Posts Tagged ‘Sir Alex Ferguson’

The 2010/11 English Premier League football season officially kicked off on Sunday with Manchester United grabbing the first available piece of silverware on offer by beating Chelsea 3-1 at Wembley for the FA Charity Shield. A disappointing result for fans used to Chelsea football gifts of two trophies last season.

The football match started with a fast pace as both sides went out to win. We saw early chances come and go with no goals resulting. Paul Scholes may be getting old but he enjoyed a man of the match performance as he controlled the midfield and continually picked out passes with accuracy and preciseness. Manchester United gifts used the full width of the pitch through Antonio Valencia in attack while Chelsea’s Michael Essien and Florent Malouda were largely responsible for(p) for their positive forward moves.

Goals from Ecuadorian Antonio Valencia (41), Mexican Javier Hernandez (76) and Bulgarian Dimitar Berbatov (90) secured the Community Shield for Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester side, in front of 84,623 fans, with Chelsea getting a consolation goal scored by Ivory Coast forward Salomon Kalou. The Chelsea football score was disappointing.

A lot of substitutions were used throughout the match and Manchester fans got to see Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez make his competitive debut and score a quite unbelievable goal that actually went off his face and in. It is a goal worth watching in slow motion, you don’t often see a goal “faced” in.

It was noticeable that from the beginning of the match large sections of fans from both sides were booing the England players when they touched the ball. The idea of Chelsea and Manchester United fans specifically targeting only England players with booing again brings the club v country debate to the forefront of football.  First it was Ashley Cole, then John Terry, Wayne Rooney and even Fabio Capello as the crowd let the underachieving players who failed to show their England  gifts know exactly how they felt concerning England’s poor World Cup display over the summer. The lackluster effort from the fans in their displays of disapproval were in the end washed out by a sort of ‘call and response’ cheering from the opposition fans. When United would boo, Chelsea would cheer. The gesture, although passionate and honest, was a waste of time and had little long-lasting effect on the game itself as it progressed. All England football fans were pretty miffed by the players poor performance at the world cup, but I am not sure that the way to express this is by booing them at a club match, particularly as there is an international friendly against Hungary coming up to boo them at.

Manchester Utd, definitely the biggest football club on this planet.  Hence, they have had a handful of rather respectable footballers run out onto the pitch for them over time. What role in a soccer team has a tendency to hog the headlines?  Well, like it or not, the front men frequently appear to take the limelight.

With that in mind, who have been the top strikers for Man United over the years?  For what they are worth, here are my thoughts on the top 5 strikers in the years prior to Sir Alex Ferguson’s reign at Manchester Utd. I have a strong suspicion that if you happen to be reading this your views may not align with mine, but I can live with that.

Let’s start in the past and work forward – seems to be fairly logical.  I’m going to claim that the first forward of real note is a certain Jack Rowley who was part of the team before and during the Busby Babes era.  Though not the whole story, naturally a striker is measured to some extent by his goal tally.  Rowley managed to net 211 times in 424 games for United before leaving the club in 1955.  His tally of 211 makes him one of only 3 players to break the 200 mark.

Stan Pearson is another forward of note who was at the club at the same time as Rowley.  He didn’t quite get to 200 goals but did manage a very healthy 148 in 343 appearances between 1937 and 1953.

There were tons of wonderful players at Man United that formed the Busby Babes.  Leading the line for 291 games during that period was Dennis Violet, my next selection.  The lightening quick centre forward scored 178 goals for United and was one of the survivors of the Munich air disaster.

Moving on we have non other than Bobby Charlton – now Sir Bobby Charlton of course. Another member of the Busby Babes who also survived the crash in Munich Bobby netted 249 times for Man United- the club record.  For a long time he also held the record for the most appearances for the club at 758, a figure that has since been surpassed by Ryan Giggs.

My final selection, and surely few will question this one, is a certain Dennis Law.  Playing for United up until 1973, having joined them in 1962 Dennis was a favorite with the fans.  Known as ‘The King’ and the ‘Lawman’ he always had a good following.  With 237 goals during 409 appearances he has an impressive record.  Law won European Footballer of the year in 1965, during a season in which he top-scored for United with 28 and helped them to win their first league title since Munich.

As you would expect you can buy plenty of football related goods including replica football shirtsto show your appreciation of your team.  Man United, having the draw that it does, naturally provides no shortage of Manchester United tops.

That just about wraps it up.  My choice of the very best strikers to run out for Manchester Utd before Ferguson’s days.   Why did I make the distinction and only feature forwards who played for Man United before Alex Ferguson became manager in 1986?  Well, there have been a good many years since then so the Ferguson reign deserves particular attention.  There are a lot of remarkable forwards who have run onto the pitch for the red half of Manchester for Sir Alex Ferguson.  It’s possible this wont be my very last word on the subject matter.  A write-up on the front men who played for Sir Alex could be in the pipeline.

The glorious Manchester United achieves to keep the head position of the English Premier League after defeating 1-0 the West Ham United, victory that gave them the three points needed to move on and take the throne away from Liverpool, that won it momentaneously on Saturday after overcame Portsmouth 3-2, in what was the 25th match-day of the league.

This encounter was not as easy as the Red Devils thought it would be, due to the strong fight the Hammers gave them and also to the fact that they could not count with the participation of the forward, Wayne Rooney, who was out due to an injury. However Manchester began taking charge with the assistance of Cristiano Ronaldo, Ryan Giggs, Carlos Tevez and Dimitar Berbatov in the field.

Regardless of the domain Manchester had during the first part, could not reach the box contrary, limiting the game to constant shots lacking of menace towards West Ham, which figured out how to repel them.

At the minute 20, the Reds saw the opportunity to score coming along, which was captured by the Bulgarian Berbatov, but unfortunately for him, it happened during an offside action, which meant the goal was disallowed. Manchester continued with its hits straight to the goalpost, causing anxiety in the West Ham, that at a minute before finishing the first period was close to make its first mark, but the red defense stopped them.

For the second half were the 11 from Upton Park the ones that hold the sphere. Trying to reach the rival zone with some long distance strikes that –although could almost reach their purpose– did not cause much impression on Sir Alex Ferguson club, who in a good football explosion achieve their triumphal mark.

Thanks to a good pass from Scholes to the precise Giggs, who with impressive moves managed to evade two adversaries until reaching the contrary area, where at the 62’ and with a powerful kick crossed the frame protected by Robert Green.

Right after Manchester United grab the lead in the scoreboard, the hosts tried to even the situation, but despite all efforts they couldn’t accomplish it, since Edwin Van der Sar, goalie of the Reds, never lost the calm, not even with ingress of Diego Tristán –who did not had much time to stand out, as he entered at the 87th minute.

With this victory, the eighth uninterruptedly, the leaders demonstrated their capacity and playing high level by not falling under the pressure Liverpool put on them the day before. Besides, with this triumph the Red Devils reach already thirteen Premier encounters without receiving a goal against; which also helped Van der Sar impose a new record of 1.312 minutes goals-free.

This triumph allowed Manchester United continue in the crest of the English league with 56 points, follow by Liverpool, their toughest enemies, that after this match-day sum 54 points; meanwhile, Aston Villa ascends to the third spot with 51 points, thanks to its conquest before Blackburn (2-0) and the draw 0-0 between Hull City and Chelsea, that descended to the fourth position.

The teams are equally strong and Liverpool is constantly building pace towards them so they don’t want to lose in the middle of nowhere and advised to hold their nerve. Manchester united is boosting towards premiership title and with a number of record under their name. The most prominent is goal keeper Edwin van der SAR set new record of without conceding goal from 1212 minutes. The outstanding performance by goal keeper who is a prominent figure of club since he joined Manchester united and holds regular position in final eleven with great courage and nerve. Manchester united has reputation of wining in champions’ league with record of 12 home match victories consecutively and most FA cup titles. Manchester united were first English club who won champions league by beating Benefica. It is richest club among world’s most famous club in list and only club in history of soccer which won a treble in season which means they won premiership title and FA cup title and third most prominent and famous European Champions league title during one season.Manchester united player Cristiano Ronaldo is awarded FIFA player of the year award due to his magnificent performance and he played vital role in victory. The club is going to make another record which is a title won by a club and that is number up to 18. Manchester united is on top with 56 point in 24 games and 2 points difference from second number Liverpool with a game in hand which is still to play. Sir Alex Ferguson is focus and determine as he always handle his club with same reputation and 17 win with 75 % success rate is awesome. The tougher companion Chelsea are facing hard time and having 7 point behind and a game in Manchester hand possibly made it 10 point lead over board when they are going to play against Fulham on 18th of this month and you should get actions from live soccer scores websites. Do not miss any of exciting Manchester united matches for rest of season and soccer results are available which show you accurate soccer news.Manchester united is waiting for their important matches of FA challenge cup into fifth round with derby and couple of league matches before carling cup final with Tottenham Hotspur. The red devils are back into action soon in couple of week with Inter Milan in hot European championships league second round. Jose Mourinho ex-Chelsea manager is up front with Inter Milan to face Manchester united and Italian giants are considered dangerous this season with Jose Mourinho and they are leading in Italian Serie A. with their current record Manchester is well deserve on track to win both competition and considered favorite to win premier league. The most prominent and desired match in European champions league is Manchester united VS inter Milan on 24th February.Enjoy the action of these two teams on with updated soccer livescore information on ScoresPro.com.

European champions’ league always bring exciting soccer action for its fans as it brings Inter Milan VS Manchester United and this is one of the most thrilling action packed game which you ever witnessed. In this match, people have witnessed best sides of their league, in which England’s best club encountered against Italy’s best club at San Siro in 1st leg of their match.Manchester united has won their group stage with convincing two wins and 4 draws which make them on top of the group with ten points and Internazionale finished on 2nd in their group stage with eight points. What you can expect more other than encounter of the two most successful coaches of current times behind both clubs as Jose Mourinho for inter Milan and Sir Alex Ferguson for Manchester United head to head on that match which resulted in a draw at San Siro. You might have seen that extra ordinary match on 24 February 2009 and soccer results of this match are unforgettable which brings you the best attack and defense war of these two giants.Inter Milan has lost two matches successively in their group stages which include one home lost which could hurt them on knockout round. Inter Milan has scored 8 goals in all and conceded 7 goals which shows their problems in defense with another blow of Marco Materazzi who was injured and missed the match.Manchester united is unbeaten in their last 6 matches in champions’ league and they beat net 9 times in group stages and deceived 3 times by opponent. This is not only good example of their defense but also their Barclays premiership record of being unbeaten in more than 1032 minutes without conceding goal in league matches. The former record was maintained by Chelsea’s keeper Petr Cech which was of 1025 minutes and he was considered as best keeper until Edwin Van Der SAR broke the record and make it 1032 for his fantastic career in Manchester united and as he did same with this match unbeaten again.Inter Milan faced problem in their defense as Marco Materazzi and Patrick Vieira who are considered as backbone of defense and midfield are left out due to thigh injury. The midfielders played are Javier Zanetti and impressive Dejan Stankovic with strikers Zlatan Ibrahimovic and inspiring Brazilian international Adriano.Manchester United was strong in defense and with Edwin Van Der SAR as goal keeper and Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic didn’t play due to suspension. The interesting battle between strong inter Milan attack and Manchester United’s attack which include player like Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney. All the actions and soccer livescores of these clubs show you high intensity of this match and every minute both team attacked beautifully and defended equally.This match deserves a lot as it should be better if it is played as final because people will never forget this encounter in which both teams are top on their league titles and have one of the most influential coaches with prominent record. Both teams has world player of FIFA and one of the best in current time. The decider match between two teams will be played on 11 March at old Trafford and due this 0-0 draw both teams are looking forward to win 2nd leg of this knock out stage.The live soccer scores of this match on 24 February 2009 are exclusively showed at ScoresPro.com if you didn’t watch on TV and its best source of information regarding soccer.

Amid the financial insanity taking place on the east side of Manchester (have you seen the wages these people are getting?), a 29 year-old signed for Manchester United on July 3rd. A 29 year-old Englishman…

A 29 year-old Englishman called Michael Owen.

Did you see that one coming? I definitely didn’t. 8 years ago, as he single-handedly robbed Arsenal of FA Cup glory and helped Liverpool to a cup treble, the thought of him ever joining his Northwest rivals seemed as likely as Prince Harry serving you in McDonalds. Yet, here we are in pre-season and Owen has scored on his debut wearing the number 7 of Manchester United. I’m going to try and delve into the thinking of Sir Alex Ferguson and look at the potential for the ‘Boy Wonder’ in the current United set-up.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s sale £80m sale to Real Madrid should have automatically put United onto the frontline in the summer transfer war – especially when you consider that the money was paid in one lump sum up front. However, United seem to be playing a different game this summer, possibly bitten by the poor form of Berbatov after his £30M move last august. Ferguson knows better than anyone that big money doesn’t guarantee success (Is it too cruel to mention Juan Sebastian Veron? Oh dear, too late….) and also knows the benefit of purchasing elder statesman (Cantona, Sheringham, and Larsson). But ‘injury prone’ Michael Owen? Surely a team of United’s stature should be looking above and beyond this type of capture. Surely Owen was destined to join Hull City or perhaps Everton. Surely United would swoop to capture Ribery or Benzema. Evidently not. Scratch at the surface though and it this bizarre piece of business has the potential to be a masterstroke…

It’s no secret that United have built their entire side around Ronaldo for the past three seasons and incredibly for a winger-cum-striker he was never injured. As a result, the rest of the team lived to serve him. His responsibility was huge; Penalties and free kicks were all under his control and he was the ‘go to’ man whenever United needed a winner. Its success was huge, Ronaldo scored 66 league goals as United were crowned Premier League champions 3 seasons running. Away from Ronaldo though, goals were not as plentiful as the Old Trafford faithful have come to expect and a lot of their success was down to their defensive strength and the emergence of Vidic as one of the best centre-backs in the world. However, it was always a case of when, not if, Ronaldo would up-sticks and make the move to Madrid.

Ferguson knows that it is now time for other players to shoulder the responsibility relinquished by Ronaldo and for Owen to benefit from the end product. The fluid formation used to get the best from Ronaldo (it can be argued that Man Utd have played without a striker for at least 2 years) would need to be discarded. Avid Spurs fans will tell you that Berbatov was in his element dropping deep and looking for runners ahead of him. The problem at United last season was that when he dropped deep, he often had the company of his team mates around or behind him – not ahead. The mere presence of Owen on the field suddenly makes Berbatov a more dangerous proposition and gives Owen the type of service he craved at Newcastle United.

Ronaldo’s departure also gives Wayne Rooney the opportunity to step up too. Ronaldo’s stellar form has undoubtedly pushed the great talent of English football to the periphery of the newspaper headlines in the past couple of years, yet seasoned viewers at Old Trafford will tell you of a player who has matured but yet still has that incredibly aggressive spark and a huge talent for the game. It seems Ferguson’s lack of transfer activity could be because he believes he already has the replacements bedded in at Old Trafford and that Michael Owen is there to apply the finishing touch.

So will Owen be a success? Only time will tell, but as a piece of business it looks risk-free and Ferguson knows that at the very least he has players around him desperate to prove themselves good enough. I’m predicting goals galore at Old Trafford this season and fully expect them to be the league’s top scorers in May 2010.

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The Manchester United Football Club is an English Club that was formed in 1878 and was formally known as Newton Heath LYR(Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway). They have been nicknamed the “Red Devils” and “United”. Their home ground is the Old Trafford stadium located in Greater Manchester. The capacity of this stadium is 76,312 and is of only two stadiums in England, which have been given the UEFA 5-star rating. The current chairmen of the club are Joel and Avram Glazer and Sir Alex Ferguson has been the manager of the club for the past 20 years and the current captain is Gary Neville.
Manchester United have had to fight their way to the top to be the best soccer team in England. They have had their share of hurdles in the past like the bombing on Old Trafford during the Second World War and the Munich air disaster which claimed the lives of eight players of United when the British European Airways Flight 609 crashed on take-off at Munich, Germany. Manchester United were recently defeated in the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League on the 2nd of May 2007 by AC Milan where Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite A.K.A Kaka scored the opening goal of the match only to defeat United by 3-0 at San Siro. But one should not forget that Manchester United is the first and only team to win the Treble. They did this in the year of 1998-99, when the Red Devils won the Premier league on the final day by defeating Tottenham Hotspurs 2-1, which was enough to put them ahead of Arsenal who defeated Aston Villa 1-0. United won 2-0 against Newcastle United in the finals of the FA Cup. United also went on to win the UEFA Champions League by defeating Bayern Munich in the final 2-1 during injury time. This was considered to be one of the greatest comebacks ever witnessed in the history of football. The Red Devils have won the English Premier league 16 times, the FA Cup 11 times (a record), the League Cup and the UEFA Champions League Cup twice and the Intercontinental Cup and the European Super Cup once.
Sir Alex Ferguson tried to sign Ronaldinho in the year of 2003, but the deal fell through. This was because the Manchester United and PSG could not agree upon the fee and lost the bid to FC Barcelona who signed Ronaldinho for £50million. Manchester United’s current first team line up consists of goalkeeper Edwin van der sar; defenders Gary Neville (captain), Patrice Evra, Gabriel Heinz, Rio Ferdinand; midfielders Michael Carrick, Cristiano Ronaldo, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs (vice captain) and forwards like Wayne Rooney and Luis Saha. Their current starting line up has skilled substitutes on the bench comprising of players from all over the world. They are the Premier League Champions of 2007 with only one match to go in this season and Chelsea six points behind them at second place. Manchester United is to face Chelsea in the finals of the FA Cup on the 19th May 2007 at the new Wembley Stadium.
Considering The Red Devils achievements in the past and the way they have grown as a soccer club and the way they have handled the difficult situations, they can be considered as the greatest soccer club of all time.

Manchester United Captain Gary Neville believes the team is well prepared to win this season Champions League due to the ability and the preparation the team possesses.

Last year the Manchester United was defeated by the AC Milan, but the team players think they can overcome Barcelona and prove they are better suited this new season.

Manchester Manager Sir Alex Ferguson has invested a lot of money in new players after making an exhaustive research he decided to bring Carlos Tevez, Owen Hargreaves as well as the promising couple of Anderson and Nani to the squad.

Actually it was Tevez who scored the goal that marked the victory of Manchester over Roma and sealed the ticket to the semifinals 3-0.

Neville said “We have a great chance this season. Once you get to a semi-final anything can happen. We are playing well at the moment and winning games regularly. Last year we were maybe not quite ready. This year we have the players to go all the way. The games and the atmosphere against Barcelona will be brilliant. There will be some great players on show. Both teams like attack. I do not think defense is the priority.”

Ferguson could even afford to leave 37-goal Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes on the bench with a crucial Barclays Premier League match against Arsenal to come on Sunday.

Also; Neville’s words echoed into another experienced campaigner Ryan Giggs who was a Neville’s team mate nine years ago when both of them used to play with the Bayern Munich. He agreed with what Neville had to say and also is expecting a great English final in Moscow; since the other two teams involved in the semifinals are the Chelsea who must face Liverpool in the next few weeks.

Giggs also thinks that Manchester has a lot of possibilities of winning over the Barcelona team since this season is not the best for the Spaniard team. He thinks the one who wins is the one who is going to perform better in two legs.

He also thinks that all of the 4 teams that are right now in the semifinals are capable of winning the Champions League this season.

“If you are not up for that game you never will be. Both are very good teams. It is whoever performs best over the two legs mentioned Giggs. The four teams left are all capable of winning the Champions League. It is all about what happens on the day. Games against Barcelona are what you want, playing against great teams”.

Manchester United set a new record by having 11 straight home victories by defeating Roma last Wednesday.

The adult film industry has many knockers, but I remain a fully-fledged supporter. My only possible critique would be that the storylines occasionally lack realism. I can’t begin to tell you how disappointed I was with my job as a photocopier repair man.

My wife is a fierce critic of the genre as she incorrectly believes that the art form demeans women. Personally, I think it’s a positive when a hobby becomes an occupation; I would love to get paid for sending nude photographs of myself to Cheryl Tweedy. I’ll have to finance my pastime by backing Portsmouth at 10/11 to beat West Brom in their FA Cup semi-final.

My favourite sub-genre of the adult entertainment industry is the one when two ladies take a spiritual road to self-discovery. There are things I’d rather not see though, and watching Barnsley play Cardiff is the equivalent of watching Lisa Riley tinker with Jade Goody. Cardiff will probably win their semi at 11/8, but I’d rather watch something a little more uplifting.

Robbie Savage has all the attributes needed to launch a career in exotic films. He’s blonde, he breathes heavily for 90 minutes and he never needs a second invitation to go down. I can’t see the Derby man getting any satisfaction from Everton; the Toffeemen are the weekend banker at 2/7.

Roy Keane has always enjoyed a ruck, but he may be punching above his weight by labelling Sir Alex Ferguson ‘a hypocrite’. Admittedly, he never mentioned Fergie by name, but it couldn’t have been more obvious unless he used the term ‘purple-nose’. Fulham can momentarily quieten the fiery Irishman at 11/8.

Manchester City have gone backwards since they signed Benjani. To be fair to Sven, he tried everything in his power to get out of the deal; he said he’d accept Benni McCarthy, Benayoun or Benny from Crossroads as a compromise, but it was all to no avail. Chelsea will take full advantage of Sven’s massive rick at 4/5.

Mike Ashley has reportedly lost £129m gambling on financial markets; he’s probably regretting following me in on last week’s bets. I’m having £2 on Newcastle to beat Reading at 4/5.

The world and his dog are singing the praises of Cristiano Ronaldo, but Middlesbrough fans are a little more hesitant – all three of them believe that he’s a diver. I nearly collapsed when I saw 15/2 next to a Boro win over Manchester United.

Steve Bruce will do everything in his power to send Birmingham down when Wigan face his former side on Saturday. I have nothing but admiration for Bruce’s stance, you should always finish a job that you start. Wigan may have to settle for a point at 23/10.

I was stunned when Tottenham’s defences were breached on numerous occasions by Newcastle last week. It was just like a scene from my favourite movie, ‘Snatch’. I have a feeling that Tottenham may already be on their summer break; Blackburn can take full advantage at 6/4.

El Hadji Diouf would never make it in the world of erotic film – he’s a spitter. I had to swallow on several occasions when I saw 8/11 for an Aston Villa win over Bolton.

They say that good things come in threes, and I’m a huge fan of the ‘Rod-Farther Trilogy’. Arsenal are a confident shout at 6/5 to win the second part of their triple-header against Liverpool, unless the referee is Dirk Kuyt’s neighbour.

It’s now reached the stage where my wife has forced me to choose between her and my collection of adult art; so i’m on the lookout for a new dishwasher. Portsmouth, Arsenal, Chelsea and Newcastle form an 11/1 accer that will bring in the necessary funds.