Manchester United's Headliners, Articles and Rumours

[chickenzip]

Originally Posted by Mafan

Bro thx why only half logo can have full de mah ?? xie xie sainz bro ur file size too big cant fit ,but thx any way

sorry bro...didn't know it was over the size limit...here's a smaller size verison...but i can't fit the whole team pics in liao...however the crest is in whole now...

[qbdp]

Originally Posted by chickenzip

United midfielder Carrick ruled out for six weeks

Manchester United have suffered a major injury blow after midfielder Michael Carrick was ruled out for up to six weeks with a fractured right elbow.

Originally Posted by alex18122003

Man Utd injury problems deepen as Carrick gets the elbow

Manchester United have been left with veteran Paul Scholes as their only fit central midfielder after Michael Carrick joined Owen Hargreaves and Darren Fletcher on the sidelines with a fractured elbow.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson revealed after that match that Hargreaves would not be available for another month after having an injection to treat tendinitis in his right knee.

Fletcher is still some way from a comeback following the knee injury he suffered playing for Scotland in France last month.

Sigh...Another player checked in to the 'Louis Saha' suite at Utd's health & fitness resort.

Carrick's partnership with Scholes is as good as Ferdinand's with Vidic. Hope he can recover earlier than expected.

[Mafan]

Originally Posted by chickenzip

sorry bro...didn't know it was over the size limit...here's a smaller size verison...but i can't fit the whole team pics in liao...however the crest is in whole now...

thx bro nicely done

[qbdp]

Sir Alex Ferguson forecasts a Man Utd deluge

Sir Alex Ferguson believes his Manchester United side are close to recovering the scoring form that has eluded them so far this season.

United will move ahead of Arsenal at the top of the Premier League if they beat Wigan Athletic today, but the manager concedes that their position owes much more to the defence, who have not conceded in the last five league games, than to his attack, who have mustered just 10 goals in 12 games.

The recent 2-0 victory over Chelsea is the only occasion United have scored more than once in a game this season. But Wayne Rooney scored his first goal of the season in the Champions League game against Roma this week and both Carlos Tevez and Louis Saha are match fit again, leading Ferguson to believe United will soon add fluency and potency to their stuttering attacking form.

"I think what is happening is unusual for us," Ferguson said. "And I think that every team that comes up against us now will be waiting for a deluge. We know it's going to happen. It will happen, we will score goals, unfortunately it's not come as quick as I would like. We're playing well, creating chances, it will happen.

''It's early season and you have to remember there are valid reasons for the delay [in scoring]. Rooney's injury, Ronaldo's suspension, international breaks have all affected us but all the strikers have scored now."

Yet just as Ferguson is becoming bullish about his forward options, he finds himself facing growing concerns about central midfield. Michael Carrick will be out for six weeks after breaking his elbow and Owen Hargreaves must wait at least another 10 days before returning to training after suffering a recurrence of his tendinitis, leaving the manager pondering who should partner Paul Scholes.

"It was a bad blow to lose Michael Carrick," he added. "To break an elbow is an unusual one. His form has come back and the last few games he has been first class. We have to pick another central midfield player, because Darren Fletcher is also out, and I think Anderson or Ryan Giggs will supply the answer."

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Vidic and Rio on same wavelength

NEMANJA Vidic has revealed he shares an almost telepathic on-field relationship witH United defensive partner Rio Ferdinand.

The duo starred in yet another clean sheet performance on Tuesday as the Red Devils held off AS Roma thanks to Wayne Rooney's clinical late effort.

Aside from the Carling Cup debacle against Coventry, when neither Vidic nor Ferdinand were even on the bench, it is now virtually 11 hours since United last conceded.

Vidic's partnership with Ferdinand has plenty to do with that.

At times the duo are so effective, Sir Alex Ferguson has likened them to Steve Bruce and Gary Pallister, who provided the bedrock for United's early title successes in the 1990s.

And Vidic confirmed how easy it is for him alongside the England international.

"Rio is a great player and I am really glad to be in the same defence as him," said the Serbia star.

"We know each other really well. We know where each other are on the pitch and we know what movements the other one is going to make. That has to be important and so far things have gone really well.

"There are so many great players up front for us, if we keep a clean sheet we feel someone will score in the end and I am pretty proud our record is so good."

[asiancigar]

Ronaldo has United back up to speed
Paul Wilson at Old Trafford
Sunday October 7, 2007

Sir Alex Ferguson promised a deluge and it duly arrived as Manchester United climbed to the top of the Premier League by hitting four second-half goals against an increasingly bewildered Wigan.

United almost always score four against Wigan, however, and not even the feast that followed could completely erase the memory of an arid first half that acted only as a terrific advertisement for rugby union.

Not even the World Cup in France has succeeded in bringing together so much talent and so many spectators for so little result, though at least United could legitimately claim they were distracted by injuries. They lost no fewer than three players before the interval, beginning when Louis Saha hurt his knee in the warm-up. That might be par for the course for a striker cruelly caricatured as being made from balsa wood, though United were more seriously disrupted when Nemanja Vidic retired concussed and John O'Shea had to limp off after suffering a dead leg.

'We did fantastically well considering all the switching around we had to do in the first half,' Ferguson said. 'Once we were settled, we speeded the game up in the second half and played some very good football. I'm very happy with the squad I've got and I think understanding is beginning to arrive.'

Ferguson would be even happier if he could play Wigan every week. Chris Hutchings' side still have not taken a point from United or any of the other 'Big Four' sides in their three seasons in the Premier League, and have not won since the victory over Sunderland that saw them briefly top the table in August. They never will win playing like this, with Marcus Bent merely a token presence on his own up front and not even a pretence of any more ambition other than hanging on for a goalless draw.

'Even at 1-0 down you are still in with a chance,' Hutchings argued unconvincingly. 'But we lost our shape after conceding and the game opened up for them. They upped the tempo and could have scored more goals, if I'm honest.' This is an entirely fair and accurate summary, it is just that Wigan fans have heard it all before. There is no particular disgrace in losing at Old Trafford, though rarely have the Latics looked as timid and toothless as this.

United barely carried a goal threat either in the first half, though they should have had a penalty in the fourth minute when Michael Brown pushed Mario Melchiot out of the way in his eagerness to barge Cristiano Ronaldo over in the area. It was as clear a penalty as you could wish to see, yet alone in the stadium the well-placed referee, Mike Riley, viewed it as a fair challenge.

Carlos Tevez shot narrowly over on the stroke of half time after Patrice Evra had snuffed out a rare shooting chance for Paul Scharner, then the Argentine brought the crowd to its feet nine minutes into the second half with a virtuoso piece of balance, pace and finishing.

It was a well worked goal all round; Rio Ferdinand's probing pass forward being transformed by Wayne Rooney's first-time flick and Anderson threading a ball through the Wigan defence for Tevez to run on to. Tevez beat Kevin Kilbane and Titus Bramble first for speed then for control, walked round Chris Kirkland in the visitors goal and placed his shot into the net past defenders on the line.

Predictably, Wigan had no answer, their gauche attempts at getting back into the game only inviting United to score more. Luis Valencia did bring a fine save from Tomasz Kuszczak, but United were two up by then courtesy of Ronaldo's nod into an empty net after Kirkland had dived full length to keep out a Ryan Giggs cross that flew goalwards off Kilbane's head.

Ronaldo's second swiftly followed, when Rooney escaped down the left to send over a cross so good it left the winger just needing to sidefoot home from six yards. Then the England striker added a fourth - his second in as many games after failing to score in the first two months of the season - with a determined header after Danny Simpson supplied another excellent cross from the right.

Wigan were left reflecting how embarrassing the scoreline might have been had Giggs shot a foot lower when he grazed the bar in the second half, or had Ronaldo accepted a decent chance for his hat-trick when found with a penetrating pass from the impressive Anderson. United brought Tevez off to a thunderous standing ovation, and could take satisfaction other fine individual performances from Giggs, Rooney and Anderson.

'When you consider we had 10 players missing by the second half, it was a fantastic performance,' Ferguson said. So it was, four times as many goals as usual and top of the league for the first time this season. But it was only against Wigan.

[asiancigar]

Ooophs...double post... so here is a pic of our beloved pair

[asiancigar]

Boss salutes defensive starlets

Sir Alex Ferguson was delighted with United’s convincing 4-0 victory over Wigan Athletic, and had particular words of praise for youngsters Gerard Pique and Danny Simpson who were thrown into the action.

Pique started the match at right-back, but switched to the centre to partner Rio Ferdinand just before the half hour mark after both Nemanja Vidic and John O'Shea had gone off injured.

As a result, Simpson was introduced in the 29th minute and the 20-year-old defender came of age during only his second appearance for the club, adding an assist to his name following his excellent cross for Wayne Rooney for United's fourth goal.

“Danny's a very confident boy,” Sir Alex told MUTV. “He’s so quick and is a tremendous defender. He’s improving his technique all the time and he is one of the players that I would not consider going on loan this year because he’s valuable to us.

"Pique also came in today and was absolutely outstanding. He was one our best players against Coventry [in the Carling Cup] and is improving all the time."

Carlos Tevez opened the scoring for United on 54 minutes after shaking off two Wigan defenders before calmly slotting past Chris Kirkland.

“The challenges were coming in first from Kilbane and then from the goalkeeper but he kept his nerve, which I think is the most important thing in that situation, and composed himself enough for a good finish,” added Sir Alex.

“Wigan set their stall out with one up as most teams are doing. But we got the spark in the second half and earned a good victory.”

Cristiano Ronaldo capped a fine performance with the next two goals on 59 and 76 minutes, before Wayne Rooney completed the rout after another clinical move.

“It was only his second headed goal for us,” acknowledged the United manager. “Wayne should get more [headers] because he’s a good header of the ball. It was a great move and fantastic ball in from Danny Simpson.

“That’s three in three games for Ronaldo and someone said to me ‘do you really think he’ll score more than 20?’ We’ll just have to see, but I certainly hope so.”

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Ferguson: Rooney should use his head more

Sir Alex Ferguson has told Wayne Rooney he should score more goals with his head after seeing the England striker net for Manchester United in their 4-0 victory over Wigan Athletic, which lifted them to the top of The Premier League.

Rooney headed in youngster Danny Simpson's cross with eight minutes remaining to complete the rout at Old Trafford.

"It was only his second headed goal for us,” Ferguson told United's official website.

"Wayne should get more [headers] because he’s a good header of the ball. It was a great move and fantastic ball in from Danny Simpson."

Ferguson was also quick to praise the contribution of Simpson and fellow rookie Gerald Pique after seeing his side go top for the first time this season.

Pique was chosen to start the match at right-back but was soon called upon to deputise in the centre of defence as both John O'Shea and Namanja Vidic succumed to early injuries.

Simpson was introduced in place of O'Shea, making only his second appearance for the club.

United's young stars faced criticism recently following Coventry's win at Old Trafford in the Carling Cup, but Ferguson is adamant that both Pique and Simpson can play a key part in the club's quest for honours this season.

"Danny's a confident boy," Ferguson said after the win over Wigan.

"He’s so quick and is a tremendous defender. He’s improving his technique all the time and he is one of the players that I would not consider going on loan this year because he’s valuable to us.

"Pique also came in today and was absolutely outstanding. He was one our best players against Coventry and is improving all the time."

[Castrol]

great to see anderson play finally. hope alex can give him the licence to go forward more often, his left foot drives are what i am waiting for.

[imom]

Originally Posted by Castrol

great to see anderson play finally. hope alex can give him the licence to go forward more often, his left foot drives are what i am waiting for....

Nice assist for Tevez's first goal... but Tevez still had a whole load to do and he didn't disappoint... unlike Dawson and Chimbonda!!! Grrr.....

[Castrol]

Originally Posted by imom

Nice assist for Tevez's first goal... but Tevez still had a whole load to do and he didn't disappoint... unlike Dawson and Chimbonda!!! Grrr.....

haha... i know what you mean. dawson and chimbo should be sandwiching torres instead of dawson and torres sandwiching chimbo.

[qbdp]

Originally Posted by Castrol

haha... i know what you mean. dawson and chimbo should be sandwiching torres instead of dawson and torres sandwiching chimbo.

If I recall correctly Spurs defence could have and should have cleared the ball just prior to the equalizing goal.

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Giggs impressed by trio

Ryan Giggs has paid tribute to Gerard Pique, Danny Simpson and Anderson for their contributions in the 4-0 victory over Wigan.

Simpson joined Pique in defence after Nemanja Vidic and John O'Shea were both forced off through injury inside the opening half hour.

Giggs was delighted with the way both players coped with the pressure and also added something to United's forward play.

"Pique came in at centre-half and did a good job, and so did Simmo," Giggs told the club's official website.

"They got two assists really, so overall it was a really good performance from them both."

Anderson also came on midway through the first half and produced one of his most eye-catching displays in a Manchester United shirt.

"In the second half Anderson was really involved in a lot of the play," said Giggs.

"He worked hard, showed some great touches, some great passes and he's still only young and finding his feet, but he put in a really good performance."

No regrets on retirement

Giggs will be one of the few United players not to link up with his country over the next fortnight, having retired from international football earlier this year.

But he insists he will enjoy the break and then aim to come back stronger than ever for United's Premier League clash with Aston Villa on 20th October.

He explained: "I look forward to not playing, really.

"This is why I retired from international football, to get the break and to look forward to playing for United and being fresh again."

[asiancigar]

Anderson: “Ronaldinho with commitment”

Our first big win of the season confirmed that United are on the right track.

In the first two months of the new campaign it was hard to figure out whether we were brilliant and not firing or just average and punching above our weight.

The most important element of any successful team is balance and I’m always concerned when I can’t name our best eleven. Regardless of the opposition however, it became clear on Saturday that United are entering a new level of success.

In the past we had perhaps one unarguably world class player in the team. Now we have 4 or 5 - and it’s scary quite frankly. I’d really like to try and guess who will be the next team to score against us but it’s extremely hard to predict. We are playing Arsenal in a couple of weeks but they haven’t yet played a proper team. We have Dynamo Kiev away, but can they have serious designs on penetrating our back line, even without Neville, Brown and Vidic? I would happily put my faith in Pique (who is pure class) and O’Shea.

In attack, we can and will continue to wax lyrical about Ronaldo, Rooney, Giggs and Scholes but I want to champion the cause of a player that I have had a keen eye on since he signed. If you want to know who the next star of Old Trafford is, please look no further than Anderson. It may seem irreverent, but those who talk about him eventually being as good as Scholes, are doing him a disservice. Paul Scholes is undoubtedly my favourite Red but I am as sure as the day is long that Anderson will eclipse Scholes with ease. From the first moment I saw him, I knew there was something special about the lad. Everyone asked whether he could adapt to the English game or whether he would be another Kleberson/Veron. But every true football fan has an instinct about young football talent and each ounce of mine tells me that Anderson will be the very best player in the world within 3 years. I am so pleased that he made such an impact on Saturday, but he didn’t just suffice, he totally broke the stalemate that the game had become.

You can talk about players who have done well for United in the last few years. Park has done well. Van Der Saar has done well. O’Shea, Fletcher, Neville and Ferdinand have done well. Many players just about make the grade.

But there is something boiling inside me that says Fergie has probably done his best business in signing Anderson and he will become a player who is truly idolised at Old Trafford. Let’s not forget that at 19 Ronaldo was still a very erratic and frustrating player for us. At 19, Ronaldo couldn’t guarantee a place in the team. But at 19, Anderson has far greater poise and maturity. He is a far better player than Ronaldo was at 19. Anderson will be one of the first names on the team sheet by the end of the season. His touch is phenomenal. His passing is better than anything we currently possess and, most importantly his speed of thought is frightening . I don’t quite know how to explain how good he is! We are about to witness something very special in Manchester. Just watch how his profile grows in the next 9 months.

Fergie, like all managers, has made his mistakes in the transfer market but if it is possible to imagine a better signing than Ronaldo then Anderson is it. Of the summer signings, Hargreaves is essential, Tevez is quality and Nani is exciting, but Anderson will be more important than the three combined. He is the perfect Top Trump card. He is Ronaldinho with commitment. He is Ronaldo with a superior football brain. He is Rooney with more skill. This boy can make us more successful in Europe than Real Madrid. More importantly, he will make it impossible for people like Ronaldo to leave because there will be nowhere worth going after United. Anderson defines the future of United.