Tough task ahead after another bad week as Manchester United takes on their old coach Rene Meulensteen Fulham at Old Trafford on Sunday 09 February 2014. The Reds have will have had more than a week to stew over the defeat at Stoke by the time kick off rolls around at Old Trafford, but facing the team propping up the Barclays Premier League presents an ideal opportunity to return to winning ways. Sunday’s visitors have slumped to the foot of the table, and Tuesday night’s defeat at home to League One strugglers Sheffield United in the FA Cup has added to their woes. United’s defence had to be reshaped before half-time at Stoke last Saturday following injuries to Jonny Evans (calf) and Phil Jones (concussion) but while the former is unavailable, the latter trained on Friday and could be involved. Nemanja Vidic is available again following his suspension and could play, just over 48 hours after announcing he will be leaving the club in the summer. After a two-month layoff with wrist and back problems, Marouane Fellaini has been ruled out for a further week after injuring his groin in training. As for Fulham, Lewis Holtby and William Kvist are eligible having been cup-tied in midweek, and defender Johnny Heitinga could be in line for his first start following his arrival from Everton just before the transfer window slammed shut. However another recent arrival, striker Konstantinos Mitroglou, looks set to miss out with Fulham wanting to get the Greek international fully fit after a recent absence. The Cottagers also have former United midfielders Larnell Cole and Ryan Tunnicliffe in their ranks after their deadline day deals, but we won’t see the enigma that is Dimitar Berbatov – the languid Bulgarian has moved to Monaco on loan. The Reds were away and clear after just 22 minutes of November’s trip to Craven Cottage, with strikes from Antonio Valencia, Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney handing the side a clear advantage that the hosts were unable to overcome despite Alexander Kacaniklic’s deflected goal giving hope on 65 minutes. A win for the Reds will increase the problems for former coach Rene Meulensteen, just two months after he took charge at Fulham. Rene Meulensteen earned himself a glowing reputation during two stints with United, working with the academy and the reserves before becoming first-team coach in 2008 after returning to the club following a spell in charge of Danish outfit Brondby. The 49-year-old left the club last summer, but was quickly recruited as assistant to Guus Hiddink at big-spending Anzhi Makhachkala. His stay in Russia was brief – he succeeded Hiddink after just two games, but was then fired 16 days later when the club’s owner decided to drastically slash budgets. Meulensteen joined the Craven Cottage coaching team under Martin Jol in November, and he replaced his fellow Dutchman a few weeks later. Former Chelsea midfielder Steve Sidwell has been consistently good in a poor campaign for the Cottagers, outstripping strikers Darren Bent and the departed Dimitar Berbatov at the top of their goal-scoring charts, but Fulham fans may be worried that he has yet to put pen to paper on a new contract with his current deal set to expire this summer. We know that weve only got ourselves to blame. We need to look each other in the eye and say, Lets pick ourselves up and dig ourselves out of it. If you talk about this game and you say, Have we hit rock-bottom? We probably have. OK, fine, thats it. And if we have hit rock-bottom, it cant get any worse and it can only get better, so thats what we need to work for. Rene Meulensteen, following Fulhams defeat to Sheffield United. Leicester-based official Kevin Friend presides over United for the second time this season, having been in charge for the 4-0 win over Norwich in the Capital One Cup. The Reds match rounds off the weekend’s Barclays Premier League action, which kicks off when Liverpool host Arsenal at lunchtime on Saturday. Manchester City will look to bounce back from their home defeat to Chelsea when they travel to Norwich, with Jose Mourinho’s Blues facing Newcastle in another 15:00 start on Saturday. Spurs v Everton will have not long finished when the first whistle blows at Old Trafford on Sunday. Enjoy. Hope United perform like Champions throughout the season. The new breed of players are now to build up a better side for United Future. Hope Manchester United wins more Titles next season. Believed Champ20ns, Glory Glory Man United.
Posted on: Sat, 08 Feb 2014 03:07:48 +0000
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