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Thursday, August 31, 2006

Tevez and Mascherano to West Ham.. Please tell me this is some kind of joke!!!!

Tevez and Mascherano to West Ham Please tell me that this is Sky Sports playing some kind of practical joke. If those 2 sign for West Ham why on earth couldn't we offer much better terms than them? If this is true I will be unbelievably gutted. As Canveykid put it... WTF!!!!

Rossi moves to Newcastle!

Morning all. So it’s the last day of the transfer window and we can officially announce that Manchester United have successfully transferred a player. Unfortunately it’s in the wrong direction. Rossi has joined Newcastle on loan until Christmas. I have mixed feelings about this. I have been waiting patiently for Rossi’s introduction into the first team. There is no doubt that the little Italian has bags of potential, I just can’t wait to see him fulfil it at Utd.

On the one hand it leaves us looking weaker up front, we now only have Saha, Rooney, Solskjaer and Smith for fire power. Actually that doesn’t sound too bad, but we must avoid injuries at all costs. If two of our strikers get injured then we could be in serious trouble. I wonder if the loan deal allows us to recall Rossi at any time? I hope so.

On the other hand it will provide an opportunity to gain some valuable first team experience. This can only be seen as a good thing, for any player that has lots of potential and wants to progress in his football career dearly needs first team appearances. Newcastle are a good team with some really good players, hopefully he can cement a regular place and more importantly grab loads of goals.

Whilst we are talking about loan deals I thought I might gain an insight about what everyone else thinks about them. Do you think that loan deals are a good thing? Or do they disrupt players development with the change in training regimes and team spirit? Are loan deals until Christmas a good idea, or do players need longer to imbed into the team and find their flow?

It looks like we won’t be bringing in any new players this summer. For those people who posted yesterday telling me and a few others to stop dreaming… I’m slowly coming back to reality, but not for another 24 hours hahaha. Just imagine an attacking proposition consisting of Ronaldo, Rooney, Tevez and Saha. With a midfield of Carrick and Mascherano? With a bit of Hargreaves thrown in for good measure? Oh if only! I was talking with a friend last night and I think that would be the most attractive attacking team in the world. I’d say it just about beats Barcelona’s line-up.

So I will drop the speculation talk now and the dreaming as I think a few of you are getting bored of all the idle dreaming. I’ll just save it all up for January… If we don’t sign anyone now we will have loads of cash to spend then anyway!

So what I would like to know this morning is… What do you think of loan deals? Will Rossi be better for the experience? Was this a shrewd move by Fergie?
And last but not least, are we going to cope without any new signings?

In the papers today 31-08-2006

The BBC
Newcastle swoop for Rossi on loan

Sky Sports
Magpies in shock Rossi swoop
Juve reject Chelsea Trez talk

The Mirror
FERGIE AGREES TO ROSSI ROED TRIP

The Sun
Gerro: I'll take Utd hate
Hargeaves: I'll be staying

The Independent
Newcastle entice Rossi but fail with Viduka bid

The Telegraph
United may be trumped in chase for Tevez

The Guardian
Rossi to join Newcastle on loan
Saha questions Van Nistelrooy sale

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Tevez and Mascherano to Man Utd and Keane as Sunderland Manager

Good morning all. With less than 48 hours remaining in the transfer market there is yet more debate in the papers of who we will be signing. I know this gets a little tedious at times, but we only have 2 days of it left and then we can concentrate on the football. With the transfer window closing I wonder what an earth I am going to talk about…. Well at least we have the champion’s league, the premiership, the FA cup and the Carling cup to discuss week in week out.

Those of you who read my blog regularly will know that I don’t often get frustrated with Manchester United, I am ever the optimist. I think it is really important to get behind your team whatever the circumstances. But as the transfer market draws to a close I feel an incredible sense of frustration. I don’t think this is anyone’s fault; quite simply we have had no luck at all. Most of our enquiries have lead to dead ends. Clubs do not want to play ball and it has left us scrambling to bring the players we need in at the last minute.

The story that annoys me the most is the news that Carlos Tevez is close to a deal with Arsenal. If he moves to the Gunners I will be most disappointed. We have been interested in him all summer and then Arsenal come in and steals him from under our noses. Some people have said that he is too similar to Rooney, but let me ask you this question…. Would you like 2 Wayne Rooney’s in your team? That’s a Rhetorical question!

Tevez is a class act and would work well on either wings or up front. He has pace and the skill to slip past defenders and create space and opportunities. He is creative and a clinical finisher. He is young and would have time to adapt to the English game. Please Fergie do this deal for the good of United.

In other news and I am really excited about this one as you can all imagine. The one, the only young supremo that is Mascherano has gone awol. That IS a shame for Corinthians. Well that’s what the press say. What actually happened is he missed one training session amidst a row over him playing for his country in Saturday’s game against Brazil even though he is suspended from domestic competition. I would hardly call it awol, but perhaps there is a window of opportunity for us to swoop in for a last minute deal? Supposedly agents are in London negotiating with Corinthians main financial backers about possible moves.

So the big question is which one out of two should we concentrate on? I know it’s all probably hot air, but let’s make the most of it before the window closes. Without sounding too much like Chelsea here, the fact that Arsenal are in for Tevez makes the decision all the more difficult. Do we go for Tevez in an attempt to prevent our premiership rivals from capturing him? Or do we fill the hole in midfield and concentrate on acquiring Mascherano. If Arsenal weren’t in for Tevez I would say go for Mascherano straight away, we need to fill that midfield with quality, but now I’m not sure….Help!!

Keane is now the Sunderland manager and I for one want to wish him all the best in his new career. Is he to be the next Man Utd manager? Time will tell but I have absolutely no doubt in my mind for a single nano-second that he is going to be one of the greatest managers of all time. A good bet would be for Sunderland to get promotion. Why am I so confident of Keane? It’s there for all to see. He has worked under Brian Clough, Alex Ferguson and Gordon Strachan. These are all class managers, the first 2 arguably the finest the world has ever seen. Keane expects 200% from himself and his team-mates and with him at the helm I would challenge any player to go against that mentality. He is a winner and will not stop until he is the best and has it all. He is a character that maintains that professional edge. He doesn’t socialise with the players, instead he distances himself to prevent anyone becoming too complacent with him. He is remarkable and Sunderland is now my second team!

Well I think I have said enough now, so over to you. Please let me know what you think on the transfer saga and on Keane becoming Sunderland manager. One last thing, how is that Tottenham have managed a triple swoop of players at the end of the transfer window and we struggle to get one? My thought is that we go for out and out class and we know that no team wants to let their crown Jewels leave!

In the papers today 30-08-2006

The BBC
Ronaldo happy to stay at Man Utd
Sky Sports
Keane: I crossed the line
Corinthians duo England bound?
Van der Sar vows to carry on

RONALDO: UNITED MY 'IDEAL' CLUB

The Mirror
RONALDO: WHY I STAYED AT UNITED
BRING ON THE BOSS
RONALDO EXCLUSIVE: Controversial winger reveals why he's happy to be terrace target Jeers drive Ronaldo on to his Best behaviour for United

FERGIE IS BACKING HOT SHOT
RONALDO EXCLUSIVE: Controversial winger reveals why he's happy to be terrace target

CRISTIANO STILL MAD

The Sun
United eye Mascherano
Keane: I'm so sorry Fergie
Gunner Tevez

The Times
United at dead end in pursuit of Hargreaves

The Telegraph
We must protect maturing Rooney, says Charlton
Barwick keeps United sweet

The Mail
Van der Sar on hand 'for two more years'
Keane says 'I'm sorry Alex'

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Manchester United transfer targets only 3 days to go!

So the news today is that Owen Hargreaves is not moving to Manchester United despite his best efforts to engineer a move to Old Trafford. This leaves the red devils with 3 days to find a midfield replacement for Keane and unfortunately the signs don’t look good.

Hargreaves would have completed a new-look midfield at old Trafford. It would be entirely English and provide defensive grit along with attacking creativity. Scholes Carrick and Hargreaves are 3 completely different players and would have provided options a plenty. Alas it was not to be, until January at least.

The big question now is… with only 3 days remaining in the transfer window who should we be bringing in. My suggestion would now be Reo-Coker. This was mentioned a long time ago on this blog and the more I think about it the more it makes sense. He could be acquired for £12 million and will run his socks off for his club.

If we don’t go for anyone before the window closes, can we afford to wait until Christmas in our attempts to lure Hargreaves from Bayern? I think it is a big risk and one the club shouldn’t be taking. We need a defensive mid before Thursday!

In other news, we are looking to sign Trezeguet from Juventus for £10 million, whilst Arsenal are poised to land Tevez for an astonishing £17 million. Does anyone else think this is crazy? Surely Tevez is worth splashing an extra £7 million for. It would crush me to see the gooners land such a talented player with youth on his side. Tevez deserves to wear the United shirt!

Our next three games are crucial. We must beat Tottenham, Celtic and Arsenal to maintain the pressure in both the premiership and the champions league. With Rooney and Sholes back after Tottenham, we will be approaching full strength and should be able to give Arsenal and Celtic a real drumming. All three games are at home so there can be no excuses.

As always your comments are welcomed.

Monday, August 28, 2006

Bayern look for Hargeaves Replacement

I just read this article on the BBC
Hargreaves 'set to leave Bayern'
Perhaps I was a little premature in stating that time is running out. Van Bommel seems to think Hargreaves is already at United. Is this the categorical sign that we have been looking for?

3 wins out of 3 and we are looking good

Happy bank holiday Monday to everyone. This weekend I have been away and so not able to post, but it's good to see that we bagged another 3 points giving us 9 points out of a possible 9. I didn't see the game on Sunday and only managed to see the goals last night.

From what I have heard it was our most difficult encounter yet, we never really got our passing game going and we were fortunate to come away with the win. Ryan Giggs was yet again man of the moment with a superbly taken goal, capitalising on a sloppy Watford defence.

In the latest transfer news, it emerged that United are interested in West Ham’s Reo-Coker. Someone stated on this blog weeks ago that we should go for him and it appears that Fergie is reading your thoughts lol.

The Times leads with the story that United are still confident of signing Hargreaves for £17 million, although if a deal were to be done then it would need to be done quickly.

Who do you think we need to bring in if Hargreaves is not a possibility? Bearing in mind that a deal would need to be done quickly? Answers on a postcard?

Oh could someone let me know how Carrick played in his first premiership start for us?
Thanks

Friday, August 25, 2006

Champions League draw

Hi there everyone. First off apologies for not posting this morning or approving your comments until now, I have had no internet access and even now it is ropey at best. For that reason I will have to do a short article today to make sure that i get it published.

The main talking point is the champions league draw. We seem to have done very well and have a group that we should progress through with ease. Having said that we would have though of much last year but football is a funny old game and who knows what can happen.

Chelsea have landed Barcelona again. anyone would think that those 2 clubs are married. I can't wait to watch Mourinho and Reijkard get there handbags out on the touchline. Wouldn't it be funny if they went out in the group stages?

Going forward this season, I think we have the potential to go far in the champions league and in the premiership. I feel so much more confident this season and just have the feeling that something special will happen this season.

What do you think about the draw? Did we do well and how do you think we will get on? What team do you think we will pick tomorrow against Watford? And what do you think the score will be? I'm going for another 3-0 win to Utd.

Manchester United will meet Celtic in Group F with Benfica and FC Copenhagen

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Charlton 0 V 3 Man Utd And Keane as Sunderland Manager

Manchester United continued their incredible start to the premiership with a devastating display against a Charlton side that seemed unable to cope with the pace and quality that United had to offer. With Chelsea dropping points so early can we now realistically call ourselves challengers?

It is perhaps a little premature to start saying that we have got this season wrapped up. Jose Mourinho will no doubt be furious with his team for losing (again) to Middlesbrough and you can bet your bottom dollar they will come out fighting next time around. Alas we are not here to talk about Chelsea, we are here to talk about the most glorious team in the world… Manchester United.

It’s a fairy tale beginning. You sell your star striker, and then hit 8 goals in your first 2 games. You really couldn’t have written it any better. United last night quite literally tore their opposition limb from limb. The pace and precision of the Manchester United attack leaves opposition teams scratching their heads wondering what on earth they can do to stop it.

Ronaldo has really matured as a player of the last year and now looks like the finished article. Countless times there was an end product after he had entertained the crowd with his trickery. A powerful first time shot hit the bar just before half time. If that had of gone in, it would be a contender for goal of the season.

Giggs showed why at 32 he still deserves to be in the team. The United captain was involved in everything. At one stage he was doing his own bit of trickery, confusing the Charlton defence. Perhaps he has been picking up a thing or 2 from Ronaldo?

Fletcher always gets a lot of stick from United fans, me included, but I want to congratulate him on scoring his goal. The Scotsman kept his head and took the goal well. We want to see more of that please Fletcher.

Saha was awesome again. Particular big thanks to Louis as he is in my fantasy football team and provided me with a goal and an assist. His pace and control of the ball make him stand out as an exceptional talent. He played as a lone striker with discipline. He dropped back when necessary and linked up with the other players really well.

And last but by no means least. Ole Solskjaer got his first goal in 3 years. He is a United hero and we all love him. You really deserved that one mate and hope you play a full season for us.

Chelsea lost. Even with all their spending power they looked off the pace at Middlesbrough. A team full of Galaticos worth some several hundred million looked as though they weren’t all that bothered.

In other news the Hargreaves saga continues. He has reportedly now been fined by Munich and his agent is now telling the player to hand in a written transfer request? Has time run out for us to sign him? Do we need him judging on the past 2 performances?

Keane may be joining Sunderland in a management capacity. What do Man Utd fans think about this? Personally I think it is great news. I have always said that he will be a great manager and hope one day that he can manage United. Sunderland would be a great place for him to gain some experience.

So over to you. There is lots for you to comment on here. The Keane issue, Hargreaves and the game. Who was man of the match and who was the one to watch?
For me it was
Man of the match: Ronaldo
One to watch: Darren Fletcher

In the papers today 24-08-06

The BBC
Charlton 0-3 Man Utd
Hargreaves to put heat on Bayern

Sky Sports
Hargreaves takes time out
Fletcher fires United to the top
Fergie praises maturing squad
Dowie unhappy with defending

The Times
Solskjaer puts seal on United's superiority

The Sun
Charlton 0 Man United 3
Man Utd Charlton ratings

The Guardian
Solskjaer's late finish puts gloss on United's stroll down at The Valley

The Telegraph
Hargreaves left out in the cold

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

The Hargreaves Transfer theory and tonights game against Charlton

There are 2 things I want to talk about this morning and they are, not surprisingly, the Hargreaves saga and our away game tonight against Charlton. There is enough to talk about with these two issues alone that I could be writing this article all day. But fear not I will try to condense it as much as possible.

I will start with the potential Hargreaves transfer. A few people commented yesterday on the saga and together I think we have discovered what is actually going on. At this point I’d just like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who posted yesterday, your thoughts are invaluable to this blog and have helped me no-end in coming up with this theory. So this is what a few of us think has happened (sorry if this sounds like a conspiracy theory).

During the summer Fergie was interested in signing 2 midfielders. He landed Carrick, but still wanted of a utility player to complete the midfield jigsaw. Fergie himself has said on record that he wanted to sign Hargreaves before the world cup began. At this point Ruud Van Nistelrooy was unsettled and was desperate to leave old Trafford. Guess what? Baayern Munich were interested in him, see where I’m going with this? What I believe happened is an attempted swap deal was being engineered behind closed doors. Bayern Munich offered a contract to Ruud Van Nistelrooy and we offered a contract to Hargreaves, hence the reason for Hargreaves saying “the offer from Manchester United is fantastic” when we are supposedly not allowed to talk to the player.

When Ruud decided to move to Real Madrid, the deal broke down. Bayern Munich were fuming that Manchester United had allowed Ruud to move to spain and not Germany and all negotiations broke down. On discovering this, Owen Hargreaves who desperately wants to move to Manchester United, wanted to keep the deal alive and so said the things he did to the press. On hearing this, Fergie was delighted and dispatched Gill to negotiate a deal. Bayern Munich who are obviously not happy with missing out on Ruud, do not want to sell to Manchester United on principle as they did not encourage Ruud to move to Germany. It would seem as though Manchester United have it all their own way.

This scenario would explain a few things. The first is the fact that Fergie said that he had hoped Ruud had gone to Germany as it would have helped them sign Owen. Secondly it would eplain why Hargreaves had been offered a contract by Man Utd and furthermore why Bayern Munich hasn’t reported it. Thirdly it would explain the tough stance Munich are now taking with the player. It all makes sense to me, does it to you? Am I just getting paranoid?

OK let’s move on to tonight’s game against Charlton. Ronaldo faces his first away game and he is guaranteed to get a fair few boo’s. Thing is he seems to thrive on the booing, as though he has a point to prove. He played outstandingly in the world cup under fierce scrutiny. The player has received similar treatment here for Man Utd in the past. Fans call him a show pony and hate to see him humiliate their defenders week in week out. He has his team mates around him now; with several of them coming out to the press saying they will support him (he knows that already).

What do you think the starting line-up will be? And perhaps more importantly what do you think the score will be? I’m going to go with 2-1 to United, nine points from the first 3 games is imperative if we are to challenge this season. Over to you…

In the papers today 23-08-06

The BBC
Charlton v Man Utd
Ball condemns Rooney's FA threat

Sky Sports

Ronaldo awaits stern test
Tevez looks to Europe
Bayern threaten United
Dowie aims to entertain


The Sun
Owen Utd plea
We'll rally round Ron


The Times
Bayern order United to back off

The Telegraph
Hargreaves to defy Bayern

The Daily Mail
Bayern threaten United with FIFA over Hargreaves

The Guardian
Hargreaves to plead for early release as Bayern threaten to call Fifa

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

When are we signing a midfielder?

Well it looks like Bayern Munich are successfully fending off Manchester United’s advances. Hargreaves has been told to shut up and that in no uncertain terms he is going nowhere. That is all well and good, problem is… where does that leave us? If we can’t persuade Bayern Munich to let Hargreaves go, who are we going to sign? Senna has said that he no longer wants to move to us because we have been dithering about and Diarra has moved to Real Madrid. Time is running out and I certainly think we need another midfielder if we are to challenge for top honours this season.

The other option could be to wait until Christmas and try to prize Hargreaves away again. If he keeps insisting he wants a move away Bayern may back down over a transfer, realising that a move really would be in the best interest for both the player and the club. Any manger will tell you that you do not get the best out of an unhappy player and in recent weeks the relationship between Hargreaves and Hoeness has evidently soured “I would advise him to keep his mouth shut or else I will get really angry. And that won’t be good for him.”. How a player can be expected to continue in the face of such remarks is beyond me. Further evidence to suggest that all is not well between club and player is the fact that Hargreaves was dropped at the weekend. The club insist he had a bout of flu, although this seems incredibly well timed (forgive the cynic in me).

So if we don’t get Hargreaves in this transfer window will we cope? I think so. Scholes demonstrated his prowess at the weekend. He was the master in the centre of the park and I truly believe that he will partner very well with Carrick. O’Shea played well, although I don’t think he will provide us with enough cover at the highest level. We need another world class midfielder at Christmas so we can rotate the squad somewhat. The problem would come if either Scholes or Carrick get injured. If they both picked up knocks, strains or tares then we would be back where we were last season, and no one wants that.

In other news Tevez has fallen out big time with Corinthians. He was stripped of the captaincy and has announced that played his last game for the club. Could Fergie spend big up front now that it is looking unlikely that he will get Hargreaves by the 31st August? I can’t believe I’m saying this but I hope he doesn’t. I love Tevez and he would be a great signing for us, but our priority must be the midfield. We can score goals a plenty with Rooney, Ronaldo and Saha on the pitch, we just need a solid midfield behind them. Here’s an idea….we buy Hargreaves from Bayern, then they use the money to buy Tevez, sorted job done, can I have the Manchester United managers position please?

As always look forward to your comments.

P.S just thought I’d throw this one in there, what about my favourite player Mascherano? With the turmoil at Corinthians, surely he is worth a cheeky bid? £17 million (the price we are reportedly offering for Hargreaves) may just be enough. Surely we might as well enquire?

in the papers today 22-08-06

Morning people. I must say I feel a lot better this morning. I was feeling rather bemused by Hansen's column yesterday and so decided to have a rant. At least afew of you feel the same. If you've not read it yet, please have a looka t the article below and leave your comments.

The BBC
Hargreaves told to forget Man Utd
Smith back in action for Man Utd

Sky Sports
Hoeness hits out at Hargreaves
United to share Ruud burden
Smith makes United return

The Mirror
£25M TEVEZ IS FERGIE TARGET TO REPLACE VAN

The Sun
Ronnie's biggest test
FA chief raps Roo
Roo's ban lifts Luke
Belt up, Hargreaves

The Times
Hargreaves is advised to abandon dreams of Old Trafford

The Mail
Rooney appeal may spark FIFA backlash
Rooney: We can cover Ruud role

Monday, August 21, 2006

Call for Hansen to step down

Alan Hansen has yet again demonstrated that he is incapable of providing unbiased synopses in the world of football. His overwhelming support for Liverpool football club (a place where he spent his most successful years) seriously undermine his analytical credentials. This is typified in his first analysis of the new premiership season. Read it here.
Notice how he states that Liverpool had a difficult task away to a newly promoted site, whilst Manchester United and Chelsea had easy games at home to "mid table" sides. The logic simply does not ring true. Surely a newly promoted team is easier to play against than a mid table side? That's why newly promoted teams are most likely to go down in their first season.

To make matters worse he goes on to state that Fulham were simply awful. Okay yes they were bad, but no mention of Manchester United playing well, no mention of the superb play between Rooney and Ronaldo. No mention of Chelsea playing well.

Liverpool as title challengers should expect to win away against Sheffield United and anything less is a poor result, Liverpool fans themselves will tell you that.

The BBC is funded by license payers. The vast majority of people in this country are license payers. If we are not happy with the service we are receiving we should let the BBC know about it. I therefore would like to make this statement. I am unhappy with the level of punditry that Alan Hanson provides. He does not present objective points of view and this is unfair on the majority of football fans who watch the BBC. I therefore request that he be relieved of his post at the BBC. If you agree please sign in the comments box.

Man Utd 5 V 1 Fulham.. We are back and we are hungry!

Well guys what a weekend it has been for Man Utd. First off can I just say I’ve missed your comments this weekend. I feel like we’ve got a great little community going here and with the new season starting like it did, I hope we go from strength to strength. Having moved to the sunny climbs of Cheltenham for work purposes, it’s a long trip over to the theatre of dreams, but one that needs to be done nonetheless. I left at 9am and subsequently bombed it down the M6 ensuring I arrived in plenty of time for kick off.

And boy was it good to be back. I always realise how much I have missed United on the first game of the season. The fans were outstanding, in full song. I have a really sore throat now from all the singing, but you have to go for it don’t you? Anyway onto the game, I’m unsure of the best way to do a match analysis so if you have any suggestions of how you would like them to go, please let me know, after all this blog is as much yours as it is mine.

As I’m sure you are all aware, most of the action came in the first 19 minutes. Luis Saha opened the account within 6 minutes, using his head to great account. 8 minutes later Saha’s cross came off Ian Pierce and into the net resulting in an own goal. No later than 1 minute on, Rooney slotted his first goal home of the afternoon with a simple tap in, before turning provider for the inspirational Ronaldo, making it four in 19 minutes. I think Chris Coleman put it perfectly “The wheels just came off, and when you play against quality like Manchester United, they will punish you”. And punish them we did. We played with a confidence and a hunger that was evident towards the tail end of last season. We used the width to great affect. The full backs were constantly overlapping, creating space all over the field.

Rio slotted home just before have time, unfortunately it was into his own goal as a deflected shot confused Van Der Sar making it 4-1. After the break United evidently wanted more and a wonderful move between Rooney, Brown and Ronaldo resulted in a fine goal on 63 minutes.

The highlights of the performance were the slick pass and move game that united played. Ryan Giggs at 32 was awesome, the Welshman often interchanging with Ronaldo, confusing a lacklustre Fulham team. United were finding space in abundance, as much created by their neat play as from a shoddy Fulham performance. Paul Scholes showed why he is still classed as one of the best midfielders in the premiership. He sat just behind Rooney, Saha, Giggs and Ronaldo and seemed to always be there to pick up the pieces if an attack broke down. He would pick the ball up and create a new attacking move almost instantly. O’Shea looked solid, although he will need to improve his game against some of the bigger teams if he is to keep his place.

Rooney and Ronaldo showed why they are the brightest stars for their respective countries with one of the most dazzling displays I have ever seen. They have an understanding of each others game that is frightening. Countless times they played each other into acres of space and seemed to take it in turns to set each other up for goal scoring opportunities. The pair were clearly enjoying themselves and this was typified when towards the end of the game Rooney put Ronaldo through for a 1 on 1, only for Ronaldo to skew his shot wide, Rooney’s reaction? A big fat grin!

Something United have been criticized for in recent years is retaining possession. Yesterday United cannot have been found guilty for such a crime. Well timed tackles from all players coupled with quick closing down meant the Fulham players were given no time to react on the ball. United turned attack into defence in an instant, ask any premiership team if they would like to face Ronaldo, Rooney, Saha and Giggs in an attack and I think you will get a resounding “NO”.

One man to mention is Patrice Evra. He has received a bit of stick from United fans during his 6 months with us and in the first 20 minutes you could understand why. His game seemed to lack a certain confidence. There were a couple of mistimed tackles and when he attempted a long ball up field and it went wrong, he seemed to go into his shell and simply pass to feet. Well returning to the simple stuff was definitely worth it, because as the game went on Evra simply got better and better. In the second half he was outstanding. He played with confidence and made some truly outstanding well timed challenges. He showed exactly what he is capable of and I just want to say well done to him.

United could not have wished for a better start to the premiership. Yesterday we sent out a message to Chelsea and the others. We are hungry and we want to win in style. I said before the start of the season that this will be our year and yesterdays performance helped to reinforce my belief.

We must now contend with 3 games without Rooney and Scholes, question is who are we going to play in their absence? Both were key to the 5-1 drumming yesterday, and we must replace them with quality, question is who? I’ll go first. First off I would move Giggs into the centre and put park on the left. Up front I would play Solskjaer for the first half, then Rossi in the second. What do you guys think?

Man of the Match: Wayne Rooney
One to watch: Patrice Evra

In The papers today 21-08-2006

Good morning everybody. I'm sorry I haven't posted over the weekend it's been a bit manic, what with the new season starting and all. First off I'll do the papers and then i'll do a match report. But first i'll say just one thing... "COME ON UTD". Well done boys on yesterdays victory!

The BBC
Ferguson praises Rooney & Ronaldo
Man Utd 5-1 Fulham

Sky Sports
Bayern hold hope for Hargreaves
Rooney FA row continues
Red Devils thrash Fulham
Fergie: Bayern are stubborn
Rooney still devastated

The Mirror
ROO & RON LOVE-IN!
THE CROWD PLEASERS
IT'S BACK! BARCLAYS PREMIERSHIP MANCHESTER UTD 5 FULHAM 1 FROM OLD TRAFFORD Ron & Roo turn on style.. and 75,115 fans can't be wrong


The Sun
I love Roo, Ronnie
Man United 5 Fulham 1

The Times
Ronaldo in rapid redemption

The Independent
Manchester United 5 Fulham 1: High-fives for United as Rooney turns on the style

The Mail
Bobby's belief

The Guardian
Rooney leads rout as United find renewed verve
Hargreaves dropped

Friday, August 18, 2006

Man Utd news update

Fergie has come out to the press and declared that he is interested in signing the international midfielder. This reminds me of football manager so much it’s funny. A player becomes unsettled then a manager declares his intentions to the press to help fuel the speculation, brilliant. Somehow I can’t see Munich holding out for much longer with United willing to table a sizeable bid for the player, but we shall see.

Other news is that Carlos Tevez’s agent has declared that the Corinthian player feels that it is time to move on by issuing a “come and get me” statement to European clubs. Manchester United have been at the forefront in their admiration for the player, but with the possible signing of Hargreaves, can United stretch their budget to purchase both players? I know we have done this topic to death, but now we have a realistic chance of signing either, which one would you sign and why? (Assume you can only have one of them). My choice, quite reluctantly would be Hargreaves. We still lack the grit in midfield and desperately need a ball winner in the middle of the park. I can’t belive I’m saying this… how good would Tevez be at old Trafford? Glazers dig deep and sign both please.

On another note, Wayne Rooney has been passed fit for Sunday’s game. Injuries include Heinze (knee), Vidic (knee) and Carrick (angle ligaments). Anyone going? I’m in East stand 333!

One last thing. There is a new ticketing system available to United one members and season ticket holders. It’s called Viagogo and it allows season ticket holders to sell any tickets that they can’t attend. One United members can purchase the tickets and it’s a really good way of getting rid of the touts. I had a go on it today and it is really helpful. I managed to pick up 2 tickets for the Tottenham game in the quadrants for £35 a ticket, (face value). That’s amazing considering the game is already sold out. You can check out Viagogo here

great news article

This Arsenal fan hit the nail on the head. Great article.
Arsenal fans wake up to a punch in the face

Hargreaves on the move and Liverpool being better than us!!

So it looks like a deal is getting closer for the services of Owen Hargreaves to move to Old Trafford this season. The midfield ace was pictured being driven by United officials last night to the Lowry hotel in Salford for showdown talks with the red devils.

I have a few things I need to get off my chest today so bear with me a little. We’ll start with the Owen Hargreaves transfer because I know we all love a bit of transfer gossip. How does it work? Munich have declared that they have absolutely no intention to sell Hargreaves, yet we have supposedly offered him a 5 year deal that he is very happy with. The player said as much in his interview. Are we guilty of tapping him up? But if we were guilty of such a crime then wouldn’t Bayern Munich be telling the press as much and submitting a complaint to the FA about it? Something just doesn’t seem right to me.

I think that Bayern are coming to the table wanting to do business. The sale would represent a massive profit for the player they have nurtured since he was 16. To keep the fans happy (for a little while at least) they are outlining their determination to keep a player who clearly wants to take the next step in his career.

If this is the case there is the issue of price. How much would you be willing to pay for the midfield ball winner? Hargreaves turned down an £8 million move to Middlesbrough last season citing that he wanted champions league football. Bayern now want £18 million for him whilst Fergie is believed to be offering £13 million. Personally I think another performance related structure to the value of about £16 million would be a very good offer and one that Bayern would struggle to refuse.

I would like to mention the Glazers at this point. They get a lot of stick in the press and by fans about them bleeding the club dry, running huge debts and the rest. Now I have to say I wasn’t ecstatic about them taking control, but if they were to spend heavily on Hargreaves I think it would go some way to alleviating fans fears that we are cash strapped. As far as I’m concerned, as long as they continue to run the club so that it competes at the highest level I will be happy, oh and don’t put ticket prices up too much Mr Glazer, we are a family club so don’t price them out of the market. To be honest I don’t think they have put a foot wrong since they came in, they have negotiated better sponsorship deals and expanded the stadium and provided transfer money when Fergie needed it most. Obviously time will tell though.

Now let’s talk about Liverpool. Why is everyone getting so excited about them? If we sign Hargreaves I fail to see how they have a better team than us. Ok they have Gerrard and he is a great talent, the best midfielder in the world in my opinion. But our back 4 is far superior to theirs. Our strike force in Rooney and Saha beats Crouch and Bellamy hands down. It even beats Bellamy and Kuyt no problem. In Smith, Rossi and Solskjaer we have some great backup. The only area they may be slightly better than us is in midfield and I don’t reckon the gap is that great. Ronaldo is one of the best wingers in the world. Giggs is still class. Scholes Carrick and Hargreaves is a formidable central midfield ordering and Park and Richardson are young promising players. Sorry I just can’t see how Liverpool are better, I really can’t.

I really feel that this is our season. We have the experience of winning titles, we have the passion and now we have the quality. Let’s go out there on Sunday and tear up the field. As always please leave your comments

In the papers today 18-08-2006

The BBC
The BBC

The Mirror
OWEN IS FERGIE'S FOR £17M
ROO BAN IS SHOCKING

The Sun
Utd get Owen

Nev raps Roo ban

Cristiano's not a snake

The Times
Hargreaves on brink of sealing £17m United deal

The Independent
Senna gives United deal ultimatum

The Telegraph
Hargreaves intent on United
Neville's fury at United bans

The Mail
Hargreaves set for crunch Bayern talks

Thursday, August 17, 2006

Amusing video

not football related, but I found this amusing..
Watch it here

Hargreaves at Manchester United, is it true?

As you might expect all the talk this morning is about Hargreaves wanting to move to the boys in red. Whilst this would be a fantastic coup for us, is the move realistic? With Bayern coming out strongly, denying the midfield utility man is going anywhere, will they slap such a large price on his head that we cannot realistically afford him?

Last season Bayern Munich had 2 great midfielders in Ballack and Hargreaves. Now they are facing the prospect of having neither as they get their campaign off the ground. Hargreaves comments to the press expressing his desire to move back to British soil will no doubt have angered both the manager and the board at Munich.

There comes a point where you cannot keep a player if they desire a move away so badly that their performances drop on the field. We saw this in Ruud Van Nistelrooy. When he was faced with competition for his place, he requested to leave. When this was turned down there were instances of confrontation with other players on the training field as well as lacklustre performances on the field. In the end Fergie had had enough and decided that the Dutchman’s time was up. Whether this was a right or wrong move is not the issue here, it was the fact that Ruud wanted to leave for whatever reason and so his wish was granted. Perhaps he was pushed, but I believe it was his own attitude that got him to the situation in the first place.

Ronaldo on the other hand had come out to the press and stated he wanted to move to Real Madrid. He later came out and said, he had absolutely no intention of leaving United after all they had done for him. This is a completely different situation, external circumstances were quite exceptional and there was no bid from any club, despite what the tabloids were saying.

Back to Hargreaves it seems like a move to the premiership is what he craves. His family are here; he is English and most importantly of all, Manchester United have made an offer for him. As far as the Sun are concerned the deal has already been done. Read about it here. I’m sure you know not to take that as gospel however, the sun a fantasists playing on fans every emotion, pushing the buttons to get our excitement up.

If we seal the deal and manage to bring the tenacious midfielder home, just think of the midfield we would have. In Carrick and Hargreaves we would have 2 young and energetic midfielders, not to mention English. They are a pairing that would last for 7 years at least. Many will say they are good, but not the best in the world. Something people forget is that Manchester United turn the good into the great. Look at Cantona, Keane, Beckham, Giggs, Scholes and even Rooney and Ronaldo. We love to nurture our talent, help them grow and reach the potential all United fans know they are capable of.

If we sign Hargreaves I would go to the bookies and snap those odds up on us winning the title, because we will be a serious force to be reckoned with. We don’t need expensive foreign pensioners to be successful. Instead we need young talent with the hunger and desire for success. I’ve no doubt that Rooney will be leading the line on that front.
As always please leave your comments!!!!
One Love One United

In the papers today 17-08-2006

The BBC
Hargreaves set on Man Utd switch

Sky Sports
ROSSI ON AZZURRI'S AGENDA
United offer for Hargreaves
Diarra fires Real Lyon warning

The Mirror
FERGIE'S £10M HARGREAVES BID SNUBBED

The Sun
£13m Owen signs for Utd
Wayne Cant be compared
Smith not keen being Roy

The Times
Hargreaves paves the way for 'fantastic' United deal
Ronaldo must stand up and be counted

The Independent
Hargreaves' plea for United move

The Telegraph
United offer tempts Hargreaves

The Mail
Bayern vow to keep Hargreaves
Fergie gag proves costly for players

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Transfer of Hargreaves to Manchester United?

Well by popular request I have written this quick article on Hargreaves.The BBC article here confirms what we all suspected. The midfield warrior wants to take the next step in his career and move to Manchester United. I have noticed that some people are sceptical of us signing such a player on the back of a great world cup, where he was voted England’s best player, but United fans fear no more.

I have spoken to a couple of Bayern Munich fans and they assure me that Hargreaves has had a blinding couple of seasons for them. They describe him as the ultimate utility midfielder. He plays the holding role to great effect, although his tackling can be a little off key he is certainly not a poor tackler by any means. His diversity on the field is what makes him so special.

We can draw certain parallels with the Hargreaves speculation to a certain Christiano Ronaldo, who allegedly game out to the press declaring he wanted a move to Real Madrid. Man Utd issued a number of statements saying their man was going nowhere and this seems to have stuck, with Madrid in particular backing down.

However will the allure of premiership football be too strong for Hargreaves? Has he set his sights on moving, so much so that it would be impossible for him to move back to the German champions? On the surface it seems there is a lot going for Englishman moving to England. After all most of his family live in the UK and he has expressed a desire to be closer to them. If United were to sign him there would be the beginnings of one of the strongest English partnerships that there has been for many years. Watch out Chelsea.
As always get your comments in.
P.S thanks for the notification guys, hope you enjoy the article

Rooney and Scholes banned, What an outrage?

Of course all the news today is about Rooney and Scholes having their bans upheld by the FA for violent conduct and serious foul play. How will this affect the start to our season at a time when winning important games is more paramount than ever before? With two of our best players missing, does it highlight the lack of depth to our squad and the ability for us to compete for honours at the highest level?

I think the first thing to deal with is the actual incidents of the players being sent off. If ever there were Oscar awards for best actor in footballing I have no doubt that the Portuguese would take it. Rooney brushed the face of a player, unintentionally in my opinion and down he went as though a bus had hit him at 70 miles per hour. And could somebody explain to me what that rolling around afterwards is all about? No wonder the players feel ill after a challenge when they spin round as fast as a washing machine… That can’t be healthy.

Scholes challenge you can’t condone, but perhaps the Salford lad decided to stick one on one of the ever so theatrical Portuguese players. So all in all Scholes deserved a red and Rooney didn’t. Any self respecting football fan could see that a million miles away.

Now let’s look at the penalties inflicted. Since when do suspensions carry over from different competitions? A lot of people will say the FA cup, Carling cup and Premiership are all linked, but Europe and Domestic aren’t. You don’t see players getting banned in the champion’s league, having to sit out domestic games and why should you?

So in Amsterdam United are playing in a friendly tournament and two players get sent off, surely they should be banned for the rest of the tournament? Or at most banned from 3 further friendly games? It makes no sense to me that you get banned in a friendly game, then you cannot serve your bans in further friendly matches, that is ludicrously in its highest form.

To add insult to injury our nearest and dearest friends living on the Mersey (Liverpool) did exactly the same thing a couple of years ago, where Gerrard and Mellor got sent off in the same tournament. But it was ok for them, the FA overturned the red cards and they were allowed to play in the premiership campaign ban free. How does that work?

It is these inconsistencies in the game that give the FA a bad name. How can you do one thing one minute then do exactly the opposite the next? How do teams know how to behave? How do they know what is acceptable and what is not? I’m sure we all think that the decision is wrong, but the thing that makes it so much worse is the fact that they let our biggest rivals off a number of years ago, how insulting is that?

This decision could affect the outcome of the title. The bans cover a total of nine points for us, the margin we missed out on the premiership last season. Omitting those 2 players from the starting line-up does not highlight our lack of depth for us, after all how many Rooneys and Scholes are there in the world to replace them with? It would be the equivalent of Chelsea having Terry and Lampard suspended, or Aresenal having Henry and Gilberto suspended. These players are irreplaceable.
If we take 9 points from these games, we will be laughing at the end of the season, but with the likes of Tottenham to play, the other boys must fight to the death for the points. I really want to know your thoughts on the bans today. Please feel free to rant on this issue and tell the FA what you really think! Look forward to reading your comments.

In the papers today 16-08-06

The BBC
Rooney & Scholes lose ban appeals

Sky Sports
FA uphold bans for United duo
Adriano going nowhere
Rossi dreams of Italy return

The Mirror
UNITED FURY AT ROO BAN

The Sun
Roo fury at 3-game ban

The Times
Ferguson in ferment after FA confirms Rooney ban

The Independent
Three-match bans for Rooney and Scholes as appeal fails

The Telegraph
Rooney appeal is rejected

The Mail
United pair given three-match bans

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Manchester United transfer News 15-08-06

Hargreaves Transfer News
With the united deal between Villareal and United for Senna dragging on, has Ferguson got his eye on other targets? The interview with Owen Hargreaves for England last night seemed to fire up the rumours that the Englishman may yet be applying his trade in the premiership this coming season.

At England's media conference yesterday, Bayern Munich midfielder Owen Hargreaves again admitted he's keen to join Manchester United.

United boss Alex Ferguson is ready to pay £8million to Bayern Munich for England's World Cup midfield star, 25.

Hargreaves said: "The Premiership is one of the best leagues in the world and I'm closer now than ever".

"I can't say what will happen between now and the end of the transfer window. But more English teams saw what I had to offer during the World Cup."

In further transfer rumours on the Tevez front.

Corinthians manager Geninho has resigned following another defeat. Corinthians lie in last place in the league and lost again at the weekend after having a player sent off. I handed in my post, I’m no longer coach of Corinthians,” said Geninho, who was in charge for 11 matches at Brazil’s richest and most turbulent club.
“Unfortunately, my work didn’t produce the results I’d hoped for.”
Corinthians are the wealthiest club in Brazil, making their money from farming players out to Europe for exorbitant fees.

Manchester United has been strongly linked to the Argentinean wonder kid in the past and this most recent turbulence may result in a bid from the Red giants. Your comments are always welcomed

Man Utd score predictions for the first few games

So the new season starts for us on Sunday amidst further rumours from the press that we are a club in decline. Even Liverpool are favoured as better prospects by the bookmakers than us. Now I don’t know about other Man Utd fans but, to hear these kinds of rumblings makes me even more determined to support my club. We have proven the press and the bookmakers wrong many times before and we WILL do it again.

Chelsea may have all the money and a team sheet that could support 5 world cup teams, but who cares.. That is the situation and we have to deal with it. What excites me about United is the mix of youth and experience. We have some of the brightest young players in the game. Rooney and Ronaldo are excellent, whilst the unsung Park and Carrick have promising futures ahead of them. If we bring in another midfielder how can we not challenge for the title? We were 8 points off the pace last season, with a squad riddled with injuries. We are a young squad that will improve year on year. On this basis we are no doubt stronger that last season.

No doubt I am looking at the situation through rose tinted glasses and why shouldn’t I? Oh too often I read the message boards and so called “man utd fans” are moaning about not spending enough, Fergie doing a bad job or Chelsea buying all the best players. Well if that’s how these fans feel, why don’t they go and support Chelsea. I am here to support the team through thick and thin, for richer for poorer and quite frankly I don’t want part time glory fans to be part of my supporters group. If we win the league this season, how many members of the press will recall what they said at the start of the season? An incredibly small minority I can assure you. They will come out with headlines such as “Fergie does it again”, or “United Back on top”.

The team will of course come unstuck in a number of games this season and what I want to ask you all today is which ones do you think it will be for United this season? Below are our first seven games, what do you think the scores will be? Can you see us dropping points at any of them? Also please let me know of any games not mentioned here that you think we will either triumph in or struggle with. You can cut and paste the section below and stick it into the comments section with your score predictions if you like.


Man Utd 2 v 0 Fulham,
Charlton 1 v 3 Man Utd,
Watford 0 v 1 Man Utd,
Man Utd 1 v 1 Tottenham,
Man Utd 2 v 0 Arsenal,
Reading 1 v 3 Man Utd,
Man Utd 3 v 2 Newcastle,

We will beat Arsenal as we always do at home, with all other games being relatively easy. The only slip up I can envisage is against Tottenham as we haven’t fared so well in recent years against them.

In the papers today 15-08-06

The BBC
Gill backs Man Utd to test Blues

Sky Sports
Gill praise for Glazers
O'Shea denies United rift
Fergie calls on favour

The Sun
Rooney beats red ban

The Independent
'Psycho' sets the goals for Rooney to score them

The Guardian
Ferguson is running out of time to impress the Glazers

Monday, August 14, 2006

Senna and a striker or just Hargreaves transfering to man utd?

Which would you prefer? Senna and a Striker, or just Hargreaves? This is the dilemma facing Ferguson this week. Although it seems as though the deal has been done for Senna, Fergie is holding off though to see if he can get either Hargreaves or Diarra. If he gets either of these players there will be no cash left for a striker. The question is, which would be better for the team?

This article in Sky sports perhaps suggests that Fegie believes Saha can fill the void of Ruud Van Nistelrooy, clearly stating that he believes the Frenchman can get 20 goals plus a season no problem. Whilst I am going to wait and see on this one there is no doubt that Saha is a wonderful talent and will do very well with a regular starting position in the first team. I think the emphasis will be much more on team goals, with Scholes, Rooney and Giggs increasing their season’s Talley this time around.

So If Ferguson is happy with Saha, does this mean he will spend big in the midfield and opt for a younger option in midfield. If so the likely outcome would be a bid for either Hargreaves or Diarra. Both would be considerably more expensive that Senna, but would provide a more permanent solution for the centre of midfield. What do you think? A more expensive midfielder at the expense of a striker, or a cheaper midfielder and a striker? As always over to you.

Rooney wants extended contract, Ronaldo setting the world on fire and only 5 days to go until the start of the season!!

So it’s Monday morning and we’re all feeling fresh to face the week ahead.. ahem. After taking the weekend off from posting I spent my time reading the papers, trying to gage what the press think of our prospects for the season ahead. A lot of it made interesting reading and I will talk about them in this article.

The first one is the fact that Rooney wants to commit his future to the club for life. I am glad that the greatest prospect in British football wants to see out his entire career at United, but do we really need to offer him a contract until he is 30 something?

One thing it does show is the special relationship that he and Fergie have. The Nike advert that always amuses me is the one where Wayne is running around on the training ground with Fergie yelling “pass the ball Wayne, pass the ball”. Fergie then turns to the camera and says “he’ll be the death of me that boy.” In a joking fashion. The 20 year old has already learned so much from our prolific manager and it is testimony to the respect that Fergie demands from the younger players. Wayne would not want to be anywhere else. He wants to win trophies for United and no-one else.

Ronaldo continued his crusade to endear Man Utd fans on Saturday against Sevilla. He scored one goal and set the other up. I said in a previous article that Ronaldo should answer his critics with his football and he seems to be doing just that. Ronaldo is another player who has seen the unquestionable support from Ferguson over a difficult month for him. He should be glad that he has a manager like Ferguson over the next few months as things will be decidedly uncomfortable for Ronaldo, until a new England scape goat arrives on the scene.

I thought I’d save the most important one until last. The new season starts in 5 days time. Yes only 5 days to go until the largest league in the world kicks off. We play Fulham at home on the Sunday. Is anyone going to be there? Let me know if you are! I will be getting there early for a bit of banter before the game and to meat with fellow fans who have not seen for a few months. I love the first game of the season, the atmosphere is electric. What are your predictions for the game? I am going with 2-0 to us, Saha and Solskjaer to score.

Right now it’s over to you guys. What I want to know today is:
1) Should we offer Rooney an extended contract?
2) What do you think of Ronaldo’s performances so far? And how do you think he will perform this season for us?
3) Is anyone going to the Fulham game this weekend? And what do you think the score will be along with scorers?

In the news today 14-08-06

Appologies for not writing yesterday, I needed a little break, but now I am fresh on the case. Here is the Utd News for today (and some of the weekend)

The BBC
Rooney may miss start of season
Man Utd 3-0 Seville
Gerrard dubs Ronaldo a 'disgrace'

Sky Sports
MSI deny United bid for Tevez
Fergie praise for Evans
Rooney worry for United
Fergie backs Saha to shine

The Mirror
SHOCK, HORROR! FERGIE WANTS HIS STARS PLAYING INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLIES!
ROO'VEGOT TO BE JOKING, Mac tips hothead Wayne as future captain of England"

The Sun
Fergie: Utd are no mugs

The Times
United set for talks to seal Senna transfer

The Mail
Rooney moves to deflect blame from Ronaldo
We'll buy but don't take us for mugs, says Fergie
Fergie wants Rooney for life

The Guardian
Ferguson wants United stars to get England action

Friday, August 11, 2006

Rent United's season 2005-2006 for free

If you fancy supporting this site for free, why not get 3 free DVD rentals from Amazon. I know we're all getting itchy feet waiting for the new season to start, so why not relive last seasons antics with one of the free rentals? simply sign up using the banner above then do the following search "manchester united 2006". Can't complain really.

Queiroz could be off, but who would tyou like to see as man utds next assistant manager?

There has been lots of talk on this blog of new players coming in of late. Of course this is speculation but fans like to speculate. We can dream and why shouldn’t we? Today I want to talk about a new assistant manager. Queiroz has been linked with the Porto job in the papers today. This would seem like an ideal job for the Portuguese number 2, taking the helm of the largest side in his home country. Would this be a good thing for United? Or would he be sorely missed?

There have been a number of assistant managers to Fergie over the years. There was Brian Kidd, Mclaren and now Queiroz. All have offered ideas and inspiration to the Scott and some have moved on to other things. Queiroz left to become Real Madrid coach and then decided to return after results didn’t go his way.

Some have suggested that Queiroz has been responsible for implementing the new 4-3-3 tactics and doing away with traditional wingers. There have also been reports about discontent with the players in the past when he took over more of the 1st team training. How much of this is true however remains to be seen. For all we know it is the press trying to make a meal out of something that really isn’t there.

His relationship with Ronaldo is one thing we can definitely thank him for. After the world cup saga he flew out to smooth things over with a boy who undoubtedly knew he was in for a rough ride upon his return. But can an assistant’s position really be justified because of his relationship with one player?

The question I want to put to you today is.. If Queiroz does go, who would you like to see in his place? Lippi has been mentioned, as has Curbishly. But I want to know what the real fans think. One important thing to bear in mind is that the next assistant manager is closer than ever to taking over from Ferguson when he eventually retires. That could prove to be a massive pull factor for any potential manager. Who would you like to see and why?

In the papers today 11-08-06

Rooney thinks Refs target him
The Mirror
The Mirror
The Times
The Express
The Independent

Rooney's Autobiography
The Telegraph

Rooney tells England fans to lay off Ronaldo
The BBC
Sky Sports
The Sun
The Mail

United get Kuszczak on loan for a season
The BBC
Sky Sports
The Sun
The Express
The Telegraph
The Mail

Queiroz linked to Porto position
SKy Sports

United now favorites to capture Diarra
Sky Sports

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Manchester United boast record season ticket sales.

Man United have just confirmed that season tickets for this year have reached the 64,000 mark. This brings them close to the capacity of the ground for last season which stood at 67,500. The anti Glazer feeling does not seem to have affected the seasons preperations with the club looking likely to fill old trafford on a regular basis.

United have introduced a season long ticket to cope with the overwhelming demand for tickets to man utd. A source close to united said "This is fantastic news, We have almost sold as many tickets for every game before the start of the season than we had as an entire capacity last year. It is a record figure, not just for us but for English football as a whole and something we are very proud of. It shows that United fans are continuing to support the team at Old Trafford in huge numbers."

It had been feared that ticket sales had slumped at united due to the lack of transfer activity at the club over the summer period. Todays results clearly show that the United faithful are still confident of success this season and are behind their team 100%.

United back in for Diarra

It seems united are being linked with every player under the sun at the moment. With fresh reports coming out of France that we are back in for Diarra. the figure is reported at around £14 million which seems a much more acceptable price than the previous £25 million mentioned. Read the Sky sports article here

This could explain why the deal for Senna is yet to go through despite Villareal giving us permission to talk to the player. Question is who would you prefer? Senna or Diarra? My initial thoughts were that at £25 million Diarra is way overpriced and I would take Senna at £4 million every time. However if Diarra can be captured for £14 million that changes my perspective somewhat. The guy is only 25 and so we could expect a good number of years from the player, making him look a lot cheaper.

I haven't seen much of either player, so would welcome your views on the strengths and weaknesses of both.

Rumour United looking at transfer of Adriano. do we need him? Can we afford him?

There is news today that Fergie is still on the hunt for a striker. The same targets keep rearing their heads in Tevez and Torres, although no formal approach has been made for either. Hower the Times reports today that Man Utd have expressed an interest in none other that Adriano. Read it here. The real question is do we really need to splash the cash up front? Should we wait and see until Christmas, or will it be too late by then with Chelsea having a lead of 15 points again?

Don’t get me wrong Adriano is a fantastic player; he was one of the few Brazilians along with Kaka who emerged with some credit from the world cup. In Adriano you get that real samba style. You can picture the guy playing in bare foot on the beach, no set position, just playing the game in its rawest form.

Adriano has the power, strength and skill to perform in any league in the world; he is one of those players who just “has it”. However I am shuddering at the thought of how much he would cost. He is a massive player and I couldn’t see him moving for less than £30 million. This in theory shouldn’t be a problem as we were promised £25 million per season to spend, and we have actually made a profit this season on transfer activity. However with the likelihood of Senna’s arrival as well as Kuszczak, this would take our net spending to about £6 million it may be a stretching the budget a little too much.

There is the other question that has been on my mind for a while now and that is, do we really have £25 million to spend a season? Whatever your thoughts are on the Glazers, they are with us now and we need to concentrate on supporting our club and our manager. The restructuring of the debt has brought interest payments down, but I think it will be a couple of seasons until the bank balance returns to somewhere where we can spend big again. Our early exit from the champion’s league has probably cost us £10 million and that will have to come from somewhere. Couple this with the massive amount of interest we had to pay last season before the debt restructuring and things don’t look quite so rosy. But things will get better and this provides us with the opportunity to bring on the youngsters, something we are famed for. We have saved a fortune in the past and it may be the way we go for the next 2 seasons. Should we do well this term I am sure there will be more to spend next season.

So back to Adriano do we really need him? We would all like him yes, but if we can manage without him I say let’s try to do so. I am reluctant to spend huge in an attempt to chase glory. I prefer the integration of youth and experience and in Rooney, Rossi, Saha and Solskjaer we have just that.

The question I want to put to you all is if you could sign one of the strikers that we are reportedly after, which one would it be and why? Torrez, Tevez or Adriano? The fourth option is no-one, stick with our current squad…. Over to you!

In the Papers today 10-08-06

Ronaldo told he'll get Rough treatment this seeason

the sun

Tevez to stay in Brazil
Sky Sports

Riquelme backs Senna move
Sky Sports

FA to help Rooney but & possibly Scholes
Sky Sports
The BBC
The Times
The Independent
The Telegraph

United must throw down the guantlet
The express

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Ronaldo answers the jeers and booing with 2 fabulous goals

Ronaldo always knew he was in for a rough time upon his return to English football. It is how he handles it that will determine whether or not he establishes himself as one of the true footballing and United greats.

Ronaldo had his first outing last night in a friendly against Oxford United and boy did he feel the wrath of English fan’s hatred against him. As he left the team bus angry fans threw chewing gum and spat at him. One fan even tried jumping the barrier to give the Portuguese player a real piece of his mind. If this was what it is like against Oxford just imagine the reception he will get when he visits Anfield this season.

Ronaldo has done himself no favours in endearing himself to either United fans or rival fans over the summer. The appeal to the referee, for Rooney’s sending off, the wink, coming out to the press saying he wants to leave for Real Madrid and his apparent theatrical diving on the field have catapulted him to public enemy number 1.

But the summer is over now and the guy is only 21 years old and it is time for Ronaldo to step up to the mark and prove his worth. In a world where you are constantly under the spotlight playing such a competitive game and with the British press who just love to pick on any successful player they can it is understandable that he has been treated this way and goes some way to excusing some of the things that he has been held accountable for.

Spitting on players and throwing chewing gum is wrong and shows just how distasteful English football fans can be and if this is what Ronaldo can expect for the rest of the season then I don’t blame him for wanting away to sunnier climates.

Booing I can accept and any strong character can shrug that off. And shrug it off he did last night. With 2 superbly taken goals. Ronaldo was ridiculed from start to finish but he seemed unphased. In fact it seemed to spur him on. If he carries on playing like this for the rest of the season, opposition fans will be silenced for good as he rips them apart.

Ferguson has been remarkably tactile throughout this whole Ronaldo saga. He has stood by the player even when he was saying he wanted to move away. I’m sure now the Scotsman has him back at the club under his watchful eye, he can protect the player and help him mature as a footballer. Fergie has an incredible knack for supporting players in the darkest hour. Anyone remember Beckham in 1998? Ronaldo is no different and he will win United hearts again by demonstrating what a great footballer he is.

In the papers today 09-08-06

Fergie gets green light to buy Senna

Sky Sports
The Mirror

Ronaldo Gets booed at Oxford, but replies with 2 goals.... Good man, that'll show em!

The BBC
Sky Sports
Article 2 Sky Sports
The Sun
The Times
The independent


Rooney and Scholes clear to play opener in premiership, but could be banned for Arsenal game
Sky Sports
The Sun
The Telegraph

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

United 4 Arsenal 2

I remember watching this one in a room full of Aresnal fans. I took some stick early on, but ooh what a game! Keane you will be sorely missed!!!
Watch it here

Your comments as always

Tevez to transfer to Manchester United?

Whilst reading all the articles on United this morning I came across one particular article that got me more excited than most. Read it here . Now I know this is the usual media hype and a suggestion that Tevez may move away in no way means he is coming to us, however it seems to good an opportunity to miss in signing one of Argentina’s brightest stars and hottest prospects.

Tevez applies his trade in Brazil for Corinthians. As an Argentinean this is a brave move as there is an incredibly fierce rivalry between the 2 countires. Most South American players try to engineer a move from their home club into Europe, however Tevez made the record move across the border to Brazil.

Corinthians are struggling at the bottom of their league and a number of disappointing results have left the club bottom of their division. Tevez, being Argentinean seems to have bourn the brunt of the fans frustrations and when he scored an equaliser in a game they should have been winning, Tevez put his finger to his lips suggesting the Corinthian fans should be quiet in their criticism of him and the club, an action that did not go down well at all.

The owner of Corinthians, Iranian business man Kia Joorabchian has now declared that he cannot keep the Argentinian wonderkid, as the player now fears for his families safety. It is believed that Tevez could be obtained for around the £15 million mark, a bargain considering Carrick could cost us anything up to £18.6 million. If there was ever a time for the Glazers to demonstrate that they are willing to invest in this glorious club now would be the time.

If we acquired Tevez, where would he play? Please suggest your formations with Tevez in the frame.

In the papers today 08-08-06

Ronaldo left out for friendly amid securtity fears

The Sun

Senna Vows to Be the new hardman in midfield!
The Sun

Solskjaer Called up to Noraway sqaud
The Times
The Telegraph
Sky Sports
Trophy fails to mask United's floors (The mail)
The Mail

Smith eyes Fulham return
Sky Sports

Tevez could be moving to Man Utd
Sky Sports

As always let us know what you think on these stories

Monday, August 07, 2006

Champions league video 1999 & last season

I found this on you-tube and thought I would post it up. It shows our 1999 campaign up to about 6 minutes, then shows our 2005/2006 campaign. Personally I think it would have been a better video if they had just left it at us lifting the trophy but see what you think. I remember the night so well and this brought it all back!!
United forever!!!

man utd Champions league video

In the papers today 07-08-06

The day Fergie called Becks a F*****g liar
The Mirror

Sir Alex blanked Old Mate

The Mirror

United Blasted for Crazy spending

The Mirror

Rooney told to calm down
The Sun

Rooney will escape ban
The Daily Mail

Ferguson faces daunting task with injuries
The Times

Carrick out for a month
The BBC
The Telegraph
The Daily Mail

Fergie says Chelsea will pay price for buying pensioners
The Daily Mail

Giggs demands team effort
Sky Sports

Ferguson pleads with Solskjaer not to return to International duty
Sky Sports

As always we await your comments on what has been said in the press today. Are the press right or wrong?

Sunday, August 06, 2006

Will injuries and suspensions hinder United's start to the 06/07 premiership campaign?

What with possible suspensions and injuries, United look as though they could be starting their premiership campaign on the 20th August decidedly lacking many first team options. It is more important than ever that we get off to a good start this season, as the competition grows stronger and stronger.

To start with let’s look at the situation from a worst cased scenario point of view. We would have the following players unavailable.
a) Heinze
b) Ferdinand
c) Vidic
d) Neville
e) Carrick
f) Scholes (suspension)
g) Rooney (suspension)

With nearly our complete first team unavailable it makes beating Fulham on the 20th a much more difficult task than if we had the above players available for selection. However those of you who have been with us on this blog for a while now will know that I am ever the optimist and for that reason I will give you my take on the injury and suspension situation as I see it.

a)Heinze is said to be making good progress and should be fit for the 20th
b)Ferdinand felt a twinge in training and so Fergie decided to rest him as a precautionary measure. I’m sure he will be back.
c)Vidic I think will definitely miss the start of the season, however Brown is more than adequate cover for him.
d)Neville I’m not sure on. If anyone knows anything please post in the comments.
e)Carrick Fergie is saying 3 weeks and it did look quite bad. That puts him on a return for the 27th August, so he is more than likely to miss the first 2 games of the season.
f)Scholes and Rooney. The FA have hinted that they will not suspend either player so let’s hope this becomes official tomorrow.

To sum up then we will be without Carrick and Vidic for the start of the season. With Brown as cover for Vidic and the likelihood that Fergie will sign another midfielder (possibly Senna) to cover Carrick’s injury, we should be able to put a few past Fulham and get off to a winning start. Not long to go now! I cannot wait!!

As always please add your comments.