looking to a hometown great to boost their front offic

LONDON - Theres a simple way of measuring if there has been any progress at Manchester United under Louis van Gaal: the Premier League position and the points tally.After Sundays 1-0 loss to Southampton, with United on 37 points after 21 games, it was inevitable comparisons would be drawn with Van Gaals predecessor. After 21 games, David Moyes had also collected 37 points.So after a year of turmoil, despite more than $250 million spent revamping the squad, United has made no progress?You have been waiting for the moment to tell me I have the same points as David Moyes, Van Gaal snapped after Sundays loss.The Dutchmans irritability is partly justified.The priority is restoring United to the Champions League, ensuring this is a one-off season jettisoned from Europes elite competition. So with United in fourth place, Van Gaal is on target (even if Uniteds budget projections are for a third-place finish).For Moyes, 37 points was only adequate for seventh place during a season when he only spent the first week in the top four. And the downfall for Alex Fergusons anointed successor was United only collecting 20 points from the next 13 matches.On paper, United has the attacking potency to avoid such a slump in the second half of the season, without the distraction of European football.But the so-called Gaalacticos arent always living up to their star billing or mega salaries. It was risible that a team featuring Angel di Maria, Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney couldnt manage a shot on target, albeit against a Southampton team that has defied expectations to rise to third — above United on Sunday — with the leagues stingiest defence.They came for a draw, I believe, and they go away with a victory, Van Gaal said. That is disappointing.United, though, expected it was hiring a manager with the tactical acumen to come up with a Plan B to outwit opponents as he did at the World Cup last year with the third-place Netherlands. The former Barcelona coach talks about imposing a philosophy that remains a mystery to many.Equally mystifying was the complete absence of Radamel Falcao from Sundays squad when United required all the attacking vigour in its armoury to break through such a sturdy back-four. Paying more than $60 million to turn that loan from Monaco into a permanent deal at the end of the season seems unthinkable at the moment, but predicting how the next five months will unfold would be foolish.As a coach you have to take decisions and you have to look at the composition of your team and your selection and you have to look at your game plan, Van Gaal said. We have a lot of players who are coming back and (Falcao) has played the last five matches in a row.Those five games capped an 11-game unbeaten run in all competitions. Unlike Moyes, that included steering United into the fourth round of the FA Cup, albeit against weaker opposition.And Van Gaals job seems far more secure than his ill-fated predecessor. The air of gloom and negativity that pervaded Old Trafford last season has gone, and fan dissent has been quelled with a cocksure coach in the dugout.Publicly, Van Gaal is saying the right things.Moyes was ridiculed for saying of Manchester City: Its the sort of standard and level we need to try and aspire to get ourselves to. Whereas Van Gaal just last week issued a typically crowd-pleasing declaration: My ambition is that I have the best players who can collaborate with each other to form the best team in the world.The starting point is ensuring strikers perform their primary function and find the net more consistently. Only then will the comparisons with the mediocrity under Moyes stop, even though United is in a more elevated league position.___Rob Harris can be followed at www.twitter.com/RobHarris Jesperi Kotkaniemi Jersey . Trailing 2-1 from the first leg, Fiorentina levelled on aggregate in the 14th minute when Joaquin Sanchez Rodriguez headed back a long ball from David Pizarro and Pasqual smashed home an angled volley. Xavier Ouellet Canadiens Jersey . -- The Oakland Raiders expect to have starting right tackle Tony Pashos back for Sundays game against the Houston Texans. http://www.canadienssale.com/authentic-guy-lapointe-canadiens-jersey/ . The Canucks figured to be active prior to Wednesdays trade deadline, getting a jump on things the previous day when they dealt goaltender Roberto Luongo to the Florida Panthers for netminder Jacob Markstrom and forward Shawn Matthias. Mike Reilly Canadiens Jersey . According to a release sent by the league, the Saskatchewan Roughriders were the only team to exceed the cap. Their total salary expenditure of $4,417,975 was $17,975 over the salary cap of $4. Tomas Tatar Jersey . Or take a relaxing vacation somewhere warm. Brayden Schenn and Scott Hartnell scored, Ray Emery stopped 32 shots and the Flyers beat the Calgary Flames 2-1 on Saturday for their fourth straight victory.The Toronto Maple Leafs are looking to a hometown great to boost their front office. TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie reports that Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Chief Executive Officer Tim Leiweke has reached out to NHL Director of Player Safety Brendan Shanahan in regards to a "top hockey operations position" with the Maple Leafs. Shanahan, a Mimico, Ont. native, has held various executive roles with the League since retiring from hockey in 2009. Mimico is a neighbourhood and former municipality located in the west end of the City of Torontoo.dddddddddddd From Dec. 2009 through 2011 he served as the NHLs Vice President of Hockey and Business Development. Since then he has taken on the Leagues top disciplinarian role, leading a crackdown on hits to the head and enforcing the Leagues concussion protocol. An eight-time NHL All-Star, Shanahan sits 13th all-time on the NHLs goal-scoring list with 656. He won three Stanley Cups - in 1997, 1998 and 2002 - all with Detroit, as well as an Olympic Gold Medal with the 2002 Canadian mens hockey team. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2013. ' ' '