SHAPING UP AND SHIPPING GOALS
After a series of globetrotting friendlies, Sportsmail’s experts highlight who’s looking good and who could do better
Who has been the best player?
Short of some of their established stars because of injuries and international calloffs, United have relied on their younger players over the past two-and-a-half weeks.
New signing Wilfried Zaha has a direct, uncomplicated approach and hopefully that will remain. By all accounts, the signing from Crystal Palace has taken some time to settle in the dressing room and has been a little star-struck. There has been no sign of that on the field, though.
Two other young forwards are also worth a mention. Jess Lingard has contributed goals and brought a cutting edge, while young Belgian Adnan Januzaj has shown enough to suggest he may be worth that contract the club have been talking to him about.
Who looks a little short of a gallop?
Pre- season games always find players in various degrees of condition, depending on whether they have played any international football and how well they have looked after themselves during their down time. Most of United’s players looked lean enough but the Brazilian Anderson looks as though he has spent most of his summer in a burger bar.
Maybe he has already given up on his United career or maybe he thinks his new manager won’t notice that he can hardly get into his shirts. If he really does think that, then he’s more stupid than he looks.
How has the manager fared? It has been a pretty important month for
David Moyes and so far he has faced up to the early demands of the biggest job in British football pretty well. Part of the challenge early in his reign is to prove he has shoulders broad enough to succeed Alex Ferguson. United and their fans ask big questions of their managers and Moyes’s early days have not been helped by the Wayne Rooney saga and the fact his first major incoming transfer is proving so difficult to seal.
However, Moyes has carried himself well and has looked at ease in the job. He didn’t let a couple of indifferent tour results bother him and nor should he.
How are the team shaping up?
United are still missing a dominant, holding central midfield player and a creative midfield player. For all that they won the Barclays Premier League by 11 points last season, the United team left behind by Ferguson is not a vintage one and Moyes knows that he must improve his squad if he is not to run the risk of being caught out by improving teams from Chelsea and Manchester City this time round.
The pursuit of Cesc Fabregas will continue this week, but Moyes also has a fondness for Luka Modric and he is exactly the type of player this team need.
A holding player would also be welcome, as United spent far too much time in some games last season without the ball.
Deliberately or not, United became a counter-attacking team during the latter period of Ferguson’s reign and I don’t think that’s the way it should be.
The oddest thing you’ve seen on tour?
Japanese toilets, with seats that lift up when you walk in the room and numerous other attached gadgets, always amuse me.
I always feel as though they should be saved for someone a great deal more important than me.
The dancing monkey outside my hotel in Osaka — complete with lead, collar and uniform — didn’t impress me as much, especially on the days when the temperature was nudging the mid-90s. Japan is a great place and we could l earn i n terms of customer service, manners and cleanliness.
But not dancing monkeys.
Who has been the best player?
Romelu Lukaku. While noting the lowgrade opposition, four goals in 135 minutes of action is a strike rate you cannot ignore.
Indonesia were dreadful but he took advantage. His four were a penalty, a header and clinical finishes with each foot. He worked hard and hit the target with almost every chance. Kevin De Bruyne also looked bright and busy until he was injured in the second game and 17-year-old trialist Bertrand Traore produced exciting flashes of raw talent.
Who looks a little short of a gallop?
Demba Ba. This was a cakewalk tour; hard for defenders to impress and a good opportunity for strikers to find their range. Ba and Lukaku shared the workload equally at centre forward. Lukaku looked fresh, hungry, eager to seize his moment but Ba looked sluggish. He scored once but Lukaku’s prolific form exaggerated Ba’s meagre
contribution. Good to see Michael Essien back in a Chelsea shirt; he seems strong and fit, but we have yet to see if he is up to the relentless tempo of an English midfield frenzy.
New £18m winger Andre Schurrle started slowly and there is more to come from him.
Frank Lampard’s ‘sore achilles’ has an ominous ring to it already.
How has the manager fared?
He’s been relaxed and good-humoured with the charm on maximum and working his new, self-selected ‘Happy One’ moniker for all it’s worth. Then again, this is the easy part for
Jose Mourinho: a popular return to the Chelsea bosom. He has taken each of the players aside for a personal chat about the role he envisages for them, but he has been in the midst of old friends and hungry youngsters. This week he will encounter a few more thorny issues: David Luiz, a persistent target for Bayern Munich, and Juan Mata return, and will want to find out where they stand.
Then there’s Fernando Torres and his role should Chelsea sign Rooney.
How are the team shaping up?
These three games were played with fitness in mind and with six important players absent. It is hard to read much into them but Mourinho accepts he needs more variety in attack, specifically a centre forward with the vision and craft to link up with an attacking midfield trio and unlock a packed defence.
Chelsea still lack a natural holder in midfield. Four games coming up in the USA will offer a better insight.
The oddest thing you’ve seen on tour?
Five people travelling on a moped. The same moped. At the same time.
Who has been the best player?
Steven Gerrard looked a class above all those around him in the 65 minutes he played in Australia. He was sharp, scored a fine goal and built on the encouraging first run-out in Indonesia. Jordon Ibe has made fine strides for a 17-year-old on his first tour — his pace, energy and skill catching the eye. Raheem Sterling, Philippe Coutinho and new signing Iago Aspas have made pleasing contributions.
Who looks short of a gallop? There has been nothing wrong with Fabio
Borini’s application, but he needs a goal. He squandered chances at Preston and against Indonesia, while he was also unlucky in Melbourne. He had a difficult first season at Anfield, first with a lack of form, then suffering two bad injuries, and could do with a shot of confidence going into the campaign.
How has the manager fared?
Considering he is dealing with a transfer saga that will have a huge implication for Liverpool’s season, whichever way it pans out, Brendan Rodgers has been in high spirits and has not let the Luis Suarez situation be a distraction. He is more comfortable in his role than 12 months ago and it has been noticeable that the training sessions he has been overseeing are much sharper. He is relishing the challenge ahead.
How are the team shaping up?
They have won all their games and are yet to concede a goal, while the objective of improving fitness has gone smoothly. But Liverpool could still do with one big addition to enhance their midfield options.
Rodgers was desperately disappointed to miss out on Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who moved to Shakhtar Donetsk, and is looking for a
player of his ilk. If Suarez leaves, however, they will need a top-class striker as well.
The oddest thing you’ve seen on tour?
Rodgers walking into a press conference in Jakarta to a standing ovation, then being asked, second question, whether he wanted to sign Wayne Rooney!
The garish shirt managing director Ian Ayre wore for a Standard Chartered press conference in Indonesia demanded it be classed as wacky, while Gerrard’s white boots in Australia were an unexpected call.
Who has been the best player?
Olivier Giroud’s six goals in four games on tour have given Arsene Wenger something to ponder in his search for a new No 1 striker. The France international, 26, looked sharp throughout and obviously has no intentions
of letting his grip on being Arsenal’s first firstchoice striker go without a fight. A special mention, too, for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Aaron Ramsey, who had far more influence on games than usual. And here’s a name for the future: Gedion Zelalem.
Gunners coaches feel the 16-year- old is more advanced in his development than Cesc Fabregas was at the same age. You can see why. Awesome potential.
Who looks a little short of a gallop?
Lukasz Fabianski went into pre- season with a real chance of starting the campaign as the club’s first-choice goalkeeper.
But numerous errors during the club’s tour of the Far East will not have gone unnoticed by Wenger. For every good save, there was a mishap by the Pole. There’s still time to change the manager’s mind, but he will be lucky to be in goal against Aston Villa in the season curtain-raiser.
How has the manager fared?
Wenger was feted at every destination, particularly in Nagoya, Japan, the club he managed before leaving for Arsenal in 1996.
As ever, though, Wenger remained tightlipped on the club’s transfer business, namely their attempts to sign Suarez.
Aside from the Suarez saga, Wenger was
Who has been the best player?
Edin Dzeko despite his horrendous penalty miss in the Barclays Asia Trophy final. The Bosnia striker appears to have seized the second chance given to him by new manager Manuel Pellegrini. It’s no secret that Dzeko would, more than likely, have left had Roberto Mancini stayed in charge.
As well as scoring both City’s winners against South China and Sunderland in Hong Kong, Dzeko has linked up well with new signing Alvaro Negredo, who also looks a real handful. Their partnership offers Pellegrini a more powerful attack than the smaller, more fluid forward line of recent seasons, although he still has the option to alternate.
Who looks a little short of a gallop?
We haven’t seen Stevan Jovetic yet, and David Silva and Jesus Navas only had their first outings of the pre-season on Saturday, but they should be fine.
The main concern hangs over Aleksandar
Kolarov, who still looks like a player who would rather be somewhere else. Juventus and Galatasaray have both been linked with the Serb, but City are adamant that he is going nowhere. For the time being, however, they still seem more solid down the left side with first-choice Gael Clichy at full back.
How has the manager fared?
Reserved and understated, Pellegrini is not a ranter. He will not court controversy or confrontation with his employers or players, which is exactly what City wanted after the Mancini years. He will get on with his job quietly and methodically. The commitment of a man who flew thousands of miles to the Far East to take charge of a pre- season friendly 24 hours after attending his mother’s funeral cannot be overestimated.
How are the team shaping up?
Pretty well after those two defeats in South Africa. Pellegrini has his first silverware, the Asia Trophy — and four new signings at a cost of £90million. He still needs a centre back though.
The oddest thing you’ve seen on tour?
Manchester City’s players made a public appearance at a shopping centre in Durban and Spurs and Sunderland splashed around in the puddles at Hong Kong Stadium.
But the crowning glory was the journalist who ordered lobster ravioli for lunch and was served a pile of pasta with a complete lobster plonked on top — not so much part of the meal as standing guard over it.
When we thought we saw it move, he asked to share my pizza. thoroughly engaging, particularly during a talk to a group of l ocal businessmen in Saitama, Japan, where he spoke about how to get the best out of your workforce. Inspiring stuff. How are team shaping up?
Scoring 19 goals in four games suggests the Gunners don’t need to spend in excess of £40million on Suarez. But in their toughest test, against Urawa Red Diamonds, they toiled in front of goal before Chuba Akpom capitalised on a defensive mishap to score late for a 2-1 win. What the Gunners are still m missing is an out-and-out match-winner.
There isn’t a more consistent one in the Premier League than Suarez. The oddest thing you’ve seen on tour?
It has to be the Vietnamese man who ran alongside the Arsenal team coach for around three miles in Hanoi just to catch a glimpse of his heroes. The supporter, dubbed the ‘Running Man’, was eventually let on the bus by Wenger to meet the squad. He was headline news in Vietnam for a few days. For r running in that heat, he deserved a medal.
HP TD fi b v Supersport United v AmaZulu FC v South China v Sunderland