The Manchester United thread 2006/2007 - featuring BBB leaving early

[ajw2255]

freeze it and hook it onto the stick i guess

[Philip Rolfe]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by EmmYouEffSee:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by gonch19:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">

Football is made up of subjective feeling, of suggestion - and, in that, Anfield is unbeatable. Put a **** hanging from a stick in the middle of this passionate, crazy stadium and there are people who will tell you it's a work of art. It's not: it's a **** hanging from a stick.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

ahahaahahahahaha </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Absolute class! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

pretty classless actually, given his own Real Madrid hardly play the most attractive football around. Look closer to home Jorge my boy.

[Ratinho]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by mark g:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Saha:

Neither did Wenger iirc </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Exactly what i was about to post. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I believe he was player-manager of Strasbourg reserves in an unbeaten season.

Or something like that, either way it's typical Madrid nonsense.

[mark g]

A real unbeaten season, or an "unbeaten apart from the 6 games we lost" unbeaten season?

[thepain]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Juni:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by EmmYouEffSee:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by gonch19:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">

Football is made up of subjective feeling, of suggestion - and, in that, Anfield is unbeatable. Put a **** hanging from a stick in the middle of this passionate, crazy stadium and there are people who will tell you it's a work of art. It's not: it's a **** hanging from a stick.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

ahahaahahahahaha </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Absolute class! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

pretty classless actually, given his own Real Madrid hardly play the most attractive football around. Look closer to home Jorge my boy. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Valdano is not the manager of Madrid.

[Ratinho]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by mark g:

A real unbeaten season, or an "unbeaten apart from the 6 games we lost" unbeaten season? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

League season. Remember, only the league matters.

[Saha]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by thepain:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Juni:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by EmmYouEffSee:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by gonch19:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">

Football is made up of subjective feeling, of suggestion - and, in that, Anfield is unbeatable. Put a **** hanging from a stick in the middle of this passionate, crazy stadium and there are people who will tell you it's a work of art. It's not: it's a **** hanging from a stick.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

ahahaahahahahaha </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Absolute class! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

pretty classless actually, given his own Real Madrid hardly play the most attractive football around. Look closer to home Jorge my boy. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Valdano is not the manager of Madrid. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

O_o

Tell me more.

[mark g]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Ratinho:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by mark g:

A real unbeaten season, or an "unbeaten apart from the 6 games we lost" unbeaten season? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

League season. Remember, only the league matters. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Not neccesarily. The FA cup might matter as well, depending.

[Philip Rolfe]

yeah I'm more than aware who Real Madrid's manager is but given Valdano's connections to Madrid and the fact he seems to be speaking on behalf of them, I can make that link.

ta though.

[Nick OGS20]

tad hypocritical not mentioning Madrid and Capello maybe, but i assume Valdano was asked about/speaking about the CL semi last week in particular, in which case there's no reason to add 'oh, and Madrid play sh*t football too'.

much the same really as if he'd said Kieran Richardson was sh*t. yeah, Raul Bravo's sh*t as well, but his main point is still entirely true and he has every right to say it.

[thepain]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Juni:

yeah I'm more than aware who Real Madrid's manager is but given Valdano's connections to Madrid and the fact he seems to be speaking on behalf of them, I can make that link.

ta though. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

He's not speaking on behalf of Madrid, he's speaking on behalf of himself.

[Nick OGS20]

was thinking earlier - for the last few months we've literally been scraping together a bench with the likes of Cathcart, Eagles, Dong, Lee etc, and yet by the time the cup final comes round we could have a full squad minus Park and Mickey to choose from, and several first-teamers won't even make the bench. few tough decisions for SAF there.

assuming a first XI of: vds; nev, rio, vida, paddy; ronnie, carrick, scholesy, giggs; roon, smudge/saha

then you're looking at a bench of koosh + 4 from wes, jos, gaby, fletch, kr, ole, smith/saha. punt richardson off ofc, i'd be tempted to leave saha out as well seeing as he kept flaking out on us during the run-in/cl knockouts - wouldn't surprise me if Fergie felt similar.

[Nick OGS20]

ofc now i've said that we're bound to pick up injuries/suspensions in the next two games

Chelsea will probably send one of their youths out to try and cripple our best players tomorrow

[Ratinho]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by thepain:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Juni:

yeah I'm more than aware who Real Madrid's manager is but given Valdano's connections to Madrid and the fact he seems to be speaking on behalf of them, I can make that link.

ta though. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

He's not speaking on behalf of Madrid, he's speaking on behalf of himself. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yeah, considering his position, he's always speaking on behalf of Madrid.

[James07?]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by James07?:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">

The definitely going to be joining Manchester United, no doubt about it, cos the papers say so list

Mikel Arteta - Everton (Guardian)

Gareth Bale - Southamton (Mirror)

Dimitar Berbatov - Spurs (Guardian, Sunday Mirror)

Jermain Defoe - Spurs (Guardian)

Owen Hargreaves - Bayern Munich (Times)

Klaas Jan Huntelaar - Ajax (Guardian)

Nani - Sporting Lisbon (Guardian)

Franck Ribery - Marseille (Himself via Sky)

Micah Richards - Manchester City (Mirror)

Steve Sidwell - Reading (Mirror)

Fernando Torres - Athletico Madrid (Mirror)

Running Total: 11

Predicted Final Total

Irish - 170

James07? - 112

bling - 102

pjburrage 99

WSR - 95

theis - 92

alilaw - 89

Nezell - 87

14AlanSmithifb 85

Hero of the day - 83

vanester 82

T!mbo - 80

BBB - 79

gonch19 - 78

Bagpuss 77

Pickles - 74

julesMUFC - 71

ajw2255 - 70

Nick OGS20 - 68

Maverick 64

davidbowie 63

Ryno - 62

ACou2000 - 60

Gregg Carter 59

Jimlad - 56

ericcantona7 - 55

Matt Cavanagh - 54

mark g 52

keyser - 50

player_65 - 46

SLO_Fila 43

Taz Devil - 41

Saha - 39

The_Fish - 37

finneys13 - 36

Master Blasta - 32

EmmYouEffSee - 29

RedBlood - 26

qwerty2k - 17

Razor Eddie 16

? - 15 </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Bit attack minded, that XI.

[Saha]

i think fergie's policy on injury-hit strikers with transfer rumours hanging over their heads playing in cup finals is reasonably clear.

[BBB]

wouldn't have saha near the bench, doesn't deserve it.

[James07?]

Well, one thing we can be sure of. Sentiment wont come into the decision. Just ask Bryan Robson or Steve Bruce…

[ericcantona7]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Nick OGS20:

was thinking earlier - for the last few months we've literally been scraping together a bench with the likes of Cathcart, Eagles, Dong, Lee etc, and yet by the time the cup final comes round we could have a full squad minus Park and Mickey to choose from, and several first-teamers won't even make the bench. few tough decisions for SAF there.

assuming a first XI of: vds; nev, rio, vida, paddy; ronnie, carrick, scholesy, giggs; roon, smudge/saha

then you're looking at a bench of koosh + 4 from wes, jos, gaby, fletch, kr, ole, smith/saha. punt richardson off ofc, i'd be tempted to leave saha out as well seeing as he kept flaking out on us during the run-in/cl knockouts - wouldn't surprise me if Fergie felt similar. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I'd go for Wes, Fletch, Smith/Saha, Ole.

but I expect O'Shea will be on the bench due to his 'versatility' and we'll probably only have one striker.

[Saha]

I don't see a problem with just sticking O'Shea on the bench.

That covers keeper, rightback, leftback, centreback, central midfield and striker.

Maybe just Richardson and Eagles with him.

[James07?]

might well start with Fletcher / O'Shea?

[alilaw]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by BBB:

wouldn't have saha near the bench, doesn't deserve it. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Why exactly? Hardly his decision to be constantly injured. And he did play a MAJOR role in our early season form.

Smith's been injured for just as much of the season, I don't see why he 'deserves' it more...

[James07?]

because Fergie has been hinting that Saha is essentially fit?

[alilaw]

Ah well I haven't been paying attention on that score. In which case he's a ****, leave him out.

[ericcantona7]

I think Smith will start with Saha on the bench if fit.

I hope we don't play 5 in the middle, but I can see it happening if SAF doesn't think Smith or Saha are good enough. Hopefully Neville will be back and everyone will be fit, otherwise the subs will probably be picked on who is most likely to need cover.

[Philip Rolfe]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Chelsea will probably send one of their youths out to try and cripple our best players tomorrow </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

someone mentioned Lee Sawyer to get a game on cfcnet, he's nowhere near ready but based on his quotes from this week it could be fun

Q: Lee, I hear you've had to disspell some of these rumours that you're a bit of a nutter?

A: Yeah, well I've been playing well, not put in a hard tackle for a while now, getting withdrawal symptoms.

Lee iffffb, play him.

[mark g]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by alilaw:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by BBB:

wouldn't have saha near the bench, doesn't deserve it. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Why exactly? Hardly his decision to be constantly injured. And he did play a MAJOR role in our early season form.

Smith's been injured for just as much of the season, I don't see why he 'deserves' it more... </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

muscle strains aren't real injuries. Proper men are only stopped from playing by broken limbs.

[gonch19]

i doubt saha has been shirking off tbh, prob a case of not 100% fit and not wanting to risk it. things like hamstring/groin injuries can get a lot worse if you play with them when tweaked and given his poor injury run you can understand it to an extent.

the guy was one of our key players up to january, im sure hes as disappointed to have missed out on part 2 of the season as anyone.

[gonch19]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Juni:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Chelsea will probably send one of their youths out to try and cripple our best players tomorrow </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

someone mentioned Lee Sawyer to get a game on cfcnet, he's nowhere near ready but based on his quotes from this week it could be fun

Q: Lee, I hear you've had to disspell some of these rumours that you're a bit of a nutter?

A: Yeah, well I've been playing well, not put in a hard tackle for a while now, getting withdrawal symptoms.

Lee iffffb, play him. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

lee to be the next michael ball

[Pickles]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> Oasis frontman and ardent Man City fan Noel Gallagher was left fuming when Primal Scream bassist and ardent Man Utd fan Mani phoned from a packed pub and got all the locals to sing 'champions, champions' down the line </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Mani > Gallaghers

[finneys13]

Why isn't Darren Gibson in the Ireland squad?

[BBB]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by gonch19:

i doubt saha has been shirking off tbh, prob a case of not 100% fit and not wanting to risk it. things like hamstring/groin injuries can get a lot worse if you play with them when tweaked and given his poor injury run you can understand it to an extent.

the guy was one of our key players up to january, im sure hes as disappointed to have missed out on part 2 of the season as anyone. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

bet he would have jumped at the chance to play in a cl final though eh, played through the pain barrier

[gonch19]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by BBB:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by gonch19:

i doubt saha has been shirking off tbh, prob a case of not 100% fit and not wanting to risk it. things like hamstring/groin injuries can get a lot worse if you play with them when tweaked and given his poor injury run you can understand it to an extent.

the guy was one of our key players up to january, im sure hes as disappointed to have missed out on part 2 of the season as anyone. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

bet he would have jumped at the chance to play in a cl final though eh, played through the pain barrier </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

well we'll never know will we, thats just pure speculation

[McMaster#28]

Play Dong ffs

[mark g]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by gonch19:

i doubt saha has been shirking off tbh, prob a case of not 100% fit and not wanting to risk it. things like hamstring/groin injuries can get a lot worse if you play with them when tweaked and given his poor injury run you can understand it to an extent.

the guy was one of our key players up to january, im sure hes as disappointed to have missed out on part 2 of the season as anyone. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

While that's all true, there's also a psychological element, in that many players who are often injured are so worried about something recurring that they sit out games that they might otherwise have played, and overreact to minor niggles. Footballers will tell you that they rarely feel 100% fit due to the demands of the sport, and often play through some level of pain.

[Nick OGS20]

from the Mail:

"The club will award medals to forwards Alan Smith and Henrik Larsson, even though the two players have not played enough games to qualify automatically."

:**)

[BBB]

that's awesome stuff nick

[Confused Clarity]

Overjoyed for Smudger, he really deserves it.

Glad Henke is getting one too so he can add another medal to his impressive collection

[Nick OGS20]

also awesome:

SAF - "I promised Henrik he would be at the Champions League Final or the FA Cup final if we got there and I am pleased to say he will be at Wembley with his wife"

fitting seeing as he scored the first goal of our cup run

[finneys13]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by finneys13:

Why isn't Darren Gibson in the Ireland squad? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Is he injured or what? His omission mysterifies me.

[James07?]

Henk's also our guest of honour at the final.

[BBB]

so much admiration for henke, mainly keeping his word to helsinborgs/wife/kids and staying for what he said he would.

awesome bloke

[Nick OGS20]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">'FIFA president Sepp Blatter has thrown his weight behind calls for Manchester United to reschedule this summer's controversial tour of Asia.

The newly-crowned Premier League champions have caused uproar by scheduling their visit to the continent to coincide with the running of the quadrennial Asian Cup, which will be co-hosted by Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand in July.

Asian Football Confederation president Mohamed bin Hammam launched a scathing attack on the English champions and Blatter has backed demands for United to reconsider.

"The Asian Cup is on a date reserved for competitions for the confederations and they should also be respected by clubs who are touring in the same region where these competitions are taking place," said the FIFA president.

"I would personally appeal to the club, to the associations, but also to the organisers in the different countries. We have an opportunity for solidarity for football."

Malaysia is the last stop on United's jaunt on July 27, with the tour kicking off in Tokyo on July 17 followed by a stop in Seoul three days later and a match in Macau on July 20.

Those dates clash with the latter stages of the continental championship, which will feature all four co-hosts as well as defending champions Japan and nations such as China, South Korea and Iran among the 16 participants and runs from July 7-29.

As a result, the tour was not ratified by the AFC during their Congress in Kuala Lumpur.

The FIFA president has already been in contact with Football Association chairman Geoff Thompson and he hoped the Old Trafford club would reconsider.

"I had an opportunity to speak with him the other day when we met in Nyon and he said 'I will work on that' but that it's not so easy because this was an invitation by the government (of Malaysia), not the federation," said Blatter.

"But we have a structure in FIFA and I told the sports minister here in Kuala Lumpur yesterday that when you organise a tour you have to go through the national association. They have to ratify such a match. They have to inform the confederation.

"For the clubs, FIFA's okay is not necessary but I'm sure if such a case will be presented to the club, Manchester United, that the organisers of the tour will understand such a situation."

The match was to form part of the country's celebrations of 50 years of Malaysian nationhood but Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, the president of the Football Association of Malaysia, conceded the game may not now go ahead.

"We have to abide by the ruling, I guess," he said. "That's the order of the day and we have to abide by that. If they want to come at that time they can't come. Now the sanction has not been given so we have to follow the ruling. They can't come during the Asian Cup, they have to rearrange.

"By the look of it, the Asian Cup will have to take precedent. This is bad news for the fans but this is the feeling of the family of Asia." </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

oops.

[Rb]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">

Paris Saint Germain starlet Youssouf Mulumbu is content with life at Parc des Princes, despite claiming that Manchester United have been in contact with him.

The 20-year-old - who is playing in his first season as a professional - has emerged as a promising prospect for Paul Le Guen having played 15 times this term.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is an admirer of the versatile performer, according to Mulumbu himself, along with European giants Juventus and Valencia.

However, PSG's DR Congo-born midfielder admits he is happy with the chance handed to him by the French club ahead of proposed talks over his future.

"It is always nice to play regularly for every club, but it is more encouraging when it is for PSG," Mulumbu told But.

"It is not easy to trust youngsters here, so I can't show bad performances like I did at Toulouse.

"Manchester United, Juventus and Valencia are still following my performances, they keep on contacting me.

"But they know that since I signed a professional contract, it is more difficult for them.

"Regarding my future I don't know what I will do. We will sit down and discuss it with my agent and the coach. It is really encouraging to be followed by such clubs.

"The most important thing for me is to play, and I can't complain because I have played nearly 20 times and it is only my first pro season. I am proud."

Meanwhile, PSG will be without Pierre-Alain Frau for the remainder of the season after the striker suffered a muscle injury in his foot.

The capital club are currently seven points clear of the danger zone with three games to go, but Frau will be unable to assist their bid for salvation after an MRI scan confirmed he will be sidelined for a month.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Another one to add to the list.

[ajw2255]

fo blatter you meddling old drunk

[Nick OGS20]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">'Sir Alex Ferguson awoke yesterday morning to a "fuzzy" head and 75 text messages on his mobile phone. He laughed a weary laugh and, deciding that he could wait to find out who the wellwishers were - José Mourinho possibly among them - switched off his phone and drove to Manchester United's training ground, where he was applauded over the threshold by the staff and later, to his apparent bewilderment, by sections of the media.

It has been some time since Ferguson has elicited the kind of back-slapping bonhomie that was in the air at Carrington yesterday. One of his fiercest critics in the media asked whether the 65-year-old had ever felt, as many of us did, that he was in danger of unravelling his reputation the longer he stayed on as manager.

'"No," he said with a smile, "because you lot aren't the best judges. What people said didn't hurt me. I'm experienced enough to know that that's the name of the game and that, if you're not doing well at this club, then you're going to get criticism."

'Dealing with criticism is one thing, but Ferguson has been aware of another adversary in more recent times. "Age," he said. "It creeps up on you quickly. I still think I'm 58. And then all of a sudden you look in the papers and see that you're 65 and I think, 'I can't be that old.' Jesus Christ - somebody wrote that I was 66. It happens with age. You wonder where the years have gone. You wonder how you compare with five or six years ago. I don't notice any dramatic changes in me, although there must be some.

'"Last season I was tired in the sense that I wanted to get on my holiday, get started on this season. There were moments last season when we went on a great run and thought we might just catch Chelsea. And then you draw with Sunderland on a Friday night. That's when you need your holiday.

'"I never thought it was time for someone else," Ferguson said. "We had made the decisions. The thing then was to get it all together."

'The decisions in question included getting rid of Roy Keane and Ruud van Nistelrooy. To outsiders, the failure to find an obvious replacement for either player was baffling. However, insiders have said that it was the best thing that Ferguson did. One source talked yesterday of the liberating effect it had on the younger players, particularly Cristiano Ronaldo, who was finally free to express himself without fear of an ear-bashing from Van Nistelrooy, his fiercest critic.

'Ferguson put it more diplomatically. "We had to make big, important decisions about how we changed the team," he said. "Roy was certainly difficult. He had been such a big influence on the club. I'm not so sure about Van Nistelrooy. That wasn't such a big decision at all. You need a good team spirit in the dressing-room and from Day One this group seemed to gel right away. That was what I wanted. I kept referring to that. The spirit was brilliant and that was important."

'The key will be to ensure that they build on this season's success, which may yet include victory over Chelsea in the FA Cup Final on May 19. The first signing is likely to be Owen Hargreaves, the Bayern Munich midfield player. Old Trafford officials expressed caution yesterday about the prospect of a deal for Hargreaves, citing a £21 million valuation that may prove prohibitive, but formal negotiations between the clubs have reopened over the past 48 hours, with the likelihood that a deal in the region of £19 million will be struck before the end of the season.

'Ferguson, though, indicated that there was still plenty of life left in Giggs, with the winger doubtless drawing inspiration from his manager's longevity. Ferguson insisted that he would not "do a Bobby Robson" and would get out of the game long before his 70th birthday. For Mourinho, Arsène Wenger, Rafael BenÃtez and the rest, that day cannot come quickly enough.' </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

another nice article. papers almost worth reading this week.

[Dangerous Dave]

wp on the title. best team in the league this season.

[James07?]

anyone can cut and paste the list.....

The definitely going to be joining Manchester United, no doubt about it, cos the papers say so list

Mikel Arteta - Everton (Guardian)

Gareth Bale - Southamton (Mirror)

Dimitar Berbatov - Spurs (Guardian, Sunday Mirror)

Jermain Defoe - Spurs (Guardian)

Owen Hargreaves - Bayern Munich (Times)

Klaas Jan Huntelaar - Ajax (Guardian)

Youssouf Mulumbu - PSG (Youssouf Mulumbu)

Nani - Sporting Lisbon (Guardian)

Franck Ribery - Marseille (Himself via Sky)

Micah Richards - Manchester City (Mirror)

Steve Sidwell - Reading (Mirror)

Fernando Torres - Athletico Madrid (Mirror)

Running Total: 12

Predicted Final Total

Irish - 170

James07? - 112

bling - 102

pjburrage 99

WSR - 95

theis - 92

alilaw - 89

Nezell - 87

14AlanSmithifb 85

Hero of the day - 83

vanester 82

T!mbo - 80

BBB - 79

gonch19 - 78

Bagpuss 77

Pickles - 74

julesMUFC - 71

ajw2255 - 70

Nick OGS20 - 68

Maverick 64

davidbowie 63

Ryno - 62

ACou2000 - 60

Gregg Carter 59

Jimlad - 56

ericcantona7 - 55

Matt Cavanagh - 54

mark g 52

keyser - 50

player_65 - 46

SLO_Fila 43

Taz Devil - 41

Saha - 39

The_Fish - 37

finneys13 - 36

Master Blasta - 32

EmmYouEffSee - 29

RedBlood - 26

qwerty2k - 17

Razor Eddie 16

? - 15

[yovan]

Jorge Valdano thinks the same about Capello and the current Real Madrid. He’s isn’t hypocrite. What's his position? former player/manager/director?

His Real Madrid was a joy to watch.

[Nick OGS20]

heh, Fergie on Saha:

"He didn't think he was 100 per cent fit for Saturday"