BECAUSE THEY CAN PLAY F'CKING GOOD FOOTBALL: PART 6
Manchester United in late winter/early spring 2023: Mason Greenwood's charges dropped, a cup final reached, and the boys from Catalonia downed. Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 below...
through the days
late summer
autumn
winter
spring
the ingot coloured afternoons and eves
of May
this:
this
is
Manchester United
De aap komt uit de mouw
(Dutch proverb: the monkey comes out the sleeve)
PART 6
page 73
man utd 3 reading 1
we are through to the fa cup fifth round
casemiro scores twice
marcus has a goal disallowed
but what a run of scoring from him (10 in 11)
ETH substitutes marcus
nottingham forest next in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg, we are 3-0 up from the 1st;
so crystal palace, again at old trafford, in the premier league
is the next test
can we do it, can we win trophies, can we restore man utd to being the red letter of every day?
page 74
carabao cup
man utd 2 nottingham forest 0 (5-0 aggregate)
if only anthony martial would stay fit; he scores again tonight, 73 minutes in,
to steady nerves
3 minutes later Fred scores
too, making
it 2-0 on the night, 5-0 over two legs, so it will be newcastle @ wembley on 26 feb in the carabao cup final.
six years since a trophy
since jose, stockholm, may 2017: ajax 0 man utd 2 (paul pogba 18, henrikh mkhitaryan, 48);
we must win
we must.
we must
The Guardian, 1 Feb 2003
The final will be the same as the FA Cup showpiece of 1999 which United claimed, and is a chance to end a trophy-drought that stretches back six years to when José Mourinho’s vintage won the Europa League against Ajax in Stockholm.
Two seasons ago the same competition’s decider was lost to Villarreal and in 2018 the FA Cup final also ended in disappointment, so for the club and Ten Hag’s nascent project, the hope will be that 26 February proves a triumphant, watershed moment in the bid to become a true force again
page 75
jadon sancho: a match-winner for man utd?
is the poser from the man from The Guardian:
yes, says Eric. ‘He already showed that, this season for instance the game against Liverpool it was a great goal [in August’s win], he scored against Leicester [winner, September]. He had some really good games, Spurs as well [in October], so he already showed his great capabilities.’
October, at Chelsea, is the last time Sancho played before tonight, his at-times-effervescence play has been missed since that 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge, 22 October.
but: it is ‘at times’,
because since the £73m transfer from Borussia Dortmund, Sancho’s arrival as Man Utd’s supposed first generational player signing (for a generation, at least), he has been a failure in the elite football stakes of
doing
what the elite players
do:
win games for their team as regularly as elite players lace their boots up.
often and often and often.
Sancho’s stats for Man Utd at this juncture:
22/23: 15 appearances, 3 goals
21/22: 38 appearances, 5 goals
not good enough.
Jadon, take a scan of Marcus now that you are back after 3 months-plus out due to physical and mental wellbeing issues…
scan him, what he is doing, where he came from; be inspired…
what happens to a player when he loses what he had? where does this go??
page 76
mason greenwood’s charges dropped
2 feb, the day after we reach wembley
they drop all charges against mason:
the last time he pulled on our shirt was 22 jan 2022 at old trafford, in a 1-0 win versus west ham;
now, after arrest later that month, and, in october, being charged with attempted rape, controlling and coercive behaviour, and assault occasioning bodily harm, and having denied the charges, today the crown prosecution service drop them all.
what will the club do?
keep him or let him go?
they are undergoing their own ‘process’ to reach a decision.
what will my club do?
what should it do?
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