Manchester United's Headliners, Articles and Rumours

[Castrol]

Originally Posted by imom

And it's nice to see Carrick getting comfortable with putting the ball in the back of the net as well. Fergie's faith in him is vindicated!

oh carrick, spurs is but a fool. carrick we love you, though you treat us cruel.

[qbdp]

Originally Posted by dom01

Sell saha... restore smith to striker.. is my call...

Originally Posted by imom

We all love Smudge - fantastic work rate, intelligent and has great awareness...

Saha cant complain if Sir Alex decides to sell him in the summer. 99 appearances in 3yrs compared to Rooney's 100 appearances in 2yrs.

True that Saha's Utd career is hampered by injuries but none was career threatening ones like Keane, Solskjaer or Smith's. Saha's were niggling ones. Seems like Saha usually gets injured whilst training and more than half were with France squad.

Saha started the season with a 'bang' and after getting his contract extended he goes missing again. Utd taken for a ride by a made-of-paper Saha?

Bro imom has just listed the essential attributes of a good team player that Smith has and he certainly deserves his place in the first 11.

[qbdp]

Originally Posted by Castrol

oh carrick, spurs is but a fool. carrick we love you, though you treat us cruel.

Haha...nice! bro anymore songs??

[qbdp]

Vidic lift for United
Last updated at 23:59pm on 19th April 2007

Sir Alex Ferguson has been handed a major boost as he seeks the second treble success of his glittering career with news that central defender Nemanja Vidic could be fit for the FA Cup and a potential Champions League Final in May.

The Serbian international is recovering ahead of schedule after suffering a dislocated shoulder against Blackburn recently and club medical staff are confident he will be ready and match fit for the FA Cup Final against Chelsea on May 19 and the Champions League Final in Athens four days later, should United beat AC Milan to get there.

[imom]

Originally Posted by Castrol

oh carrick, spurs is but a fool. carrick we love you, though you treat us cruel.

Very clever hor.... kekeke. Well done

Hmm, but gotta say Carrick looks a lot more comfy and confident than he ever did at Spurs.

[Castrol]

Originally Posted by qbdp

Haha...nice! bro anymore songs??

stay tuned for more songs after spurs beat arsenal tomorrow.

Originally Posted by imom

Very clever hor.... kekeke. Well done

Hmm, but gotta say Carrick looks a lot more comfy and confident than he ever did at Spurs.

what can i say... he is getting better playing with a world class team like man utd. i believe he will push hargreaves out for that middle role for england soon. but spurs need him more than ever.

[CibLover]

Originally Posted by Castrol

stay tuned for more songs after spurs beat arsenal tomorrow....

Then, all the best to Spurs. Give us the lyrics and we'll join in for the chorus.

[imom]

Originally Posted by Castrol

stay tuned for more songs after spurs beat arsenal tomorrow....

Originally Posted by CibLover

Then, all the best to Spurs. Give us the lyrics and we'll join in for the chorus....

Tomorrow I support Spurs..... Two weeks' time I support the Gunners.....

Whoa, Gunners are running around London these 3 weeks. London derbies all the way!

[CibLover]

Originally Posted by imom

Tomorrow I support Spurs..... Two weeks' time I support the Gunners.....

Therefore, tomorrow Spurs will win. Then, Gunners will be ashamed and hungry and then take it out against their next opponent in the following weeks.

[lahchi]

[QUOTE=qbdp;1976574]Vidic lift for United
Last updated at 23:59pm on 19th April 2007

Sir Alex Ferguson has been handed a major boost as he seeks the second treble success of his glittering career with news that central defender Nemanja Vidic could be fit for the FA Cup and a potential Champions League Final in May.

He is a key man..he keeps rio on the ball and the best part is he takes no prisoners..thats vidic our serbain commando

[qbdp]

Originally Posted by lahchi

He is a key man..he keeps rio on the ball and the best part is he takes no prisoners..thats vidic our serbain commando

Bro, I agree with you. Vidic is a no-nonsense and classic central defender.

[qbdp]

Manchester United wary of Middlesbrough aggression

MANCHESTER, England April 20 (Reuters) - Alex Ferguson hopes strong-arm tactics by Middlesbrough in Saturday's Premier League match will not spoil Manchester United's treble bid.

Bad blood has been flowing since comments by Boro captain George Boateng after their FA Cup clash in mid-March and manager Ferguson fears they could affect Saturday's game. Middlesbrough's James Morrison was sent off for a crude challenge on Cristiano Ronaldo as the Portuguese kept possession late in the quarter-final replay, which United won 1-0.

Boateng claimed United's winger would get hurt one day if he continued to tease and torment with his skills.

Ronaldo also got under Boro's skin when he was awarded a controversial penalty in United's league win in December, when the referee was Chris Foy who will be in charge again.

Ferguson is concerned Middlesbrough will adopt a physical approach at Old Trafford, just four days before United host the first leg of their Champions League semi-final against AC Milan.

"I think there is a paranoia about the boy (Ronaldo) and I think they will be aggressive tomorrow," he said. "It's up to the referee to control the game and decide whether players are kicking or fouling him."

PROVOCATIVE COMMENTS

Ferguson feels the Football Association should have taken action against Boateng whose comments he called "provocative".

"The important thing is to make sure we express ourselves in our normal way, play our football and hopefully that takes us to the win we need," he said.
United go into the game three points ahead of Chelsea as they close in on their first Premier League title since 2003.

They are also chasing the Champions League and FA Cup but regaining the domestic title seems top of the priority list.

"You set off the season hoping you are going to win a major trophy," he said.
"With an immense amount of luck we could win three. But if we win the league then I'll be quite happy at that."

United's defensive resources have been badly stretched in recent weeks but Rio Ferdinand and John O'Shea are fit to return against Middlesbrough.

Patrice Evra has also shaken off a knock sustained in the mid-week win over Sheffield United.

"Anytime I've done well, I've always had a bit of luck," said Ferguson. "The luck we need now is to keep this group fit again for the rest of the season. If we do that then we have a real big chance."

Nemanja Vidic will return to training on Monday after a broken collar bone while Gary Neville could be fit next weekend. Louis Saha, Ji-sung Park and Mikael Silvestre are sidelined.

[mike2006]

Hope Vidic recover fast. With him around, my heartbeat will not jump so fast when i see other teams attack man u.

[qbdp]

Originally Posted by mike2006

Hope Vidic recover fast. With him around, my heartbeat will not jump so fast when i see other teams attack man u.

My heart beats faster whenever he goes up to attack our corner kicks.

[qbdp]

Clinching the Premiership title alone would satisfy Ferguson

Having conceded it will take an "immense amount of luck" to pull off a repeat treble, Sir Alex Ferguson will be satisfied with his season's haul if his Manchester United side wrest the Premiership trophy from Chelsea and deliver the title to Old Trafford for the first time in four years.

With the Champions League taking a back seat for 72 hours and the FA Cup final a month away, Ferguson's side can look to securing the manager's ninth championship by opening up a six-point advantage over the London club if they beat Middlesbrough at Old Trafford this evening.

Victory might increase a little the pressure on Jose Mourinho and his players, who play at Newcastle United tomorrow. Having been reduced to a supporting role in the last three title races, Ferguson has emphasised where his priorities lie. "You start the season hoping you are going to win a major trophy and there is a possibility we can win none of them," he said. "With an immense amount of luck we could win three. But if we win the league, I'll be happy with that.

"I think Chelsea maybe expected us to be on their tails this season. I think they expected us to be the main challengers; Jose said that early on. So we have turned that around and they are chasing us, so I couldn't ask for a better position, to be honest."

Ferguson's belief has been bolstered by the easing of the defensive injury crisis that cast a question over United's ability to last the course. Rio Ferdinand and John O'Shea will return tonight while Gary Neville and Nemanja Vidic are close to full recoveries, prompting the Scot to suggest that fortune had shifted back United's way. "Any time we have done well we have always had a bit of luck," he added. " I know Jose was praying we got injuries and we got them, so we did him a favour that way but hopefully there's no more."

The player Ferguson can least afford to lose is Cristiano Ronaldo but the manager expressed concern that the winger's feud with Middlesbrough could end in injury to his star turn. Ronaldo has been at the centre of controversy on the three occasions the sides have met so far and the dismissal of James Morrison in the FA Cup replay for a wild lunge at him triggered an outburst from the Middlesbrough captain, George Boateng, who claimed the Portuguese will be targeted if he continues to embarrass opponents with his skill. "I'm fearing the worst myself about what could happen because we've got important games coming up and I don't think they'll be messing about," Ferguson said. "I think they will be aggressive towards him."

Real Madrid's director of sport, Predrag Mijatovic, says the club has not given up hope of signing Ronaldo despite the 22-year-old recently extending his contract at Old Trafford until 2012. Mijatovic admitted the new contract complicated matters but he would not rule out a big-money bid. "We never said he would come here but I must say we like players like him," he said. "It all depends on the club allowing him to leave and on the player's desire to join the team."