Manchester United boss David Moyes has publicly lambasted Liverpool legend Mark Lawrenson for claiming that striker Robin Van Persie has put in a transfer request.
Speaking to Irish radio station Today FM on Friday, Lawro claimed that there are "all sorts of rumours coming out of the training ground at the moment", adding:
"One or two of the press boys that I know that cover Manchester United are saying that Van Persie might have asked for a transfer on Tuesday.
"So if that happens, what a mess that's going to be for David Moyes."
When asked yesterday about Lawro's comments, a clearly irate Moyes - whose United side have lost two home games in a row this week - retorted:
"I would say that it [Lawro's contention] is absolute nonsense. I don't know what other harder or tougher word I have got for it than that. That is as good as I have got"
What else is Moyes going to say? He's hardly going to admit in public that Van Persie wants to leave.
Lawro gets a lot of stick (especially from Reds fans), but in my experience, he doesn't just make things up for the hell of it. I have no doubt he heard something from one of the journos he mentions, but it's possible *they* have the wrong info. Lawro is clearly just passing on what he heard.
I'm a big fan of Moyes, and I've written several articles in the past praising him for various things, but in this case, all we as LFC fans can do is hope and pray that rumour is TRUE! United are already on the slide, and losing Van Persie would be a killer to for their season.
Like LFC after Dalglish left in 1991, Man United is a sinking ship, and Van Persie obviously sees the writing on the wall...
NOTE: Man Utd fans are welcome here, but please remain civil. Any comment containing personal insults etc will be deleted/blocked.
Author: Jaimie K
Speaking to Irish radio station Today FM on Friday, Lawro claimed that there are "all sorts of rumours coming out of the training ground at the moment", adding:
"One or two of the press boys that I know that cover Manchester United are saying that Van Persie might have asked for a transfer on Tuesday.
"So if that happens, what a mess that's going to be for David Moyes."
When asked yesterday about Lawro's comments, a clearly irate Moyes - whose United side have lost two home games in a row this week - retorted:
"I would say that it [Lawro's contention] is absolute nonsense. I don't know what other harder or tougher word I have got for it than that. That is as good as I have got"
What else is Moyes going to say? He's hardly going to admit in public that Van Persie wants to leave.
Lawro gets a lot of stick (especially from Reds fans), but in my experience, he doesn't just make things up for the hell of it. I have no doubt he heard something from one of the journos he mentions, but it's possible *they* have the wrong info. Lawro is clearly just passing on what he heard.
I'm a big fan of Moyes, and I've written several articles in the past praising him for various things, but in this case, all we as LFC fans can do is hope and pray that rumour is TRUE! United are already on the slide, and losing Van Persie would be a killer to for their season.
Like LFC after Dalglish left in 1991, Man United is a sinking ship, and Van Persie obviously sees the writing on the wall...
NOTE: Man Utd fans are welcome here, but please remain civil. Any comment containing personal insults etc will be deleted/blocked.
Author: Jaimie K
I think you are over reacted...it stil many games to play...even if MU losing RVP..we cannot write them off...its a tradition of the club itself..slipping early in the season doesn't mean anything as they always find the solution..To relate things just like Liverpool of the past is also a premature arguement..
ReplyDeleteThis seems like an article where somebody should make a prediction about where they will be placed at the end of the season...
ReplyDeleteglory glory fail united
ReplyDeleteUnited isn't a sinking ship. It is a rusty ship ferrying about a billion quids worth of gold bullion.
ReplyDeleteThe money that exists in the game now, and the money that United make, it would take an utter catastrophe for United to fall like we did. We basically stopped being successful at the exact right time.
As for Moyes, he is doing as badly as I expected. I still think that United will get top 4 and do so with Moyes, but unless Moyes fundamentally changes his ideas about football, they'll be nothing like the behemoths of old.
united's squad is to old we had that same problem at liverpool cole, kuyt, maxi, etc at a point in time the old heads stifle the squad and thats whats appening at man u to much old heads that think that there position is engraved in the squad oh well there problem
ReplyDeleteFerguson will be oh so difficult to replace. Ferguson got the best out of an average squad and Moyes is proving to be out of his depth.
ReplyDeleteIt would not surprise me to see Ferguson stepping out of retirement...
David Moyes on a very special mission from Merseyside. Go on Moyes we all are with you..
ReplyDeleteand probably who will be above them :)
ReplyDeleteYou are the chosen one.
ReplyDeleteHehe...
ReplyDeleteIt's gonna be a bautifull May...
Chosen by myself, but never mind- we will finish above manu this season!
ReplyDeleteWe will finish above manu this season, by the way!
ReplyDeletethe fact that lawrenson has recently almost stopped criticising liverpool (the reason reds dont like him) coincided with kennys return, shows you he is not one to be trusted putting friends before the club - dalglish says often enough nobody is bigger than the club. and brown nosing fergusson never went unoticed.
ReplyDeleteThe fear factor has gone - simple, newspaper writers (dunn etc) actually saying bad things about united, shows 1/ they were cowards scared of ferguson and 2/ their man utd bias is exposed "they actually do support them.
ReplyDeletelike u said fear factor is gone u used to see some teams when it came to them playing united they freeze up don't know what to do and as a result end up losing but against liverpool...what... they used to come out now the tables are turned hope it stays so
ReplyDeleteZaha is apparently sorting out Moyes daughter, also being denied.......................who cares if it's true as it adds to the chaos engulfing the mancs!!!................. :-)
ReplyDeleteSlipping???, more like sinking like a lead weight tied to Moyes and chucked into the Mersey!!!
ReplyDeleteFergie to blame:
ReplyDeleteFergie jumped into bed with the Glazers, protecting his legacy and directorship, when he should have supported the fans in evicting them. He never once uttered a word against their unethical business model, he then accepted a lesser budget and bought average players, unlike previous years.
He put his own interests above the fans for his own gain, he appointed Moyes over the boards head, without any recruitment process at all. He is responsible for the mess left behind, now they will suffer the consequences of their debts (£389m), If they don't get CL football they could really suffer financially, with interest payments to meet.
Great eh!!!.................. :-)
When I say "fall like we did", I mean after Dalglish left, not recently.
ReplyDeletenot the first,you never win with kids,l
ReplyDeleteol
You get a like for the allardyce is a gobshite bit :)
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work moyesey, your setting all the right records :)
ReplyDeleteSpurs away is next though, I think we need Lucas for that one. At home, maybe Alberto can have a go but in a midfield 3 he would have to do his share of the defending and it seems like he's an attacking midfielder not a central mid.
ReplyDeleteYes he is doing a good job but that is not even relevant.
ReplyDeleteZaha should at least move to Manchester instead of sleeping in moyseyside :)
ReplyDeleteThat sinking ship only recently beat the shit out of the second best team in the Bundesliga a few weeks ago ... just saying.
ReplyDeleteI can well understand Big Sam's frustration, to me, the only thing that save Flanno was the fact that it was so early on in the game, which ought not to be an excuse, but referees are unlikely to want to brandish the red that early on in any game, unless the foul was deliberate and with intent to harm. Defenders get too close to attackers all the time and late tackles often happen. That said, phew!
ReplyDeleteWell ... let's see where we are after Tottenham A, Chelsea A and Man City A. Current table is heavily distorted in our favour. Could well be that United is in front of us before the year is out.
ReplyDeleteCompletely agree. He was way bigger than his club in the end. Sir Alex Ferguson stand. Sir Alex Ferguson statue. Sir Alex Ferguson Way. He certainly did not do his successor any favours ...
ReplyDeleteI'd be embarrased by that. But I don't have the ego to become a football manager in the first place ;)
To be honest, an own goal is a freak occurance, I'm not concerned about that.
ReplyDeleteLuis Alberto can do the job, he has looked impressive in his run outs.
ReplyDeleteThat's unfair to Lucas as they had plenty of chances to score in the first half, and but for a brilliant save by Mignolet, WH would have been 1-0 up, this isn't down to Lucas. Guess you are one of the people who despite everything, still hates Lucas. Lucas is an excellent player, considering when he came to us, he was an attacking midfielder and an award winning attacking midfielder at that, and has had to adapt his game to better the team, this shows the real quality of the guy.
ReplyDeleteTrue, but hey still looked crap against the worst team in the league
ReplyDeleteWe had plenty to say about the tackle Suarez copped from Mirallas. I'd like to see less of this in football, it's just not needed. There is a balance to be found between allowing a physical aspect to the game and protecting players from being injured needlessly.
ReplyDelete“Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth.”
ReplyDeleteHenry David Thoreau
Of course it is relevant. Where were we last season after 15 games?
ReplyDeleteSteward Downing deserve to get a punishment because he never perform very well during joining LFC.
ReplyDeletemy our own biz
ReplyDeleteI think Kelly was brought on to give us better heading ability against the inevitable long ball onslaught in the last ten minutes
ReplyDeleteNever underestimate talented opposition Englands current ashes campaign is living proof.
ReplyDeleteDid everyone miss the stamp by Joe Cole???? That was the worse one!! Open your eyes Fat Sam before you go pointing the finger!!!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all let me say that I'm happy Downing is gone but it's a shame he got injured. I think the difference in sanctioning is that Nolan clearly went in with the intention to hurt he player whereas Flanagan did not. Sure LFC fans would get upset if it would have been Suarez or we did when it was Alonso. But sometimes these things happen in football. It's always worse when it's your player than when it is someone else's. Personally, I'm more bothered about Gerrard's injury than Downing's and no one had anything to do with his.
ReplyDeleteThat makes it worse, not better :-)
ReplyDeleteThe main difference there is the quality of the backline incl the goalkeeper. Holland has a more experienced midfield combined with young talent whereas Belgium has mostly young, talented players. They'll probably get to the quarter finals and get caught out on experience against a smarter team that can kill a match. With Holland I'd be surprised if they get out of their group.
ReplyDeleteI don't get this Sakho man love. He stumbles the ball into the goal and always seems to be where the ball is not in defense and that's all he did. Is it because of his pricetag that there is a need to think he's better than he is. Are we so sick of paying far too much for average players that we just can no longer accept that they're no good?
ReplyDeleteRubbish, we all have to play the same teams. Sure we'll lose a few games between now and May but so will every other club. We're one third into the season and we're second. It's not like Man U or the other teams only played other big clubs and all we played were relegation fodder. Arsenal, City and Chelsea all still have each other to play as well and United have not exactly dropped their points against big clubs either (except against us of course!)
ReplyDeleteOne thing I know about football is that things can easily change. Don't be deceived by United's poor start to the season. I do admit that them winning the league for them might be too much of a ask at the moment but everyone is taking points of eachother. 2 wins in a row can do wonders.
ReplyDeleteOf course, maybe it's the end of an era, like it happen to us, if so then I say that's fair. I am loving how unpredictable this league is.
We are doing well, and for the 1st time in a while we have capitalized on other teams dropping points.
If we can beat Totte then that would really be a show of intent.
However we have to be prepared that there's a big chance we might lose all 3games, City, Chelsea and Totte.
Like I said, things can easily change.
Quick question .. If that stamp caused that injury at 3mins and needed stitching up.. Why did downing play until 45?but yes a very harsh challenge .. But doubt ther was any malicious intent . But deserved a card.. Wether the ref should of shown a yellow maybe as it was only 3mins in just to stamp some authority early on? Excuse the pun ;-)
ReplyDeleteThere are some matches among other top teams and hard away matches for them too during festive period so with just a couple of points vs those and 3 vs Cardiff,we're ok. And Than Hull home- that one is a must, right? Plus City game comes as their 9th or 10th home game- they gotta stop at some point-why not with us?
ReplyDeleteKeep the faith..
excatly...
ReplyDeleteBut why are you saying that, do you dissagree they are sinking boat?
ReplyDeleteNext 5- Cardiff and Hull- win, Tottenham draw, City and Chelsea- lose. With others losing points to each other and say So'ton or Swansea, again we are in top4, and January is there...
ReplyDeleteGoing out on loan has done Suso the world of good and we already knew that he was talented before he left. I always thought of him as a number 10, or more central anyway; but the more I see of him this season the more I think he could succeed on the right of midfield too. He's developing his strength and his workrate, and he doesn't seem as slow as I remember last season. I think it's too early to rate Alberto at this stage, he seems to me to be one for the future like Ilori, and I think that he could benefit from a loan move too. I'm really excited about the future. Imagine next season if we get a Carling Cup run, if we could get some of our younger players playing we could see a lineup like this:
ReplyDelete................................Mignolet
Kelly..........Skrtel/Ilori..........Sakho..........Flanno
.............................Lucas/Allen
..............................Henderson
....Suso...................Coutinho..............Sterling
............................Aspas/Borini
And we could then bring Stevie or Suárez or Sturridge on if we happen to be chasing them game.
We're having a great season so far, and the future looks bright to me.
Agree fully with your assessment, also thought Coutinho deserved an honourable mention, it looks like he's starting to get back to his best.
ReplyDeleteI don't want to be be too controversial but at the moment I'm happy that Sturridge is out. It means that BR won't be tempted to try to squeeze 2 forwards in to the lineup when we go into these tough away games over the next 4 weeks vs Spurs, Chelsea and City.
Hopefully he'll stick with the same back four for the next month to get some stability in there and we can have 5 in midfield so that we don't get overrun like we did against Arsenal and the wingbacks experiment.
If Stevie is out the it's time for Allen to step up; his last 2 performances have been encouraging and I think if he gets a run in the team his confidence will grow.
Overall I'm really happy with the way things have gone so far this season. We have got ourselves into a good position but it's too early to start talking about the title, or even the top 4. Barring Cardiff, I don't expect (although I do hope...) us to get anything from the coming games, and we could find ourselves outside the top 4 in the new year. However, if we carry on working as hard as we have been we could cause a few surprises and I'm actually looking forward to this tough test coming up.
Being I'm an Aussie, I love the fact the Aussies are winning the Ashes, even if this is one of the worst Aussie sides in recent memory
ReplyDeleteNo empire runs for ever - it is the law of nature/God. Always has been and always will be. Moyes is a very decent human being and refrains from playing the games that fergie did. Fergie won the league with probably the worst united team ever. his personal charisma was enough to guarantee them at least 20 point if not more. Now he has gone its obvious that Fergie pulled a rabbit out of the hat by signing RVP. Look at the back 4 - with rio and vidic ageing, the midfield minus carrick is nothing to write home about - indeed Giggs is by far the most accomplished at 40.
ReplyDeleteIt is their strike force especially with rooney in the team that can give them respectability. Both RVP and Rooney would make any team in the land but their replacements like welbeck wont.
This is the ideal time for liverpool and arsenal to take advantage - i dont see utd being a power again for atleast a few years because the rebuilding required mean s a lot of money has to be spent - will the glazers cough up?
They have lost their air of invincibility. That was what made sides retreat in the final 20 minutes of games even when they were winning. It's the reason UTD swarmed all over sides at the end of games and often drew or even won games others would have lost.
ReplyDeleteIt happened before to us. It will happen again
Teams aren't scared anymore. Difficult to get that fear back. Even Barca have lost that fear to some extent- Remember when Celtic beat them last season?
Their biggest problem will be attracting the right calibre of talent- it's a vicious circle, one we've had to endure for 3 or 4 years now. Top players will no longer choose UTD over City, Chelsea Arsenal etc . then the top players at the club want out, a' la Masch, Xabi, Torres etc and the team regresses, then they can't get the best talent to replace etc etc. They will have a major rebuild to deal with if this season doesn't rapidly improve. Their only chance is to splash the cash this Jan and trade on Ferguson's legacy.
ReplyDeleteNo-one joins Utd to play for Moyes like they did for Fergie
To be fair, when Fergie first started at ManU, he didn't play the mind games either, it was only after he was winning things that he started getting too big for his boots and started intimidating people.
ReplyDeleteDisagree. These are last year's champions we're talking about. It's not like their players turned shed overnight. It's not like the clubs currently above them were only a purchase away from overtaking them. The only major change that happened at that club is the person in front of the group. Now I'd buy the they didn't buy new players and everyone is a year older if they were third or fourth in the league right now. But this fall from grace lies firmly at the feet of the manager.
ReplyDeleteYes. I think they will quickly recover to at least finish comfortably in the top4 (and ahead of us).
ReplyDeleteKeep Moyes at United. he is doing a great job there.
ReplyDelete"It's not like Man U or the other teams only played other big clubs and all we played were relegation fodder."
ReplyDeleteYes it is.
After 19 games all teams will have played each other once. Until then, the table is distorted by definiton (if you count in the home and away factor, the only time the table ain't lying is after 38 games).
Our next 4 games:
Tottenham, Chelsea, Man City, Cardiff
ManUtd next 4 games:
Aston Villa, West Ham, Hull, Norwich
It's not unreasonable to imagine that ManUtd could take full 12 points from that and we only 3 or 4 from our games. And that would leave us pretty much on the same points tally as Utd after 19 games, when the table is least distorted.
Well, tbh I'm not looking forward to those three away fixtures. We've been pretty rubbish away from home so far. Going to City with the likes of Flanagan, Lucas, Allen, and Henderson in the side you just ask for a hammering.
ReplyDeleteOur second half of the season will be interesting. Lot's of "easy" away games and lots of tough home fixtures. Will feel completely different to what we have enjoyed so far ...
The thing is, Man U didn't just drop points against Spurs, Chelsea, City and Cardiff. They lost to Everton, Newcastle, West Brom too. On the other hand they beat Arsenal where we lost. All in all, who you play or have played doesn't matter. It's all about the results you got. Considering our current form, we're just as likely to get results in our four matches as they are to lose in theirs. They lost to WBA, so why could they not lose to Villa, West Ham, Hull or Norwich?
ReplyDeleteWe'll find out soon enough, I guess :)
ReplyDeleteBut for now, I do not agree with you. I expect them to get considerably more points from their next 4 fixtures than I expect us to get from our games.
But after these next four games, we will have a very clear idea of where we are in the league. Until then, the league table is not a reliable indicator.
Realistically we'll be some 6 or 7 points behind Arsenal, Chelsea, and Man City, 2-3 points behind Spurs and Everton and level with Man Utd once 19 games are played.
To be honest - i can remember him having kick offs with dalglish. Once he won a few things his mind games increased.
ReplyDeleteFergie was successful - we cant deny that - but his games were awful and underhand. i believe the evra affair would never have happened were it not liverpool.dalglish and suarez on the other side. If it were dalglish on the other side im sure he would never have done it either. Some of Fergie's outbursts were downright diabolical.
I think men like moyes, dalglish, ferguson, sam allardyce, martin o'neil - will not be successful in this era. English football is going through change and that change is being led by the likes of wenger, martinez, rodgers, pottechini.
Alberto >= Suso. Suso is too small and frail for premier league.
ReplyDeleteHe may be, he might not be, but one think is eminent - end of an era, MU is sinking. It's not that they are at 9th or lost 2 consecutive games at home, more concerning is that MU failed to sore in over 200 minutes at home. I have never seen Sir Alex's team being scared of loosing or conceding. These are the same bunch of players, just about a year & half ago made life measurable for Mourinho's Real in last 20 minutes, 1 man short.
ReplyDeleteThe real problem for MU is much deeper. It's an aging side with a British Manager, who has very little pulling power outside UK. MU seriously need to replenish the squad with half a dozen quality players, most of whom has to come from out side UK. Also, with over $1bn worth of debt, I don't think the Yanks 'll open their wallet lavishly enough, required to bring players from UK or anywhere, particularly if MU fail to qualify for CL (which looks most likely).
I think, though RVP might not handed a TR, but surely he isn't comfortable there. He is 30+ & probably in his last club, who 'll be serious contender for titles, must he assessing his situation. If not Jan, unless things improves multiple fold, he 'll leave in Jul, surely.
C'mon...that's what you want to see. I see his first touch usually being a plonk 4 yards away or a half volley pinging out into nowhere. He is everywhere to be sure but he's moving so fast his body is out in front of his brain. He isn't within a stone's throw of a deft touch...ever. I will grant you that his energy level is great, but there has to be something to go with that which to date I don't think he possesses. Maybe he can play defensive CM, but having him in attack is a waste of time.
ReplyDeleteactually its the other way round. Van persie is the sinking ship. He's had his best seasons the past 2 years but now he is 30 and his injury problems are back. His mobility will further decrease as he ages so it doesnt really matter if he leaves. mu will have a couple of bad seasons maybe but their club structure and financial footing ensures that eventually they will rebuild and compete.
ReplyDeleteSo you expect manu to have 7-9 more points than us and Totenham? I don't know many manu fans talking like that.
ReplyDeleteThat seems like inferiority complex..
Alberto, Aspas, Assaidi, Coutinho, Hendo, Ibe, Sterling, Suarez and Suso.. Potentially all the players we could have in the three behind the striker.. That's assuming we don't sign Moses.. And is a potential headache for Brendan.
ReplyDeleteOf those Assaidi will probably be on the way out permanently, we'll probably see either Alberto go out on loan or Aspas permanently (BR doesn't seem too big on offering his signings a chance to settle, see Assaidi, Cissohko, and Borini) and Ibe may see him going out on a loan also. We may well lose Suarez as well.
Personally, I'll be gutted when we lose Assaidi, as I love him to pieces!