Manchester United's Headliners, Articles and Rumours

[mr_missile]

Originally Posted by machoman

Crazy roller-coaster game! Defence was terrible!

But kudos to the Red Devils for their famous never-say-die attitude, fighting all the way until the final whistle!

yups! the defending so far this season is atrocious. the way opposing teams' strikers can just run at the defence and we see our defenders back-off or simply let unmarked attackers in to shoot at our goal.

we need vidic to be back to his no-nonsense best fast!

see below report for ferdinand's and evan's own assessment of their play :

Rio makes case for defence

Rio Ferdinand is concerned by Manchester United's leaky defence and admits they need to shore things up to reclaim the Premier League title.

Though United's victory over Newcastle allowed them to open up a seven-point lead over Manchester City at the top of the Premier League, conceding another three goals at Old Trafford drew more anxious words from Sir Alex Ferguson.

Incredibly, the Red Devils have now conceded 28 goals this season, only five fewer than QPR who are presently languishing at the foot of the table.

To put that into context, at the half way point of the campaign, they have now exceeded the number of goals they conceded in three of their most recent title-winning seasons - 2007, 2008 and 2009.

In all competitions, that figure now stands at 40, during which time they have kept just four clean sheets. In addition, they have now gone behind 16 times, 11 of which have ended in victories.

They are quite shuddering statistics. And everyone in the United camp admits they must be corrected.

"We are concerned," said Ferdinand.

"When you are conceding goals at any level you want to put it to a stop.

"This season we have let in far too many goals and we need to change that.

"We need to make a big effort now to push on.

"We are in a good position but if we are to maintain where we are, we need to sort ourselves out."

Ferdinand's words were echoed by central defensive colleague Jonny Evans, who feels it is only a matter of time before United finally resolve their defensive issues.

"We know what is going on," he said.

"Defending is a mindset. You have to be mentally prepared to defend and want to defend.

"We just sort of been concentrating too much on scoring goals. Instead of getting off to good starts we have killed ourselves a little bit by conceding sloppy goals.

"The good thing is we are scoring, which is the hardest part of football.

"We have been doing that freely so I am sure the more simple part of keeping clean sheets will come naturally to us."

Evans had an eventful afternoon, becoming the third player this season - after Wayne Rooney and Gareth Bale - to score at both ends, as well as getting booked for handball.

It is another lesson in the 25-year-old's footballing education as he closes on 150 club appearances.

Evans certainly cuts a far more confident figure than the one who was pitched into top flight combat for United in 2008 when Ferdinand's back problems first surfaced.

He has not quite made it into the seniors group for the normal training ground opener of boxes, when Ferguson's squad splits for a keep-ball session, but he is starting to assume the status that could one day see him viewed in a similar light to fellow one-club men Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes.

And Evans accepts he is starting to assume more responsibility within the Old Trafford fold.

"I think so. You have to," he said.

"You don't wake up one day and think you have to be more responsible. It just comes.

"As a defender, if you are playing a lot of games for Manchester United and are not taking responsibility, you are going to get found out.

"You try to organise a bit more and gauge what players you need to keep on their toes."

Not that Evans felt able to exert his personality within the dressing room immediately.

There is far too much experience around for that.

"There is a difference between coming in and upsetting people," he said.

"Some of these lads have been here for many years. You cannot just come in and boss them around.

"As you gradually gain the respect of your team-mates, you start to express yourself a bit more.

"That is something that a few of the younger players have started to do a bit more of over the last couple of years."

[Rickey]

Red Devils now struggling to overcome WBA...Lol...winning only by an own goal by opposing team...happy to always win other teams by only a one-goal margin...they r contented wif tat n having to come back frm behind as well a few times...no passion n hunger for goals apart frm their talisman RVP whilst at the same time letting goals in behind...sigh...like dat, not too sure whether they can win the league title come May wif Chelsea, Arsenal n Blue neighbours getting beta n stronger...

Oooo..hoo !! n their talisman RVP finally scores again n as usual at almost the last minute (91st minute)...tats typical of MU nowadays...lol....2-0 to MU against WBA

[mr_missile]

Originally Posted by Rickey

Oooo..hoo !! n their talisman RVP finally scores again n as usual at almost the last minute (91st minute)...tats typical of MU nowadays...lol....2-0 to MU against WBA

Ferguson praises Van Persie

Sir Alex Ferguson paid tribute to Robin van Persie after he sealed Manchester United's nervy 2-0 win over West Brom with his 17th goal of the season.

Van Persie was left on the bench at the start of the game but Ferguson called on him 25 minutes from time, with the visitors beginning to threaten.

He went on to score in the final minute, revealing a message on his shirt that read "RIP Tchuna, we will never forget you," relating to the death of a close friend of the Dutchman on Friday night.

"He is a fantastic player," said Ferguson. "He came on and changed the game for us. Every time the ball came up to him he got hold of it and turned on them.

"They were having to go back to their box all the time and he has done well.

"They were a very resilient, stubborn team. They worked really hard on their defending and closed all their ranks. You have to deal with that but the slowness of the pitch killed our speed a bit."

United head to Wigan on New Year's Day and Ferguson expects to rotate his squad again, adding: "It will be a hard game.

"Hopefully we can freshen up again. Possibly Phil Jones will be ready and Rafael will be ready. We rested Javier Hernandez, and also Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, so we have enough freshness to bring in."

[machoman]

[machoman]

[mr_missile]

New Year's Day joy for United

Javier Hernandez and Robin van Persie both scored twice as Premier League leaders United beat Wigan 4-0 to begin the year in fine style.

Hernandez also had a strike disallowed, which came prior to him making the breakthrough after 35 minutes at the DW Stadium.

Van Persie doubled United's lead in the 43rd minute and it was the Dutchman's free-kick that ballooned up to present Hernandez with his chance to net again in the 63rd minute.

The Mexican striker's volley ended Wigan's hopes of any reward and van Persie fired a late fourth as United passed the 50-point mark, taking their haul to 52 from 21 games this season.

Sir Alex Ferguson's side continue to head nearest rivals City by seven points as they attempt to claw back the league title from their neighbours.

[mr_missile]

Van Persie enjoying United life

Robin van Persie has admitted his joy at playing for Manchester United and says his first goal in the 4-0 win at Wigan was one of his best yet.

Van Persie ended up with a brace to take his overall tally to 19 as United remained seven points clear of nearest rivals Manchester City.

But while his latter effort was a tap-in provided by Danny Welbeck, his first was brilliant as he collected Javier Hernandez's pass, stepped outside Ivan Ramis, then inside the hapless defender before curling expertly past Ali Al Habsi with his supposedly weaker right foot.

"It was a good goal because every single touch was the right one," he said.

"The first one was a little behind me and I had to drag it onto my left foot.

"Then I waited for the guy to slide in, had a good touch inside and then a quick finish. Three touches but all good touches."

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has already identified van Persie as the likely difference in this season's championship battle.

The 29-year-old could hardly have enjoyed a smoother start to life at Old Trafford.

However, the Dutchman insists it would not have been possible without the help of his team-mates, with Hernandez sharing top billing on Tuesday with a double of his own.

"This is a special team," said van Persie. "Everybody wants to help each other. Everybody's keen for everyone to score.

"Defenders are working their socks off for the midfielders, the midfielders are working for the strikers. Everybody wants to run and everybody has one target in their mind."

In such circumstances, it is understandable why Ferguson might want to hang around a bit longer as he indicated in an interview with the Abu Dhabi Sports channel.

"I'm hoping to stay on for a bit of time," he said.

Enough time to see his £24million investment reap handsome dividends.

"We knew we were getting a top player who would make a difference to the team," said Ferguson. "That is why we went for him.

"Robin is a completely rounded footballer. He has great international experience, he's played for Arsenal for seven years and he came to us at the very peak of his career.

"His ability to make and take goals is fantastic.

"His play for his first goal was absolutely magnificent, his turn, his balance, no drawback, just side footed it in. It was a really good goal."

[mr_missile]

Rooney out for another fortnight

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson says Wayne Rooney has been ruled out for another two weeks after failing to recover from his injury.

Rooney sustained minor knee damage in training on Christmas Day and United boss Sir Alex Ferguson initially expected the striker to be back in a fortnight.

However, it now seems he will be missing for longer - and will sit out next week's clash with Liverpool.

"Wayne is still injured," said Ferguson.

"It is not serious but it is going to take longer than we thought, probably another two weeks. He won't be fit for Liverpool."

Rooney was expected to have been back in training by now and Ferguson cannot exactly work out why it has not happened.

"He got a little kick behind his knee and he is still feeling it,'' said

Ferguson.

"Hopefully another couple of weeks will sort it out.

"Nonetheless, it is a loss. You always want your best players available.''

There was some good news, though, with Ferguson revealing winger Nani, who has been absent for two months with a hamstring problem, will take a major step forward in his recovery.

"He starts training today,'' he said.

Ferguson also explained the reason behind Darren Fletcher's recent absence.

After battling back from a chronic bowel condition, Fletcher played four times

in a fortnight at the end of last month.

However, the midfielder's only appearance since came as a last-minute

substitute in the Boxing Day win over Newcastle.

"The grounds have been really heavy, which has not suited Darren,'' said

Ferguson.

"The pitch at Old Trafford seems to have collapsed in the last two weeks.

"We have had six great years out of it. They have done a fantastic job but we

are going to have to change it during the summer.''

[artie]

Dont you wish your striker was Van Persie, Dont you Dont you.

RVP the hero yet again.

Hope Sneijder joins us!

[mr_missile]

Originally Posted by artie

Dont you wish your striker was Van Persie, Dont you Dont you.

RVP the hero yet again.

Hope Sneijder joins us!

haha. nice "song" u got there. rvp is turning out to the the buy of the season.

sneijder to join us? i prefer a more combative kind of midfielder to give us muscle in that department and can provide a shield for the defence too.

celtic's wanyama and psv's strootman may be better buys than sneijder imho.

and with all 3 of our wingers performing under par this season so far (valencia, young & nani), palace's wilfried zaha will be a good addition.

[cool.dan]

Sunday's game vs those fools. I read in F365 that their new signing Sturridge has claimed that the fools are the biggest club in England. Man, will somebody please remind him that the last time those fools won the title, maybe he wasn't even born yet.

Glory glory Man Utd!

[mr_missile]

UNITED IN 'POLE POSITION' TO SIGN ZAHA

According to the British papers, they claim that Manchester United are in 'pole position' to sign Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha.

There are reports that United have nudged ahead of Arsenal, who were in the running for the youngster, but 'their interest is thought to have cooled given their reluctance to get into a bidding war' with United.

The Daily Mirror agrees, reporting that United will pay Palace an initial £8million, with the eventual fee rising to around £12million.

Plus, as a wee sweetener, they will loan Zaha back to Palace for the rest of the season, plus send some other (unnamed) players to them on loan to help their promotion bid.

[mr_missile]

Originally Posted by cool.dan

Man, will somebody please remind him that the last time those fools won the title, maybe he wasn't even born yet.

Glory glory Man Utd!

hahaha. well said bro. but as u have said, they are fools what. so just let those fools say what they like lor. they just can't face up to the truth now, or rather, they can't bear to look at the table now.

[VoltaRedonda]

Originally Posted by mr_missile

UNITED IN 'POLE POSITION' TO SIGN ZAHA

According to the British papers, they claim that Manchester United are in 'pole position' to sign Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha.

There are reports that United have nudged ahead of Arsenal, who were in the running for the youngster, but 'their interest is thought to have cooled given their reluctance to get into a bidding war' with United.

The Daily Mirror agrees, reporting that United will pay Palace an initial £8million, with the eventual fee rising to around £12million.

Plus, as a wee sweetener, they will loan Zaha back to Palace for the rest of the season, plus send some other (unnamed) players to them on loan to help their promotion bid.

Good signing , hopefully better than Welbeck!!!

[mr_missile]

Fergie quiet on Zaha rumours

Sir Alex Ferguson has dismissed the heightened speculation surrounding Manchester United during the January transfer window.

Ferguson elected not to fuel rumours surrounding Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha or Chelsea duo Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole, all of which have been aired this week, during his press conference prior to Sunday's Premier League match against Liverpool.

"There is nothing to report," said the Scot.

"It is January for goodness sake and you (the media) are all getting desperate for a story. But there is no story to tell you."

However, it seems the interest in Zaha is genuine, even if no announcement is imminent.

It is understood that should the transfer take place then 20-year-old winger Zaha would remain with current club Crystal Palace for the remainder of the season before formally arriving at United in the summer, in a similar arrangement to the one agreed when United signed Chris Smalling from Fulham in 2010.

That part of the deal is sure to appeal to Palace, who are fighting to earn promotion back to the Premier League for the first time since 2005, and possibly explains why United have emerged above Arsenal and Tottenham as such strong favourites to secure Zaha's services over past few days.

Zaha, who won his first England cap during the November friendly against Sweden, would also fit the general template United have worked to until the arrival of Robin van Persie, namely investing in younger players and helping them through the final stages of their development, as they did so successfully with Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney to name but two.

That certainly does not apply to Chelsea pair Lampard and Cole, both of whom are set to leave Stamford Bridge in the summer when their contracts expire.

It has been suggested Ferguson could sign either or both, with Paul Scholes the obvious example why Lampard's age should be no barrier to a transfer north.

However, it appears Ferguson is not interested in either player.

Neither does it seem Leighton Baines is destined for Old Trafford in the near future either. Baines has been linked with United since last summer, yet it is impossible to imagine the 27-year-old might be interested in moving from Everton merely as back-up to Patrice Evra and equally implausible that United would wish to pay around £14million for a deputy to the Frenchman.