Dave Devils

It's been almost 11 years. I can't believe it's been so long since I started following football casually. Been a supporter of the club Manchester United ever since the summer of 2013 I believe. How have I started supporting this club? You'll laugh when you find out why I even started supporting football.  The summer of 2013, I was 9 years old. Every kid loves summer break after school, and so did I. I was excited to go to my grandparents' house in my father's hometown like always. I used to enjoy playing board games with my cousins over there. Uno, Chess, Ludo what not.  As always, during one of our play "sessions", one of my aunts brought us some stationary things as a gift. One of them was a stationary pouch, red in colour, with a giant logo in the centre. A club logo with a devil facing forward holds a trident with both hands. And my 9-year-old self couldn't think of a logo cooler than that. I had no idea about football; up until that point, I o...

We win 2-0. Rashford of course scores again and Garnacho shuts the critics. This was our worst performance since the World Cup. But, WHO CARES? We won.  The starting line-up today was questionable, with neither Varane nor Martinez starting, but I understand the decision as we prepare for Barcelona on Thursday. Martinez is suspended for the first leg, so Shaw will be playing the left centre back, which leads me to think Ten Hag started Shaw as LCB to get more used to the position he has been playing lately, like against City.  Maguire is, let's be honest, not good enough. Defensively he was solid, apart from the one moment which led to a Leeds chance which he did recover from, but his passing let the team down, slowing our tempo. Bringing on Martinez changed our game for the better. Fred had an amazing game and deserved the man of the match. We missed Casemiro a lot in the game. Sancho was our main threat in the first half, I raised my eyebrow when he was taken off instead of W...

"I admire them both, Man City and Liverpool. They play fantastic football. But eras come to an end." said Ten Hag. Manchester is red and will always be. I love you, Ten Hag. Every player stood up when we needed them and played for the badge. We had City in our clutches for most of the game, restricting them to one shot on target. A tactical masterclass from the boss. City was dominating after the break and looked like they would secure a goal one way or another, which they did, but the team showed resilience and did not let the setback affect us as we grabbed two goals in the space of 4 minutes to complete the turnaround. One of the important things the team lacked in recent years was the mentality, and it has improved a lot this season as we did not let a setback that is City's goal affect us in any way and pushed for the win. As Bruno said, we used to be a group of individuals, but now we are working as a team, playing for each other. I don't care what people say ab...

Do you guys still remember the last ten years of suffering? I do. But I haven't looked forward to United games more than I do now in over ten years as a United fan. And do you know the reason why we are playing so well? Is it because Rashford is on fire? Is it because Martinez and De Gea have built a wall? Yes. But do you know what clicks the team the way it is? The answer is simple. It's the title of this article. You got it. It's Casemiro. He has revolutionized the team. Ten Hag has described him as the cement between the stones, and we are here today to discuss why he said that. With Casemiro, we have a win percentage of 70% with only 0.6 goals conceded per 90 minutes, against the 57.10% win percentage with 2 goals conceded per 90 in his absence. What makes him so special? Is it the last-ditch tackles or taking a card for the team? Yes, but as Puyol once said, if you are making a sliding tackle, it means the team has committed a mistake. What makes Casemiro special is hi...

Happy new year, folks! A lot is happening at the club. The club is on sale, and Glazers might finally leave, but there is one man who knows what he is doing, and that's our boss, Ten Hag.  Since being appointed as manager, he has brought discipline and a mentality to the club. Although we are still doing the same in the league table, if you go by the club's position and points, you should also know that this is no FIFA or Football Manager. It's one of the most challenging jobs in the footballing world, with pressure coming from all sides and nobody from the club hierarchy at your side, being run by clowns. But despite all that, our team has started playing good football, and for the first time in years, we are seemingly going in the right direction. He also has the highest win percentage than any United manager in history after 24 games in charge, with 71%.  In yesterday's game against Wolves, which was a must-win game for us going into the new year, Ten Hag decided to ...

 I just have to start with Casemiro, what a man. A phenomenon. He dominated the proceedings all game. We are really lucky to have him in this United side. People might say Old Trafford has become a retirement home for Real players who just want money, but the performance we saw from Casemiro tonight is not something a player plays like if he wants money. That right there was passion. I don't care if people think it's a retirement home for finished players, Casemiro is nowhere near finished and is out there for blood even now. That was prime UCL Casemiro. The pitch was slow today in a rainy Manchester. The ball was being dragged with difficulty, but United showed that they don't care, as they were brilliant.  Rashford has come back from where he left off before the World Cup, seriously, why was he not played against France until the last 5 minutes? Rashford has hit double figures for the season, and he is on fire. This is a redemption from last season where he looked out of ...

I prefer talking about Ronaldo situation after match analysis. Amazing from Garnacho once again as he scores a winner in the last minute of the game to hand United all 3 points in the last game before the 6-week world cup break. We dominated the game in the first half, although we missed a lot of clear-cut chances that could've won us the game by a 3 or 4 goal margin. We clearly missed Dalot, as Malacia was cooked by Willian for the whole game. He was good at recoveries, but we clearly missed Dalot. We clearly play better without Ronaldo in the team, the fluidity in attack is just infinitely better when Ronaldo is not there. I believe Martial staying fit for the rest of the season is crucial for us in the second half of the season.  Eriksen got his first goal for United. Bruno was brilliant in the first half, but faded after he was shifted to the right wing after Elanga was replaced by McTominay. I understand McTominay was brought on for the struggling Malacia playing in an unfamil...

Amazing attacking intent from the team as we come from behind to win the game. Garnacho was simply brilliant, Bruno was the key, Martial is back with a bang and Rashford continues his form. Ten Hag got plenty to learn from this game. Bruno can only play well when he's played in the attacking midfielder position, which I mentioned in my last blog. Donny Van de Beek ghosted his game once again. It's time he gets dropped, it's not working out and be sold in January. Garnacho came off the bench and got himself 2 assists, his cross for the 4th goal was brilliant. Fred was ineffective as the only creator left, with VDB having another bad game and Bruno in the right wing in the first half. I think he can only play well when he's asked to play a highly aggressive game.  Defensively, it was a disaster, with Lindelof and Maguire back as a defensive partnership for this league cup game. Maguire was sleeping for the Watkins goal and second goal, we were unlucky with the Dalot defle...

This was a bad win, if that exists. 15 points, yet we finished second in the group and have to play another extra knockout round against one of the UCL teams that dropped to Europa. Garnacho what a goal, he started where he left off and scored the winning goal. He becomes the youngest non-English goalscorer in Europe for man united, a record previously held by George Best. Ronaldo should've taken his chance and score his goal, a player like him shouldn't miss those chances.  Defensively, we were solid again (never have I thought I'll get to say this) once again as we De Gea gets his 6th clean-sheet in 7 games. Martinez was class once again, his calmness and leadership in defence is impeccable. Not just defence, but his progressive passes are really done well. De Gea's double save right before the break was really important, and he deserves it for his recent performances.  We still missed Antony, talk all about his productivity and showboating, but he always draws 2-3 pl...

                                          Not our best game as a team. The bench and second team players are not at the first team level, but what a defensive masterclass it was from the team. Martinez was colossal, despite playing against a highly physical team. Take that Carrahager. Dalot brilliant. Maguire had a bad first half both defensively and breaking the flow of the game while we were trying to attack, but he redeemed himself in the second half as he made really crucial blocks to keep us in the game. David de Gea take a bow. He can save the fucking titanic.  Rashford with an absolute world-class finish for his 100th goal for Manchester United. That header was a prime Ronaldo header. Elanga is one-dimensional and was really ineffective in attack, due to which we didn't pose any threat from the right-hand side.  Five clean sheets in a row for de Gea at Old Trafford. ...

 Not the best game but also not the worst, we got the job done like professionals.  Let's start with Garnacho. He was my man of the match. Garnacho was waiting in the sidelines all season, and he seized and grabbed the opportunity with both his hands as he gave an amazing performance. The Argentinian's debut was a statement and a wake-up call to Sancho, who's been performing poor lately. Garnacho faced the Sherrif defenders head-on and not shying away from challenging his opponents, a flair that Sancho has been lacking this season. I would rather have a player who challenges his opponents no matter how many times he fails until he succeeds than a player who passes back and avoids the challenges. The 18-year-old was lively in the first-half who faded in the second half, but I hope we get more such performances.  Coming to Antony, he had a bad game. The roulette spin in the first half and the miss pass following that sums up his game. Addressing the elephant in the room, Ro...

Nobody did it like Beckham Today marks 30 years since David Beckham made his professional debut for Manchester United. On this occasion, I decided to give a tribute to a great player and one of my idols. Who is Beckham? Well, for starters, he is one of the most popular people in the world. He's known worldwide and a household name, even for non-football fans. Why? His looks, obviously. But for me and any sane football fan, the word Beckham reminds us of a person who was one of the best footballers of his generation. Known for his pinpoint passes, crossing ability and the sexy free-kicks, work rate and his dribbling as a right-midfielder, winger, centre midfielder. He could play anywhere! Early Life David Robert Joseph Beckham was born in London, England. He was given the middle name Robert in honour of Bobby Charlton, his father's favourite player. If you don't know who Bobby is, consider reading my previous blog. His parents were die-hard United fans who frequently travell...

Busby Babes First blog in 2 years. Is there a better way to start again than explaining the newer fans why a person must never say ManU.   Let's go back to 6th February 1958. The team was returning from a European match, having defeated Red Star Belgrade in the Quarter-Finals. The flight stopped in Munich to refuel because a non-stop flight back to Manchester was unrealistic back in the days.  The British European Airways Flight 609 crashed on its third attempt to take off from an ice covered runway. The aircraft was carrying the Manchester United team, nicknamed the Busby Babes. The crash not only derailed the team's title ambitions, but also destroyed the nucleus of what could've been the greatest team of their generation. The fatalities included Duncan Edwards, who initially survived the crash but died in hospital about 2 weeks later. It took 10 years for the club to recover after the tragedy, having won the European cup led by the man Busby in 1968. The rebuild After th...

 Guess who's back  Back again  

Its been months since transfer rumours about  Pogba leaving the team started and it doesn't look like it's going to end any time soon. A report  also suggests that Pogba has revealed to his team-mates that he will be leaving the club in summer and there is no surprise in the fact that Real Madrid and Juventus are leading by a mile in the race for Pogba's signature. It is also indicated that Man United are fed up with Pogba. so I expect that United will go all out to sell Pogba at any costs and sign 2-3 good players who are actually willing to play for Utd at any point of time. This will also offload some high wages we are giving to a player every week only for him not even interested in the club anymore. Now, talking about his transfer, its obvious Real and Juve the only contenders for the World Cup winner though neither were willing to meet Utd's asking price of £180M asking price. According to the Sun , however, their interest could be reignited with The Red...