Manchester United's Headliners, Articles and Rumours

[DatukSeks]

Yes !!

Man Utd is the 2007 Commnunity Shield Champion.

If the superstition is to be believed, we won't be the Premier League Champion. The last time we won the Community Shield when we beat Arsenal, Arsenal went on to win the League without losing a game !!

Anyway, the match showed us that we desperately need to keep a left back. Our Ferdinand is also out-paced and out-muscled by new signing Moluda leading to their equalizer. When Silvestre was replaced, Evra who was playing midfield was pushed back to play left back. From that moment, Evra was struggling to contain Wright-Phillips. Evra looks better in midefield than being a defender. Let's hope that Heinze stays.

With so many midfiled to our disposal, we start with using two defenders like Evra and O'Shea to play midfield. Nani when he came on in the mid-2nd half was non-existant and not impressive.

On a positive note, our creativity is there and our attacking flair is there. Certainly do not agree with Mourihno who said that "Chelsea controlled the game". What rubbish is that ? When did Chelsea control the game ? He was probably watching another game ?

John Obi Mikel is damn dirty player, he should be banned from playing football. When he tackles, he aimed at Ronaldo's leg !! Obi is always like that. But with Schevenko, Robben, Drogba, Ballack, Terry, Makelele all coming back, I think Chelsea will be a tough nut to crack. I have a feeling that their Schevchenko will perform this year !!

We still need a tall striker to pose an aerial threat when we are attacking. We also need a free kick speacialist. We have been missing goals from free kick since Beckham left.

[Mafan]

Originally Posted by alex18122003

I think SAF should slowly look out for GK too to replace Van Der Sar.

as for these 2 season we can keep the GK like this we will see how frost rated.

Originally Posted by slyer

i agree. man utd shd buy a right back, center back, n a GK. esp when van der sar n gary neville are aging...

VDR have make 3 penalty save, what more can we say about him

[chickenzip]

Community Shield Personal ratings :

Van Der Sar - 8

I would actually give him only a rating 6. He seemed rather slow in coming off his line at times, but still good in the air. The remaining rating of 2 was given for this excellence reading and saves in the penatly shootout.

Wes Brown - 6

Pacy, but often lack of concentration. Was in his own wonderland when the pass was made to Malouda, who successfully muscle his way ahead Ferdinand and scored the equalizer.

Rio Ferdinand - 6.5

Like Brown, he is gifted with plenty of pace. But again, his often lack of concentration and suspected poor marking & reading often made United backline the weaklink. (Remember how he failed to man mark Drogba in the FA cup final when he seemed to have only his eyes on watching Drogba and Lampar made the wonderful one touch passing?)

Vidic - 7

Can't really fault his performance. He started where he was from last season, was confident and aggressive.

Mikael Silvestre - 6

Losing his pace slowly. Was often outpaced by Wright-Philip on the left.

John O'Shea - 6.5

Quiet game. Maybe he was instructed to protect the back four instead of Carrick. He can be a threat when in the penalty box.

Michael Carrick - 8

Control the midfield well. Was consistent throughtout.

Ryan Giggs - 10

At his age, he was really making use of his football intelligent and vision to good use. Was able to present himself at the correct place to give United the lead. Who say United do not have a playmaker? Alas he is not going to last long.

Cristiano Ronaldo - 8

His surging runs and often slick passes and crosses were always a threat to the opps. It was his intelligent back heed to Evra that created the scoring opportunity.

Patrice Evra - 7

Seemed to be better in that left midfield slot than in left back. his tireless run and his willingness to track back to defend was valuable. but his defend skill can be often heart stopping.

Wayne Rooney - 9

Unlike last season, he started this season very sharp and fit. Would form an awesome frontline with Tevez.

Subs

Nani - 5

Quiet game. Seemed to be taken back slightly by the big ocassion. Hopefully he could play to his game soon.

Fletcher - 5

Probably too late into the game.

[asiancigar]

Van der Sar happy with Man Utd 'revenge'

Edwin van der Sar says his shootout heroics for Manchester United in yesterday's Community Shield was revenge for last season's defeat to Chelsea in the FA Cup final.

Last term, United's season came to a close with an extra-time defeat to the same opposition in the FA Cup final, but this time it was Chelsea's turn to taste the blues after a 3-0 shootout defeat.

The match had finished 1-1 after 90 minutes, with Florent Malouda's goal on the stroke of half-time cancelling out Ryan Giggs' well-worked opener.

Van der Sar told Sky Sports 1: "It is a little revenge for the cup final."

The Dutchman saved all three Chelsea penalties, with United scoring all of theirs, but the United goalkeeper admitted he had little reason for optimism going into the shootout.

"I was 5-2 down on my career so this is a great feeling and I think we deserved it," he added.

"We created more chances."

Wayne Rooney, who buried the winning spot-kick, was pleased to start the new campaign with some silverware.

But he refuses to believe it will count for much when competitive action gets under way next week.

The England international told Sky Sports: "You want to start the season well so this is fantastic for us.

"Chelsea are a great team and you can't take it away from them.

"Once the season starts then the way the results go will take care of things."


Cheerz
AC

ps. At his age.... he deserves kudos and lots more Macau action...hehe

[asiancigar]

Man Utd boss Ferguson: Both goals were top drawer

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson says yesterday's Community Shield victory over Chelsea was the perfect preparation for this week's Premiership kickoff against Reading.

"It was a difficult game," Ferguson told Sky Sports 1. "I don't think both teams are 100% ready but I think you get that in a Community Shield final.

"Both teams use it as a stepping stone for next week to start the season. It's always nice to win, no matter what competition you are playing.

"A lot of the players are tired but it does bring them on a great deal towards the sharpness and tempo needed to win matches.

"I thought both goals were good - Malouda took his goal very, very well. The build-up to our goal was excellent, it was a marvellous finish from Ryan."

The Red Devils begin their title defence against Reading next weekend and Ferguson expects to give his summer arrivals - including Carlos Tevez - a run-out in midweek.

"Next week at Reading hopefully we will have a stronger squad available," he added.

"(Owen) Hargreaves, Anderson and Nani will all play on Wednesday, that helps me, Tevez will play on Wednesday. We are getting closer."

Cheerz
AC

ps. Premiership and Champions League..... you have been fairly warned... keke

[slyer]

Originally Posted by DatukSeks

Yeah I think a goalkeeper is a main priority. VDR is very error prone now and very bad at crosses. When a cross came in, he always punch the ball out because he has no confidence to catch the ball. This is the main difference between ManU and Chelsea goalkeeper. It is ManU's weakest link. ManU took so long to find replacemement for Schemical and now hope they quickly find a relaible replacement for VDR. Ben Foster and Kuzzak are both good only for backup
I think Rossi is over rated lah. Very few Italian strikers make it in EPL. Rossi is too short and small built. He doesn't have Rooney's stout body to bulldoze thru his run.
Anyway we need a tall striker to give another dimension in our striking option, Tevez and Rooney do not have the height of Crouch(We should find somebody with Eto's skill and Crouch's height combine). Vidic's height is only used during corner but when counter attacking from the wing, and we cross a high ball we usually lost in height.

Hope Alex by more 3 players, 1 gk, 1 defender and 1 tall striker.

i agree with u. all this while after schmeichel left, man utd has yet to find a good GK. fabian barthez, mark bosnich, massimo taibi all these are really clowns. they kept making easy mistakes n are very eccentric during the matches. the closest GK to schmeichel's skills will be van der sar. ben foster is only gd as a backup. hopefully man utd can get a gd GK as VDS is aging

too tall striker is not gd too as usually very tall striker are not agile n abit clumsy (crouch). short strikers are more agile n skilful (owen)... build wise can go gym train one. as for height its inborn. so rossi can go train up his body n shd be able to play in the very physical EPL matches

Originally Posted by Mafan

as for these 2 season we can keep the GK like this we will see how frost rated.
VDR have make 3 penalty save, what more can we say about him

VDS is great in the penalty saves but then chelsea players did nt take the penalty kicks well too

but then its a great morale boost at the start of the season...

[imom]

Originally Posted by DatukSeks

....Evra was struggling to contain Wright-Phillips. Evra looks better in midefield than being a defender. Let's hope that Heinze stays....

...With so many midfiled to our disposal, we start with using two defenders like Evra and O'Shea to play midfield. ....

I dun think Heinze is any quicker or stronger than Evra. If anything, Evra is probably the quicker of the two. And Evra is definitely more likely to score than Heinze when he makes his wing-back runs down the flank. There is no doubt Heinze is a good defender, but it seems he never quite got back to the level he was at since coming back from injury. Every time he challenges and makes a clearance, he falls. Fine and dandy if he makes a successful clearance - disastrous if he doesn't! I find Evra more agile and gets back on his feet quicker.

O'Shea has always been a utility player who can play several positions. Besides, he has played in midfield more than in defence. And it has always been SAF's practice to bleed the new players in gradually, especially when they are new to the EPL. So it was not surprising that he started with players who won the championship last season.

But, agree that Mourinho was watching another match in his fantasy world. Comments like 'no team was better than the other' and MU were at almost 100% and Chelsea only at 50% - anyone worth his salt would know what Mourinho is trying to do. So much for his resolution to keep his mouth shut this coming season. But well, it is amusing to see him scraping the bottom of the proverbial barrel. I dun mind seeing him doing it all season actually. It would mean he has plenty to moan about.

[yinyang]

Originally Posted by imom

..Evra is probably the quicker of the two. And Evra is definitely more likely to score than Heinze when he makes his wing-back runs down the flank. There is no doubt Heinze is a good defender, but it seems he never quite got back to the level he was at since coming back from injury. Every time he challenges and makes a clearance, he falls..
..O'Shea has always been a utility player who can play several positions.
..always been SAF's practice to bleed the new players in gradually, especially when they are new to the EPL. So it was not surprising that he started with players who won the championship last season.D

Imomy, agree with your analysis on Evra vs Heinze. In earlier seasons (b4 injury), he was a force to be reckoned with. Evra's more agile, as we saw from yesterday's 1-2 with Ronaldo, before Giggsy's classic.

O'Shea can even stand in as goalie. SAF's not 1 for throwing young ones to deep end.

[qbdp]

Heinze tells Fergie: I still want to quit Old Trafford

Contract rebel Gabriel Heinze last night upped the ante in his row with Manchester United by telling Sir Alex Ferguson to his face that he wants to move to Liverpool.

Defender Heinze returned to training with United as planned yesterday and headed straight for a meeting with manager Ferguson to thrash out his future.

And the Argentine international told Sportsmail last night he remains set on a controversial move to Anfield and that his lawyers are looking at ways to force the deal through, despite United's opposition.

Heinze said: "I've spoken with the coach and I have insisted that my wish is to leave the club if a big offer appears on the table.

"Today the only such offer is from Liverpool and it is this that is causing the problem. Earlier in the summer I received a promise from United that I could leave if the deal was good for both parties and at the moment there is an offer from Liverpool.

"The coach is serious about this and I understand his view. But I am serious, too. My lawyers are studying the situation and I'm going to wait for a few days now to get a full report from them."

Heinze - who last season lost his left-back berth to Patrice Evra - has two years left on his contract but was told in a letter from chief executive David Gill at the start of the summer that he could leave if an offer of £6.5million was received.

The only offer subsequently made has been from Liverpool and Heinze's representatives are trying to force the club's hand because the letter did not state that bids from Premier League rivals would not be considered.

"All I want now is a swift solution to this saga," said Heinze, who was given extra time off by Ferguson after his participation in the Copa America with his country. "I've fulfilled my duties by returning for training and I will now carry on behaving like a professional. I will keep on coming to training and will see what happens. I have a muscle injury in my leg but it is only minor and will not keep me out for long.

"People keep saying that there's an offer for me from Juventus but I know nothing about it. Liverpool is the only offer so far.

"I don't want to spend time at the club just waiting and not playing as I don't think that is in the best interests of the club or myself."

Heinze's representatives last week suggested the issue may go to court but it now appears more likely that the Premier League will be asked to rule on it.

United's stance is that Heinze's contract carries more weight than a letter and it is also understood that Gill told the player's representatives a move to a rival would be out of the question. The conversation is believed to be on tape. The Premier League have indicated they would be happy to get involved in an arbitration process.

United will send two teams to play in friendlies tomorrow night, one to Glentoran in Northern Ireland and another to Dunfermline in Scotland. New signing Carlos Tevez is expected to feature in Dunfermline but Heinze's injury appears to preclude him from making either trip.

United have been encouraged by their Community Shield triumph against Chelsea on Sunday and goalscorer Ryan Giggs believes standards will be even higher this season.

Giggs said: "The bar will have to go higher. Squads have got better in recent years, especially since Arsenal set the precedent by going unbeaten through the season. You can't afford to lose many games now and that'll be the case even more this season. The quality is going up and up all the time."

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If he was so adamant on leaving then why didnt he buy-out his contract in May-June? That way he could join any club. Why didnt he hand in a transfer request like all professional footballers do when they want to leave a club? Afraid to lose 10-20% of the transfer fee?

How professional can he get if he doesnt go by the rules and is always available for his country when an international competition is on-going but always unfit coming back from the competition. Worse. Not professional enough to fight for his place in the squad. Showing the typical whinging character of certain fans. Birds of the same feathers.

It's Time To Go... Gabriel Heinze!

[qbdp]

Ryan Giggs: Bar will be raised this season

As Jose Mourinho begins a new Premiership season with more than £100 million of injured talent, Ryan Giggs argues that the title may be decided by which team gets more of their footballers on to the pitch.

Both Manchester United and Chelsea started Sunday's Community Shield shorn of key performers but, with Owen Hargreaves and Nani approaching match fitness and Carlos Tevez due to make his United debut tomorrow, the champions look in slightly better health.

Crucially, while the central defensive partnership of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic that did so much to wrest the title back have been in erratic form, they are still together. Edwin van der Sar's three penalty saves at Wembley would also have given him confidence.

After scoring his first goal at Wembley in a Manchester United shirt, 15 years after he first appeared there, Giggs reflected: "We have plenty of attacking flair, but we don't get carried away with that. The fact is that defences win championships.

"The defence won us the championship last year and that gives us a platform for these attacking players to go on and produce. We know we have good attacking options, but we also know we've got to defend well."

United's defensive record as the season reached its climax, with the last 17 matches producing just four clean sheets, does not appear that impressive. However, this was achieved with Sir Alex Ferguson's back four ruined by injury - in none of those matches was the United manager able to field his first-choice defence. Yet in that period United lost only one Premiership match.

"It could come down to injuries to settle it between us and Chelsea," Giggs said. "We both got injuries last season and it depends on who copes best. In the end, we coped quite well.

"This season the squad should be able to adapt a bit better. I think the bar will go higher this season; the squads and the players have got better in recent years, especially since Arsenal set the precedent by going through the season unbeaten."

Giggs is now 33, and the arrival of further attacking options such as Nani and Carlos Tevez might have given the Welshman cause to wonder just how long he had left at Old Trafford. The response he gave, both at the end of last season when claiming his ninth Premiership title and in the Community Shield, suggests the sun is not yet setting on his playing career.

"Manchester United has always been about playing with width and having players who can change a game, and we have four or five who can do that now," he said.

"I hope I have some experience to offer to new players. The squad is young at the moment, but we've also got the players who have been here a while - myself, Scholes, Neville, Van der Sar. These are players who have done it."

[CibLover]

ALEX FERGUSON’S wife has banned him from watching Manchester United tonight — so he can help her move house.

United send teams to Glentoran and Dunfermline for final warm-up games.

And Argie striker Carlos Tevez could even dash up to Scotland to make his club debut IF Premier League chiefs rubber-stamp his move.

Yet Fergie’s missus Cathy insists the gaffer will not be there. The United boss said: “I told her I had a match but she wasn’t having any of that. She said it was a friendly and I had to help her. Actually, she’s saved me from making a difficult choice."

"My father played for Glentoran but I also have close associations with Dunfermline, where I played the best football of my career before my transfer to Rangers.”

Coach Mike Phelan will be on the sidelines in Dunfermline for a match that will feature Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs and Owen Hargreaves. Carlos Queiroz will oversee the game in Belfast — with Cristiano Ronaldo, Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick and new-boys Nani and Anderson set to star.

United are hopeful that the signing of hitman Tevez, 23, will be completed before the big kick-off. Premier League bigwigs began looking at the paperwork only yesterday because they had to wait until Tevez’s agent Kia Joorabchian had paid West Ham the £2million settlement fee. That cash arrived in West Ham’s bank account yesterday and, with Tevez formally released from his contract and his registration made available, United were able to put forward their proposed two-year loan deal to league chiefs.

The league’s lawyers are now studying the details of the move.

But, given that Tevez’s fellow Argie Javier Mascherano was given the go-ahead for a similar move to Liverpool last season, there should be time for United to receive clearance before they begin their title defence.

Premier League top brass will try to find an answer to the GABRIEL HEINZE saga.

United are refusing to let the 29-year-old Argie defender join Liverpool, despite claims he has a letter allowing him to leave if the £6m asking price is met.

But league chief Richard Scudamore said: “I think it will all be resolved before the end of the transfer window.”

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Hahaha.....even the Gaffer has the same problem with the missus!! Well, it doesn't matter whether you're the Boss of arguably the biggest club in the world, you still gotta respect that lady!!

[Sayangku]

I read Wanbao last night, it says that Ronaldo announced the coming season will be his last with Man U, after that he will leave for Real or Barca, anyone can confirm it?

If it is, Hooray!!!, i never like Ronaldo anyway, he's never a through and through red devil anyway. shooo shooo

[CibLover]

ALEX FERGUSON has revealed his agony over ending the Manchester United career of fans’ favourite Alan Smith.

Striker Smith, 26, was hugely popular with staff, players and supporters during his three seasons at Old Trafford. But the England star joined Newcastle for £6million last week before Carlos Tevez’s arrival from West Ham pushed him further down the pecking order.

United boss Fergie said: “Alan’s been a fantastic character in the dressing room and a very important player for us since he came here.

“I was very sad to see him go in many ways. There are few characters as big as him in this country at the moment and it was a very difficult one for us to decide. He’ll be remembered with great affection by everyone here and I’m sure that’s the case with the fans too. I don’t think there has been a more popular player with the supporters during his time here.

“And also he’s been a really good ambassador for this club so we wish him well.”

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Smith has been a good soldier and fearless performer for Man Utd during his time with us. Wish him all the best with his new club... except when facing us!!

[CibLover]

Originally Posted by Sayangku

I read Wanbao last night, it says that Ronaldo announced the coming season will be his last with Man U, .....

Bro, read those news with a pinch of salt.

Ron has just signed a new 5 years contract with us and has gone public of his desire to stay. So, I'm sure he'll be a Red devils for at least another 3 years.

Loyalty nowadays is really subjective especially in our ever-materialistic world.

But all professional footballers should just look at one of my favourite player, Ole Gunnar Solksjaer!!!!

[slyer]

Originally Posted by Sayangku

I read Wanbao last night, it says that Ronaldo announced the coming season will be his last with Man U, after that he will leave for Real or Barca, anyone can confirm it?

If it is, Hooray!!!, i never like Ronaldo anyway, he's never a through and through red devil anyway. shooo shooo

wan bao always report things that are nt true. anyway ronaldo n rooney are my fav man utd players. to me ronaldo n rooney are now the new icons of man utd... when ppl talk abt man utd the first 2 players they can tink of will be ronaldo n rooney.