Manchester United's Headliners, Articles and Rumours

[alex18122003]

Originally Posted by DatukSeks

Saha out and Berba in is good biz

But why sell Brown ?

I think Brown played very well since last half season until now. He's been improving alot.

[Mafan]

Originally Posted by DatukSeks

Saha out and Berba in is good biz

But why sell Brown ?

Maybe brown dont want to sign his contract ?

[imom]

Originally Posted by DatukSeks

Saha out and Berba in is good biz

But why sell Brown ?

Originally Posted by alex18122003

I think Brown played very well since last half season until now. He's been improving alot.

Originally Posted by Mafan

Maybe brown dont want to sign his contract ?

Yes, perhaps SAF wants to get at least some cash or benefits off Brown before his contract runs out and he can go for free.

Besides, if rumours are true, we have Philip Lahm lined up....

[DatukSeks]

Originally Posted by imom

Yes, perhaps SAF wants to get at least some cash or benefits off Brown before his contract runs out and he can go for free.

Besides, if rumours are true, we have Philip Lahm lined up....

But we need right back. If Brown gone we need cover. Gary Neville's days are numbered, I think he will be like Soljkaer gotta retire liao.

I hope we get Lahm & Berba this January and sell Saha

[imom]

Originally Posted by DatukSeks

...I hope we get Lahm & Berba this January and sell Saha

Lahm or Alves - or, dare I dream, both? Since Gary Neville's playing days are number and Brown looks like he may go. But then again, we still have Danny Simpson who looked good in his only outing this season.

As for Saha, it would be quite difficult to pawn him off with his Mr Balsawood moniker.... Can't imagine anyone wanting him, save maybe for Derby County...

[Sayangku]

I think we need a left/right back, Wes Brown confirm going since his agent rejected the new contract and Sir Alex said Brown wont get another improve contract.

Lahm should be a good replacement, but a bit short, just like Evra. Worried about corners man, only Vidic and Rio, hahaha...

Dun think Sir Alex have Alves in mind, so ex....

It's time for Saha to go, we dun need another striker even if he goes anyway

[imom]

Originally Posted by Sayangku

...Dun think Sir Alex have Alves in mind, so ex....

SAF doesn't get fazed too much by price tags - but he will never pay beyond what he thinks the value of the player is. He can't stand clubs pumping up the price of a player just because MU is the club approaching them.

[cheekyfella]

Just my two cents worth,

I feel that Lahm will be a good replacement for Gary Neville rather than wes Brown. Both are of similar physique and both love to do overlapping runs down the flanks. Wes Brown if he was to go, is a more versatile player, someone like John O'shea would most probably be a good replacement.

I still feel that ManU needs an out to out striker, someone the likes of Ruud V N. Saha must go. Tevez and Rooney are again very similar players and loves to play behind a central forward. Just take a look at Rooney's score rate, he is not scoring as much as he did before. Therefore, getting Berbatov or Anelka should be the most important thing SAF needs to do this January.

[mr_missile]

Unwanted headline and news of United's xmas party

`CATTLE MARKET` LEADS TO PARTY BAN?

Manchester United's Christmas party has been described as a 'horrendous cattle market' as lurid detail after lurid detail emerges of a 12-hour drinking spree that ended with one player questioned over allegations of rape and a livid Sir Alex Ferguson vowing that he would never allow his players such latitude again.

Ferguson might, in the words of one newspaper headline, have 'cancelled Christmas', but for Fleet Street, Christmas has come early. Reporting on the alleged excesses of the Manchester United players with questionable relish, it depicts their party as verging on the uncontrollable in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

While 19-year-old defender Jonny Evans has been released on bail after being questioned by officers over the alleged rape of a 26-year-old party-goer, it is the behaviour of his senior first-team colleagues that is dominating coverage.

The Times says that the mood of the day-long party soured as the squad - under the influence of 'testosterone and booze' - descended on the Great John Street Hotel to be met by approximately 100 of the 'prettiest girls in Manchester'. With none of the players' wives and girlfriends permitted to attend, 'models, ex-soap stars and well-known faces from Manchester's party circuit' were invited to provide the footballers with female company. A 'United insider' is quoted as saying in The Sun: "Only the best-looking were allowed in. They were hand-picked and very excited, almost in a state of hysteria."

According to The Independent, 'Every room in the 30-bedroom hotel, where prices range from £235 to £395 per night, was booked out by the squad' and, 'Each player was allocated a set number of guests and eight security men were hired to stop any unwanted intruders gaining entry and to confiscate all mobile phones, which were banned from being taken into the building.'

However, Daily Mirror showbiz reporter Sarah Tetteh claims to have been a guest at the party and reports how 'my friend and I' were personally treated to Wayne Rooney 'running through his personal repertoire of cheesy lines'.

'He came over and perched himself at the end of our sofa, asked us how old we were - and how we knew each other. When I explained we'd met at university, he raised his eyebrows and said: "I bet you two were naughty together at uni.

'"Did you do threesomes? You know, two girls and a lad?"' she reports.

Other accounts are less savoury, however. The Mirror says that 'one tearful woman guest claimed she had been repeatedly pestered by one of the club's stars'.

"It was horrible. This guy had been pestering me and my friends for ages trying to get us up to a bedroom. I kept telling him 'No' but he just wouldn't take it. He was really drunk as were the rest of them.

"Then he just grabbed me and started to drag me away from the main area towards the toilets. Thankfully the security man spotted what was going on and came to my help. was so relieved to see him. I was in tears. The players were treating girls like pieces of meat. It was like a horrendous cattle market."

Another guest told The Daily Telegraph that the party became increasingly debauched and sleazy as the hours of drinking began to take their toll.

"A lot of guys were looking for women, looking for sex," the unnamed man told the newspaper.

"A lot of women were dressed in little short skirts, they were falling over after a couple of drinks. By 3-4am you could see a lot of sexual situations were going to take place.

"There were one or two scuffles on the dance floor. Guys were falling over, just being loud and mouthy. There were a lot of undesirable people there, a bit rough. There were hangers-on.

"A lot of women were kissing guys, getting off with guys. It was like a free-for-all."

Manchester United have yet to comment formally on either details of the party or the allegations of rape. The Telegraph says that 'almost all' of the players had left the hotel when the attack is said to have occurred. However, a livid Ferguson 'read the riot act' to the squad when they returned to training on Wednesday and is understood to have told his players that they will never be allowed to host a Christmas party in future.

[machoman]

Lyon give Man Utd's Ferguson food for thought
Friday, December 21, 2007, 23:34:54 HRS

Sir Alex Ferguson, seen here December 16, believes Manchester United have been handed the toughest possible obstacle to Champions League glory after being paired with Lyon in Friday's draw for the last 16 round.

Sir Alex Ferguson believes Manchester United have been handed the toughest possible obstacle to Champions League glory after being paired with Lyon in Friday's draw for the last 16 round.

Premiership champions United, who tackle Everton at Old Trafford on Sunday, will travel to France for the first leg in February to face Alain Perrin's six-time French champions.

Lyon finished second to Barcelona in their group, edging out Rangers with a 3-0 victory at Ibrox in the final group game earlier this month, and Ferguson admits that United could not have landed more difficult opponents.

He said: "Lyon is maybe the hardest of the five opponents that we could have got. They have won their championship for the last six years now which is an incredible record.

"They've lost some players, such as Diarra, Abidal, Essien and Wiltord, but they can still produce players of good quality, so it won't be an easy game.

"But hopefully, by the time that we get to the game, we will have all of our squad available. That is a pre-requisite of the challenge anyway, being able to pick who I want, but I think we will have a good chance.

"You never expect easy games at this stage of the European Cup, but hopefully we can navigate that and go on to bigger things.

"I don't know whether being at home in the second leg is so important. I've had different experiences of that, but hopefully we can come back with a good result and then Old Trafford will be at a good volume to give you the advantage in the home match. But it's an interesting tie."

Lyon manager Alain Perrin, speaking from France, concurred with his Scottish counterpart about the difficulty of their opponents.

"I wanted to avoid a team like Manchester because they are doing well right now. Let's hope that's not the situation once we meet them in the spring," said Perrin, who knows United only too well having played against them while manager of Portsmouth.

"It will be a difficult tie but I think English football has characteristics that can suit our style of play. Their football is a lot more open than that of the Italian teams for example.

"At this level, all the big European teams have great attacking potential, us included."

United have endured a turbulent week with 19-year-old defender Jonny Evans at the centre of rape allegations following a Christmas party in Manchester on Monday. No charges have been brought and Evans has been released on bail until February.

And with the the club at the centre of the media spotlight following the alleged events, Ferguson remained tight-lipped when asked if he was willing to put forward his thoughts on the matter.

He said: "No. Why would I say anything? Alex Ferguson has been dealing with situations like this for twenty-one years and I know exactly what we are doing."

One player Ferguson could expect back in time for the first leg against Lyon is South Korean midfielder Ji-Sung Park.

Ji-Sung could make a return to the squad for the Premiership clash against in-form Everton, despite having a comeback game in the reserves postponed due to a frozen pitch on Wednesday.

Park has been sidelined since March with a cruciate ligament injury, but Ferguson insists that his fitness is not in doubt ahead of the busy Christmas fixture programme.

He said: "Ji-Sung will play over Christmas. I was actually going to the reserve game on Wednesday until I heard that it had been called off. I was only going to see Ji-Sung play because his training has been excellent -- first-class -- in the last few weeks and far beyond our expectations.

"Players who are out for nine months, you often expect a long and slow recovery, but he has come back into training and been terrific. He will get some games over Christmas, there is no doubt about that."

- AFP

[machoman]

United sign Angola striker Manucho
Saturday, December 22, 2007, 03:00:56 HRS

Manchester United signed Angola striker Manucho Goncalves on a three-year contract from Petro Athletico on Friday.

Manchester United signed Angola striker Manucho Goncalves on a three-year contract from Petro Athletico on Friday.

Manucho impressed Sir Alex Ferguson during a three-week trial after being discovered playing for his Angolan team by scouts working for United assistant manager Carlos Queiroz.

The 24-year-old, whose full name is Mateus Alberto Contreiras Goncalves, will move to England in January subject to a work permit.

Manucho, who will be part of the Angolan squad for the African Nations Cup, has scored twice in 10 appearances for his country and was top goalscorer in the Angolan league for the last two seasons.

"We have had Manucho here for a three-week trial and have been impressed enough to offer him a three-year contract," Ferguson said.

"He is a tall, agile, quick forward and, through contacts that Carlos Queiroz has, he was brought to our attention around six months ago."

- AFP

[yinyang]

Man Utd v Everton

Old Trafford
Sunday, 23 December
Kick-off: 1200 GMT
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Manchester United expect Rio Ferdinand, Carlos Tevez and Wes Brown to have shaken off minor knocks.

Park Ji-sung is unlikely to figure, having this week missed a reserve-team game against Oldham, but he is expected to feature over the festive period.

Tim Howard, Ayegbeni Yakubu, Mikel Arteta, Tim Cahill and Joseph Yobo could all return for Everton after being rested against AZ Alkmaar.

Everton will be without Leon Osman, Alan Stubbs and Leighton Baines.

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Man Utd team (from): Van der Sar, Kuszczak, Brown, O'Shea, Ferdinand, Vidic, Pique, Evra, Fletcher, Ronaldo, Nani, Carrick, Anderson, Hargreaves, Park, Giggs, Saha, Rooney, Tevez.

Everton team (from): Provisional squad: Howard, Wessels, Neville, Hibbert, Yobo, Jagielka, Lescott, Valente, Pienaar, Carsley, Arteta, Cahill, Gravesen, McFadden, Yakubu, Johnson, Anichebe, Vaughan.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson:
"Everton have done exceptionally well this season and David Moyes takes all the credit for that. "It is a young team with a future which augurs well for Everton. They will be a handful and we'll need our best form.

"David has put youngsters on long-term contracts to keep some continuity and made some good buys to strengthen."

Everton midfielder Mikel Arteta:
"We are on a very good run and must try to enjoy it.
"Old Trafford is my favourite away ground, they are always very hard games but we'll try to get something from it.

"I love Cristiano Ronaldo, his development has been unbelievable. He handles pressure so well and is improving all the time."

BIG-MATCH FACTS
The top two clubs on the Premier League's "Last Six Form" table go head-to-head at Old Trafford; Everton have claimed 14 of the 18 points, Manchester United 13.

The Red Devils are on the longest current winning sequence in the highest league of three games; the Merseysiders are on the longest current unbeaten run of seven.

Both clubs are ever-presents in the Premier League, each playing their 600th match. United have won more than any other club (379); Everton have lost more (236).

Manchester United have won more Premier League matches against Everton than any other club, and the Merseysiders have lost more games in this league against the Red Devils that any other side (24).


CLUB FORM
MANCHESTER UNITED
Club stats
Fixtures
(all statistics are ahead of this weekend's round of Premier League fixtures)
1. Won 17 of 21 in all competitions, and lost one of 15.

2. One of two clubs with as many as 12 Premier League wins; the other is Arsenal.

3. Boasting the tightest defence in the highest league; just eight goals shipped in 17 outings, at one every 191 minutes (three hours 11 minutes) of Premier League football played on average.

4. Won 12 of the last 14 Premier League matches, losing just one of the 14.

5. Kept clean sheets in nine of the last 14 league outings, and failed to score in one of their last 14 league games; the 1-0 loss, away to Bolton on 24 November.

6. Not lost in any league game this term in which they have scored; won 12 and drawn two of 14.

7. Scored first in an unequalled 13 Premier League matches; won 11 and drawn two.

8. Conceded only two goals in the last 15 minutes of Premier League matches this term; only Arsenal and Liverpool can match that.

9. One of four clubs still unbeaten at home in the Premier League, having conceded just two goals; fewer than any other club. Hoping to add the scalp of Everton to those of Spurs, Sunderland, Chelsea, Wigan, Middlesbrough, Blackburn, Fulham and Derby gained in the last eight outings at the Theatre of Dreams.

10. Next is a Boxing Day visit to Sunderland, and a trip to West Ham three days later, before the New Year's Day fixture home to Birmingham.

EVERTON
Club stats
Fixtures
(all statistics are ahead of this weekend's round of Premier League fixtures)
1. Won the last five in league and cup, and undefeated in 13 (11 wins, two draws).

2. Unbeaten in seven Premier League games; won five and drawn two since the 1-2 loss, home to Liverpool on 20 October.

3. Scored 31 Premier League goals; only Arsenal have netted more (34).

4. The best behaved Premier League club with just 18 cards shown (two red, 16 yellow).

5. The most lethal side in stoppage time of Premier League matches when an unequalled six goals have been scored.

6. Not conceded in three league games, or 315 minutes (five hours 15 minutes) since Dwight Yorke scored Sunderland's consolation in the 7-1 thrashing at Goodison Park on 24 November.

7. Failed to score in one of the last 10 Premier League matches; that was the goalless draw at Portsmouth on 1 December.

8. The next defeat will be their 150th away from home in the Premier League.

9. Won only one of their last 10 Premier League matches against the "big four" clubs; the victory being the 1-0 home triumph over Arsenal on 18 March 2007. Also, yet to beat a fellow top half club this season; drawn three and lost four of their seven fixtures against clubs currently in the top 10.

10. Home to Bolton on Boxing Day, and Arsenal three days later, before the New Year's Day game at Middlesbrough.


KEY PLAYER NOTES
MANCHESTER UNITED
Cristiano RONALDO is Manchester United's top scorer with 14 goals.

RONALDO is also their leading Premier League marksman with nine. He jointly leads the race for the Barclays Golden Boot, alongside Arsenal's Emmanuel ADEBAYOR, and Ayegbeni YAKUBU of Middlesbrough.

Rio FERDINAND is the only remaining player to have started all of Manchester United's Premier League matches this season.

If selected:-

Wayne ROONEY will be facing a former club. The 21 year old England international striker made 77 appearances (67 in the league) and scored 17 goals (15 league) for Everton at the beginning of his professional career from February 2003 to his £20m move to Old Trafford in August 2004.

If on the field from the outset:-

Nemanja VIDIC will be making his 50th Premier League start in a Manchester United shirt.

Chris EAGLES will be making his 50th club league start (Manchester United, Watford and Sheffield Wednesday).

Long term injury, Gary NEVILLE will be making his 350th Premier League start for Manchester United.

EVERTON
YAKUBU is Everton's top scorer with 11 goals; five in his last three league and cup games.

YAKUBU is also the clubs' top Premier League marksman with nine. He jointly leads the race for the Barclays Golden Boot, alongside Arsenal's Emmanuel ADEBAYOR, and Cristiano RONALDO of Manchester United.

YAKUBU is one of 12 players contributing to the Everton Premier League goal tally. It is the joint longest goalscorers list in the highest league, alongside Tottenham's.

James McFADDEN is now just one shy of 50 club career goals.

Tim HOWARD will be facing a former club. The 28 year old United States international keeper made 77 appearances (45 in the league) for United between July 2003 and his move to Goodison three years later.

Phil NEVILLE will also be opposing former club mates. The 30 year old England international made 389 appearances (263 in the league) and scored eight goals (five league) between July 1994 and his transfer to Everton in the 2005 close season.

If selected:-

Leon OSMAN will be making his 150th career league appearance (Everton, Carlisle and Derby).


HEAD TO HEAD
Manchester United are unbeaten in five Premier League matches against Everton, and have won the last three.

Duncan Ferguson scored the only goal of the game in the Toffees' last victory over United at Goodison Park on 20 April 2005.

Peter Beardsley, Robert Warzycha and Mo Johnston scored without reply in Everton's very first Premier League visit to Old Trafford on 19 August 1992. It's their only maximum in this league at the Theatre of Dreams.

Home and away
League (inc PL): Man Utd 68 wins, Everton 52, Draws 37
Prem: Man Utd 24 wins, Everton 5, Draws 2

at Man Utd only
League (inc PL): Man Utd 43 wins, Everton 15, Draws 20
Prem: Man Utd 11 wins, Everton 1, Draws 3

LAST SEASON'S CORRESPONDING GAME
Manchester United 3-0 Everton
29 November 2006 - Ref: Mark Halsey
Man United scorers: Ronaldo 39, Evra 63, O'Shea 89

THIS SEASON'S REVERSE FIXTURE
Everton 0-1 Manchester United
15 September 2007 - Ref: Alan Wiley
Man Utd scorer: Vidic 83

REFEREE
Howard Webb (Yorkshire)

[yinyang]

Van der Sar signs one-year deal

Van der Sar joined from Fulham in June 2005. Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar has signed a new one-year contract extension, tying him to the club until the end of the 2009 season.

The 37-year-old had been considering retirement at the end of this season.

"He is number one at the moment, but you can't guarantee players a position and say they'll definitely be in your team," said boss Sir Alex Ferguson.

"Edwin will want to be number one next season but Ben Foster will be back and I am sure he will want to be too."

England international Foster is currently sidelined after cruciate knee ligament surgery.

There were suggestions Van der Sar could be handed a role on the Old Trafford backroom staff as goalkeeping coach Tony Coton is currently sidelined following a recent knee operation.

But Ferguson stressed the Dutchman's new deal was "totally as a player".

[alex18122003]

Cristiano Ronaldo spared Manchester United's blushes as he scored a late penalty to give his side a hard-fought 2-1 Premier League victory over Everton at Old Trafford


With the scores level and the home side mounting attack after attack, Steven Pienaar brought down Ryan Giggs in the area with two minutes left, leaving referee Howard Webb with little option than to point to the spot.

Ronaldo, who had already given his side a first-half lead, cheekily chipped the ball into the roof of the net as Tim Howard dived left.

It was his tenth goal in eight matches and his 11th league strike of the season, taking him ahead of Bolton's Nicolas Anelka and Arsenal's Emmanuel Adebayor as the overall top scorer.

What was to follow was unexpected in a scrappy opening to the match, which saw Webb dish out four yellow cards in the first 15 minutes.

When enough passes were strung together to mount an attack from either side, it became clear that we had the makings of a high-quality match here, and that's exactly what it became after 20 minutes.

The home side, who had already come close when a close-range shot from Carlos Tevez was cleared off the line by the excellent Phil Jagielka, finally broke the deadlock after 22 minutes.

After receiving a pass from Giggs, Ronaldo sidestepped Lee Carsley and fired a left-footed shot beyond Howard from 20 yards out.

Going behind seemed to inspire Everton, and they got back on level terms only six minutes later. Steven Pienaar, who was acting as playmaker in the absence of Mikel Arteta, exchanged some neat passes with Joleon Lescott, who was up from the back line.

He then beat his marker Danny Simpson and crossed in for Tim Cahill, who then out-jumped Evra to head in his seventh goal of the season beyond the helpless Tomasz Kuszczak, who was standing in for the injured Edwin van der Sar in between the stick

Phil Neville missed a decent chance to score against his old club when he shot over from the edge of the box, but United were far more guilty of not taking their chances, particularly as the half neared its conclusion.

First Wayne Rooney's spectacular volley was cleared off the line by the head of Lescott, and Ronaldo then spurned the worst chance of all, shooting over from six yards out after a superb cross from Giggs.

The second half was all about the Red Devils, with Everton keeper Howard - who spent two years with United - making no less than seven first-class saves. The best of them came when Anderson fired a shot in from the edge of the box, forcing the American to use all his body to stop a shot he did not even see until milliseconds before it was on him.

Despite his magnificent performance though, which also saw him stop two Rooney volleys and a well-worked effort from Tevez, it was not to be Everton's day, as Ronaldo's penalty proved.

The defeat keeps Everton in sixth place in the Premier League. They are ahead of Portsmouth on goal difference.

[Mafan]

Originally Posted by machoman

Manchester United signed Angola striker Manucho Goncalves on a three-year contract from Petro Athletico on Friday.

Manucho, who will be part of the Angolan squad for the African Nations Cup, has scored twice in 10 appearances for his country and was top goalscorer in the Angolan league for the last two seasons.

"He is a tall, agile, quick forward and, through contacts that Carlos Queiroz has, he was brought to our attention around six months ago."

- AFP

This guy is 6"2 so should consider a tall striker.