 So, it has finally happened. The inevitable day has finally arrived. Fergie has left the building .After 26 years in charge of Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson has resigned. I used to be a huge fan of wrestling (to an extent still am).This just reminds of the time when Shawn Michaels retired.It was just like the end of an era.I left wataching wrestling long ago but still used to see it now and then.HBK was like the constant there.When he retired,a part of me (and wrestling for some) died.Almost same thing is happening in football currently.You don’t need to be a football fan, or even a sports fan to know who Fergie is. For me, and several others who are my age, Sir Alex Ferguson is Manchester United. Players have gone, players have come, but Fergie remained. He has been the constant, an inevitability that straight-armed every juggernaut that came its way – Be it foreign money, younger managers or most importantly, time.Yes I can go on and on about his achievements (especially since I am a red :D)
People say Manchester United has the most number of plastic/fake fans.To an extent this is true ,especially in India where I live, But those same people don't say why,it's because Sir Alex have so brought much success to the team that even those who don't watch football know about Manchester United and the legends born from it.To explain this point just think about QPR ,they don't have many fake fans either. When I switch on the television the next season, things would have changed. A sense of immortality lost. There won’t be the traditional gum chewing. There will be no news of the usual hairdryer. There will be no ‘Fergie time’. Football will played over 90 minutes again. Even the rival manager will shake a stranger’s hand, taking a moment to accept the change. I will like to share some of his memorable quotes: On Ryan Giggs "I remember the first time I saw him. He was 13 and just floated over the ground like a cocker spaniel chasing a piece of silver paper in the wind." On Gary Neville "If he was an inch taller he'd be the best centre-half in Britain. His father is 6ft 2in – I'd check the milkman." On Paul Ince "I used to have a saying that when a player is at his peak, he feels as though he can climb Everest in his slippers. That's what he was like." On Italians "When an Italian tells me it's pasta on the plate I check under the sauce to make sure. They are the inventors of the smokescreen." On the 1999 Champions League triumph "I can't believe it. I can't believe it. Football. Bloody hell." On media criticism of Juan Sebastián Verón "On you go. I'm no fucking talking to you. He's a fucking great player. Yous are fucking idiots." On Liverpool "My greatest challenge is not what's happening at the moment, my greatest challenge was knocking Liverpool right off their fucking perch. And you can print that." On the 2003 title race "It's getting tickly now – squeaky-bum time, I call it." On kicking a boot into David Beckham's face in 2003 "It was a freakish incident. If I tried it 100 or a million times it couldn't happen again. If I could I would have carried on playing!" On Filippo Inzaghi "That lad must have been born offside." On Arsène Wenger "They say he's an intelligent man, right? Speaks five languages. I've got a 15-year-old boy from the Ivory Coast who speaks five languages!" On his former charges as managers "It can be difficult to pinpoint who would make it as a manager. For instance, nobody here thought Mark Hughes would become a manager, never in a million years, and we all thought Bryan Robson was a certainty to be a top manager." On the referee Alan Wiley "The pace of the game demanded a referee who was fit. It is an indictment of our game. You see referees abroad who are as fit as butcher's dogs. We have some who are fit. He wasn't fit. He was taking 30 seconds to book a player. He was needing a rest. It was ridiculous." On José Mourinho "He was certainly full of it, calling me boss and big man when we had our post-match drink after the first leg. But it would help if his greetings were accompanied by a decent glass of wine. What he gave me was paint-stripper." On Rafael Benítez, reacting to the Spaniard's infamous 'facts' press conference "I think he was an angry man. He must have been disturbed for some reason. I think you have got to cut through the venom of it and hopefully he'll reflect and understand what he said was absolutely ridiculous." On whether Liverpool would win the title in 2007 "You must be joking. Do I look as if I'm a masochist ready to cut myself? How does relegation sound instead?" On Old Trafford "The crowd were dead. It was like a funeral out there." On Manchester City's Carlos Tévez poster "It's City, isn't it? They are a small club, with a small mentality. All they can talk about is Manchester United, that's all they've done and they can't get away from it." On City again "Sometimes you have a noisy neighbour. You cannot do anything about that. They will always be noisy. You just have to get on with your life, put your television on and turn it up a bit louder." On Wayne Rooney's transfer request "Sometimes you look in a field and you see a cow and you think it's a better cow than the one you've got in your own field. It's a fact. Right? And it never really works out that way." On Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid "Do you think I would enter into a contract with that mob? Absolutely no chance. I would not sell them a virus. That is a 'No' by the way. There is no agreement whatsoever between the clubs." On Manchester United's 19th league title "It's not so much passing Liverpool. It's more important that United are the best team in the country in terms of winning titles." And on their 20th "Look at me – it's taken 10 years off me today. It's these tablets, they're great!" And my favourite one: "It's a mission. I am deadly serious about it – some people would say too serious ... we will get there. Believe me. And when it happens life will change for Liverpool – dramatically." -----Sir Alex in 1988 By Anurag Sharma ,a true red from Delhi India :)
Manchester United has injury problems, with Jonny Evans and Danny Welbeck both in the treatment room and joining Paul Pogba, Anderson, Nemanja Vidic and Darren Fletcher on the sidelines. Chicharito should start up front in place of Welbeck, whilst Antonio Valencia could also return to the starting XI after only featuring as a substitute against Manchester City. Elsewhere, goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard is also available after injury and should make the bench. Swansea City also has its own injury worries and will be without Kemy Agustien, Ferrie Bodde and Andrea Orlandi for the trip to Old Trafford. Defender Angel Rangel is a doubt with a hamstring problem, but is expected to be fit, and Brendan Rogers will be hoping Leon Britton can shrug off a knee problem, while Alan Tate has recovered from a calf injury. DID YOU KNOW :
Robin van Persie returns to his old stomping ground for the first time having fired the Red Devils to their 20th title while the Gunners remain in the hunt for a top-four finishArsene Wenger could be without Mikel Arteta (ankle) after he picked up an injury against Fulham last time out. The Spaniard's injury means Wilshere is likely to sit alongside Aaron Ramsey in midfield, with Tomas Rosicky playing in the free role behind the striker and Santi Cazorla shifting to a wide left position. Olivier Giroud faces a three-match ban for his red card in that game meaning either Theo Walcott, Gervinho or Lukas Podolski will lead the line for the Gunners. Sir Alex Ferguson is likely to rotate his squad after sealing the title against Aston Villa on Monday night. After Jonny Evans picked up a knock in that win, Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic - who missed the title-clinching tie - are both set to return to the side with Phil Jones perhaps deployed in midfield. Michael Carrick is also likely to be rested after playing through injury against Villa. Expect the likes of Danny Welbeck, Chicharito, Tom Cleverley and Nani to feature from the start. DID YOU KNOW ?
ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI has been told to stay at Borussia Dortmund next season. The Polish striker, 24, demolished Real Madrid with a four-goal supershow in last night’s Champions League semi-final first leg.
And he is in demand with Manchester United one of the clubs who have been heavily linked with a move for him. Lewandowski is out of contract next summer and has yet to commit to a new deal. Dortmund have already lost star midfielder Mario Gotze to German rivals Bayern Munich this week after he triggered his own release clause. But boss Jurgen Klopp said: “I don’t get the feeling Robert is on the run. We’ll just have to see what happens.” Lewandowski refused to discuss his future after thrashing Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid. But Dortmund general manager Hans-Joachim Watzke outlined the club’s determination to keep him for another 12 months. Watzke said: “Our wish is explicit that he stays here. “We will even do without receiving a transfer fee for him — that doesn’t interest us in the slightest. “Robert’s contract runs until 2014 and, unlike Mario Gotze, there is no get-out clause.” Klopp believes Poland international Lewandowski last night wrote his name into Dortmund folklore. He added: “Whenever I walk through the club’s museum, I always see the same old videos. “Maybe now Robert’s four goals will find a place in there but for that to happen, we have got to build on this in the second leg.” Despite holding a handsome first-leg lead, Klopp insists his side will not sit back in next week’s return at the Bernabeu. The highly-rated coach said: “We are not a team who can simply defend a result. We always want to attack. “I brought Sebastian Kehl and Kevin Grosskreutz on tonight to strengthen us defensively. “The first thing they did was in the Real Madrid penalty area. I think that says it all. “We have played an extraordinary game against a fantastic team but nothing has been decided yet. “But even if we get knocked out, nobody can take this night away from us.” A star performance has only fuelled speculation of Lewandowski moving to Bayern Munich or Manchester United, while he has also been linked with Juventus. BUT .... !! The 24-year-old's contract does not expire until the summer of 2014 and has no release clause but his representative, Maik Barthel, claims an agreement is in place. Barthel is quoted as telling Sport Bild: "We are in agreement with a club and have the right to change this summer. All the claims of Dortmund are met." After the famous win over Real, Dortmund had insisted they had not given up hope Lewandowski could remain at the club. SOURCE : TheSun.co.uk, SkySports 
Just how much are Manchester United willing to spend this summer?
Manchester United have been linked with a number of high profile players over the last month, mostly attackers - none of who will come cheap. It has led to The Sun's sensational back-page story today that the Red Devils are to spend a whopping £120 million this summer. But hold on - how is this even possible? Well they claim £70 million will be accumulated via player sales, and then £50 million will be put up as a transfer kitty on top of that. Let us dissect these claims! This is how the Sun claim United are to make up that quite impressive figure of £70 million: Nani (£15 million), Anderson (£10 million) Where we take issue is the prospect of Hernandez leaving, because just 24 hours before the title winning game against Aston Villa, Sir Alex Ferguson said he wanted the Mexican to stay. There may be pressure from his agent to secure more first team football, and if United did bring in a big name striker it could force him out, but we expect him to remain a United player next season. As for Wayne Rooney, we also expect him to stay. He is happy in Manchester, despite the agenda of newspapers to make a story about it every time he is substituted. Rooney showed against Villa what a dynamic playmaker he can be, and has weighed in with some vital, if overlooked, contributions this campaign. As for the players The Sun claim United are interested in buying, here they are: Falcao, Robert Lewandowski, Cristiano Ronaldo. The paper claim Ronaldo is the club's biggest priority, with a planned £65 million offer ready if indications come from Real Madrid a deal could be done, with two years remaining on his contract which has not been re-signed. Lewandowski only has one year left on his, and a path to Bayern Munich now appears to be blocked, but there will be competition from Manchester City who have the ace of Edin Dzeko to offer Dortmund in exchange, but there are some rumours says that Bayern bought Lewandowski and Gotze from Borussia Dorthmund. The Falcao deal is one Ferguson has denied, but we hardly expected him to come out and confirm it while the season is underway. A report in Spain previously claimed United put a downpayment on him with Atletico Madrid similar to how they did with De Gea. All are ambitious and don't reflect United's need to sign midfield additions, or the possibility of bringing in an new winger like James Rodriguez of Porto or midfielder like PSV's Kevin Strootman. Certainly don't take The Sun's story as gospel and get over-excited, that's our message.
Jonny Evans may come in for either Rio Ferdinand or Nemanja Vidic, who have now played two games in a row. Vidic could be the one to miss out, after Sir Alex revealed he suffered bruising against West Ham. The likes of Tom Cleverley, Ryan Giggs and Nani are all pushing for recalls in midfield. Paul Scholes (knee) remains out, while Ashley Young (ankle) is out for the season, so will miss the visit of his former team. For the visitors, Paul Lambert may look to name an unchanged side from the one that has impressed against Stoke and Fulham in recent weeks. Ciaran Clark is available but Nathan Baker may still be preferred in central defence. Senior striker Gabriel Agbonlahor may recover from a thigh injury to take his place in attack, with Jordan Browery dropping to the bench. DID YOU KNOW ?
PREDICTION : The visitors do look capable of causing United problems in defence, particularly with the pace and power of Benteke, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Andreas Weimann and Charles N'Zogbia. However, at the back they can still be rather naive and the extra nous and quality of Van Persie and Rooney will ensure the Red Devils will still come away with a comfortable victory. MAN UTD 3-1 ASTON VILLA - EDITORS PREDICTION
There are grumblings in Stoke with much being made of the squad manager Tony Pulis has assembled, but with the club hovering just three places above the trapdoor and with champions elect Manchester United bound for the Potteries there is no time to for internal arguments.
United, on the other hand, will be stinging from a derby loss to City and will be keen to restart their run of wins and wrap up the title as soon as possible. They may be doing so without Ashley Young, but a near full-strength Stoke will not worry them. KICK-OFF: Sunday, 2.05pm PAST THREE MEETINGS… Manchester United 4 (Rooney 2, Van Persie, Wellbeck) Stoke 2 (Rooney OG, Kightly), Premier League, October 2012 Manchester United 2 (Hernandez, Berbatov) Stoke 0, Premier League, January 2012 Stoke 1 (Crouch) Manchester United 1 (Nani), Premier League, September 2011 STATS… Stoke have won once in their last 13 Premier League outings. Stoke have only picked up five league points since the turn of the year. Van Persie has not scored for 10 games, and none of his 19 league goals have come between the 50th and 70th minutes. Stoke have never beaten Manchester United in the Premier League. ODDS… Stoke to win: 6.8 Manchester United to win: 1.63 Draw: 4.1 TV: Live on Sky Sports 1 at 2:05pm, highlights on BBC1 at 10.25pm LIVE STREAM : Man Utd Balkan TV
Sir Alex Ferguson is still without Darren Fletcher, who is out for the season, but full back Rafael is expected to return from a groin injury. However, there could still be a place for Phil Jones or Chris Smalling at right back, though the experienced pairing of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic are expected to start at center back. Up front, Ferguson's wealth of options means Chicharito, Danny Welbeck or Shinji Kagawa could be in contention to start ahead of Wayne Rooney or Robin van Persie. The visitors, meanwhile, are still without injured full back Maicon (knee) but could welcome Micah Richards (knee) and Jack Rodwell (hamstring) back in time for Monday's clash. Out-of-favor defender Joleon Lescott is likely to continue on the bench for Roberto Mancini's men, though City's top scorer in the Premier League, Edin Dzeko, could be in contention for a starting place. DID YOU KNOW ?
OUR PREDICTION : Man Utd 2-1 Man City Manchester City await winners of quarter-final replay Rafa Benitez's side staged an unlikely comeback from two goals down to set up a repeat fixture at Stamford Bridge for the chance to face Roberto Mancini's men at Wembley
Juan Mata, Eden Hazard, Ashley Cole, David Luiz, Ramires and Demba Ba should all return to Rafa Benitez's starting line-up after missing Chelsea's league defeat at Southampton on Saturday. The Chelsea boss could make around six changes to his side ahead of a run of five games in the next 13 days. Gary Cahill (knee) is a doubt so John Terry is likely to continue in defence alongside Luiz. With Ba cup-tied for the Blues in the Europa League, the Senegalese should be handed a start on Monday. Mata should return to the side after missing the match at St Mary's with illness. Sir Alex Ferguson is also likely to make several changes to his side after rotating the team in the weekend win at Sunderland. Phil Jones could return to the side at right-back after Rafael (groin) was forced off at the weekend. Tom Cleverley and Ryan Giggs are also likely to feature after sitting out Saturday's match. In attack, Danny Welbeck and Chicharito will hope for a starting berth with Nani also ready to come in. Antonio Valencia, Ashley Young and Robin van Persie should drop to the bench. DID YOU KNOW :
OUR PREDICTION : After losing to Southampton at the weekend, the Chelsea fans will let Rafa Benitez know how they feel about him at Stamford Bridge and that poisonous atmosphere might work against the Blues. Manchester United also made a number of changes at the weekend, so they should be able to match the energy levels of their opponents. After surrendering a two-goal lead in the original tie, don't expect the Red Devils to make a similar mistake again. Our prediction : Chelsea 1-2 Man Utd | WWW.DRESDIREKT.COM
ONLINE SHOP : BUY MAN UTD 2012-13 SHIRT !!
Archives
May 2013 CategoriesAll |
RSS Feed
