Former Manchester United assistant
manager Mike Phelan believes Wayne
Rooney could leave the club in
search of a new challenge.
The 27-year-old, who handed in a
transfer request last season, is
believed to be set for crunch talks
with new boss David Moyes in the
coming days, with the striker hoping to gain assurances about his
role in the first-team.
Phelan, who left United following Moyes' reshuffle of the backroom
staff, is adamant there is no better place for Rooney to ply his trade
than at Old Trafford, but admits he could seek a fresh challenge
away from the club.
"Wayne is
at the
greatest
club you
can be
at,"
Phelan
told BBC
Radio 5
Live. "Why
would you
want to
jeopardise
that?
"Unless
you want a
fresh
challenge
and you feel that challenge isn't being met at Manchester United.
"Every player is entitled to express a desire to want to move on. Any
player can do that at any time.
"In Wayne's case, in the first instance in 2010, he took a lot of
advice on that and got steered towards making that call but the
manager was terrific. He talked to him and asked why would he
want to leave the club?
"The press conference Sir Alex gave was a bit of a tear-jerker and it
was genuine. There was an element that he'd chased this boy and
paid big money. He was the boy that could change United."
Phelan expects the Red Devils to make a decision on Rooney's
future soon but admits he doesn't know whether he will stay or go.
"Somewhere down the line there will be words said, there will be
meetings and they will see if it's still alive and worth going for or
they'll call time on it," Phelan added. "He's come from a fresh-faced
17-year-old and has been under the spotlight for that time and he
has delivered. He might have hit a blip in certain performances but
he isn't the first or last player to have done that.
"You have to nurse them through it and hopefully he responds to
that. Sometimes you have to crack the whip with him. Wayne has
responded as well as he feels he can do for United, and what will
be will be - I haven't got a clue."
Rafael is relishing starting pre-season
training at Manchester United and
believes it gives players an
opportunity to impress new manager
David Moyes.
The Scot officially took over the reins
at Old Trafford from Sir Alex
Ferguson on 1 July, with the club's
first pre-season game on 13 July.
And following a summer of rest, Rafael cannot wait to get going
again and is prepared to put in plenty of effort to impress as United
embark on tour of Asia.
"Pre-
season is
always
good, it's
enjoyable," he told the club's official website. "I like this stage of
the year a lot. Of course, there is a lot of running! But it's good as
well because when you come back from holiday, sometimes you can
get tired from doing nothing. I feel good when I'm working.
"The pre-season tours are a big part of preparation work for the
new season. If you play well, you can put a thought in the
manager's mind and maybe change his mind if you perhaps weren't
in his plans for the first few games.
"Not only are we able to put in some hard work on the training
pitch when we're on tour, it's good to see different cultures and
different things. It's great that we're able to visit countries across
the world because we have so many fans.
The 22-year-old established himself as the club's first-choice right-
back last season and is looking forward to meeting the Red Devils
supporters from around the world.
"We are a big club and we have supporters everywhere and it's good
for us to go on tour and see them. They give us so much support
and it's great that we're able to meet some of them, especially those
who aren't able to get to Old Trafford.
"The tour is a great experience for the young players and the older
players like Ryan Giggs and Rio Ferdinand are always really
encouraging when we're away and help us a lot. I'm sure this year's
tour will be another great trip and it's one we're all looking forward
to."
Manchester United
have named Steve
Round as the club's
new assistant manger
as David Moyes
officially begins his Old
Trafford reign.
Moyes arrived at Carrington - now officially
renamed the AON Training Complex - at
08:00BST on Monday morning to start work
as Sir Alex Ferguson's successor, and the
Premier League champions have wasted little
time in announcing his backroom staff.
As well as Round, who has worked with
Moyes since 2008, Chris Woods has been
named goalkeeping coach while Jimmy
Lumsden has also been handed a role
behind the scenes.
"I have worked with Steve, Chris and Jimmy
for a number of years and I am delighted
they have decided to join me at this great
club," Moyes said.
"They bring great qualities in their respective
fields and I know that, like me, they feel that
this is a challenge to relish. I have great faith
that together, we can build upon the success
this Club has enjoyed over many years."
Chief Executive Ed Woodward, who has taken
over from David Gill, added: "I believe with
David and his new team in place, along with
our current backroom staff, we can now start
preparing for the new season ahead.
"This is an exciting and challenging time for
the club and I have great belief that David
and his team will have all the energy and
attributes needed to help this club continue
in its long-standing traditions."
United have also announced a sponsorship
deal with Thai telecommunications company
True, who will become the Red Devils' official
mobile partner and MUTV broadcaster in
Thailand.
Manchester United will
triple Thiago's salary to
€140,000-a-week if the
midfielder completes
his move from
Barcelona this summer.
Goal reported on
Thursday that the 22-
year-old is set for talks with Camp Nou
officials where he will confirm his intention
to leave the club after agreeing terms in
principle with United.
Sources have said that United are confident
of completing a €18 million deal for the
midfielder despite late interest from Bayern
Munich and Barcelona's attempts to keep
Thiago at the club after chairman Sandro
Rosell met with his father Mazinho last week.
Thiago is on his post-season break and
Barcelona officials are said to have given up
hope of convincing the midfielder to stay
after he raised doubts over forthcoming first-
team opportunities at Camp Nou ahead of
next summer's World Cup.
His current contract runs until 2015 but his
exit clause plummeted from €90 million to
€18m after he failed to participate for a
stipulated amount of minutes in the 2012-13
season.
Speaking in February, the midfielder
confirmed he wanted "to get as many
minutes as I can" and was disappointed to
be a peripheral figure in Barca's midfield
behind the likes of Xavi, Andres Iniesta and
Cesc Fabregas.
However, the buy-out clause is due to return
to €90m on August 1 if a deal for him to
leave is not completed by then.
The €7.2m wage package prepared by United
would see the midfielder's wages tower over
those earned by the likes of Phil Jones,
Danny Welbeck and Shinji Kagawa, who all
earn slightly above €81,000-a-week.
As such, United are keen to push through a
cut-price deal for the 22-year-old in the
coming weeks, with David Moyes set to
officially begin his tenure at Old Trafford on
Monday ahead of the first-team squad
reporting back for training at Carrington two
days later on July 3.
Today is the beginning of a new era for Manchester United, with David Moyes' reign as the Reds' manager now officially underway.
He arrived at the newly-named Aon Training Complex – formerly the Trafford Training Centre (and often previously referred to as Carrington) – bright and early on Monday 1 July, ready to begin work as United aim to retain the Barclays Premier League title in 2013/14.
Moyes, who was appointed on 9 May, takes up his new challenge after more than 11 years in charge at Everton. There, he won the League Managers' Association's Manager of the Year award – voted for by his fellow football bosses – on three occasions: in 2003, 2005 and 2009. Only Sir Alex Ferguson (four awards) collected the honour as many times.
You can read a detailed profile of the new Manchester United manager on our Players & Staff page. Working alongside Moyes will be Steve Round (assistant manager), Jimmy Lumsden(coach) and Chris Woods (goalkeeper coach).
A number of changes behind the scenes also take effect today. Executive vice chairman Ed Woodward takes on the duties previously undertaken by former chief executive David Gill, while Richard Arnold begins his tenure as group managing director. Chief operating officer Michael Bolingbroke has been appointed to the main board and takes on further responsibilities, including chairman of MU Foundation.
Sir Alex Ferguson made only one change to the starting XI on duty at Stoke on Sunday with Rafael replacing Javier Hernandez, prompting Phil Jones and Wayne Rooney to move further forward, albeit as part of a fluid formation.
The Hammers made a furious start and pressed in the opening stages but there was only one moment of danger. Carroll was afforded far too much time on the edge of the box and an offside flag was raised against Kevin Nolan inthe middle as the on-loan Liverpool striker's shot rolled wide.
United were still struggling to gain a momentum in the game when Carroll headed over the top from a corner after a quarter of an hour and it was no great surprise when the hosts opened the scoring soon afterwards. Kagawa's misplaced pass was pounced upon by Diame and he invited Matt Jarvis to take on Rio Ferdinand. The winger beat the ex-Hammer comfortably and crossed to Carroll, who headed down for Vaz Te to dive and nod past Rafael and Nemanja Vidic on the line.
There was no initial response from the Reds with Rooney's wayward shot the only effort registered in the opening half an hour but an equaliser arrived following a fine move down the left flank. Van Persie threaded a pass through James Collins' legs to work the ball back to Kagawa and the Japan international danced his way into the area to tee up Valencia for a simple tap-in, with the winger becoming the 19th different league scorer for the leaders this term.
Diame got the better of Michael Carrick to lash a drive in tothe side-netting and Vaz Te thumped well wide as Sam Allardyce's side produced a positive reaction while Nolan tumbled under the merest touch from Nemanja Vidic in a desperate bid to win a penalty that left referee Lee Probert unimpressed.
Probert then failed to punish Carroll's ludicrous challenge on David De Gea from a corner with the yellow card it clearly warranted but, thankfully, the keeper was back on his feet after receiving treatment. The Londoners must have been disappointed to end the half on level terms as the move that led to Valencia's goal was the only one United created that carried any clear cut chances.
The start of the second half saw an immediate improvement with van Persie heading Rooney's precise cross frustratingly behind Jones, who was unable to make a proper connection when a goal would have been certain. Yet it did not provoke a spell of sustained pressure as Vidic was forced into a tremendous headed clearance at the other end to prevent Nolan from reaching a Jarvis cross.
Indeed, West Ham continued to push forward and Carroll, unconcerned by collecting a belated booking for a flare-up with De Gea, smashed a long-range effort close to the Spaniard's goal. When Diame turned Rooney easily on the edge of the box, the midfielder curled a delightful finish through a crowd of players and into the net to regain the lead for the hosts.
Jussi Jaaskelainen was called into action for the first time with the hour-mark approaching when he made a miraculous stop with his boot to deny van Persie but the Dutchman was offside in any case. Jaaskelainen was then fortunate when a well-placed van Persie corner saw Rooney's scuffed shot skip past the Finn, only for Gary O'Neil to hack away off the line.
At least Sir Alex's side were starting to maintain a decent tempo and rediscovering glimpses of the form that has taken them clear at the top of the table. Only a wonderful one-handed save by Jaaskelainen kept out van Persie's header from a Valencia centre as the Reds clicked through the gears, replacing Rooney with Ryan Giggs.
Kagawa moved into a central position with Giggs stationed on the left and the former Borussia Dortmund schemer was heavily involved in the second equaliser. Collecting a Carrick pass, he blasted in a splendid shot that hit both posts and van Persie was on hand to emphatically lift the rebound into the roof of the net. TV replays showed United's top scorer was offside at the moment the initial shot was unleashed.
Javier Hernandez was introduced, surprisingly at the expense of the influential Kagawa, and forced another good stop out of Jaaskelainen from Carrick's astute pass. With time running out, van Persie slashed a wild attempt off target and Carrick survived a shout from the crowd for handball, even though the ball hit his chest.
There were chances for late drama in stoppage time as Hernandez was unable to convert a lovely cross by Giggs due to Carroll's brilliant tackle, capping an impressive display by the centre-forward, and substitute Matty Taylor spurned an opening for the Hammers by firing over the bar.
The lead may have been reduced but, ahead of ManchesterCity's trip to Tottenham on Sunday, United remain very much in pole position to land a record 20th title.
