Casemiro return vital to Man United

Erik Ten Hag was in a good mood during training earlier this week as Manchester United’s leading players return to Premier League action against a struggling Nottingham Forest this weekend.

Christian Eriksen made a 13-minute cameo against Everton and immediately showed what the team has been missing.

He displayed pin-point passing, pure class in spotting potential runs toward goal and supplied balls that split the Everton defence. Casemiro, back from a four-match suspension, is also available for this weekend’s match against Forest.

The coach is, however, worried that the tough-tackling Brazilian could pick up another suspension with the Reds still competing in three competitions with a run of games playing twice each week.

Casemiro is certainly the midfield general and there is no one better and he has been at the centre of United’s recent turnaround.

Ten Hag explained: “When you miss players you have to find solutions as a manager and coaching staff. When you miss them you have to find a solution to bring the game from the back and start the build-up to progress the ball to attack. We decided to bring Bruno Fernandes down the field and he’s doing brilliantly, he is playing really well.”

Fernandes’ new approach has worked excellently for Ten Hag and he gets more involved in attacks earlier by taking possession of the ball during build-ups from the back and his skill at spotting a pass is more valuable.

When United played Everton, for instance, he was spraying passes all over the field and effectively making use of the wide players. Ten Hag is considering leaving him in that position even when Casemiro and Eriksen are back since he is also helping out in defence.

Fernandes and Casemiro playing together could be awesome and whereas Scott McTominay has shown improvement, Ten Hag does not rely on him like Casemiro. Jadon Sancho has shown flashes of quality but Ten Hag is getting impatient waiting for a genuine return on United’s investment.

For Ten Hag, the only current downside is the injury to Marcus Rashford but I am told the United medical team are on top of the situation and will release him as soon as possible which could be in a couple of games.

Lampard must improve his forwards

Interim coach Frank Lampard has created a 4-3-3 line-up for Chelsea’s league matches which gives Raheem Sterling a clear role to play on the wing.

With only four goals and two assists this season in 21 matches he has failed to find that spark against Premier League opposition which once made him the envy of every player in Europe.

Lampard recognises his personal main task is to get the best out of Sterling, Christian Pulisic, Wesley Fofana, Joao Felix and Pierre-Emerrick Aubameyang and the Cobham training ground will see those players being given extra training which includes more time focusing on return to form.

Kompany wins promotion for Burnley

Last week, fans heard a story that a pub local to Burnley football club was renamed as The Royal Kompany after the coach, who was appointed to the club last year and has won them promotion to the Premier League.

The story appears to be a joke but there are many who believe Kompany should be given the freedom of the city. He is a hero and Kompany, a legend at Manchester City, has done a remarkable job.

Their win over Middlesborough last weekend won them promotion with seven games left! It was all down to meticulous planning by Kompany.

This includes long pre-season sessions with Richard Bredice, a performance analyst brought in from Anderlecht by Kompany, which prompted striker Ashley Barnes to comment that it was “like being back at school”.

But the players learned their lessons well. Extra lines were painted onto the training pitches to create smaller spaces using different zones to get players used to creating chances inside tight playing positions.

Kompany admits he learned much from Pep Guardiola, his coach while captaining Manchester City. They will meet head-to-head next season and who would bet against Burnley doing well on their return. 

Maguire regaining old confidence

Harry Maguire said several weeks ago that he intended to regain his place in the Manchester United defence by going the “extra mile.”

He has fulfilled his promise and has been singled out for praise by coach Erik Ten Hag. Maguire has been doing extra training, staying late and persuading other players to support him and they also stayed on at United’s Carrington headquarters.

He was frustrated after falling behind Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez and watching from the bench.

Maguire said this week: “Look, I am not going to stand here, talk to you and say that I love it. I don’t. I want to play every game. But I also have to respect the manager’s decision and we have top-quality defenders at the club."

He continued: “I train hard and competitively in everything I do whether it is five-aside games or practicing possession football. I feel good this year and I always do the extras. I am in a good place physically and mentally. I’ve done well in the games I have started and the manager has recognised this.”

Maguire was almost certain to be sold at the end of the season but now there is new thinking by the coaching staff and he still has two years left on his contract. Several clubs, mainly West Ham, are monitoring the situation and are ready to make a move.

Smith needs miracle to save Leicester

For those who enjoyed the wonderful achievement of Leicester winning the Premier League title in 2016 and many of you who actually became supporters during that magical time, the current season must seem light years away from those glory days.

Leicester are in a relegation battle after securing just two points in 10 games and losing at home to bottom side Bournemouth has poured more misery onto their loving supporters.

Leicester have no focus, no momentum and appointing former Aston Villa coach Dean Smith and defence coach John Terry is not inspiring supporters to believe they can turn things around. In 30 years, no club in the bottom three have sacked their manager with eight games to go and survived.

Dean’s appointment until the end of the season makes no sense to me and he is certainly not in the class of sacked manager Brendan Rodgers. Replacing transferred team leader Kasper Schmeichel and recognising that Jamie Vardy and Johny Evans are too old to get them out of trouble would be a good start.

James Maddison, Harvey Barnes, Youri Tielemans and Caglar Soyuncu are their best players but they are likely to go at the end of the season if the team go down. Leicester are in real trouble.

Kane too expensive for Bayern

Bayern Munich’s chief financial officer Michael Diederich has said that the club target Harry Kane is probably too expensive.

Manchester United’s Erik Ten Hag has told his board of directors that he needs Kane to join Marcus Rashford because he is concerned that his other striker options have failed to convince him they can score enough goals.

Kane currently has 23 goals this season which puts him only behind City’s Erling Haaland.

Son joins the hundred club

Congratulations to Heung-Min Son’s 100th Premier League goal. Last season’s Golden Boot winner admitted that he has underperformed during the current campaign and therefore it is a pity his excellent goal against Brighton and achievement was overshadowed by the red card punch-up between coach Cristian Stellini and Brighton’s Roberto De Zerbi.

De Bruyne delivers at speed

Another player joining the 100 club is Kevin De Bruyne but for him, it is his assists for Manchester City.

Pep Guardiola was full of praise when De Bruyne became only the fifth player to reach this milestone. United legends Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney, Cesc Fabregas and Frank Lampard are the other four to have joined the elite club.

Guardiola said: “Some players need to reduce their speed by 30 or forty percent but he’s a guy who plays every action at a high intensity 80/90 per cent speed. It is so difficult to find."

"He has more ability to find passes on the move than when he is calm or walking. The normal players need to walk to see everything but Kevin sees those opportunities at speed and that makes him an exceptional player.”

Veteran Hodgson impresses at Palace

He’s 75 years old and provides a beacon of light for all the older generation who want to prove they still have what it takes. Patrick Vieira’s Crystal Palace were a good team and the Frenchman had done a superb job before being sacked — unfairly in my opinion.

But along comes old Roy Hodgson, a much-loved veteran, ex-England coach and gently put out to grass enjoying his pension years. But no! Palace are suddenly fired into life, thrashed Leeds 5-1 away from home and suddenly his team have won two games in a row, are up to 12th in the table and six points clear of the relegation zone.

Palace struggled in the first half against Leeds and during the break Hodgson used all his experience instructing his players to go out and be more aggressive, more positive and rely more on 21-year-old Michael Olise. They responded and Olise came out for the second half and created three goals.

The coach said after the game: “We’ve got quality, we’re strong and skilful. I have to enjoy these moments because they won’t last forever.”

I wouldn’t be too sure Roy. Well done!