Welcome Back, Dear...

“How I have missed you, Miss Competitive football!

Your flirty friend, Ms. Confederations Cup threw some inviting glances my way but being the faithful lover that I am, I merely smiled and nodded in her direction. The various pre-season tourneys and age-grade competitions offered “half whispered conversation with the promise of indiscretion ever hanging in the air”. I didn’t flinch. It’s great to have you back, dear…now, come here and give me a hug…

…but wait…gimme a minute…you see, the missus traveled just about the same time you did and she’s also just returned bearing gifts and expecting my attention…I also desperately need to see her. I’m sure you understand…but you know you always are going to be my immortal beloved. Mwah. I’ll be back in a bit…”

Last time I put fingers to keyboard, Manchester United was on the cusp of European glory* and a dignified passage into the Champions’ League group stages. Signed, sealed and comfortably delivered. Pogba and Mkhi. Cue, first, relief and then celebration. The missing silverware obtained. The perpetual and final 6^th place league position irrelevant. Adding the League Cup and the English Super Cup (otherwise known as the ‘worthless’ Community Shield to the haters. Lol) to this other accomplishment, 2016/17 was definitely a successful season.

The new management was brought in to move the club out of the dark ages it had been enveloped in post-SAF era while establishing a sound platform for further development. Check. All the new signings made an impact. Check. Bailly is arguably the best defender in the EPL, Zlatan reinvigorated the fans and has become to whatever extent, part of Old Trafford folklore, Mkhitaryan is in line to win the inaugural Best Player Of The Europa Cup competition award and Pogba is…well...has become…the current social media and commercial icon of the club. The natural expectation is that they each enjoy better subsequent seasons. Laurels of varying quality and glimmer were won. Check. A now positive atmosphere around the club. Check.

The club immediately swung into action as soon as the transfer window was open and finalised the signing of long-time target, Victor Lindelof for a princely fee of about £30 million (also known as ‘average players’ fees’ in today’s market). The towering Swede not named Zlatan has come from Benfica and has the advantage of being a perennial winner with his former club. Long may that mind-set continue and translate. His unofficial debut against LA Galaxy in the pre-season USA tour was assured and promising. His subsequent performances, unfortunately, have been anything but. I winced when he conceded that gruesome penalty against Real Madrid in the International Champions Cup and he was also negligible against the same team in last night's European Super Cup season starter. But there is time. I always suspected that it was going to be a tough bedding period transiting from the pace and purpose of Benfica in the Portuguese league to the unrelenting demands and concentration required from a Manchester United starter. He should and would have better games.

The talents of the muscular Romelu Lukaku were also purchased from Merseyside Blue for the eye-watering and kingly sum of about £75 million with potential add-ons. But he’s still basically 2½ times less Neymar quality. Honestly? I think we paid a bit too much for the burly Belgian. Granted, he's a proven EPL goal scorer and still young but I would have wanted a striker with a more technical nous and savvy e.g. Alvaro Morata (Yes, I know a lot would disagree with my position but I hope I'm proved wrong and Morata continues to perform and shoot like he did in the English Super Cup Community Shield. Still, that's how I currently feel.). I have also come to accept that Mourinho a lot of times employs individual attributes of players not for primarily football purposes but singularly to nullify, stifle, engage or rankle the opposition while the other 'footballers' go about their businesses and take advantage of the situation. Whatever works, eh? *shrugs* That said, I'm confident that Lukaku would score a decent number of goals for United this season.

Last recruit, (but hopefully not the last) and certainly not the least, is Nemanja Matic.

"Nemanja whoa!/Nemanja whoa!/

He comes from Serbi-a

He'll friggin' murder ye!" 

Whoa! Ok, Stay cool. Stay cool. Calm your horses. You can't just give him our legendary captain's song after just 2 games, one a friendly. The fing is, Matic or 'a Matic' is what this team has been screaming out for in the last decade or so. Tall. Tough. Tenacious. Technical. Classy. £40 million may be on the upside for a recently turned 29 year old but considering the insane transfer fees of the current market and the possibility of getting at least 3 optimum years from him, the fee will be money well spent and conservative compared to our projected achievements. Thanks, Roman! I understand his former coach is losing hair over his sale. No pun intended. I suspect his signing will be the over-riding game changer for United this season.

The opportunity of seeing all 3 in competitive action presented itself yesterday against Real Madrid in the Super Cup with mixed results. Lindelof struggled, Lukaku struggled (scored but also missed an easier sitter) and Matic was magic. Of course, we are aware that United lost the game by a complimentary 2-1 scoreline but Cheer up! - That's probably the toughest opposition we'll face all season! The team fought gamely for all 97 minutes and while we were out-classed for large swathes of the proceedings, the team never let its head down and competed till the final whistle. Vital and invaluable. The major concerns for me however were:

1. There's no point having Goliath of Gath, Yao Ming, Robert Wadlow and the Great Khali in the opposition's box if your set pieces are not going to beat the first opposition defender. It's frustrating, annoying and ultimately irresponsible. It persisted last season, continued all through the pre-season and seems to have extended its tenancy into this new one. I don't get why Rashford takes corners for United. I assume they train on this very important part of our play (now more than ever) so why are the in-game translations so abysmal?

2. Related to the above is our final ball delivery. Atrocious. Consistent inaccuracy and bad-decision making. Our "wingers" and "fullbacks" (We don't really have any) can't cross. Danny Carvajal and Marcelo continue to be important attacking weapons in the Madrid set-up. Carvajal provided the assist to Casimero for the 1st goal and was passing incisive laser beams all through the game. I still think we need to urgently buy in these departments.

3. Paul Pogba. 

Pogba's penchant  for attempting the needlessly spectacular/sensational/complicated instead of the basic, quick and effective pass is eye-ball scratchingly frustrating. Compare with the cliched but aptly described Rolls-Royce of a player, Luka Modric. I already tweeted yesterday that Paul should get a pencil and paper and sit at the feet of Luka while watching replays of yesterday's game. When 'unsellable' Marouane Fellaini has a much impactful game in 20 minutes or so more than you, then there may be need of a mental reset. Pogba shrivels in the big games and if he wants to be a top-most echelon player like he so often tries to portray, then he needs to play like one. He has no excuses this season and is not getting younger. His time is now.

4. Poor finishing. Geez. Lukaku. Rashford. At this level? No. Just no. Another bad habit seemingly carried over from last season. Unacceptable. 

All in all, yesterday's performance and result were not in any way fatal and I believe the team will still improve. 

My predictions for this season? EPL winners and a domestic cup. A Quarter-final appearance in the UCL (with the team "as-is"), in my opinion, would be a great achievement.

I'm just glad to have the football season back. 4pm. Sunday the 13th. Old Trafford. West Ham. Welcome back my darling...how was your holiday? 

Signing Out,

B.L.

In Other News:

* THE Neymar transfer figures. Wowsers. From a sporting perspective, I can understand why he wanted to leave (In the NBA, Kyrie Irving of the Lebron Cavaliers is doing exactly same) - the need to be the 'top dog/alpha male' in your team. Does this come from an egoistical place or from a purely competitive 'be-the-best-you-can-be' position? Perhaps both. He would have been guaranteed x number of titles continually playing aside Lionel Messi but he may also never get the individual acclaim sports-persons crave regardless of what they tell the media, if he remained.

He wins big in all areas with this transfer: money, becoming the centre of attention, unreserved adulation, the richest and biggest team in the league, a less challenging physical and psychological schedule which primes him nicely for the World Cup next year, the undivided focus of the Champions League and yet more money. Win-win-ching.

From the 'humanitarian' standpoint however, £198M (i.e. One Hundred and Ninety Eight Million Great Britain Pounds) ??? Is any sporting talent worth that? Even considering the commercial interests with his image and all, isn't that figure obscene? Mind, His Holiness threw a strop many years back when Christian Vieri was bought for a then record fee of £50 million. That's John Stones (who?) money today. Value is ultimately what you consider it, yes? Football has become big business but we are thankful for angels like Juan Mata (who must be retained even if not for his coach mis-applied football talent, but for the fact that he just seems to be a wonderful human being) who put things in proper perspective by way of his recent 1% noble initiative.

* Mayweather v McGregor. A travesty to the sport of boxing. Now more than ever, there's a voracious appetite for a spectacle rather than proper competition. This match-up is a product of the adulterous relationship between WWE and amateur boxing. Frighteningly, this is only the beginning of mixed sport competition. (Bolt to United?). Mayweather will permit the Irishman a few rounds to get the crowd interested before becoming 50-0*. Expect a rematch too . I shan't be watching this one...

* Celtic has begun its campaign to become the 1st team in history, old or modern, to go two straight seasons domestically unbeaten. Bayern Munich and Juventus seem to be suffering a winners-hangover. They've both been uncharacteristically dull in the transfer market but please do not be fooled - They love the chase which often leads to an inevitable conclusion at season's end...

* ...speaking of love and inevitable conclusions at life's season end, between my last post and this, I lost my mum to cancer. She was a loving, strong, kind and generous woman. She often called me after key games asking "Shey e win?" translated to mean "Did you guys win?". I suspect she usually knew the results before she called as there was a knowing, even cheery, ring in her tone after every loss or bad result. Her maker has received his most beautiful bride yet. Rest In Peace, Mummy.