back, Marcos Rojo as our left back and calling up Tyler Blackett to the first team. Our attackers were relatively good, but their failure to convert some simple chances frustrated us a lot. Di Maria was outstanding and looks like a great buy.

Game 2; Chivas vs Manchester United



A good solid win here. We bounced back after our shock victory against Colorado with a solid 2-0 win which shows what our squad is capable of when they start to gel together more. We went with a slightly stronger team, bringing in Chris Smalling for Tyler Blackett to sure up the defence. We got off to a decent start, keeping good possession, with Di Maria and Valencia being real threats on both wings.

We gave away a cheap penalty however within the first ten minutes after a lazy challenge from Rojo brought down Fleet. Erick Torres stepped up and forced a remarkable save from David De Gea, who reached up high to his right hand side to push away a fiercely struck penalty. De Gea didn’t have the best of games against Colorado and that save could be the confidence boost he needs to get back into his form of last season.

We finally took the lead 23 minutes in, with good attacking play from Di Maria forcing a corner, which he swung into the far post and caused confusion in the Chivas defence. They managed to hook it away as far as Herrera on the left, who played in a delightful ball towards fellow Spaniard Juan Mata, who struck a wonderful control volley around Brown and into the bottom left corner to put us 1-0 ahead and showed our fans how threatening we can be from those positions.


Ander Herrera played in a perfectly executed pass towards Juan Mata, who controlled the ball into the bottom left hand corner to put us 1-0 ahead.


After Mata’s goal, we started to really control the game, passing easily around the Chivas midfield and looking comfortable in possession. We came close again as Di Maria picked out Rooney but the Manchester United skipper couldn’t get his angles right as his shot flew just over the crossbar. Di Maria was outstanding in our build up play, again finding Rooney a few minutes later, which forced a smart low save from Brown otherwise it would have been 2-0 to us.

However, we managed to double our lead soon after, with Di Maria again swinging in a dangerous corner which met the head of new signing Marcos Rojo, who confidently diverted the ball away from Brown and into the back of the net. Rojo went over to celebrate with his fellow countryman Di Maria after his superb assist. We really saw how dangerous Di Maria can be when delivering set pieces, having a powerful and accurate left foot.

Chivas offered no real threat for the remainder of the game and it finished 2-0 to us. Overall it was a much improved performance from the Colorado game and we look like a proper team now after our pass accuracy was at a much higher percentage. Again Di Maria was our best player on the pitch, but Herrera really impressed me with not just his assist, but his work rate and determination in midfield, tracking back to help his defence when there was any danger.

Player of Pre-season


Angel Di Maria


No surprises here that I’ve chosen our new signing Angel Di Maria as my ‘Player of Pre-season’! He was by far our best player throughout our short American tour, with his dribbling and positioning really standing out, but also his vision and passing accuracy were key to us defeating Chivas in our final game. He looks to be paying off his price tag already and with Chelsea to come, he will be relishing the chance to finally play in the Premier League against one of the best clubs in the World. Good luck to you and the team Angel!
Although the pre-season wasn't the best with that 3-1 defeat to Colorado, it's the competitive games that matter, at the end of the day!
Great update as well, the detail was exceptional :O
Extraordinary detail and lovely screenshots to add to a very, very clean and smooth update. Losing to Colorado not good enough ( ;) ) but good return result against Chivas, which could help boost morale!
Very detailed update! Not the best pre-season but you won a match! Good luck with the story!
Not exactly a perfect pre-season, or a long one at that. But the real test starts now with the league!
@Joshie: Agreed, but still with the quality of our players, you would expect us to win. Glad you enjoyed the update! :)

@Walt: Haha thanks a ton Walt! Hopefully we'll perform better in the league.

@Bst: Thanks pal! :)

@Feliks: Indeed it does. van Gaal complained about pre-season games, no wonder we only played 2. xD

Manchester United agree fee for Netherlands World Cup star


Manchester United have agreed a 14 million pound fee for Netherlands and Ajax star Daley Blind, who joined with the Manchester based club today.

Ajax confirmed the departure of Blind on their official twitter page, stating the the midfielder had begun talks with Manchester United after a 14 million pound fee was agreed late last night. Blind was also left out of the Ajax squad for their next game, meaning that the transfer was 'almost complete'. Blind was then pictured arriving in Carrington by the newspaper 'The Sun', which saw him enter the complex.

A few hours later, Manchester United's official twitter account confirmed that they had agreed a fee for Blind with Ajax, and that the player is currently undergoing a medical at Carrington, awaiting confirmation on if he passes it or not. Finally he was pictured in Manchester United merchandise and holding up a scarf saying 'Theatre Of Dreams' which fully showed that he has become a Manchester United player.

Blind once again links up with Louis van Gaal after the World Cup in Brazil which was deemed as a 'huge success' by many Netherlands fans. Blind stated that the chance to work with van Gaal again was a big reason why he wanted to join Manchester United, and after a positive display in Brazil, no wonder van Gaal wanted to bring him to Manchester United to strengthen a weak midfield which was easily exploited last season.


Manchester United's official Twitter account confirmed the agreement with Ajax for Daley Blind, who passed his medical&agreed personal terms later on in the day.


Blind joins an ever-growing Manchester United team, with the club bringing in seven new players this window, and with all of these new players coming into the club, you have to fear for some of the current members of the squad, such as Tom Cleverley and Ashley Young. Although van Gaal has not mentioned about selling anyone, you would think that he will have to balance the books soon with all the new arrivals.

The midfielder is known for being very versatile, playing either as a centre midfielder, central defensive midfielder, a left full-back or even as a centre-half, meaning that the opportunities for some of Manchester United's current players could be limited as van Gaal will tend to favour his new signings more than his current players. Blind will more than likely sit infront of the back four, playing in his preferred defensive midfielder role.

With the transfer window closing very soon, could we see any more fireworks at Manchester United? You cannot rule anything out as this busy summer is about to get even more busier as more clubs are starting to panic as we head into the final two weeks of this crazy transfer window, with the total spent by Premier League clubs reaching over 800 million pounds, we could see that continue to rise very soon.
Blind is a real quality player, and always performs to a consistent standard, so I'm sure he will have no problems in settling at United!
Great Start! The detail you put in these story's is exceptional
Such lovely updates Josh, keep it up :D
@Joshie: Agreed, I love Blind just for those reasons alone! Thanks for the comment man!

@SirDarren: Thank you very much.

@Neal: Thanks a lot Neal! :)

BREAKING: Radamel Falcao joins Manchester United on a season-long loan


Manchester United have confirmed that Radamel Falcao has joined on a season-long loan, with an option to buy at the end of the season.

The 28 year old has been linked with many clubs over the course of this transfer window, but has opted to join Louis van Gaal in the red side of Manchester after agreeing personal terms with the club late last night. The forward had offers on the table from Manchester City, Arsenal and Real Madrid, but decided on his move to Old Trafford as he wanted to play infront of United's many fans at the 'best stadium in the World'.

The Colombian became a Monaco player in 2013 after very successful periods at Atlético Madrid, where he made 91 appearances, scoring 70 goals and became the first player to score a hat-trick in a single-legged UEFA Super Cup; and formerly at FC Porto, making 87 appearances and scoring 72 goals. He hopes to continue his goal scoring form at Manchester United, telling the club's official website the following;

"I am delighted to be joining Manchester United on loan this season. Manchester United is the biggest club in the world and is clearly determined to get back to the top. I am looking forward to working with Louis van Gaal and contributing to the team’s success at this very exciting period in the club’s history."

"For me, it was a dream to play in the Premier League. I always wanted to be here because this league is very good, it has very good teams and Manchester United is the best team in England. Everything is perfect for me. We have very top players. I admire them. I want to meet them for the first time. I am sure that this season will be great for us."

Falcao’s arrival takes United’s summer spend to more than £150m. He has recently returned from a serious knee injury that ruled him out of Colombia’s World Cup campaign and his proposed signing is a further signal of United’s intent to regain a Champions League place, at the very least. United had been considering a move for Falcao since Van Gaal’s arrival at the club, but had not thought of his signing as a priority. However, with interest from City and Arsenal building, United moved to secure the Colombian.


Falcao's career at a glance.


Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal told the club's official website his thoughts on the capture of Falcao as shown below;

"I am delighted Radamel has joined us on loan this season. He is one of the most prolific goalscorers in the game. His appearance-to-goal ratio speaks for itself and, when a player of this calibre becomes available, it is an opportunity not to be missed."

The club also announced the signing of Netherlands World Cup star Daley Blind earlier in the week, with both Blind and van Gaal finally getting a chance to talk about the transfer whilst van Gaal held a brief press conference after the signing of Radamel Falcao, with van Gaal telling a few journalists the following about the capture of versatile midfield Daley Blind;

"I am delighted Daley has signed for the club. He is a very intelligent and versatile footballer that can play in many positions. Daley is a great reader of the game, he has played under my philosophy over a number of years and he will be a great addition to the team."

This looks as if it's the final signing for Louis van Gaal this summer, with a total of 9 players joining the ranks at Manchester United, and the departures of Tom Cleverley, Nani, Alex Buttner and Javier Hernandez also balancing the books a little, it looks as if van Gaal is ready for the start of the new Barclays Premier League season where his team travel to Stamford Bridge to play against Jose Mourinho's Chelsea side.
your updates are absolutely awesome and nicely reported on too :D
Easily the most deadly number nine in world football today, hasn't got the nickname El Tigre for nothing. I have a feeling he'll do well for you ;)
Another class update, and the signing of a top class player to go with it! ;)

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