MANCHESTER, England -- Embarking on the daunting task of replacing Alex Ferguson in the Manchester United dugout, David Moyes said he wont be intimidated by the presence of his illustrious predecessor at Old Trafford.
Patrick McCaw Jersey . Far from dreading replacing Ferguson, Moyes is starting out at United knowing he will never be able to match the achievements of British footballs most successful manager. "Impossible," Moyes said Friday. "To manage at this level for 26 years, and have his success, I dont think there will be any other manager that does for 26 years at a club like Manchester United at this level (again)." Between 1986 and 2013, Ferguson won 13 league titles, five FA Cups, four League Cups, the Champions League twice, the European Cup Winners Cup, the European Super Cup, the Club World Cup and the Intercontinental Cup. The 50-year-old Moyes arrives at United having never won a major trophy as a manager, although during 11 years at Everton he impressed on a comparatively meagre budget. "Ive come to a club where success is tattooed across badge -- this club is about winning trophies and Ive come to continue that," Moyes said as he faced reporters for the first time as United manager. "Im determined to try to get the first one on the board. I am inexperienced in a lot of those things, some brilliant managers who could have taken this role." Rather than hiring a heavyweight like Jose Mourinho or Pep Guardiola, United replaced the 71-year-old Ferguson with a younger version cut from the same Glaswegian cloth. How Moyes replaced Ferguson is intriguing: there was no interview by the owning Glazer family, and the job was presented to him as a done deal in late April. "I knew nothing at all until Sir Alex gave me a call and asked me to come to his house," Moyes recalled. "I was expecting him to say he was going to take one of my players. I wasnt sure what he was going to say to me. I went in and the first thing he said to me was that he was retiring. "And I said, Yes, when? ... and he says, Next week. And his next words were, And you are the next Manchester United manager. I didnt get a chance to say, Yes or No. I was told I was the next Manchester United manager by Sir Alex and for me that was enough." Sitting inside Fergusons home, south of Manchester, Moyes remembers the "blood drained from my face." "I was really shocked, more shocked that Sir Alex had chosen to retire," Moyes said. "But inside I was incredibly thrilled that I was going to get the opportunity to manage Manchester United." Ferguson will remain at United as a director, and Moyes is happy for his fellow Scotsman to watch over him at matches. "I hope he is sitting in the directors box because he has been so good," Moyes said when asked if he would be intimidated by Fergusons continued presence. "I have already called him two or three times for some advice ... hes not there to pressure me." The former Celtic defender will be hoping he lasts longer the manager who replaced Matt Busby after his 24-year reign ended in 1969. Wilf McGuinness was out by December of his first season in charge, with Busby returning from the directors box to the dugout for the rest of the campaign. Clubs showing managers patience still isnt a trait at clubs. "It is something that should happen throughout football," Moyes said. "There are a lot of managers getting sacked very quickly." Moyes is reassured by the fact Ferguson retained the United job, to achieve his unparalleled success, despite taking until 1990 to collect his first title -- the FA Cup. "He had some hard years initially, but he has left me a really strong team which I think gives me a great chance of retaining the title," Moyes said. "Sir Alex will never go away. You can see his stand, you can see his statute. He is always going to be here. And Ive got to say, hes someone I will use for advice. But hopefully the supporters now realize it was his time to finish and that somebody else has to come in." Moyes first job is ensuring the dressing room copes with the unexpected managerial change. "The big thing for me has been the players and they have responded well," he said. While Fergusons reign was defined not only by trophies but also his combative approach to the media, Moyes showed no sign of irritation on Friday. Not even when fielding repeated questions about Wayne Rooneys future. The striker told Ferguson towards the end of last season that he wanted to leave, but Moyes said he wont be granted a transfer. "(Ferguson) said to me you have got a very, very good player ... a good player who over recent seasons has been a big player, made a big impact in games, scored a lot of goals," Moyes said. Moyes sidestepped questions about possible transfer targets, including Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo, who has been linked with a return to United. "This club will always go for the best players ... and a big part of my job is to bring through the young players from the academy," Moyes said. "I think we tried to do that as well as we possibly could at Everton, introduce young players to the team. And it is sort of in the DNA here."
Devin Robinson Jersey .com) - Following a late-game loss to the reigning NBA champs, the Toronto Raptors will look to sustain their recent high-level play as they travel to Indiana to take on the Pacers.
Serge Ibaka Jersey . Robinson finished with 17 points, all but two in the second half, and Lawson had 14 after halftime and finished with a game-high 11 assists as the Nuggets handed Dallas its first home loss in eight games this season. J.J. Hickson led Denver with 22, and Kenneth Faried added 10 points and 10 rebounds.
https://www.raptorsrookiesshop.com/Customized/ . "We have always prided ourselves on the way we play defence. Having two big pieces back is going to be a key for us moving forward for years to come," said Knighthawks head coach Mike Hasen. EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Its not supposed to work. Every bit of NFL front-office history has taught us that you cant go out and fix your problems with one big free-agent offseason. Build through the draft, thats the way to go. Free agency is for augmentation, not foundation building.So no, the New York Giants couldnt have seen this coming. Even after doling out top-dollar deals for three defensive free agents and a generous one-year deal for one of their own, veteran defensive end?Jason Pierre-Paul, the Giants themselves couldnt have known it would turn out like this.You hope so, linebacker Jonathan Casillas said Sunday afternoon, after he and the Giants defense had delivered a second straight stifling victory over an NFC division leader, this time a 17-6 win over the Detroit Lions. You always hope its going to work, when you bring in new guys, but you never know for sure.The Giants didnt know for sure in March, or even in September. But they know now. They know they can win games with defense -- even in a down year for QB?Eli Manning, one in which the offensive game plan increasingly seems to be, Just protect the ball as best you can until Odell Beckham Jr. makes a play.You can spend a good chunk of the NFL season trying to figure out who you are. But by this point, if you want to do big things, you have to know who you are. The Giants know.Our mindset is to stop the opponent, to not let them score, said Landon Collins, the second-year safety whos emerged as a Defensive Player of the Year candidate after a rough rookie season. You obviously want to be one of the top defenses in the league, but our mindset is, Get a stop on third down. Get a stop. Get our offense back on the field in good field position.You can point to the performances of free-agent signings Olivier Vernon, Damon Harrison and Janoris Jenkins?as the reason this defense has jumped from league-worst to good-enough-to-beat-anybody in just one year. And theres some validity there. All three of those guys have played brilliantly, so far justifying the Giants decisions to spend whatever it took to get them.But its more than that, as it must be. The Giants defensive turnaround has to do with Collins being in the right position, and having a season under his belt so his heads not swimming the way it was last season. It has to do with the mindset of someone like Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, the veteran cornerback who lost his job to rookie Eli Apple but stepped in when Jenkins left Sundays game due to injury. It has to do with young, untested defensive linemen like Romeo Okwara and Owa Odighizuwa playing better since Pierre-Paul got hurt.When your number is called, you can either go down or go up, Collins said. And a lot of us have been moving up.This kind of thing feeds on itself, and you can see it inn a Giants defense that held Dallas to seven points a week ago and Detroit to six Sunday.
Jeremy Lin Jersey. Manning entered Week 15 ranked 26th in Total QBR and 23rd in yards per attempt, and the Giants still sit at 10-4, one victory away from qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since 2011. They left MetLife Stadium on Sunday afternoon with the knowledge that, if Dallas slips up Sunday night against the Buccaneers, they could still win the NFC East.But the reason for the Giants success is that they havent been distracted by big-picture stuff. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, himself a coaching reclamation project after presiding over defenses that set records for futility in New Orleans and previously with the Giants, has found a way to keep his charges focused on and dedicated to their individual jobs from play to play and week to week.Weve got a lot of guys at their positions being asked to win one-on-one battles, and were winning them, Casillas said. [WR]?Golden Tate had a day today, and that happens sometimes, but the good thing was it was only him. We basically bottled up everybody else.Tate had 122 yards from scrimmage. No other Lion had more than 52. QB?Matthew Stafford, the king of the fourth-quarter comeback this season, threw for a pedestrian 273 yards on 24-for-39 passing?with an interception. The run-challenged Lions managed 56 rushing yards on 19 carries. Down four points in the fourth quarter, a team that has come back to win in eight of its nine victories this season instead saw its deficit grow thanks to big-play Beckham, who one-handed the game-sealing touchdown.We just have a relentless mentality, Rodgers-Cromartie said. Nobody wants to be the guy who goes out and lets down the team. Thats the way were going right now, and thats special.The Giants defense, long an Achilles heel, has a special feel to it. Playing without Pierre-Paul the past two weeks and now facing the possibility of playing without Jenkins, who injured his back and has only?three days to recover before the Thursday night game in Philadelphia, they seem convinced they can deliver.It wasnt supposed to be like this. The Giants were supposed to have an explosive offense and hope the defense could just rise from the back of the pack to the middle. Instead, theyre in December and the defense is carrying the offense. Theyll take it. Its an NFL era in which championships can once again be won with defense, as the 2015 Broncos proved. And while this years Giants have a long way to go before they can compare themselves to that group, theyre in a position now where they dont wonder whether they can stop anybody when it matters. They know they can. ' ' '