Manchester United Football Club

yeah, he's almost good enough for his scouseness to be overlooked

I though

Although I should say that match was poor... 'ski played only by long passes nothing else. They thought that nobody have solved their strategy already, which was sos successive this year

Go scousers go and kick some blue ass

They use that long ball a lot in Europe, usually because Drogba can beat defenders to every header, but Hyypia and Carragher are well trained in defending against long passes after playing the likes of Bolton and Everton

Usually i dont criticise Mourinho's tactics but i think he made a mistake by not starting with Robben. They were already without Duff which left them lacking pacey support for Drogba, which left Liverpool to stop most of the attacks before Chelsea got anybody up to join in. Everyone knew that Liverpool would pack the midfield and play 1 up front

I still think Chelsea are favourites to progress though, Benitez is going to find it tough to balance his side considering the possibility of Chelsea only needing a score draw. With Alonso they could at least dictate the pace of the game but without him i fear they may be too defensive and eventually get broken down.

It was a bloody snooze-fest. Liverpool went back to Houllier's 10-0-0 formation.
What could you expect from two incredibly dull teams?

Originally Posted by Rapierist

What could you expect from two incredibly dull teams?

Exactly!

Sol Campbell moves to Man United on a free, Rio Ferdinand replacement found.

Campbell will sign for United as a direct replacement for Rio Ferdinand, who is stalling on a new contract.

Arsenal are refusing to play Campbell at the moment, preferring rookie Swiss defender Philippe Senderos.

Campbell is available on a Bosman free transfer and wants more than the £60,000 per week deal on offer at Arsenal.

United are offering more, while they can also cash in on Ferdinand's transfer fee - who is wanted by Chelsea, amongst other clubs.

Carlos Quieroz is trying to persuade Sir Alex Ferguson to sign Luis Figo from Real Madrid after it became clear that the Portuguese international no longer has a future at El Santiago Bernabeu.

The Spanish giants could be willing to let the player leave for nothing as they would not have to pay him €6million for the final year on his contract.

The 32-year-old has often stated that he would like to play in The Premiership and he would have little problem adapting as he and his model wife Helen Svedin both speak fluent English.
Figo would also be happy to be reunited with Quieroz - who was in charge at Real from 2003-04.

I do not deny these transfers especially when it do not cost a thing... but there is one but - Rio is ours and we cant sell him.

Glazer Given Deadline
4/28/2005 6:28:00 PM
Malcolm Glazer has been given a deadline of May 17th to bring an end, one way or another, to his bid to buy Manchester United.
The American tycoon’s bid to purchase the Premiership giants has cast a shadow over the club for the last year and chief executive David Gill has previously admitted the saga is detrimental to the running of the club.

"The ongoing uncertainty surrounding the potential Glazer offer is disruptive to the business of the company and, in the current circumstances, it is in the interests of all concerned to have a definitive timetable," said a United stagement.

Glazer’s previous proposals have fallen short of United’s demands and there has been intense opposition from supporters to the move. However, Glazer is yet to have conceded defeat, although time is now running out for the owner of Tampa Bay Buchaneers.

United’s statement added: "The board remains of the view that the assumptions in the Glazer business plan are aggressive.

"Furthermore the board believes that, notwithstanding the changes from the previous proposals, the proposed capital structure, taken as a whole, still contains more leverage than the board would consider prudent and that as a consequence there is likely to be significant financial strain on the business.

"The board recognises, however, that the price of 300p per share is a fair one and may be attractive to some shareholders of Manchester United.

"Given the board’s concerns about the potential impact of the proposal on the company, the board has informed Glazer that it cannot provide a recommendation to shareholders to accept any offer made on the basis of the current proposal.

"Whilst recognising that the price under Glazer’s proposal is fair, the Board’s unanimous view is that they could not support Glazer’s proposal (were it to become a formal offer) as being in the best interests of the company."

Issue: Goal.com

Rio is ours.. he's our best defender for this time being and for the next several years.
I think Chelsea's plan to sign Rio is just their psy-war to destruct any other premiership teams, especially us..

I think Rio will stay, he said he will do and Fergie just wants it sorted as soon as possible. Its just a case of Ferdinand wanting the best deal he can get, which is fair enough as this contract is probably going to be the biggest he will get in his career, 5 years covering his prime.

As for Campbell and Figo, if they are free then they would be worth getting. Campbell would help make our defence even more solid, at international level he and Ferdinand were probably the best defence in 2002's world cup and were it not far a combination of injury and suspension would probably have done the same in 2004.

Figo is past his best but still has advantages as he could be a mentor to Ronaldo, as well as providing quality cover for both wings. He could end up being like Teddy Sheringham, coming in late in his career and enjoying a mini revival....(speaking of Teddy, he scored 21 goals for West Ham this year at the ripe old age of 39 )

Rio is stalling on his contract though, and making excuses about his agent being out of the country.
Hope there is no more fuss from his side. The new contract already gives him a significant raise.

Oh, and Figo is just a lazy idiot. We don't need him. He looks so listless at times, I doubt if one of Fergie's teacups smashing against his head would be enough to get him going.
Campbell, maybe. He isn't really old and better than most of our backup. But he'll have to give up his thuggish style of defending.

Rio is stalling on his contract though, and making excuses about his agent being out of the country.
Hope there is no more fuss from his side. The new contract already gives him a significant raise.

yeah, i agree he's taken enough time on it now. I understand his reasons for trying to get as good a deal as possible but its still annoying to all the fans
hopefully it will be sorted will be sorted soon

Oh, and Figo is just a lazy idiot. We don't need him. He looks so listless at times, I doubt if one of Fergie's teacups smashing against his head would be enough to get him going.

i agree he certainly is lazy and i've been calling for Real to drop him all year

but if he did come to the Premiership i think his reputation could be useful to us as opposition defenders will certainly be scared of facing him 1 on 1, and doubling up on him would leave a gap somewhere else for us to exploit. He is Ronaldo's hero too, and could help him develop...

Figo set to sign for Manchester United

The Spanish press has reported that Luís Figo has decided to accept an offer to join Manchester United.

According to the sports paper AS, Figo has told close friends that he is set on capping off his brilliant career with at least a couple of seasons in England.

The Real Madrid winger has often talked of his admiration of English football and his desire to play in the Premiership.

United’s assistant manager Carlos Queiroz could play a key role in completing the deal. Queiroz coached Figo at the start of his career when he was Sporting’s manager, and the two teamed up again last season when Queiroz was Real Madrid’s head coach.

Should the transfer go ahead, it opens up the enthralling possibility of two of Portugal’s most exciting players, at the opposite ends of their respective careers, operating in the same team. And Figo could be the ideal influence on Cristiano Ronaldo, helping to turn the young wing wizard into a truly world-class player

Nah, Figo is neither an idiot nor lazy. Real fans speak that he is the one who never gives up even his team mates to not fight, I have seen it for many times

What do you know about John Obi Mikel? He is nigerian, only 18 and played in Norway... btw, beating 'ski this way is not an achevement... I doo smell another dj

Manchester United have beaten Premiership rivals Chelsea to the punch by signing Nigerian starlet John Obi Mikel.

The teenage midfielder is heading to Old Trafford after The Red Devils announced they had concurred on a deal with his club - Norwegian outfit Lyn.

United have confirmed that an agreement has been struck with Lyn for the transfer of Mikel, who is one of the most highly-rated youngsters in world football.

Mikel trained with Chelsea earlier this year and he received a glowing appraisal from Blues boss Jose Mourinho.

The Portuguese tactician had suggested that the 18-year-old would be joining the champions-elect in the summer.

But Mourinho will be left to rue the failure to land rising star Mikel after United and their Norwegian counterparts reached an accord.

Mikel is a central midfielder and he has been named in a training squad for Nigeria's Fifa World Youth Championship challenge later this year, with his impending arrival at Old Trafford likely to buoy manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

To be honest i'd never heard of Mikel before yesterday

There is a chance he could fail to make it and join the list of potential greats we've found in Scandinavia like Djordjic, Nevland, Timm etc but he should be given time to settle, not everyone can walk into the Utd first team at 18 like Rooney and Ronaldo

1 thing that may help him is that he has been raised in a weaker league, i doubt Lyn pay too well. A lot of our youngsters now are on big money long before they make the first team and unfortunately it makes a lot of them arrogant

Originally Posted by Stezagud

To be honest i'd never heard of Mikel before yesterday

http://www.vg.no/video/videoplayer/player.hbs?id=1300

Here you can even look at him

Although I doubt about his abilities in MUFC. He is not Ronnie or Roon. I better compare him to dj or saha...

Thanks for the link mate

its hard to tell from the video how good he is, though he did seem to be missing a lot of those shots He did seem quite determined to play in England though which is good. A lot of our promising youngsters now have been with the club since they were 10 or 11 and seem to lose the hunger, its like they just expect that one day they will wake up and be a great player

Although I doubt about his abilities in MUFC. He is not Ronnie or Roon. I better compare him to dj or saha...

John Obi Mikel wouldn't be a straight choice for the first team I think. He'd have to prove himself in the reserves first.

A lot of our promising youngsters now have been with the club since they were 10 or 11 and seem to lose the hunger, its like they just expect that one day they will wake up and be a great player

I don't know how that can happen. With the competition that they must be facing at the club, they shouldn't be doing that at all.

Oh, and a super win today. As usual, Rooney was super And Smith scored a goal! And Klebs created one

John Obi Mikel wouldn't be a straight choice for the first team I think. He'd have to prove himself in the reserves first.

yeah, he'll probably be used in a few league cup games to start with.

I don't know how that can happen. With the competition that they must be facing at the club, they shouldn't be doing that at all.

It seems that they work hard up to around 16/17 and once they get their first contract they ease off a little. There are plenty of distractions at that age and with plenty of time on their hands and money in their pockets some of them lose concentration.

We had one promising youngster killed in a car crash when he was speeding and another 2 were sent to jail for racing each other on country lanes

Oh, and a super win today. As usual, Rooney was super And Smith scored a goal! And Klebs created one

yeah, good to see Smith and Kleberson involved in the win, Fletcher took his goal well too

As for Rooney, it seems everytime he gets the ball he threatens, his shot made the first goal and burst down the left made the 2nd, he scored one himself and hit the post with another excellent shot