Tag: Manchester United

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UK GOVERNMENT SLAM LIVERPOOL AND UNITED’S “PROJECT BIG PICTURE”

The United Kingdom government has strongly criticised plans reportedly driven by Manchester United and Liverpool to overhaul the Premier League and English club football.

A report on Sunday by The Telegraph detailed a set of proposals called “Project Big Picture”, which would cut the number of teams in the Premier League from 20 to 18 and abolish the competition’s one-club, one-vote principle – handing greater power to the nine longest-serving teams in the division.

That number includes all of the so-called “big six”, who would have effective veto power on a range of issues, including potential new owners taking control of a rival club.

The plans also focus upon supporting the wider league system amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, with a £250million rescue package to be allocated to the English Football League (EFL) and a £100m gift to the Football Association.

EFL chairman Rick Parry – the former Liverpool chief executive and a key figure in the Premier League’s breakaway from the Football League in 1992 – has publicly backed the plans, which would see 25 per cent of the Premier League’s annual revenue diverted to the EFL and lead to the EFL Cup and Community Shield being scrapped.

However, the Department for Media, Culture and Sport joined the Premier League itself in condemning the mooted changes, decrying Liverpool and United’s alleged involvement in “backroom deals”.

“We are surprised and disappointed that, at a time of crisis when we have urged the top tiers of professional football to come together and finalise a deal to help lower league clubs, there appear to be backroom deals being cooked up that would create a closed shop at the very top of the game,” a statement read.

“Sustainability, integrity and fair competition are absolutely paramount and anything that may undermine them is deeply troubling.

“Fans must be [at the] front of all our minds and this shows why our fan-led review of football governance will be so critical.”

The Premier League, which has come in for criticism over recent days after the announcement of a pay-per-view television model to run while fans are not allowed into stadiums, urged its members to contribute to ongoing restructuring talks “through the proper channels”.

“English football is the world’s most watched, and has a vibrant, dynamic and competitive league structure that drives interest around the globe,” its statement read.

“To maintain this position, it is important that we all work together.

“In the Premier League’s view, a number of the individual proposals in the plan published today could have a damaging impact on the whole game and we are disappointed to see that Rick Parry, Chair of the EFL, has given his on-the-record support.

“The Premier League has been working in good faith with its clubs and the EFL to seek a resolution to the requirement for COVID-19 rescue funding.”

In a statement published on the EFL’s official website, Parry confirmed talks around Project Big Picture had been ongoing for some time but insisted the financial pressures of the COVID-19 crisis had sharpened the need for transformative action.

“Now is the time to address both the long-term health of the game and the most challenging short-term crisis it has ever faced,” Parry said.

“Project Big Picture provides a new beginning which will revitalise the football pyramid at all levels. This new beginning will reinvigorate clubs in the lower leagues and the communities in which they are based.

“The whole of English football has been negatively impacted by this pandemic and the English football pyramid as a whole is only as healthy as those at its base.

“Through this proposed restructuring we aim to strengthen those who need it most at a time when they need it most. This is about building on what is good and making the most of what works well in order to benefit the game as a whole, while simultaneously tackling those issues which trouble all of us.

“This is a blueprint for the future of English football and for everyone who cherishes it.

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MAN UNITED, LIVERPOOL BACK PREMIER LEAGUE OVERHAUL PROJECT.

Manchester United and Liverpool are backing a radical plan to overhaul English football, led by the English Football League, which would see control over the Premier League switch to the top teams, sources have confirmed.

The plan has been called “Project Big Picture” and would see an overhaul of the finances of the Premier League and the EFL.

Proposed by the EFL and its chairman, Rick Parry, the plans include reducing the Premier League to 18 teams, giving controlling power to the nine clubs who have been in the league the longest, and abolishing the League Cup and the Community Shield.

The Premier League has been governed by the one-club, one-vote rule but if this change is accepted power would shift to the big six of United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester City and Chelsea as well as Everton, Southampton and West Ham. Changes would need the votes of just six of these clubs to be brought in.

“It is definitely going to be challenging and it is an enormous change, so that won’t be without some pain,” Parry told news men.

“Do I genuinely think it’s for the greater good of the game as a whole? Absolutely. And if the [big] six are deriving some benefit then why shouldn’t they. Why wouldn’t they put their names to this otherwise?”

In return for accepting the proposals, the Premier League would give 25% of its annual revenue to EFL clubs as well as gifting £250 million to the league to sure up clubs during the pandemic and a further £100m to the Football Association.

With the reduction of places in the Premier League, there would be two automatic promotion places for Championship clubs and then the third, fourth and fifth-placed clubs would compete in a play-off tournament with the 16th-placed Premier League club.

A Premier League statement, however, rebuked the plan and said it was important for all sides to work together.

“Both the Premier League and the FA support a wide-ranging discussion on the future of the game, including its competition structures, calendar and overall financing particularly in light of the effects of COVID-19,” the statement said. Football has many stakeholders, therefore this work should be carried out through the proper channels enabling all clubs and stakeholders the opportunity to contribute.

“In the Premier League’s view, a number of the individual proposals in the plan published today could have a damaging impact on the whole game and we are disappointed to see that Rick Parry, Chair of the EFL, has given his on-the-record support. The Premier League has been working in good faith with its clubs and the EFL to seek a resolution to the requirement for COVID-19 rescue funding. This work will continue.”

A conversation around these proposals began as early as 2017 but has been accelerated in recent months as the coronavirus pandemic has continued to affect clubs up and down the English football system.

“What do we do? Leave it exactly as it is and allow the smaller clubs to wither? Or do we do something about it? And you can’t do something about it without something changing. And the view of our clubs is if the [big] six get some benefits but the 72 also do, we are up for it,” Parry said.

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MARCUS RASHFORD AWARDED MBE FOR EFFORTS TO ABOLISH CHILD POVERTY.

Manchester United and England forward Marcus Rashford has been awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for his exceptional campaign to secure free meals for vulnerable children during the coronavirus pandemic.

Rashford’s high-profile campaign rallied support across the country after the government announced their intention to suspend the £15-a-week vouchers over the summer.

As pressure mounted and threatened to engulf the government in another crisis, Downing Street were forced into a volte-face and launched a new £120m fund for 1.3 million pupils in England. Prime Minister Boris Johnson called Rashford personally “to thank him for what he’s done”.

“I’m incredibly honoured and humbled. As a young black man from Wythenshawe, never did I think I would be accepting an MBE, never mind an MBE at the age of 22,” Rashford said in a statement via Manchester United.

“This is a very special moment for myself and my family, but particularly my mum who is the real deserving recipient of the honour.

“The fight to protect our most vulnerable children is far from over.

“I would be doing my community, and the families I have met and spoken with, an injustice if I didn’t use this opportunity to respectfully urge the Prime Minister, who recommended me for this honour, to support our children during the October half-term with an extension of the voucher scheme, as the furlough scheme comes to an end and we face increased unemployment.

“Another sticking plaster, but one that will give the parents of millions of children in the UK just one less thing to worry about.

“Let’s stand together in saying that no children in the UK should be going to bed hungry. As I have said many times before, no matter your feeling or opinion, not having access to food is never the child’s fault.”

Rashford has continued his efforts to instigate social change and eradicate child food poverty, assembling a task force of the UK’s biggest supermarkets and food brands to help those worst affected.

“Food poverty is contributing to social unrest,” he wrote in a letter to MPs. “Mothers and fathers are raising respectful, eloquent young men and women, who, in reality, are part of a system that will not allow them the opportunity to win and succeed. Add school closures, redundancies and furloughs into the equation and we have an issue that could negatively impact generations to come. It all starts with stability around access to food.

“To be well-nourished is the foundation of opportunity,” he added. “Any government serious about levelling up will ensure the most disadvantaged children have access to food.”

Rashford’s efforts have received widespread praise and he was awarded a special merit award by the Professional Footballers’ Association last month.

What we’ve done so far, it’s only a short-term answer,” he said at the time. “Me and my team behind me are just trying to find plans on how we can help these children for the rest of their childhood really; to find long-term answers to the problem.

“At the moment we don’t have the answers but we’ll do our best to try to find them, and to progress the situation that they are in at the moment the best we can.”

Also in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list Brendan Foster, the 1976 Olympic bronze medalist who founded the Great North Run, received a knighthood for services to international and national sport and culture in north-east England.

Former Wales rugby union coach Warren Gatland, who stepped down after 12 years at the helm following the 2019 World Cup, was awarded a CBE, while captain Alun Wyn Jones received an OBE for services to rugby union.

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MANCHESTER UNITED OPEN TALKS WITH POCHETTINO TO REPLACE OGS

Manchester United have made contact with Mauricio Pochettino following the club’s dismal start to the Premier League season.

The Argentine was United’s first choice to replace Jose Mourinho in December 2018 but Solskjaer impressed so much during his interim time in charge that the club felt compelled to prolong his deal.

Pochettino was keen on joining United and his five-year stay at Tottenham came to an end last November, with many feeling results started to downturn after he was overlooked for the United job.

United have just three points from their opening three matches this term and Sunday’s humiliating 6-1 defeat was ironically inflicted by Jose Mourinho, who preceded Solskjaer and replaced Pochettino.

Solskjaer has a little over 18 months to run on his contract at Old Trafford and sacking the Norwegian would only cost in the region of £4m, which is paltry compared to the £18m that Mourinho received.

Despite a strong finish to the previous campaign, a negative cloud hangs over United’s season and Solskjaer faces Chelsea, Arsenal, PSG and Everton in his next six matches. Pochettino is yet to take a new job after his exit from Spurs and the Mirror claim contact has been made between United and the Argentine to sound him out over replacing Solskjaer.

Pochettino has received various job offers since leaving Tottenham but he’s waiting for the right opportunity and Sir Alex Ferguson is a well known admirer of the 48-year-old.

Unlike in previous years, there’s fewer doubts about the quality of United’s first XI and more worries about the lack of coaching that the squad are receiving.

Pochettino worked wonders at Spurs with a limited budget and United are one of the few super powers in Europe to operate without a Director of Football, which appeals to the Argentine.

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TELLES SIGNS FOR MAN UNITED

Manchester United have announced the signing of left-back Alex Telles from Porto for an undisclosed fee.

The 27-year-old joins on Man Utd a four-year deal, with an option to extend for a further year.

“I won many trophies at FC Porto and I want to continue that at United,” the Brazilian told the club’s official website. “The manager has a clear plan and direction for this team and I can’t wait to pull on the famous shirt.”

Telles will add to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s options on the left side of the Red Devils’ defence, with the new addition set to compete with Luke Shaw and Brandon Williams for a starting place.

He has spent the past five seasons at Porto, scoring 26 goals and registering more than 50 assists as an attack-minded full-back.

The defender also enjoyed spells in the UEFA Champions League with Galatasaray and Inter Milan after arriving in Europe in 2014.

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EDISON CAVANI BECOMES A ONE-YEAR DEVIL.

Manchester United have made Uruguay striker Edinson Cavani their second Deadline Day signing, on a one-year contract with the option of a further 12 months.

The 33-year-old, who left Paris Saint-Germain in the summer, joins Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Man Utd side on a free transfer after scoring 341 goals in European club football since moving to the continent in 2007.

“I’ve worked really hard during the time off and I feel eager to compete and represent this incredible club,” Cavani told the club’s official website.

“I look forward to continuing to write my little story inside the book of football and I know that’s why my focus has to remain the same as always – work, work, work. I have had a conversation with the manager and this has increased my desire to wear this beautiful shirt.”

Cavani won six league titles with PSG and is their all-time leading scorer with 200 goals. He claimed the Golden Boot in both Ligue 1 and Serie A, having excelled in three years at Italian side Napoli.

He has also scored 50 goals in 116 international appearances for Uruguay.

Manchester United travel to St. James’s park for their next Premier League match with Newcastle United on Saturday 17 October.

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SPURS DEFEAT MY WORST DAY AT UNITED – OGS

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said Manchester United’s 6-1 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur was his worst-ever day at the club before condemning Spurs forward Erik Lamela for his contribution to Anthony Martial’s first-half sending off.

United have now lost both home games in the Premier League this season, conceding nine goals in the process, after being humiliated by Jose Mourinho’s Spurs.

And United manager Solskjaer who played at Old Trafford from 1996 to 2007 and has been manager since 2018, said he has not endured a worse day during his time with the club.

It’s a horrible feeling, the worst day I’ve had as a Manchester United manager and player,” Solskjaer said. “You don’t win games of football by making individual mistakes, errors, making a performance like that.

“It’s alarming, nowhere near good enough. I hold my hand up. It’s my decision to pick the team and as a squad it’s not good enough for Manchester United.

“When you have a defeat like this, which has happened at the club before, you’ve just got to look yourself in the mirror.”

United were already 2-1 behind when Martial was sent off by referee Anthony Taylor on 29 minutes for slapping Lamela while defending a corner.

Lamela’s reaction prompted ridicule from Solskjaer.

“This is like a very two-edged sword for me,” Solskjaer said. “Anthony, well done for not going down when the lad struck you in the throat, but then you shouldn’t react to it like that with a slap in his throat.

“If you do that there’s always a chance they are going to send you off, but come on, if that was my son I’d put him in the attic for two weeks without food. You don’t go down like that, at all. It’s an absolute joke.

“If that was one of my players I would absolutely hang him up to dry because you don’t go down like that.”

United defender Luke Shaw suggested he and his teammates gave up following Martial’s red card.

“It was a lack of concentration and then a mistake, another mistake, another mistake,” he said. “We switched off. It really hurts.

“Manchester United shouldn’t lose in this manner. It really hurts, it’s embarrassing and we’ve let a lot of people down. We’ve let ourselves down and the staff down. We need to look in the mirror, we are nowhere near it at the moment. Maybe it’s lucky that we’ve got a break now.

“When we went down to 10 men maybe we gave up, there wasn’t that character on the pitch. We were too quiet and naive. There was many mistakes, we need to do more. “It’s embarrassing. I was embarrassed on the pitch. We need a long hard look at ourselves.”

Meanwhile, Mourinho showed no sympathy to his former club over the red card, adding: “I didn’t watch it. Maybe later I will. If someone can cry about the VAR decisions it is Tottenham and if someone cannot cry about VAR it is Manchester United for sure.

“I don’t know, the only thing I know is we played extremely well. I told my players that a good result here would be to win and we did that.”

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KANE, SON STARS AS SPURS PUT SIX PAST TEN-MAN UNITED.

Son Heung-min and Harry Kane both scored twice as Tottenham Hotspur claimed a remarkable 6-1 victory against 10-man Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Spurs had to come from behind as Man Utd’s Bruno Fernandes rolled in a second-minute penalty after Anthony Martial was fouled by Davinson Sanchez.

Tanguy Ndombele equalised from close range two minutes later, before quick thinking by Kane allowed Son, who started after recovering from a hamstring injury last weekend, to apply a sublime finish on seven minutes.

On 28 minutes, Martial was sent off for an altercation with Erik Lamela, before Kane fired in from Son’s pass on the half-hour.

Son turned in his second, and Spurs’ fourth, eight minutes before the break.

Six minutes after half-time, Serge Aurier drilled in a fifth.

Kane converted Spurs’ sixth goal from the penalty spot on 79 minutes after Paul Pogba fouled Ben Davies.

Spurs move up to fifth place on seven points, while Man Utd are 16th on three points.

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UNITED TO FACE SEVILLA IN EUROPA LEAGUE SEMI-FINAL.

Manchester United will face Sevilla in the UEFA Europa League semi-finals on Sunday, after the Spanish club defeated Wolverhampton Wanderers in their quarter-final on Tuesday.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men booked a place in the last four by recording a 1-0 win over FC Copenhagen thanks to a confident Bruno Fernandes penalty that was scored in extra-time.

We now know the reward for that victory is an exciting meeting with a Sevilla side that earned a slender but dominant 1-0 win over Wolves at the MSV Arena in Duisburg.

Wolves made a decent start to the quarter-final by earning an early penalty, but striker Raul Jiminez saw his effort saved by the goalkeeper and the Spanish club controlled the game from there on.

Sevilla enjoyed 75 per cent of the possession and tallied 17 shots at goal, but their winning goal did not arrive until Lucas Ocampos headed home in the 88th minute.

Elsewher, Shakhtar Donetsk cruised to a comfortable 4-1 win over Basel to set up a semi-final against Internazionale, which will take place on Monday night at the Dusseldorf Arena.

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DAVID SILVA SET TO JOIN LAZIO ON THREE YEAR DEAL AFTER DEPARTING MANCHESTER CITY.

David Silva is joining Lazio on a three-year deal after leaving Manchester City. The Spanish playmaker is moving on from the Etihad Stadium this summer after 10 years and has decided to play in Serie A for the first time in his career.

The 34-year-old is confident that he has at least another five years left at the top injuries permitting and Lazio have given him the long-term security he desired when leaving City.

David Silva has already played his last Premier League game for City but may yet feature as Pep Guardiola’s side continue their quest to win the Champions League, with the quarter-final against Lyon on Saturday.

Last month the playmaker posted an emotional message thanking City fans for their support during his time at the club. “They have shown me so much respect and respect is the most important thing for me,” he said.

“They have shown me and my family respect wherever we go and then on the pitch too. I am very grateful for all of this. I just want to say thank you to all the supporters, to the club, to the workers here at the club because they have made my life much easier and I am grateful for that. I will be Blue, Blue forever.”

Lazio, who have just finished fourth in Serie A to qualify for the Champions League next season, are confident of renewing the contract of their star striker Ciro Immobili and are in advanced talks to sign Vedat Muriqi from Fenerbahce for €16m (£14.4m).