Dein erstes Forum » rising star Karolina Pliskova, in her

In the Premier League era, which is now 21-and-a-half seasons old, Manchester United have ended a season without a trophy only five times. 1994-95, 1997-98, 2001-02, 2004-05 and 2011-12. And by a trophy I mean one you work hard to earn, not a shield you lift in the summer when half of England is still watching cricket. In four of the five seasons following those droughts, they won the Premier League the very next year. An instant response to a year of failure. The only year they didnt win it right away, they won it the year after. It is easy to stare at the achievements of Manchester United in the last 21-and-a-half seasons and be mesmerized. Recent high profile media items, such as Sir Alex Fergusons autobiography or the excellent The Class of 92 documentary, have also shone very bright lights on Uniteds incredible achievements. However, a look at the barren years also brings light to a relevant point. Read those five years above once again and you will notice that not once did United have two years within a three year period without a trophy. Until now. Wednesdays loss to Sunderland on penalties in the League Cup semi final at Old Trafford virtually ensured the season of 2013/14 will be added to the above list. Only the Champions League remains for United to win this season and anyone who watched them closely against Sunderland will tell you that they will have a tough time with Olympiakos, their last 16 opponents, let alone even thinking of winning European footballs crown jewel. As the Old Trafford faithful trudged away from the ground on Wednesday evening they did so with the sounds of Sunderland fans singing in their ears. Already this season that has happened with West Brom fans, Everton fans, Newcastle fans and Swansea fans. United fans are used to leaving the game happy. They are certainly not used to leaving it angry and upset after playing average teams. Indeed, these are troubled times for Manchester United and manager David Moyes. Troubled times on and off the pitch. On the pitch everyone has an opinion on what Uniteds failures are and many words will continue to be written about that, but what of the issues off it? Hung in the Stretford End of Old Trafford is a large banner with the face of David Moyes on it saying The Chosen One. The appointment of Moyes came via the approval of Sir Alex Ferguson and that was supposed to be enough for United and their fans. However, no matter how much patience United fans show Moyes it will always come with a caveat; just how good a manager is he? Having won nothing, it is a legitimate question. Manchester United may well be proven right in not hiring a Jose Mourinho or Guus Hiddink, for example, last summer but had they hired a manager with a track record of success, their current failures would have solely been attributed to the players. It is one thing for the media and fans to say Chris Smalling, Tom Cleverley, Ashley Young, for example, are not good enough for Manchester United but inside such analysis comes a question they cannot truly answer; would these players do better under a more established manager? And that is where many people now stand with United; turning around at a fork in the road, looking at the journey they have travelled this season and wondering how many failures happened on Moyess Motorway and how many took place on the Players Path. The easy answer is to say both. But what if you are Moyes? You spent 11 relatively successful years at Everton and got hired by one of the worlds greatest clubs on a fantastic contract. Five months into your first season do you think you are to blame for the mess? Of course you do not. And that is the silver lining for United fans. This club has backed Moyes with a six-year contract and now they have to back him when he believes his players are the reason for their poor results. The line between the barren seasons of 2011/12 and 2013/14 will be the shortest failure line in over two decade (the only common denominators between the two are players not called Robin van Persie) and it is absolutely vital that Manchester United Football Club address everything right now to ensure that doesnt happen again. Two seasons ago, United were very average for their high standards, yet came within a minute of winning the Premier League. That season United were stunned by a Champions League, where Benfica and Basel ran through their midfield and scored eight goals between them in four matches. United were sent into the Europa League and would go on to again be exposed in similar fashion, losing back-to-back home games to technically superior teams, Ajax and Athletic Bilbao. Their response? Buy Robin van Persie. An outstanding player who they needed, but it was a short-term fix papering over a long-term problem. Sir Alex Ferguson always believed in himself to make the players better and wanted players he could control. Except, when he was spending 60 million pounds on Young, Smalling, Phil Jones and Wilfried Zaha, the noisy neighbours across the city spent just 10 million more on Sergio Aguero, Matija Nastasic and Jesus Navas. United do not need to buy six or seven world class stars to become a force again. Three or four of the right signings in 2014 will be enough. What they do need is an overhaul in their approach; a change in the way they find players and a change in the way they set-up to play. Without that, they may never find out the answer to the one question they need to solve quickly. Is Moyes indeed the manager to make them legitimate contenders for trophies every season? Only this time next year will we have a true idea of that as the manager himself explained. "While we are actively scouting players all the time, a lot of the work we are doing now is preparation for the summer," Moyes wrote in his programme notes for the Sunderland game. "If we can do any business now then we will certainly try to do it, but I will not compromise the standards required for a player that can come into this club and help improve it." Manchester United fans are fortunate they have the funds available to get players like Juan Mata who ticks both boxes when it comes to a change of philosophy on the pitch and in the transfer market. The Spaniard, expected to arrive at Old Trafford this week, is exactly the standard United should be buying. He is also exactly the kind of player that will put to test the credentials of Moyes and his so-far rigid, uninspiring attack. Should Mata sign, he, along with those brought in this summer, suddenly become the face of a new look United. A United belonging solely to Moyes. Only then will the jury have reached its verdict on the manager. Uniteds response to failure in the past has always resulted in a trophy. This time the reputation of their manager depends on it. Adidas Zx 9000 Kopen . - The Jacksonville Jaguars are leaning more toward playing injured quarterback Blake Bortles against Tennessee on Thursday night. Adidas Continental 80 Kopen . - A Tuesday funeral is planned in Toronto for 20-year-old Saginaw Spirit forward Terry Trafford. http://www.nmdbelgie.com/kopen-adidas-nmd-dames-sale.html . -- The top-seeded Alberta Pandas set up of an all-Canada West final against arch rival UBC at the CIS womens volleyball championship after a 3-0 win over the No. Yeezy Boost 350 v2 Goedkoop . He was 90. The team announced Monday that Adams had died, saying he "passed away peacefully from natural causes." The son of a prominent oil executive, Adams built his own energy fortune and founded the Houston Oilers. Adidas NMD R1 Dames Sale . Mickelson shot a 2-under 70 after opening with a 77 -- his worst score of the season -- on TPC San Antonios AT&T Oaks Course. Lefty was 11 strokes behind leader Steven Bowditch, the Australian who had a 67 to reach 8-under 136.PRAGUE - Tasked with leading the Czech Republic to victory in another home Fed Cup final this weekend, Petra Kvitova said the considerable pressure from compatriots is much less than what she puts on herself.The Czechs go after their third title in four years, with Germany on the other side of the indoor hard court at O2 Arena.The beautiful memories of titles in 2011 and 2012, the republics first since the end of communist rule, drives Kvitova to help set up a third victory party.Its not often we get to celebrate as a team. I love this competition and this team, the Wimbledon champion said.Despite the presence of family and friends, and huge expectations and support from fellow Czechs, Kvitova said: Its a lot of pressure on me in the Fed Cup, but its more pressure from myself when we are playing at home. Everybody is expecting that I make it two points, and thats what I will try to do.Kvitova said she was fatigued after the WTA Finals in Singapore, where she failed to advance from the group stage nearly two weeks ago. A little rest, and the comforts of home, have reinvigorated her to put an exclamation point on a stellar seaason including her second grand slam title, two other titles, and more than $5 million in prize money.ddddddddddddRanked No. 3, Kvitova is favoured to edge Germanys Angelique Kerber (10th) and Andrea Petkovic (14th), and hope either rising star Karolina Pliskova, in her Fed Cup debut, or Lucie Safarova, who clinched the 2012 final victory, or doubles player Lucie Hradecka can come through.Prague and the indoor court dont faze the Germans, who won both of their previous ties in Slovakia and Australia to reach their first final since 1992.Petkovic comes into the final having won the Tournament of Champions in Bulgaria on Sunday for her third WTA title of the year.I feel much more confident, Petkovic said.Kerber, the German No. 1, has won five straight singles in Fed Cup, and has beaten Kvitova twice on tour. Sabine Lisicki and Julia Goerges, both playing Fed Cup since 2008, are also in the team.Captain Barbara Rittner is attempting to become the fourth woman to win the Fed Cup as a player and captain. She was in the last German team to triumph, 22 years ago.The Czechs have a 6-1 winning record against Germany. ' ' '