Manchester United's Headliners, Articles and Rumours

[yinyang]

deleted, double post

[machoman]

Drogba applies the killer blow to United double hopes
Sunday, May 20, 2007, 01:26:29 HRS

Chelsea's Didier Drogba (L) is congratulated by teammates after scoring a goal against Manchester United at Wembley Stadium in London, during the FA Cup Final football match. Chelsea won 1-0.


Didier Drogba's 33rd goal of the season, four minutes from the end of extra-time, was enough to secure the FA Cup for Chelsea in the first final at the new Wembley on Saturday.

Just as it seemed a third successive final would be resolved by penalties, the Ivory Coast striker picked up a pass from Mikel John Obi, found Frank Lampard on the edge of the area and and burst into the box to meet the return pass with the most delicate of finishes over the sprawling Edwin van der Sar.

Drogba's goal count this season also includes the winner in the League Cup final against Arsenal in February and this one ensured that Chelsea's manager Jose Mourinho has now completed a full set of English trophies after only three seasons in charge -- although whether he will be around for a fourth remains to be seen.

Mourinho said afterwards: "That's one I don't throw away, it means a lot," Mourinho said of his winners' medal. "It's the first FA Cup for me. It's something the players deserve so much. It's a moment for everyone to enjoy.

"The team played very, very well and understood the gameplan."

Skipper John Terry said Chelsea had made up for losing out on the Premiership and Champions League. "It's absolutely unbelievable, the way we held on to the death, the way Didier took his chance."

"If we hadn't have won this Cup we would have been very frustrated," added Drogba, saying he was "very happy to score the first goal in this new stadium."

Drogba grabbed the glory at the end but he will have to share the plaudits with goalkeeper Petr Cech, who had repeatedly denied United any reward for their attacking efforts in a match they did not deserve to lose.

Chelsea's John Terry (R) vies for the ball against Manchester United's Wayne Rooney at Wembley Stadium in London, during the FA Cup Final football match. Chelsea won 1-0.

Having pulled off a superb double save to deny Wayne Rooney and Giggs at the start of the second-half, the Czech international came to his side's rescue twice more in extra-time.

In the 104th minute, as Giggs slid in to meet Rooney's low cross, Cech threw himself to his right to smother the ball. The United captain's momentum carried him into the goalkeeper's body, forcing both Cech and the ball over the line but referee Steve Bennett waved away the appeals for a goal to be given.

Then, minutes before Drogba's killer blow, the Chelsea keeper threw himself at Rooney's feet to prevent the England forward finishing off Paul Scholes's perfectly-judged ball over the top of the back four.

With the Premiership champions close to full strength and Chelsea obliged to do without the injured trio of Ricardo Carvalho, Michael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko, United's line-up appeared, on paper at least, to carry the greater attacking threat.

In practice, it was Chelsea, with Joe Cole and Shaun Wright-Phillips swirling either side of Drogba, who displayed the greater attacking initiative in an opening half that never really sparked into life.

United's first sniff of an opening came after quarter of an hour when Darren Fletcher's header left Rooney with only Cech to beat. The offside flag went up -- wrongly television replays suggested -- but Rooney, in any case, placed his shot wide of the target.

The England forward's touch was equally awry a minute later when he failed to get a clean contact on a volley after Michael Essien, standing in for Carvalho, miscued a clearance into his path.

At the other end, Drogba sent a long-range effort looping wide before Paulo Ferreira's surge into the box generated Chelsea's best chance of the opening period.

Having cut inside Heinze, the Portuguese right-back slipped the ball to Lampard on the corner of the six-yard box and the midfielder was able to squeeze a shot on the turn through Rio Ferdinand's legs, forcing van der Sar to get down smartly to his right to save.

An unusually subdued Cristiano Ronaldo finally got involved in the contest ten minutes before the interval, shooting narrowly wide after collecting an astute long ball from Scholes, a minute before Lampard sent a 30-yard drive whistling narrowly over van der Sar's crossbar.

Half-time brought the introduction of Arjen Robben at the expense of Cole for Chelsea, but it was the increase in United's tempo that had a more profound impact on the pattern of the match and it took a superb double save by Cech to prevent them taking the lead within three minutes of the restart.

An uncharacteristic lapse by Claude Makelele allowed Rooney the opportunity to go round Essien on the edge of the area. The goalkeeper could not hold the drive that followed but he recovered quickly enough to keep out Ryan Giggs's follow-up effort.

With the game opening up, there were threatening bursts into the boxes from both Robben and Rooney, who was increasingly getting the upper hand in his personal battle with Essien.

But clear chances were extremely thin on the ground with a Ronaldo shot that found the netting the closest either side came to breaking the deadlock before the dramatic finale in extra-time.

- AFP

[dom01]

Brudder gaia & slyer,

are you ard?

[slyer]

Originally Posted by dom01

Brudder gaia & slyer,

are you ard?

bro slyer reporting... u lookin for me?

[epsilon]

What is your formation?

This season, Manchester United has tried to play quite a few formations. No prizes for guessing the man masterminding these formations - Carlos Queiroz. Sometimes the change in formation was awful (negative 4-5-1 in Europe), but sometimes they left us with some sweet memories (4-2-3-1 in Europe).

Lets have a look at these formations, and which would suit the team more depending on the signings Manchester United make this summer.

1) 4-4-2: The traditional formation, which was behind the success of United for years. Manchester United had Giggsy and Beckham in those days using the width to the maximum extent. Now with Giggsy becoming old and Ronaldo who is more a dribbler than a Beckham-isque passer, we have found these wide men cutting in more often than sending in those crosses. This formation has done wonders for Manchester United and will continue to do so.

If Manchester United signs a winger like Nani/Quaresma/Anderson to replace Giggs, this formation would still be a big hit. But Scholes, Carrick and Owen Hargreaves(if he comes) can’t be on the pitch at the same time.

2) 4-5-1: This is a very negative approach and was used by Manchester United at the start of the season in the European games. It was very frustrating to see Rooney who was out of form(due to suspension or whatever) stuck wide left and unable to neither score nor setup someone. This would never suit Manchester United, as Rooney is neither very good stuck wide left or playing alone up front (England).

Who ever players United signs, this formation will not suit United because they are and will be pathetic at playing negative game.

3) 4-3-3: This approach is good but it is not so good on the eye to watch as the 4-4-2 as the width will not be used to that extent.

If Manchester United does not sign a winger, signs Hargreaves and a forward in the mould of Etoo/Berbatov/Tevez or Rossi comes back, United might be tempted to play this formation with Scholes, Carrick and Hargreaves in the center of the park and Rooney, Ronaldo and the striker playing upfront.

4) 4-2-3-1: I have become a big fan of this formation. United used this formation to devastating effect against Roma. The most attractive thing about this formation is the 3 interchanging all the time giving a lot of fluidity to the attack. They also went wide exploiting the width. Carrick and Fletcher have done well in this system, and if you replace Fletcher with Scholes, this is not so balanced, as Scholes tends to get forward a little.

If Manchester United does not sign a winger, signs Hargreaves and gets back Rossi, we might see United playing this formation with Rooney, Ronaldo, Scholes/Giggs (lets play these old guns in a mutually exclusive manner) forming the interchanging 3 and Carrick and Hargreaves comfortably sitting before the defence.

5) 4-1-2-2-1: Manchester United havent yet tried this formation, but if Hargreaves and a winger comes in they might be, with Hargreaves the one protecting the defense, Carrick and Scholes in the midfield, the winger and Ronaldo as the two wide men and Rooney as the lone striker (Note that in this formation, Scholes and Carrick would be sharing the burden along with Rooney and it wont be a long ball game like 4-5-1)

So whats your formation?

[epsilon]

Can Rooney replace Scholes?

So we’ve won the premiership. No time to gloat, we have figure out how to get better and how to improve the squad. We want to win the title again next year, and our squad is fragile. Lets face it, the most cover we had was in defense and it’s lucky thats where we got most of our injuries. Our midfield is talented but there’s no depth. If one of scholes, ronaldo or giggs gets a long term injury, how do we cope with that. We saw how badly we fared in 2005 when scholes was not there.

So, thinking along these lines, what’s a good lineup for manchester united? Who should we buy and where should everyone play?

Let’s start in goal. Van der Sar is ok for another season despite some errors creeping in. We should have Ben foster back as third goalie to avoid what befell Chelsea this season.

In defense, we need a left back who’s solid and aggresive. Heinze’s been slow ever since his injury. If Evra develops at any pace, we might be ok. The search for Gary neville’s successor will be more urgent this season. Defense is still not a priority though. I think we actually have pretty good cover in the back line. What happened at milan was just terrible luck.

In the midfield, we need a tough tackling, defensive mid in the keano mould. Apologies to Carrick but he doesn’t fill that role. We need another winger to cover for giggs and ronaldo and eventually take over from giggs. Nani seems the best one out there.

We desperately need a good attacking midfielder to replace scholes. I don’t think a lot has been said about this position since scholes has been in such spectacular form this season, but we’re woefully short of cover in this critical position. Looking at options world wide, kaka would ofcourse be the ideal fit. He expressed admiration for the old trafford atmosphere, and even though he recently got married and got his italian passport, it might be well worth the risk of breaking the bank to get him. He’s one addition that’ll make this squad complete. and devastatingly menacing.

If that doesn’t materialise, I believe we have a ready made option just as good. His name’s Wayne Rooney. Let’s think about it from another perspective. We’re looking for the following qualities in an attacking midfielder to replace scholes:

1. Tough tackling

2. Intelligent footballing mind

3. Great passer

4. Good long range shooting ability.

5. Able to get back and help the defense.

All these capabilities are present in Rooney. He tackles better than Scholes, his vision on the field is incomparable, he possesses a lethal long range strike. He routinely tracks back and defends.

All these skills are essential to a top attacking midfielder but not necessarily needed buy a top striker. Rooney is young, he’s always hungry for the ball and always wants to be involved in the game. Why not develop him into a midfield general and let out n out strikers in the ruud mould take over the striking responsibilities.

By all accounts, Manchester united are already in the market to get a top striker. Why don’t we get 2 and let rooney play behind them. I’m pretty sure he’ll be as devastating as kaka in that position.

This brings us to the strikers. We need 2 top quality strikers badly. There’s no question about it. It’s time to sell saha. I must admit i’m a big fan of dimitar Berbatov and would like nothing better than to see him in Old trafford. He’s got everything and would be a fine addition. I wouldnt mind paying 20 million for him. Anything over that though, is a bit much.

The other ideal addition would be someone like Miroslav Klose. The kind of guy who just scores an imporesive number of goals. A point man. He needs to be good with his head.

So there are my suggestions.

Get two strikers, play rooney behind them. Ronaldo and nani on the wings with a good defensive mid (still unknown bet certainly not owen hargreaves at 20+ million) covering the back 4.

This vision is probably of a team post giggs and scholes but it should provide us with a lot of flexibility. In such a set up, you can always sacrifice a striker, let rooney play upfront with the other, and ssubstitute another central midfielder for games like the milan one where wingers were ineffective.

The bottom line is, Rooney could be the answer to the attacking midfield hole that scholes’s retirement is certain to create.

[qbdp]

United get their man with £17m Hargreaves deal

Sir Alex Ferguson was denied the fourth Double of his 20-year reign when Manchester United lost the FA Cup final to Chelsea but there was better news for the Premiership champions last night when Bayern Munich announced that a deal had finally been done to take Owen Hargreaves to Old Trafford.

Hargreaves will sign a four-year contract after the two clubs brought an end to 12 months of tortuous negotiations by agreeing a fee the Bayern president Franz Beckenbauer described as "a little bit over" €25m. That equates to about £17.5m and will be viewed as a good piece of business within Old Trafford, given that Bayern had initially set the price above £20m.

The finer points of the deal are still to be thrashed out but Hargreaves has already started looking for a house in the Manchester area ahead of joining his new team-mates when Ferguson's squad return for pre-season training on July 2.

"Owen Hargreaves will go," Beckenbauer told the DFB-Doppelpass programme on German television. "It is the wish of the player. Everything is right for him and it is also financially right for us." Asked if reports about the size of the fee were true, Beckenbauer replied: "It will be around that size."

The agreement ends a year-long pursuit for Ferguson, who first tried to sign Hargreaves at the end of the World Cup, a tournament in which the 26-year-old was one of the few England players to distinguish himself. The midfielder made it clear he wanted to move to the Premiership and, to the irritation of his employers, travelled to Manchester to meet Ferguson for talks. However, Bayern had already lost Michael Ballack to Chelsea and refused to let Hargreaves leave in the same season.

An agreement was struck at the time that Hargreaves would be allowed to get his way at the end of the season and Beckenbauer has been true to his word, despite the complications agreeing a fee. Bayern, who finished fourth in the Bundesliga, out of the Champions League places, intend to use the money to sign Miroslav Klose from Werder Bremen in what promises to be a period of extensive transfer activity at the Allianz Arena.

The arrival of Hargreaves signals Ferguson's intentions not to allow Chelsea to re-establish themselves as England's best team next season. It may also add variation to the way United play. Ferguson likes the idea of Hargreaves taking a defensive-midfield role alongside Michael Carrick, with Scholes pushed further forward in an attack-minded 4-2-3-1 formation, ideally with Louis Saha as the most advanced striker. Alternatively, Hargreaves can also fit into a more conventional four-man midfield, giving Ferguson a combative presence in an area of the pitch where United were noticeably sub-standard compared with Chelsea at Wembley.

United will not comment until the deal is officially concluded but the players have been informed and Carrick welcomed the extra competition. "We are the biggest club in the world, we want the best players and Owen is a top player," he said. "He will strengthen the team. We need a big squad and that's been proved this season when we have been fighting on all fronts."

[yinyang]

Rumours aplenty now on..

Sunday's gossip column

TRANSFER RUMOURS
Manchester United are trailing Heerenveen's Brazilian striker Alfonso Alves who has scored 34 goals in 31 games this season. (Sunday Mirror)

Chelsea have targeted Everton defender Joleon Lescott but will have to find £10m to get their man. (Sunday Mirror)

Milan are planning a £28m swoop for Chelsea striker Didier Drogba. (News of the World)

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez wants to splash £20m on Carlos Tevez. (Sunday Express)

Spurs are preparing a bid for Manchester United striker Louis Saha. (The People)

Spurs boss Martin Jol hopes to bring in Morten Gamst Pedersen, Leighton Baines, Darren Bent and Nigel Reo-Coker. (Sunday Mirror)

And that means Jermain Defoe, Mido and Hossam Ghaly will be shipped out of White Hart Lane. (Sunday Mirror)

Djibril Cisse has told Liverpool to slash their transfer demands so he can finally leave the club. (Sunday Mirror)

Birmingham boss Steve Bruce is hoping to sign Arsenal centre back Johan Djourou. (Sunday Mirror)

Bruce also wants Middlesbrough striker Mark Viduka. (Daily Star Sunday)

Alan Curbishley will axe 12 of his West Ham squad in a £40m summer shake-up, including Nigel Reo-Coker, Marlon Harewood and Bobby Zamora. (Various)

Manchester United have switched their attentions to Porto winger Anderson after Sporting Lisbon demanded £20m for Nani. (Daily Star Sunday)

Roy Keane wants to make Bolton keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen his first signing after leading Sunderland back to the Premiership. (Daily Star Sunday)

Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal are in a three-way fight for £15m-rated Manchester City defender Micah Richards. (Daily Star Sunday)
Bolton defender Tal Ben Haim will see his salary rise from £8,000 to £50,000 a week when he signs for Chelsea. (Daily Star Sunday)

Reading midfielder Steve Sidwell will join Chelsea this week - despite a last-ditch bid from West Ham. (News of the World)

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger fears Thierry Henry has played his last game for the club. (News of the World)

Real Betis are leading the chase for Liverpool winger Mark Gonzalez. (News of the World)

Manchester United are planning a £12m swoop for Ajax striker Klaas Jan Huntelaar. (News of the World)

OTHER GOSSIP
Manchester City are on the point of appointing Dutchman Co Adriaanse as their new coach. (Sunday Mirror)

Tottenham are the target of a £250m bid from US consortium. (News of the World)

Multi-millionaire businessman Sheikh Samir Mirdad is heading up a Dubai-based consortium interested in taking over Leeds. (Daily Star Sunday)

AND FINALLY
Spanish football's disciplinary committee had to annul 100 yellow cards given in Spain's top two divisions as referees hit back in a row involving David Beckham. Becks recently saw yellow for time-wasting, officially noted as 'unsporting behaviour', but had it rescinded on appeal. But referees demonstrated their anger at that decision by marking down the next 100 bookings as 'unsporting behaviour', meaning the committee had to follow the example they set with Beckham.

[asiancigar]

Any news about ManU buying Samuel Eto....

Now that we have Owen Hargraeves,.... personally, i think that we should conclude the summer buying by signing Sam Eto, Torres, Nani and Micah Richards...

The only way we can ever come close to a Treble is to have at least 2 players for each position and more big names rather than those coming thru the academy....

I am convinced that we would have had the Treble if Henrik Larsson was around.... there is no doubt that he has the vision and football skills to menace the likes of AC Milan and Chelsea....

Lets keep our fingers cross that we land a few top class players....

Cheerz
AC

[Mafan]

Originally Posted by yinyang

Spurs are preparing a bid for Manchester United striker Louis Saha.

Wah saha also wo lang ai.

Originally Posted by asiancigar

The only way we can ever come close to a Treble is to have at least 2 players for each position and more big names rather than those coming thru the academy....

I am convinced that we would have had the Treble if Henrik Larsson was around.... there is no doubt that he has the vision and football skills to menace the likes of AC Milan and Chelsea....

Lets keep our fingers cross that we land a few top class players....

What so bad about academy ?? beckham, Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes i think all of them from school too. What we need now is a finisher (ppl who can goal) and a play-maker, might need another defence. and we will be good, dont have to be big names just player who can play well not like richardson and saha (MC king)

[dom01]

Saha is a big disappointment this season, so many injuries... sigh.. Another sick note.

[yinyang]

Monday's gossip column

TRANSFER RUMOURS
Manchester United will turn their attentions to Atletico Madrid striker Fernando Tores, Sporting Lisbon winger Nani and Southampton defender Gareth Bale after capturing Owen Hargreaves. (Daily Mirror)

Chelsea have entered the bidding to land West Ham striker Carlos Tevez, although the Blues will face competition from Real Madrid. (The Independent)

OTHER GOSSIP
Manager Jose Mourinho has been told by the board that Chelsea's season - in which the club won the FA Cup and Carling Cup - was not good enough. (Various)

Edwin Van der Sar will lose his status as Manchester United's first-choice goalkeeper to Ben Foster next season after being blamed for Didier Drogba's winner for Chelsea in the FA Cup final. (Daily Mirror)

Manchester City are expected to name former Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri, who took charge of Parma in February, as their new manager within the next fortnight. (Daily Mirror)

[dominion]

Originally Posted by Mafan

Wah saha also wo lang ai.

doesnt that make you vv happy?
if u r manager, think u will sell him at 1 pound.

[qbdp]

Heinze misses the bus as Hargreaves jumps on

SIR ALEX FERGUSON ONCE DESCRIBED Manchester United as “a bus that waits for no man” and, as he consoled himself with a little retail therapy yesterday with long-awaited confirmation of a deal to sign Owen Hargreaves from Bayern Munich, it became clear that Gabriel Heinze would be foremost among those passengers left behind.

Heinze was chosen ahead of Patrice Evra at left back on Saturday, at the end of a season-long battle between the two of them, but the FA Cup Final seems certain to mark the Argentina defender’s swansong as a United player. He has told teammates that he does not expect to be at Old Trafford next season, with a move to an unidentified Spanish club believed to be on the cards.

Having served three years of a five-year contract, Heinze could be bought out of his existing deal for approximately £6 million under new Fifa transfer regulations, but United are likely to settle for a slightly smaller sum for a player who has struggled to regain his top form since suffering cruciate knee ligament damage in September 2005 after a highly impressive first season at the club.

There will be other departures this summer, with Ferguson eager to find reinforcements in certain areas and to accommodate a number of young players who have impressed on loan this season. Mikaël Silvestre and Louis Saha are also vulnerable, despite having signed new contracts in the past 12 months, although Saha hopes that recent uncertainty over his future, arising from a series of injuries, will be eased when Ranko Stojic, his agent, speaks to the club this week.

As for Hargreaves, a fee in the region of £18 million was agreed with Bayern last week, with the German club waiting until the end of the Bundesliga campaign yesterday to announce that the deal was done. The midfield player has agreed a four-year contract and could undergo a medical examination at Old Trafford this week, possibly to coincide with his planned appearance in an England B international against Albania at Turf Moor, Burnley, on Friday. No problems are expected, even though he has not recovered full fitness since suffering a broken leg last September.

The signing would be welcomed by Michael Carrick, who would expect to play alongside Hargreaves in midfield next season. “World-class players are going to strengthen you,” Carrick said. “We’re at the biggest club in the world, we want the best players and Owen is a top player.”

[slyer]

its great that owen hargreaves joined man utd. i tink he can be the next roy keane while carrick can perform the role of paul scholes. hope man utd can buy a gd strikers to replace saha. samuel eto, berbatov are gd choices.

also hope man utd can buy gareth bale, micah richards as they look promising defenders