Chelsea FC square off with Manchester United in a massive Premier League clash tomorrow. We’ve teamed up with The United Pages to give you a view from the other side.
Sunday afternoon sees Louis Van Gaal bring his under-pressure Manchester United side to Old Trafford as Chelsea look to bounce back from a disappointing draw against Watford. A fixture between these two sides is always massive, no matter their respective troubles, and we’ve teamed up with the top folks at a leading United site to provide a different perspective.
Darren Jennings, Editor of The United Pages, sat down to answer some questions regarding tomorrow’s game and United’s season as a whole.
Give us some thoughts on the season so far. Has United’s form been more the fault of Louis Van Gaal or the players under him?
Our season has been pretty much awful, again. People think that it’s not winning the league that bothers us United fans so much but it’s not that. We know we have no divine right to win it. A side like United have to be competing after Christmas though. Since Sir Alex Ferguson retired we haven’t done that and it’s so depressing. I’m sick of having to keep writing seasons off in December/January and hoping that next season will be better.
Is it Van Gaal or the players? It’s a mixture of both. We have plenty that are sulking and pouting and Van Gaal is so unpredictable with his selections and decisions. Most are fed up with him and he’s fed up with them. A parting is certainly on the cards.
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It is taken as a given by many that LVG is out at the end of the season, is this what the majority of Utd fans truly want?
It’s funny that we are called United because the fans are very rarely united on anything. Lots of different opinions on all kind of issues, bar one. Everyone wants Van Gaal gone. People often knock United fans as glory hunters but we turn up in record numbers, home and away and are happy to just be entertained win or lose. To not even give us something to get excited about is the worst crime ever in our book. Remember we once sacked one of your old boys, Dave Sexton, even though he was building a decent side because his football wasn’t entertaining enough.
Is Jose Mourinho the right man to step in, given his history of playing football that directly contravenes the so-called United way? Are there any better alternatives?
Leading us nicely onto the issue of Mourinho. A lot say that he is too negative or causes too many problems but I think that is a bit of a myth. The first Chelsea side he had with Arjen Robben, Joe Cole and Damien Duff etc was really good to watch. They played very similar to how Leicester City play right now and I don’t see anyone calling them boring. Last season your lot looked really good too, it was only at Christmas that you ran out of legs and tightened up a bit. Mourinho is a perfect fit for us. After Manchester City announced Pep Guardiola we have to get a proven winner in as soon as possible and that man is Jose Mourinho. I think he’s very capable of adapting his style and methods to us but still having success.
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The performance against Stoke appeared more like what United are capable of, do you feel that this is a one-off or a turning point?
It was fantastic to see us play like the old United again. Sadly we’ve had a couple of false dawns under Van Gaal, a good performance followed by dross again. Fingers crossed that from now until the end of the season that we just have a go at teams. It’s not too much to ask is it!
Top four is all we’re capable of. We’re lacking in so many areas.
Who is the favourite going into this weekend’s match? Both sides have a legitimate claim.
It’s very evenly matched isn’t it? Both flattering to deceive! I’d say that your record at your place against us probably swings it in your favour. Bastian Schweinsteiger will be a big miss for us in this game.
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Wayne Rooney has stepped up in recent weeks. How key is he to securing a result on Sunday, and indeed a top 4 position overall?
Rooney is important yes but usually he’s marked out of games by teams. Anthony Martial is the key to be honest. Him against Branislav Ivanovic is going to be the match up that decides the game for me. Its no surprise that Martial was superb against Derby and Stoke and then Rooney exploited the space created by him to score. That is what you need to do for Rooney, make space for him. If you have players capable of doing that then he looks like a world beater but when you don’t the game passes him by now. He’s lost that ability to dominate games like he did when he was 18, 19 or 20.
Let’s get a prediction then.
I’m going to do it aren’t I? I’m going to back us. My head says draw but my heart always says a United win regardless of how crap we might be or how good the opposition might be. Martial to carry on his great form and win us the game 2-1.
Next: Chelsea FC Predicted XI To Face Man Utd: Eden Hazard Returns, Midfield Changes
A huge thanks to Darren for taking the time to send his thoughts, check out The United Pages on Twitter @theunitedpages. Similarly, POL Co-Editor Khaled Abdallah shared his feelings on Chelsea’s situation ahead of the game, which you can read at this link!