What a difference a few days can make. Manchester United found themselves licking their European wounds having surrendered a one-goal lead to fluff their lines in spectacular fashion upon their return to the Champions League group stage.
As they trudged off the field in Eindhoven, following a 2-1 defeat to PSV, it was difficult to know what to expect from the Red Devils heading forward.
The 2014/15 campaign was a case of ‘job done’ for Manchester United. After the disaster which was David Moyes’ ill-fated spell at the helm, Louis van Gaal arrived with one clear target – return the club to the Champions League at the first time of asking.
As the most decorated side in English football, the Red Devils knew they could not afford to spend more than 12 months away from Europe’s top table.
Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney is confident that the club will be challenging for silverware from next season.
This was a disappointing season in terms of trophies, as United have ended up empty-handed once again. However, positivity came in the form of a return to Champions League, although they have still not yet qualified for the group stages. United are set to finish fourth in the table, which is a mammoth improvement over last season when they were outside the top six. Rooney has come on leaps and bounds this season as one of the experienced members of the squad.
Ander Herrera says he would not mind spending a lot more years playing in the Red Devils’ shirt.
Herrera, the Spanish playmaker, is having only his first stint at Manchester United this season and he appears to be very impressed with how it has gone for him so far.
Actually, when the season first started, there was a bit of hype around Herrera and he got chances to start for the team straightaway.
The captain of Manchester United and of England, Wayne Rooney believes that his teammates of Manchester United have been benefiting from the winning mentality of Louis van Gaal as the Dutch coach is only happy when his team wins and this determination has affected the rest of the players in the team who are now aiming to win every single match even if that is a friendly match or the finals of a big tournament, winning is everything that Louis van Gaal wants to achieve.
With just a few weeks remaining in the Premier League season, things are really heating up at both ends of the table.
The battle for the top four is just as tense as ever and the dogfight to avoid the dreaded drop to the Championship is resulting in the usual managerial casualties.
Ander Herrera, MarouaneFellaini and Wayne Rooney all managed to find the back of the net as they scored goals against Preston North End in their FA Cup match which concluded with a final scoreboard of 3-1.
This victory has allowed Manchester United to advance into the next stages of the FA Cup where they will be facing off with Arsenal in the quarter-finals.
This season the Premier League has been lit up by two former Barcelona players. These two players have been Cesc Fabregas and Alexis Sanchez.
Former Arsenal captain Fabregas returned to the league after a three-year stint with his boyhood club, while Luis Suarez’s arrival at the Nou Camp meant that Sanchez was surplus to requirements.
Sir Alex Ferguson might not have enjoyed a great relationship with Wayne Rooney in the last couple of years of his stint at Manchester United, but, the Scot still rates the striker very highly.
According to Ferguson, Rooney is one of those players who can shake the back of the net from nowhere.
Rooney was believed to have got so fed up of Ferguson in 2013 that he had asked the Manchester United top brass to let him go to some other club.
West Bromwich Albion's biggest local rivals might be Wolverhampton Wanderers but few Baggies fans would claim to have a soft spot for Aston Villa either.
With the Hawthorns and Villa Park less than four miles apart, West Brom's fans have long looked to get one over on their big city neighbours but they have to go back to October 2011 to find their last win over the Villains (2-1 with goals scored by Jonas Olsson and Paul Scharner).
Irvine Under Pressure