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      Man Utd’s squad is not good enough to compete with questions marks over TEN players including Varane and Sancho

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      MANCHESTER UNITED lost another big game away from home at the weekend and that means that there’s some real jeopardy to their pursuit of a top-four finish.  United’s 2-0 defeat at Newcastle was the latest in a catalogue of poor showings away from home against the Premier League’s “top” sides.  
      Jadon Sancho is still struggling for Man UnitedCredit: Getty
      Erik ten Hag still needs a stronger squadCredit: Getty
      Why can’t Manchester United “do it” against the big teams? It’s simple, if the new additions are in poor form, injured, or suspended, then what’s left is the mismatch of talent from last season.
      Erik ten Hag has done a good job, but he should be judged over three summer windows and not just the one. 
      The issues are obvious. Is David De Gea good enough with his feet or coming from his line? Probably not. At right back, United need a new addition that is a mix of Diogo Dalot and Aaron Wan-Bissaka.  
      Is Raphael Varane truly the “best” long-term partner for Lisandro Martinez?
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      The Frenchman is exceptional on his day, but in a recent interview since retiring from international football he stated that the Premier League was incredibly demanding.
      Has he really got two or three games a week in his legs? 
      In midfield, Scott McTominay still struggles in possession, while Fred, despite all his endeavour, isn’t comfortable when receiving the ball on the half-turn.
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      Christian Eriksen, on his way back from injury, has been a breath of fresh air, but will be 32 next year, and will shortly require younger legs in and around him too.  
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      Then there’s the forward positions. Antony needs a full pre-season at the club before being critiqued fairly, while Jadon Sancho looks like he’s still struggling both wide and in the number 10 position.
      Wout Weghorst has been brought in on loan for the unreliable Anthony Martial, but both shouldn’t be anywhere near the club next season.  
      So despite the spending, there’s still plenty of work to be done.
      Owners to blame
      United’s struggles are down to the Glazer family and years of mismanagement. It took two significant defeats at the beginning of this campaign for them to hold their hands up and admit that manager Ten Hag required further support in the transfer market.  
      The issue is that Manchester United’s “best” starting XI is capable of competing to a point – that being qualification for the Champions League (maybe), and possibly a cup (or two). 
      What United supporters crave is a consistent challenge for the Premier League title – something that is currently impossible and requires some clever moves in the transfer market, and further patience from supporters. 
      Will United qualify for the Champions League next season? It’s still in their hands and they have the insurance of being able to qualify for the tournament via the Europa League. 
      What we’ve seen in recent weeks is a reality check. United need to somehow drag themselves over the top four finishing line in May, and then move on to the next stage of Ten Hag’s rebuild.
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      Hopefully, the owners, whoever that is at the time, will allow it. 
      Follow Tom on Twitter @MrTomMcDermott More

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      Man Utd legend Gary Neville sparks row with Jenas and O’Hara after damning tweet about former Tottenham stars

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      GARY NEVILLE sparked a furious Twitter row with Jermaine Jenas and Jamie O’Hara with his cutting comments about former Tottenham players.The Sky Sports pundit, 48, took a swipe at his fellow footballers-turned-pundits criticising the club.
      Gary Neville wound up former Tottenham players with his Twitter commentsCredit: Getty
      Spurs threw away a lead against another relegation-threatened side on Monday night.
      Despite taking the lead against ten-man Everton, Lucas Moura got himself sent off before Michael Keane blasted into the top corner to rescue a 1-1 draw.
      The Goodison Park debacle saw Tottenham get dominated by the Toffees after the opening goal despite the man advantage.
      The result, which did see Spurs jump into the top four on goal difference having played twice more than Manchester United, followed the 3-3 draw at Southampton that prompted Antonio Conte’s explosive press conference and ultimately his sacking.
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      And that led to a furious reaction from many ex-Spurs players, especially when caretaker boss Cristian Stellini claimed his team “played a good game”.
      Jenas tweeted: “I can’t watch this team anymore ffs.”
      And O’Hara raged on talkSPORT before storming out of the studio: “I’m done.
      “Someone save me. I’m done, I am done. Who is this imposter? Has Antonio Conte come back?
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      “Has he done a [Jose] Mourinho and has got in the kit room or something? What am I hearing? What was that interview?
      “He’s talking about keeping the ball and he put Davinson Sanchez on. A good game? I’m done, mate. I’m done. You can carry on, I’ve had enough of this.”
      Neville could not resist the urge to stir up some trouble on social media, though.
      The ex-Manchester United defender tweeted: “Interesting seeing ex-Spurs players that never got near to Champions League places for years when they played for the club saying they can’t watch this current team now.
      “Spurs are in fourth place currently ahead of Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool. Perspective!”

      The post, viewed by more than 2.2million people within five hours, eventually triggered a response from both O’Hara and Jenas.
      O’Hara said: “Massive fan of Gary Neville so won’t get into a slanging match.
      “I did play for Spurs, grew up at Spurs and a huge fan who cares about the club and seeing the awful football week in week out is hard to watch.
      “Everyone is entitled to an opinion and we may be fourth but it’s diabolical.”
      Jenas shared a photo of himself playing for Tottenham in the Champions League and captioned it: “… maybe he wasn’t taking about me. Apologies if so @GNev2.”
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      One fan account replied to Neville: “Gary, respectfully, it’s so much more than just trying to get fourth and you know it.”
      But the former England right-back quipped back: “It wasn’t last season when you beat Arsenal.”
      Jamie O’Hara defended himself in the repliesCredit: The Sun
      Jermaine Jenas also took to Twitter with a responseCredit: Flicker Productions More

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      Ex-Brazil coach Tite ‘wants to become Chelsea manager and makes interest known’ as race to replace Graham Potter hots up

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      FORMER Brazil boss Tite is reportedly interested in filling the vacant manager role at Chelsea.Graham Potter, 47, was sacked from his position at the Blues after the club dropped into the bottom half of the table.
      Tite reportedly wants to become the new Chelsea managerCredit: AFP
      Graham Potter was sacked from the role after losing to Aston VillaCredit: Getty Images – Getty
      The Stamford Bridge side have already been linked with a host of names to replace the Englishman.
      This includes the likes of Mauricio Pochettino, Julian Nagelsmann, Marco Silva and Luis Enrique.
      However, another name has now entered the fray as Tite, 61, wants the job, according to The Independent.
      The report suggests that the former Brazil coach has “made his interest known” to the club.
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      It is also claimed that the decision over the next manager will be led by sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, while the “ultimate sing-off” will be from Todd Boehly.
      A new manager will be thrown into the deep end as the West London club have a Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid on the horizon.
      Tite left his role as Brazil boss following the side’s World Cup quarter-final exit to Croatia in Qatar.
      After the defeat, he said: “As I said, my cycle is over. I said it over a year and a half ago. I’m not a man of two words.”
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      Potter has already been approached by Leicester to replace sacked manager Brendan Rodgers.
      However, he rejected the advances from the relegation-threatened side as he wants to wait until the summer before making a decision on his future. More

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      I’m a Chelsea ace and eat gummy bears and Skittles at half-time, I tried to be more ‘professional’ but I’m a sugar freak

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      SELF-CONFESSED “sugar freak” Kai Havertz claims scoffing gummy bears and Skittles at half-time has transformed his form.The attacker revealed that Chelsea’s nutritionist REVERSED a sugar ban imposed by his own eating expert.
      Kai Havertz says eating sugary treats again and home-cooking from partner Sophia Weber makes him feel like his old self again
      [embedded content]
      The Germany star believes he felt worse after initially trying to become “more professional” and following the instructions of a personal nutritionist.
      Now he believes he’s his old self – after his club’s dietary specialist advisor said the 23-year-old NEEDS the sugar.
      Ahead of Tuesday’s Premier League clash at home to Liverpool, Havertz told German outlet EHRENPFLAUME: “Last summer I completely changed my diet and had a nutritionist. 
      “I just wanted to become a bit more professional and everything like that.
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      “I did that for half a year actually and we had a cook in London at the beginning, who came every day and cooked for us.
      “And I have to say, I did not feel good at all. This has had the complete opposite effect on me.”
      Havertz said he drank coke after games and “I need sweets and stuff because that gives me strength and energy”.
      The advice from his nutritionist, however, was to “stop completely with it”.
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      And the former Bayer Leverkusen ace claims that change backfired.
      He said: “I stopped completely and that had the opposite effect on me.
      “Then we got a nutritionist at Chelsea and he completely went the other policy and said, ‘Kai, you need the Fanta, you need the coke, drink one a day’.
      “At half-time I get gummy bears, skittles or something.
      “He has completely followed the opposite policy and… I was full of energy again.
      “That’s why now the tide has turned a bit.”
      But Havertz reckons there’s another reason too.
      He said: “Now (girlfriend) Sophia (Weber) is the cook and actually cooks almost every day now.”
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      Frontman Havertz believes he’s rediscovering some of his old form as he has his strength and energy backCredit: Alamy More

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      Aleksandar Mitrovic slapped with EIGHT-MATCH ban after Man Utd madness in one of biggest punishments in Prem history

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      ALEXSANDAR MITROVIC has been banned for EIGHT matches following his furious Old Trafford meltdown.The Fulham striker shoved and reacted angrily at referee Chris Kavanagh when he awarded a penalty and sent off team-mate Willian in the FA Cup quarter-final defeat.
      Aleksandar Mitrovic has got an eight-game ban following his sending off at Manchester UnitedCredit: Getty
      Kavanagh showed the red card – prompting an automatic three-game ban.
      But now the FA have slapped him with an extra five matches and a £75,000 fine.
      Manager Marco Silva, also red carded in the flashpoint, got a two-game touchline ban and £40,000 fine for his behaviour and comments.
      Mitrovic served the first of those eight in Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Bournemouth.
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      He will now miss Fulham’s next seven matches before returning for May’s trip to Southampton.
      The Serb is also available for the London derby at home to Crystal Palace and the away day back to the scene of the crime, Old Trafford, for the final game of the season.
      The FA said: “We claimed the standard punishment which would otherwise apply to Aleksandar Mitrovic for the sending-off offence of violent conduct that he committed towards the match referee around the 72nd minute was clearly insufficient.
      “The forward denied this, but it was upheld by the Regulatory Commission, and a three-match ban was imposed.
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      “This is in addition to the three-match ban he had already received for the red card offence. 
      “The forward separately admitted that his behaviour and language after being sent off was improper, abusive, insulting and threatening, and the Regulatory Commission imposed an additional two-match ban and £75,000 fine. 
      “In total, the Regulatory Commission has suspended Aleksandar Mitrović for eight matches. One of these has already been served, and therefore the forward will be unavailable for Fulham FC’s next seven matches.”
      The eight-match ban is similar to the punishments dished out to David Prutton and Paolo Di Canio.
      Prutton got ten games in 2005 for pushing Alan Wiley after his red card while Di Canio missed 11 matches for shoving ref Paul Alcock to the ground.
      The longest bans in Premier League history were the nine-month suspensions for Eric Cantona’s kung-fu kick and Mark Bosnich for taking cocaine.
      Biggest Premier League bans
      Mark Bosnich – 9 months
      Australian goalkeeper Bosnich was sacked by Chelsea after being found guilty of taking cocaine
      Eric Cantona – 9 months
      Cantona jumped into the crowd to kung-fu kick a Crystal Palace fan and also got 120 hours of community service
      Rio Ferdinand – 8 months
      Ferdinand got a big ban in 2003 after missing a drugs test and claimed he was out shopping
      Adrian Mutu – 7 months
      Mutu’s Chelsea spell was cut short after testing positive for cocaine
      Kolo Toure – 6 months
      Tour got the ban after being found with performance-enhancing substances – but it was overturned as the FA believed it was taken unknowingly
      Paolo Di Canio – 11 games
      Di Canio sent referee Paul Alcock tumbling to the turf amid a row between Sheffield Wednesday and Arsenal
      David Prutton – 10 games
      Prutton also pushed a ref, Alan Wiley, during a game with Arsenal – and got a £6,000 fine too
      Aleksandar Mitrovic – 8 games
      Mitrovic shoved ref Chris Kavanagh in a furious reaction to red cards for Willian and Marco Silva after awarding a penalty

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      Arsenal flop Sanogo reveals stunned reaction to Wenger transfer phone call after ‘two years of problems’ at Auxerre

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      FORMER Arsenal forward Yaya Sanogo has revealed the shock phone call he received from Arsene Wenger before joining the North London giants.Sanogo, 30, signed for the Gunners from Auxerre on a free transfer in 2013 after his deal with the Ligue 2 side expired.
      Yaya Sanogo failed to impress during his four years at ArsenalCredit: Times Newspapers Ltd
      Sanogo has explained what happened when Arsene Wenger called himCredit: Twitter / MohaBezzouaoui
      Wenger spent 22 years as Arsenal boss between 1996 and 2018Credit: PA
      Arsenal’s interest stemmed from a one-week period in which the striker netted seven goals in two games – four against Stade Lavollais and a hat-trick against Tours FC.
      It did not work out for Sanogo at the Emirates as he ended up playing just 20 times and scoring one goal under Wenger before leaving for Toulouse in 2017.
      But he still looks back fondly on his first conversation with the iconic French coach.
      It came after his remarkable goalscoring week as Sanogo was left in utter disbelief that Wenger was calling him – just months after he had returned from a lengthy period out injured.
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      Speaking to Masterclass Media, he said: “For all the problems I’d had, the phone wouldn’t ring for two years. But after my seven goals in two games, Arsene Wenger calls me.
      “I had a little Motorola, I promise you I had that phone. I was at home using my Macbook and I saw +44. I’m thinking ‘What is this number?’ So I don’t answer, but he called again.
      “I say ‘Hello’. ‘Hello, it’s Arsene Wenger’. I thought it was a joke.
      “I say ‘Yes?’ ‘It’s Yaya Sanogo?’ I say ‘Yes’. And I don’t speak.
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      “He tells me ‘Everybody is talking about you, seven goals in one week, not many players have done it’. And I told him ‘Yes, thank you, that’s nice’. But I didn’t know what to say.
      “He told me ‘I see you are shy. I’m getting my plane and I want to meet you. I don’t know if you care, I know there’s a lot of clubs that want you, especially after the week you had. Would you be interested to meet me in Paris?’
      “I said ‘Yes’ but I don’t realise. I think it’s amazing. He asked me when it’s OK to come to Paris and he hung up.
      “I’m saying ‘Wait, wait, it was really Wenger?’ I had two years of problems. Six, seven games [later], Wenger calls me. I’ll sign right now.”
      Sanogo, who received a 2014 FA Cup winner’s medal, had disappointing loan spells at Crystal Palace, Ajax and Charlton before permanently leaving Arsenal for Toulouse.
      He netted 16 times in 72 games for the Ligue 1 side across a three-year spell.
      He then joined Championship club Huddersfield in 2021 but played just nine games and failed to find the back of the net.
      After leaving Huddersfield, he enduring 18 months without a club, finally penning a contract with Armenian Premier League side Urartu in January.
      Sanogo had a brief spell with Huddersfield in the Championship in 2021Credit: Getty More

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      John Terry lulled opposition into false sense of security in tunnel then clattered them – and even pranked Chelsea pals

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      CHELSEA legend John Terry used to lull his opponents into a false sense of security in the tunnel – then clatter into them on the pitch.The 42-year-old played over 700 games for the Blues and is the most successful player in the club’s history.
      John Terry used to lull rival strikers into a false sense of securityCredit: AFP or licensors
      The defender would then turn into a different person on the pitchCredit: Getty Images – Getty
      Terry skippered Chelsea more than 500 times, winning the Premier League and FA Cup five times, the League Cup three times, the Champions League and Europa League in a glittering career.
      And the Blues veteran would do all he could to get any kind of mental edge on his opponents.
      In an interview with snooker legend Stephen Hendry on YouTube, Terry was asked if he was ever friends with opposing strikers.
      Terry said: “I’d be all friendly in the tunnel before the game and stuff like that [saying] ‘can I have your shirt after the game’? making them feel really comfortable as if it’s going to be an easy afternoon.
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      “Then first tackle [clapping motion], little bits like that.”
      Terry would even continue the mind games while away on his summer holidays – both with rival players and with team-mates.
      The ex-defender would go on runs on the beach so everyone could see him, just so he could get a mental edge over everyone else.
      Terry revealed: “Even going back to that on holiday and stuff you’d see people on holiday and you’d be down the beach.
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      “I used to make sure that I’d wait for all the players to get there, obviously we all used to go to Portugal [and] Dubai, wherever it was.
      “I’d wait for all the players to be there, I’d stick my trainers on and go for a run along the beach.
      “Everyone would go ‘what [are] you doing?’ and I went ‘I’m just getting fit for next season’, and the next day mentally you’d start seeing them running and stuff like that.
      “I’d go for a 20 minute jog but just mentally I was always trying to play with other people and trying to get in people’s heads.
      “I spent the rest of the holiday on the sunbed while they were running and thinking that I was in the gym every day.”
      Terry would even prank rivals and team-mates into thinking he had been to the gym at 5.30am on holiday as part of his plan to be ahead of everyone else mentally.
      He continued: “I used to go down in the gym and you know you get the pad of when you sign in and sign out.
      “I used to put 5.30am. The night before [I would] sign in the following morning ‘5.30am John Terry’ and my room number. So when they’d come down at 10 o’clock they’d see my name at 5.30.”
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      When asked by Hendry if this was to his team-mates, Terry replied: “My team-mates, other players from other teams.
      “I was always trying to get an edge on people mentally. It’s weird, but it worked.” More

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      Arsenal legend Vieira targeted for immediate Premier League return at struggling side ‘who could sack manager TONIGHT’

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      ARSENAL legend Patrick Vieira could make a swift Premier League return as he poses as a favourite to take over at Nottingham Forest, reports suggest.Forest take on fellow Premier League strugglers Leeds tonight at Elland Road and could sack manager Steve Cooper if they lose, according to the Daily Mail.
      Patrick Vieira poses as a favourite to take over at Nottingham ForestCredit: Getty
      Nottingham Forest may sack Steve Cooper if they lose to Leeds tonightCredit: Rex
      Nottingham haven’t won any of their last seven league matches, of which they lost four, and owner Evangelos Marinakis is said to be concerned by the team’s performances and results.
      Another poor evening could spell disaster for Cooper less than a year after he led the Tricky Trees back to the Premier League.
      Vieira is reportedly a leading contender to take over at the City Ground shortly after his own dismissal from Crystal Palace.
      The French tactician was sacked just three weeks ago after a run of nine league games without a win that left Palace just above the relegation zone.
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      The 46-year-old was replaced by Roy Hodgson – the same manager he succeeded in 2021 when he arrived at Selhurst Park.
      Despite him getting the boot, Forest appear to still admire Vieira after his impressive debut season that saw him lead the Eagles to 12th place.
      The former France international looks set for a quick Prem return regardless of what Marinakis decides to do as other clubs are also keeping tabs.
      Cooper came close to the sack in October after a 4-0 hammering by Leicester.
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      But the Greek supremo opted to award the Welshman with a new contract instead.
      Marinakis saw his other club Olympiacos lose their third manager of the season on Monday when Michel resigned.
      The Spanish head coach left just a few months after the sacking of Pedro Martins and Carlos Corberan, who moved to West Brom.
      The reigning Greek champions look set to be led by football director Jose Anigo until the end of the season. More