Essential The Official Football (Soccer) Thread - The Scriptures Prophesied the Messiah Plays 3-4-3

TobiOT

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Happy Easter guys :mjgrin:
 
Trajan

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Frankincense and Myrrh
Manchester United tried to break me: Wilfried Zaha unbowed despite pain of being 'belittled' at Old Trafford


Zaha recalls a catalogue of incidents, what he calls 'the ins and outs of what really happened', which support his belief that then manager David Moyes and his staff tried to 'break me in every way possible' and 'destroy my career for no reason'.

That Sir Alex Ferguson made Zaha his final signing, only to retire before he joined full-time, is common knowledge. That his successor Moyes had already deemed Zaha 'not my type of player' while he was Everton boss is lesser-known.

Looking back now as he speaks to Sportsmail, that alone is an indication that he barely stood a chance from the off. 'It was the opportunity of a lifetime,' Zaha says. 'The chance to play for Manchester United. It was beyond anything I could have hoped for and I treated it that way. I tried my hardest in every training session to show what I could do.'

But he recalls feeling marginalised when Moyes took issue with the way he dressed and even the car he drove. Zaha felt further let down by the club's failure to shut down false rumours he was sleeping with Moyes' daughter and that his absence was due to an attitude problem. He remembers being 'belittled' in training by one United coach after scoring. On another occasion he was shown a video of himself in tricky winger mode for Palace and was asked how he could recapture that form, having already been told by Moyes to cut out the fancy footwork. 'You see the mind games they were playing?' a bewildered Zaha asks.

Despite all this, Zaha continued to give Moyes the benefit of the doubt, accepting he would opt for experienced players as he tried to find his feet as Ferguson's successor.

'But when he took me out of the Champions League squad and put in Adnan Januzaj, who had never played for the first team, I knew then that this is way bigger than I ever thought and had gone way beyond footballing reasons,' he says. 'When it was not about football or ability, what could I do?'

This was not what Zaha had envisaged after meeting Ferguson and Sir Bobby Charlton and discovering that United wanted him.

Zaha was United's standout player in 2013-14 pre-season under Moyes but was inexplicably frozen out until late October after starting in the Community Shield.

By the time Zaha escaped to join Cardiff on loan in January 2014 he was a shadow of his former self.

'They got a ghost of Wilfried Zaha at Cardiff,' he said, despite impressing the Welsh club's manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with his application as he tried to get back on track.

Zaha described what should have been a fresh start at United the following season under Louis van Gaal as 'like being on trial at my own club.' He remembers the Dutchman and his assistant Ryan Giggs saying they would decide his future based on the outcome of one training session. 'Wayne Rooney said to me "you've trained the best",' Zaha recalls.

'Then I go inside, have the meeting with them and they just said: "We just don't think you're good enough". So I said "OK then, I just want to go on loan".'

Zaha returned on loan to Palace and signed permanently in February 2015, having made only four appearances for United and played just 28 minutes in the Premier League as a substitute.

Zaha stresses he is now 'over' how things turned out. But with many using it to question whether he is cut out for life at the top, it is clear his side of the story needs considering before conclusions are drawn.

He says: 'Not being given a fair opportunity to play at all and being called a flop is what hurt me even more. How can I be if I wasn't given a fair chance?'

'I see Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele, these types of players, and dribbling wise I'm up there with them but they have been given the platform to perform.

'Every day I wanted to go on Twitter or Instagram and say something but I couldn't. That would be unprofessional.'

Watching the recent Champions League action has only increased Zaha’s desire to return to the top level.

'It gives me goosebumps seeing the crowds, amazing stadiums,' he says. 'When I’m seeing players I think ‘what would I do in that predicament?’.

'I feel I can get to that stage, with the confidence I have and belief in my ability. I should be there. I’m missing out. I don’t just want to be at home watching it.'

Zaha recalls with awe watching the likes of Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo bail their teams out of Champions League trouble in the knockout stages.

He says: 'Real players, when the time comes, it’s that big stage, they’re the ones that step up. I want to be that player in the big game.

'I want to be competing at the highest level where there’s an opportunity to win trophies. That’s where I picture myself.'
 
TobiOT

TobiOT

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Trajan said:
Manchester United tried to break me: Wilfried Zaha unbowed despite pain of being 'belittled' at Old Trafford


Zaha recalls a catalogue of incidents, what he calls 'the ins and outs of what really happened', which support his belief that then manager David Moyes and his staff tried to 'break me in every way possible' and 'destroy my career for no reason'.

That Sir Alex Ferguson made Zaha his final signing, only to retire before he joined full-time, is common knowledge. That his successor Moyes had already deemed Zaha 'not my type of player' while he was Everton boss is lesser-known.

Looking back now as he speaks to Sportsmail, that alone is an indication that he barely stood a chance from the off. 'It was the opportunity of a lifetime,' Zaha says. 'The chance to play for Manchester United. It was beyond anything I could have hoped for and I treated it that way. I tried my hardest in every training session to show what I could do.'

But he recalls feeling marginalised when Moyes took issue with the way he dressed and even the car he drove. Zaha felt further let down by the club's failure to shut down false rumours he was sleeping with Moyes' daughter and that his absence was due to an attitude problem. He remembers being 'belittled' in training by one United coach after scoring. On another occasion he was shown a video of himself in tricky winger mode for Palace and was asked how he could recapture that form, having already been told by Moyes to cut out the fancy footwork. 'You see the mind games they were playing?' a bewildered Zaha asks.

Despite all this, Zaha continued to give Moyes the benefit of the doubt, accepting he would opt for experienced players as he tried to find his feet as Ferguson's successor.

'But when he took me out of the Champions League squad and put in Adnan Januzaj, who had never played for the first team, I knew then that this is way bigger than I ever thought and had gone way beyond footballing reasons,' he says. 'When it was not about football or ability, what could I do?'

This was not what Zaha had envisaged after meeting Ferguson and Sir Bobby Charlton and discovering that United wanted him.

Zaha was United's standout player in 2013-14 pre-season under Moyes but was inexplicably frozen out until late October after starting in the Community Shield.

By the time Zaha escaped to join Cardiff on loan in January 2014 he was a shadow of his former self.

'They got a ghost of Wilfried Zaha at Cardiff,' he said, despite impressing the Welsh club's manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with his application as he tried to get back on track.

Zaha described what should have been a fresh start at United the following season under Louis van Gaal as 'like being on trial at my own club.' He remembers the Dutchman and his assistant Ryan Giggs saying they would decide his future based on the outcome of one training session. 'Wayne Rooney said to me "you've trained the best",' Zaha recalls.

'Then I go inside, have the meeting with them and they just said: "We just don't think you're good enough". So I said "OK then, I just want to go on loan".'

Zaha returned on loan to Palace and signed permanently in February 2015, having made only four appearances for United and played just 28 minutes in the Premier League as a substitute.

Zaha stresses he is now 'over' how things turned out. But with many using it to question whether he is cut out for life at the top, it is clear his side of the story needs considering before conclusions are drawn.

He says: 'Not being given a fair opportunity to play at all and being called a flop is what hurt me even more. How can I be if I wasn't given a fair chance?'

'I see Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele, these types of players, and dribbling wise I'm up there with them but they have been given the platform to perform.

'Every day I wanted to go on Twitter or Instagram and say something but I couldn't. That would be unprofessional.'

Watching the recent Champions League action has only increased Zaha’s desire to return to the top level.

'It gives me goosebumps seeing the crowds, amazing stadiums,' he says. 'When I’m seeing players I think ‘what would I do in that predicament?’.

'I feel I can get to that stage, with the confidence I have and belief in my ability. I should be there. I’m missing out. I don’t just want to be at home watching it.'

Zaha recalls with awe watching the likes of Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo bail their teams out of Champions League trouble in the knockout stages.

He says: 'Real players, when the time comes, it’s that big stage, they’re the ones that step up. I want to be that player in the big game.

'I want to be competing at the highest level where there’s an opportunity to win trophies. That’s where I picture myself.'
Click to expand...
I think we have a buy-back clause for Zaha :patrice:
 
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