All I want for Christmas… Day 1
Welcome, a very merry TFFmas from all of us here at the blog. As we head into the holiday season, there is plenty to look forward to both on the pitch and off it and we are looking forward to the month ahead. This December we will be running the 25 Days of TFFmas, every day up until the big day we will be publishing Christmas wishlists from members of our team for what they would like their club to get for Christmas.
To kick things off, TFF’s newest member, Ross Grant gives us the lowdown on his wishes for his beloved Manchester United.
The Club
We’ve gone big early here, Manchester United obviously don’t need any introduction but while their name is as well known as ever, they are attempting to get back to the reason they became so well known under Sir Alex Ferguson, winning major trophies. Jose Mourinho has taken over from Louis van Gaal, this raised hopes of a title challenge but as yet the team have yet to fully click into gear. The club are struggling to live with the current top four and in Europe it is a similar story. The club are used to the Champions League but in Europe’s second tier competition, they only look on course to come runners-up in their group, they will be hoping from a favour from Feyenoord in the final round of matches to top the group. The club can still cling to the hope of winning a trophy though as they are still in the EFL Cup and received a favourable semi-final draw in the form of Hull City and they are yet to begin their defence of the FA Cup, which they won in May thanks to Jesse Lingard’s stunner against Crystal Palace.
Wish 1- A Strong central defender
“With Bailly set to return just before the AFCON, we are set to go back to square one at the back. The front six vs Arsenal was the perfect one, a little bit of luck and a run of form will get that flowing. However, the problems at the back are still glaringly obvious. Valencia has probably been United’s best player this season so far, he has made an impressive transition from the right wing to right back and Mourinho trusts him. Shaw needs exemption from criticism due to his leg break, hopefully, we see the potential he showed before his injury. Having said all this, the CB partnerships have been fragile since Rio/Vidic departed the scene, Bailly needs a world class, experienced CB partner for future, Smalling is not the answer.”
Wish 2- Rooney to remain at United
“You must be thinking I’m crazy but the criticism he gets is absolutely ridiculous, the man is on the edge of United history and has already broken England’s scoring record. He’s a leader, for me he starts on the bench but against Arsenal he showed parts of the old Wayne Rooney, he loves the club, he always celebrates with the most passion and as a captain, that’s what we need at this time.”
Wish 3- The Mkhitaryan/Martial problem to be resolved
“Martial has had a poor season up to now and is stuck in the shadows of his incredible first season.” He has scored only once in the league this season and as a consequence has lost his place in the French side to the likes of Ousmane Dembélé and Kévin Gameiro. Didier Deschamps issued Martial a personal warning about his form. “Then we have Mkhitaryan, who is a world class player but the moans and groans about him baffle me. Everyone wants him to play from the start but as we saw against City, when he was rushed back from injury, he was terrible, hopefully, it’ll be rectified soon and he gets back to the player that scored 11 goals and got 14 assists in last season’s Bundesliga. I sincerely hope we’ll see the best from both of these players in the near future.”
Do you agree with this list?
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Thank you to Ross Grant for contributing today, we’ll see you tomorrow for another member and another wishlist!