Nipunchopra

The season, so far If one were to ask Louis van Gaal about it, all is well at Manchester United. In spite of an embarrassing exit to Championship team Middlesborough in the Capital One Cup, United are two points from the top of the Premier League and top of their Champions League group. However, the occasional […]

The growth in soccer in America has coincided with an explosion of blogs and podcasts covering the game. As an avid podcast producer and podcast listener myself, I have curated a list of my Top 10 soccer podcasts. A few caveats— This is a list of general soccer podcasts, not club-specific podcasts. In order to rank […]

In the last few years, Manchester United has preferred to play wingers and forwards in center midfield over actual central midfielders. Going back to the end of the Sir Alex Ferguson's era, the legendary Scot famously picked the likes of Rafael, John O’ Shea and Ji-Sung Park ahead of Paul Pogba in the center of […]

Finding quality soccer podcasts is sometimes like trying to find a needle in the haystack, such is the sheer quantity available. But to make your life easier in your search of the best of the best, here are the top 5 recommended soccer podcasts out there along with my video review of each one and […]

For the second week in a row, Manchester United has a very lucky win under its belt. Everton deserved a point from this game, and played very well in the second half. Manchester United will need to improve their play significantly to compete with the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City; whom they will play soon. Injuries-notwithstanding, […]

The yearly center-back crisis at Manchester United has arrived. A couple of seasons ago, in spite of having five center backs in Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Jonny Evans, Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, Sir Alex Ferguson was forced to deploy Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick in central defense. For that reason, Manchester United has grown […]

In his pre-match press conference, manager Louis Van Gaal revealed that wingback Ashley Young and defender Phil Jones are injured for the game against QPR. The Dutchman also indicated that Luke Shaw, Rafael and Ander Herrera are close to full fitness and will likely be involved in Sunday’s game. Given the myriad of attacking options […]

This will not be a popular opinion, but the Glazers and Ed Woodward are not to blame for the lack of squad quality at Manchester United. The facts show that the Glazers have loosened the purse strings whenever they have been asked to. Here is a comparison that will further elucidate this point. Between 1998 […]

On Friday morning, reports suggested that Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal had told Danny Welbeck that he could leave the club. During his press conference, Van Gaal was typically evasive in his answer about Welbeck’s future. At no point, however, did van Gaal suggest that Welbeck had a future at the club. All that […]

The Premier League is back in our lives again after a three month break. And there were already several feel-good stories to put a smile on my face (and hopefully yours too). Here's my top 4: 4. Southampton’s fight against Liverpool New Southampton manager Ronald Koeman has seen half of his would-be starting XI leave […]

The pre-season tour of the USA could not have gone any better for Manchester United. Wins against elite European opposition and against the old enemy has buoyed Manchester United fans worldwide. Clearly, the Dutch manager has lifted the spirit of the entire club and instilled belief into the players once more. Interestingly, van Gaal has […]

The USA World Cup soccer team won the plaudits of so many people worldwide. Tim Howard has to be considered the most influential player for the US over the four games, keeping the team in games at the most opportune moments, as well as being the vocal leader of the USMNT. But while Tim Howard […]

Editor's note: The following debate features Nipun Chopra (a Manchester United supporter) and Gabe Smith (a Liverpool fan) discussing the pros and cons of Luis Suarez staying at or leaving Liverpool. Nipun (@nipunchopra7) and Gabe (@smitty46and2) record the Liverpool and United Fans podcast. You can find the podcast online or on iTunes. Reports are coming in […]

History suggests that Germany will not win the next game. In recent World Cup tournaments, Germany has been fast out of the blocks, navigating their first game comfortably and then seemingly faltering at the second hurdle. Will history repeat itself? Certainly, as a neutral, a Ghana win would make the “group of death” live up […]

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney tweeted yesterday that he is looking forward to working with Louis Van Gaal. And I sincerely believe that is true. Perhaps Rooney, Robin van Persie and Van Gaal can propel United to heights forgotten. However, I believe it is more likely that this will turn out to be Rooney’s last […]