The magical night at Celtic Park.

The Bhoys probed, hassled us, chased every ball,didn`t give any quarter and showed that a TEAM which keeps it shape,manages to clear the line and is not afraid to throw bodies in the line of fire can hold back better,more talented and maybe slightly more experienced team at home,but thats all.
The Celtics wont ever win any major trophy if they play like this, but they do give all the big teams a scare and for United,well it was a good wake up call and a test of their character....

If only Berba managed to keep his balance and tap in the very last pass...only If

Bemoaning English talent

Watching the Red Devils toy with the Bhoys at home, just one thing struck in my mind, the lack of young home-grown English or british talent driving the team forward.ok it can be argued that of the back four or rather five if you count in the sub Wes Brown, we have 5 defenders who are all part of the English football academy setup. Gary Neville, Johnny Evans , Wes Brown & John O`shea are all products of the United academy and Rio comes from West Ham United academy.

But that’s where it all ends.we have the Scottish Captain Darren Fletcher in the middle of the park, but he is barely a regular at this position. Rooney is a talent who cant and should not be considered part of the Academy setup. He is one of those stars who are born with IT.

My main concern is that of the current young batch only Johnny Evans is good to get a start. We haven’t managed to bring up lads of the caliber of the class of 95. Maybe I am looking too far back, but then again, when these kids come to the the United Academy, they need to be good enough to fill in the big boots of being a United player. We have tried developing obvious English talents like Phil Bardsley ( he started positively with stints at Royal Antwerp and Rangers and was at one period the Right- Back of choice for Martin O`Neil at Aston Villa but once back in United, he just failed to play his natural game. Now hopefully at Sunderland, under the tutelage of Roy Keane he might just be steeled into a better player. That’s what he needs, lots of games and hard gmeas at that to make his United training worthwhile.
Next comes Chris Eagles.this is one player on whom the Gaffer had a lot of faith and hope and gave him a lot of Champions League starts,but in the last 18 months it became painfully obvious that he was just not being able to make the jump into the rigours of first team football at United. Life at the top became too hard for him. So he is banished to plying his trade for Barnsley, down in the Championship.

United faithfuls will remember Jonathan Spector , the American Defender who really shone in his loan spell at Charlon Athletic during 2005-2006.i vividly a match against Liverpool where playing at Centre Back, he made life miserable for the great Stevie G and like any true United fan, I thought we had someone in our ranks who could fill the boots of Steve Bruce and Gary Pallister and Ronny Johnsen, but an injury at the end of the season just before the World Cup killed all his hopes of making it to the US team . Now he is at Villa park where he continues to put it in a lot of solid performances either in the backline or as a CDM.

Adam Eckersley –now at the Dutch first division.

Another great United mystery is Kieran Richardson. He used to be a regular for England under-21s and even played for the Senior English squad under Sven-Goran Ericsson and Steve Maclaren. But his lazy and pompous ways earned him the moniker of “ Lord Snooty” from the Stretford End faithfuls and a subsequent transfer to Sunderland under Keano.

Lee Martin- nothing much is coming out of this talented Winger.He is there but not quite. Am sure he will sold to Charlton or Fulham or maybe even QPR.

The only guy who is making any sort of a mark in Premier league matches is a certain Fraizer Campbell who after a scintillating performance with Hull City where he scored consistently and superbly is being sent out on a loan to Spurs as a counterbalance for Berbatov.

Judging by the way Messers Ramos and Poyet are handling their wards, its wishful thinking that any talent, far alone English talent will get a chance to do anything to save the Lilywhites from going down. At best, they will finish in the lower top-half of the table, where all their precious Continentals like Luka Modric ,Vidran Corluka & Roman Pavluchenko wont even be eligible for an Inter-Toto Cup berth.
So much for being an English c;ub with English talent.


So all we have is one Johnny Evans and one Fraizer Campell who are good enough to play first team for United. For others we will be looking at the small clubs of Brazil and Spain and Central Europe.Alas.

Berbatov-

31 Mil pounds and the jury is still out on the latest signing from Spurs.Some say he is the next Cantona,to others he is just too slow and lazy to adapt to the United speed,for me he is just a Poor Sod who plied his trade for a bunch of Loosers .
At United, we DONT need and like our Strikers to backtrack and defensive, we pay them to entertain Stretford End.

So Berba, get your fancy 31mil ass in the line of fire, latch onto the balls sprayed to you by That Boy, Evra or Carrick and just score the goals, we have enough people to hold fort at the back.

Updates on the TEAM Medical Ward

Carrick has damaged his ankle ligaments again...he seems to be sidelined till Nov...or if the Gaffer pushes it,he will probably be ready to play sometime end October.
Scholsey faced a nasty lunging wrap-around the knees tackle in Aalborg. Suspected Knee ligament damage- out till Dec mid.With his age, hopefully he will be on the bench by Christmas.
Ben Foster- now this poor bugger seems to be injured even if he is just walking to the loo...Suspected ankle and knee ligament damage and he just came back from a Cartilage damage.
Rooney- Out with Ankle ligament damage courtesy some vigorous hard Danish tackling and also due to the fact he runs at people like the Household Cavalry.
Rodrigo Possebon-lucky to have his leg in one piece after Emmanuel Pogatetz ploughed into him like the Virar Galloping from Churchgate.

Add to this list the fact that we Ronnie & Park just in from Long term surgery and Gary Neville trying to turn back the magic to 2004 and we have a Medical Ward IX good enough to take on the first team.

Also we have a Van der Saar who seems to have a bad knee ( chronic ) and Owen Hargreaves` tendinitis flaring up all the time.These are people we are not even talking about.

Latest Transfers

Confirmed and accepted moves...
1.Deco-moves to Chelsea...from Barca...for about $8 mil.
2.Ludovic Guily- Moves to Paris St Germain...from AS Roma.
3.Claude Makalele- moves to Paris St Germain from Chelsea.
4.Ronaldinho- Moves to AC Milan...from Barca...for about $19 mil.
5.Pablo Aimar- Moves to Porto...from Real Zaragosa.


Offers and Targets
1. Rafael Van Der Waart...to Athletico Madrid...from Hamburg...for about $ 10 mil...anyway he has a release clause in his contract...hence he can leave next year for a fee of just $ 1 mil...so Stuttgart will sell him for the current price offered.
2.Robinho- Chelsea have offered around $ 48 mil for him..he is very unhappy at Real and wants to leave...doesnt want to be any part of a swap involving C.Ronaldo.
3. Kaka- Chelsea has offered $ 150 mil for him...from AC Milan. After buying Ronaldinho and also because of their bad financial shape, AC might just release Kaka and increase their cash flow.
4.Dimitar Berbatov-to Manchester United from Tottenham Hotspur.Right now, United has offered $ 20 mil and is ready to wait till Spurs break down and relent.Its a waiting game out there.

Plain speculations,hypes and rubbish published by Marca...
1. C.Ron-from Manchester United to Real Madrid...for anything between $ 80 mil and the crown jewels of England.
2.Klas Jan Huntelaar- to Manchester United from Ajax Amsterdam.He admires United, bit united will move only if they miss out on Berbatov.

This is for the Shahguidog...anyone else reading it will find it very strange perhaps...
Gee- try and learn the nuances of the game h0n...

The Gaffer`s Dilemma

LAST SUMMER, when Dimitar Berbatov learnt that Tottenham were to rebuff attempts by Manchester United to sign him, he was tearful. Spurs were on tour in sunny South Africa but clouds settled over their striker. Should Berbatov be back in South Africa six weeks from now the skies will be brighter. United play exhibition games there between July 19 and 26 and Sir Alex Ferguson is considering trying to get Berbatov in a red shirt by then.

Ferguson offered £25m for the Bulgarian a year ago and a similar sum may be sufficient now to prise him from White Hart Lane. Daniel Levy, Tottenham’s chairman, would strike a hard bargain, but Berbatov has just two years remaining on his contract and has indicated he will reject an extension, worth £70,000 a week, mooted by his employers. AC Milan are interested and Berbatov likes the idea of playing in Spain, but United are a long-held dream. Ferguson, having done background checks, is not put off by doubts about his temperament.

A move for Berbatov is one of the things Ferguson is pondering on holiday in France. Another is what to do about Cristiano Ronaldo. He is able to keep the two questions separate and that, rather, is the point about the far-from-terrible position in which he finds himself. He does not want to sell Ronaldo and there is no pressure on him to do so. There is money available to sign Berbatov or an alternative striker, and cash to bring in further players - whether or not Real Madrid pay the £50m-£80m they have talked at various times about offering for Ronaldo.

Someone familiar with the thoughts of the Glazer family, who own United, said: “As far as the Glazers are concerned, Ronaldo’s not for sale. It doesn’t get any simpler. If there’s an issue, it’s to be resolved by the player and the manager.”

Related Links

• Real Madrid plot Ronaldo escape

Ferguson’s first priority is to gauge how much solid intent lay behind Ronaldo’s statement to a Brazilian journalist that “I want to play for Real Madrid but only if it is true they are eager to pay me and Manchester United what they have been saying they will”. His second, if Ronaldo is serious, would be to make a forceful case to him about staying. His third, should the Portuguese be adamant about departing, would be to consider the oldest equation in management: how much is a certain player worth to my team and at what price do the alternatives become better?

Ferguson has revealed he could “sit a player in the stand”, with the Glazers’ blessing, if he wanted to make a point about the importance of United’s footballers honouring their contracts. Ronaldo’s has four years to run and Ferguson would love to show Real they cannot “ride roughshod” over his club, while David Gill, the Old Trafford chief executive, will send a letter to Fifa tomorrow reporting Real for “tapping” Ronaldo. But how much does fury and protest achieve? United’s goal for next season is retaining the European Cup and Ferguson will be asking how this could be done minus Ronaldo. Adding Berbatov would eliminate one handicap the manager faced last season, the lack of a proper striker, and it is conceivable that, with no Ronaldo but other reinforcements, he could have a stronger side than last season.

The £25m available to sign Berbatov last summer is still in Ferguson’s transfer kitty and it is understood any fee for Ronaldo would be his to spend. Contrary to suggestions, the Glazers would not seek to use it to pay off the £666m debts resulting from their takeover. The cost of financing these is £42m per season and is taken annually from United’s operating profits, which were £80m for 2006-07, leaving £38m that was ploughed back into transfers and other projects. Having just banked £32m for winning the Champions League, United are getting richer and their total wage costs are only £50,000 a week more than Arsenal’s. With Ronaldo money, Ferguson could have £100m to spend.

United need £20m to make Carlos Tevez’s loan permanent and a bid of £5m was lodged for Cardiff City’s Aaron Ramsey, but should these deals, and one for Berbatov, be completed there might still be £50m of further signings to come. Ferguson wants a right-back and any offer by Real to include the buccaneering Sergio Ramos in a deal for Ronaldo would be tempting. Mark Hughes’s arrival at Manchester City makes landing Micah Richards less likely but there are other options in the £20m bracket that Richards inhabits, such as Daniel Alves, or alternatives at half the price, such as Lazio’s Stefan Radu. Carlos Queiroz, Ferguson’s assistant, admires Portugal’s Miguel Veloso and Joao Moutinho, though United have no pressing need to sign another central midfielder.

Since no one else can play like Ronaldo it would be futile to seek a facsimile. Ferguson tried to replace the irreplaceable when Roy Keane left, and life after Ronaldo would have to involve a change in playing style. The choice could be whether to rejig United’s attacking strategies with a second new striker or another flank player. At Lyons there are deluxe talents in both these positions but the wide man, Hatem Ben Arfa, looks a lot more attainable than the striker, Karim Benzema, priced at £48m. Roque Santa Cruz, Luis Fabiano, Sergio Aguero, Mario Gomez, Luis Antonio Valencia, Ricardo Quaresma: there are plenty of others United could try and sign – £100m gives you options.

Ferguson has been working on those equations since he started at East Stirling and calculated it was worth £750 of his first budget of £2,000 on a signing-on fee for Tom Gourlay, Partick Thistle’s reserve goalkeeper. “Gourlay was useful, had good presence and was utterly fearless. He was also a minimum of 2st overweight,” recalled Ferguson. Nevertheless, it turned out to be the right decision, just as it was in 2003 when he let another superstar leave for Real Madrid and replaced David Beckham with one Cristiano Ronaldo.

So what can you get for £110m?

Should Cristiano Ronaldo move to Madrid for £80m, United could have up to £110m to spend in this summer’s transfer market. Sir Alex Ferguson already has a budget of around £30m and would be allowed to reinvest Ronaldo’s fee

His priority is to buy a top striker, with Tottenham’s Dimitar Berbatov his main target

Other strikers under consideration include Karim Benzema (£48m), Luis Fabiano (£10m), Roque Santa Cruz (£10m), Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (£20m), Mario Gomez (£20m) and Sergio Aguero (£25m)

A right-back is also sought. On the wish list are Micah Richards (£20m) and Daniel Alves (£20m)

A wide man might be needed, with Ricardo Quaresma (£31m), Hatem Ben Arfa (£15m) and Luis Antonio Valencia (£10m) linked with United. Ferguson has bid £5m for Cardiff’s Aaron Ramsey and needs £20m to make Carlos Tevez’s loan permanent.

So that`s all for the Day...

( Found this writing somewhere...liked it...putting it here for all those Reds who cant surf through Random sites )...i dont claim originality..its a compilation...

Title...

That`s the way you do it...you play the game at Lukhniki...and you play it with Honor,dignity and Pride...glory glory United!!!




Giggse, Patsy,That Boy,Vida,Carrick and Rio celebrate the penalty save by VDS...

And all this on the 40th Anniversary of the first win and 50 yrs of rememebering the Busby Babes.

Quijj...or something like it

never felt so happy not qualifying for the finals of a quiz which can rightfully claim to the big daddy ( age n content-wise ) of all Quizzes in India, for that any quiz.
The whole qualifying process was a sham, solely intent on gimmickry,show-boating and at times Bahuut bheg...
reminded me of the times when certain gentlemen P & B where the sole school Quiz- masters of Kolkata.

My team operates on simple funda"If we qualify,Good...if we dont...VERY GOOD".

By the time we reached the seventh question in the prelims, i knew it will be very good.

Banker buddy and the SonneKinde tried gamely ,but we just didn`t deserve to be on stage for the finals. As simple as that.
Fellow quizzers from next table, veterans of many such battles and much wiser than us ( they had a sense of deja Vu,circa 2004), just walked away,vowing to fight another day.

Only If

We manage to win at that Pig-sty called Luzhniki stadium, i swear i will run along GT Road in my " Lend-leased" Violet/ Purple hapoo...

Points to Ponder

This Company runs on

1. Bluster.
2.Bullshit.
3.Bravado
4.Brow-beating.

R.I.P.

Footie: Republic OF Mancunia...

We Are Going to Moscow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i just dont care whether we face the Scousers or the Chelskits...we are ready for anyone...

Glory Glory United.

Of a nite long past...

i swear that night Bruce Willis and Sean Penn were with us...only Harper`s Bazar & Esquire didn`t allow me to print those pics...hence you poor sods get to see their Armani shirts and CK jeans...




" and miles to go before we sleep'

In the striking zone...

I stared at the screen blankly…angry…very angry…a lump forming in my throat…as the Blues celebrated their win…(Rio celebrated by kicking a stewardess)…for a second the old foto of JT holding aloft the EPL trophy flashed in front of my eyes and I was back to my usual self.

We lack strikers. Quality finishers inside the box who can hold the ball in Middle third and let the wingers and withdrawn striker run into the box. We probable need a Berbatov, a Heitinga or maybe a Kun Aguero.our ball-holding capability in the final third can be written on the back side of postage stamp with room to spare. Instead of 1 tall strong striker pulling atleast 2 defenders (preferably also their CDM) towards him, we have Rooney( Mutton-headed lump of lard), a Misplaced Dhakai bangal( Saha) and a specialist withdrawn forward ( Tevez ) in the team.

By now,it’s a well-known and well-documented fact that Rooney is useless against proper holding defences of Spain or Italy. At best, he bulldozes into massed wall of 2^nd grade African talents ( no Thuram/ Essien/ Yaya Toure/ Mahamadou Diarra those ) or cheap East European imports who gets overawed by the AIG logo, not by Rooney`s ball skills.Rooney is more suited for the Rugby Unions leagues and less for the intricacies of European football.Old Man,sell him while you still can get some money for him!

Saha…ahahahahahahahahha…even I am fitter than him. Any world-class ( ! ) striker who gets injured while warming up for matches should just take Buladi`s advice and stick to playing Ludo…Sell him…to Sunderland. Keano will wipe the floor with his ass, and then Saha might be fit to play.

Tevez is more of a ball-winner, someone in the terrier mold, one who will keep on running at the Left back and the central defenders till they commit a mistake, a small error in judgement and Tevez wil score…a real 110% guy on the field, he ranks right up there with Fletch, Sheasy and Wes Brown. Not spectacular, but his work rate will put any winger/ Attacking Medio to shame.

Options for Old Man;

1. Kun Aguero- his form for Athletico Madrid has already been earning him rave reviews from pundit s and opposition coaches,so much so that Chelsea is already lining up a $35 Mil bid for him to be their 7th striker( another Steve Sidwell).If we can get him,nothing like it.Poacher.Period.

Pros : Poacher, can conjure goals from anywhere in the box, UCL/ UEFA Cup experience.

Cons: lack of consistency, unproven in EPL.

2. Dimitar Berbatov : the tall Bulgarian with the Superb ball skills has been one of the reasons Spurs managed to win the League Cup. A fantastic season with Werder Bremen and EPL clubs were at his doorstep with the proverbial blank cheques. Sad he chose a group of perpetual also-rans like Spurs (did he mistook the United Millions to be in Dollars???). Face it, Spurs might have their days but a team that can’t defeat Livorno at home has no future in Europe. Sad because a Berbatov in the Number 10 jersey would have been a dream for the Reds in Europe where his holding, composed football and crackling single-touch passing would open up many a defence for that Boy to torment.

Pros: Proven EPL record, stint with Werder Bremen gives him Bundesliga toughness.

Cons: very expensive. Perceived to be slow and not suited for the fast united Game,bit moody and brooding, not a perfect team man.

3.Wesley Sneijder: If we manage to pry away this gifted Dutchman from Real Madrid, which wont be very difficult( they overhaul things every March..a la Tom Ford at Gucci ), we can have a first rate attacking medio who can take proper chipped freekicks from 35-40 yards out in the right,( That Boy manages the left ) will run at defences and also run box-to-box to break up attacks .

Pros: big team temperament, awesome stamina.

Cons: too expensive, where will Carrick and Anderson go ?