Manchester United (Red Devils) | Special Thread

Papers: All hail Sir Alex

12/05/2011 08:30

Why everyone should bow down to Fergie
Much has changed since Peter Schmeichel won the Treble with Manchester United in 1999, but he says Sir Alex Ferguson is still the world's best manager. Schmeichel is not surprised that Fergie is still winning titles, 12 years on from their historic Treble success. As United close in another Premier League and Champions League double, the Great Dane says Ferguson's almost unerring eye for a player has been a key ingredient in his success. Schmeichel recalls how Dwight Yorke proved to be the final piece in United's Treble-winning jigsaw, in a similar way to how Ferguson's faith in Javier Hernandez has been well-placed this season. Schmeichel also claims no other manager is as good as Ferguson at developing a team and instilling the belief that they can beat anyone. "I regard him as the best manager in the world," said the Dane. "When we won the Treble, he had been building the team for years, putting that kind of confidence in us. He made us believe we were the best team in world and had the right to win everything we competed for. That's how good we were, no one was even close to us. When you have that kind of belief, a lot of things can happen – and they did."
David Anderson, Daily Mirror

Another former Red has paid tribute to the boss with Steve Bruce insisting Sir Alex would have guided any of the current top-four clubs to this season's Premier League title. "He is a genius. He is the greatest ever," said Bruce. "I don't think anyone will get close to his achievements." The Daily Mail feature quotes from Sir Alex who has revealed how he turned down the opportunity to be Arsenal manager just months before taking over at Old Trafford in 1986.

In other news, the Mail claims Liverpool have jumped ahead of United in the race to sign Aston Villa winger Ashley Young, while the paper also reckons the Reds will lose out on their bid to sign Everton's Jack Rodwell to Manchester City.
Round Up By Gemma Thompson

mfarisayo said:

Upo sawa kabisa Modric na Sneijder ni vifaa vya nguvu

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Yeah tunatakiwa tuwe na mtu anayeweza kuibeba timu pale inapotakiwa...type ya Sneijder ambayo inafunga magoli pindi inapotakiwa.

UEFA investigates Busquets claim

May 12, 2011

UEFA has announced it is to open an inquiry into Real Madrid's claim that Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets racially abused Marcelo.

GettyImagesSergio Busquets has been accused of calling Marcelo a 'monkey'



• Madrid accuse Busquets of racism
Madrid released footage on their in-house TV channel of Busquets shouting in the direction of Marcelo during Barcelona's 2-0 Champions League victory at the Bernabeu last month. Busquets was captioned as saying "mono, mono" ("monkey, monkey").
A UEFA statement read: "UEFA has opened disciplinary proceedings against FC Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets, who is alleged to have violated Article 11 bis of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations by directing racist abuse towards a Real Madrid CF player in the UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg between the clubs on 27 April.

"The proceedings have been launched on the basis of evidence provided by Real Madrid (video and statement of club and player). The UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body will deal with the case on Sunday 15 May and the decision will be communicated to the club on Monday 16 May."
More to follow...

Guardiola talks up United

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has hailed Manchester United as an "extraordinary" team ahead of the sides' Champions League final at the end of the month.

Guardiola watched his team beat Espanyol 2-0 in the Catalan derby at the Camp Nou on Sunday to move within a point of winning the title, just as Sir Alex Ferguson's side had done earlier in the day with a 2-1 victory at home to Chelsea.
Barca now look set to wrap up the Primera Division at Levante on Wednesday night, giving them more than two weeks to prepare for the showpiece at Wembley on May 28.

And Guardiola, who featured as a player in Barca's first European Cup success at the famous old stadium in 1992, says he is wary of United's quality and strength in depth.
"They played a Champions League semi-final [second leg against Schalke] with a team full of reserves and they won 4-1 - that says everything you need to know about the quality they have," Guardiola told the post-match press conference. "They have a great squad with two great teams and extraordinary players."

Nevertheless, the Barca coach is keen for his side to seal the league title before switching his thoughts to the date with the Red Devils. "We will try to wrap up the league and then we'll think about the final," he said.
Xavi echoed the sentiments of his coach. "We're almost there and we want to win it as soon as possible so we can have our heads focused on Wembley," he said.

Meanwhile, Dani Alves hopes his side can build up 'positive energy' ahead of the trip to London.
"We still need a point and I'm sure we'll get it," he said. "The more charged we are with positive energy for Wembley, the better."
Captain Carles Puyol was deemed unfit to start against Espanyol, but Guardiola says he will be ready to play at Wembley.
"He was out for three months (recently) and the doctors decided he wasn't in shape to play today, but he is building up his fitness and will feature more in the next few games," he said.
Left-back Eric Abidal came on to play the last 20 minutes and Guardiola revealed the Frenchman, who has recently returned from an operation to remove a tumour from his liver in March, could also be ready to play in the Champions League final.
"Abi had a few minutes the other day [in the Champions League semi-final second leg against Madrid] and played for longer today," he said. "We hope he can gradually play more and more and build up his fitness for the final."
Andres Iniesta and former United defender Gerard Pique scored the goals in Sunday's win, which sees Barca stay eight points clear of fierce rivals Real Madrid with just three games left to play.
But with the Wembley final in sight, Iniesta said: "We have a Champions League final ahead, so I don't think we will relax. We [Barca and United] know each other well - it will be a special final."
And team-mate Sergio Busquets added: "I'm confident we can win it, and bring some joy to our fans. The league is great, but it's not as prestigious as the Champions League."

Peasant said:

That's the thing I admire about Ferguson. Huyo babu anaweza kufanya wachezaji ambao ni very average waonekane world-beaters, can you imagine wachezaji kama O'Shea, Fletcher, Park, Evans, Owen, etc kwenye timu yoyote kubwa Ulaya?

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Hao akina O'shea, Evans na Gibson uwa nikiwaona wote kwenye starting lineup napataga ugonjwa wa moyo lakini SAF mwenyewe anawaamini kweli wanaitwa Utility Players.

Belo said:

Ningekuwa Mod ningedelete hizi post zote za Rutashubanyuma

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Naona hapa jukwaani kwenu siku hizi mnashindana kucopy na kupaste tu bila maoni. Inakuwa ngumu sana mtu kufuatilia replies zenye mashiko maana hizo paste zenyewe ni ndefu sana na very boring, hili jukwaa limegeuzwa ubao wa kusomeamagazeti ambayo kila mtu anaweza kusoma link husika!

Hizi banner za Stretford end uwa zinaniachaga hoi sana.

Papers: Croatian on the radar?

13/05/2011 08:46

Croatian on the radar?

Nikica Jelavic has claimed Manchester United are interested in signing him. The Rangers striker has been in superb form recently, with four goals in his last five SPL outings helping to push Walter Smith's side to the brink of their third successive title.
Reports in Croatia have suggested that has attracted the attention of the Old Trafford giants, with Jelavic now saying his agent has made him aware of possible interest. The 25-year-old made it clear, however, that his only focus was on ensuring Rangers wrapped up the championship with victory at Kilmarnock on Sunday. ‘I know that United are interested,' the £4million signing from Rapid Vienna told media in his homeland. ‘My agent has established contact but that's all that I know right now."
Mark Wilson, Daily Mail

Elsewhere, The Mirror claim Javier Hernandez is about to be offered a "double-your-money" deal to remain at United. The paper claims that would boost his salary to around £50,000 per week.

The Telegraph carry a piece about Saturday's game at Blackburn, warning United fans not to travel if they intend on sitting in the home end. A police spokesperson said: "Blackburn Rovers club staff will be carrying out spot checks of tickets for visiting supporters sitting in the home sections and anyone found to do so will be facing ejection from the stadium."

Evra: I always believed

Patrice Evra is one point away from being proved right as United head to Ewood Park for the penultimate 2010/11 league game.
The French defender told MUTV this week he always believed the Reds were the best team in this season's title race. Evra said the critics queuing up to judge United on a run of autumn draws – including the only home points dropped this term, against West Brom (2-2) – were somewhat premature.
"People were starting to say, 'It's the end of the United empire'," Evra recalled.
"But after that game [West Brom], we played Bursaspor in the Champions League and I remember saying in my [post-match] interview, ‘You have to pay the musician to the end of the show, not now'. I believed in that. I wasn't just saying it to look good in the newspapers. I said that because I believed it.
"I was convinced that no team was better than us this season. Now, that's the result – if we go to Blackburn and win (or draw), we will be champions. I'm not surprised because I always believed we were the best."
To hear more from Patrice, including his views on the victory over Chelsea and the role of Ji-sung Park, watch Countdown to Kick-off on MUTV this Friday at 18:30 BST.

Today at OT: Team news

Our editorial team provide regular updates from OT. Join in on the Talking Reds thread.
Friday 13 May
08:22 I'm in the office early this morning, while my colleague Gemma Thompson heads to Carrington. She'll attend Sir Alex's pre-match press conference, which kicks off at 09:30. Team news and any other interesting information will be revealed right here in this blog at 10:00 sharp. Will Fletch play tomorrow? Will Berbatov start against the side he netted five against at OT earlier this season? We hope to find out soon. (NC)

:A S-rose:
Moja wa mashujaa wa dakika za mwisho

Park peerless in United's decisive victory



It is almost impossible to pick out individuals in analysing why Manchester United recorded a deserved victory over Chelsea which all but seals a record 19th top-flight league title.
The overall team display at Old Trafford swept away any doubts that United warrant a 12th Premier League crown with their defence solid, the midfield of Michael Carrick and Ryan Giggs working in almost perfect tandem and the frontline of Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez a force up front.
Park Ji-sung's display was chief among the highlights too, particularly the South Korean's work-rate and cleverness which helped to thwart Chelsea's three-man midfield.
The 30-year-old is often preferred on the left of midfield in United's big games and although his defensive qualities put him ahead of Nani in the pecking order, he also offers a different slant to their attack.

This was evident right from the beginning of the game when Giggs expertly found Park in an inside-left position, before he put Hernandez through for his 37-second opener which set the tone for a pulsating first half.

That key pass to Park is highlighted below, and the areas in which his team-mates found him was markedly different to Antonio Valencia on the right.


Floating around in a space between the defence and midfield where Chelsea right-back Branislav Ivanovic did not want to go, Park proved a menace.
It also provided some interesting clues about a developing midfield with United's Champions League final against Barcelona looming on the horizon.
"Firstly, Park set the tempo of the United team right from the start" says former Arsenal full-back and Match of the Day 2 pundit Lee Dixon. "They obviously had been primed to start quickly but they took Chelsea by surprise and I thought he was the main catalyst for that.
"His work-rate is a given and what we come to expect from him, but I thought his intelligence of when to close down when Chelsea had the ball, and his selection of space at the right time was brilliant.
"In attack he also occupies narrower positions but that makes the full-back think because he can go wide as well. He picks the ball up in areas that full-backs don't necessarily like to go in and mark.
"We tend to like staying in our area not too far away from our centre-back, and we feel uncomfortable when we go into that inside-left area unless we have really good cover. It's something that puts you in two minds: do I go in and mark him or do I stay where I am?
"The safe thing to do is stay where you are but because Park is so good on the ball like we saw for the goal, he is a dangerous person to leave alone. I thought he did a brilliant job and he tore Ivanovic to pieces at times."
You could argue that United selected a five-man midfield again, with Rooney dropping in to help out Giggs, Carrick, Park and Antonio Valencia. But where the formationfailed last week against Arsenal, this time they were fluid in attack and solid in defence.
The key thing here is that although it might appear that Rooney was the only one playing in the space between Chelsea's defence and midfield the truth was that there were actually three of them: Rooney, Park and Giggs.
And for someone like Chelsea's defensive midfielder John Mikel Obi that proved a nightmare.
Giggs may tend to carry the ball into that area rather receiving it there, but he was sorely missing from United's midfield at the Emirates last Sunday and based on recent European performances he is proving a perfect foil alongside Carrick.
When Carrick plays with Anderson or Paul Scholes, the central midfield pair line up more side-by-side, whereas with Giggs in the side Carrick plays a lot deeper, allowing the Welshman to probe in front of him.
That gives Giggs the chance to collect the ball in midfield and run at defenders, which commits them to a challenge. When this happens it can also leave gaps for Rooney and Hernandez.
Although Park moving infield might leave United narrow on the left side in attack, usually they have Patrice Evra who can overlap from full-back and fill the space that Park vacates.
When they are defending, Park is smart enough and fit enough to track back and decide whether to remain wide to help John O'Shea, as he did on Sunday, or come infield to assist.
That also goes for Valencia who tends to hug the touchline more on the right but was willing to shadow Chelsea full-back Ashley Cole.
Without that outlet on the left Chelsea were very narrow, which suited Sir Alex Ferguson's side.
"This week United got the balance right in midfield and got help in the right areas," Dixon adds. "Both Valencia and Park went back which sometimes freed one of the defenders to actually step into midfield from a defensive position.
"Valencia will run all day, there were loads of times when he was at right-back, and the amount of times Cole got in behind United's defence were few and far between so it shows he was doing his job.
"Chelsea's wider players Florent Malouda and Salomon Kalou tried to hunt for the ball, but they didn't stay that wide that often.
"Chelsea had lots of players who were very quiet and they just got hit by Manchester United who were in an attacking frame of mind. It surprised them and I think they thought that United would sit back and hit them on the break, therefore almost waiting for a draw. In fact, they did the opposite."
It may be stretching it to say that United will have learned useful lessons before they take on Barcelona at Wembley on 28 May, as the Catalans will offer a completely different conundrum to Chelsea.
Yet in the midfield where United's problems seemed to have stemmed from this season, they now appear to have made progress at exactly the right time.
And more importantly, if they begin the Champions League final at the same tempo they may just be able to catch out their opponents again.

Wanazi wenzangu kati ya article zilizowahi kunikuna ni hii,nimeona si vibaya nikiwashirikisha umuhimu wa Park aka three Lung.

Naomba kuwasilisha.

Belo said:

Ningekuwa Mod ningedelete hizi post zote za Rutashubanyuma

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Mkubwa, jamaa sio siri anaboa, afu sidhani huwa anasoma calls zetu, he just copy and paste, hata unwanted stuffs..yaan n kero. Naona thread yake imekosa followers kaamua kuja hapa, anyways, kama Ruta unasoma hapa basi do us a favor, edit, weka link au weka only necessary stuffs,unatupa shida sana kusoma posts zako ambazo hazina mshiko.

Strong team for Blackburn game

Sir Alex will travel to Ewood Park on Saturday with an almost fully fit squad at his disposal.
The Reds need just one point to seal a record 19th English league title and the boss says there are “no new injuries” in the United camp.
He did concede, however, that he may rest Edwin van der Sar against Blackburn.
“Given the programme he’s been through in the last few weeks, this may be an opportunity to give him a break,” Sir Alex said. “They’ve all been important games.”
Javier Hernandez, on the other hand, is still fresh, despite speculation in the press recently that the Mexican striker was in danger of suffering fatigue. Hernandez barely got a rest last summer after featuring in the World Cup and then joining United’s pre-season tour shortly afterwards. This summer he also has international commitments, at the Gold Cup in the United States.
“There’s no suggestion that there’s any tiredness with Hernandez,” the manager said. “We’ll keep monitoring it. If we get the result tomorrow he’ll get his rest next Sunday. If we don’t then he’ll play next Sunday.
“There are opportunities to rest him in the early part of next season. We’ll give him a good rest after the Gold Cup.”

Ins and outs
Sir Alex Ferguson is mulling over his team selection with Barcelona looming large on the horizon. But with the title needing to be secured, it's likely he'll field a strong side. Darren Fletcher is coming into contention after his recovery from a virus while Edwin van der Sar may be rested. Mame Biram Diouf is ineligible for Rovers due to his loan from United but Michel Salgado, David Dunn and Phil Jones are all expected to return from injury. Ruben Rochina, who scored twice for the reserves against Warren Joyce's Reds at Old Trafford on Thursday, dislocated his shoulder in the match.

Wembley lifeline for Fletcher

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson will give"big-game player" Darren Fletcher a chance to prove his fitness in time for the Champions League final at Wembley on May 28. Read

FA charge for Sir Alex

The Football Association has charged Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson with improper conduct.

On the FA's website, a press release states the charge relates to media comments made about match official Howard Webb on 6 May 2011. That was the day of the manager's pre-match press conference at Carrington, ahead of United's clash with Chelsea on Sunday 8 May.

Sir Alex has until 16:00 BST on Monday 16 May to respond to the charge.

NB: TUMESHAZOEA FITNA ZAO

tumeshazoea na tunazijua sana fitna zao lakini wamegonga mwamba this time ubingwa ni lazima.

ferg endelea kuwapa ukweli ipo siku watajirekebisha

Hivi hawa FA wana matatizo gani na Man Utd?
Alichosema SAF ""We are getting the best referee, there is no doubt about that," "But getting a bad decision is definitely our big fear. We have the players to do it all right. We just hope it's our turn for a little bit of luck." Kwa hiyo gaffer amekuwa charged kwa hayo maneno mekundu au, maana hawajasema kosa lake zaidi ya kusema ni Improper Conduct for making comments about a referee before the game. FA Rule E3

Siku hiyo Carlo Ancelotti alisema "Howard Webb is a fantastic referee, he has the skills to handle the occasion," "If the referee has no experience maybe you can be a little worried about this but with Webb there is no problem."

Blackburn Rovers SQUAD
Robinson, Samba, Givet, Olsson, Salgado, J Jones, Emerton, P Jones, Nzonzi, Dunn, Diouf, Hoilett, Bunn, Roberts, Pedersen, Hanley, Kalinic, Rochina, Formica, Benjani, Santa Cruz.

VS

Manchester United SQUAD

Kuszczak, Lindegaard, Rafael, O'Shea, Ferdinand, Vidic, Smalling, Evans, Brown, Evra, Valencia, Scholes, Anderson, Carrick, Fletcher, Gibson, Park, Giggs, Nani, Obertan, Rooney, Berbatov, Owen, Hernandez.



Haya tena kwa wale wenzangu,ndugu zangu mashabiki wenzangu,leo ndio siku yetu ya kutangaza ubingwa
Tunahitaji point 1 tu kuwasha taa kwa LIVERPOOL na kukatisha matumaini Chelsea pale tutakapo pambana na Blackburn Rovers,
tuta iona kupitia check link hapo chini

MyP2P.eu :: English Premier League - Blackburn Rovers vs. Manchester United