United's Derby Doldrums

Manchester United 1 Manchester City 2

Manchester United's unbeaten start to the season was derailed by a combination of Mourinho's own tactics and his arch rival Guardiola. A defeat that left a sour taste in the mouth after a handful of players fell short of the level expected along with some very debatable refereeing decisions.

Not only was this the first meeting of the season between the two Manchester clubs, but it was also the continuing rivalry of two of the game's most successful managers in the modern era.

Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola did use to get along in their time together at Barcelona when Mourinho was a fledgling coach and translator. However, since then their talents have clashed on numerous occasions, especially during their days as coaches for the Spanish giants Real and Barca.

Now they will pit their wits against each other from the less sunny climes of the North West of England. The weather may not be on a comparison with Spain, but once they make their way home after their first derby experience they will realise that the passion and hatred between the two rival fans are certainly hotter.

Mourinho's first derby starting XI saw some minor changes with the inclusion of Mkhitaryan, who would start his first league game and the return of Lingard after injury: De Gea, Valencia, Blind, Bailly, Shaw, Fellaini, Pogba, Lingard, Mkhitaryan, Rooney and Ibrahimovic.

The trio of Martial, Mata and Herrera would all start on the bench alongside last week's goal hero Rashford who had another wonderful debut in midweek this time scoring a hat-trick for the England U21's.

Once again Mourinho's defence was unchanged, which meant Smalling would have to bide his time a little longer. Fellaini kept his spot alongside Pogba in midfield with Ibrahimovic once again leading the line up front with Rooney slotted in behind him.

So the stage was set for the 172nd instalment of the battle of Manchester.

City got the match underway amid a highly charged atmosphere that was certainly the loudest heard at the Theatre of Dreams in a very long time.

The visitors created the first opening as De Bruyne whipped a low cross across the United box which thankfully evaded everyone. Lingard started out on the left with Mkhitaryan occupying the right channel. Lingard seemed to struggle to begin with after he misplaced passes and was slow to interact with his teammates.

Pogba had the first chance for the Red Devils as early as the sixth minute when he side-footed an effort from outside of the area that was only a whisper over the bar. The opening ten minutes was a fairly even affair as both sides battled for superiority.

At the back, Bailly was in the same fine form that has won him so many plaudits in his new United career. His gung-ho approach to defending is exactly what United have missed since Vidic departed.

The home side was guilty of giving the ball away too easily and this hit home as City drew the first blood on the quarter hour mark.

Rooney's attempted pass to set Mkhitaryan off and running down the right was blocked and the Armenian gave up the chase for the ball all too easily. The ball was collected down by his own corner flag by Kolarov and after exchanging passes with his keeper he hoofed a long pass forward which was headed on by Iheanacho and there was De Bruyne who managed to nip in ahead of Blind to collect the ball and coolly slotted it into the corner of De Gea's net.

The setup that Mourinho had chosen with the two wide midfielders Lingard and Mkhitaryan was just not working as they were both off the pace and maybe Rashford and Martial would have been a better option.

There was an extremely close call for offside against Mkhitaryan as he raced onto a ball through the middle and was upended in the penalty area.

The opening half an hour belonged to the blues as they were the first to every ball and the reds were very careless with their positional play. At least Fellaini was covering the pitch and getting in some sturdy defensive work to help out his back four.

Then, ten minutes before half time disaster for United as City extended their lead. De Bruyne was the thorn in United's side once again as his snapshot rebounded off De Gea's far post into the path of Iheanacho who had the easiest of tasks to slot the ball home as the home defence appealed for offside. It was Blind who had played the attacker onside.

Two nil down it would have to be another one of United's famous comebacks if they were going to get anything out of this derby.

United captain Rooney was guilty of giving the ball away twice while his team were in promising positions. That summed up the way United had played up to that point.

However, it was from a Rooney free-kick that United pulled a precious goal back. The captain floated over a high ball into the area which looked easy for new City keeper Bravo, but he somehow misjudged the ball, flapped and there was new hero Ibrahimovic to smack the ball into the net. The big Swede's technique made it look so easy as he netted his fifth goal in as many games.

Just before half time, Ibrahimovic had two chances to grab the equaliser.The first was a far post header that Bravo only just managed to keep hold of following neat work and a cross from Rooney.

That was followed by complete mayhem in the City defence as the keeper inexplicably presented the ball on a plate for Ibrahimovic, but his first time shot was far too weak.The visiting keeper started to show some nerves and dodgy decision making on his debut.

Half time and at least United had started to show some fight towards the end of the half. Some of the players were not having a good time of it and their concentration was not on song as City made them pay for some poor play.

Mourinho had seen enough and made two important changes at the start of the second half. Rashford and Herrera replaced the ineffective duo of Lingard and Mkhitaryan. United kicked off the half attacking the Stretford End.

Rashford had an immediate effect on the match as his speed took him down the left and he produced a wonderful cross which Ibrahimovic met but put it over the bar.

The introduction of Rashford completely changed the tempo of United's game as his awareness, speed and overall ability gave the City defenders a lot to ponder.

There were two bookings in quick succession for United as they chased the game. One each for Ibrahimovic and Fellaini. The Belgium was adjudged to have used his elbow, not for the first time in his career.

United should have been awarded a clear penalty after City's Bravo lunged two-footed into Rooney after another blunder from the keeper. Clattenburg saw it differently from everyone else and waved play on. An interesting aspect of the challenge is that anywhere else on the pitch and it would have resulted in a free kick. A poor decision by the referee and one that would have a huge impact on the result.

It was all United now as the fans urged their heroes to attack and attack they did this time down the right when a cross was averted by the elbow of Otamendi. For the third time in the game referee Clattenburg waved away the home side's claims for a spot kick.

There was a distinctive difference to United's play as they had an urgency about them that had been lacking in the first half.

Ibrahimovic took a slight knock to the shin after he tried to connect with a Fellaini header. True to the big man's character he got up, ran it off and got on with his game.

The pace of Rashford almost paid off as he raced towards the penalty area and struck a well-aimed shot into the net only for it to be rightly called for offside against Ibrahimovic. So unlucky for both the youngster and his side who deserved to be back on level terms.

United keeper De Gea produced the goods to keep his side in the game from a spate of City corners with a double save followed by a catch at full stretch to prevent a certain goal.

The match was a full bloodied end to end spectacle as it entered the last fifteen minutes as both sides pushed forward. De Bruyne saw an effort hit the near post and trickle agonisingly across the goal line and Silva wasted a golden chance to put the game beyond United's reach.

At the other end, United were also guilty of wasted opportunities when on the attack and needed to aim more balls at the hapless keeper who looked like a fish out of water.

The last change of the match for United saw Martial enter the fray in place of Shaw to add an extra body to the attack for the remaining ten minutes.

Rooney was cautioned for catching the keeper late after Bravo had dithered on the ball in his own area. As a referee, Clattenburg gave the home side nothing in the way of balanced decisions and the Rooney caution was another example of this.

In the next attack, Rooney stayed on his feet after being caught inside the area. He probably realised that if he had gone to ground the referee wouldn't have given anything anyway.

As the match entered the added five minutes of injury time United threw everything forward in search of the valuable equaliser. As they did it left the back door open for counter attacks which City managed on at least two occasions. Both times Bailly was there to snuff out the danger. He is such a great addition to the side and will only become stronger as he gains more experience as the season progresses.

In the end, it was a disappointing first defeat of the season for Mourinho's men, but in fairness they didn't start to play until the introduction of Rashford at the beginning of the second half. In hindsight, maybe he should have started from the off.

United's cause wasn't helped by a terrible performance by referee Clattenburg who made a number of poor decisions. The main one being the Bravo challenge on Rooney. The inconsistency of Premier League referees is a huge problem that has to be looked into as each game throws up more than one contentious decision week in week out.

It has to be said Mourinho got it wrong in his team selection with the choice of Lingard, who had only just come back from injury and Mkhitaryan who had picked up a knock while on international duty and was clearly not in the right mindset.

Another issue has to be when United were chasing a goal what was the point in forsaking a defender for an extra attacker and then have Rooney play deep trying to dictate the attacks when he would have been better suited in the danger areas. Also, is Rooney now the only player capable of delivering free kicks from deep positions into the opposition's penalty area?

Obviously, Mourinho's tactics are still a work in progress and one poor result doesn't spell a disaster. However, some of the players need to raise their game to justify their inclusion.

A bad day at the office and one in which lessons will hopefully be learnt by Mourinho and his coaches as they try to pick up the players ahead of their opening Europa League game against Feyenoord.

Until then thanks for reading.

Miles Dunton.

Rashford Secures Derby Win.

Manchester City 0 Manchester United 1

Manchester United shrugged off fatigue to defeat local rivals City in their own backyard with teen sensation Rashford scoring the vital goal on his derby debut.

After a week that saw United labour to earn a replay in the FA Cup and knocked out of the Europa League it was a return to the Premier League and the short journey across the city to take on local rivals City for the 171st time.

Since the start of the Premier League United holds the upper hand against their noisy neighbours as they have won 19 of the 37 matches played, but in the last five years, the balance has been redressed by the Arab-funded blues.

This was be the last derby match with Pelligrini in charge of City and just maybe van Gaal at United, because a loss today would have been a disaster for the Red Devils who have struggled as the season nears its end.

A top four finish and automatic entry into the Champions League is the target for both clubs. With only a handful of matches left it's getting to the point where any number of sides could sneak one of the valuable places needed.

Van Gaal had received criticism over his team selection and subsequent substitutions against Liverpool and he decided to make two changes. One was to elbow Fellaini to the bench and start with Schneiderlin. The other was to replace Varela at right back with Darmian. The Fellaini change was met with support by many United fans after his less than impressive displays of late.

Starting XI: De Gea, Darmian, Smalling, Blind, Rojo, Carrick, Schneiderlin, Mata, Lingard, Martial and Rashford.

Both teams started the match in a wholehearted fashion with neither side wanting to give an inch. Smalling epitomised that when he was booked for tugging back an advancing Aguero. Blind and Aguero would then have a running battle for the remainder of the half.

De Gea made the first save of the game after an attempt by Navas as he blocked the shot with his legs.

On the quarter hour came a big moment for a young man when Marcus Rashford was played through by Mata and the striker showed the calmness of a veteran as he strode through and slid the ball past a despairing Hart. A brilliant finish from a confident player in his first taste of a Manchester derby. The way he destroyed defender Demichelis with one touch was a joy to watch.

A Great start for the visitors and one that had the away fans up the volume. Martial had a chance to double the lead within a few minutes of the goal not once, but twice with Hart saving one and the other was off target.

With half an hour gone, it has to be said that this had been a confident display by United with City labouring and not allowed to get into any rhythm. The forward line of United looked a threat every time they attacked the makeshift centre-backs.

This was proven on the stroke of half-time when scorer Rashford showed a quick turn of pace and burst into the area only to be upended by Demichelis for a blatant penalty which referee Michael Oliver incredibly waved away.

Then not one but two City players shoved Rashford around and the youngster stood his ground. No action was taken by the ref but it made for a lively end to the half. You can't fault the passion shown by the players and Rashford has it in bucket loads.

Half-time and United led through a wonderful goal by Rashford. The whole team deserved to go in at the break ahead with every player in red having shown the effort and guile to stay ahead. Not often that has been said this season.

City didn't really trouble De Gea and his back four and apart from the Navas effort no save had to be made. Special mention for Lingard, who played extremely well in the number 10 position.

The second half got underway with no changes having been made by van Gaal. From the off Martial almost benefited from a poor back pass that had Hart in all sorts of trouble as he managed to clear but was injured for his effort and was stretchered off.

As the hour mark approached the Reds still looked comfortable as they went in search of the vital second goal with substitute keeper Caballero twice coming to his side's rescue with stops from first Martial then Rashford. This was followed by a low drive from Rojo which again the keeper pushed away.

Van Gaal's first change of the day came when he replaced birthday boy Rojo with Valencia for the final half-hour as City started to gain momentum against a tired looking United defence.

The change meant that Darmian switched over to the left back position. A change that City immediately took advantage of with Aquero sneaking in at the near post to fire a header against the post following a cross after Darmian was well beaten. A clear warning for United to be more careful at the back.

Seeing the need for more strength and fresh legs van Gaal made his second substitution for the crucial last twenty minutes when he brought on Schweinsteiger for Mata.

The changes made in United's defence caused confusion every time City attacked and it was that man Aguero again who this time found himself unmarked at the far post but only managed to head the ball back across the goal.

The match against Liverpool and the effort put in by United in the first half took its toll in the last minutes of the match, especially with Darmian, who had to be replaced after he had gone down with cramp a couple of times. Fosu-Mensah was given another chance to show his worth at the back.

Six minutes of added time made the end more nervous for the away side as City had a flurry of chances to grab the equaliser. But with players like Lingard helping out the defence United stood firm to end the match with all the three points and equally important local bragging rights.

United thoroughly deserved the victory after they had held on after a high tempo first 45 minutes that of course was difficult to keep up for the full ninety minutes. However, they did hold on and came away from the Etihad with the valuable three points in the chase for a top four finish.

It was difficult to pinpoint one player for the man of the match as all the team had put the effort in. You had Martial and scorer Rashford's pace up front combined with Lingard playing behind the strikers.

Schneiderlin held well in midfield and Smalling at the back was a rock once again. But just because he scored a goal of pure class on his derby debut Rashford came out on top.


Manchester is still RED.

Thanks for reading.

Miles Dunton.

A Dull Derby Draw.

Manchester United 0 Manchester City 0

The 170th Manchester derby will go down as a dull one sided affair in which at least United tried to show the passion and commitment needed in such a match but lacked one all important factor, goals.

After the worry of how United would cope with a long round trip to the Russian capital to play CSKA Moscow, the home side responded with a display that dispelled any concerns as they outran, outplayed and outfought their noisy neighbours with a display that only needed someone to put the ball into the back of the net.

Louis van Gaal got his team selection and tactics spot on as he picked a starting eleven that nullified the opposition. It was composed of De Gea; Valencia, Jones, Smalling, Rojo; Schweinsteiger, Schneiderlin, Herrera; Mata, Rooney and Martial.

The only change from the midweek saw Mata return to the team instead of Lingard which meant still no place in the starting line-up for Memphis and Blind. Rooney was once again chosen even-though his form has been questionable lately. The question on people's minds was which Rooney would turn up?

Subs:  Romero, Blind, Darmian, Carrick, Lingard, Memphis and Fellaini.

The Reds got the match underway attacking the Stretford End with Old Trafford, as you would expect, buzzing with the anticipation of a classic encounter.

Valencia started the game by stretching his legs down the right wing but his final deliveries failed to pick out his forwards. It was an enthusiastic start by the home side as they tried to build up attacks utilising both flanks and had an early shout for a penalty after a suspicion of handball inside the box.

The fast tempo of the opening minutes suited United more and seemed to unsettle City but could the home side keep the pace up as they had not started a first half in this vein for most of the season.

Martial's dribbling skills on the left gave the City defence trouble and Fernandinho became the first player to be cautioned after upending the young striker, although the City player should have been booked earlier for an offence that was much worse. It just goes to prove that there has been no consistency in the refereeing of matches this season.

Rooney received a belated 30th birthday present when he was clouted on the head by city captain Kompany and had to leave the pitch to have his scalp stapled to stem the flow of blood.

City still continued to struggle with the running of Martial and on one such foray forward, he played in Mata but the usually cool Spaniard dithered on the ball and the chance was gone.

This was turning out to be a true derby match in the fact that both sets of players were not holding back with their challenges and all showed 100% commitment in the tackle.

The threat of Prince Harry lookalike De Bruyne had been kept firmly in check by the superb defending of Rojo whenever the Belgian ventured into the Argentine's area of defence.

Phil Jones was up to his usual indecisive self by inexplicable heading the ball out for a corner when there was absolutely no danger whatsoever. Rooney then followed that up with a wayward 30-yard pass to nobody. At least Rooney had an excuse having had a bang to the head, Jones on the other hand had no such excuse.

Mata played himself in trouble and went into the referee's book after his challenge to try and retrieve the situation after he had given the ball away in a dangerous area, thankfully for him the resulting free-kick came to nothing.

Kompany was the latest player to be bamboozled by Martial's pace as he unceremoniously brought the French forward down to earn a booking.

At half-time even though the scores were level United had to have been the happier of the two sides after one of their best displays in a first half this season. Despite not having a clear chance on goal they had started brightly and kept the visitors at bay. The only negative had to be the standard of delivery from free-kicks that let United down and without Memphis in the side, it was left to either Mata or Rooney to deliver or in most cases not.

Neither manager made any changes at the beginning of the second-half as United tried to build on their excellent amount of possession of the first half.

Martial and Schweinsteiger combined well down the left to set up a chance for Mata in the box, but the ball was eventually cleared for a corner which provided United with their closest chance of the game up to that point. The ball sailed over everyone and Smalling, who was loitering unmarked at the far post, placed a header back across goal which just crept past the far post. Unlucky by Smalling.

Sterling was taken off by City after only five minutes of the restart following an unconvincing display and at this point in the match United enjoyed 70% of the play but desperately needed to turn it to their advantage with a goal.

Mata was almost played through by Rojo, but Hart was quick to react and cleared before Mata could get to the ball. A lucky escape for the visitors as United continued to press for the opener and City had not offered anything in the way of an attack during the second period.

Van Gaal had seen enough and decided that a change was needed and replaced a disappointed looking Mata with Jesse Lingard for the final twenty minutes to clearly add pace to the attack as the visitors looked there for the taking.

The change almost paid off immediately as Lingard bore down at pace towards the City area and played a nice ball wide to Rooney, whose attempted cross was easily blocked by the away defence.

Fellaini entered the match for the last fifteen minutes in place of Schweinsteiger and didn't seem to have a set position on the field which was obviously meant to confuse the blues, however, it also seemed to confuse the reds as at the same time it coincided with City's best spell of possession in the game.

Valencia was forced to leave the match with a knock to his leg and Darmian became the final substitution of the match for United in the 80th minute.

Magical Martial produced the pass of the match when he played a delightfully flighted ball over the top for Lingard to run onto and the youngster tried an athletic flick towards goal which rebounded off the crossbar. A great ball from Martial and almost a heroes ending for Lingard.

That chance was quickly followed by a close range effort from Smalling that was saved, it has to be said brilliantly, by Joe Hart way down at his near post.

The game finished in end to end play, however, neither side could break the deadlock and the match ended all square at 0-0 in what has to be said was so one sided that United will be angry that they couldn't capatlise on their efforts. City will leave Old Trafford happy in the knowledge they came away with a point after such a tepid display having not troubled David De Gea in the United goal.

The man of the match can only be between two players and they are Martial and Rojo. Martial once again displayed his value to the team whenever he had the ball at his feet and it was his close control at full pace that caused the City defence all sorts of problems. Rojo had De Bruyne completely in his pocket throughout the 90 minutes. The trio of Smalling, Schneiderlin and Schweinsteiger all played at the top of their games, but it has to be Martial who takes the plaudits again.

Once again, it was another disappointing display by Rooney and you do have to wonder how long van Gaal will continue to pick his captain just because he is the captain. With no shots on target and only a 55% pass accuracy enough has to be enough. Pace is the crucial element to United's attack and Rooney's has waned of late. The upcoming match against Middlesbrough in the league cup could be an ideal opportunity to unleash a forward line comprising of Martial, Memphis, Pereira and Lingard to see what is possible with the youngsters.

Thanks for reading.

Miles Dunton.

Manchester Derby Day Passions.

Manchester Passions Run High, Or Do They?

The 170th Manchester Derby could be one of the most interesting and closest clashes between the clubs in years as both teams are sitting pretty at the summit of the Premier League and whoever comes out on top on Sunday will not only have local, and worldwide, bragging rights but will also get their noses in front in the league race.

Here's why it should be interesting as both sides, it has to be said, have had an indifferent start to the season, especially when it comes to certain player's performances, but somehow even playing below par both teams have piled up the points. They have both been humbled in matches and even in victories neither side has hit top gear yet on a consistent basis.

Both sides have individual match winners and City will be buzzing after their last minute winner against Sevilla scored by De Bruyne probably their most dangerous player in the absence of Aguero and Silva, but having said that United have one main advantage going into the match in the shape of French striker Anthony Martial, who has greatly impressed since his arrival at Old Trafford, you can't beat scoring against Liverpool on your debut but a late winner on Sunday will go a long way towards matching it.

United lead the way with 70 wins compared to City's 49 and with the home advantage you would have to put the Red Devils down as slight favourites in a game where league form counts for nothing, or does it?

It used to be true that in a derby league form went out of the window as it was all about local passion and that is still true for the fans, but for the players it is just another big game of many in the league calendar. This has to be put down to the fact that most of the them involved in this weekend's match are foreigners with no one, with the possible exception of Lingard, who was born in Warrington, from anywhere close to the Manchester area.

Gone are the days when we had the likes of the Neville brothers, Scholes, and Butt, who were all Greater Manchester lads and fully understood the importance of the local rivalry as they were players but also fans and they didn't need to be reminded how big a match the derby was. There is no doubt that Ryan Giggs has tried to install in the new recruits how big a deal this is for the club, but even captain Rooney, an Evertonian at heart, must consider the Liverpool clashes more important than playing City.

Will the passion of old ever return? It's highly unlikely as even the new young talent are being shipped in from foreign shores. It's not the players fault as it stems from the modern day football ideal which is built on money and sponsorship deals where the players kissing of a badge means little to the fans these days.

Footballers nowadays are wrapped in cotton wool and protected from the outside world, however, they only have to check social media to gauge the fans' feelings towards the derby and maybe then they could understand how the narrow margins the highs and lows of victory or defeat mean to the supporters who are not so immune to the virals. As hard as they try to understand the deep lying resentment between both sets of fans it's understandable that the players don't have the same emotion going into the match.

One other thing that has been noticed are the rival player's bromances before matches and the images of the opposing Spanish players greeting each other in the tunnel before United's defeat at Arsenal is something that we will be seeing more of, but something that would not have been imaginable in the strict match focused days of Fergie and Keane. A handshake or a nod was all that the players exchanged before they took the field, or in Keane's case a threat, but now it's all hugs and kisses, which surely detracts from the confrontation ahead. Hopefully, Rojo and Otamendi won't be sharing a warm embrace before the derby.

Enjoy the game, passionately.

Thanks for reading.

Miles Dunton.

Manchester United Legends: Denis Law.

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Spinning away from goal, right arm extended upwards with the cuff of his sleeve tightly gripped in his hand and with one finger pointing to the heavens is a sight that is forever embedded in the memory.

The man in whose goal celebration has been immortalised in statues gracing the Theatre of Dreams is none other than the King of The Stretford End, Denis Law.

As he celebrates the milestone of his 80th birthday and almost 60 years since the likeable Scot signed for Manchester United, in doing so cementing his status as a United legend, I take a look back at his time at United.

Charlton, Law and Best three names that will be forever synonymous with Old Trafford as the United Trinity all played under the guidance of Sir Matt Busby during the heady sixties a decade in which saw the glory days return to Manchester United and breathe fresh life into the club that had suffered from disaster in 1958.

Law joined United on the 12th of July 1962 at the age of 22 signing for the Red Devils from Torino of Italy for a British transfer record fee of £115,000. However, if Bill Shankly had gotten his way three years earlier Law could have been a kop hero instead of the Stretford End King.

In 1959 Shankly, who had been the manager of Law's first professional club Huddersfield, left to take over as manager of Liverpool and the first player he wanted to sign was his fellow countryman, but the problem was that Liverpool simply couldn't afford the transfer fee and the next year Law signed for Manchester City for £55,000 which back then was a British transfer record.

Matt Busby had tried to buy Law when he was a teenager offering £10,000 which at the time was a substantial amount of money for a young player, but Huddersfield rejected the offer. Busby tried once more to acquire the striker before he signed for local rivals City.

He only played for City for a season and helped them avoid relegation by netting a total of 21 goals which doesn't include the six goals he scored against Luton Town at Kenilworth Road in the FA Cup as the match was abandoned with twenty minutes left due to a waterlogged pitch and his goals didn't count. To make matters worse, City lost the replay 1-3.

The following summer the boy from Aberdeen decided to showcase his talents abroad and signed for Torino. His time there seemed to be a mixed bag from the start with Inter claiming that he had agreed to sign for them, a car accident, that almost killed his friend and colleague Joe Baker, from which Law escaped from unhurt and the style of play in Italian football at that time hardly suited British strikers due to the ultra-defensive mentality that limited goalscoring chances. However, Law was voted the best foreign player in Italy during his time there.

The straw that broke the camel's back for Law came in one match against Napoli when he was sent off and after the match discovered that unbelievably the referee had been told to do so by his own Torino manager as he had taken a throw in when instructed not to. Law had had enough and at the third time of asking Matt Busby finally got his man.

His love affair with Manchester United had begun and it was to be an affair which would have incredible highs, including winning and scoring in the FA Cup final against Leicester City in 1963, two first division titles in 1965 and 1967 and being honoured with the prestigious Ballon d'Or in 1964.

In his first season as a Red Devil, he ended up scoring a total of 29 goals which included a strike on his debut against West Bromwich Albion at Old Trafford.

Over the next decade, he would go on to play just over 400 games and score a total of 237 goals a brilliant return considering he endured knee problems on a regular basis. His most prolific season was 1963/64 in which he scored 46 goals in all competitions.

He was also a target of referees and the FA, following comments he had made concerning a certain referees professionalism, receiving some outrageous suspensions one of which was in the 1963/64 season a 28 day ban after a red card against Aston Villa which severely dented United's chances of winning the league. They finished second behind his old manager Bill Shankly's Liverpool.

The following season he helped United to the first division championship by netting 39 times in all competitions. That season he scored 28 league goals which were crucial as United and Leeds ended the campaign on the same amount of points, but United had a superior goal difference of 19 goals.

His style of play and knack of scoring both incredibly athletic and poacher like goals endeared him to the United faithful and it quickly earned him nicknames such as 'The Lawman' and the one that stuck 'The King of the Stretford End'.

There was no better sight than to see Law leaping above the defenders to head the ball in or ghost in between defenders to slot the ball home, but the most famous had to be the overhead kick that had all the children trying to copy in the park. Above all else it was his fearless character that won him the biggest respect among the fans.

In no way hugely built compared to the defenders of that time he was harried and bullied as he led the front line, but his never say die attitude and the experience he received while at Torino stood him in good stead.

His time at United also came with some lows. One of those was the incident in 1966 when he asked Matt Busby for a pay rise that made his manager see red leading to this famous Busby quote: "No player will hold this club to ransom, no player".

His second championship medal came in the 1966/67 season when he once again ended up the leading goalscorer for United with 23 in the league.

Busby had built another great team and the world sat up and took notice, and with George Best in the side they were also elevated to 'pop star' level. Along with Law's goalscoring skills, they had the likes of Herd, Crerand, Stiles, Foulkes, Dunne, Stepney and of course Bobby Charlton. The side played the United way, entertaining, but at the same time lethal.

The low ebb of his time at United had to be when Law, who had struggled for a while with a knee problem, would miss out on the clubs' biggest night in their illustrious history. It was May 1968 and as his teammates were defeating Benfica at Wembley to become the first English side to lift the European Cup as they were doing so Law was watching the match from his hospital bed following surgery to his knee.

It's difficult to imagine what was going through his mind at that joyous time for the club, but it must have been a bittersweet night for The King. However, you never saw him without a grin on his face and his brilliant sense of humour.

As the decade came to a close, it was time for a change in management and the reigns passed briefly from Matt Busby to former Busby Babe Wilf McGuinness in 1969 a move that didn't sit well with some of the experienced players at the club. Law missed most of that season with an injury and United finished in a miserable eighth spot.

Busby came back for a short time until the appointment of Irishman Frank O'Farrell in 1971 but by then the writing was on the wall for most of the players, including Law, who had been transfer listed, but surprisingly no buyers came calling. When O'Farrell was fired it was Law who put forward the name of fellow Scot Tommy Docherty as his replacement. Docherty had been Law's Scottish national coach.

Law made a scoring debut for Scotland in 1958 against Wales and went on to earn a total of 55 caps and score 30 goals until his last game in 1974. Ironically, it was Matt Busby, who handed Law his first international game while he was the Scottish manager for a short time in the winter of 1958.

Law played his last match for United against Norwich City in 1973 and ended his illustrious eleven-year association with Manchester United by swapping red for blue with a free transfer to Manchester City.

Law only played one season for City and it started with another debut goal, but it's how it ended that would become synonymous with his time there.

Following his infamous back-heeled goal against United at Old Trafford he left the pitch, head down and visibly distraught by the scenario that had been created. The fact is in the end his goal for City that beat his beloved United had no bearing on United's relegation as they were doomed anyway.

Following his retirement from the game in 1974 he made use of his bubbly character and knowledge of the game by joining the media, mainly radio to start with, to share his wisdom on all things United.

He was honoured with a special section at the Old Trafford museum commemorating his 50-year association with the Red Devils.

At 80 he still lives in the Manchester area and can be seen regularly at United charitable events and matches. He married his wife Diana in 1962 and has five children. He revealed that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer back in 2003. Two years later in 2005 he was at the bedside of fellow legend George Best when he passed away.

Having had the honour of meeting Denis Law he is nothing short of a true gentleman sparing the time to reminisce about his career and thoughts on United past and present. Although the encounter was all too short, he left a lasting impression on me and his love for the game is contagious.

He has been honoured with the appointment of CBE for his services to football and charities.

A legend in the true sense of the word.

Thanks Denis.

Miles Dunton.

Manchester United Fixtures Preview 2015/16

It seems that last season has only just finished but this week saw the release of next season's fixture list.

All the fans have their own preference of which match to look for first whether it be by team or date. The most important matches have to be the Liverpool fixtures followed by the derby dates.

There is, of course, no such thing as an easy season, however, Louis van Gaal must have been quietly confident when he saw the fixtures as it has thrown up a fairly easy start and end to the season with the hardest of the matches coming mid-season which gives the team time to get into a winning rhythm.

The Red Devils will kick off their season with by far the biggest match of the opening weekend at Old Trafford against Spurs followed by an away trip to Aston Villa then it's Newcastle at home.
August ends with a tricky journey to Wales to take on Swansea who started our season off with a defeat last year. In the middle of those games, United will have the not so small task of the UEFA Champions League qualifying matches.

A collective spirit is needed.

There will be the dreaded international break before our first big clash in mid-September at home to Liverpool, memories of last season's double over them still fresh in the mind. Two more games in September see us play the much improved Southampton away and Sunderland, who were so lucky to escape the drop last time round, at Old Trafford.

Rooney scores against Arsenal.

October will prove a difficult month as it starts with two matches away first a visit to the Emirates to play Arsenal followed by Everton. Then it's the first local derby at home to Man City. Last season was sweet against the Gunners and City but sticky versus the toffees. Crystal Palace will provide the opposition at Selhurst Park at the end of the month.

The three matches in November seem to be relatively straightforward, if that's possible for United, they are WBA at home, newly promoted Watford away and Leicester away.

Ashley Young in his Watford days.

The month will see a return to Vicarage Road for Ashley Young, who started his career at Watford. It's been eight years since The Hornets were last in the top flight.

The busy festive month of December will see United play in a total of five matches three home and two away. It starts with a home game against West Ham with their new manager Bilic then a trip to the south coast to play Premier League debutantes AFC Bournemouth who we last played in the FA Cup back in 1989.

Another newly promoted side Norwich will visit Old Trafford then Boxing Day will see all the fans dressed as Santa at The Britannia Stadium to take on Stoke. Come the end of the year will hopefully be a match that is going to have a strong bearing on the Premiership title, Chelsea at home.

AFC Bournemouth celebrating promotion

The first match in 2016 will see the visit of Swansea to Manchester followed by a break in the league for the FA Cup 3rd round. After which United will be on their travels to Newcastle and Anfield the scene of Juan Mata's heroics last time we played there. The month will end with Southampton at home.

February starts with former red Mark Hughes bringing his Stoke side to Old Trafford which will be followed by United playing Chelsea at Stamford bridge on the 58th anniversary to the day of the Munich air disaster. Sunderland away comes before yet another big clash of the month Arsenal at home.

Mata the Anfield hero.

Hopefully, by the time March comes around United will be well placed for the league run in and will host Watford then visit WBA. Crystal Palace at home will be followed by our last match against one of our possible major opponents for the league, Man City at the Etihad. It would also be nice to think that United will be still involved in the knockout stages of the Champions League and the FA Cup.

The last seven matches in April and May appear to offer United a chance to end the season strongly and it starts with Everton at home then Spurs away. By the time we play Villa at Old Trafford and West Ham away, we could be potentially gearing up for silverware in the league or one of the cups or dare I say both.

Our last three games of the league season are Leicester at home followed by Norwich away, then Old Trafford will witness the last match of the campaign as Bournemouth will hopefully be trying to spoil the Champions' celebrations.

I foresee United getting off to a flying start compared to the stuttering beginning last season. Louis van Gaal has now had a year in the Old Trafford hot seat and will have learnt from his and the teams' mistakes of the previous season. Add to that the new arrivals that have been signed to strengthen the squad and there is every reason to be optimistic about the chances of being able to challenge on all four fronts next season.

Thanks for reading.

Miles Dunton.