Referee for Manchester United v Nottingham Forest FA Cup jas been confirmed
Chris Kavanagh will take charge of Manchester United’s FA Cup fifth round tie against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground next Wednesday night.
The officials for the fifth round have been confirmed and it will be Kavanagh in charge of officiating when the Reds travel to the Midlands with the ambition of reaching the quarter-finals of the competition, as per the Manchester Evening News.
United have already beaten Wigan Athletic and Newport County on their way to the fifth round.
It will be Kavanagh’s third United fixture of the season. Meanwhile, Darren Bond has been put in charge of VAR.
Kavanagh was also referee for United’s 2-1 win over Chelsea at Old Trafford in December.
Hopefully the tie isn’t decided by poor officiating and we see United get another convincing win in the cup.
Should the Reds beat Forest and progress in the competition, our Premier League home game against Sheffield United on Saturday 16 March will be postponed, as the FA Cup quarter-finals will be played that weekend.
Man Utd manager candidates include Graham Potter, Julen Lopetegui, Ruben Amorim and Roberto de Zerbi
Man Utd manager candidates include Graham Potter, Julen Lopetegui, Ruben Amorim and Roberto de Zerbi
Will Erik ten Hag survive until the end of the season at Manchester United? Who are the favourites if he doesn’t?
Here are the favourites for the job based on the latest odds from Oddschecker.
10) Andoni Iraola
His Bournemouth side won 3-0 at Old Trafford to cement a reputation that has been growing since an early, rocky, transitional spell at the club. At just 41, he absolutely fits the bill for a younger, forward-thinking manager. Watch this space.
9) Francesco Farioli
He’s just 34, never been a footballer and already works for INEOS at Nice. Now this would be interesting.
8) Zinedine Zidane
The ex-Real Madrid coach has been away from the game for over two years now but he seems ready to come back. “I feel refreshed now,” he told GQ this summer. “There is nothing better than talking to a player before a match. I need that.”
The thing is, having achieved what he’s achieved while retaining his unique aura, Zidane will have his pick of jobs. He is perennially linked with PSG, the feeling being that if he was going to work in the Paris circus, he would have done it by now. You could say similar about links with United. In what way, right now, would the job at Old Trafford hold any allure for Zizou? It feels like a pipedream.
8) Unai Emery
Might be the one high-profile Premier League manager for whom the Man United job holds more appeal than the Liverpool one. He’s already had one crack at replacing a Big Six legend whose fingerprints are all over the club. At least with United he’s a good few steps removed from all that. But swapping what he’s got going at Villa for United would still be a questionable move.
7) Thomas Tuchel
His imminent departure from Bayern Munich will put him firmly in the running for many of the big jobs available this summer but his lack of warmth – and the fact that he has managed four clubs in a decade – could work against him as the Reds look for a long-term manager who can bring the oomph back to United.
Reports from Germany suggest he is very interested.
6) Hansi Flick
Flick is still licking his wounds after being shown the door by Germany in September after overseeing just 12 wins from his 25 matches in charge of his country after replacing Joachim Low in 2021.
His record with Bayern Munich was far better, winning 70 out of 86 games in the hot-seat at the Allianz Arena. In 18 months, he inspired Bayern to win the Treble in 2019/20. And, as Julian Nagelsmann showed, success at Bayern isn’t guaranteed. He would be a brilliant candidate for the Manchester United job; both manager and club are in need of a bit of reputational recuperation.
Unfortunately for United, he looks more likely to rock up at Barcelona.
5) Jose Mourinho
There is an awful lot of mischievous talk about Mourinho wanting to return to Manchester United, though he could be rather more tempted to return to Chelsea.
4) Roberto De Zerbi
Probably the dream candidate for many Manchester United fans, having made the already-excellent Brighton better in 12 months. But United would likely be wary of what happened to Potter when he was promoted to the big job at Chelsea.
De Zerbi might also be more than a little wary; leaving the safe, incredibly well-run club on the south coast for the sh*t-show in the north would be a massive risk.
3) Ruben Amorim
The names of Zidane and Sporting coach Amorim were those cited by The Times as being considered by Manchester United, who said those claims were “categorically false”, but surely the 38-year-old is exactly the kind of candidate that should be under consideration and he’s already been prominently discussed with relation to a pre-Ange Spurs and now also a post-Klopp Liverpool.
2) Julen Lopetegui
Has had experience of both managing a big club with Real Madrid and managing in the Premier League, but both those jobs ended pretty badly. There was enough in his Wolves spell to suggest that he might be a competent caretaker but on a permanent basis? That seems like a leap. But he would be cheaper than prising a manager out of another job.
1) Graham Potter
Arf! Just imagine if United did sack Ten Hag and they replaced him with the man who crashed and burned so spectacularly at Chelsea. Potter has plenty of mitigation – it is hard to imagine anyone succeeding at Stamford Bridge last season, but the ex-Brighton manager needs to re-establish his credentials for the top jobs elsewhere before being considered by the biggest clubs again.
And just ponder the reaction among the egos in the United dressing room. Some of these lads refused to listen to Ralf Rangnick having had to Google the German when he was appointed. The prospect of this squad tuning in to Potter seems… remote.
But it’s an appointment that would certainly chime with Dan Ashworth.
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