Jan 26
On Shirt Sponsors and United’s Injuries
After successfully overcoming gruelling trips, and battling debilitating illnesses I come before you to do what used to be a daily routine of mine — writing about Manchester United.
I’ve missed reporting, analysing, ranting on my share of United related stories, so I shall hope to make up for the negligence in due course — however impossible it might seem.
To start this off, it’s a nice feeling to be top of the table for now and the impressive form shown by the lads in the face of crumbling hamstrings, calfs and ankles is, well, impressive. True, we cannot even begin comparing ourselves with the likes of Barcelona on the pitch, but considering the nature of hurdles the team has faced this season — you know what I mean — I can say I am pleased we are still in contention for all four trophies. This is a dogged United side that, for all it’s relative lack of offensive bite this season, just wouldn’t cede ground easily. [This line was written with the dread that it could bite me in the arse come Tuesday against West Brom.] If the lads can grit their teeth and eke out results for the next two weeks, the world champions can be good value for at least three out of four trophies this season. [I assume Evra, Rio, Rooney might return in two weeks' time.]
There has been much talk about our prospective sponsors. Saudi Telecom had prominently cropped up earlier and much was made about how wrong it is from a political and human rights standpoint to accept money from the Saudi Royal family. I am not willing to make political statements on this blog, but the Glazers have already shown a willingness to do business with the Saudi Sheikhs in the past. So a deal with them, in the current economic climate, would make sense to the American owners from a pure business standpoint. The other name that’s been more talked about lately, the India-based Sahara group — which has been inaccurately labelled as a financial services group in various media circles — looks like a proven bankable option. They are a huge business conglomerate that encompass various sectors including financial services, real estate and, until recently, aviation. They are the shirt sponsors of the Indian cricket team which is an ongoing four year deal worth $70 million (AIG’s deal with United was about $76 million for four years). The Indian cricket team, it must be said especially for those outside cricketing circles, is a multi-million dollar brand; the country’s cricket board is comfortably worth well over $2 billion dollars. And Sahara’s desire and history of being associated with big brands would tie in nicely with United. Although the question would be how much of a hit Sahara has taken during this financial crisis.
Also, it is worth noting that United have contacted prospective sponsors, so there may yet be new names coming up. Whilst it’s possible the new deal will be more than the AIG one, it remains to be seen how much the recession affects the price sponsors are willing to pay for the famous red shirt.
There is plenty else I’ve missed out waffling on. But they will follow later because it’s time for me to attend to other chores. Over to you.
Related items from Red Rants:
- Interview with Aon – Manchester United’s future sponsors
- Manchester United 2007/2008 Home Kit
- Classic Manchester United Shirts
- Who is your Manchester United’s Player Of The Month for November?
- 09/10 Manchester United Away Kit
Tags: Manchester United News
Opti (541)
Stephen (479)
RedDevilEddy (459)
Craig Mc (345)
Moscow is my heaven (272)
RedDevilEddy, i love nike stuff too, must have about 10/15 nike products in all but just wanted to ask u if u have ever had a pair of nike air forces. I just got the air force 1 mid 07s and they are so comfy. Great pair of trainers just picked them up for £60 but i think its money well spent. You ever had a pair and what u think of them.
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Arshavin, Arsene and Arsenal(The three Arses?
) have agreed a fee. Or should I say Zenit and Arsenal have agreed a fee for Arshavin, but they still dont have enough money to get him. He wants a higher salary. Ive got a question for Andrei. Do you know that you are joining Arsenal? They didnt have the money to keep hold of Flamini, how can they buy you? 
He apparantley demands £80,000 each week, but Arsenal dont wanna raise it over 50,000 quid. Lets all laugh at Arsenal!
I really wonder if Arsenal can become a threat with Atshavin in the side. But I will tell you one thing: The door is open for Fergie to go after Walcott, he seems displeased about this transfer.
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Need we forget about Nike when they used a factory in Cambodia which broke their own strict codes of conduct and anti-sweatshop rules, working conditions and child labour at a factory in 2001?!
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@Matthew: Ive got the trainers that look somewhat like these.
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@Stephen: United dint use Nikeeeeeeeee in 2001.
We used Umbro…
Nah, I dont remember that one. When was that? If that is true its horrible, but Im afraid thats how things work. Adidas do it, cellphones do it, many stuff is made by children. But Id rather not know about it, cause if I knew what was happening with every company around the world I would go naked in the streets!
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@Matthew: They are fooking brilliant mate! I wear a pair of those in white and green every day and its frekkin fantastic. Comfy, enviromental, feet breathe(you know), it doesnt hurt running and they are light as fuck. What colour youve got them in?
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@RedDevilEddy: I agree mate, it was on I think Panorama a few years back if I remember, but I am sure they arn’t alone.
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@Stephen: Like I said, if I chose not to wear or use thing that were made illegally or by children without choice I wouldnt be wearing any clothes, I wouldnt have a cell phone and I am quite sure I wouldnt be playing so much football. When there is so much horribly happening in the world, Id rather ignore it unless I can do somethign about it. That is why I aint a vegetarian!
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RedDevilEddy, u mean u got a pair of the air force 1 mid 07s in green and white? I got a pair in plain white, they dont really have the colours over here really. Heres a link of the pic of how my trainers look
http://citysole.com/shoe_store/images/medium/315123-111_MED.jpg
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@Matthew: Yeah, its like them only that the Nike mark is green instead of white. The rest of the shoe is white though.
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@RedDevilEddy: Giggs is great but yesterday I was watching a highlite package of George Best on YouTube and there was this one goal he scored while playing in the NASL that I almost pissed myself while watching. It was absolutely beyond world class. This was after he was washed up and drinking heavily. It was incredible. To incredible to describe. It made even Giggsy’s great FA Cup semi-final goal against Arsenal look cheap in comparison.
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@johnsom33: Thank you and bless you mate. Yet another example of the Grognard being correct.
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@johnsom33: I am Greek. Nike is the Goddess of Victory? In Greek she is pronounced NEEKEE like like PEEPEE. Nike is Greek for victory or win. Nevertheless, I could give you thousands of Greek words that have been adopted by the English and bastardized. So it will be Nike as in Mikey.
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@RedDevilEddy: He deserves it? Mate, you or I could come out there with a beach towel, umbrella and a Pina Colada, lay back and relax and we would have kept those clean sheets the way Vida and the team played defense in front of him. When healthy, there are no leaks in that defense.
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@johnsom33: yeah a few of my friends know Robbie Brady and they say that he says that Welbeck is pure class. Also got very good reviews of Petrucci. Our reserves aren’t that bad but our back 4 is going to be in a sorry state until Rio comes back (wasn’t that meant to be last week or something?) wierd thing is that I have been waiting for Fabio’s debut for months, before every CC game he was the name I was looking for. I end up having to work for his debut! I was pissed off to the max
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@Grognard: Fuck yeah Grog!! I like that optimism!!
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@Drew Vader: Oh Shit
Was I being optimistic? Damn, I’m going to have to abuse myself with my whip for that. I will not tolerate myself being optimistic. Damn! 
I slipped up. A moment of weakness.
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@Grognard: Who are you and what have you done with the real Grognard
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just to jump into the pronunciation debate, many different countries pronounce companies differently and they’re advertised as such.
For example…
In North America, Jaguar’s are called Jag-Waars! but from what i gather the rest of the world just calls them Jag-U-Ar’s
another example is Nokia the mobile phone company. in the UK they’re called Nock-E-a, but everywhere else they’re No-Ke-a.
It’s just a matter of culture and marketing. I have always called Nike “Naik” but i knew that it was called Nikee abroad.
But moving onto a more traditional topic With Everton drawing against Liverpool yesterday we have been forced into a bit of a dilemma with the game against Everton now being pushed forward to Saturday evening. That really cuts down the chances of players like Park, Ferdinand and Evra getting back from injury in time. Hopefully our makeshift back 4 can break the clean sheets record and Berbatov can continue his goal scoring form!
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@Nick: Yeah it also screws a lot of people who had booked flights for the Monday to see the match. A similar thing happened to me 2 years ago when I was going over to see barca and they changed the date from the Sunday night to the Saturday night. I was due to fly out on the Sunday morning so I didn’t get to see the game. I was pissed off to say the least. I mean who the hell picks the game for the Monday when they know both Everton and United will be in the 4th round and a chance of a replay? That’s just ridiculous
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@Grognard: Lets compare the opposition faced in those two goals mate. A very good Arsenal side, or some dorks in the NASL…
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@Grognard: haha I had to read it twice myself to see if I was missing the sarcasm.
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@RedDevilEddy: nike shits to, when it comes to sports wear, theres only one winner, addidas.
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wow my keyboard is messed up today
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@Liam: I knocked out the fat bastard and threw him down the basement. I am the Anti-Grognard. I love life, Manchester United, JS Park, Ben Foster and people in general. Hey anybody up for a love in for peace?
Imagine all the people……….living life in peace oooh oooh ooooo….
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@Drew Vader: That’s not the point. The goal was absolute class and genius. Sure the opposition made it easier for him but how often have you ever seen a goal that compares to that one? I take it you saw it? That goal had a WOW factor of 20 out of 10.
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@Dan: Is that why so many of your views are warped?
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I really hope Fergie sits down Ronaldo tonight and tells him that now his is his chance to show that he deserves his accolades. With our depleted team, creaking (players wise, not form wise) defence and delicate positoin at the top of the table, this is a game screaming for someone to grab it by the proverbial scruff of the neck. And given West Brom are without their entire first choice defence, you have to think it’s an opportunity for one of our attacking players to run the show.
He’s played a lot of football lately, but he doesn’t appear to have exerted himself much. I’m fine with retaining your energy for important moments, but for me this is it. I want to see him begging for the ball, turning and running at defenders like he did last year. I don’t care if 8/10 it fails miserably, I’d rather that he was contributing something positive, rather than standing around, occasionally passing square and taking free kicks. We need a star-player performance tonight, but will our star player live up to his name?
Also, I’m 95% sure we’re going to conceede to Jay Simpson. Quality player, extremely quick and up against a back 4 that must be the slowest in the prem (Gary, Fletch, Vidic and O’Shea). West Brom will likely play on the counter, and if Vidic makes but one mistake, no one will be able to catch the boy.
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@Beachryan: Mate I agree on your feelings about Ronaldo.
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Does anyone know if the game will be broadcast in India? ESPN are showing Pompey vs Villa instead….
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I hope that we will win today but it might be quite difficult.
West Bromwich Albion – Manchester United live streams
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@Vivek: Where is the list shown, ESPN never telecast anything when United is playing.
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@Despicable: Yeah it seems ESPN is showing the Pompey game..I’ve been keep track of the tv-timings list for the past week since they’ve changed the telecast in the past…but no change yet for today! Sux!
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@Despicable: for the list –> link
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Doesn’t anyone else think Spurs have done a great deal getting Cudicini..I’ve always rated him very high, and he went on a FREE transfer! Wonder if we missed a trick…
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@antsBoy: He is 35 mate.
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@antsBoy: M at work, and the link is blocked. Anyways have to sleep then..
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@Stephen: True, but didn’t VDS also come when he was 35? Anywayz, I guess it’s better to go the “young” route, especially with Ben there..
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@RedDevilEddy: Sadly I’m so low on the totem pole at Nike I can barely afford to buy the product and that’s with my 40% discount
I blame it on this damn company, there has been a hiring freeze for like the past 6 months making it virtually impossible to move up.
FYI umbro is owned by Nike.
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Anybody concernded about West Brom? They are bottom of the Prem, only Hull have conceded more goals and they have 4 defenders injured…
In contrast we are top of the table, least goals conceded and we have no defenders injured( 
). Nah, we have 12 first team members injured, 6 of those being defenders. Evans, Rafael, Fabio, Rio, Brown and Evra. Can we cope? Can we win today? Dont blame me for jinxing if the team doesnt win, but yes I can see us win. Ronaldo is healthy again, according to reports, Carrick is in fine form, Berba is in the form of his life and we can break a record and become the only side to have played 11 games in a row without conceding. And VDS should be really fired up for it, as he can join the record books and be considered a more solid goalkeeper than Cech(up), Seaman or even Schmeicel! I dont think he is better than Big Peter, but its nice to have such a record, innit?
My team prediction:
VDS
Fletcher Neville Vidic Oshea
Ronaldo Carrick Giggs Tosic
Tevez Berbatov
I would choose Fletch over Eckersley tonight, for experience and the tough opponent. Scholes cant play twice in a week, and Giggs should be fit. So that leaves us with only Carrick and Giggs as proven centre-midfielders. Of cource we have Gibson, even Cleverly and Possebon, but I would play Giggs as his vision will be importnat against “The Baggies”. And one of the things that worries me the most is Park and Nani being injured. That leaves us with no winger, except for Ronaldo. And however good he may be, he can never fill two wings at the same time. Tosic may get his first start, and I hope he does well!
Score prediction: 3-0 to United. Ronaldo, Berbatov and Giggs to score.
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@antsBoy: I rated him high maybe 1-2 seasons ago. But not anymore, I think even PIG is a better goalkeeper than him right now. Still, he might do well for Spurs. Only time will show there!
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@Grognard: What good can peace and luv bring? People are blind of the killing, horrors and unhumanity in this world. We are gonna die one day, so why just dont we just kill ourselves as quick as possible?! Life sucks, it only brings misery. And watching United at the moment is the best way of becoming suicidal. Love doesnt exist, its only fiction! Only little sissies believe in luv, and girls with period trouble. This earth is getting colder and more worse to live in for each day that goes, so why talk about stupid thing like what we like or how we can make things better? Lets just end all lives and realise that nothing can be good?
Jeez, some people can be really stupid thinking all is sweet and wonderful! 
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@Johnsom33: Umbro sucks, only players like Tiny Tears wear it!
Nike owns!
Sorry to hear that, but if you ever get the chance just give me a call and ask if Im interested in a sponsorship deal. I luv Nike!
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@antsBoy: Cudicini was Chelsea’s Roy Carroll. He’s useless. I even rate Ben Foster higher than him and you all know what I think of Foster.
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@RedDevilEddy: We should not be confident against anyone when we have only scored a disastrous 9 goals on the road this season. We are even more offensively inept on the road than at home.
In the past we would just wait until we got that late goal and our defense always saw us through but now, all bets are off. Our defense is decimated by injuries and offensively we need to up our game. West Bro should not give us much of a battle but you know what road games can be like. Still, I see us finally conceding a goal today but I think we will put 2 or 3 in against Brom. Here’s to positive thinking and hoping no more injuries occur.
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@RedDevilEddy: That’s it, I’m not coming to your next party.
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@Dan: I cant stand the Liverpool or Real Madrid kit. Neither the Spain or Chelski kit. Its fucking embarrasing that Adidas gets rated so high, only shit teams wear it(That doesnt include Bayern, Argentina or Germany)! I used to wear Adidas shoes, but the protection you get from them is horrible! One bad tackle and you may ed up with a broken metatarsal or a broken toe, while Nike Lasers give you amazing protection. After 2006 I stopped wearing Adidas shoes, the last I wore of that kind was the red predators. Werent exactly good, but lasers werent great shes then. Now its a different story, and Nike productions are hugely improved and better quality. The new Nikepro kit is very good and is very comfortable. Whereas Adidas newst stuff are Adipure boots, which really dotn give anythign special. Mercurials give speed, cause theyt are so light, but they have a sweetspot which the +F50 doesnt have. Mercurials are better than +F50. Lasers are better than Predators. Nike Tiempo are better than Adipure. And United are better than Liverpool or Chelski.
You need more proof? 
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@Grognard: You got I was just joking, right?
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@Grognard: We were not very good defensivly against Spurs. But we seemes to play well offensivly when we wanted. I think United could have scored more if we decided to use more energy for the thrid goal, but because of our injuries we didnt want to spend energy finishing the game off. And is it just me, or does it look like United play well when they want to, only? In the last games United have played brilliant football when they need to and when they seem to feel that its time to do it, for periods in games inly instead of a whole 90 minutes. So I think that if United really want to win tonight, they will. I would be happy if we go the clean sheet tonight, but the win is the most important thing.
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United will find out on friday wether Vidic will get any punishment for being sent off in the FIFA CWC final. He may get a three game suspension, but he might even not get any at all. I wonder what will happend. Because its United we are talking about IM pretty sure it will be a bad for three games, but who knows?
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