Manchester United's Headliners, Articles and Rumours

[Kefka]

Originally Posted by gaia

Keep having a funny feeling that my beloved man u will drop points this weekend against bolton.....then chelsea will beat man c and narrow the gap.....

Yeah bolton is a bogey team for man u, but lady luck has been with man u lately, so hope it can play a part again, i dun mind if the game is not exciting but the results always count the most

[yinyang]

Man Utd v Europe XI

Man United v Europe XI
Uefa Celebration Match
Date: Tuesday 13 March, 2000 GMT
Venue: Old Trafford

Coach Marcello Lippi has AC Milan quartet Paolo Maldini, Gennaro Gattuso, Andrea Pirlo and Ronaldo for Tuesday's match against Manchester United.

Liverpool's Steven Gerrard is in the squad as is striker Ronaldinho and keepers Iker Casillas and Oliver Kahn.

Henrik Larsson is in the Europe squad, days after his loan spell at United came to an end.

The match marks the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome and United's 50 years in European competitions.

Full Europe XI squad:
Goalkeepers: Oliver Kahn, Grégory Coupet, Iker Casillas.

Defenders: Paolo Maldini, Jamie Carragher, Eric Abidal, Lilan Thuram, Carles Puyol, Marco Materazzi, Fabio Grosso.

Midfielders: Gianluca Zambrotta, Steven Gerrard, Juninho Pernambucano, Florent Malouda, Luis Miguel, Gennaro Gattuso, Andrea Pirlo.

Strikers: Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Alessandro Mancini, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Henrik Larsson.

[imom]

Originally Posted by yinyang

Man Utd v Europe XI

This one no prediction competition?

Wonder who's gonna partner Rooney up front..... Smith? Dong? Sekali Fergie pack the midfield and play Rooney solo....

[jootjoot]

was hoping that zidane wanna play, but bcos of materazzi, he refused to play. love to see him play, i'm not a fan of his though

[yinyang]

Gill confident over Ronaldo deal

Ronaldo has been in stunning form this season
Manchester United chief executive David Gill is confident winger Cristiano Ronaldo will sign a new deal, which will take him up to 2012.
Ronaldo, 22, is under contract until 2010 but is keen to extend his stay.

"I think he came out and said discussions are ongoing so we're not going to put a timeline against them," Gill told BBC Radio Four.

"The player wants to stay, we want him to stay and I'm sure we'll reach a satisfactory conclusion."

Interview: Man Utd chief executive David Gill

Ronaldo has been linked with a move to Spain and the Portuguese international admitted he would like to play in La Liga before the end of his career.

But Gill added: "Every United fan can be reassured he won't be leaving this summer.

"It would be realistic to extend it by a further two years to 2012 - the same time that Wayne Rooney has signed for."

In response to United manager Sir Alex Ferguson's comments at the weekend that he would be happy to stay for another two years, Gill added: "We're doing extremely well this season.

"We've not discussed it but he has done fantastically well and we've put him on a rolling contract - something we want to continue as long as possible."

[qbdp]

MIK RULED OUT

MANCHESTER UNITED defender Mikael Silvestre's season is over after he had surgery on his torn shoulder ligaments.

The 29-year-old was carried from the Old Trafford pitch on a stretcher last week after a collision in the Champions League game against Lille.

The operation completes a nightmare season for the France international who lost his starting place in the United line-up after fracturing a metatarsal bone earlier in the campaign.

Silvestre said: "This operation means practically four months without any physical contact in game situations. I won't be back until the start of next season."

[qbdp]

United pair okay for Bolton

Manchester United defensive pair Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic will be fit enough to play against Bolton at the weekend. Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed his central defensive partnership would shrug off minor injuries in time to play in Saturday's Premiership clash.

Ferguson said: "Nemanja had a small break in the cartilage in his nose and he went to hospital this morning to get some of the blood drained away, just a little clot. He's fine. Rio Ferdinand went for a scan on his ribs but he's okay."

The news will come as a relief to Ferguson, who has seen his squad depleted over recent weeks as injuries catch up with United. Strikers Louis Saha and Ole Gunnar Solsjkaer will not be available for selection until after the international break later this month, although long-term casualty Alan Smith came through United's 4-3 gala match win over a European XI on Tuesday.

Goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar is also expected to remain sidelined until nearer the end of the month. Tomasz Kuszczak is expected to continue to deputise.

[qbdp]

Allardyce draws up plan to rebuild players’ confidence

Sam Allardyce, the Bolton Wanderers manager, believes that playing for a draw in the Barclays Premiership match away to Manchester United on Saturday is the way to end his side’s barren run.

Bolton have won twice at Old Trafford in the past six years but Allardyce will take a defensive approach after three successive defeats. “There are quite a few Premiership teams, ourselves included, who are stuck in a bad run,” he said. “It only takes a couple of crocks and you can be very quickly looking at five games without a win.

“It’s a fine line at this stage of the season and, in these situations, the best thing is to play for a draw. You have to stick to the tactical approach, concentrating on the opposition’s strengths, showing your players how to stop them scoring and hoping you might nick a set-piece.

“The team will be low on confidence, so the key thing is to get something to stop the run of defeats and wait for your top players to come back.”

[yinyang]

Fixtures for rest of season (excluding both FA and CL finals hehehe).. Summer time clock savings back in our favour by -7hrs (BST) instead of -8hrs after 25/3. Goody2, fast forward by 1hr especially for day games over weekend (eg 2200 instead of 2300)

Fixtures

Saturday, 17 March 2007
Barclays Premiership
Man Utd v Bolton, 12:45
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Monday, 19 March 2007
The FA Cup sponsored by E.ON
Man Utd v Middlesbrough, 20:00
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Saturday, 31 March 2007
Barclays Premiership
Man Utd v Blackburn, 15:00
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Wednesday, 04 April 2007
UEFA Champions League
Roma v Man Utd, 19:45
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Saturday, 07 April 2007
Barclays Premiership
Portsmouth v Man Utd, 17:15
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Tuesday, 10 April 2007
UEFA Champions League
Man Utd v Roma (agg 0-0), 19:45
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Sunday, 15 April 2007
Barclays Premiership
Chelsea v Man Utd, 13:30
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Saturday, 21 April 2007
Barclays Premiership
Man Utd v Middlesbrough, 15:00
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Saturday, 28 April 2007
Barclays Premiership
Everton v Man Utd, 12:00
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Saturday, 05 May 2007
Barclays Premiership
Man City v Man Utd, 15:00
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Sunday, 13 May 2007
Barclays Premiership
Man Utd v West Ham, 15:00

[qbdp]

Originally Posted by yinyang

Sunday, 15 April 2007
Barclays Premiership
Chelsea v Man Utd, 13:30

This match will be postponed to the last week of the calendar (8/9 May) if one of them win their FA Cup 6th rd replays. The semi-finals are played on 14 Apr.

There wont be other weekday dates available coz Mourinho believes his team will be occupied with UEFA Champions League commitments.

[yinyang]

Originally Posted by qbdp

This match will be postponed to the last week of the calendar (8/9 May) if one of them win their FA Cup 6th rd replays.

Down to the wire!

[imom]

Originally Posted by yinyang

Down to the wire!

I should hope we have the league sewn up by then and the match is inconsequential, with only pride to play for

[CibLover]

If we'd sewn up the title by then (of which I hope we'd have done by then), I wonder whether our players will get the same reception that SAF have accorded them when they were confirmed champions at Old Trafford!!!

I remembered Keano leading the players (under SAf's instructions) to form a line to applaud the Chelsea players when they trot onto the field. Brilliant touch by the gaffer.

[imom]

Originally Posted by CibLover

...

I remembered Keano leading the players (under SAf's instructions) to form a line to applaud the Chelsea players when they trot onto the field. Brilliant touch by the gaffer.

...

Yeah, despite his psychological tactics, SAF has always been a gentleman. Little known facts like he always returns calls personally, whether you're a manager from league or championship side asking about player loans or the Barcelona manager. Given how busy he is, I think it's a nice touch.

[yinyang]

Originally Posted by CibLover

..wonder whether our players will get the same reception that SAF have accorded them when they were confirmed champions at Old Trafford!!!

Originally Posted by imom

..despite his psychological tactics, SAF has always been a gentleman

Spot on. Also, SAF's press comments (pre-post games) speak well of his class act. Unlike some of his compatriots (no prizes for guessing who)