MINI-HIT: BECKS, RODGERS & JANUZAJ ON VAN GAAL WAGON

MINI-HIT: BECKS, RODGERS & JANUZAJ ON VAN GAAL WAGON

D. Ray Morton, 21st May 2014.

Van Gaal seems to be universally backed at the moment

Aside from Jose Mourinho's prior, almost predictable, slap on the back towards new Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal (Barca buddies!), it's interesting to see other soccer personalities' views. David Beckham is full of praise, encouraged by LvG's promotion of youth products. Brendan Rodgers is looking forward to challenging one of the great senior European managers and had glowing respect towards new assistant manager, Ryan Giggs. Adnan Januzaj hopes to excel under the new boss although it will be interesting to see how he fits into his 4-3-3 system.

EXPECT FAVOURITES TO PREVAIL IN TONIGHT'S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE DOUBLE HEADER

EXPECT FAVOURITES TO PREVAIL IN TONIGHT'S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE DOUBLE HEADER

D. Ray Morton, April 1st 2014.

The smart money this evening would be to back Barcelona and Bayern Munich as they face down Atlético Madrid and Manchester United respectively in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final ties. Barca play at home and will be thrilled at the sight of the visitors' star striker Diego Costa hobbling off at the weekend with a reported groin injury. As of now, there's only a 50/50 chance that he'll play and without him, Diego Simeone's team are not nearly as dangerous. The Argentine manager describes Costa as being as important to his side as Lionel Messi is to los culés. Indeed, Messi is back to his best. His form this calendar year has been astonishing after shaking off hamstring problems that interrupted his form throughout most of 2013. Gerardo Martino is likely to pair him alongside Neymar up front again with Cesc Fabregas operating in behind them. If anything, Barca's trademark 4-3-3 has been abandoned in recent weeks. Martino has preferred to stack the midfield in order to dominate possession, something which they hadn't focused on during the first half of the season.

Fabregas plays at the tip of the diamond in behind Messi and Neymar

Their shape now resembles something of a diamond 4-4-2. The high defensive line remains, which could be tested now that Victor Valdés is out for the season leaving José Manuel Pinto in goal, and Sergi Busquets continues his anchor man role. Xavi, Andrés Iniesta and Fabregas occupy the midfield positions leaving Messi and Neymar ahead to do as they please up front. Pedro and Alexis Sánchez have been left out for some of their recent big games though many fans of the Catalan club believe that one of the two ought to oust the young Brazilian from the starting line-up. Opinion is divided on how effective Neymar has been although the 22 year-old has been steadily racking up assists, winning penalties and chipping in a steady amount of goals this season.

Neymar's season stats from WhoScored.com

In the other fixture, David Moyes' Manchester United may very well be staring down the abyss. Defeat at home to Bayern Munich would end any realistic hope of advancing to the next round and would render the rest of United's season meaningless considering their poor league position well outside the top four. This is Moyes' last hope. He's likely to gamble on Ryan Giggs in the centre again, something which worked a charm against the considerably weaker Olympiakos but with Bastian Schweinsteiger, Toni Kroos (supposed United target) and Mario Götze all set to start for the visitors, it could be a tough night for the aging legs of the 40 year-old Welshman. Bayern's midfield trio work the ball beautifully and Philip Lahm can just as easily slot in should he be required there.

Whatever about Giggs, the key concern for United fans should be how deputy left-back Alexander
Büttner deals with the mazy dribbling skills of flying Dutchman, Arjen Robben. Robben has been fantastic under Pep Guardiola this season, building on last season's late burst of form and really improving as an all-round team player. He is still, of course, very one-footed and a good defence can make him look predictable cutting in from the right but United's defence has been very shaky this season, especially at home. Whether Büttner can cope will go a long way towards decided this first leg. I would predict Guardiola's side to approach the game more cautiously than the thrashing many people expect to be dealt out. The Spanish manager's record away from home against English opposition in the Champions League isn't actually all that formidable.

So some hope for United but what's important tonight is not so much the result but the performance. Pride needs to be restored at Old Trafford and picking up wins against the likes of Aston Villa and West Ham isn't enough to get people back on Moyes' side. With rumours that the club are willing to give the Scot a £200m war chest to spend in the summer, they have to send out some kind of a signal tonight. Realists don't expect to progress but they can at least exit this one particular tournament with their heads held relatively high provided don't perform footballing self-defecation.

VIDIC TO LEAVE AND AN EXODUS TO FOLLOW

So much for the captain being the last one off a sinking ship!

Nemanja Vidic has announced he will leave Manchester United at the end of the current season after spending eight years at the heart of their defence. He has won trophies galore including several league titles and a Champions League honour. At times during his spell at United he has rightly been considered the best centre back in the world. Powerful, determined and astonishing in the air, Vidic etched out a reputation where very few strikers got the better of him. His form had been so consistent that his very few bad performaces stood out like a sore thumb. There were one or two blips along the way provided by the likes of Samuel Eto'o and Fernando Torres but generally, Vidic was a rock solid presence for United. At 32, the club captain has decided he wants a new challenge and will join Inter Milan's project in Italy next season.

Questions will be raised about this however. Although he has shown his age in the past two seasons or so, why would a key figure leave United in such a time of crisis in order to join another team that are struggling for form and indentity in what is considered now a weaker league? At his age, you would expect him to see out his career at Old Trafford, maybe play two seasons more and see if he can help them transition into a newly-challenging side in the post-Ferguson era. One feels that the atmosphere around the club at present could see an exodus of their established stars in the summer.

Patrice Evra is very likely to leave, Monaco, an ex-club of his, being the most likely destination. Rio Ferdinand might call it a day and retire as he has now lost most of the pace that made him such an excellent covering centre half in his prime. Ryan Giggs, at his age, is very likely to retire too and Darren Fletcher though only 30 will have to be monitored closely due to the possibility of his illness returning. Shinji Kagawa appears unhappy at United and may force his way out of the club. Jurgen Klopp would happily take him back to Dortmund. Ashley Young and Nani look like spent forces and may also seek employment elsewhere. All of their strikers, barring Danny Welbeck, seem frustrated too. Robin van Persie has taken Ferguson's retirement badly. Injuries and inconsistency have returned and playing David Moyes football had never been part of the script when he joined from Arsenal. Wayne Rooney is yet to sign that bumper £300,000 a week contract (crazy, right?) and may be tempted by Jose Mourinho at Chelsea or the same mega bucks provided abroad outside of Sky's media glare. Javier Hernandez will also seek a move, annoyed at his lack of opportunities despite nearly always putting in decent performances.

So that's quite a large chunk of United's squad and you would wonder how they will go about recruiting players next summer. Last summer was a mess with United publicly targeting players that had no interest in moving. Moyes doesn't attract the same level of player as Ferguson did, the club's stature and Champions League qualification must do this. Should United miss out on an ECL spot, they'll be forced to hoover up talents from mid-table clubs and over-spend on lesser players due to the fact that all selling clubs will know that they have the money. This exodus may be what Moyes needs. Get out the old guard and really shape your own squad. The sheer numbers lost could be too many though. Clubs often deal with two or three veterans leaving in one year but losing seven or eight members of a first-team squad represents major redevelopment. United fans will be hoping for regeneration rather than a downward spiral into mediocrity like their rivals Liverpool suffered in the '90s.

D. Ray Morton, 7th February 2014.

@D_Ray_Morton