Sunday, February 17, 2008
FA Cup - Brilliant United batter Arsenal
United romped into the FA Cup sixth round as two goals from Darren Fletcher and one each from Wayne Rooney and Nani embarrassed Arsene Wenger's side, who will surely never produce a worse performance.
United were 3-0 up by the break and Emmanuel Eboue was sent off on 49 minutes as the home side showboated their way through the second period.
Sir Alex Ferguson's team sheet might have indicated he wasn't bothered about the result - Cristiano Ronaldo and Ryan Giggs left out, Paul Scholes and Carlos Tevez on the bench.
Fletcher, Park Ji-Sung and Nani were all drafted into a five-man midfield supporting lone striker Rooney.
But any thought that United would surrender meekly disappeared immediately, with the home side harrying, snapping into tackles and showing tremendous hunger.
By contrast Arsenal were dismal. Injuries deprived them of Manuel Almunia, Tomas Rosicky and Bacary Sagna, while Emmanuel Adebayor, Gael Clichy and Mathieu Flamini were left on the bench.
However, that did not excuse the lack of edge that pervaded the side, including the normally superb Cesc Fabregas.
A rare mistake from William Gallas nearly let Rooney in early on, and the England man was at it again just after the quarter-hour.
Anderson headed a half-cleared corner back into danger and Rooney was allowed the space to divert a glancing header past Lehmann from five yards out.
Three minutes later the home fans' joy turned to near-disbelief, as Nani teased in a head-high cross from the left and Fletcher stole in front of Gallas to nod in at the near post.
Replays showed the ball came off the Arsenal skipper, who may find himself 'credited' with an own-goal depending on the mood of the disputed goals committee.
Time and again Rooney found space, and could easily have added to his tally but dragged shots wide with his left foot and then the right.
With 38 minutes gone it was three, when Carrick found Nani with a superb diagonal ball and the Portuguese buried a left-foot shot from the edge of the box.
Surely Arsenal could not play this badly in both halves? Indeed they could not - they were even worse after the break.
Hopes of a comeback went out of the window as Rooney went close twice before Eboue's moment of madness, leading with his studs as he jumped for a header with Patrice Evra.
United peppered the visiting goal with shot after shot as Wenger slumped disconsolately in the dugout. Park miskicked when through on goal and Rooney registered several more shots on target without beating Lehmann.
Nani and Anderson also went close but there was no fourth goal until 74 minutes when Fletcher popped up again to head in from close range following a clipped cross from the left by Nani.
By that point Rooney and Anderson had been withdrawn, with an eye on Wednesday's Champions League encounter with Lyon.
Meanwhile bad tackles flew in from the rattled visitors, with Nani provoking furious reactions from Justin Hoyte, Mathieu Flamini and Gallas as he juggled the ball - Gilberto Silva was lucky not to pick up a second yellow card while substitute Adebayor was carded for a ridiculous dive.
The only disappointments for Ferguson were the needless bookings picked up by captain Rio Ferdinand for a late tackle on Bendtner, and Rooney for refusing to give the ball to Arsenal following an offside.
manchesterunited
2/17/2008 04:51:00 PM
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United kian membara
MANCHESTER: Hanya dalam tempoh seminggu, Manchester United mengalami dua perlawanan berbeza.
Minggu lalu, United diaibkan dengan kekalahan kepada Manchester City di depan penyokong sendiri.
Kelmarin, United mula bermegah selepas pusingan kelima Piala FA dengan kemenangan besar 4-0 ke atas Arsenal.
“Seluruh pasukan bangga dengan pencapaian ini. Nyata, ia persembahan menarik dan cara terbaik untuk atasi kekalahan minggu lalu,” kata pengurus United, Alex Ferguson.
“Saya rasa pasukan lawan kecewa dengan diri masing-masing.”
United bukan saja mengesahkan slot ke suku akhir Piala FA, malah memberi kelebihan psikologi kepada The Red Devils sebagai salah satu usaha merapatkan jurang lima mata di kelompok teratas Liga Perdana Inggeris.
“Saya harap keputusan ini memberi impak kepada saingan memperolehi takhta liga musim ini. Apabila Arsenal ke Old Trafford, April ini, mereka sedar akan berdepan perlawanan sukar,” tambah Ferguson.
“Siapa tahu, dalam tempoh dua bulan ini, kedua-dua pasukan mungkin berada di posisi berbeza. Namun, keputusan ini semestinya memberi kelebihan pada kami untuk perlawanan liga.”
Ledakan pembukaan Wayne Rooney memberi kelegaan kepada skuad memandangkan beberapa pemain bintang seperti Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Tevez, Ryan Giggs dan Owen Hargreaves direhatkan sebagai persiapan saingan kelompok 16 Liga Juara-Juara menentang Lyon, Rabu ini.
“Ia membolehkan mereka tampil segar dan menjadi pemain utama hingga tamat musim ini,” kata Rooney. “Kami terpaksa turunkan semua pemain dalam setiap perlawanan sepanjang musim lalu.”
Tanpa bantuan Ronaldo dan Tevez, Rooney mulanya diramal sukar mengadaptasi formasi 4-5-1.
Bagaimanapun, penyerang United itu membuktikan dia mampu menyerang meskipun keseorangan.
Dengan ramai barisan pemain tengah dan saya, Rooney beraksi penuh tenaga selepas digantung minggu lalu, hingga mencetuskan gol pembukaan United pada minit ke-16.
Rooney kini mengharapkan United berdepan Chelsea dalam saingan suku akhir tatkala undian perlawanan seterusnya diadakan hari ini.
“Saya mahu menentang Chelsea di tempat sendiri dan cuba tewaskan mereka,” katanya. - AP
“Selepas itu, kami akan ke separuh akhir dan saya pasti kami akan teruskannya dari situ.”
manchesterunited
2/17/2008 09:43:00 AM
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MU belasah Arsenal, Fergie anggap petunjuk baru
MANCHESTER: Tempoh seminggu bakal menjadi penentu semusim buat Manchester United.
Ahad lalu, barisan United yang lesu diperkotak-katikkan oleh Manchester City. Tetapi kelmarin, pada pusingan kelima Piala FA, United tidak menyerupai pasukan yang kecundang kepada lawannya dari bandar sama.
Kemenangan besar 4-0 ke atas Arsenal, pencabar sengit dalam buruan Liga Perdana Inggeris, dilakukan dengan penuh gaya dan keyakinan.
“Seluruh pasukan boleh berbangga dengan diri masing-masing,” kata pengurus United, Alex Ferguson. “Ia adalah persembahan hebat dan cara terbaik untuk bertindak balas atas kekalahan Ahad lalu.
“Saya rasa kami kecewa dengan diri kami.”
Bukan saja persembahan mengganas itu mengesahkan tempat suku akhir Piala FA, tetapi ia juga memberikan United kelebihan psikologi dalam usahanya untuk mengurangkan kelebihan lima mata Gunners di atas liga.
“Saya berharap keputusan ini memberikan impak kepada perebutan gelaran,” kata Ferguson. “Apabila Arsenal datang ke sini pada April, mereka akan mengetahui bahawa ia bakal menjadi perlawanan sukar.
“Siapa tahu, masih ada dua bulan lagi dan kedua-dua kelab mungkin berada pada posisi berbeza. Tetapi keputusan ini meningkatkan selera kami bagi perlawanan liga.”
Wayne Rooney gembira dengan tahap kekuatan menyeluruh pasukan dan ia kelihatan apabila Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Tevez, Ryan Giggs dan Owen Hargreaves direhatkan sebagai persediaan menghadapi perlawanan Liga Juara-Juara Eropah di Lyon minggu depan.
“Ia mengekalkan mereka segar dan ia mungkin penentu pada akhir musim,” kata Rooney.
“Musim lalu, kami terpaksa menurunkan semua pemain dalam semua perlawanan.”
Tanpa Ronaldo dan Tevez menyokong, Wayne Rooney mungkin dilihat akan menghadapi kesukaran dalam formasi 4-5-1.
Sebaliknya, penyerang United itu menampilkan bukti dia boleh beroperasi sebagai penyerang tunggal.
manchesterunited
2/17/2008 08:59:00 AM
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Thursday, February 14, 2008
United appeal Manucho permit
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is to make another attempt to secure a work permit for striker Manucho.
The Red Devils have loaned the Angola international - who scored four goals at the Africa Cup of Nations - to Greek outfit Panathinaikos until the end of the season.
Ferguson was forced to send Manucho out on loan after the Home Office rejected United's initial application for a work permit because he has not featured in 75 per cent of Angola's internationals in the past two years.
However, Ferguson has now confirmed he will make a second application, much to the delight of Manucho.
"It is a pleasure hearing all this from someone as experienced as Alex Ferguson," Manucho told the Manchester Evening News.
"If things turn out favourably, I will do my best to score as many (goals) as I can."
manchesterunited
2/14/2008 04:55:00 PM
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Saturday, February 9, 2008
Fergie Sets Sights On Chelsea Decider
Sir Alex Ferguson has identified Manchester United's trip to Chelsea as the make-or-break match for their Premier League title ambitions.
United travel to Stamford Bridge on April 26 and, with both clubs and Arsenal still very much in the race, Ferguson believes the outcome of that game could be decisive.
Ferguson said: "The games between the three clubs will be very important. We have to go to Chelsea in April and that could be the crucial game given their home record.
"We have Arsenal and Liverpool at home, and we still have to go to Blackburn, so there are some difficult games ahead for us and for the others - Arsenal have to go to Chelsea and come to our place."
United's match against Manchester City on Sunday is a must-win game, even more so given the fact it will also be commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Munich air disaster.
Ferguson hopes that the club have done all they can to ensure that the 3,000 City fans due to come to Old Trafford will respect the three-minute silence before the game.
He added: "Hopefully we are killing that problem by closing the gates five minutes before kick-off so people don't arrive late already singing and chanting, and then opening the gates afterwards.
"It was right to have a minute's silence as it is an especially poignant time for English football."
Ferguson has also revealed that due to his shortage of strikers he may pick 17-year-old forward Danny Welbeck to face City.
With Wayne Rooney suspended and Louis Saha injured, Ferguson is desperately short of forwards and Welbeck has impressed him hugely in recent weeks.
The teenager has yet to make his competitive debut but did play for part of United's friendly in Saudi Arabia last month after which the manager announced he would stay with the senior squad for the remainder of the season.
Ferguson said: "I may bring in the boy Welbeck, possibly from the start.
"The boy has a chance of making it. We think he has that temperament.
"I think we want to keep Cristiano Ronaldo as a wide player, we are short up front, Louis Saha is not back and we could have played Ryan Giggs through the middle but I think Welbeck has got the temperament."
Ferguson added there were many comparisons between Matt Busby's team of 1958 and the latest generation of United stars.
He added: "They had so many young players then who were so exciting and I think the young players we have these days are equally exciting, doing the same thing Manchester United have done in the past."
Both teams will be wearing special shirts to commemorate the disaster, in which eight United players died as well as former City goalkeeper Frank Swift, who was working as a sports reporter.
Ferguson does not expect City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson to spring any surprises though he will try to predict who will replace the absent Brazilian playmaker Elano.
"Sven has made sure they are defensively tight, in the main it has been one striker and I expect he will do that, most teams do at Old Trafford," added Ferguson.
"He will have to replace Elano so we will try to work that one out but he is generally consistent with his selection so we should know what to expect."
manchesterunited
2/09/2008 04:48:00 PM
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Sunday, February 3, 2008
Premier League - Tevez rescues United with late strike
Carlos Tevez swooped in stoppage time to cancel out Dimitar Berbatov's opener for Tottenham as Manchester United salvaged a point in a 1-1 draw at White Hart Lane.
But the late drama was still not enough to lift United back to the summit of the Premier League after Arsenal had earlier beaten Manchester City to go three points clear at the top of the table.
Berbatov's ninth league goal of the season had threatened to ensure that deficit remained in place come the end of the day, but Tevez - who turned home Nani's corner with virtually the last kick of the game - broke hearts across north London.
A week ago, despite having lost at Old Trafford in the FA Cup, Spurs had demonstrated then how far they have come under the leadership of Juande Ramos and they went into their second meeting in a week with United knowing an upset was a distinct possibility.
They did not disappoint and played just as well, if not better, than last Sunday and can consider themselves very unlucky not to have sent United packing with nothing.
Berbatov opened the scoring for Spurs on 21 minutes after Aaron Lennon had displayed all his blistering pace as he raced past Owen Hargreaves on the right hand side before crossing into the danger area. Edwin Van der Sar could only parry the ball into the path of the Bulgarian who had the easiest of chances to knock the ball into an empty net.
Despite United's scintillating form heading into the game, they looked a shadow of the side that has won their last six games as Ramos's tactics of harrying and hassling the visitors at every opportunity seemed to unsettle the champions.
United were not given any time on the ball and more often than not, their passes were misplaced and loose balls were picked up by white shirts as Spurs pressed their opponents into making mistakes.
Robbie Keane should have put Spurs two up - and sealed victory - in the 56th minute, but the Irishman could only manage a tame shot into Van der Sar's arms after Berbatov had done brilliantly to set up the chance.
As full-time approached and the visitors' frustration grew, tempers frayed and several United players began to lose control of their tempers, not least substitute Nani, who was lucky the card shown to him for a lunge on Pascal Chimbonda was yellow and not red. United finished the game with seven players booked.
Nevertheless, the champions began to press harder for an equaliser the longer the game went on and Anderson and Nani both had shots saved by Radek Cerny before Tevez was denied a clear scoring opportunity by a world-class Chimbonda tackle.
Spurs threatened to finish the job on the break as United committed more bodies forward, but ultimately it was the Argentinian's 93rd minute volley that grabbed all the headlines, perfectly demonstrating United's absolute refusal to accept defeat.
It may not have been a classic United performance, but that kind of never-say-die attitude is a sure sign of potential champions.
manchesterunited
2/03/2008 05:02:00 PM
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Status : married with two daughter