Soccer The Manchester United SUPER Thread

Parra_Power

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Is this another Mancheste Unbited Spam Thread??? It seems to me like it is... So I'll add to it...
 
Parra_Power

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Ferguson defends Far East tour

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has launched a passionate defence of his club's right to tour the Far East.



United opened their visit with a 2-2 draw against J-League champions Urawa Red Diamonds in Saitama, Darren Fletcher and Cristiano Ronaldo netting for Ferguson's men.


Almost 60,000 fans turned out on a horrible rain-swept evening, once more proving the popularity United enjoy in Asia and giving credence to the belief the Barclays Premier League champions were right to stick to their guns and make the trip in the face of opposition from the Asian Football Federation and FIFA president Sepp Blatter.


The ongoing Asia Cup did mean United were forced to cancel their intended trip to Malaysia. However, Ferguson rejected the notion all United, one of half a dozen senior English clubs who will be visiting the region over the next fortnight, are interested in is cashing in commercially.


'We are not trying to steal fans from other clubs and it is not about just taking,' he said.


'Yesterday we arrived after a 14-hour journey and some of the players went to a school for the blind, while others went on a hospital visit to see some young kids.


'Football has changed a lot since I was a boy. Nowadays, people watch games on TV and tours like this give them the opportunity to see some of their favourite players in the flesh. That is exciting for them.


'We have also brought our soccer schools to this part of the world in order to try and help educate young players. It is part of Manchester United's history and tradition to give out information and knowledge and also add our name to particular causes.


'It is unfortunate the Asia Cup is on when we have the opportunity to come here.


'Every second year there is a World Cup or a European Championship, when we cannot give a tour the same kind of attention we are doing at the moment.'


Despite an inexplicable Edwin van der Sar blunder which gifted Urawa the opener and Shinji Ono's late solo effort that denied United victory, Ferguson expressed his satisfaction with their efforts.


At such an early stage of their pre-season campaign, the fluidity of United's passing was excellent and Ferguson feels many of his usual summer questions have already been answered.


'We always hope for early indicators about the progress of the players and team,' he said.


'I told them before the start of last season we were setting off on a journey that could take them a long way. We have had further evidence there is no regression.


'You always look to see whether the enthusiasm is still there, whether the desire is still there and whether the players are still enjoying their football. I think we saw that they are.'


Ferguson is hoping a resolution to the Carlos Tevez affair can finally be reached this week.


The Argentina striker is expected to undergo a medical on Thursday, although, as yet, there has been no breakthrough.


'Things are bowling along and we hope he comes but there is no news really,' said the United boss.


Ferguson has also ruled new arrivals Owen Hargreaves and Nani out of Friday's encounter with FC Seoul in the South Korean capital.


The pair are currently suffering minor knee and ankle injuries respectively and although no doubt keen to play, Ferguson argued there is little point risking injury at this stage.


'Owen has a touch of tendinitis, which happens with a lot of players at the start of the season,' he said.


'Maybe he will be okay for the third game of the tour. Nani will be back then.


'He picked up an ankle injury during the European Under-21 Championships. It is not long term but there is no need to rush him back.'
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xeno

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What is it with Nike and their jerseys?? Adidas is on the money while Nike has lost the plot. No imagination what so ever.
Manchester United jersey could be made to look so good but Nike ruined it
 
Parra_Power

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Who Cares, It's only United's Same Jersey for around 20 Season Now... No Difference from last Year...
 
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D0ggyStylz

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FIFA to rule on Tevez transfer

The future of United target Carlos Tevez lies with FIFA as world football’s governing body will decide upon a solution to the ongoing saga surrounding the Argentina striker’s transfer from West Ham.

Tevez arrived in Manchester on Tuesday afternoon with the intention of undergoing a medical, but that was reportedly blocked by West Ham.

At a press conference in Seoul, the second stage of United’s tour of the Far East, Reds chief executive David Gill said he is confident that Tevez will “get his wish to join United”, but said the matter would be taken to FIFA.

"There have been a lot of discussions with the Premier League, West Ham and Maurice Watkins (United's lawyer) over the last few days," Gill said at a press conference. "Now, the player and West Ham will take the case to the FIFA dispute resolution chamber.

"We're very confident, as is the player, that the situation will be resolved in favour of Tevez," he added. "He will then be free to achieve his , and our, wish to join United.”

However, Gill knows patience is required as a conclusion to the already procrastinated negotiations are not necessarily immediately within sight. Crucially, however, Gill believes a resolution can be achieved through FIFA and that Tevez will be able to join up with the United squad for the new season.

“It may take a short period," he concluded, "but, based on what we've seen and the discussions we've had over the last few weeks, we're very confident this will be resolved and that Tevez will be a major of Sir Alex's squad this season.”
 
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D0ggyStylz

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Joorabchian rounds on West Ham in Tevez row

Kia Joorabchian ramped up the pressure on West Ham on Wednesday night by accusing the club of making misleading public statements over the Carlos Tevez affair.

Joorabchian, who is trying to negotiate Tevez's move to Manchester United, accused West Ham of failing to act upon 'repeated promises and assurances' with regard to the player's future.

And he confirmed his intention to bring 'the true circumstances' to the attention of both FIFA and the Football Association.

In a statement released by the businessman's lawyers, Joorabchian said: 'Press statements both today and over last few weeks are wholly inconsistent with the real circumstances and the situation presented to us by West Ham concerning Carlos Tevez.

'We as a company have patiently kept away from the issues including West Ham in order to give the club the opportunity to resolve the matter in a legal and agreeable way acceptable to all parties.

'West Ham have consistently provided private assurances while at the same time making contrary statements to the public at large.

'We can no longer allow these inconsistencies to continue unaddressed. During his time at West Ham Carlos Tevez performed at a high standard. He was voted Hammer of the Year by the club's fans.

'There was a period at the end of last year when Carlos had the opportunity to leave the club and yet he decided to stay to successfully help West Ham survive in the Premier League.

'We wish to make clear that at all times it has been our intention to find an amicable solution and Carlos Tevez has, at no time, acted improperly in relation to his move to Manchester United Football Club as he was given permission via his representatives to talk to other clubs to reach an amicable agreement.

'Over the last six months West Ham have made repeated promises and assurances which they have not acted upon or performed. It is now time for these inconsistencies to be brought to an end.

'We see no alternative but to bring the true circumstances to the attention of a higher authority to aid a rapid conclusion to this issue.'

It is understood those authorities are both the FA and FIFA.

FIFA have been called in to end the deadlock surrounding Tevez's move to Old Trafford.

Both West Ham and Manchester United believe only FIFA can break the impasse over the player's ownership, which has held up the proposed £30million-plus transfer.

Joorabchian, and his company MSI, claims to own Tevez's economic rights, while West Ham insist the striker is contracted and registered with them.

The Premier League have demanded West Ham must receive the bulk of the transfer fee if they are to sanction the move.

The league have now been asked to send the case to FIFA - a move welcomed by Joorabchian, who is ready to show documentary evidence he claims proves West Ham gave permission for the deal to go ahead.

FIFA will be asked for their dispute resolution panel or players' status committee to step in and decide whether Tevez is fully bound by his existing contract with West Ham or not.

Joorabchian's decision to adopt an aggressive stance over the issue is understood to have been prompted, in part at least, by reports which emanated from West Ham yesterday that the club had refused permission for Tevez to undergo a medical at Manchester United.

He was also anxious to ensure Tevez does not get painted as the villain of the piece by confirming the striker turned down moves away from Upton Park in January.

It is understood two leading European clubs were interested. One of those is believed to have been Juventus.
 
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D0ggyStylz

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Gaby not Anfield bound

Sir Alex Ferguson has rubbished reports linking Gabriel Heinze with a move to Liverpool.

The Argentine defender has been the subject of intense transfer speculation during the summer with a number of clubs claiming to be interested in the 29-year-old.

The United boss confirmed earlier this week that Heinze has expressed a wish to leave Old Trafford, but Sir Alex insists he will not under any circumstances be heading for Merseyside.

"I can assure you, Liverpool will not be getting Gabriel Heinze," he told PA Sport.

"We can put that to bed right now and we have done so. We have had a couple offers for him and we have turned them down.

"Heinze's agents are rolling the ball all the time," he added. "But no matter what they think, we are in the driving seat.

"I don't exactly know what Gaby thinks because it is all coming from his agent but this has been going on for a year and a half now."
 
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D0ggyStylz

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Carrick: The future is bright

Michael Carrick believes big things lie ahead for the Reds next season after seeing the squad boosted by three - potentially four - new signings.

The summer captures of Owen Hargreaves, Nani and Anderson, plus the imminent arrival of Carlos Tevez, have further strengthened an already burgeoning squad.

Carrick remains unsure as to how and where everyone will fit into the current set-up, but he believes the strength in depth within the squad is second to none.

"The manager has not said anything to us yet about the way he intends to use us all," explained the England international.

"We have played different formations in the past, not always a rigid 4-4-2. With the players we have, there tends to be a lot of movement anyway. We will have to see.

"Maybe in tough away games it might get changed. We did it last season at times. We are all good enough to compliment each other.

"You have to be at your best to play for Manchester United. The more world-class players we have the more it will benefit us.

"It's great to be part of this club and everyone is raring to go. There is a big challenge out there for us this season. We wantto win every tournament we go in for. We half expect to win them. But it is going to be tough - tougher than last year. Everyone will improve and I am sure we will get better as a team."

The wealth of attacking options at Sir Alex's disposal could mean more time on the sidelines for some. Carrick remains unfazed by the situation, insisting everyone is in the same boat.

"It's a long season with a lot of games and there will be times when you are out of the side," reasoned Carrick. "But when you are in, you will have to play well.

"There is a lot of class in our midfield and we are only going to get better. You can't help it when you have players like Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs to learn off.

"I know I have improved so much by watching them and playing with them. We are only going to get better as a team and the future for us is bright."
 
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D0ggyStylz

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Reserves beat Altrincham

United's Reserves beat Altrincham in a pre-season friendly at Moss Lane on Wednesday.

Giuseppe Rossi was the most high-profile name in the Reds' squad. The Italian played for the first time in a United shirt since returning from his successful loan spell with Parma.

Rossi, who didn't travel on the Far East tour because of his involvement in the European U21 Championships, has always stated his intent to try and fight for a place in United's first-team, and next season could be his chance.

United took the lead through an own goal after eight minutes following a scramble in the box. The second goal arrived after half an hour when Fraizer Campbell, returning from last season's loan spell with Royal Antwerp, did well inside the box before setting up a simple finish for Sam Hewson.

Altrincham forward Rod Thornley, who is employed as a masseur at United, scored against the Reds after an hour with a long-range effort, but United held out for the win.

United starting XI: Zieler, Chester, Lea, Shawcross, A.Eckersley; R.Jones, Lee, Hewson, S.Evans; Campbell, Rossi.
Subs from: Cathcart, Woods (GK), Brandy, R.Eckersley.
 
F

Fict|on.x

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carrick is a west ham juniopr

hope this helps

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FA to meet FIFA over Tevez affair
LONDON, July 21 (Reuters) - Representatives of the Football Association will meet soccer's world governing body FIFA on Monday to discuss the long-running Carlos Tevez saga.

The Argentine forward's proposed transfer from West Ham United to Manchester United has reached stalemate because of an issue over who actually owns the player./news/story?id=446998&cc=

'My understanding is that a senior lawyer from the FA will come to Zurich to meet our senior legal people,' FIFA spokesman Andreas Herren told the BBC on Saturday.

An FA spokesman said: 'We have regular meetings with FIFA and next week we will raise the issue of third-party ownership on Monday.'

The two clubs have asked FIFA to settle the dispute and the FA are keen for the world governing body to tighten rules over third-party ownership of players, fearing that similar transfers could happen.

West Ham own Tevez's playing registration although agent Kia Joorabchian says he retains the striker's economic rights and therefore is entitled to any transfer fee.

West Ham were fined £5.5 million ($11.28 million) for breaking Premier League rules over the complex signing of Tevez last August. They were allowed to continue playing him after satisfying the Premier League that the third-party agreement with Joorabchian had been torn up.

Joorabchian accused West Ham this week of 'inconsistencies' in their statements regarding Tevez, while West Ham hit back by reiterating that they had terminated any agreements with Joorabchian on April 27.

The Premier League are insisting that any deal for Tevez should be between the clubs.

Tevez flew into Manchester last week but West Ham refused United permission for him to undergo a medical at Old Trafford.

Third-party ownership of football players is common in south America but was almost unheard of in Britain until Tevez and fellow Argentine Javier Mascherano joined West Ham.

Mascherano has since joined Liverpool.
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Parra_Power

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Are the Mancheter Team going to sign Tevez normally or are they going to b*tch about him to the FIFA board... Seriously...
 
Parra_Power

Parra_Power

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Curtain Call on Heinze


Gabriel Heinze looks to be on his way out of Manchester United. But he won't be going to Liverpool. Gabriele Marcotti wonders why

THEATRE FOLK call it "breaking character". It's the shattering of an illusion, rather like when, as an eight-year-old, you might have run into the goody and the villain amicably having a G&T at the bar after a Christmas panto. Or perhaps discovering that the guy you thought was Father Christmas is actually your dad, and, no, he doesn't even bother dressing up in the suit.

The footballing equivalent occurs when supposed rivals sit down and do business together. We like to think that our heroes on the pitch feel about opposing teams pretty much the way we do. There are some opponents we harbour a secret admiration for, some opponents for whom we don't care either way and some opponents who we just plain hate.

As a rivalry, Liverpool and Manchester United falls into the latter category. And it's rivalry which goes beyond the two managers. After all you would imagine that Arsene Wenger would be further down Sir Alex's Christmas card list than Rafa Benitez and that if the Spaniard had to describe his least favourite colleague, his sights would turn to Stamford Bridge rather than Old Trafford.

advertisementYet while there is no animosity between the two bosses, the long-standing grudge match between England's two most successful clubs infects everyone, whether it's Liverpool fans stoning Alan Smith's ambulance or Gary Neville candidly announcing that he doesn't like Scousers.

Sir Alex understands those sentiments which is why, on Thursday, he categorically vetoed Gabriel Heinze's move to Anfield. "We have received a written offer from Liverpool for Heinze and we have rejected it because it's Liverpool. We wouldn't sell to Liverpool, Arsenal or Chelsea and we have relayed that to the agent. We have told him that in no uncertain terms," said United's chief executive, David Gill, who added that it would be a different matter if an offer came in from abroad.

When news of the veto reached Rafa Benitez, he was somewhat perplexed. Attitudes over such matters vary greatly on the continent. In his native Spain, of course, Barcelona and Real Madrid do not enjoy doing business with each other. True, the likes of Bernd Schuster (now, ironically, in charge at the Bernabeu), Michael Laudrup, Luis Milla and, most notoriously, Luis Figo moved from Barca to Real, while Luis Enrique went in the opposite direction. And just last month, Javier Saviola swapped the Camp Nou for the Bernabeu.

But in each of those transfers, the selling club had little control over the move, either because it was a Bosman or because a release clause was involved. The one exception was Samuel Eto'o. When he joined Barcelona in 2004, after five years on loan at Mallorca, he was part-owned by Real Madrid. In one of the most bone-headed moves in history, Real, after much discussion, opted to let him go, believing he "wasn't needed".

But, according to a source close to the Liverpool manager, Benitez genuinely believed there was a chance to do business with United. Part of it had to do with the fact that, in real terms, United and Liverpool isn't exactly a rivalry of equals in the way that Barcelona and Real is. After all, in the past 15 years, United have finished in the top two 12 times, Liverpool have done it once. But part of it had to do with the fact that Benitez saw it as the kind of deal which would genuinely help both clubs.

In Italy, such moves are far from rare. No fewer than four Champions League-winning Milan players, including Andrea Pirlo and Clarence Seedorf, came directly from crosstown rivals Inter in various swap deals. In fact, a few years ago, Benitez himself spoke admiringly of these cases as evidence that while rivaly on the pitch is important, if there is a deal to be done, there is no point in cutting off your nose to spite your face.

In fact, some of the Milan clubs' "mutually beneficial deals" are somewhat suspect and, indeed, the Italian FA have opened an enquiry. Between 2003 and 2005, the two clubs regularly "swapped" no fewer than eight players (mostly obscure ones who would then get shipped off on loan to the nether divisions) in what allegedly amounted to "creative accounting". The "trick" allegedly worked like this: Milan would sell players like goalkeeper Simone Brunelli (who has made a total of zero professional appearances in his six-year career to Inter for £2 million. At the same time, Inter would sell a guy like midfielder Matteo Deinite to Milan for £2m. No money would actually change hands and both players would then be loaned out to lower division clubs. But, on the balance sheet, it made sense. Both players would be signed to five-year deals, allowing the clubs to amortise the expense, which meant that, in that year's accounts, they would show up as a £400,000 debit.

Meanwhile, the transfer fee itself would be included straight away, as a £2m credit. And - presto! - with the stroke of a pen and a few contracts, both clubs would make a "paper profit" of £1.6m without actually spending a penny. The following year they could always sell both players back to each other, perhaps this time for £3m and the house of cards would continue to grow.

But back to Heinze. Obviously his move would not fall into this category. And you can see just why Benitez felt it would be mutually beneficial. United have spent close to £50m on Nani, Anderson and Owen Hargreaves. And, if and when the Carlos Tevez move goes through, that figure will rise to somewhere between £70m and £80m. The Glazers would like to see that figure clawed back to close to £50m. Selling Kieran Richardson to Sunderland brought in £5.5m, another £10m could be raised by off-loading two out of Alan Smith, Darren Fletcher, Mickael Silvestre and Giuseppe Rossi. That would still leave them short of the target, which is why Liverpool felt the £6m to £7m that Gabriel Heinze would have fetched would have seemed attractive.

Heinze is not the player he was in his first season at Old Trafford. At 29, he isn't getting any younger and, after missing most of the 2005-06 campaign through injury, he is now the second-choice left back behind Patrice Evra. Given that Silvestre and John O'Shea are adequate alternatives, one would have thought that the Argentine might have been expendable. While players who move to rival clubs often become hate figures (just ask Figo or Sol Campbell or, closer to home, Mo Johnston), Heinze isn't exactly Gary Neville in terms of being "United through and through".

From Liverpool's perspective it certainly made sense. Heinze knows the Premiership well, he can provide cover in central defence as well and, crucially, when he plays at left back, he does so with a defender's mentality, which is something Benitez values - as evidenced by the fact that, in key matches, he moved the marauding John Arne Riise into midfield and played the right-footed Alvaro Arbeloa on the left of his back four.

And yet, if Gill and Sir Alex are to be believed, this is one deal that won't happen. No matter how much sense it might make for both teams, nobody wants to "break character".
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Hodgo007

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In relation to Tevez why don't the FA just work out a deal where United can pay, lets say, 30 million quid and we get him. The FA can then work out who that money gets distributed to.
 
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