Apr 05 2008
In an interview with the Irish Times (via SS), we hear what Roy Keane has to say about his departure from Manchester United.
I’m not going to sugar-coat this or give you a preamble - have a read.
Roy Keane:
Apr 03 2008
Sir Alex must have been behind plenty of transfers in his time in football. It adds up: a new centre-back every three years or so, countless midfielders, even more goalkeepers and a few strikers, but one position he has not touched in a while has been the right-back position.
Mar 28 2008
Since Peter Schmeichel left Manchester United after that game, it always seemed that we had a weakness to find good goalkeepers and bring them to the club. Sir Alex tried everything: Mark Bosnich, Tim Howard, Roy Carroll, Fabien Barthez. Nothing seemed to work. It looked like Schmeichel left a ghost behind to haunt everybody who tried to replace him successfully.
But then, after becoming utterly frustrated and bored of experimenting with goalkeepers, he went for the sure choice: Edwin van der Saar. The Dutchman nearly joined United in 1999 before he opted to move to Juventus, but he then moved on to Premier League side Fulham and Manchester United had no problem snatching him from the Premier League strugglers. Suddenly, Schmeichel’s ghost vanished.
Mar 25 2008
Yes, I know, Manchester United > England and all that. But it’s still United, dammit, and Rio deserves it as much as anyone else in the England squad. Plus I love a good captaincy debate (Terry v Ferdinand, if you’re wondering).
FA statement:
“Fabio Capello has confirmed that Rio Ferdinand will captain England against France in Paris. Capello has confirmed this continues his policy of rotating the captaincy between players in the friendly matches before confirming a permanent captain for the World Cup qualifying games.”
So Ferdinand will be captaining a side that includes Terry, Gerrard, as well as possibly Beckham and Owen. All four have led England at one time or the other ahead of Ferdinand, and it is a matter of pride to see the captaincy return to Manchester United, even if it is only for one game (no other United player in the squad - not even Rooney - would be in with a shot at captaincy come summer time).
Continue reading “Future Manchester United captain Rio Ferdinand named England skipper”
Mar 21 2008
So Ben Foster has finally played as many games for Manchester United as he has for England. United fans might not know too much about him (apart from his debut against Derby) so I thought I’d let you know what to expect.
As a Watford fan I would say that Ben Foster is somewhere between God and Gandhi in relation to his importance in the history of the world. For two seasons at Vicarage Road he performed like no other keeper I have ever seen on the hallowed turf. We’ve had some good keepers down at Watford including the young David James and United’s own goalkeeping coach Tony Coton, but nobody came near to this exceptional young number one.
Continue reading “So How Good Is Ben Foster? — A Watford Fan’s Perspective”
Mar 18 2008
While Seba Veron is often hailed as Sir Alex Ferguson’s most expensive mistake, Eric Djemba-Djemba is the one thrown in our faces as Fergie’s worst signing ever (hell, even Kleberson could play a bit).
He may have cost only £2.5m (and earned £75k / month) but as a player he was quickly found at the top level. The problem hadn’t been just his playing talents but also his temperament, and it’s a testament to Fergie’s loyalty to his players (or his troubles in offloading him) that Djemba stayed on United’s books for 2 years.
So where is he now? If anyone cares, Sniffing The Touchline has the full story (from Nantes to Qatar SC, via England).
Mar 10 2008
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Some footballers are remembered for their statistics. Goals scored / games played, clean sheets, the number of titles won, personal milestones, international honours, and then some. Over time, legends are built and reputations are dismantled over numbers, because after a while, the memory fades and numbers are all that remain.
Others - a select few - are remembered for different reasons. Fans remember them because of how they served the club, unflinching devotion off the pitch, selfless service on it. These are players who etch a place for themselves in the history books by sheer effort and loyalty to the club. That’s not all there is to it, of course - the legend needs memorable highlights, and more often than not, these players provide ample highlights.
So it is with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, or as we know him, 20LEGEND. Whether it’s the 99′ final or the 4 goals in 12 minutes, the hair-raising reception at his return from injury that swept a 75,000 strong stadium to its feet or the songs sung in his absence, Solskjaer was a hero to all United fans, and he will be fondly remembered for a long, long time as the model United player.
Adrian Clarke caught up with Mr Solskjaer to discuss his time at Manchester United and how the club has evolved since he first signed on.
Continue reading “Interview with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, a true (20)Legend”
Feb 08 2008
As reported elsewhere, Manchester United have signed 19-year old Brazilian Rodrigo Possebon from Internacional. The management rate him highly (quotes from Brian McClair below):
Continue reading “What Will Sir Alex Do With Rodrigo Possebon?”
Dec 05 2007
Red Ranter is away saving his mistress from the evil that is anti-abortion evangelism - in his time of need, I’ll be filling in at Red Rants for the next couple of days. Feel free to send those abusive emails my way.
Personally, I think November wasn’t a great month for United - we slipped in the title race (just), conceded that late goal to Arsenal in the most ridiculous few seconds of ping-pong football that I’ve seen in the United fox for a while, and we haven’t been helped with a couple of niggling injuries either.
Continue reading “Who is your Manchester United’s Player Of The Month for November?”
Nov 09 2007
I usually don’t come out with these updatey kind of posts but I’ll make an exception.
Rooney is out. Ankle Injury in Training. One Month. Four Weeks. Plenty of Games.
Here’s the news confirming that.
And yes, you guessed it. I am gutted for him. Very much.
