Is Manchester United On The Right Path?

It’s great to see Man United winning their first two matches in the season. It’s not reason enough to say their back to winning ways but it’s something to be happy about (if you support United).

Some may say a victory is a victory, it’s all that counts. Yes? No? Only you can be the judge of that.

However, Louis van Gaal doesn’t seem to agree with that and neither do I. When you watch clubs like Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal come out guns blazing and score as many goals as their performances on the field allow them, you wonder why Man United cannot do the same.

Surely winning matches will get Man United to the top of the table, but if their points equal those of the other title contenders, goal difference will definitely knock Man United out.

In many matches Man United only manage to score one goal. Why is this? They lack consistency. Possession is good and the one goal they score is usually a cracker, but they are messy with the ball? They lose it, they don’t have a lot of shots at goal to at least show their fighting spirit. Half the time when you watch them play you’re on the edge of your seat wondering whether they will score or whether they will be able to defend the one goal they’ve scored.

Another thing that has Man United supporters are crossing their fingers, hoping that David de Gea stays at Old Trafford. He has been great in front of goal, stopped a lot of vicious shots from landing at the back of the net and really came through after Edwin van der Sar retired. So losing him now would be awful, not while the club is still recovering from Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement and The Chosen One’s dreadful stint.
The new goalie, Sergio Romero – I have my reservations about him. Every time the opponents move towards his goal, supporters have to hold their breath. The sloppiness in his first match, maybe it was nerves but come on, he needs to get it together.

Hopefully Man United will score more goals, keep those clean sheets and if they do not finish as winners of the Barclays Premier League, at least get into the UEFA Champions League.

Cristiano Ronaldo & Lionel Messi

“One day Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi will retire and normalcy will return to football. Records will then stay for years and not get broken every week.

Hat-tricks will again become the highlights of a player’s season, not an expectation every match.

A half century of goals in a single season will be something to tell your grandchildren about, not just another seasonal target to be met.

The Ballon d’Or will become a FIFA prize again. Rather than the personal property of two men.

Until that day, lets stop comparing and enjoy them while it lasts.”

I don’t know who wrote/said this but credit to them. It sums up this duo perfectly and hopefully people will consider the message delivered to them in the last few lines.

FIFA Ballon d'Or 23 man shortlist

Current Ballon d'Or holder Cristiano Ronaldo and four-time winner Lionel Messi obviously made it onto the shortlist. Class like that does not disappear overnight.

We know the logistics of the FIFA Ballon d'Or. Later only three players will remain and the winner will be announced at the ceremony in January.

This year's list constists of seventeen European players, five South Americans and one African player. Germany has the most players, with six.
Real Madrid and Bayern Munich each have six players while Barcelona has four.
The list also has two goalkeepers.

Footballers who gained the World's attention during the FIFA World Cup 2014 in Brazil have been rewarded by getting their names on the 23-man shortlist. These are footballers like Diego Costa, James Rodriguez, Neymar and a few others.

Footballers like Gareth Bale, Paul Pogba, Thibaut Courtois, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, as well as a few others, managed to make waves at club level.

Luis Suárez shouldn't even be mentioned. Although he played well for Liverpool last season, biting is a nasty habit. No wonder he's not on the list. His behaviour shocked the football fraternity. He did this to himself and has missed the honour of being on this list.

I think we all know by now that Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi will be the two finalists. But, who will be the third?

SHORTLIST

Gareth Bale (Wales, Real Madrid)

Karim Benzema (France, Real Madrid)

Diego Costa (Spain, Chelsea)

Thibaut Courtois (Belgium, Chelsea)

Angel Di Maria (Argentina, Manchester United)

Mario Gotze (Germany, Bayern Munich)

Eden Hazard (Belgium, Chelsea)

Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden, Paris Saint-Germain)

Andres Iniesta (Spain, Barcelona)

Toni Kroos (Germany, Real Madrid)

Philipp Lahm (Germany, Bayern Munich)

Javier Mascherano (Argentina, Barcelona)

Lionel Messi (Argentina, Barcelona)

Thomas Muller (Germany, Bayern Munich)

Manuel Neuer (Germany, Bayern Munich)

Neymar (Brazil, Barcelona)

Paul Pogba (France, Juventus)

Sergio Ramos (Spain, Real Madrid)

Arjen Robben (Netherlands, Bayern Munich)

James Rodriguez (Colombia, Real Madrid)

Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal, Real Madrid)

Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany, Bayern Munich

Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast, Manchester City

10 CANDIDATES FOR THE COACH OF THE YEAR AWARD

Carlo Ancelotti (Real Madrid)

Antonio Conte (Juventus/Italy)

Pep Guardiola (Bayern Munich)

Jurgen Klinsmann (United States)

Joachim Loëw (Germany)

Jose Mourinho (Chelsea)

Manuel Pellegrini (Manchester City)

Alejandro Sabella (Argentina)

Diego Simeone (Atlético Madrid)

Louis van Gaal (Netherlands/Manchester United)

I don't think I can mention my favourites in the Ballon d'Or shortlist. However, Atlético Madrid's Diego Simeone is good for coach of the year, or Germany's Joachim Loëw.