DERBY DAZE
During a week when his side are preparing for a derby against Manchester City, it is odd that Erik ten Hag seems to have spent more time focusing on Jamie Carragher’s punditry and Fulham’s TikTok troubadours than how best they might go about trying to avoid the absolute monstering pretty much everyone, including their own fans, is expecting them to get when they make the short trip to the Etihad Stadium. Ten Hag’s side have faced a remarkable 100 shots in their past five league games against Fulham, Luton, Aston Villa, West Ham and Wolves, around half the number they are likely to have to defend on Sunday afternoon. Luckily for United, the man tasked with stopping them has been speaking about his return to form after a gaffe-prone start to life at the club.
“It was a difficult time for me,” tooted goalkeeper André Onana, before what could be an even more difficult time for him. “Now I’m feeling a bit better. I already know the goalkeeper that I am, but it took me six or seven months not to play good, just to feel good. When I moved from Amsterdam to Milan, that adaptation was quite easy but it took me seven, eight months here. It was just time to learn and go game by game.” Further upfield, United will be hoping Marcus Rashford will prove an able deputy in the absence of the knacked Rasmus Højlund, and the striker has already taken aim at critics who think he should show half as much interest in playing for his team as he did when arranging what seemed like a dismally dreary night out with an entourage of hangers-on in Northern Ireland.
Rashford was entirely justified in suggesting there’s “a tone to it that you don’t get with all footballers” when discussing the criticism he ships in a column for the Players’ Tribune, but an insistence that his commitment to United simply cannot be questioned because he has played for them “since I was a boy” is unlikely to convince anyone who has seen some of the lacklustre performances he has delivered this season. While he will always have a place in the hearts of United fans, not to mention those of everyone outside Old Trafford who aren’t grasping Tories, any recurrence of the conspicuously poor body language and lack of effort that he has demonstrated in many games this season is likely to infuriate those whose patience with their striker has already worn paper-thin.
With his champions white-hot favourites to win the derby, Pep Guardiola was in a relaxed mood on Friday but refused to be drawn on the subject of what passes for his opposite number’s playing philosophy. “Always I expect the best from our opponents,” he declared in a tone that could strike more cynical readers as being a mite condescending. “Always. I expect the best from Manchester United but I don’t talk about what they do. As opponents I respect them too much and I don’t want any misunderstandings of my words.” Perhaps like the rest of us mere mortals, even a man with Pep’s incredible knowledge of tactics doesn’t quite know exactly what it is his opposite number might be trying to do.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“My task is to create an international identity of football, an attacking mindset, a challenge I really love. Then there is the next challenge – I will not be talking Swedish, because I want to be understood … [It’s] a journey where there probably will be ups and downs but a journey we need to do together – a new era” – Jon Dahl Tomasson readies Sweden for a cultural shake-up after the Dane took over as manager of the men’s national team.
FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS
It seems you missed the big news from Carrow Road this week. Norwich City are, of course, having a really meh season in the Championship. Given their resources and relatively recent splurges of some millions of pounds, most of us supporters really expected something better this time around. Despite being totally underwhelming for large parts of this season, it seems David Wagner is on safe ground. However, their women’s team manager, Martin Herdman was the undeserving recipient of the journey through the fabled door marked Do One on Tuesday. His team’s record so far this season in the National League Division One South East was played 13, won 10, drawn three. Currently in second place, six points behind leaders AFC Wimbledon but with two games in hand. And there was me thinking the better your record, the safer your position” – John Scent.
Neil Rose was absolutely right (if a little brave) to clap off the performance of an away opponent who had just scored five goals (Football Daily letters passim). Teenagers are embarrassed by most things their parents do, but his son might think differently when he reflects in years to come. The best example I can remember of such a rare happening is when I went to see Bournemouth play at Gresty Road in 2007 and Max Gradel was generously afforded a standing ovation by the home fans when substituted towards the end of a 4-1 defeat: when I was sad enough to check my memory wasn’t deceiving me I found this evidence” – Paul Sheppard.
Send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s winner of our letter o’ the day is … John Scent, who lands our final copy of Pat Nevin: football and how to survive it, published by Octopus Books.
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