Manchester United FC Daily News Thread

[Guest jameslhm]

Nemanja Vidic says the Reds will learn valuable lessons from Saturday’s 4-3 win over Hull City.

United claimed all three points but the visitors became the first side to score three times at Old Trafford in 92 games (Chelsea beat United 3-1 in May 2005).

“The most important thing is that we took the three points,” Vidic conceded, “but we made a few mistakes and lost a few goals, which is not good for us, especially the defenders.

“We can learn from the game. We made small mistakes that cost us three goals, so I hope we can improve on that so it doesn't happen again.”

Hull’s third came via the penalty spot in the 82nd minute. It lifted the visitors even further and although the Reds didn’t quite enter panic mode, there were certainly a few nervy moments before the final whistle.

Vidic conceded United were “under a little pressure” in the closing moments but insisted the players wouldn’t dwell on the match.

“We need to forget this game but not how we conceded the goals. That way we can make sure it doesn’t happen again. We have a few days to work on that [before Celtic] and to improve.

“The first goal was from a set-piece and the third came after we had a corner and we were out of position, so they were able to counter-attack. These are small mistakes that don’t usually happen with us.

“We need to learn from our mistakes but we don’t need to be too worried.”

[Guest jameslhm]

Papers: What's the point?United forced to take centre-stage

When Manchester United beat Palmeiras to win the Toyota Cup in Japan in 1999, they were away for six days all in, travelling and playing. When they play the absurd FIFA Club World Cup next month it will be nine days away. As Sir Alex Ferguson knows so well, it is the small things that make the big differences over the course of a season. The FIFA Club World Cup, conceived out of the embarrassment of the abandoned World Club Championship in which United played in 2000, is another project built on the vanity of Sepp Blatter. Not content with allowing UEFA, with its work on what was once the European Cup, to be the only major governing body which has cocked up a perfectly good cup format, the FIFA president had had a go at it himself and came up with a corker.

This ridiculously bloated competition has taken the place of a perfectly good one-off game – once the Intercontinental Cup, latterly the Toyota Cup. It was simple: the European Cup winners against the winners of the South American equivalent, the Copa Libertadores, which was played, from 1980, in Japan. It was a strange game but pleasingly exotic, given the South American opposition, with a few Japanese quirks thrown in, too.

Sam Wallace, Independent

Elsewhere, Peter Ferguson, writing in The Daily Mail, raves about Dimitar Berbatov. He writes: “Cristiano Ronaldo put two goals away, leaving him one short of his United 100, but if he is soon to be anointed the best player in the world, Berbatov is quickly staking his cultured claim to a place on the shortlist. Comparisons with United icon Eric Cantona are off-target. Berbatov shares the Frenchman's arrogance but is a better player. If it is unthinkable now that the Alice band should supersede the raised collar, look again in a couple of years.”

[Guest jameslhm]

Wayne Rooney says United are determined to take all three points from the first "big four" game at Old Trafford this season.

The Reds have been forced to play all the top teams away from home during the first half of the season.

Now Rooney is relishing Sunday's visit of Chelsea and targeting a home victory to extend the Reds' winning streak in the league.

"These could be the games that determine whether or not we win the league so it's very important that we win," he told Sunday's United Review.

"It’s our aim to pick up maximum points from these matches and we’re certainly good enough to do that.

"Hopefully a win over Chelsea can set us off on a good run."

[Guest jameslhm]

Wayne can't wait to be top

Forget the game of lying in wait... Wayne Rooney has moved on and wants to play 'catch us if you can' by the weekend.

United's second scorer against Chelsea on Sunday knows that two more wins in the next five days - against Wigan and Bolton - will see the Reds go above Liverpool into first place.

"It's down to us," Wayne told MUTV. "If we win our two games we'll be top of the league.

"That might only last until Liverpool play Everton on the Monday but on Saturday night we want to look at the table and see ourselves at the top.

"Today's win against Chelsea was very important. After watching Liverpool (draw 0-0 at Stoke) yesterday, we needed to take advantage and get the win today. We've done that now so come Saturday, if we do our job right and win our two games, then we'll be top."

Rooney modestly says there was an element of luck about the goal that makes him United's clear top scorer on eleven, one ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo.

"It was a great ball by Pat (Evra) but although I could see it as it first came in, I couldn't see it at all when Berba(tov) jumped. But I stuck my leg out and thankfully it bounced off it."

Rooney's goal plus one from Dimitar Berbatov were the rewards for United's second-half tactics. The inspiration came from seeing the opposition at close quarters at the break.

"The first goal meant that walking in at half-time we could see the Chelsea lads and their heads seemed to go down a bit," reveals Wayne.

"We knew if we could go at them in the second half, they wouldn't live with us."

[Guest jameslhm]

Giggs hails pleasing win

Ryan Giggs says United's 3-0 win over Chelsea has given the Reds plenty of confidence in the title race, but the Welshman says there's a long way to go.

The 35-year-old was outstanding in the centre of United's midfield and received a standing ovation when he was substituted late on.

"It's nice to get the three goals," he said of United's comprehensive victory at Old Trafford.

"We wanted to win, but a clean sheet and three goals against a very good side is pleasing. It sets us up for midweek [against Wigan]."

Wednesday's match is the first of United's two games in hand on league leaders Liverpool, but the Merseysiders' advantage has already been trimmed to five points.

The result is a major blow to Chelsea's title ambitions, but Giggs would rather focus on how the win will boosts United's chances.

"I'm not bothered what this result does to them. What it does is give us confidence," he told Sky Sports.

"We'd only taken one point from three matches against the top teams. We've got them all at home in the second half of the season and we have to make the most of it, like we did today."

[Guest jameslhm]

Rio sent for back scan

Rio Ferdinand has been sent for another scan on the back injury that has kept him out for three weeks.

The 30-year-old has missed the last five games for the Reds, including Sunday's 3-0 win over Chelsea.

He had been expected to play in the match, but when he woke up on Sunday morning he suffered another back spasm. Now the Reds are determined to eradicate the problem.

"We are sending him for another scan because we want to get to the bottom of the problem," says Reds boss Sir Alex.

Fortunately, the form of Jonny Evans alongside Nemanja Vidic has lessened the blow of losing Ferdinand.

ManUtd.com will keep you updated on any further developments.

[Guest jameslhm]

Ronny's world's best

Cristiano Ronaldo has added the 2008 FIFA World Player of the Year award to his impressive collection of individual honours.

Ronaldo received the accolade – voted for by coaches and captains of the 208 international federations – from Brazilian legend Pele at a gala event in Zurich, Switzerland, on Monday night.

The Portuguese winger, who picked up the Ballon d’Or in Paris last month, is the first United player to scoop the prize, which was first handed out in 1991. David Beckham was twice voted runner-up (1999, 2001) during his time at Old Trafford.

Ronny’s 42 goals in the 2007/08 season were instrumental in helping United to domestic and European glory, and enough to see the 23-year-old pip Barcelona's Lionel Messi and Liverpool's Fernando Torres to the award.

AC Milan's Kaka and Barcelona's Xavi were also nominated.

[Guest jameslhm]

Wayne Rooney and Ryan Giggs’ corner routine brought back some memories. When I was playing for Oakley Lodge U12s – this was when I was 12, I didn’t just join in a game last week – we were involved in a top-of-the-table clash. Our opponents got a corner and the cheeky little scamps did a Rooney. This was before it was called a Rooney, of course, but you can bet it’ll be called that now, and kids up and down the country will be trying it in Sunday League matches for weeks and months to come.

In my game, I was on front post duties and had an inkling they were up to something, so I followed the lad playing the Giggs role. I could maybe have beaten him to the ball, but, as I’d never seen that set-piece done before, I could have been wrong about what they were trying to do. And if I’d misjudged it and gone steaming in to tackle him, I could have looked about as mental as that Zaire player in the 1974 World Cup who was stood in the wall for a free kick and inexplicably ran up and booted the ball away. It would be easy for the attacking team to insist they weren’t trying to take a sneaky short corner.

Maybe that’s why the officials disallowed it. Not in the spirit of the game, one 24hr news station claimed this morning. In my game, nothing actually came of the set-piece itself, but I remember thinking then that it was an amazing trick. The referee and linesman back then let play go on, it was just a clever bit of play. Unfortunately the officials at the weekend weren’t quite as sharp as the Sunday League ref, or the linesman, who was probably just a spare dad with a moderate level of fitness, that we had back then.

Vidic's goal secondslater made up for it, but I still annoyed that the goal on Sunday was disallowed. Although, maybe I shouldn’t be. There’s too much bureaucracy in football these days, and some of its imagination, character and colour is inevitably lost; players get booked for over-celebrating goals, managers get banned and fined for expressing opinions post-match, someone’s trying to take all the fun out of football.

For example, you never see any stray dogs running on the pitch in top flight matches any more, do you? I always wondered where they'd appeared from until somebody once told me a brilliant story about how he’d smuggled his dog into a United match at OT for a bet. He’d hidden his mutt under his coat and just breathed in when he was going through the turnstiles. If that kind of ingenious trickery beats the system, I say let it go. Which is why, for me at least, Ronaldo’s goal on Sunday should have stood.

[Guest jameslhm]

United 3 Chelsea 0

At the start of a crucial week in United’s season, the Reds issued a defiant message of intent by beating Chelsea comprehensively at Old Trafford. Nemanja Vidic, Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov scored the goals to cap a weekend where United got under the skin of both major title rivals.

The Reds, who started the match eight points behind the league leaders, could feasibly leapfrog Liverpool by the time the Merseysiders play their next league fixture - a difficult derby a week on Monday. To do that would require United beating Wigan on Wednesday at home, and Bolton Wanderers away on Saturday. But phase one – seeing off Chelsea – was comfortably completed on Sunday.

If the chaotically congested first half to the season was a task of laying foundations, then now the real work starts. And if a game against Chelsea early in 2009 wasn’t enough to announce that the title race really is gathering pace, Rafael Benitez’s bizarre, almost comical, rant on Friday certainly was the ignition to a significant weekend in the Premier League calendar. Liverpool’s 0-0 draw at Stoke City on Saturday presented United – and Chelsea, of course – with the chance to pile on the pressure.

Rio Ferdinand’s late withdrawal was a disruption ahead of the game, but the able Jonny Evans again deputised for Rio, who missed the four matches prior to this clash. Michael Carrick was a surprise omission, kept on the bench with Ryan Giggs starting in the centre of midfield alongside Darren Fletcher. But the Welshman was hugely influential.

Sir Alex predicted in his programme notes that he didn’t expect agoal frenzy and, though he would later be proved wrong, the early exchanges saw few clear chances. Chelsea postured with possession football, while United hinted at an intent to break sharply from midfield with Giggs and Park’s surging runs.

On 22 minutes United claimed a penalty when Ashley Cole handled Ronaldo’s cross. But the linesman signalled a free-kick instead, which television replays seemed to support, and Petr Cech was forced to punch clear Ronaldo’s subsequent inswinging shot. Another set-piece two minutes later from the Portuguese – this time after Deco’s foul on Rooney – was deflected wide.

Match referee Howard Webb was seemingly determined to be top of the bill, brandishing four bookings in half an hour and increasing the tension of an already high-pressure encounter. There were more yellow cards than clear scoring opportunities in the first half, although United began to threaten at the end of the first 45 minutes. Berbatov had a scuffed shot saved, while Park's shot after a neat move on the edge of the area was blocked by Terry.

The Reds were denied a perfectly legitimate goal right at the end of the first half when a clever corner routine between Rooney and Giggs proved too clever for the officials. Rooney rolled the ball out of the ‘D’, pretending that he was leaving the corner for Giggs to take. Without Chelsea realising it, the ball was in play and the Welshman took it goalwards before crossing for Ronaldo to head home. But the perplexed officials disallowed it. Ingenuity of this kind should not be punished, but justice was nevertheless done on the retake, as Vidic headed Berbatov’s flick-on past Cech.

United began the second half with greater control and confidence, stroking the ball around with surpreme assurance. And the patient approach soon paid off. Ronaldo’s backheel down the left found Evra and his cross was side-footed home from a jubilant Rooney. Old Trafford immediately belted out renditions of ‘We shall not be moved’ and ‘Are you watching Merseyside?’.

Ronaldo went close with two late efforts, one a deflected free-kick which Cech had to tip over, and another long-range effort that fizzed narrowly wide. The Portuguese had a significant influence on United’s third goal, though he did not score it. His fearsomely struck free-kick from wide on the left was slammed home by Berbatov to complete an emphatic win for the Reds.

If this was indeed the weekend the title race really started to hot up, United responded by scorching a team many still claim could be the Reds’ fiercest rivals.

[Guest dash]

I am sorry, bros.

cannot help it.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! :dblfk:

What We achieve in Life echoes in Eternity.

Liverpool 4 Madrid 0

Manure 1 Liverpool 4

Mar 2009

er...excuse me, Manure, are u real madrid in disguise? :snglfk:

disclaimer: Next time if Man U wins over Liverpool, I would allow u to post at our thread. but now, read 'em and weep.

[Guest colrc]

ManU will have the last laugh when it takes home the trophy!!! One battle lost does not mean victory in the war. :tazzie:

[Guest Raskie]

between these 2, passion runs high ... i remember when Pool was dominant, the highlight for Utd season was beating them ... :punk1:

the gap might be closing but with 10 games left ... it's still Utd's title to lose ...

[Guest tategoi]

After yesterday's pulverizing by Liverpool, its now called Malu FC :devil2:

[Guest jameslhm]

guy to be fair both team play a tough mid week match but pool is a day ahead of utd both games are tiring n pool have a extra day to rest if really see the match even the 1st goal utd look tired but pool played a very gd game as a utd fan this game pool play well and deserve the win :iconsalut: but don forget liverpool n chelsea we have a game in hand........

[Guest dash]

yes, the title is still there for Man U to take, with a potential 7 points lead.

but the key is.... Man U can be beaten. comprehensively too.

thats what SG is trying to tell the rest of the teams playing Man U.

so lets pray that the devils trip up and fall flat on their faces, since title is theirs to lose!

oops. think i said too much. gotta go!

[Guest fruitcakepablohoney]

http://www.rivals.net/Video/Default.aspx?vidid=16538666001 ;D

[Guest jameslhm]

well dash one defeat by pool should wake utd up n they noe that they cab be beaten, i believe the next 10 match or so utd will be fire up.......

[Guest jameslhm]

Boss predicts 'great night'

Sir Alex admits he can’t wait for kick-off on Wednesday night, despite the Reds’ quarter-final tie against Porto being balanced on a knife-edge.

After last week’s 2-2 draw at Old Trafford, United face a stiff challenge in Estadio do Dragao this evening. But it’s one the Reds’ boss is relishing.

“We’ve played in a lot of good European nights and, to be honest with you, they’re a pleasure to be involved in,” he said.

“The atmosphere here in Porto will be fantastic, it’s a good pitch, a good stadium, and we’re playing a good team. It should be a great night.”

Before last week’s first leg, few people gave the Portuguese champions much hope of reaching the semi-finals. But after outplaying United at Old Trafford, Jesualdo Ferreira’s men are now widely tipped to knock the current holders out of the competition.

“Porto were better than us last week and gave us a very hard game,” Sir Alex admitted. “The front players played exceptionally well and showed great determination.

“They’re a good team – very powerful – and they’ve not reached this stage without ability.

“We know we have a big job to do but it should be a good match. I don’t know how open the game will be – that’s up to Porto and how they approach the game.

“Nevertheless, we know we have to score and that’s what’s really important.”

[Guest jameslhm]

Anderson: Beware Porto

FC Porto’s performance last Tuesday at Old Trafford was no fluke, according to United midfielder Anderson.

The Brazilian played at Estadio do Dragao for 18 months before joining the Reds in July 2007 so knows all about the Portuguese champions.

“I wasn’t surprised at all,” Anderson told reporters at Tuesday’s pre-match press conference. “Porto have a lot of quality in the squad. A lot of them are South American, so they know how to play football.”

The front three of Lisandro (Argentinian), Hulk (Brazilian) and Cristian Rodriguez (Uruguayan) were particularly impressive eight days ago, although Anderson is confident United can shackle Porto’s attackers and book a place in the semi-finals for a third consecutive season.

“We might not have been at our best in the last few games but we have to into this game confident and we have the will to win.

“Porto are certainly capable of producing another good performance. But we all know United need to play well and, most importantly, score goals. That’s our objective and we’re confident.”

[Guest jameslhm]

Stand up and be counted

Now is the time to prove why we’re world champions.

That will be the message from Sir Alex in the dressing room on Wednesday night as United prepare to face FC Porto at Estadio do Dragao.

“It’s not a night for looking to individuals,” the Reds’ boss told journalists on Tuesday evening. “All our players have to be up for it. Everyone has to step up to the plate.

“Obviously we have a big job to do, but I trust these players. Their performances over the last couple of years – look at the games in Rome, Milan and Barcelona – justify that trust.”

The task certainly isn’t easy. Last Tuesday’s 2-2 draw at Old Trafford means only a win or a high-scoring draw (2-2 will take the game to penalties, anything more will hand United the tie) will propel the Reds to the semi-final stage. What’s more, no English team has ever beaten FC Porto on Portuguese soil.

But Sir Alex is confident his side can make history on Wednesday night.

“We’re a much fresher team [than we were in the first leg],” he said. “We’ve had four days’ rest now, as opposed to two days on that occasion.

“The Champions League was a good tournament for us last season and so far this season we’re undefeated in it.

“The one area in which we were disappointed with last week was losing a last-minute goal. That has given Porto a definite advantage in this tie.

“But we’re capable of turning it around. It’s not as if we’re coming here without a big chance. You have to remember the places we’ve been in the past and the performance levels weknow we’re capable of.”

The United boss reminded journalists of the spirit his side showed in 1999 when, after going 2-0 down after 11 minutes against Juventus in the second leg, the Reds scored three times to beat the Italians and reach the Champions League final.

“There are plenty of performances from the past that we will want to replicate here in Porto,” he said. “We’ve not exactly been short of them over the years.

“Our record in this competition over the last two years has been outstanding. If the players play to the required standard of Manchester United then that’s all I can ask.”

[Guest jameslhm]

Ferdinand is fit

United's bid to become the first English visitors to beat Porto - and more importantly to reach a third successive UEFA Champions League semi-final - has been boosted by the news that Rio Ferdinand is fit.

The influential defender has missed the Reds' last three games, against Aston Villa (3-2), Porto (2-2) and Sunderland (2-1), but he is now ready to resume his centre-back partnership with Nemanja Vidic at the Estadio do Dragao on Wednesday night.

"Rio Ferdinand is fit, he'll start tomorrow [Wednesday]," Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed at his pre-match press conference in Portugal. "He trained on Friday, Saturday and Sunday [and again at Estadio do Dragao on Tuesday night]."

Ferdinand and Vidic haven't completed a game together since the Reds triumphed in the last round by beating Internazionale 2-0 at Old Trafford. That was also the last game in which United kept a clean sheet.

"Rio always makes a difference when he's in the team," the boss said. "It's the experience and the quality he has in his game. It will also see us back to the partnership of Ferdinand and Vidic, which has been the cornerstone of great defensive performances this season."

While the defensive ranks are strengthened by Rio's return, the midfield options have been depleted by the absence of Darren Fletcher, who did not fly out with the squad from Manchester. Sir Alex informed us the Scot sustained a hamstring injury in the first meeting with Porto at Old Trafford last Tuesday.

[Guest Mike]

FIT? doubt so

[Guest jameslhm]

no matter wat we are in the semi!!!!!!!!!

[Guest jameslhm]

Porto 0 United 1

United will face Arsenal in an all-English Champions League semi-final, after the Reds became the first English team to beat Porto in the Estadio do Dragao.

It took something special: a quite breathtaking 40-yard strike from Cristiano Ronaldo which, allied to a first clean sheet in six games, took the holders into the final four. Indeed, it would have been the Reds' defensive resolve which would have pleased Sir Alex Ferguson most, as the return of Rio Ferdinand brought an assuredness to the champions and restricted the dangerous hosts to but a handful of opportunities.

Following last week's 2-2 first-leg draw, Porto went into the match with a crucial away-goal advantage. That was tellingly overturned inside six minutes of an imposing second encounter. Had Sir Alex been asked to draw a blueprint of his perfect start, it wouldn't have been too far removed from what actually transpired.

The Reds were already looking confident when Anderson slipped a pass to Ronaldo, but the winger's ambition beggared belief. Having received the ball just inside the hosts' half, Ronaldo took a touch to set himself and arrowed an unstoppable effort into Helton's top corner. The ball travelled 40 yards to the goal, but the Brazilian goalkeeper could get nowhere near it.

A Sporting Lisbon export, Ronaldo was predictably jeered from the first whistle by the blue and white clad hordes in the stands. Suddenly, he had provoked silence on every side of the Estadio do Dragao - bar, of course, the sizeable pocket of writhing, jubilant United fans behind the opposite goal.

The Reds' approach to the game mirrored that of Porto in the first leg: dominant, with the hosts completely on the back foot. Indeed, it took 20 minutes for the Portuguese championsto notch an effort of note, as Bruno Alves' free-kick drifted a couple of yards wide of Edwin van der Sar's goal.

Porto had shown their class at Old Trafford, so it was no surprise that they began to gradually exert themselves on the game. Lisandro's spectacular scissor-kick forced a routine save from van der Sar, but United's defence - reinforced by the pairing of Ferdinand with Vidic - stood firm.

In the latter stages of the half, the chances see-sawed. Ryan Giggs' volley was kept out by Helton, Alves powered a header wide and Vidic stabbed John O'Shea's flick over the bar from close range.

Half-time came and went with no changes of personnel, but with a definite shift in setting as teeming rain began to saturate the Portuguese turf. Dimitar Berbatov almost immediately tested Helton's handling of the new conditions, but the Brazilian was equal to his low, drilled effort.

With United ahead, the onus was always going to be on the home side to fashion chances, however, and the visitors' job was largely one of containment in the second half. After the recent spate of concessions, a clean sheet wouldn't just put United through; it would mark a return to the defensive solidity which had been the bedrock of the season to date.

Raul Meireles sliced a shot past the top corner, Hulk fired a free-kick straight at van der Sar and Rolando powered a free header over the bar when he should have done better, but United's demeanour was largely one of calm throughout, containing the storm rather than weathering it.

On occasion, the Reds could even embark on forays forward. Wayne Rooney, outstanding drilled one effort fractionally over Helton's bar. Moments later, however, Lisandro went one better in hitting the target. Even if it was a wasted opportunity, fired straight at van der Sar, it was a timely reminder that one without reply would be enough.

Ronaldo did threaten again, drawing a fine low save from Helton, but he had already struck the telling blow. Now the Reds must shoehorn two more massive games into an already congested fixture list. But, having signalled a return to miserly ways in defence and with a calm befitting of champions, Sir Alex and his players will be relishing every minute that remains of this captivating season.

[Guest jameslhm]

Reds marvel at Ronny's goal

United players were queuing up to praise Cristiano Ronaldo's wonder-goal after the sixth-minute strike secured a place in the Champions League semi-finals.

The Portuguese winger's rising right-foot rocket from long range (UEFA measured it at 39.6 yards) put the visitors in the driving seat by stunning the Porto players and supporters.

"It was an unbelievable strike," Michael Carrick told MUTV. "Just when we needed that spark and a bit of brilliance, Ronny's done it again."

Wayne Rooney enthused: "It was a wonderful goal from Cristiano to win us the game. It was brilliant and on such a big night for him too."

John O'Shea added: "The strike was sublime. He’s well capable of that and he nearly stuck another one in the bottom corner with a couple of minutes to go."

Ronaldo's goal was also heralded in both dug-outs. Porto's assistant coach Jose Gomes said his team could take heart from losing to such a shot: "We can be proud. We lost to the best team in the world, by a goal scored by the best player in the world."

Sir Alex Ferguson commented: "I’ll need to go into my memory bank to recall a better European Cup goal than that one. That was fantastic, a great, great strike. We wanted to show our intent but to get that sort of start, well, nobody can expect that sort of goal."