Manchester United's Headliners, Articles and Rumours

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Anderson 'proud' to be with Reds

ANDERSON is hoping to build on his Manchester United debut after describing the experience as "amazing".

The former Porto star, 19, played the first half of United's Premier League clash with Sunderland before being replaced by Louis Saha who scored the winner in a 1-0 victory.

With Chelsea losing to Aston Villa, United are only two points behind their Premier League rivals.

Anderson enjoyed performing in front of over 75,000 supporters at Old Trafford.

"It was amazing, not just for me but for my family as well," he said.

"As a young boy it was always my dream to play for a big European club.

"I was lucky enough to do it with Porto and now I am at United. I feel proud to be here and I want to do my best."

However, Anderson took his time before making the switch to the Premier League.

He said: "I heard about United some time ago through my agent but we thought it would be better for me to wait a little bit longer.

"I was doing well at Porto and knew that joining a club like United would bring its own pressure.

"But when they expressed an interest in me again in the summer I felt it was the right time."

Anderson was given an insight into United from Portugal winger Cristiano Ronaldo and liked what he heard.

"He told me about the club and what a great place it is, " Anderson told www.manutd.com.

"Joining United is a dream come true for any footballer in the world."

Anderson is already being talked up by some pundits as the new Ronaldinho.

But United's new recruit believes he has a long way to go to emulate his fellow Brazilian.

Anderson said: "You have to remember that Ronaldinho is an established top-class footballer.

"He has been named the best player in the world twice. He is a great guy and a good friend of mine.

"But no two players are the same. It is an honour to play alongside him, it's something every footballer in the world would like to do.

"He is a great player and I hope one day I can reach the level he is at."

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Hargreaves: Reds are ready

OWEN Hargreaves departed for his England Euro 2008 qualifier challenge buoyed by the prospect of United's immediate future.

By the time Old Trafford's £17m summer recruit returns from international duty Sir Alex Ferguson's senior squad will be welcoming back Cristiano Ronaldo, Ryan Giggs and possibly even Wayne Rooney.

Sunderland match-winner Louis Saha will also be gearing up for his second return match after emerging as Saturday's substitute hero.

Ronaldo has completed his three-match ban and will be set to face Everton a week on Saturday.

Giggs, who no longer has the worry of a Wales career to threaten his fitness for United, will be fit after his hamstring tweak kept him out against Roy Keane's Black Cats.

Campaign

Rooney has no date set for a comeback but is moving ever closer to a welcome return after breaking his foot.

Once the roll call has swollen Hargreaves believes the champions can begin to get their teeth into the campaign.

"Any time you don't have players like Louis, Wayne and Cristiano it is difficult. They are three of the best players in England," said Owen.

"It will be great to have them all back. Ryan was missing as well against Sunderland. Some of our best players were missing. Once we get them all back I am very excited."

Hargreaves has been an instant hit with United fans as a midfield enforcer.

Nani has had his considerable moments of promise.

But Fergie's other two newcomers Carlos Tevez and Anderson have struggled.

Tevez has yet to get off the mark with his goals and following a hamstring injury Anderson's debut 45 minutes against Sunderland was disappointing.

But Hargreaves is convinced the new-look Reds will gel eventually.

"It is just little things. It takes time for players to get to know each other and how they are going to react in certain situations," the 26-year-old England midfielder added.

"There are times when you realise you haven't played with these people before. It takes games to get used to it. It will come with time.

Break

"When you look at the break we have now, it is a great opportunity to go into it with a positive experience. We have put ourselves in a good position for when we come back. We have Everton away next and hopefully we can go there and get three points."

Saha ended his injury misery against the Premiership newcomers and Hargreaves believes the Frenchman will add a fresh dimension to United's attack.

"It was a relief in the end on Saturday," he said.

"It was a very similar game to the one with Tottenham. Our play was a bit slow in the first-half. We didn't really create any chances and Sunderland defended very well.

"They made it very difficult for us. I was thinking after about 20 minutes this was going to be another tough one. You have to take your hat off to Sunderland. They defended extremely well.

"We got into our rhythm at the end of the first-half and the second only went one way. Louis came on and gave us great presence up front. His little bit of quality helped us to win the game.

"Louis has come on with that presence up front. He has the ability to get in behind defenders at times. He has great presence on the ball and scored a great goal. We looked very flexible in the second-half."


Giggs closes on contract

UNITED are ready to offer Ryan Giggs a contract extension until the end of the 2008/2009 season, according to a report.

The Welsh winger has Sir Bobby Robson's United appearance record in his sights, and with 721 is just 38 behind the milestone.

New signing Nani has shown flashes of brilliance so far, but still looks a long way from the finished product which should provide Giggs with plenty of first-team opportunities. Now Sir Alex Ferguson is recommending the 33-year-old a new deal.

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Hungry Giggs confident of winning more titles

When Ryan Giggs won a record ninth league championship medal last season, defenders across the country must have been living in hope that the veteran Manchester United winger would finally decide to call it a day and hang up his boots, but the hunger that has helped him to become the most decorated player in English football shows no signs of abating.

Giggs is 34 in November, but as he talked yesterday of a desire not only to win an unprecedented tenth Premier League title this season, but an eleventh also, it seemed fair to wonder how much longer the Herculean Welshman believes he can go on for.

Sir Alex Ferguson, the United manager, may have spent a projected £37.7 million recruiting Nani and An-derson, the respective Portugal and Brazil forwards, in the summer, but the man they hope one day to replace is not ready to fade into the background just yet.

“It would be nice to get to ten [league titles], but it would be nicer to get to 11,” Giggs, who is expected to extend his contract by another 12 months, which will tie him to United until the end of next season, said. “I don’t want to be greedy, but that’s my shirt number, so that’s what I’m aiming for.

“Over the last two or three years the manager has bought young players as he looks to the future, which is something you’ve got to do at this club. Myself, Scholesy [Paul Scholes], Nev [Gary Neville], we’ll not play for ever. We needed to bring the age of the team down and we’ve done that, but at the moment we’ve got a good mixture of experience and young players. Eventually these young players will be the future of United. The club never stands still and never will.”

After an unconvincing start to the season, back-to-back 1-0 wins at home to Tottenham Hotspur and Sunderland have given United’s league position a healthier look, but while Giggs is expecting one of the toughest campaigns yet, he is convinced that the champions have the quality needed to retain their title. “It is probably a little harder to defend [the title] because everybody wants to beat the champions,” Giggs said.

“There is that extra pressure, and there’s also extra hunger from the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal because they haven’t won it the season before. But if you have won it, the players have that hunger to do it again. And if the players who won it last year have got that same hunger, then we’ve got a great chance.”

United trail Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea by two points and Giggs cannot see a challenge coming from anywhere but those three teams. The winger sat out the Sunderland game with a hamstring problem but is expected to return against Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday week, along with Cristiano Ronaldo, who has missed the past three matches through suspension. Wayne Rooney will undergo another scan on his foot this week, but the England forward is likely to be missing for another three weeks or so yet.

In the longer term, United will also be without Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who has retired after failing to recover from a recurring knee injury, though, like Giggs, Ferguson has no intention of going anywhere. The manager said yesterday that he had no idea when he is going to retire, but he has a firm belief on who should succeed him. “I have a great assistant in Carlos Quei-roz. I think he will be a strong candidate,” he said.

For now, the pair will welcome the return of Giggs and Ronaldo, coupled with the reemergence of Louis Saha, who scored the only goal against Sunderland. Giggs is unconcerned by the team’s recent troubles in front of goal and says that the most important aspect is being strong defensively. “Because of the attacking options we’ve got we’ll always create chances,” he said. “If we can keep clean sheets, we’ve always got a chance.”

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Fergie faith in Queiroz
United assistant a contender to replace boss

Sir Alex Ferguson expects Carlos Queiroz to be a 'strong candidate' to be his successor as Manchester United manager.

Queiroz is in his second spell as Ferguson's assistant at Old Trafford, having had a brief stint as coach of Real Madrid.

The current United incumbent is thankful he does not have to decide his replacement, but believes Queiroz should come under consideration.

"Thankfully, I don't have to make the decision," said Ferguson, who was speaking to an audience at the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow.

"I have a great assistant in Carlos Queiroz, I think he will be a strong candidate."

Difficult decision

Ferguson, who came close to retiring several years ago, has no date in mind for stepping aside and is also unsure how the Glazer family will see the future of the club.

He added: "We have new owners now and I don't know how they look at the situation over in America.

"They have been great supporters of everything we have done, but they may have their own ideas.

"The thing is I have not made my mind up when I'm retiring. It's a difficult one. It's not going to be an easy decision.

"The important thing is to leave a good team. The present team is very, very good, but they will get better."

[chickenzip]

Young defender Simpson pens United deal

The 20-year-old full-back spent the second half of last season on loan at Sunderland along with club-mate Jonny Evans and both men have forced their way into the first-team picture since their return to Old Trafford.

'Much more to come from Anderson'

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has promised there is much more to come from summer signing Anderson.

The 19-year-old Brazil midfielder was handed a Premier League debut for the club in Saturday's 1-0 win over Sunderland, but was replaced at half-time by Louis Saha who went on to score the vital goal.

However, Ferguson is confident his capture from Porto will come good as he makes his way at Old Trafford.

He told the club's official website: 'He will take time. He's 19 years of age and is a player with great skill. I'm sure he will be okay.

[Sayangku]

"Selling Stamp was a mistake" Sir Alex Furgeson admits

Sir Alex Furgeson finally admitted that selling Stamp to Lazio 6 years ago was a mistake, but saying the Lazio's offer of 16.6 million for the 29 old Stamp was too good for the club to refuse.

Finally after so many years, I've been waiting for Sir Alex to admit his mistake have come true, I'm sure many of Man U fans like me felt that selling Stamp was a big mistake during that time. Kudos to Sir Alex for admitting his mistake, he have my greatest respect now

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TRANSFER RUMOURS
Manchester United are chasing Barcelona's latest prodigy - in the shape of 18-year-old Mexican sensation Giovani Dos Santos. (Daily Mirror)

[imom]

Originally Posted by Sayangku

"Selling Stamp was a mistake" Sir Alex Furgeson admits

Sir Alex Furgeson finally admitted that selling Stamp...

Wah bro, which site did you cut and paste the above from huh? 'Stamp' and 'Furgeson'.... hehe...

[tryherout]

Recently Wenger's wage made him 2nd highiest paid manager in EPL behind the hot mourihno. When will be fergurson's turn to increase his "coolie kang" since he clinched EPL title last season?

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Man Utd's Scholes keen on Oldham move

Manchester United star Paul Scholes admits he could finish his career in the colours of Oldham Athletic.
While ruling out a return to the England fold, Scholes admitted he'd like to play for Oldham, the club that he supported as a kid.

"As for Oldham, you just don't know what will happen in the future... I suppose it could happen, you never really know," Scholes told the Manchester Evening News.

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Man Utd, Man City go for £18M Huntelaar

Manchester United and Manchester City are chasing Ajax striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.

Both Premiership clubs are in the market for a new forward, with Huntelaar's characteristics fitting the bill for both United boss Sir Alex Ferguson and City's Sven Goran Eriksson.

Huntelaar has been likened to former United star Ruud van Nistelrooy and it his physical presence, as much as his prolific scoring record, which is attracting both Manchester clubs.

The News of the World says Ajax are welcoming a potential auction and rate Huntelaar in the £18 million class.

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Evra hails Man Utd pal Fletcher as "unbelievable"

Patrice Evra has hailed Manchester United teammates Darren Fletcher as an "unbelievable player".

The pair will lock horns this week when France face Scotland in their Euro2008 qualifier and Evra said: "Darren is an unbelievable player. He can run all day and has great technique and vision.

"He's the complete midfielder and one of the best I have ever played with.

"Darren doesn't get the same publicity as David Beckham or Patrick Vieira but his work-rate is unbelievable. When you have a player like Fletcher in your team you are happy because you know he will never stop running.

pls tell me wat is good abt fletcher?? cant pass, cant dribble cant shoot, cant tackle?? only run like headless chicken??

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Man Utd legend Charlton: Fergie successor should come from outside

Manchester United legend Sir Bobby Charlton believes it might be a mistake to appoint someone from inside of the club's history to take over as manager.
Most United fans quite like the idea of a former player�s Roy Keane and Mark Hughes taking over from Sir Alex Ferguson when he retires.

However, Sir Bobby believes it might turn out to be a mistake to appoint one of them instead of a complete 'outsider'.

"I think their have been a lot of mistakes made by a lot of clubs in getting managers who have already been some part of the club in their career," Charlton told The Daily Star .

"I don't buy that. If he's a good manager it doesn't matter who he is, where he comes from or even what nationality he is.

"In fact, in lots of cases, I'd say it was a hardship now to have a club background.

"People say only an old player could do it but maybe it's better to have a clean bill of health. Maybe give it to somebody who will really clear the decks."

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Glazers deny Man Utd debt claims
The Glazer family have denied that Manchester United's debts, which have reportedly increased by £28million this year, are out of control.
A report from the Manchester United Supporters Trust , due to be released on Monday, claims that the club's interest payments have increased by £28m.

It also claims that increased TV revenue and money from a new shirt sponsorship deal with AIG is being used to service debts.

But a Glazer family spokesman dismissed the report on Sunday, saying: "The story is inaccurate. Nothing has changed.

"The debts continue to be comfortably serviced by the business, which is performing better than ever.

"As always there have been substantial funds for the manager to purchase players over the summer."

United fans have been hit with a 14% rise in ticket prices this season but the club has to fund rising player salary demands to keep stars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand at Old Trafford.

The Trust report claims that the Glazer family "continue to face an extraordinary and growing debt problem".

The report states that since last year's refinancing, United and the Glazers have been faced with "a series of interest rate rises which have increased the annual debt service bill from £62m a year on the total debt of £660m.

"The interest bill is currently an annualised £100m-plus, of which £73m is payable this year and the other £27m in the future - a ticking debt time-bomb."

Reports have emerged over recent weeks of potential buyers for United based in China and Dubai but the Glazers have stressed that they have no interest in selling and are completely committed to the club.

[tenggiri]

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Manchester United and Manchester City are chasing Ajax striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.
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I've always liked this guy Huntelaar. And i hope Sir seriously consider bidding for him becos if he can score 9 goals in the CL last season, this boy's definitely got 'Klaas' !