Manchester United secured their 2nd consecutive victory as they defeated West Bromwich when playing at the Hawthorns on Saturday which is a crucial triumph for David Moyes as they will have to play against Liverpool, Olympiakos and Manchester City in March.

Wayne Rooney expressed his appreciation for the Manchester United fans as the Englishman labeled them to be ‘brilliant’’.

“Great result Saturday. Fans were brilliant as always and I’m sure it’ll be the same on Sunday against Liverpool, always a big atmosphere,” Rooney wrote on Twitter following the conclusion of the match.

Even with the recent series of positive results that Manchester United has been picking up in the Premier League, David Moyes and his players have their work cut out for them if they want to continue dreaming on securing a Champions League qualification spot for the upcoming season.
The squad of David Moyes has seen Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham getting further and further out of the reach of Manchester United and Wayne Rooney confessed that it has been very difficult seeing their opponents experiencing such a positive season.

“To see Manchester City doing well, and particularly Liverpool, is really difficult. It’s not nice when we know we are capable of being up there challenging and we haven’t been doing that this season’’.

“However, it means we have to step up and get back up there because the feeling we’ve had this season is not a nice feeling at all to have. We have to keep working, keep progressing and finish the season stronger.” Rooney admitted.

Manchester United has failed on defending their Premier League title in this season and at this point all that they are wishing to do is finishing the season in the top 5 spots of the league.

David Moyes is weighing his option and analyzing on who should be the next captain of Manchester United after Nemanja Vidic makes his way out of the club at the end of the current season as the Serbian defender has already confirmed.

Wayne Rooney is being lined up as a candidate on receiving the armband for the next season but the Scottish coach told the former Everton player what it means and what it represents if he is given the role as captain.

Moyes said: ‘’We want people to show leadership qualities, not just on the pitch but off the pitch. It is a big standing to be captain of Manchester United. The person who takes over has to understand what it means for the club, the responsibility it carries, what is required of you as well. I think we have a lot of leaders in the dressing room and they will all get a chance to stake their claim.’’

The head boss of Manchester United, David Moyes sees the role of captain as someone that can represent the club not only inside the pitch but outside of it as well as he has to project confidence and leadership skills which will help the team during some of their tougher matches.

Wayne Rooney has stated his desire on remaining with Manchester United for a couple more years as he has an objective that he wants to accomplish and that is to break the goal-scoring record which was set by Sir. Bobby Charlton as he managed to score 249 goals in all competitions for Manchester United.

The former Everton player has already spent 10 years playing at Old Trafford and has placed himself in the 4th spot of the club’s all-time leading goal-scorers having scored 208 goals and he wants to score much more.

David Moyes has confirmed that strikers Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie will once again be unavailable for selection, but this time for the key match against Chelsea.

Manchester United are in a position where they must win all of their remaining matches in order to even hope about winning the title. They face a huge task between them and creating this run since Chelsea will be the opponents to United on Sunday. They make the trip to Stamford Bridge knowing that a victory against one of the inform teams in the Premier league will not be easy.

Chelsea have gone on an imperious run of form since the 3-2 defeat against Stoke City. They are especially strong at home where they have dropped just two points all season. This is the second best home record in the division. Rooney and van Persie have by far been the best attacking talent United have had in recent years, and they have been over reliant on the two players under Moyes. This is due to the lack of quality in midfield, which has become apparent in recent weeks without the duo.

Moyes has confirmed that Rooney has come back to training, but he is just a little short of fitness to play in this encounter. Van Persie, meanwhile, has been out with a muscular injury for several weeks.

“Wayne’s come back fresh but not ready for Chelsea. He’s doing some running and looking good. He’s had a break, done some strengthening work on his groin. Hopefully he’ll benefit, but not for this game. I’m hoping Robin’s got a good chance of training at the start of next week. If i could get him back on the grass it would be a great boost for us – he’s a really important player and one we’ve missed,” said Moyes.

The star of Barcelona and 4 times FIFA player of the year will be left in the sidelines for the rest of the year as he picked up an injury in his left hamstring and probably leave him out of the running for the FIFA Ballon d’Or in January.

These past few months have been a time to forget for the Argentine superstar who has been plagued with injuries and problems leaving him not able to play his usual role for Barcelona.

Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d’Or award since 2009 while C.Ronaldo has been following close behind in 2nd place in the last 2 years but due to his injuries it does seem as if the Argentine will win it another consecutive year.

Playing 155 matches in 28 months is proving to be too much for the 26 years old that will be taking a rest for the remainder of the year and nothing else to do than wait for a full recovery and watch his team from the sidelines.
Barcelona is topping La Liga with 37 points, Athletic Madrid is following them close behind with 34 points and Real Madrid are sitting in 3rd place with 31 points.

This may be the break that not only C.Ronaldo needs to claim the FIFA Ballon D’Or trophy but also for Real Madrid to catch up to Barcelona as they will be missing out from their best player not only in La Liga but also in the Champions League.

Messi marked his 10th anniversary with the Catalan club on Saturday and he expressed what it feels like to be with Barcelona since he was a youngster.

“It was a very important moment in my career because I realised a dream that I had since I was very young,” Messi told Barca TV in an interview.

Manchester United recently had a new entrant into the top goal scorers list after striker Wayne Rooney managed to score his 200th goal for the club in the 4-2 win over Bayern Leverkusen.

The German club were the visitors to Old Trafford in the first match of the Champions league group stages. United were coming into the match on the back of a poor run of form, which has seen them win only one match in the last four. Hence, there was pressure on manager David Moyes to get three points from his first Champions League group match incharge.

Rooney helped him achieve exactly that by managing to score 2 goals, which also saw him move into the elite club at Manchester United. He has now scored 200 goals for the club, which is an achievement only a handful of players can boast. He is also very close to the record held by Sir Bobby Charlton, who has 249 goals to his name. Moyes has backed the 27-year-old to break this record as well in the near future. Rooney came very close to living United in the summer after interest from Chelsea.

Mourinho also hinted that Rooney wanted to leave United because he was not happy at the club.

“The reception I got when I was substituted was amazing and meant a lot so I want to thank the fans for that. The Manchester United fans have been brilliant since the start of the season, their support home and away is always top drawer and means a lot to the team. The best way to repay the fans is with good team performances. I’m happy to be in a position where I get the opportunity to score goals – and long may that continue,” said Rooney after the Bayern Leverkusen match.

Former Manchester United fitness coach has said that he always knew that England star Wayne Rooney will never be as good as Portuguese international Cristiano Ronaldo due to the differences in dedication they had towards spending time in the gym.

Ronaldo managed to become one of the best players in the world after arriving at Old Trafford in 2003. He left the club in 2009 for a world record transfer fee of £ 80 million and former United fitness coach Mick Clegg is not surprised. He has revealed that Rooney is one of the players who absolutely hates being in the gym, while Ronaldo is the total opposite.

It can be seen from their different body styles. Wayne Rooney is not only shorter than Ronaldo, but he is also not in the best of shape as well. Portuguese star Ronaldo has one of the fittest bodies amongst any footballer in the world. This is because of the time he spends in the gym working as per the instructions from the fitness coach. Clegg has also revealed that Ronaldo may even go one step further in order to stay in the perfect shape. Ronaldo has gone on from strength to strength since moving to Old Trafford, while Rooney has been on a decline in recent years.

“Wayne didn’t see the importance of the gym really. He’d say, ‘I’m here to play football’. I always wish I could have pushed Wayne that bit further. Wayne was always a big lad and was afraid of bulking up if he spent too much time in the gym. That’s what set Cristiano Ronaldo apart. He would do whatever training I prescribed and more. He lived and breathed football 24/7 and his dedication was phenomenal,” said Clegg. Rooney has been linked with a £ 30 million move to the likes of Barcelona and PSG.

Former Everton midfielder Tim Cahill has a reputation for scoring a lot of goals despite being a midfielder. However, the Australian has struggled to replicate his form at the MLS club New York Red Bulls since joining the club in the £ 1 million transfer more than a year ago. He has managed to score just one goal in 15 appearances for the team, which has led to media criticism that the player should not have been part of the designated player rule.

As a result of being a designated player, Tim Cahill is blocking the arrival of stars like Thierry Henry, who is the other designated player within the squad. However, Cahill has said that he does not believe that his play does not need a goal, and it is only the media and the fans who are looking for it. He has said that he has been enjoying the status of being a regular goalscorer at various clubs in the past, but it is not the same with New York Red Bull. He has said that he would rather be a part of the team rather than an individual who scores goals.

Cahill will have the opportunity to improve his goalscoring record when his team take on San Jose Earthquakes on Sunday.
“I don’t think I need a goal. I think who needs the goals are probably [fans and media]. I need to play. It’s only been one game in the season. Last year was a different [story]. … I think in this league the focus on DPs and these players from Europe is so much because of the money and so many circumstances. But I’ve enjoyed a career in being in highlights and being at the top of my game as a goalscorer and whatever, but with the Red Bulls it’s not about me, it’s not about the individuals,” said Cahill.

Despite being one of the prolific goal scorers in front of goal, the Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney has not been able to convert penalties in the most convincing fashion in recent months.

Recently, he missed his 10th penalty of the Manchester United career, which led to criticism from the fans and media. However, the winger Ryan Giggs has come to the defence of the player by saying that he is confident that Rooney will start scoring penalties once again and will not be afraid to take the penalty if a chance is presented.

Rooney has already missed from the penalty spot once this season, but the football betting markets are predicting him to score his next one – get your hands on the latest football bets.

His latest miss in the match against West Ham United could have cost the team dearly, but as it is, they have secured their passage into the fourth round of the FA Cup. After the match, Giggs failed to criticise Rooney by saying that the former Everton striker will definitely score the next penalty he gets. He has also said that players go through a patch when they find it difficult to score goals even when it is coming in the form of penalties. He has recalled the time when players like Ruud van Nistelrooy missing several penalties during his Manchester United career.

“Players sometimes go through these types of spells. Ruud van Nistelrooy missing three on the trot. Not many people remember that but I certainly do. The fourth one he stepped up, buried it and probably didn’t miss one again. Wayne is our penalty taker. He will be disappointed because he is a goalscorer who wants to score goals. But I am sure if we get another, he will take it,” said the winger. United will be playing against Fulham at Old Trafford in the fourth round of the FA Cup, with the match against Real Madrid looming.

The Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney is set to miss two more weeks of football after the manager Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed that his return has been delayed. The 27-year-old has not played for United since the 1-1 draw with Swansea a few weeks ago. He had one of his poor performances for the club in this match.

Ferguson said that he expected the striker to bounce back after this poor performance in the match against Newcastle, but the knee problem means that he is unlikely to available for the next two weeks as well. This would effectively mean that Rooney will miss up to a month of football.

This adds to the pressure on the striker, who has already been criticised for the lack of contribution at the same level as Robin van Persie. Ferguson has had a lot of problems when it comes to his defenders suffering from injuries, but this is really the first time he has had to deal with a first-team regular in the striker department suffering from an injury. Still, Ferguson has many weapons at his disposal in the form of Javier Hernandez, Danny Welbeck, and Robin van Persie to cope with the absence of Rooney. United managed to take the FA cup third-round into a replay courtesy of a last-minute goal from van Persie.

“Wayne Rooney is still injured. We’re surprised it’s longer than we thought. We expected him back training but he’s not. It’s nothing serious but if looks as if he’ll out for another two weeks or so. He won’t be fit for that I don’t think. It’s nothing serious, he just got clipped behind the knee, and we sent him for a scan but nothing really shows on the scan and he’s still feeling it. Hopefully two weeks will sort it but it’s a loss,” said Ferguson.

Sam Allardyce will be taking his West Ham United team to White Hart Lane looking to continue the good run of form that his team has been experiencing since the return to the Premier league this season. West Ham United were promoted to the Premier league through the play-offs.

Due to the fact that they retained most of the playing staff from the relegation season, they have been able to complete the transition smoothly. There are currently in the seventh place ahead of the arch rivals Tottenham, who will be their opponents this weekend. Tottenham come into the match on the back of a poor run of form, which has seen them have just two victories in the last eight matches.

Tottenham have conceded a lot of goals in the recent London derby matches, and Andre Villas-Boas will be keen to make his side extremely tough to beat defensively. They will be coming up against a West Ham team that will be high on confidence following the win over Newcastle last week.

Emmanuel Adebayor will not be available for this match, as he is currently serving a suspension for the red card against Arsenal. One of the main reasons for the poor form of Tottenham has been the absence of the summer signing Mousa Dembélé, but he was involved in the Europa league match and the chances of him playing against West Ham are quite high.

Amongst the bookies, Tottenham are 8/11 to win the match mainly because of the strong home performance. However, the best bet of the match might come in the form of West Ham United, who are rated 9/1 to win the match. There are also a few bookies currently providing odds of 14/5 for a draw between the two teams on Sunday evening.