MAN UTD News

lovablemum · Joined: 02 Aug 2005 Posts: 4068 Location: Northants

England captain David Beckham would only return to the Premiership if he could play for Manchester United again.

Beckham was sent off in England's 1-0 win over Austria on Saturday but he has been in fine form for Real Madrid this season and has no desire to leave the Bernabeu.

He told talkSPORT: "I've really enjoyed the last four or five games, set up quite a few goals. Life's good.

"You never know what can happen in football but I'm happy in Spain and I can't see myself moving anywhere else.

"The only place I'd ever like to go back to is Manchester."

lovablemum · Joined: 02 Aug 2005 Posts: 4068 Location: Northants

SIR ALEX FERGUSON pointed the finger at former Arsenal defender Efstathios Tavlaridis after Ryan Giggsâ€™ cheekbone was fractured on a terrible night for Manchester United.

Paul Scholes was deservedly sent off for the third time in his United career for two bookable offences, while the Reds fans booed at the end of this dire display. It was only the second time in 19 games United had failed to score at Old Trafford in the Champions League.

But Ferguson was most concerned about Giggs, and he claimed the Welshman will be out for weeks after he was elbowed in the eye.

â€œI think itâ€™s obvious that he fractured his cheekbone,â€? said the United boss. â€œHe got an elbow in the eye and he did well to play on. I think it was their number four, but Iâ€™m not sure.

â€œI didnâ€™t realise what had happened myself until he came off. Itâ€™s too early to say exactly what weâ€™ll do about it, but he wonâ€™t be playing on Saturday anyway.â€?

Scholes was dismissed on 63 minutes when he was booked for cutting down Jean Makoun to add to his yellow card in the first half for his foul on Mathieu Bodmer.

Ferguson defended the former England midfielder, claiming referee Stefano Farina was fussy and had ignored persistent fouling by Tavlaridis.

â€œIâ€™ll have to see it again,â€? he said. â€œBut the referee was very fussy and the game never really got started because of him. With Scholesâ€™ experience, he should have seen the kind of referee we had, but he only committed three fouls and found himself off.

â€œTheir number four, I donâ€™t know how many fouls he made, but he didnâ€™t even get booked.

â€œIt was a difficult game to play in and in European football you get that sometimes with referees who are very strict, and we got one here tonight.â€?

Old Trafford was almost half empty by the time the final whistle sounded as United fans delivered their own damning verdict on their teamâ€™s awful performance.

There were 7,000 empty seats for the game, which should have been an easy one for United, and the supporters left at the final whistle booed.

The suspended Wayne Rooney was badly missed, and he will be back for the return against Lille, but Ferguson blamed the French side for the poor quality of the game.

United remain top of the group after Villarrealâ€™s draw with Benfica and Ferguson remains confident his side will make the last 16.

He said: â€œWe will go to France and try to win as we normally do and I think we are in a good position in the group.â€?

lovablemum · Joined: 02 Aug 2005 Posts: 4068 Location: Northants

SIR ALEX FERGUSON last night claimed that winning the Champions League will be easier than catching runaway Premiership leaders Chelsea.

The Manchester United boss made his first public admission that Jose Mourinho's side are now looking unstoppable in their pursuit of a second successive Premiership title.

While Fergie refused to officially concede the title race was over, he admitted United's most realistic chance of landing a big trophy this season lies with the Champions League.

"It's obvious that, unless Chelsea start dropping points, they're in a very strong position," said Fergie. "They are relentless at the moment, you have to say that. We're trying to stay in their slipstream, hoping they do slip up.

"And until we play them we can't do much about their results, except admire them and aim for that standard ourselves.

"Obviously, winning the Champions League takes 13 matches, whereas at this moment in time we have to play another 30 in the Premiership. The Champions League is a tournament we haven't won enough and we want to win it more, so each year we gear ourselves up for the challenge.

"Having said that, it's still only October and I think it's silly to think about who is going to be champions."

United take on Lille at Old Trafford tonight in their third Group D clash, having taken four points from their opening two fixtures.

Wayne Rooney is suspended, the England striker completing a two-match ban following his sending-off at Villarreal for sarcastically applauding referee Kim Milton Nielsen.

Despite the absence of Rooney, Fergie is confident United will have enough in attack to win and take a step closer to the knockout stage.

And the United boss believes his side have rediscovered their attacking swagger with eight goals in their last three games.

United's poor form reached crisis point with the 2-1 home defeat to Blackburn, but Fergie insisted: "We made 15 chances and missed them all. It was bad finishing, not formations."

reddevilleanne · Joined: 20 Oct 2004 Posts: 13228 Location: Nottingham

Anymore news? :D

lovablemum · Joined: 02 Aug 2005 Posts: 4068 Location: Northants

Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted that there is no point in Manchester United competing for the same players as Chelsea.

This is because Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich's wealth gives the men from Stamford Bridge more financial muscle than any of their Premiership rivals.

A frustrated Ferguson has already seen the likes of Arjen Robben, Damien Duff and Michael Essien all snub Old Trafford in favour of the Blues, who ended their 50-year wait for the title in May.

Although new Red Devils owner Malcolm Glazer has pledged to back a major transfer plunge in January, Ferguson knows that he will have to sidestep any targets Chelsea identify, which is why he is placing so much faith in his club's youth system to provide a platform for the future.

The 63-year-old Scot, who has guided United to eight Premiership titles during his glorious Old Trafford reign to date, said: "I do not think we would even think about competing with Chelsea.

"If Chelsea go for a player we are interested in, we are not going to beat them, so there is no point even going for him unless, like Park Ji-sung, they are of a mind to join United."

He continued: "Any young player wanting to progress his career should think seriously about joining us because, as our record proves, we do give them a chance."

And Ferguson added of the latest crop of talented youngsters being developed at Old Trafford: "I am trying to lay the foundations for Manchester United and I want to build something that will last for years, not two minutes."

~~debbydo~~ · Joined: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 20005 Location: Hertfordshire

ermm i think man u wil end up being like chelsea that american blloke that owns the team will only want the best .. :smt012

lovablemum · Joined: 02 Aug 2005 Posts: 4068 Location: Northants

Maybe hun

~~debbydo~~ · Joined: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 20005 Location: Hertfordshire

yep watch this space ..

lovablemum · Joined: 02 Aug 2005 Posts: 4068 Location: Northants

reddevilleanne · Joined: 20 Oct 2004 Posts: 13228 Location: Nottingham

Fergie praise for pair
By Simon Fudge - Created on 17 Dec 2005

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson hailed Wayne Rooney and Ruud van Nistelrooy following Saturday's 2-0 win at Aston Villa.

The Old Trafford chief was delighted with the pair's attacking prowess, as United closed the gap on Premiership leaders Chelsea to six points with the win in the lunchtime kick-off at Villa Park.

Goals from van Nistelrooy and Rooney sealed what proved an easy win for the visitors, as Villa looked second best for much of the contest.

"It's promising, they're doing fantastically and they are great players," Ferguson told PremPlus.

"Some of our attacking was good. In general, I was pleased with our performance."

Ferguson's side have responded well domestically since their exit from Europe earlier this month - a point not lost on the United boss.

"It's the only thing you can do at our club, you can either wither and die or you can get off your backsides, get on the pitch and do something about it," Ferguson added.

"In fairness to the lads, they have worked their socks off in the last few weeks.

"Confidence is a factor, on Wednesday (against Wigan Athletic), the second goal was important because in our home games this season, we haven't been taking our second chances and letting teams off the hook time and time again.

"The second goal on Wednesday was like walking into a new room for them, their game took on a different expansion, they had confidence in their play and that carried on today."

Saturday's win took United's unbeaten run in The Premiership to seven matches and Ferguson will hope Arsenal can do The Red Devils a favour by beating Chelsea in the Super Sunday clash.

"We're nine points behind Chelsea, if they win their game tomorrow," added the Scot.

"It's a long way but what we can do is to make sure we win our games.

"If we do, then if Chelsea slip up, we'll be the nearest team to them."

reddevilleanne · Joined: 20 Oct 2004 Posts: 13228 Location: Nottingham

Fergie targeting Chelsea
By Alex Livie - Created on 18 Dec 2005

Sir Alex Ferguson feels his players have turned the page following their exit from the UEFA Champions League and says Manchester United are capable of hunting Chelsea down in The Premiership.

A cloud descended over Old Trafford following their defeat at Benfica and many predicted The Red Devils were set for a tough winter.

However, Ferguson has rallied his troops and they responded with impressive wins over Wigan and Aston Villa and now trail Chelsea by just six points.

The Blues can extend the lead to nine with victory at Arsenal on Sunday, live on Sky Sports 1, but Ferguson says Jose Mourinho's side have not gone beyond recall.

"Nine points is difficult to pull back, but we've chased teams down before and we're capable of doing it again," said the wily Scottish tactician.

"All we can do is keep winning our games and make sure we're in a position to take advantage if Chelsea slip up."

Suggesting that his players have turned the corner, Ferguson added: "There has been a change in attitude since we went out of Europe. When that happens you can either wither and die or get up off your backside and do something about it.

"The players have responded well, there's a confidence about our play again, and some of our attacking play was fantastic."

~~debbydo~~ · Joined: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 20005 Location: Hertfordshire

Good luck Man u .....

Shame liverpool beat you Gutted lol....

reddevilleanne · Joined: 20 Oct 2004 Posts: 13228 Location: Nottingham

Tis a shame about our Smithy too.

~~debbydo~~ · Joined: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 20005 Location: Hertfordshire

Yes it is...

reddevilleanne · Joined: 20 Oct 2004 Posts: 13228 Location: Nottingham