Manchester United's Headliners, Articles and Rumours

[gaia]

Originally Posted by dom01

Do u think CR will be sold? I think he wld want to go, most probably Barca. Rooney quite quiet nowadays. Hv nt scored in a long time, esp champ league.

Dun mind CR go to barca, provided if fergie can get ronaldino to come to old trafford.....

[qbdp]

SSSSssssshhhhhhhhhhhh............



C.Ronaldo gestures to Kuyt and possibly to all Liverpool fans.

Rafa rues lack of luck

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez struggled to arrive at an explanation for his side's defeat to Manchester United, after John O'Shea's injury time winner stole the spoils at Anfield.

The home side dominated large spells of the second half after an evenly fought first, with United rarely looking like scoring before O'Shea's late intervention.

Ahead of Liverpool's UEFA Champions League clash with Barcelona on Tuesday, Benitez conceded he was bitterly disappointed about the manner in which the weekend had unfolded.

"I would have trouble explaining how we lost that in Spanish; in English I find it almost impossible," said Benitez.

"We dominated the game, were in control and had plenty of attacks. Sometimes football is all about luck. When you have so much of the play and make chances without scoring, you must be careful against a team as good as United.

"United have a great defence and a fine goalkeeper. He stopped one from Peter Crouch at the end everyone felt was going in. But although we had so much of the game, we did not make too many chances.

"The decision to disallow Craig Bellamy's effort in the first half for offside was right. It just was not our day."

[dom01]

LArsson is going back... that is sad...

[mr_missile]

Larsson loan ending on 12 Mar.
Rooney injured his knee in the game agst Pool. Maybe out for a week. (Scholes banned for 3 games for his red card)
Solskjaer had a knee op and will be out till end Mar.
Left only Saha as the only recognised striker.
Hopefully Giggs, Ronaldo and maybe even Rossi and Smith will take up the challenge to lead the attack in their absence.
7 more wins in the league for the Premiership title!

[qbdp]

Originally Posted by dom01

LArsson is going back... that is sad...

Originally Posted by mr_missile

Larsson loan ending on 12 Mar.

Rooney injured his knee in the game. Maybe out for a week.

(Scholes banned for 3 games)

Solskjaer had a knee op and Left only Saha as the only recognised striker.

Hopefully Giggs, Ronaldo and maybe even Rossi and Smith will take up the challenge to lead the attack.

7 more wins in the league for the Premiership title!

Sir Alex may move Giggs to partner Saha upfront and bring in Park Ji-Sung on the left till Rooney's back.

He may play Heinze/Silvestre at left back, push Evra to left midfield to partner Carrick and O'Shea with Giggs and Ronaldo on their flanks in formation 4-5-1 aka 4-3-3 during Scholes' 'holidays'.

Smith may still lack competitive games to play in this crucial period likewise with Dong. Rossi is on loan at Parma not sure if Sir Alex will recall him.

[mike2006]

Whatever unlucky things happen to Manchester United, it always pushes them on and motivates everybody to be at their best. It's the spirit that get them going and fight as a team. I hope it will get them the title this season. If this season they managed to acheive treble, i think alex can step down with highest glory and unparallel in terms of acheivements.

[Castrol]

Originally Posted by qbdp

Smith may still lack competitive games to play in this crucial period likewise with Dong.

bring back alan smith!

[qbdp]

Originally Posted by Castrol

bring back alan smith!

Maybe Utd dont need Smith yet, we've got O'Shea! He can play in almost all positions, even as a keeper and scored a winning goal at Kop end that any poacher will be proud of. Ask Bellamy, Kuyt or Crouch.

[qbdp]

Giggs still hungry

The fear that every game may be his last is the reason behind the insatiable appetite for football Ryan Giggs still holds.

Manchester United's most decorated player became only the second in the club's history to make 700 appearances, when on Saturday he helped United to a crucial 1-0 victory over Liverpool.

Despite already having eight Premiership titles in his trophy cabinet, the 33-year-old wide man remains a model of professionalism and has more than played his part in United's usurping of Chelsea at the summit this season.

Giggs admits he is savouring every moment as his career draws to its conclusion, but with no intention of hanging up his boots imminently, he retains the competitive edge that has characterised his career.

"Because you get older and year on year you are getting closer to the end, you try to enjoy it a lot more," Giggs told MUTV.

"The aim is to win every game and every competition, because it might be the last FA Cup final you play in, it might be the last FA Cup game you play in.

"You try and make the most of it, you try and win as much as you can.

""I won't dwell on it (reaching 700 appearances) for too long because like I keep saying you look to the next step, for the next game."

Meanwhile, Paul Scholes has learnt that he has been cleared to play in the club's prestigious charity match against a European select XI at Old Trafford next week.

Following the midfielder's red card at the weekend it had been feared he would not be able to play his part in the 13th March clash, but the Football Association has now confirmed that he is eligible.

[qbdp]

United will let Larsson leave

Henrik Larsson will make his final Champions League appearance for Manchester United against Lille tomorrow.

The Swede is eligible to make only one further appearance for United, in the FA Cup quarter-final at Middlesbrough on Saturday, and the club insist there is no possibility of extending his spell on loan from Helsingborgs.

Larsson's exit coincides with a sudden reduction in manager Sir Alex Ferguson's forward options.

With Ole Gunnar Solskjaer sidelined until the end of March after knee surgery, Wayne Rooney limped out of the weekend win over Liverpool which also saw Paul Scholes sent off to incur a three-match ban.

Scholes has, however, been cleared to play in United's prestigious charity match against a European Select XI at Old Trafford next week.

The Football Association concluded today because Scholes is free to play against Lille he should also be eligible for the charity game, which marks the 50th anniversary of United's entry into Europe and the Treaty of Rome.

United's forward problems eased yesterday when they revealed that Rooney would be fit to face Lille, easing the burden on Ferguson who could have been left with Louis Saha as his only fit striker.

But even if Rooney had not made an unexpectedly quick recovery, there would have been no attempt to persuade Larsson to stay.

"Henrik is going home - 100 per cent," United's chief executive, David Gill, said. "When we took him on loan, all parties agreed March 12 would be the expiry date and that will be the case. We are not going back on that."

Larsson always maintained he wanted to return home for family reasons, and Gill acknowledged his contribution.

"Henrik loves it here," Gill said. "He has done fantastically, he has enjoyed it immensely. We have benefited from it but there are other issues.

"I have not spoken to him directly about it. That has been dealt with by Sir Alex and Carlos Queiroz. But everyone respects it. The decision is there. It has been made, and we move on."

Meanwhile, Lille defender Matthieu Chalme insisted yesterday that the Champions League tie was wide open, despite United's 1-0 first-leg win in northern France.

That game ended in a controversy surrounding Ryan Giggs' winner, and Chalme claimed Lille could gain revenge at Old Trafford. He said: "It's not finished yet, as our first-leg performance proves.

"We matched them in the tackle, in our commitment and going forward. We were patient at the start, then after the break we caused them trouble on the counter and got to the loose balls first.

"We know we'll have chances over there. There's only one goal in this tie, and everyone here believes we can do it. Now it's up to us to make it happen."

[qbdp]

Ferguson fury over Lille's 'cheating' slur
By Tim Rich

There are some things about France that Sir Alex Ferguson loves - summers in the Cote d'Azur, the Pol Roget vineyards and Eric Cantona. And there are some things about France he cannot abide. Lille join Arsene Wenger and the pitch at the Stade de France in the latter category.

After one official protest and a lost appeal against the goal that gave Manchester United a 1-0 advantage after the first leg, the affair of Ryan Giggs' quickly taken free-kick is one which still rouses the Scot's ire.

Despite indicating at yesterday's press conference that the controversy was behind him, the United manager could not resist s+++ing the fires in his programme notes for tonight's return leg at Old Trafford, the United manager said: "The behaviour of Lille in the first leg and their attitude since marks this tie out as something different, and you just don't know how the undertones will affect the players, and even more importantly, the referee.

"More and more, Lille are presenting themselves as a little club against a big one who are bullying them. Inevitably, that stance puts pressure on a referee. Officials are only human.

"I know our guys will be strong because that is something in their character, but our opponents have turned this match into something that goes beyond normal rivalry.

"They have virtually accused us of cheating by taking a quick free-kick. The bottom line is that Giggs showed great presence of mind while their team were caught napping - and that's not cheating."

At the time, Ferguson was critical of Lille coach Claude Puel who urged his players to walk off the pitch. "I'm sure that when the dust has settled, Lille's attempts to get their players to walk off in protest will worry their coach for a long time to come,'' he said.

Rio Ferdinand, also writing in the match programme, turned the heat up still further by encouraging United fans to give Lille a hot reception in tonight. ''I think the fans will be really up for it especially after what happened in France," the England defender said. "The Lille fans gave us a hard time over there and things got a bit unsavoury at times when they started throwing things on the pitch.

"I am sure our fans will be keen to make themselves heard and hopefully it'll be a classic European night."

Giggs, meanwhile, expressed his bewilderment at Lille's reaction to his goal and insisted he would do it again.

"The last time I scored like that no one thought about walking off the pitch," Giggs said. "I was just amazed by what happened. I have done it before and at Liverpool on Saturday I asked for a quick free-kick, but in the end it wasn't on. If it is on against Lille, I will ask again and it doesn't matter if there is a huge fuss."

Ferguson's other big concern tonight is the loss of Louis Saha. He broke down in training yesterday, stretching United's striking resources to the limit. United have yet to specify the injury but Saha has had persistent knee problems.

With Ole Gunnar Solskjaer out for the rest of the month while recuperating from an operation and Wayne Rooney recovering from the Jamie Carragher tackle that forced him off at Liverpool with eight stitches in his leg, Ferguson might have been tempted to call Helsingborgs and ask if Henrik Larsson fancied another month in Manchester.

"You can forget that," he said. "He goes home after the Uefa game [against a European XI on March 13]. That is certain."

Alan Smith, who has not played a Premiership game since breaking his leg at Anfield 13 months ago and last started a match in United's Carling Cup defeat at Southend in November, has been included in the squad.

Ferguson will definitely be without Darren Fletcher until virtually the end of the season after the Scotland midfielder damaged ankle ligaments in the FA Cup against Reading.

Team details

Manchester United: (probable 4-4-2) Van der Sar; Neville, Ferdinand, Vidic, Heinze; Ronaldo, Carrick, Scholes, Giggs; Rooney, Larsson.
Lille: (probable 4-4-1-1) Sylva; Chalme, Plestan, Tavlaridis, Tafforeau; Keita, Dumont, Makoun, Bastos; Obraniak; Odemwingie.

[Castrol]

Originally Posted by qbdp

Maybe Utd dont need Smith yet, we've got O'Shea! He can play in almost all positions, even as a keeper and scored a winning goal at Kop end that any poacher will be proud of. Ask Bellamy, Kuyt or Crouch.

haha o'shea is more all rounder than the great german libero Matthias Sammer! whether smith is coming back or not, i think lille's backside will open up big big tonight in old trafford.

[yinyang]

Originally Posted by qbdp

Ferguson fury over Lille's 'cheating' slur ..."They have virtually accused us of cheating by taking a quick free-kick. The bottom line is that Giggs showed great presence of mind while their team were caught napping - and that's not cheating." ...Lille coach Claude Puel who urged his players to walk off the pitch. .

Frogs still croaking in proverbial well... Ready to be slaughtered, cooked for dinner for devils tonite?

[mr_missile]

Originally Posted by yinyang

Frogs still croaking in proverbial well... Ready to be slaughtered, cooked for dinner for devils tonite?

Frogs' legs porridge? Piping hot in a claypot? Yummy!!

[dom01]

Updated: March 7, 2007
Man United face striker shortage after Saha blow

Louis Saha has been ruled out for four weeks with a hamstring strain.


WHAA.... At this time, he gets injuried. Sighh...