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361
Please Read Before Posting / penalty Jersey
« on: August 06, 2017, 10:49:42 PM »
Arsène Wenger has called on Arsenal to build on their Community Shield victory against Chelsea by making an intense and spirited start to the new Premier League season.
The Frenchman goes into the new campaign under intense scrutiny having signed a two‑year contract last May on the back of a campaign in which his side failed to qualify for the Champions League for the first time since 1997. Authentic Adidas Colin Wilson Womens Jersey But he appeared an emboldened figure after his side overcame the champions at Wembley on Sunday via a 4-1 penalty shootout victory after the contest had ended 1-1 in normal time.
Wenger described winning the Community Shield, the 15th in Arsenal’s history, as “an encouragement” and now wants his side to avoid their poor starts to the previous two Premier League campaigns, when they lost their opening fixtures on both occasions, in order to mount a serious title challenge.
“We want to find a balance between the confidence we can get out of this game and the urgency every Premier League game demands,” he said. http://www.authenticnashvillepredators.com/authentic-dante-fabbro-jersey “We had some bad starts recently but we have had intensity in our preparation, so let’s go into the Premier League with the same discipline, the same spirit and see where we can go.”
Arsenal fell behind to Victor Moses’s strike shortly after half-time but did not wilt and equalised when the summer arrival Sead Kolasinac scored with an 82nd‑minute header. The goal came from a free-kick given for a studs-up tackle by Pedro on Mohamed Elneny that led to the Spaniard being sent off.
The penalty shootout was the first in this country to deploy the ABBA system. Following successive misses by Chelsea’s goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois, and record signing, Cam Fowler Womens Jersey Álvaro Morata, Olivier Giroud scored the decisive spot kick for Arsenal to give them victory over Chelsea at the national stadium for the second time in 71 days following their triumph in the FA Cup final in May.
Antonio Conte was left frustrated not only by the outcome but by the decision of the referee, Bobby Madley, not to award his side a penalty on 35 minutes after Willian fellinside Arsenal’s area following a challenge by Hector Bellerin.
“A lot of people told me penalty was clear,” the Italian said before going on to defend the decision to let Courtois step up in the shootout. http://www.officialsanaheimducks.com/Adidas-Andrew-Cogliano-Jersey “He is one of the best players [at the club] at taking penalties,” he said of the Belgian.
Chelsea begin their title defence against Burnley on Saturday, when Conte will hope to have Eden Hazard and his new signing Tiémoué Bakayoko available to play. Both missed this match due to a lack of match sharpness.
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362
Please Read Before Posting / conceded Jersey
« on: August 04, 2017, 12:17:36 AM »
Mark Sampson’s bold ambitions of European domination were reduced to tatters as, inspired by Danielle van de Donk’s outstanding midfield performance, Holland left his Lionesses uncharacteristically cowed and thoroughly chastened.
Well before the final whistle, the England coach’s tight white shirt had been torn, Barry Larkin Youth Jersey perhaps emblematically, during a particularly vexing technical area moment. As Sampson stewed over some controversial refereeing decisions, the Oranje ended an evening on which their nation finally seemed to have fallen in love with women’s football, having deservedly earned a place in Sunday’s final against Denmark.
It left Sampson talking of his “disappointment,” of the “devastation in the dressing room” and “tears among the staff”. For all his annoyance about specific incidents, the young Welshman was in impressively magnanimous mode.
“We always knew it was going to be difficult,” http://www.authenticcincinnatireds.com/Billy-Hamilton-Jersey he said. “Congratulations to Holland they deserve their place in the final. I wish them all the best. Their supporters made it a wonderful night for women’s football.”
Even so the hosts’ triumph was surely facilitated partly by the loss of England’s Jill Scott to suspension. The former junior cross-country champions covers a lot of miles, invariably box to box, and, as feared, her athletic dynamism proved much missed.
Scott’s place went to the veteran Fara Williams who adopted the deepest sitting holding role alongside Jade Moore in a 4-2-3-1 formation seemingly Bo Jackson Authentic Jersey designed to frustrate Holland before aiming to overwhelm Sarina Wiegman’s side on the counterattack. Unfortunately Sampson’s midfield struggled to cope with the excellent Van de Donk, who eclipsed her Arsenal team-mate Williams.
Beforehand Wiegman had labelled England a long-ball team and, for lengthy stretches, they looked two-dimensional at best as they strove to contain a front three featuring Lieke Martens, Barcelona’s new £180,000-a-year left winger. As the message emblazoned on one Dutch banner, put it: “Who needs Neymar when you’ve got Martens.”
She was up against a formidable opponent in Lucy Bronze and initially found getting behind England’s right-back tricky. With Wiegman’s defence holding similarly firm, Sampson’s leading striker, Jodie Taylor lacked early chances to challenge her Arsenal team-mate and good friend, Holland’s goalkeeper Sari van Veenendaal.
It was turning into a cagey, physical game but then England suffered a concentration lapse. With Demi Stokes minding Holland’s menacing right winger, Shanice van der Sanden, Ellen White failed to close down Jackie Groenen, who used the resultant space to swing in a cross towards Vivianne Miedema at the far post.
Miedema, newly signed by Arsenal from Bayern Munich, had no hesitation in heading beyond the England goalkeeper Siobhan Chamberlain. http://www.authentickansascityroyals.com/Brandon-Moss-Jersey The ball’s unerring trajectory left Millie Bright, hoping to clear off the line, merely helping usher it on its journey to the bottom corner. It was only the second goal the Lionesses had conceded during Euro 2017 and the first time they had fallen behind.
Already a sea of orange, FC Twente’s home had turned into a wall of sound as many of the 27,000-plus crowd celebrated. A test of England’s much vaunted mental resilience beckoned and they appeared to rally. From a corner Moore unleashed a header which looked to be going wide until Sherida Spitse hacked it onto a post from where, to wholesale Dutch relief, it rebounded to safety.
England then demanded a penalty – with some justification – when Desiree van Lunteren appeared to elbow White as they competed for Bronze’s cross but Stéphanie Frappart, the French referee, was not buying it and Sampson ripped his shirt. “There was contact,” he said. “We didn’t get the decisions but I’m incredibly proud of my players.”

363
Please Read Before Posting / little jersey
« on: August 03, 2017, 06:40:17 PM »
Neymar is set to complete a world-record move to Paris Saint-Germain worth around £450m in fees and wages after telling Barcelona he is leaving.
PSG have given the go‑ahead for the forward’s buyout fee of €222m (£198m) to be handed over at the Spanish football federation offices, the protocol required to clear the transfer. Jarell Martin Womens Jersey Neymar, who flew to Porto on Wednesday for his medical, is expected to be presented in Paris this week.
On a dramatic day Neymar, accompanied by his father, who advises him, informed Barcelona at their training ground in the morning of his desire to go. The club responded by saying the release clause would have to be paid in full.
PSG had anticipated that and always intended to meet it. A five-year contract for Neymar has been waiting to be signed for several days. The wages are understood to be around €30m a year after tax – equivalent to around £520,000 a week – almost doubling the player’s salary. Neymar Sr and others including the agent Pini Zahavi are due to share a €38m payment for facilitating the move.
During a training ground visit of around 30 minutes Neymar also told his team-mates he was leaving. http://www.officialgrizzliestore.com/authentic-25-chandler-parsons-jersey.html They were disappointed to learn of his decision and although it was not unexpected there had been hopes they could convince him to stay. Lionel Messi posted an Instagram video and message to Neymar a few hours later, writing: “It was a great pleasure to have shared all these years with you, friend @neymarjr. I wish you good luck in this new stage of your life.” Neymar had been due to return to training on Wednesday but was given permission by the coach, Ernesto Valverde, not to take part. He headed for Porto, where PSG’s doctor was with Maxwell, the club’s sporting coordinator.
Barcelona’s No1 target to replace Neymar is Philippe Coutinho but Liverpool are adamant he is not for sale. They have rejected a £72m bid and are braced for renewed interest, although Jürgen Klopp made his club’s position clear from the Audi Cup in Munich. “It’s nice that Coutinho is so highly rated but they can save their energy,” the manager said. “I cannot talk about this just because a Barcelona guy starts talking. Did he say they come to Liverpool and do business, something like this? They want to come over? They are funny. I don’t want things like this.” Klopp also had a dig at the amount of money being spent.
He said: “There are clubs that can pay fees like that – Manchester City and PSG. Authentic Brandon Marshall Youth Jersey Everybody knows that. I thought financial fair play was introduced so situations like this could not happen but it seems to be more of a suggestion than a real rule. I don’t understand how it happens but I hope this is not the next step. I hope it will stay the exception but you never know.”
Next on Barcelona’s list is likely to be Borussia Dortmund’s Ousmane Dembélé. Kylian Mbappé of Monaco and the Atlético Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann are also coveted but those deals would be harder to secure.
Barcelona’s official position was that Neymar was not for sale but, with PSG willing to meet a clause the club had considered unpayable when inserting it in his contract extension last year, the matter was out of their hands. The fee dwarfs the record €105m Manchester United paid Juventus for Paul Pogba last summer.
At board level Barcelona are irritated not only at the outcome but by the manner it has been brought about. The political damage is considerable and the club’s image, http://www.officialgiantsfootballs.com/Brad-Wing-Jersey-Cheap already deteriorated, has been hit. Barcelona confirmed that a bonus due to Neymar for renewing his contract last season had been put on hold, rather than paid out, pending the resolution of his transfer. That €26m bonus may explain the silence from Neymar’s camp. Neymar’s father has driven the deal.
Barcelona have found support from La Liga, which has indicated it would be reluctant to sign off the move. Legally, however, it appears it has little way of preventing Neymar from triggering his buyout clause as stipulated in its rules and formally becoming a free agent ready to sign for PSG. Fifa and Uefa rules do not contemplate a scenario whereby the Spanish league can prevent a buyout clause being triggered. There has been no suggestion from Barcelona they will complain that he was tapped up.
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364
Please Read Before Posting / suggested Jersey
« on: August 02, 2017, 08:12:24 PM »
Daniel Sturridge has given Liverpool a pre-season injury scare after suffering a thigh problem while scoring the final goal in a convincing 3-0 defeat of Bayern Munich.
The injury-prone Liverpool striker chipped an exquisite finish over Bayern goalkeeper Sven Ulreich in the 83rd minute of the Audi Cup game at the Allianz Arena. In doing so Sturridge, a 67th minute substitute for Jürgen Klopp’s team, Bishop Sankey Youth Jersey sustained a thigh injury that forced his own substitution with four minutes remaining. The England international will have further tests before the full extent of the problem and any lay-off is known.
“I can’t say [the extent] but he hurt his thigh,” said Klopp after the win that set up a final against Atlético Madrid on Wednesday. “He has prepared really well and I just hope it’s only a small injury and he can play again soon. His goal was really great and he had another chance before that. You could see how fast he is. It is a shame and I just hope it is nothing serious.”
Sturridge later downplayed the injury, insisting he “will be OK”. “I think it’s just a bit of fatigue. I’m feeling the best I’ve felt for a while,” he said. “I’m looking forward to the season and hopefully we can have some success this season as well.”
Any time on the sidelines would represent a significant setback to Sturridge who, http://www.chiefsofficialsauthentic.com/CHIEFS-ANTHONY-SHERMAN-JERSEY despite doubts over his long-term Liverpool future at the end of last season, has impressed Klopp this summer with his fitness and application. The striker had spoken only recently about his sharpness after being sidelined by a hip injury last season and losing his starting role in the Liverpool team behind Sadio Mané, Roberto Firmino and Philippe Coutinho. The competition for forward places in Klopp’s side has intensified following the club record signing of Mohamed Salah from Roma this summer, and Liverpool’s attacking prowess was evident as they beat Bayern comfortably at the Allianz Arena.
Mané, who is working his way back to full fitness having undergone knee surgery in April, opened the scoring against Carlo Ancelotti’s team and was instrumental in Liverpool’s second, a close-range header from Salah. Bayern enjoyed plenty of possession but could not cope with their opponents’ pace and penetration on the counter attack.
The Bundesliga champions face their first competitive match of the season on Saturday – the German Supercup Final against Klopp’s old club Borussia Dortmund – and their preparations have been far from ideal. Bayern have lost to Arsenal, Milan, Authentic Austin Romine Youth Jersey Internazionale and now Liverpool in pre-season. Robert Lewandowski’s obvious displeasure at the poor quality service he received and an anonymous display from summer recruit James Rodriguez, stationed wide on the right, showed Ancelotti has several problems to address ahead of the new season. Not that Klopp got carried away with Liverpool’s most impressive result of the summer so far.
“Nearly everything was good but we are still in our preparations, we haven’t played enough football so far, and Bayern enjoyed too much possession tonight,” the Liverpool manager said. “We gave the ball to Bayern too much and we had to run around too much but at times my team showed how good they can play football. The third goal was great. In attack we were really good. In the first half we were very dangerous on the counter, the pressing was very good.”
Out-of-favour Alberto Moreno, who has been linked with a move away from Liverpool this summer, produced a productive display at left back. Klopp suggested the Spanish defender would have a future at Anfield if he displayed that form on a more consistent basis.
Klopp said: “He would play if he played like he did today, yes. It was a really good game by Alberto. Every second he was playing better, http://www.authenticyankeeshop.com/authentic-3-babe-ruth-jersey.html that’s why we kept playing him. He looked really fit although he had a little problem with his thigh but we had a test with him this morning and he was OK. The players decide themselves how many games they play.”
In the other Audi Cup semi-final Atlético came from a goal behind to beat Napoli 2-1 thanks to strikes from Fernando Torres and Luciano Vietto. Diego Simeone’s team also had Diego Godín sent off for two bookable offences, the second of which sparked furious exchanges between the opposing benches. “I hope things will calm down for tomorrow as we want to play a bit,” said Klopp.

365
Please Read Before Posting / Morata Jersey
« on: August 01, 2017, 11:33:45 PM »
Mauricio Pochettino fears Tottenham will not be able to challenge for the Premier League title unless he makes signings who can force Harry Kane, Dele Alli and other key players to raise their games.
Pochettino accepts Tottenham cannot compete financially with the biggest spenders but is determined to strengthen a squad that finished runners-up to Chelsea last season. Alexei Emelin Womens Jersey He has not made a summer buy, with Kyle Walker’s departure for Manchester City the most notable activity.
The manager believes complacency can creep in if players are not challenged by new arrivals and made to feel their place is under threat. “How have Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and different clubs tried to improve their season?” Pochettino said. “Bringing players and trying to put more pressure on their star players, their key players – and for us we need to do that too.”
Pochettino pointed out that whereas he arrived at Tottenham in 2014 amid fears that the leading players could leave unless the club qualified for the Champions League, expectations have changed.
“Right, now [I hear] we need to win some trophies, no?” he said. “That is good, the pressure. http://www.officialflyersteamonline.com/Brian_Propp_Jersey I think it’s important to understand now that we need to be clever how we manage the expectation and how we need to put pressure on our own players.
“We understand that Dele Alli, Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen, [Eric] Dier, [Toby] Alderweireld are really good players. They want to win but need to feel the pressure a little bit to improve every season.
“If there’s no competition in behind it’s normal to drop your motivation, it’s normal to drop everything that you do. And then it’s difficult to win.”
During the recent tour of the United States Tottenham fielded a number of academy products, Brayden Schenn Authentic Jersey which yielded mixed results and the realisation that although players such as Josh Onomah, Kyle Walker-Peters and Cameron Carter-Vickers have potential, they are not ready to push first-team regulars. Pochettino said he and Daniel Levy, the chairman, were in agreement regarding transfers.
“Every season we need to be clever in how we bring more energy and make sure our main players are not in a comfortable situation – because if not it is normal in human beings,” Pochettino said.
“If some players arrive with different energy then it’s: ‘OK, come on, we need to push, we need to run, we need to do the same.’ That is the risk we will have in the future if we only keep 11 players.
“We are finding the balance because now is the moment to maybe refresh the team with some new faces – and it’s sure that will happen. In three years, http://www.mavericksteamonline.com/Jose_Juan_Barea_Jersey my experience with Daniel has always been trying to find a player to improve. The difference is were they the right or wrong signing?”
Tottenham broke their transfer record last summer for Moussa Sissoko, who has not proved he is worth £30m. Fees have continued to rise, with significant outlay in this window by City (£200m-plus), Manchester United (around £140m) and Chelsea (around £120m). Levy has described the spending as “unsustainable”.
“The problem is so clear,” Pochettino said. “We are not a club today that can compete with Manchester United and City for a player. We cannot fight. We are in a different way. But the thing is Daniel is very keen to sign like me. These type of player we are talking about they are not easy to find.”
Everton’s Ross Barkley is a prime target for Pochettino, though the demands regarding fee and wages would need to drop for Levy to sanction the move. The midfielder recently rejected a contract at Goodison Park which would have taken his wages to around £100,000 a week and paying £35m for a player in the final year of his contract deal does not sit easily with the Tottenham hierarchy.
Pochettino was happy to allow Walker to leave in the belief that Kieran Trippier, who made his England debut this summer, is ready to step up at right-back. “The problem here is what happens when you say, ‘I am No1’, ‘I am No2’,” Pochettino said. “And the No1 believes they have more right than another and the other feels he is less.
“It’s so difficult to manage that situation. That’s why as a manager you must give the possibility to rotate when they’re at the same level. But we are so relaxed and so calm. There is no doubt in what we are trying to do.”
Pochettino disclosed that Álvaro Morata, Chelsea’s new £58m striker, previously rejected a move to Tottenham for fear that he would be unable to compete with Kane. Jose Barea Youth Jersey The revelations are likely to increase the intensity of the relationship between the two managers, with Conte angering Pochettino last week for questioning his ambition and declaring his admiration for Kane.
“Morata talked about myself, in the media – he said: ‘Mauricio called me,’” Pochettino said. “That was from the beginning, two years ago or more. He said to me: ‘Why do you want me if you have Harry Kane?’ You know, if you go to try to sign a striker, they will say: ‘Eh, gaffer, you want me for what? To be on the bench?”

366
Please Read Before Posting / significant Jersey
« on: August 01, 2017, 06:21:31 PM »
Six months into his first season back at Chelsea, José Mourinho had identified three key areas in which his team were deficient. Hindsight suggests it was that recognition that led, at the beginning of February 2014, Authentic Alexei Emelin Youth Jersey to his “little horses” press conference in which he denied Chelsea were title contenders despite having pulled to within two points of the top with a 1-0 win at Manchester City. He was lacking a genuine goalscorer and a creative presence in midfield, problems resolved by the signings that summer of Diego Costa and Cesc Fàbregas, but he had already moved in January to plug the other gap by bringing Nemanja Matic back from Benfica.
Chelsea made 10 signings in 2014 but it was those three who were the most important, something that was obvious from the moment Chelsea beat Burnley in their opening game of the season. Each of the three major deficiencies the previous season had been dealt with and it is only a slight exaggeration to say that from that moment Chelsea’s title win was a procession.
Mourinho has made a habit of such clinical changes after a season at a club. Since he joined Porto in 2002, he has always won the league in his second season – at Porto, http://www.officialcanadiensauthentic.com/Alexei_Kovalev_Jersey at Chelsea, at Internazionale and Real Madrid, and at Chelsea again – as though that is the happy midpoint when he has had time to organise his team but not quite had time to exhaust them with his constant political manoeuvring.
Matic makes it three major signings at United this summer: each in the spine of the side and each addressing a specific issue. Romelu Lukaku should bring the goals that United could not find against lesser sides who defended compactly last season. Victor Lindelof should add stability to the centre of a defence that clearly never satisfied Mourinho last season. But in terms of the structure of the team, Matic may be the most important of the lot.
Mourinho has always sought a dominant presence at the back of midfield, somebody who could offer, as he himself has put it, “position, stability, control”, somebody for whom “to score a goal is a miracle but to lose a ball is also a miracle”. At Porto he had Costinha; Authentic Brian Propp Womens Jersey at Chelsea the first time Claude Makelele (and Mikel John Obi, initially a far more complete midfielder whom he tried to mould into his enforcer); at Inter Esteban Cambiasso; at Madrid Lassana Diarra or Xabi Alonso; and then Matic at Chelsea.
Last season, when Michael Carrick was unavailable, the ever-willing Ander Herrera was pressed into service in the role but he seems more naturally a shuttler, the all-rounder who can link the front and back of the team alongside a holder in the manner of Pedro Mendes, Tiago Mendes, Michael Ballack, Javier Zanetti or Ramires.
It’s a role that has a profound influence over the rest of the team. The holder serves as a breakwater in front of the central defenders, making it harder for forwards to isolate them, while keeping the shape compact and ideally leading the press. He also needs to be able to distribute, whether he is keeping the ball circulating or initiating counterattacks.
Matic ended up expendable to Chelsea because of the overwhelming excellence of N’Golo Kanté, whose energy made it possible for him to perform that role and more, but he was a hugely important presence in the title season under Mourinho. He ought to offer protection to whichever pairing of Lindelof, Eric Bailly, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones ends up as first choice but in the context of United’s squad, his more important influence may end up being at the other end of the pitch.
The biggest single tactical issue United faced last season was getting the best out of Paul Pogba, who had a decent season but not a season of the sort of indelible brilliance you may expect from somebody just signed for a world record fee. He seemed always to be between roles, http://www.officialflyersteamonline.com/Boyd_Gordon_Jersey occasionally too high up the pitch, where he lacked the close technical abilities and guile to be effective and where his pace and stamina seemed a little wasted, or too deep, so he was always playing within himself, unable to unleash the sort of surge that had made him so effective at Juventus. With a dedicated holding presence – and possibly Herrera as well – alongside him, Pogba should be liberated to become the dominant box-to-box player he can be.
It matters, too, that Matic is a Mourinho loyalist; his respect for his manager is apparently undimmed by what others may have taken as the humiliation of being taken off 28 minutes after coming on as a half-time substitute against Southampton in October 2015. With the odd hint that Mourinho is becoming frustrated by United’s transfer policy this summer, that could be significant in the internal politicking that tends to follow the 54-year-old to any club.
For now, though, Matic represents a classic Mourinho second-season signing, strengthening the spine, answering a specific need and, in theory at least, making it easier for others to do their jobs.
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367
Please Read Before Posting / could Jersey
« on: August 01, 2017, 01:08:23 AM »
Six months into his first season back at Chelsea, José Mourinho had identified three key areas in which his team were deficient. Hindsight suggests it was that recognition that led, at the beginning of February 2014, Authentic Alexei Emelin Youth Jersey to his “little horses” press conference in which he denied Chelsea were title contenders despite having pulled to within two points of the top with a 1-0 win at Manchester City. He was lacking a genuine goalscorer and a creative presence in midfield, problems resolved by the signings that summer of Diego Costa and Cesc Fàbregas, but he had already moved in January to plug the other gap by bringing Nemanja Matic back from Benfica.
Chelsea made 10 signings in 2014 but it was those three who were the most important, something that was obvious from the moment Chelsea beat Burnley in their opening game of the season. Each of the three major deficiencies the previous season had been dealt with and it is only a slight exaggeration to say that from that moment Chelsea’s title win was a procession.
Mourinho has made a habit of such clinical changes after a season at a club. Since he joined Porto in 2002, he has always won the league in his second season – at Porto, http://www.officialcanadiensauthentic.com/Alexei_Kovalev_Jersey at Chelsea, at Internazionale and Real Madrid, and at Chelsea again – as though that is the happy midpoint when he has had time to organise his team but not quite had time to exhaust them with his constant political manoeuvring.
Matic makes it three major signings at United this summer: each in the spine of the side and each addressing a specific issue. Romelu Lukaku should bring the goals that United could not find against lesser sides who defended compactly last season. Victor Lindelof should add stability to the centre of a defence that clearly never satisfied Mourinho last season. But in terms of the structure of the team, Matic may be the most important of the lot.
Mourinho has always sought a dominant presence at the back of midfield, somebody who could offer, as he himself has put it, “position, stability, control”, somebody for whom “to score a goal is a miracle but to lose a ball is also a miracle”. At Porto he had Costinha; Authentic Brian Propp Womens Jersey at Chelsea the first time Claude Makelele (and Mikel John Obi, initially a far more complete midfielder whom he tried to mould into his enforcer); at Inter Esteban Cambiasso; at Madrid Lassana Diarra or Xabi Alonso; and then Matic at Chelsea.
Last season, when Michael Carrick was unavailable, the ever-willing Ander Herrera was pressed into service in the role but he seems more naturally a shuttler, the all-rounder who can link the front and back of the team alongside a holder in the manner of Pedro Mendes, Tiago Mendes, Michael Ballack, Javier Zanetti or Ramires.
It’s a role that has a profound influence over the rest of the team. The holder serves as a breakwater in front of the central defenders, making it harder for forwards to isolate them, while keeping the shape compact and ideally leading the press. He also needs to be able to distribute, whether he is keeping the ball circulating or initiating counterattacks.
Matic ended up expendable to Chelsea because of the overwhelming excellence of N’Golo Kanté, whose energy made it possible for him to perform that role and more, but he was a hugely important presence in the title season under Mourinho. He ought to offer protection to whichever pairing of Lindelof, Eric Bailly, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones ends up as first choice but in the context of United’s squad, his more important influence may end up being at the other end of the pitch.
The biggest single tactical issue United faced last season was getting the best out of Paul Pogba, who had a decent season but not a season of the sort of indelible brilliance you may expect from somebody just signed for a world record fee. He seemed always to be between roles, http://www.officialflyersteamonline.com/Boyd_Gordon_Jersey occasionally too high up the pitch, where he lacked the close technical abilities and guile to be effective and where his pace and stamina seemed a little wasted, or too deep, so he was always playing within himself, unable to unleash the sort of surge that had made him so effective at Juventus. With a dedicated holding presence – and possibly Herrera as well – alongside him, Pogba should be liberated to become the dominant box-to-box player he can be.
It matters, too, that Matic is a Mourinho loyalist; his respect for his manager is apparently undimmed by what others may have taken as the humiliation of being taken off 28 minutes after coming on as a half-time substitute against Southampton in October 2015. With the odd hint that Mourinho is becoming frustrated by United’s transfer policy this summer, that could be significant in the internal politicking that tends to follow the 54-year-old to any club.
For now, though, Matic represents a classic Mourinho second-season signing, strengthening the spine, answering a specific need and, in theory at least, making it easier for others to do their jobs.
http://www.thatforumplace.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=41359&p=329105#p329105
http://www.hoonforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=22585

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