[bbfan1991]

Match report:

http://www.manutd.com/en/Fixtures-An...ch-report.aspx

[bbfan1991]

Race for Powell revealed

Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed Manchester United acted swiftly to beat off competition from a host of Premier League clubs in the race to secure Nick Powell's signature.

Powell's 16 goals in 2011/12 helped Crewe Alexandra win promotion to League One (via a play-off final in which the 18-year-old netted brilliantly) and he became the first person in Crewe's history to scoop all five major prizes at the club's end-of-year awards night.

Such a talent was never going to escape the attention of England's biggest clubs and, after watching him in action against Torquay in early May, Sir Alex was determined Powell would sign for Manchester United.

"We sent people to see him a few times after he started scoring a few goals," the United boss told ManUtd.com. "He actually first came on our radar a few years ago when he played against our youth team.

"But we watched him seriously from February. Mike Phelan went to see him a few times and so did our chief scout, Jim Lawlor. My brother Martin also went to see him against Torquay before I went for myself, with Mike, when Crewe played Aldershot."

Powell wasn't at his best that afternoon but Sir Alex saw enough in the teenager to convince him he had a future at Old Trafford.

"We were thinking things over," he recalls. "We'd seen a few other Premier League clubs there at the game - Everton, somebody from Arsenal, somebody from Chelsea (they were very keen on Nick) - so we thought it was best to set the wheels in motion.

"In these situations, I always think about the time we signed Lee Sharpe. We went to watch him and we were impressed. The dilemma was this: do we go home and think things over or do we make a decision and act swiftly? With Lee we moved quickly - I remember we drove a few Torquay directors down to the beach and wouldn't let them out of the car until we'd agreed a deal! - and it paid off.

"Anyway, when Mick and I went to watch Nick Powell we came away and I said: 'He's definitely a player. There's no doubt about that.'"

With Crewe destined for a Wembley play-off, however, the Reds were keen to get the deal done as soon as possible.

"We thought that if we waited until the play-offs the secret would be out, so to speak. All the TV cameras would be focussed on him and it might alert a few other clubs.

"Mind you, there were already quite a few interested. As well as Arsenal and Chelsea, we knew Manchester City were keeping tabs on him as well.

"So I phoned [Crewe director of football] Dario Gradi, told him we were keen and we started negotiating. We sorted the deal with the chairman and agreed we'd leave it until after the play-off finals.

"It was all in place a good 10 days beforehand. Nick's agent told Nick after the match and then he came up to my house the next day and we got the deal done."

[Ryan57]

I'd love to know the possession stats for the first half. It seemed like at least 75% in United's favour.

Good to see Kagawa score. Had a good game. As did Bebe, for a change.

[Petershaw1984]

Originally Posted by bbfan1991

Race for Powell revealed

Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed Manchester United acted swiftly to beat off competition from a host of Premier League clubs in the race to secure Nick Powell's signature.

Powell's 16 goals in 2011/12 helped Crewe Alexandra win promotion to League One (via a play-off final in which the 18-year-old netted brilliantly) and he became the first person in Crewe's history to scoop all five major prizes at the club's end-of-year awards night.

Such a talent was never going to escape the attention of England's biggest clubs and, after watching him in action against Torquay in early May, Sir Alex was determined Powell would sign for Manchester United.

"We sent people to see him a few times after he started scoring a few goals," the United boss told ManUtd.com. "He actually first came on our radar a few years ago when he played against our youth team.

"But we watched him seriously from February. Mike Phelan went to see him a few times and so did our chief scout, Jim Lawlor. My brother Martin also went to see him against Torquay before I went for myself, with Mike, when Crewe played Aldershot."

Powell wasn't at his best that afternoon but Sir Alex saw enough in the teenager to convince him he had a future at Old Trafford.

"We were thinking things over," he recalls. "We'd seen a few other Premier League clubs there at the game - Everton, somebody from Arsenal, somebody from Chelsea (they were very keen on Nick) - so we thought it was best to set the wheels in motion.

"In these situations, I always think about the time we signed Lee Sharpe. We went to watch him and we were impressed. The dilemma was this: do we go home and think things over or do we make a decision and act swiftly? With Lee we moved quickly - I remember we drove a few Torquay directors down to the beach and wouldn't let them out of the car until we'd agreed a deal! - and it paid off.

"Anyway, when Mick and I went to watch Nick Powell we came away and I said: 'He's definitely a player. There's no doubt about that.'"

With Crewe destined for a Wembley play-off, however, the Reds were keen to get the deal done as soon as possible.

"We thought that if we waited until the play-offs the secret would be out, so to speak. All the TV cameras would be focussed on him and it might alert a few other clubs.

"Mind you, there were already quite a few interested. As well as Arsenal and Chelsea, we knew Manchester City were keeping tabs on him as well.

"So I phoned [Crewe director of football] Dario Gradi, told him we were keen and we started negotiating. We sorted the deal with the chairman and agreed we'd leave it until after the play-off finals.

"It was all in place a good 10 days beforehand. Nick's agent told Nick after the match and then he came up to my house the next day and we got the deal done."

Hope he turns out to be a good player

[bbfan1991]

No problems for Powell

Nick Powell suffered no ill effects despite needing treatment during the first half of the 1-0 Chevrolet China Cup win against Shanghai Shenhua.

The new signing from Crewe Alexandra was shaken by a bone-jarring challenge involving Shouting Wang but continued before being withdrawn at the interval.

"I was fine," he told MUTV afterwards. "It was just a little jolt and my leg's okay. It did scare me but it's fine.

"It was great to get my first start and I want a bit more time to show people what I can do. It's a lot different to Crewe - they're in Swindon at an army camp and I'm coming here to China so it's ridiculous. I get on with most of them [team-mates] as they're a great bunch of lads and happy to be with them."

Sir Alex Ferguson was pleased with Powell's contribution, even if he did miss a good chance to open his Reds account.

"Nick Powell did well," said the boss. "It's his first game, he's only 18. But he got a really bad tackle - a sore one - in the first half. He played on but I thought it was better to take him off. He was feeling it a bit. He's two-footed, he has good balance and awareness about him. The boy looks like he can become a real top player."

[bbfan1991]

Sir Alex hails Kagawa

Sir Alex Ferguson was satisfied with another work-out against Shanghai Shenhua and impressed by man-of-the-match Shinji Kagawa.

The Japanese star scored his first goal since moving from Borussia Dortmund and it was enough to win the Chevrolet China Cup following a 1-0 victory. Kagawa fired home a pull-back by Bebe as United dominated the match in humid conditions.

"I was very pleased," said the boss. "In the second half, we did well and upped the tempo of the game and tried to get more players into the penalty box.

"We were a bit pedantic in the first half but it's been a great work-out. They had to really run a lot because Shanghai were very well organised, as you saw, with 11 men behind the ball all the time. It's not easy to play against but we could've scored a few goals.

"I think we had plenty of possession of the ball and Kagawa was involved in most of that. He was man of the match and he deserved that. He took his goal quite well, although it was a deflection. It was good work by Bebe too, who set it up for him. I think Bebe did really well when he came on.

"Kagawa has settled in well. He's going to be a really good player and he impressed tonight. His awareness of receiving the ball, his speed in turning and how he attacks defenders is an asset to us."

[bbfan1991]

Johnstone's proud moment

Sam Johnstone was clearly a proud man after making his senior bow for Manchester United against Shanghai Shenhua.

The young keeper came on at half-time for Anders Lindegaard as Sir Alex Ferguson remained true to his word in giving match-time to every member of the DHL tour squad.

Although Johnstone had a quiet time of things as United dominated in a 1-0 victory, it was clear that the experience meant everything to him, despite skipper Rio Ferdinand's best efforts to distract him during the exclusive MUTV interview.

"Of course it's a proud moment for me and my family," he stated. "I got a text off my Dad in the morning saying I'd been working for this since I was 10 years old, which a lot of the team have.

"We've been together a long time and there were a lot of youngsters on the field."

Sir Alex commented, also on MUTV, about his England Under-19 international, who looks set to either be third-choice at Old Trafford next term or head out again on loan.

"He didn't have anything to do," said the boss. "But he's going to be a good keeper. We all know that he's tremendously talented and he's only 19 and is growing all the time, even if he is a big lad already."


I am pleased for Sam, he has lots of potential and helped one of his new good friends David De Gea to settle in at United.

[bbfan1991]

Gallery: Shenhua action

http://www.manutd.com/en/Tour2012Tea...i-shenhua.aspx

[bbfan1991]

Manchester United 'temporarily postpone New York flotation plan'

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2...medium=twitter

[bbfan1991]

Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed that Manchester United are looking at adding to summer signings Shinji Kagawa and Nick Powell as the former fired them to a 1-0 win over Shanghai Shenhua in the Chevrolet China Cup.

When quizzed on where United, who have been heavily linked with Robin Van Persie, Lucas Moura and Leighton Baines in recent weeks, are in terms of signing new players, Ferguson told reporters: "We are trying to add to the squad and are working on one or two things."

Kagawa, who struck in the 68th minute, was awarded with the sponsors' man of the match award and impressed Ferguson with his all-action display in his role just off the forward.

On the Japanese international, Ferguson said: "I thought he was terrific. He was involved in everything, all our interplay, all our possession, he was involved in most of it."

Ferguson also reserved special praise for Portugese striker Bebe, who has endured a nightmare spell at Old Trafford but has impressed on this pre-season tour.

After scoring an injury-time equaliser against Ajax Cape Town on Sunday, Bebe set up the winner and Ferguson was pleased with his contribution.

He added: "Bebe did fantastic to set him up for the goal, I thought he did really well when he came on."

Ferguson felt his troops did well to secure victory in the hot and humid conditions in Shanghai and feels the pre-season plans are coming along nicely.

The Scot said: "I was very pleased, I thought in the second half we did very well. We upped the tempo of the game and we tried to get more players into the penalty area.

I thought that in the first half, although we had a lot of possession, I thought we were a bit pedantic and lacked the penetration in our speed of play but the second half we did very well."

The 70-year-old admitted that Shenhua, the team that former Chelsea forwards Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka now play for, had given his side a run for their money.

He said: "I think it's been a great workout, they've had to really run a lot because they [Shanghai Shenhua] were very organised, as you saw.

"There were men behind the ball all the time and it wasn't easy to play against but we found a way in the second half and we could have scored a few goals."

A fellow new signing, Powell, was also given a run-out from the start and was on the end of a nasty tackle from Wang Shouting which incensed Ferguson, who felt it was entirely unnecessary for a friendly.

On the tackle, Ferguson claimed: "Yeah, it was a bad tackle but he got up and played on.

"I thought I'd take him off at half-time with his first introduction to starting a game and he looks a really top player, the boy, he's going to be okay."

Kagawa and Powell appear to have settled in nicely already and Ferguson is excited at the prospect of his new signings continue to gel ahead of the new season.

The Scot said: "I think that it's always pleasing that the work they do in training transmits itself to an actual match situation, which we saw a lot of tonight so that was good. I'm pleased with that."

[bbfan1991]

Good news RE Sir Alex Ferguson confirming that United are looking to do some more transfer business.

[bbfan1991]

Not throwing in the towel: Ferdinand says Fergie's 'slow' dig made him stronger

Yoga and a new exercise regime has defender who looked bound for the scrapheap eyeing another two or three years at United

Three months into last season, Rio Ferdinand’s Manchester United career seemed to be drawing to its inevitable end.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson publicly admitted centre-back Ferdinand had lost a yard of pace and, after almost a decade at Old Trafford, could no longer consider himself an automatic first-team choice.

Youngsters Chris Smalling and Phil Jones had been brought in with a view to replacing Ferdinand long-term, and the man who cost the Reds £29.1million in July 2002 seemed to be getting slowly ushered towards the exit door.

But Ferdinand confounded that perception, as well an injury curse.

He ended up playing in 38 games last season, and proving his enduring worth, even though United lost out to Manchester City in the final seconds of an enthralling title race.

Now, Ferdinand may no longer be wanted by England, but he is adamant his United career is far from over.

And he admits Ferguson’s blunt comments had their desired effect.

“Sometimes, the manager says and does things for a reaction,” said Ferdinand, speaking in Shanghai, China during a break from United’s pre-season tour.

“Top players normally react in the right way, and I’d like to think I’ve done that. I played more games last season than I had in the previous couple of years.

“Careers aren’t there to be easy and for everything to fall into place. You have to work hard and demand things of yourself to achieve things.

“Last season, I got a formula of working myself and getting myself ready for games, and it worked. Fingers crossed, I can continue that this season.”

Ferdinand is out of contract at the end of next season, by which time he will be 34.

Although Fergie has already hinted that he will be offered a new deal, Ferdinand is happy to wait until the New Year.

“Nothing has happened yet and I don’t envisage it happening until at least after January, because that’s the way the manager works,” he said.

“Giggsy [Ryan Giggs], Nev [Gary Neville] and [Paul] Scholesy [Paul Scholes] have all done the same, where at the back end of the season the manager pulls them aside and says, ‘I’d like you to continue’ or ‘Clear your locker.’

“I’m not a special case because I’m Rio Ferdinand.

“Hopefully the manager pulls me aside and says, ‘I want you to continue playing here’, because I love playing for this club and love being here.”

Ferdinand had a relatively injury-free career until he hit 30, at which point an ongoing back problem and other unrelated problems began to affect his ability to play on a consistent basis.

However, his use of yoga and an exercise programme devised with the help of United’s medical staff have enabled him to prolong a career than looked to be in terminal decline a couple of years ago.

Ferdinand knows that managing his ailing body is the key to extending his career at United by another two or three seasons.

“You look at someone like Giggsy, and he’s made that way - sometimes you have to be blessed with a body that’s going to be able to get through the hardships of a season and not pick up any injuries," he said.

“Obviously, I’ve had my back problem, but I got through last year and I look at this year now.

“I’ve done yoga for about 18 months now, which has been good for me, and I’ll be doing it as long as I can.

“People are seeing the end of my career coming in the next two or three years, and the manager obviously has to plan for the future.

“I have to prove to the manager that I can continue playing, and the young players have to prove to him they’re worthy of getting in the team.”

United blew an eight-point lead with six games to go last season, allowing City to pip them to the title on goal difference by scoring a winner in the final seconds of the final game - after United's last-day match had ended with Fergie's men pencilled in as champions.

Given the commanding advantage they held so close to the finish line, it was a bitter pill for United to swallow.

Ferdinand has vowed there will be no repeat of that collapse - which included a 4-4 home draw with Everton when United had been 4-2 in front with eight minutes to go - in the coming campaign.

Asked if he felt it was more of a case of United losing the championship than City winning it, the former West Ham and Leeds star said: “Yeah, I’d say that. We lost the league.

“Fair play to City, though. You’ve got to do well and you’ve got to be a good team to win the league, so I wouldn’t take anything away from them.

“But if you gave us the last few games of the season and put us in that situation again next season, that wouldn’t happen. It was just madness. But that’s down to us.

“We take full blame for that, we don’t blame anyone else or look to anyone else, that’s down to us.”

Despite the manner in which United lost the league, Ferdinand claimed no other team could have coped with the crippling injury list that marred their campaign and come so close to the title.

“It was obviously disappointing last season, that’s an understatement,” he said. "But I think there are positives to take from it.

"We had an injury-ravaged dressing-room, and players out for parts of the season: Nemanja Vidic [who didn't kick a ball from December on because of a knee problem]. Ashley Young. Nani, Anderson. Tom Cleverley. Danny Welbeck. Darren Fletcher - a massive player for us.

“I don’t think there’s any other squad in the Premier League that could have done what we did and pushed the title race all the way to the last minute of the season, under that kind of stress.

“So that’s a positive I’m sure the manager took from the season, although we wouldn’t want to see that [the way United lost the league] happen again.”

Ferdinand admitted the United dressing-room at Sunderland, after City had snatched the title from them in such dramatic fashion, was a solemn place.

But he revealed that Ferguson immediately told his squad to use the season's amazing finale as a learning experience and ensure they never found themselves in such a demoralising position again.

“He just said, especially to the young players in the dressing-room, to take on board what had just happened and learn from it,” said Ferdinand.

“I remember when I first came to United and we lost the League Cup Final to Liverpool.

"It was my first ever final and the game just kind of passed me by.

“The occasion just passed me by, because it can go that quick.

"If you don’t take it with both hands and don’t grasp the moment at the time, other opportunities like that that will go amiss.

“All through my career I’ve thought, ‘That can’t happen again’, so when you get those big games, you’ve got to make sure you’re ready and pushing yourself and your team-mates on as well.”

Ferdinand said he was confident the current United squad can see off the threat posed by City and re-establish themselves as the country’s dominant football force by winning back the title.

“We always get challenges at Manchester United and that’s been the case, even since before I came here,” he said. “Arsenal were once the challenge, but we rose to that and took them out of the equation.

“Then it was Chelsea. We rose to that challenge and ended up winning the league three years on the bounce.

“Now it’s City. So it’s part and parcel of being a United player - you have to rise to challenges.

“We have to make sure that, this coming season, we don’t make the mistakes we did last season and that we learn from them.

"That’s the challenge.”

[bbfan1991]

Chicha backs Olympians

Chicharito says he is thoroughly enjoying his first full pre-season with the Reds after two previously busy summers, but the Mexican admits he will have one eye on his country's progress at the Olympics during the coming fortnight.

The Reds' striker was excused from international duty for the Games after almost two full years of football due to his participation in the 2010 World Cup and the CONCACAF Gold Cup last year, during which he picked up the Golden Boot and Player of the Tournament awards as Mexico ran out as overall winners.

He was expected to join fellow Reds Tom Cleverley, Ryan Giggs (both Team GB), Rafael (Brazil) and David De Gea at the Games, but United and Mexico - who face Gabon, South Korea and Switzerland in the group stages - jointly decided it would be best for the 24-year-old to remain with the Reds to prepare for the new season.

While always passionate about representing his country, Hernandez admits he is pleased to be able to get a full pre-season under his belt and, despite his absence, he has high hopes for Mexico at London 2012.

"Of course, I always love playing for my country but the decision was made and I'm really happy to be able to work hard with United during pre-season," he told Inside United.

"I think Mexico have a real chance and a lot of good players. It’s a very good generation for our country. We won the Toulon Tournament [a prominent under-21 competition held in France every year], so there are a lot of hopes for the team.

"We know in Mexico football is a very popular sport, all the kids, all the people have high hopes for the team to compete for a medal. It’s a dream for all Mexicans and it’s a dream for all the boys that are playing. I wish them all the best."

Chicharito is such a nice guy.

[bbfan1991]

Manchester United icon Ryan Giggs says Team GB are going for gold.

Giggs’ brilliance at club level has harvested 12 Premier League titles, four FA Cups, four League Cups and two Champions League winner’s medals in a glittering Manchester United career.

But the Olympics will be his first international tournament participation.

He admitted: “As a footballer, you don’t start out in your career hoping to win the Olympics. You want to win leagues, FA Cups and European Cups.

“I’m still disappointed I never got to a major championship with Wales but we weren’t good enough to get to a European Championships or World Cup.

“But to get the chance to play in a tournament at such a late stage of my career is obviously one I’m excited about and looking forward to.

“Of course, you want to win every game and win the tournament. We know it’s going to be tough — but having seen the quality of our team over the last few weeks, we’re hopeful of going a long way.

“An Olympic gold would be up there with my European medals. I don’t like to prioritise any medal or trophy, because it’s always a good feeling when you win.

“It’s always a challenge — no matter what you win — and this is a big challenge.

“It’s going to be difficult because there’s a lot of quality in the tournament but there’s quality in our dressing room as well.”

[bbfan1991]

It's coming home... Cleverley exclusive on Team GB's Olympic return after 52 years

“Our nation’s first sport is football. I expect everybody will be down after the way we went out of the Euros, but what a way it would be to bounce back with a gold medal..."

Tom Cleverley sat in his apartment in south Manchester, staring up at his wide-screen television.

It was Wimbledon ladies’ singles final day and Serena Williams was crushing Agnieszka Radwanska in the first set.

The Manchester United midfielder loves tennis, but something else was on his mind, too.

“I’ll be in the Olympic Village with them next month,” he said, smiling.

After an absence of 52 years, British men’s football, and some of its biggest stars, are finally part of the Greatest Show on Earth again.

While other countries threw everything into Olympic football, the game here endured decades of self-imposed exile stemming from a mixture of arrogance and paranoia.

Worried about compromising the independence of the Home Nations in the eyes of FIFA and unable to shake off mutual antipathies, it also developed a snooty attitude to the Games.

It might have been good enough for Spain, Cameroon, Nigeria and Argentina - winners between them of the last five Olympic tournaments - but it wasn’t good enough for us.

It might have been good enough for Kanu, Carlos Tevez, Lionel Messi, Xavi and Sergio Aguero, but it wasn’t good enough for our boys.

That has changed at last.

On Thursday night, in front of a full house of 75,000 at Old Trafford, Great Britain will take on Senegal in their opening group match of the 2012 Games.

And Cleverley’s presence will embody something about the spirit of Olympic football, and its emphasis on players under the age of 23.

It is about the promise and the youth of players like him, who are starting out on their careers and dreaming of great glories ahead.

It is about the hope they hold out for the future, the potential they possess.

Cleverley, 22, is relishing it. Every part of it.

The Manchester United midfielder missed out on the European Championship earlier in the summer. But London 2012 is more than just consolation.

It is an opportunity for him to show how much a player with his technique and ability to keep the ball was missed in Ukraine.

It is an opportunity for him and, he thinks, for a football-mad country to latch on to Team GB’s Olympic football exploits and use them to erase the regret about what happened in Ukraine.

“I was disappointed not to make the England squad for the Euros,” Cleverley said.

“I had not played a lot of football towards the end of the season, but I felt I could have brought something to the party.

“Now, hopefully I can impress in the Olympics and [United manager] Sir Alex Ferguson and [England boss] Roy Hodgson will be watching.

“Our nation’s first sport is football. I expect everybody will be down and feeling a bit sorry for themselves after the way we went out of the Euros, but what a way it would be to bounce back with a gold medal at the Olympics.

“We’ve got a young team and it would be something for everybody to get excited about again. That’s in the back of our minds.”

When United met up for pre-season training at the start of this month, Cleverley said, everyone at their Carrington HQ was talking about the Olympics.

“David de Gea is going with the Spain squad,” he added. “He is confident. The Spanish are always confident.

“Anderson was talking about how brilliant it was staying in the Olympic Village and mixing with the other athletes.

“It makes me laugh when people say Premier League players are too big-time to stay in the accommodation in the Village - I’m 22. I was living in digs four years ago. It won’t bother me.

“And I’ve been talking to [GB captain] Ryan Giggs about everything, too. He knows everything there is to know about it all - the details of the itinerary, the arrangements, everything.

“I have been telling him about the players I know from the England Under-21s, and he’s been talking to me about the players from Wales.

“I talked to him a lot in our first couple of days back in pre-season and we were both really excited about it.

“He’s not got many things missing in his career - he has been the best in my era - so for him to play in a major summer tournament and perhaps have a gold medal to add to it all would complete an unbelievable set of honours for him.

“So I’m actually really excited about how different it’s going to be. It’s not going to be your bread and butter, week-in and week-out, league football.

“I’m looking forward to being part of a team that is representing Britain, that is a young team. I’m looking forward to mixing with people from different sports."

Injury halted Cleverley’s progress last season after a hugely promising start, but he hopes to be a regular starter for United in the coming campaign.

Great Britain’s matches in the Olympics will be high-profile sell-outs and even though he is missing United’s pre-season tour of South Africa and the Far East, Cleverley knows Fergie will be watching his performances from afar.

“It would be nice to be in two places at once, as far as the United pre-season goes,” he said. “But I am at the Olympics and, if I’m in the side, I’ll be playing competitive games in big stadiums against top class opposition. It’s perfect for me.

“It’s not like I’ve just signed for United. I’ve been at the club for a while now. I know what preparation I need to be doing to get ready for when I am back at the club.”

Cleverley and co have already had a taste of the quality of opposition they will be facing at the Olympics.

Team GB lost 2-0 to Brazil in Middlesbrough last Friday, when the South Americans fielded an attack that included Oscar, Hulk and Neymar.

Spain's Olympic team will feature two players, Juan Mata and Jordi Alba, who not only played in but scored in the Euro 2012 final earlier this month.

Cleverley, though, remains optimistic.

The real business starts on Thursday night but for now he is still full of the thrill of the experience.

Watching Michael Johnson run in Atlanta in 1996 is his first real Olympic memory.

Seeing Usain Bolt hurtle to victory in Beijing four years ago is the Olympic moment he cherishes most.

“I’m a big fan of Bolt,” Cleverley said. “He’s a United supporter as well. I’ve actually met him.

Having a dash: Sprint star and United fan Bolt fancies himself as a footballer
Daily Mirror

"He thinks he can be a player. He’d be quick enough!”

[bbfan1991]

Shinji's no flash in the pan

Sir Alex Ferguson insists Shinji Kagawa is no overnight sensation. In his mind, the Japanese midfielder, who scored the only goal of Wednesday's game against Shanghai Shenhua to seal victory in the Chevrolet China cup, has the ability to perform consistenly at the top level.

Kagawa first attracted attention from Europe's top clubs, including Manchester United, during his first season with Bundesliga outfit Borussia Dortmund. He netted eight goals in 18 appearances in an injury-hit campaign that ended with Die Borussen's first league title in nine years.

But it was his second season, Sir Alex told ManUtd.com, that cemented the United manager's belief that Kagawa had the necessary attributes to succeed at Old Trafford.

"There was a lot of interest in him after his first season because he started so well at Dortmund," the United boss said.

"But I never think you can tell after one season. I wanted to see how he’d do in his second campaign – it’s more of a test because your opponents tend to know more about you.

"He passed with flying colours. He was even better, in fact. So that was a straightforward decision for us."

Kagawa has certainly impressed team-mates in training, while fans have also been quick to praise the attacker following his Tour 2012 performances.

His ability to use both feet, vision in the final third and direct running at opposition defences have added an extra dimension to the Reds' attack.

"Shinji's intelligent, fast, has quick feet and works very hard," Sir Alex said. "At 23 he's a good age and already has a couple of years' experience at a big club in Borussia Dortmund.

"It’s obvious he’s a very good player. We have high hopes for him."

[Niamh.]

Saw a Man Utd. match last night ..............well it was the Man Utd reserves, playing against Cork City. Cork won 2-0

[bbfan1991]

Awesome. I am jealous ha ha!

[bbfan1991]

Euro stars back in training

Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed he will involve his Euro 2012 stars in the upcoming DHL tour games.

The Reds' next first-team assignment is in Oslo with Valerenga providing the opposition on Sunday 5 August.

With the likes of Wayne Rooney and Nani due to return to training on Thursday after missing the trip to South Africa and China, the squad is starting to take shape again ahead of the new campaign.

After a week of hard work at Carrington, the manager will have plenty of options again in all positions with a mixture of fringe perfomers and new signings certainly enhancing their claims on tour.

"The players who start training on Thursday will certainly be involved in the games in Norway, Sweden and Germany," said Sir Alex.

"They've got to play in these games because the season approaches very quickly. It's important for these players to get a game."

[Petershaw1984]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

Saw a Man Utd. match last night ..............well it was the Man Utd reserves, playing against Cork City. Cork won 2-0

Was that the milk cup?

[bbfan1991]

Reds take to the catwalk:

http://www.manutd.com/en/Tour2012Tea...-shanghai.aspx

OMG.

[bbfan1991]

Rafael Da Silva scored for Brazil. I am pleased for him and he is developing into a quality RB!

1-0 Brazil: Rafael v Egypt: http://www.101greatgoals.com/gvideos...afael-v-egypt/

[bbfan1991]

Eric Steele analyses David De Gea:

http://www.manutd.com/en/Tour2012Tea...with-mutv.aspx

[bbfan1991]

Lindegaard's big chance:

http://www.manutd.com/en/Tour2012Tea...er-jersey.aspx

[bbfan1991]

Ambassador role for Schmeichel

Legendary United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel has been appointed as an official club ambassador.

As part of his role, the Dane will attend various events and functions on behalf of the club, promoting the work it does within the community and with its partners, sharing anecdotes from his time at Old Trafford.

Schmeichel played for United for eight years from 1991 to 1999 and his accolades include five Premier League titles, three FA Cups and a Champions League.

The iconic stopper was part of the celebrated '99 Treble-winning team and played with the likes of Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Roy Keane and Denis Irwin.

Schmeichel said: "It’s a great honour to be an ambassador for Manchester United. I spent many happy years at the club and achieved some of my greatest sporting accolades whilst playing here, so I was delighted to be asked to take up this role.

"I am looking forward to working with United again and sharing my experiences, as well as catching up with some of my former team-mates."

Other United ambassadors include Sir Bobby Charlton, Bryan Robson, Gary Neville and Andrew Cole.