Juan signing won’t Mata

Manchester United completed the signing of Chelsea star Juan Mata last night in a deal that broke the Red Devils transfer record thought to be worth £37.1m. Is the signing of the Spaniard going to be enough to revive United’s season and help them qualify for the Champions League or is more required? We take a brief look at some of the Manchester United squad and analyse whether the former Valencia man is enough.

David de Gea, despite his calamitous mistake against Sunderland in the Capital One Cup last week, is improving and has fully established himself as a top Premier League goalkeeper. Lindegaard as back-up is a reasonable option but there is no need for improvement in this area. That one was nice and simple!

The defence is an area that surely needs improving and is one of the major reasons Man Utd have struggled to regain their form of last season. Patrice Evra, whilst a good player, is 32 years of age which although shouldn’t be considered old, is the kind of age where you should be looking to get the next in line in place. You could argue they tried with Alexander Büttner but despite a successful goalscoring debut, he hasn’t managed to push on and displace the Frenchman from the team. They have been linked with Luke Shaw which would be a fantastic signing, but Chelsea are also linked as they look to replace long-serving left back Ashley Cole. Our main concern about Manchester United is the lack of a real leader. Nemanja Vidic, when fit, is a great leader but that is a rarity these days and Rio Ferdinand is almost certainly past his best. We don’t rate Jonny Evans as a top-class centre half and although he might be a solid back-up, we don’t think they’ll be winning regular Premier League titles with him playing every game at the heart of the defence. As such, we feel a leader in the centre of that back four is vital for Manchester United to get back to their fluent, fantastic best. There is one answer to the defence already in the squad, we feel, in Phil Jones. The £16.5m signing from Blackburn Rovers is improving all the time but needs a genuine run at centre back. He is so dominant in the air and very good on the deck for a big man and alongside a leader would undoubtedly become a mainstay in the defence for years to come. We’re also unsure whether Rafael is good enough but they may get away with it if the rest of the defensive unit was solid.

United have a plethora of attacking options to choose from with Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck and Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez. These options are plenty strong enough to score enough goals to win titles but not when they’re injured. Wayne Rooney, unfortunately for England fans, appears to be injured more often than not these days and despite negotiations beginning on a new multi-million pound contract, this must be a major concern. RVP, the signing that essentially won the league for the Red Devils last season, has been well-known to be injury prone throughout the duration of his career, whilst Danny Welbeck is inconsistent but capable of turning in top-drawer performances. Hernandez you get the feeling is the ‘Solksjaer’ of the current Manchester United squad. Always capable of scoring goals, the Mexican appears a better option as a sub than from the start. We think another world class striker is required if United wish to be able to challenge with Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Everton and Tottenham for the titles in years to come.

The key area for us is the area that they have in fact just strengthened. Although Mata is a superb signing, you do have to question where he will play. Paul Merson argued exactly this point on Soccer Saturday this weekend and questioned who would drop out of the team. The obvious answer is Adnan Januzaj but he’s widely regarded as Manchester United’s best player at this moment in time. The problem for United at the moment are the holding midfield players. Jones is occasionally used in there when he should be in the defence for the long-term. Darren Fletcher is coming back from his horrible illness and you have to question whether he can come back at the top level or not. There are some great players in the forward positions such as Mata, Januzaj, Shinji Kagawa, Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young but you can’t play them all. At least one, if not two central midfielders are required. We haven’t even discussed David Moyes’ first signing Maraoune Fellaini. We’re not even sure where he would fit into this team. He isn’t a holding midfield player and he doesn’t fit the style in which Manchester United play football.

Everyone will have arguments on whether United are good enough or whether they need to invest. Everyone will have different opinions on where they do need to improve. What are your thoughts? Get involved and let us know!

We like the look of:

de Gea
Rafael Jones NEW NEW(Shaw)
Fletcher NEW
Januzaj Mata Rooney
van Persie

The Couch Pundit team.

Roberto Martinez: Football Genius?

When Roberto Martinez took over at the start of the season, there were strong rumours that he had promised to take Everton into the top four this season. Who’d have believed it? We certainly wouldn’t. A manager who seemed to be able to get his predominantly South-American players to perform for the last ten weeks of the season to survive (or not, as last season proved) surely couldn’t transform a solid, if unspectacular, Merseyside outfit into a side challenging to finish in the top four. How wrong were we?

Martinez has always shown a strong eye for a good player. In his first season at Wigan Athletic he signed Victor Moses (circa £2.5m) and James McCarthy (circa £1.2m) before these players were later sold on for a rumoured £9m and £13m respectively, with the latter joining him at Everton this summer and immensely impressing. Arouna Kone proved to be a huge success and has followed suit, as has Antolin Alcaraz. Every manager has the odd dud here or there, even the most successful ones, so the £6.5m signing of Mauro Boselli can be treated with caution.

It is not just his record at Wigan that stands out, though. He helped transform a Swansea City side from a mid-table League One side to a solid Premier League outfit. Along the way he signed players such as Angel Rangel, the unfortunate Ferrie Bodde and Ashley Williams with the former and latter now established Premier League players and Bodde (injury) desperately unlucky to not be.

Martinez has astutely used the loan market, despite bizarre Twitter criticism from rival fans, to help boost Everton’s squad with the outstanding Belgian Romelu Lukaku, genius Spaniard Gerard Deulofeu, solid England international Gareth Barry and now Monaco’s giant Ivorian Lacina Traore all on loan. That’s what the loan market is there for and it has helped transform The Toffees to a side genuinely capable of challenging for a UEFA Champions League spot.

But it is not just the outstanding performances of this season or his successful Swansea career that should be admired. We like to use Twitter to communicate and we came across the Everton Podcast (@Followtonians – it’s worth a listen) very recently and noted that they had the Spaniard on their show. What an eye opener. Martinez has a plan for everything. He knows which players need to go where on loan. Which are ready for the first team. If they’re not, why not? And what can be done to get them ready for the first team? It was so evident that it wasn’t just words for the show either. He genuinely believed it. He knew everything about Everton Football Club from the very top to the very bottom. Everton fans must be loving life under Martinez and it begs the question – could he be the man to transform the fortunes of the national team? With a plan from the youngsters all the way to the full national squad, playing with the style that Martinez insists his teams play, you wonder whether The FA have considered this as a long-term option. I’m sure Evertonians will be hoping not.

The style of football also makes this success even more impressive. Fast, flowing, passing football is the philosophy Martinez preaches to his players but with players like Osman and Barry in the side, it gives the freedom for more expressive players like the ever-improving Seamus Coleman and Ross Barkley, whizz-kid Deulofeu and Belgian Kevin Mirallas (one of The Couch Pundits favourite players) to tear defences apart. With free-scoring (until recently) striker Lukaku on the end of their service, maybe we should have seen the rise of Everton further.

Martinez’s conduct outside the game may well be the secret to his success. In his recent interview with the Daily Mail (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2545495/Roberto-Martinez-The-Premier-Leagues-hottest-young-manager.html) he reveals he has only ever drunk alcohol once – on his wedding day – and it is evident he has the respect of his coaching staff as they don’t touch a drop until he goes to bed. He also needs 8 hours sleep to function to his full potential. We might take that advice. Wise words from a genius.

Whatever happens to Everton this season, Martinez’s stock is bound to rise. Great football, a great eye for a player and most importantly, a long-term plan. Who knows what Everton can achieve but we’re most certainly looking forward to it. Everton fans must be loving it.

What’s next for Everton and Martinez? Just how far can he take them? Should England be looking at him as a long-term option? Let us know below or on Twitter (@the_couchpundit) or Facebook (www.facebook.com/thecouchpundit).

The Couch Pundit team.

Premier League: Mid-Season Review

Welcome to the final instalment of our mid-season mini reviews. We move onto the centre piece. The pinnacle. The Premier League.

We can’t help but start at the very top and commend Arsenal on a great start to the season. The genius signing of Mesut Ozil has made the Gunners tick but you can’t help but feel that they need a quality striker if they are going to fend off free-scoring Manchester City, who will be looking to break the thousand goal barrier by the end of the season and Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea who have shown that not having a goalscoring striker will hinder your chances of winning the league. Oh, hang on…

Liverpool are slowly improving under Northern Irishman Brendan Rodgers and have a real chance of finishing in the top four but face tough opposition from Merseyside rivals Everton. Martinez, who has real drive, determination and more importantly, a long term plan, sold himself by saying he’d get The Toffees in to the top four. If Romelu Lukaku can find his early season form, who would bet against it? We wouldn’t. Spurs are improving under Tim Sherwood with four wins on the trot and you suspect that those 6 will battle it out for the top four.

Cardiff City prop up the Premier League after 22 games with barmy man Vincent Tan appointing Ole-Gunnar Solksjaer in a bid to revive the Welsh clubs fortunes. The other Welsh side are also struggling with Swansea City only 3 points off the bottom in 15th place. The Europa League seems to be catching up with them and with the club still involved in the competition, you have to worry about their Premier League place.

Capital One Cup finalists Sunderland are in 19th but appear to be slowly improving and Poyet may just drag them out of trouble but it’s another story for West Ham United who are struggling for performances, consistency and results. The Hammers will be desperate for Andy Carroll’s return to first-team action to coincide with an upturn in form. Fulham’s change of manager seems to have done little stop the rot and they now seem set on unsettling a player in every one of their relegation rivals’ squad instead. Crystal Palace have a weak (but massive) squad but Tony Pulis has never been relegated as a manager and will be hoping to maintain that record and keep The Eagles up.

There are only 6 points between 10th and 20th in a The Premier League so far, with every side having played 22 games. Aston Villa sit top of that group with 24 points as their young side look more capable of reaching their potential this season. Hull City (yes, City) have a very solid home record but need to pick up more points away to avoid slipping into the relegation places whereas Stoke City, Norwich City and West Bromwich Albion languish in mid-table and will be pining for a run of 3 or 4 straight victories to pull them away from danger.

The mid-table sides with little chance of upsetting the applecart are Southampton and Newcastle United. We would love to rule Manchester United out, but we can’t, can we? They’re really struggling although the signing of Mata and return of van Persie and Rooney should result in more consistency and points.

So. Champions? If Arsenal sign a striker, them. If they don’t, Man City. Top four will be Man City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Everton.

Going down we reckon are Cardiff, Crystal Palace and Fulham.

Who do you think will win the league? Are any of the bottom 10 safe from the drop? Get involved and let us know!

The Couch Pundit team.