Why Manchester United need two new midfielders in January

The champions' pathetic attempt at a title defence in 2013-14 has made it clearer than ever that Old Trafford needs to see a transformation in the middle of the park

ANALYSIS 
By Jonathan Birchall

Only 263 days after winning the Premier League, you do not so much watch Manchester United these days as you do endure them.

They really are that bad. This title defence, barely worthy of the name, is the second worst in the history of the competition as it stands. Only Blackburn, in 1995-96, have a worse record as champions after 20 games. With three turgid, predictable 2-1 defeats in a row to start 2014, never has spectacular failure looked so boring.

It is difficult to pinpoint blame when the calamity and insipidity has been so widespread. Yet rather than attach it to a man sat in the stands, with no direct input on training or team selection this season, it would perhaps make more sense to look to the club's current manager and his players. Neither, in large part, are good enough.

GOALS & ASSISTS FROM MIDFIELD
	TEAM	GOALS	ASSISTS
	ARSENAL	18	19
	CHELSEA	25	16
	EVERTON	13	16
	LIVERPOOL	10	16
	MAN CITY	25	20
	MAN UTD	6	4
	NEWCASTLE	9	10
	TOTTENHAM	12	10

David Moyes may claim that the players he would like to sign are not available in January but he has exactly three weeks to find some that are. He needs two midfielders above all else. With no protection, no production and no penetration, the area between defence and attack has become a no-man's-land for United.

The Red Devils' need for a combative, energetic midfielder who can stop an opposition team in full flow has been apparent for far too long. Darren Fletcher, a player tenacious enough to fulfil the role to a large extent, sadly cannot yet be relied upon at the highest level given his long-term debilitating illness.

Put simply, United do not have a midfielder who can win the ball and turn over possession. Bar Tottenham, every other side in the top eight has one midfielder who averages over three tackles per match.

In Lucas Leiva (4.1), Cheikh Tiote (3.9), Aaron Ramsey (3.7), Ramires (3.4), Fernandinho (3.1), Mikel Arteta (3.1) and James McCarthy (3), the champions' immediate rivals have players more effective at taking the ball directly off their opposition. After excluding the tactically indisciplined Phil Jones (2.5), who has played more games in defence than midfield this term, Moyes's best tackler is Tom Cleverley, who has on average completed only 2.1 of them per Premier League appearance.

The champions have become wholly reliant on the interceptions of Michael Carrick in order to retain possession in the middle of the pitch, with the 32-year-old averaging more than any other player in the top eight of the Premier League. However, as with Adam Johnson's blistering, penalty-winning run from just inside United's half that helped Sunderland on the way to a 2-1 win in the Capital One Cup on Tuesday, this is a team unable to stop direct attacking play.

However, Moyes's midfield transfer targets since moving to Old Trafford, namely Thiago, Cesc Fabregas, Ander Herrera during the summer and Atletico Madrid's Koke, who he has scouted extensively in recent weeks, are far more creative threats than they are midfield destroyers designed to break up play. The fact is, United are also in dire need of players with the ability to create and score goals.

Only one Manchester United midfielder, in Adnan Januzaj, has more than one goal in the league this season, getting on the scoresheet three times. Whereas, last term, the superhuman Robin van Persie, supplemented by United's other strikers, was able to ensure that the side always had a goal threat, his injuries, alongside those of Wayne Rooney in 2013-14, have meant that other areas of the squad needed to contribute.

They have not done so. United's midfield have offered a woeful six goals in 20 games. Yaya Toure (10), Aaron Ramsey (eight) and Eden Hazard (eight) have done better than that on their own. The Premier League champions have the same amount of goals at home as Sam Allardyce's West Ham.

Chelsea and Manchester City (both with 25) have more than four times as many league goals from midfield. Arsenal have triple the amount. And of those transfer targets? Koke has scored one more than Januzaj in 2013-14. Fabregas has one more goal than the entire United midfield put together this season.

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And it is the same pattern for assists, with the gaping hole between the centre circle and attack for United made even clearer during Rooney's recent absence. From midfield alone Manchester City have 20 assists. Arsenal 19, Chelsea, Everton and Liverpool 16, Newcastle 10 and Tottenham eight. Moyes's side have four. Only two midfielders, Januzaj and Valencia, have assisted a goal in the league for United this season.

There are eight midfielders in the other top seven teams in the league who have more assists by themselves than United's entire midfield. Thiago (two), who has played only five Bundesliga matches this season due to injury, would still be joint leading the champions' midfield assist charts with Januzaj and Valencia. Koke (eight) has twice has many. Fabregas has two more than him.

The temptation when looking at the figures in black and white is to question what exactly it is the central four of United's 11 players are doing week in, week out. The answer, quite simply, is not very much at all.

Through signing the likes of Arteta, Tim Cahill and Steven Pienaar during his time at Goodison Park, Moyes showed both an eye for a bargain and an ability to bring players with no Premier League experience into a competition that is like no other on the pitch. At United in January, however, there will be no bedding-in period.

It perhaps speaks volumes that the midfielder with more starts than any other at United is Cleverley, a player who has never scored or assisted more than two goals a season at Old Trafford. He is the man to whom Moyes continues to return because, frankly, he has no other choice. Marouane Fellaini, the club's fourth most expensive signing ever, has no goals, no assists and a red card to show for his maiden season at Old Trafford.

On paper it looks awful for United. On the pitch it is even worse.

Pogba, Pjanic or Cabaye - who will Paris Saint-Germain sign in January

Laurent Blanc's side are focusing on strengthening their midfield, yet the approach of the Ligue 1 champions will be one of patience to ensure they secure the correct man

SPECIAL REPORT
By Robin Bairner & Simone Rovera

There will be no indecent offers or enormous changes in the Paris Saint-Germain squad this January. 

If something does happen in the French capital this month, it will be in midfield. Any potential arrival will not be a replacement, but a starter who can play with Thiago Motta and Marco Verratti, most notably in the Champions League. The two Italians are now untouchable (more so than Blaise Matuidi) in an area of the field that Laurent Blanc would increasingly like to resemble Barcelona.

For the Parc des Princes club, their dream is named Paul Pogba. This is nothing new. The director general of Juventus, Beppe Marotta, responded to PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi before last weekend’s match with Roma: “There is nothing planned in the short term. The relationship with him and his representatives is excellent and I don’t believe there will be any issues.”

The Bianconeri are aiming to extend Pogba’s contract, which expires in 2016, with a pay increase, to avoid an offer from PSG turning his head, or that of agent Mino Raiola, who is always ready to raise the stakes when one of his players is targeted by a big club. 

The leaders of the Old Lady are ready to increase the salary of the player to €3 million net per year, with significant bonuses for victories in Serie A and the Champions League. 

Will it be enough? Maybe not. Paris currently can make a large offer, though perhaps not the €7m that the Italian press speak of, due to fears of upsetting the balance of the locker room – Pogba is only 20 and cannot just appear having been handed the fourth-largest salary at the club.

He is a prodigy but he has only played two seasons at the top level, winning one Scudetto – the second is on its way - with Juve. He has only played 14 Champions League matches and seven with the France team.

In fact, he has more or less the same experience as Verratti, who is Italy's biggest hope and has only four international caps. After his first contract extension, he was awarded only €2m per season. 

Can PSG risk presenting a similar player with three times his salary? In this case, Donato Di Campli, the agent of the young Italian, would not be content to sit on his hands, and this could trigger a domino effect with several players looking for new deals.

To avoid exactly this situation, the Parisian leaders took three of four months to negotiate the extension of Thiago Motta, and are still in talks with the agents of Alex, Salvatore Sirigu and others.

One rumour that is circulating around Paris persistently since the summer is a move for Newcastle’s Yohan Cabaye. This has been at the emphasis of others, most notably the French press. In the capital, it is only Blanc and the PSG board, who dictate transfer strategy, and there is no one who believes that the international midfielder would not increase the technical level of the midfield. In short, Cabaye would be a good substitute, but not a key element for the future. In addition, Newcastle’s asking price of €20m has taken the player away from being a priority for PSG.


Not so keen on Cabaye | Appreciated, but not a major target for PSG
Miralem Pjanic is now the preferred option to arrive in January. He is 23 years old and already has seven seasons in top leagues between Ligue 1 and Serie A, as well as 23 appearances in the Champions League with Olympique Lyonnais and nearly 50 caps with Bosnia. 

Roma are currently strengthening their midfield with the arrival of Radja Nainggolan (€3m for the loan, and potentially up to €15m for his full rights), Leandro Paredes (loan and an option to buy for €4.5m) and they are dreaming of Juan Iturbe, the Hellas Verona ace, who could leave for €15m.

It is easy to think that the sale of Pjanic could fund these transfers, but will the deal take place in January or June?

Pjanic is admired by Blanc and Parisian leaders. Even Al-Khelaifi admitted that he considers him a great player. The established team leaders would also consider him a top-level recruit, with his experience in Serie A working in his favour. In addition, those players who have arrived from Italy in the last two seasons are now the most important players on and off the field.

His situation is not so different to Pogba’s: his contract in Rome lasts until 2015, while the Giallorossi's sporting director Walter Sabatini is ready to match the player’s requested wage of €3m per year in order to entice him to stay. An exchange with Javier Pastore has been muted, but though the Argentine’s wage could be matched by Roma, negotiating a deal in 20 days will be problematic. 

On paper, this exchange remains a solution that would not displease PSG or Roma, where Sabatini, the former sporting director of Palermo who brought the Argentine to Europe, officiates. The link between the two has never been broken, as Pastore explained to the Italian press a few weeks ago. That said, ‘El Flaco’ has no intention of leaving Paris this winter, even to rejoin his former master in Italy.

If for Pjanic, as for Pogba, the simplest solution is to wait until June, Verratti’s muscle problem shows that, aside from rookie Adrien Rabiot, there is no high-level replacement in the middle of the field. 

Miralem Pjanic is now the preferred option to arrive in January

However, PSG do not want to buy players who do not fit 110 per cent into the framework of the club. Blanc has repeated this several times recently. When he was still in Doha, he announced to beIN Sport that he is happy with his squad, but if an injury should occur, he would need more in midfield. He repeated this on Wednesday after the Coupe de France win over Brest. 

Asked about the need for a replacement on the right of his defence after an injury to Christophe Jallet, Blanc said that at this moment he is happy to have seven players for four positions, but conversely the alternatives in the midfield were limited.

PSG's strategy is clear: there will be no arrivals to increase the number of substitutes available to Laurent Blanc, and that goes for the midfield as much as the right-back role. If there is a replacement, he will be a very good player and will start. The absence of Jallet, a replacement who alternates good games with more discreet ones, has offered PSG the chance for reflection with regards to buying in this area.

According to several good sources, it is not easy to find a high-level right-back in this January window. It is not practical to sign a full-back by default to offer back-up to Gregory van der Wiel and then have three players for the same position when Jallet returns. Abundance of quality is not harmful, it is generally said, except that this proverb does not apply to PSG, who seek excellence and quality, rather than quantity.

Marquinhos played some strong games at right-back when he was with Roma, and he took up the post during the last 20 minutes of the friendly match against Real Madrid on January 2. And as he is third in the hierarchy of centre-back, behind Alex and, of course, Thiago Silva, he may seize his chance at this position in the coming weeks. Unless something better arrives .

Cole's Chelsea future in doubt as contract talks drag on

The 33-year-old's current deal expires at the end of the season and the Stamford Bridge club want the left-back to accept a reduction on a salary worth in excess of £150,000-a-week

Ashley Cole's future at Chelsea remains in doubt, with the defender still to agree terms on a new contract despite renewed talks in recent weeks.

The England international's current deal expires at the end of the season but the Blues want him to accept a reduction on his salary, which is heavily incentivised and worth more than £150,000 (€180,000) per week.

Discussions have been held with Chelsea chiefs and the 33-year-old and his representatives are understood to be relaxed about the situation, in the knowledge that there will be no shortage of offers in the summer.

Cole's priority is to stay at Stamford Bridge and boss Jose Mourinho has publicly declared his desire for the left-back to sign a new deal.

"I think, even if you're not playing every game and are not first choice, like he has always been, it does not mean you are not in well condition or deserving of a new contract," said the Portuguese in December.

Cole has found himself in and out of the Chelsea side this season, starting just 11 of the club's 20 Premier League fixtures so far.

The Blues have been strongly linked with a move for Southampton star Luke Shaw, who is considered a perfect like-for-like long-term replacement for Cole.

Unless the England veteran lowers his demands, his time at Stamford Bridge could come to an end this summer, with the former Arsenal man now allowed to talk to foreign clubs.

MLS side New York Red Bulls and big-spending Paris Saint-Germain have previously shown interest in Cole, who is now in his eighth season at Stamford Bridge and has made more than 300 appearances for Chelsea.

He has won nine trophies with the Blues, including the Premier League title in 2010 and the Champions League in 2012.

Atletico Madrid can stop Messi, says Diego Costa

The Brazil-born attacker is eagerly anticipating Saturday's encounter and has stressed the Vicente Calderon side do not fear the Argentine forward

Diego Costa is confident that Atletico Madrid have the players to stop Lionel Messi ahead of this weekend's La Liga clash against Barcelona.

The Argentina international returned to match action, scoring a double in Barcelona's Copa del Rey win over Getafe on Wednesday after a two-month injury lay-off.

Nevertheless, Costa has insisted that Atleti do not fear Messi as he is confident his side's defence is up to the task of nullifying the 26-year-old's threat.

"Messi is Messi. We all missed him while he was out. It’ll be nice to have him up against us. He’ll be up for it after being out for so long," Diego Costa told AS.

"But we will be making it difficult for him, we have players at the back who are capable of stopping him.

"It’s going to be a difficult game against an opponent who have some of the world’s best players. But we are at home and we can make life difficult for them."

Atletico and Barcelona currently sit joint first in La Liga with 49 points from 18 games.

Development finance: Southern Loop of Ring Road to be re-assessed

The Southern Loop is to start where the Northern Loop ends at Defence. PHOTO: FILE

LAHORE: 

The time available for awarding contract(s) to build three sections of the Southern Loop of the Lahore Ring Road has expired.

Lahore Ring Road Authority (LRRA) Chairman Rashid Mehmood Langrial told The Express Tribune on Tuesday that the security deposits by the bidding companies would be returned soon.

The LRRA had to award the contract by December 30, 2012. China Works and the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) had submitted bids for the project, estimated to cost around Rs50 billion, on September 30. After technical were accepted, financial bids were opened on October 24.

Langrial said the provincial government had constituted two committees to assess the project. “One of the committees had reservations regarding the cost of the project… the final decision will be taken by the government,” he said.

The FWO had demanded an annuity of Rs13.4 billion, and China Works Rs16.2 billion. The company getting the contract was to be paid the annuity for 15 years after the completion of the project. During these 15 years, it had to maintain the road and re-carpet it twice. It was also to install surveillance cameras and smart traffic signals.

This is not the first time that the government has backed away from a project conceived as a public-private partnership. In November 2012, the chief minister had approved the construction of the Southern Loop of the Ring Road on a build, lease and transfer basis.

However, the project was dropped when the public-private partnership steering committee in March 2013 decided that it was not cost effective.

The Southern Loop is to start where the Northern Loop ends at Defence. Package 1 of the Southern Loop, about 9.35-kilometre, would run to Ferozepur Road,  the 13-kilometre  Package 2 from Gajju Mata on Ferozepur Road to Adda Plot and 8-kilometre Package 3 from Adda Plot to Maraka on Multan Road.

Interconnection charges: IHC rules in favour of CMOs

The subscribers are charged by both operators – the operator that initiates the call and the one that terminates/receives it – for the service. PHOTO: FILE

KARACHI: The Islamabad High Court on Wednesday ruled in favor of the cellular mobile operators (CMOs) in a case regarding evasion of federal excise duty (FED) on interconnection charges.

While presiding over the case, Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui termed the FED on interconnection charges illegal, The Express Tribune has learned.

A decision on the issue of FED on interconnection charges – the amount charged by one operator from the other for terminating cross-network calls – had been long overdue.

The national exchequer had sent show cause letters to CMOs in July 2012, seeking the latter’s explanation regarding FED on interconnection charges which, according to an investigation by the National Accountability Bureau, amounted to Rs47 billion.

The FBR was of the view that interconnection charges were taxable but the CMOs had not been paying any since 2007. The telecom operators, however, sought to take the matter to the IHC in September 2012.

The CMOs maintained that the total tax on the telephone call was already deposited in retail mode. According to industry sources, no tax was due on interconnection as the tax was deposited on the gross amount by each of the five telecom operators from whose network the call was initiated.

According to the PTA, double tax cannot be charged on the income of telecom operators, The News had quoted a senior PTA official as saying in July 2012. It said that no tax could be received on interconnection charges because the CMOs had paid the FED on their collective income − the telecom sector has contributed Rs124.7 billion to the national exchequer during FY13.

Industry officials are of the view that in order to bring Pakistan’s calling regime in line with that of developed counties, the telecom regulator had implemented the Calling Party Pays (CPP) regime. The purpose of CPP was to encourage subscribers to make higher contribution to voice services and ensure wider penetration of mobile cellular services.

The subscribers are charged by both operators – the operator that initiates the call and the one that terminates/receives it – for the service. Under the CPP regime, according to industry sources, the operators do not have to pay anything on these interconnection charges.

The exchequer and the FBR were unable to respond with a statement to our queries.

Collaboration: Chinese help sought on transmission lines

Federal Minister for water and power Khawaj Asif addressing the 3rd Pak-China joint energy working group meeting in Beijing on January 7, 2013. PHOTO: PID

BEIJING: Federal Minister for Water and Power, Khawaja Muahmmad Asif met the Vice-Chairman of National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of China, Zhang Xiao Qiang on Wednesday and discussed various energy projects .

During the meeting, Khawaja Asif highlighted the present government’s efforts for generating affordable energy to meet the country’s rising power demand through various projects by utilising coal, as well as  hydel, solar and wind power.

Asif emphasised that in addition to enhancing power generation capacity there was a need for upgradation and expansion of transmission networks in the country. “New transmission lines are needed to evacuate energy not only from conventional electricity sources, but also from renewable wind and solar farms.”

He sought Chinese government’s assistance for the development of transmission lines that may cost $6 billion, according to estimates. Asif thanked the Chinese government for their assistance and support in meeting the energy needs of Pakistan and for funding different projects in Pakistan.

“Power generation in Thar will be carried out with indigenous coal, while in the Gaddani Power Park comprising ten units of 660 MW each, imported coal will be used.” Asif informed that a jetty will also be built for which several Chinese and other companies have evinced interest.