The Emery era begins as the Red Devils attempt to derail the Spanish Saviors’ return to England. United have not lost since their thrashing at the hands of Manchester City, and Villa want to make an impression under Emery. In this opposition, I’ll be previewing Aston Villa’s league and cup matches against Manchester United.
I spoke to UTD Transfer Roomβs Rhys James from @UtdTransferRoom to find out more about Unitedβs season.
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Someone that has dominated the headlines for the wrong reasons this season has been Cristiano Ronaldo. When he first joined, he was setting the standards for training in terms of changing eating habits etc. Fast forward a year and it looks as though Ronaldo is becoming unprofessional and borderline petulant. What do you make of the Ronaldo situation and how Ten Hag has handled it?
Ten Hag has handled the situation really well. I think with a personality like Ronaldo, you either give in and give him everything he wants, or you show that you are the boss, and you make decisions based on whatβs best for the team.
What has been best for it this season is having Ronaldo on the bench. Although he can still be a threat, United look more solid as a team without him there and his goals seem to have dried up too. I imagine heβll start in one or both games coming up, though, with the injury issues we have.
The start of the season looked disastrous for United with embarrassing performances against the likes of Brentford and Brighton. Since then, barring a blip against Man City, United have looked hard to beat and just more solid all round. How do you feel about the turn around?
Iβve been happy with what weβve done this season. Last year was obviously well below expectations but this season we look far more solid as a unit and seem to control games a lot easier. There were always going to be blips with a team that had some serious confidence issues.
After the Brighton and Brentford games, Ten Hag switched a few things up tactically to make us more solid and it worked. That together with an improvement in mentality and the new signings settling in, weβve looked good.
United have a busy schedule with the league, Europa League and both cup competitions. Are we likely to see Ten Hag rest some players or would you like to see Ten Hag go for it and bring some silverware back to Old Trafford?
I think he will have to rest some players. I imagine Harry Maguire will play one of the games and Victor Lindelof will play the other. Scott Mctominay or Fred could get a start in the cup, we could see Anthony Martial or Jadon Sancho or Antony return from injury in the latter game too. I donβt expect to see more than three or four changes, though, Ten Hag has so far opted against changing his team drastically.
Finally, what are your score predictions for both games?
Personally, I think United will win both games. That could easily be wrong with the change of manager but as I said, weβve been very good and Villa have been poor. Iβll say 1-0 in the league game and 2-1 in the cup.
OPPOSITION FOCUS | CRISTIANO RONALDO
There has been a lot of speculation surrounding Manchester United this season for a host of reasons. Whether itβs been Ten Hagβs arrival, embarrassing defeats, or temper tantrums, United have been heavily involved in the media. A man in the foreground of most of these stories has been a man who was highlighted for his professionalism amidst his arrival. I will be looking at where Cristiano Ronaldoβs return to Old Trafford went pear-shaped.
When Ronaldo announced he was leaving Juventus in the summer of 2021, there were several rumours swirling around about where the five-time Ballon d’Or winner would end up. There were links to the likes of Sporting CP, Real Madrid, and a move to the MLS, but perhaps most shockingly, a move to Manchester City. It was announced that Ronaldo had verbally agreed to personal terms with the rivals of the club where he made his name.
Manchester United, eager to not let Ronaldo destroy his Old Trafford legacy, acted quickly. They hijacked the deal five days after Ronaldo had reportedly agreed terms with the blue side of Manchester. This was, in my opinion, a glorified panic deal to stop Ronaldo from going to City. United, were already strong in attack with the likes of Rashford, Sancho, and Cavani, they had no real need for Ronaldo, and so SolskjΓ¦r just sort of played him in there without any plans. This led to Unitedβs poor performances under both SolskjΓ¦r and Rangnick.
Having said this, things started off well with Ronaldo at United. Players often praised the impact that Ronaldoβs arrival had on the team. For example, Grant mentioned the players not having cheat days in terms of diet after seeing Ronaldoβs diet. Things were doing well on in terms of Unitedβs finances too. In the first 24 hours of Ronaldoβs arrivals, he broke to record for most short sales in 24 hours, smashing Messiβs record. On the pitch, Ronaldo scored a brace in a 4-1 win against Newcastle. A very good start.
“You finish your dinner and usually on a Friday night you’ve got a few cheat stuff out.β― You’ve got a bit of apple crumble and custard or you’ve got a bit of brownie and cream. I tell you now, not one player touched the apple crumble and custard, not one player went up for that brownie.” Former Manchester United Goalkeeper, Lee Grant
However, it was the lack of trophies which turned things sour between Ronaldo and United. Early exits in both domestic cups, a Round of 16 loss in the Champions League and a 6th place finish in the league bought great disappointment to someone who has won over 20 trophies over his career. This was the first time Ronaldo had been without a trophy since 2010. An astonishing 12 years.
In a summer of transition for Manchester United, Ronaldo once again publicly expressed his desire to leave Manchester United. He wanted Champions League football but no team were willing to take him off Unitedβs books. This only worsened tensions between Ronaldo and the club he used to love. In a match against Spurs, Ronaldo refused to come on as a substitute instead choosing to leave the ground before half time.
Ten Hag did not stand for this and punished Ronaldo heavily. He was fined, left out of the first team and told to train with the youth team. This was a statement from Ten Hag that Ronaldo is no different to any other players. He wasnβt going to accept this petulance from anyone. This has furthered a disappointing return from Ronaldo to United. If this is the last we see of CR7 in the Red side of Manchester, has he destroyed his United legacy?
MY PREDICTIONS
It’s the start of a new era for Aston Villa under someone who is obsessed with winning in Europe. Currently, the best chance of us doing that is through winning the cup competitions. this means I can see Emery fielding two very strong teams whereas I can only see United focusing on their league campaign. this may be very optimistic but there’s very few matches that get Villa Park pumped up as much as Villa Vs Manchester United. Having said this, I’m going for a 1-1 draw in the league and a 3-2 win in the League Cup. Cameron Archer will shine in both games.
AUTHOR | ELLIS BURNETT
Author’s UTV PODCAST archive ellisburnett – UTV Podcast | An Aston Villa Blog
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