Manchester United's Headliners, Articles and Rumours

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Injured Vidic to resume training

Vidic's return would boost Man Utd
Injury-hit Manchester United could be boosted by the return of Nemanja Vidic before the end of the season.

Vidic, 25, broke his collarbone in United's 4-1 win against Blackburn in March and was ruled out for five weeks.

Boss Sir Alex Ferguson said: "Vidic is coming along very, very well, and he starts training on Monday.

"He's been doing some work in the gym but on Monday he'll start some serious work and hopefully he might possibly be available for the latter games."

Ferguson also hopes several others will return before the end of the campaign as United chase a second Treble.

"Gary Neville is progressing quite well, there's a chance he'll be ready for Everton.

"We'll make a decision on Ji-sung Park next week.

"We've seen the specialist and hopefully we can get an opinion on what the next stage should be.

"Louis Saha is continuing his progress with the physios, but I don't think he'll be fit for this week."

United do have Rio Ferdinand, John O'Shea and Patrice Evra fit after minor injuries.

[qbdp]

Alex's title dream
21/ 4/2007

GETTING his hands back on the Premiership crown would be bliss for Sir Alex Ferguson.

After four years seeing the League trophy residing in London the Reds' boss appears to crave the title above all else in United's Treble chase.

With two semi-finals legs in the Champions League away from the final in Athens and a Wembley FA Cup date booked a 1999 repeat is very much on the cards.

But 'Champions of England' again is the honour driving Fergie on.

"You hope you are going to win a major trophy every year and there is a possibility that we are going to win one of them," he says.

"With an immense amount of luck we could win three. But if we win the league I will be quite happy about that."

To that end United could re-open a six-point gap over Chelsea at tea-time against Middlesbrough at Old Trafford ahead of the title-holders visit to Newcastle tomorrow lunchtime.

Honest

"The incentives are great for both teams. I don't know where the advantage lies to be honest now, says Fergie having seen Chelsea continually reduce the deficit with their one-match in hand.

"They have got to win their games and we are exactly the same. The table shows our consistency of has been terrific. We are three points clear and have a massive goal difference.

"Chelsea maybe expected us to be on their tails this season. Jose Mourinho said early on we'd be their main challengers. But we have turned it round and now they are chasing us.

"Chelsea had set the benchmark quite clearly for us and we had to match it or beat it to make sure we win the league.

"The bar has been raised. Arsenal were undefeated three seasons ago.

"Chelsea have won the last two titles and with 91 points last season which was a terrific total.

"We could total 95 points if we win their remaining five fixtures.

"That is the marking card now. You have to reach that kind of total to realistically win the league.

"I know Jose Mourinho was praying we'd get injuries and we got them so we have done him a favour! Hopefully there is no more.

"It doesn't matter which teams win the league, there are always moments of nervousness," said Fergie.

"But the main thing is the players are enjoying it, and I am enjoying watching them.

"We will need a bit of luck. I have always had that any time I have done well. And what we need now is to keep this group fit for the rest of the season.

"If we do that, then we have a real big chance."

[qbdp]

Nesta ready for Cristiano Ronaldo
Saturday 21 April, 2007

Alessandro Nesta is not afraid of facing Cristiano Ronaldo and insists Manchester United should be worrying more about Kaka.

The Portuguese starlet wreaked havoc in the 7-1 drubbing of Roma, but Milan hope to avoid the same fate in next week’s Champions League semi-final at Old Trafford.

“I faced him two years ago and at the moment he really is at the top of his game,” noted the experienced defender.

“It will be tough, but you can stop Cristiano Ronaldo with organisation and by closing him down immediately.

“We watched the Roma game and that night everything went United’s way, scoring seven goals with as many attempts. Those are special evenings, but in the first leg you could not see such a vast difference between the sides, so we will go there looking for the win.”

Nesta instead believes that Sir Alex Ferguson is the one who should be concerned at taking on arguably the best player in the world right now – Champions League top scorer Kaka.

“We have many world class players here who are going strong, for example such as Kaka, so we have important factors working in our favour,” he told ‘Sky Italia’.

The first leg will be in Manchester – the same stadium where the Rossoneri last lifted the trophy in 2003, beating Juventus on penalties in the Final.

“It will be difficult to play at Old Trafford, as they have a remarkable crowd that gets fired up easily. This clash is worth a great deal, as our team has been criticised and penalised from all sides, so reaching another Final would be a marvellous feeling.”

Milan had originally been excluded from the Champions League due to the Calciopoli scandal, but an appeal saw them go through the Preliminary Round.

The Italians are the only side who made it to the quarter-finals both last season and in the current campaign.

[qbdp]

Smith makes Sir Alex smile

The comeback from injury of Alan Smith has been a major factor in Manchester United's bid for the treble, according to Red Devils boss Sir Alex Ferguson.

The 26-year-old has been in outstanding form since his return after 14 months on the sidelines with a broken leg.

Ferguson told BBC: "He has been absolutely unbelievable. His form in the last three games has been outstanding.

"He has brought a freshness and an infectious enthusiasm which is spreading throughout the team."

The former Leeds United striker was a suprise inclusion in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final second-leg clash on April 10th against AS Roma, an inclusion which resulted in a goal for the returning star.

His performance during that match was followed by outstanding showings against Watford and Sheffield United and Ferguson believes that Smith deserves all the credit he can get for what he has had to endure during his time on the sidelines.

The United boss continued: "When you think of what he has been through, how he has handled it and the way he is approaching his football, he has been first class.

"I cannot speak more highly of him than that."

[Steadyman1]

Manchester Utd has failed to capitalise and only manage to share the point with Middlebrough. The gap between Chelsea is only 4 points apart with Chelsea 1 game on hand. The match is getting more exciting now leaving only 3 games before determine the EPL champion.

[mike2006]

This is not interesting. Make hardcore man u fans heart attack.

[imom]

Originally Posted by Steadyman1

...The match is getting more exciting now leaving only 3 games before determine the EPL champion.

Actually, it's 4 more matches.

28 Apr, Everton away
05 May, Man City away
09 May, Chelsea away
13 May, West Ham at home

For Chelsea, after the Newcastle match, it's:

28 Apr, Bolton at home
06 May, Arsenal away
09 May, Man Utd at home
13 May, Everton at home

[machoman]

United stumble opens the door for Chelsea
Sunday, April 22, 2007, 03:08:37 HRS

Sir Alex Ferguson admitted that Manchester United had opened the door for Chelsea to retain their Premiership title after his side were held to a 1-1 draw by Middlesbrough at Old Trafford.

The point extended United's lead at the top of the table to four points.

But Chelsea can cut that back to one by winning their game in hand, at Newcastle on Sunday, and, with United due to visit Stamford Bridge on May 9, the champions now have their destiny back in their own hands.

If Jose Mourinho's men win their five remaining games they will be champions for a third straight season.

"It opens the door for Chelsea, no doubt about that," said Ferguson, whose problems were compounded by an injury to centreback Rio Ferdinand, who is set to miss both legs of the Champions League semi-final against AC Milan.

"We always said that if we made mistakes, they (Chelsea) have got the ability to come back at us," Ferguson said. "The way I am looking at it is that we have got four games to go and it looks as if the decider is going to be at Chelsea. It will be some game."

United had got off to a perfect start when Richardson tapped the ball into the net after Wayne Rooney had broken clear and rounded goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer.

But Mark Viduka headed Boro back on level terms in first-half stoppage time and an increasingly nervy United were unable to force Schwarzer into a single save after the interval.

[slyer]

Originally Posted by imom

Actually, it's 4 more matches.

28 Apr, Everton away
05 May, Man City away
09 May, Chelsea away
13 May, West Ham at home

For Chelsea, after the Newcastle match, it's:

28 Apr, Bolton at home
06 May, Arsenal away
09 May, Man Utd at home
13 May, Everton at home

chelsea has tougher teams to handle for the remaining games compared to man utd so hope chelsea will drop pts

[epsilon]

Originally Posted by imom

Actually, it's 4 more matches.

28 Apr, Everton away
05 May, Man City away
09 May, Chelsea away
13 May, West Ham at home

For Chelsea, after the Newcastle match, it's:

28 Apr, Bolton at home
06 May, Arsenal away
09 May, Man Utd at home
13 May, Everton at home

let hope that Arsenal can beat Chelsea....

[imom]

Originally Posted by slyer

chelsea has tougher teams to handle for the remaining games compared to man utd so hope chelsea will drop pts

Actually, I think the Devils' fixtures are trickier than the Blues'. We have 3 away matches - and one of them is at Stamford Bridge. Blues' on the other hand, have 3 matches at home. Both teams have a match against a team looking to secure UEFA Cup places next week, but MU's match is away. Both teams have a local derby match away the following match, but in recent years we have seen how unpredictable Manchester derbies can be, with the Devils losing more of those than one would expect of them. Then comes the 'title decider' as the press have dubbed it, and that match is at Stamford Bridge, again not in the Devils' favour. Blues have their final match against a UEFA Cup contender, but the Devils have a match against a team possibly needing to win the match for premiership survival - and we have already lost to them once this season. And we should remember how we lost the title to Blackburn playing against this very team....

If the Devils can pull it off this season, they should be damn proud of themselves.

Originally Posted by epsilon

let hope that Arsenal can beat Chelsea....

On current form, it doesn't look too likely... Hopefully the fact that it's a derby throws all form books out the window...

[Shuang_Jie_Gun]

Originally Posted by imom

If the Devils can pull it off this season, they should be damn proud of themselves.



On current form, it doesn't look too likely... Hopefully the fact that it's a derby throws all form books out the window...

Let's pray hard and hope bro.Will stay tuned for the game results tonite.Going to bet on a Newcastle win later.

[dom01]

haha... they drew 0-0 at st james.. Are we lucky?

[qbdp]

Mourinho questions penalty escapes
22/ 4/2007

CHELSEA manager Jose Mourinho turned up the heat in the Premiership title battle by claiming it appears to be "forbidden" to award penalties against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Middlesbrough looked to have strong claims for a penalty towards the end of their 1-1 draw with United at Old Trafford last night when John O'Shea brought down South Korean striker Lee Dong-Gook.

And Sheffield United manager Neil Warnock also felt his side had been denied a blatant penalty during United's 2-0 home win in midweek when Luton Shelton was felled from behind by Gabriel Heinze.

The incidents prompted Mourinho, speaking ahead of Chelsea's vital clash with Newcastle at St James' Park this afternoon, to tell a TV channel: "Sometimes, when you watch the last two Manchester United matches, we are a little bit afraid because it looks like there is a rule in football that it is forbidden to give a penalty against Manchester United.

"At the moment we should be three points behind them and instead we are four (points behind)."

[qbdp]

Originally Posted by dom01

haha... they drew 0-0 at st james.. Are we lucky?

Yo...got to give Newcastle credit. The top four sides cant win at St. James Park this season. Of course we are lucky coz we drew there whereas Liverpool were the only top 4 team to lose there.