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The fact that Manchester United’s next opponents are Tottenham Hotspur neatly brings into focus how the relationship between their manager Jose Mourinho and record signing Paul Pogba has changed since the last fixture between the two sides.

Pogba had broadly underperformed for the first 18 months of his return to Old Trafford but the Frenchman – now valued at £81m by Transfermarkt – had the support of Mourinho throughout.

The 2-0 defeat to Spurs in January changed all that. Mourinho departed from his ‘park the bus’ tactics for the first time in a match between United and a top six rival, fielding Pogba alongside Nemanja Matic in an expansive 4-2-3-1.

Pogba’s ill-discipline exposed the visiting backline, who endured a torrid night. He could be seen rowing with Mourinho on the touchline and was substituted on 63 minutes.

As United gear up for their first Wembley trip since that night, almost three months on, rumours emerged that Mourinho has now lost patience completely with Pogba. That’s why we asked you – should they sell him?

It would appear that Reds fans have also lost patience with the French playmaker as the majority want him gone in the summer. Check out the full poll results below…

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‘We are United – An Evening with Norman Whiteside and friends,” is taking place this Friday at 7.30pm at the Loop Bar, 19 Dering Street, Mayfair, London, W1. 

Norman will talk about his career, United today and a Q&A, with a preview of the semi-final against Spurs.  We’ve billed it as Norman and friends as we have a number of celebrities attending including Alex Best, Gary Webster and Ron Brand who has intimated that Russell may possibly come with him.  All the celebs will be available for selfies and autographs and mingling with the audience.  After we have finished the show , there will be music and a bar which will stay open until 3.00am.  Thank goodness the game on Saturday doesn’t kick-off until 5:30!! 

The following link will take you to the ticketing page where there is further details of the night. 

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e

/we-are-united-with-norman-whi

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Queens Park Rangers’ Matt Phillips has made quite an impression on the Premier League this season and it looks like he is now at the centre of a transfer battle between West Brom and Southampton.

QPR currently sit in 19th and are four points from safety, but while the club’s season hasn’t been quite what they had hoped, one player has shone through.

Phillips, 24, signed for the Hoops for £5million from Championship side, Blackpool and he still has two years remaining on his contract. It does not look like he will be at the London club next season, though, with 75% of fans admitting they do not believe the winger will still be at the club come August – and it is clear to see why.

Phillips has been instrumental in his team’s push for survival and only Lionel Messi himself has more assists in 2015. The 24-year-old struggled under previous manager Harry Redknapp but under Chris Ramsey he has made an impression.

In recent weeks he has collected seven assists in 10 matches and it has made other clubs sit up and take notice.

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West Brom are trying again to sign Phillips after their first attempt in the January transfer window was unsuccessful. At the time QPR were not willing to sell their star, but it looks like they will not have choice if they are to be relegated. Albion could be thwarted again, though, as Southampton have reportedly joined the race to sign the Scottish international.

Saints were interested in buying Phillips when Blackpool were selling but he chose to join QPR instead. Ronald Koeman is thought to be a huge admirer of the winger and reports suggest he is willing to offer him a chance to stay in the Premier League if Rangers slip back down to the Championship.

The youngster makes a fantastic winger due to his fast pace and skill down the wing, and his ability to whip balls into the box makes any team he plays for a force to be reckoned with. Phillips would be a great asset to a Southampton side who are looking to add speed to the side in order to have different options in the Premier League and as they push towards a European spot.

Koeman likes to bring in young players who show potential and then develop them into superstars. The winger showed his talent when he signed for the Seasiders from Wycombe Wanderers and played an important part in getting Blackpool to the Championship play-off final in 2012.

Phillips is no-where near the finished article, though. Whilst he has fantastic pace and crossing ability, his defensive attributes can let him down. The Scottish star is not a keen tackler, but Koeman is not looking for another defensive winger – he wants an attacking one who will take on defenders.

The Saints boss is looking to add to his already talented squad as he prepares to show the Premier League that this season’s success is by no means a fluke.

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Phillips would fit in perfectly at Southampton as they grow and mature into a steady Premier League side, but if QPR manage to swerve relegation it’s possible that a “Not for Sale” sign may appear in the window of Loftus Road.

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Chelsea are winning the race to sign Ivorian international Yaya Toure in the summer, the Metro reports.

Toure has been reported to be unhappy at Manchester City, with suggestions that he is ready to buy out his contract if he isn’t offered a new deal this weekend.

The midfielder is currently on £220,000-a-week and would need to pay £22million to pay out his contract. Chelsea are ready to pay that amount in a signing-on fee, but face stiff competition from Real Madrid and PSG.

According to the Metro, Toure’s agent Dimitri Seluk said: “If he signs a new contract in the next three of four days then OK. If not, we will not wait any longer and will start negotiations with different clubs.”

Seluk continued to add: “This is not about the money. It is for many reasons. He is one of the best players at Manchester City but does not feel the respect of the staff. Only Roberto Mancini respects Yaya.”

Chelsea will see Toure as the perfect replacement for Frank Lampard, who is also having contract difficulties, and looks set to be a free agent in the summer. Real Madrid have also expressed their interest, where Jose Mourinho is said to be a big fan of the former Barcelona midfielder.

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However, with Mourinho not expected to be at Madrid next season, it is Chelsea who are looking the most likely to sign the 29-year-old. Toure could feature in the Ivory Coast’s World Cup qualifier against Gambia this weekend.

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Everton fans are pleading with Davy Klaassen and Nikola Vlasic not to leave this summer, as they hope to see more of the duo under different management.

It’s no secret that Everton’s summer transfer window was a bit of a disaster.

In a season where they were supposed to challenge the order of the “big six”, the Toffees were forced to bring in Sam Allardyce just to avoid relegation.

Of all the big money signings made in the summer, only Jordan Pickford could really be considered a success, although Gylfi Sigurdsson showed flashes of his brilliance before his injury and Michael Keane is certainly improving.

Fans have been discussing the futures of two of last summer’s failed signings in Nikola Vlasic and Davy Klaassen, and they hope both will stay and try their luck under different management.

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Vlasic was likely brought in with one eye on the future, but fans have still been infuriated by his lack of playing time, especially how positive he looked in his Europa League appearances for the club.

Klaassen is an even more intriguing signing, as the 25 year-old captained Ajax to a European final last season but has yet to make any kind of impact at Goodison.

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The two players are undoubtedly frustrated, and Vlasic’s cryptic Instagram post this week has worried fans that he may want to leave.

Some of the best Twitter reactions can be found below…

Aaron Wilbraham feels Bristol City have the potential to reach the Premier League, after leading a young Bristol City to winning the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy final on Sunday.

The striker, who has gained promotion to the Premier League with both Crystal Palace and Norwich City, scoring in it for the latter, has been integral to the Robins’ excellent season.

Wilbraham was captain as Bristol beat Walsall 2-0 in front of 72,315 in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy final at Wembley that was attended by over 40,000 Robins fans.

The result creates the potential for a double with the League One title, which the Robins are overwhelming favourites for, with Wilbraham believing there is potential to go even further.

He said: “I think it’s a great setup at the club, everything is Premier League standard and that is where we’ve got to aim to get.

“The chairman and everyone has the right aims and that’s what we are looking to do in the pitch.”

“We’ll pass that task (the Championship) when it comes to it but we’ve got a great focus on this League currently. Hopefully when we go into the Championship we’ll have that momentum that means we head into their in great shape.”

The striker was delighted to help provide a talented and relatively young squad with some experience, explaining that he actively passes this on in leadership.

“I think so, it has been mentioned before the game and obviously me being there before in these situations makes it important I help when I’m asked questions by the lads,” he added.

“They are a great sets of lads with great temperament and I was always confident we would get the win without sounding arrogant. I think we’ve got the right mix between youth and experience throughout the lads in the squad and we’ve got a great team spirit.

“I know a lot of people say that in every team but we’ve really got a great team spirit in terms of lads who want to work really hard for each other.”

Wilbraham was understandably pleased to lead a Bristol side that dominated the final to claim a deserved win through goals from Aden Flint and Mark Little.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling, great for the set of lads we’ve got, everyone involved. Everyone was professional with a really good team performance then you have to savour that moment and enjoy that feeling,” Wilbraham continued.”

“We’ve got the keep that consistency going now and hopefully this gives us the confidence to take that into the rest of the season.”

Wilbraham won the JPT and League Two titles in the 2007-2008 season at MK Dons and will look to repeat that double-winning feat, though the Robins are comfortably leading League One.

The 35 year-old also suggested he had no thoughts of retiring anytime soon, also indicating the JPT triumph meant a huge amount because of his huge extensive personal involvement.

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“I’ve played a lot of games this season, probably more than I’ve played for a long while and I’m feeling fit and enjoying myself,” he added.

“I will play as long as I can whilst I feel fit and healthy and hope to be part of it for a long time. Obviously getting promoted to the Premier League twice is unbelievable but this is a really satisfying feeling.

“To be such a part of it captaining the side on the day so it’s definitely up there as one of the best days in my career for me.”

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Michu is ready to snub interest from Europe’s elite and would prefer to stay with Swansea after settling in well at the club.

Michu has bagged 15 Premier League goals since arriving from Rayo Vallecano in the summer and it comes as no surprise to see the likes of Manchester United being linked with a move.

However the 27-year-old has only recently signed a new and improved deal with the club and has no intention of moving on after settling into life in Wales very nicely.

“Swansea are the best team for me,” Michu revealed.

“When you go from Spain to another country, you usually need two or three months to acclimatise, but this has happened to me at Swansea.

“In England I have much more space, which allowed me to beat the mark of goals I scored with Vallecano (15).

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“Playing alongside Leon Britton, Jonathan de Guzman, Wayne Routledge, Nathan Dyer and Pablo Hernandez is good for me also.”

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Manchester United returned to English Premier League action with a win on Saturday, comfortably beating Swansea City 2-0 at Old Trafford.

Romelu Lukaku scored his 100th Premier League goal to put his side ahead within five minutes before Alexis Sanchez scored his second league goal for the club to put the game beyond United’s visitors just 15 minutes later.

The win means Jose Mourinho’s side have strengthened their grip on a top four position in the league, almost assured of UEFA Champions League football next season.

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It was also a day that Paul Pogba returned to the starting line-up after missing out on FA Cup action prior to the international break and he performed decently in the middle of the park, looking to prove he is worth a consistent start in Mourinho’s first team.

Fans though are still looking for more from the French international, believing he has far more to offer than he showed against the Swans.

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They took to Twitter to share their thoughts on his performance…

Sunderland fans could be forgiven for thinking that the wheels have come off.

At the start of last season, Paolo Di Canio’s reign was an absolute mess as he alienated just about everyone with his harsh words and even harsher training and discipline methods.

After an impressive end to last season, Sunderland were expected to build upon their great escape and have a season where they weren’t fighting relegation. But Gus Poyet has, much like his predecessor, proved himself to be lacking in the diplomacy needed to be a Premier League manager.

Sunderland have been dismal of late – one win in their last 12 Premier League games and a defeat in the Cup against League One opposition shows this (admittedly, Bradford were the lower league team in question, and we all know what a run they went on in this season’s FA Cup). Poyet has paid for poor form.

But his sacking was the price he paid for more than just form.

After the abject 4-0 defeat at home to fellow strugglers Aston Villa,  it was clear that Poyet had lost the dressing room. In fact, it was clear just after half time when Seb Larsson didn’t come out of the dressing room with the rest of the team and Poyet was left in the lonely position of peering down the tunnel, waiting for one of his star players to join the rest of the team on the pitch, with the second half already four minutes old.

It was an embarrassing situation indeed, but very few Sunderland fans actually saw it! One fan quipped that they stayed to the end of the game to beat the traffic as the fans left the Stadium of Light at half time.

After the game, Poyet gave his post match interviews.

He was surprisingly calm, especially for a man who had seen his side play horrendously, who had seen the fans leave at half time, who had seen Larsson come out four minutes late for the second half, and who had been abused at close quarters by angry Mackems.

But managers often say scathing things in post-match interviews – even when they’ve won. Usually it’s about the referee or the opposition, but occasionally about their own players. And sometimes they’re just looking to cajole a response out of their players.

Poyet’s ‘pub team’ comment could’ve been passed off as that. It could’ve been if it weren’t for the abject nature of the performance and how his team had been performing up until then. But Sunderland have been so abysmal, the players looked so disinterested (at least the ones who could be bothered to turn up for the second half) that Poyet’s comments rang truer than he wanted.

Trying to ignite a response by saying something harsh is an age-old managerial tactic, but it can go either way: sometimes you say it and the players respond, other times you just lose the dressing room.

In this case, Poyet probably chose the wrong time to say that. Instead of managing to gee-up his players for the coming game, he said something that was a little too near the bone. Sunderland had played like a pub team. And they’ve been playing like one all season.

They have only four league wins, they sit one point above the drop zone, and they have the second-worst goalscoring record in the league. Villa themselves are the only team worse off in front of goal, and Sunderland gave the Villains a charitable boost at the weekend.

When you add poor form to these stats, the lack of fight and passion from the players, the restlessness (or just downright anger) from the fans, and the general mess that surrounds the club with things like the Adam Johnson situation still ongoing, you have a recipe for disaster already. Never mind the fact that the Sunderland board have appointed a new man who has never managed in the Premier League as head coach.

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The Sunderland job is probably one of the most difficult in football right now, and the new Head Coach can see the skeletons of his predecessors strewn in front of him as a warning.

Poyet and Di Canio both lost the dressing room and sent the squad into a mess they may not get out of this time.

So good luck, Dick Advocaat. You’ll need it.

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You always want to get back to your best. A time when you were at the top of your field, feeling invincible, is a time that we all strive to reclaim. This is no more prevalent than at Arsenal, where a trophyless cloud has gathered above the Emirates, waiting for better times to return.

It has been almost a decade since the Gunners achieved a feat that many thought impossible in the modern game; going through an entire season unbeaten. With a squad to rival any team in the world and a manager adored by countless fans at the now extinct Highbury, all was well for the North London club. However, a fast forward into 2013, shows a team unrecognisable from the aforementioned ‘invincibles’. Different stadium, different squad, different issues. While the man at the helm remains the same, Arsene Wenger’s job status has transformed from ‘untouchable’ to ‘insecure’. You have to sympathise with Arsenal fans given the current climate at the Emirates; condemned for not supporting the great Wenger but never seeing the expected results on the pitch; it is an unenviable situation to be in. What Wenger and fans alike must not do, is rely on their past successes to justify their status as a big club. The old guard are long gone, playing in far off lands or providing derisory commentary for various football networks. The fresh faces at the Emirates must create a history of their own to validate the stature of the club, or risk sinking Arsenal into comparative anonymity.

There is no question that the achievements of Arsenal and Arsene Wenger in the early years of this millennia will never be forgotten. Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Patrick Vieira among countless others will be considered Premier League legends indefinitely. However, should the current crop of Gunners continue to remain trophyless for the next few seasons, these legendary players will not be the lasting memory of the club in the future.  The ‘almost’ men will be the legacy of the North London club, a tag that no Arsenal fan will want lingering around. It is absolutely essential that the club wins a trophy in the next 2 or 3 years. The danger is visible; lower league finishes, no longer considered a European elite, failing to attract the necessary talent. Liverpool are following a similar path since the heady heights of Champions League victory in 2005. Both teams are no longer considered as much of a threat to the Premier League. While financial developments at both Chelsea and Man City have certainly not helped the cause, the simple fact is that the Gunners can no longer classify themselves as they used to. While it may be easy to say that dismissing Arsene Wenger would bring a breath of fresh air to a club in desperate need of silverware, who is to say that the situation will prevail with any other manager. It is the mentality that needs to change. Forget the past, it is an ever distant memory. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jack Wilshere and Theo Walcott are the steadfast future of the club and they need to show what they are capable of and announce Arsenal as a ‘big club’ once again through their own achievements.

As a football fan, it is not a pleasant experience to watch a team, who you have seen at such highs, experience such comparative lows. With or without Wenger, the club must push forward and erase their predecessor’s glory if they are to remain as one of the most respected, feared and, most importantly, successful football clubs in the world.

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Manchester United go into Saturday’s derby with little more on their mind than stopping their bitter rivals Manchester City winning the Premier League there and then.

It is a once in a lifetime opportunity for Pep Guardiola’s side but one that will fill United fans with dread. Two men that Reds fans will likely be looking at to conjure up an unlikely result are expensive talismen Alexis Sanchez and Paul Pogba.

The duo have both struggled in recent weeks, although the international break may well have reinvigorated the pair as Sanchez netted in the 2-0 victory against Swansea last time out.

Pogba also found the net during the international break, a stunning free-kick for France against Russia, but it remains to be seen whether Jose Mourinho trusts his defensive discipline enough to play him at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

Sanchez should feature and one man who is sympathetic to the Chilean’s struggles is former United defender Paul Parker.

Paul Parker, speaking exclusively to 888Sport, said: 

“With Sanchez, you have to look at the team more than anything. He’s one of those players who you need on the ball as much as possible. Because of how hard he works and how much he wants the ball, of course he’s going to give it away more because he’s on the ball more.

“As good a player as he is he needs a team around him, a good team, who will find him in the final third. He’s getting frustrated and quickly shows his emotions and that is a problem. He’s no longer in a team that passes as much as Arsenal.”

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The former Reds right-back was less sympathetic towards Pogba, however, stating that he is in the shadow of Kevin De Bruyne due to his obsession with haircuts.

“Can Pogba become the player he wants to be? He can, but his priority has got to be his football. That should stick out more than his hair. It’s fine to have all the haircuts and emojis and whatever.

“But to earn all that, go and do your talking on the pitch: week in, week out. Everybody knows he can do it. His first priority when he’s asked what he wants to be and replies that he wants to be the best player in this team is to say ‘well forget your hairdresser for a while’.

“Just go out there and become a player first. Then you can do what you want with your hair because they’ll only see the player. De Bruyne won’t do anything with his hair and he doesn’t have an emoji.

“He’s playing football. When you talk about the best five players in the world, you’ll mention Messi, Ronaldo, Salah and De Bruyne.

“When you mention Pogba, people will have a little bit of a laugh. Then talk about his hair and the problems he has with Mourinho. That’s not really what he should be known for when he cost £89m.

“The gap between Pogba and De Bruyne could end up a nineteen point gap. We’re talking about potential up against class. There are good players but to become a great player you have to do it consistently, week in and week out, and that’s what de Bruyne does.”

Read the full 888sport interview with Paul Parker, including his prediction for the Manchester Derby this weekend.