Evans now a goal threat

Jonny Evans has put his new-found goalscoring touch down to inviting deliveries from set-pieces.

The Reds have been a much bigger threat from corners in particular this term and scored again from a flag-kick when the central defender stabbed in the equaliser during the 3-2 triumph against SC Braga.

Evans, who is in outstanding form, bulleted home a header at Newcastle, was only denied by Asmir Begovic's save from point-blank range last weekend and netted his first-ever senior Old Trafford goal on Tuesday night. As his opening Champions League strike was only his third for the club in 134 games, it's fair to say he's adding another string to his bow.

"I probably should have had another one at the weekend," he confessed to MUTV. "I think the delivery has been better from set-plays and it has given us a chance to get on the end of things.

"I was devastated when I miskicked it but I turned around and managed to get a bit of a toe on it. I didn't know how it went in and thought it might have been an own goal or something but I've come in, seen it back and I got a touch on it."

The Reds fell behind for an eighth time in 12 games this season and Sir Alex's side's powers of recovery continue to be tested.

"We lost the two goals early doors so we were glad to get the result in the end," admitted Evans. "It's happened quite a lot and is becoming a bit of a habit. Hopefully, it's something we can eradicate as we don't want to give ourselves that kind of deficit at the start of games. We need to get a better start in the future.

"I think some of the link-up play was fantastic with Robin [van Persie], 'Wazza' [Wayne Rooney], Chicharito, [Shinji] Kagawa and [Tom] Cleverley. The forward play was excellent and I thought we were unlucky to go in 2-1 at half time actually.

"Obviously, we want to wrap up the group as soon as possible and give the manager a chance to maybe rest one or two players in the last couple of games as there's a hectic fixture schedule coming up for us - especially coming into December - so it'll be nice to get that sewn up."

Fletch: One more win

Darren Fletcher says the Reds are determined to wrap up qualification for the Champions League knockout stages with a win in Braga next month.

United's come-from-behind victory against the Portuguese side on Tuesday night gave Sir Alex's men a third win in as many European games this term and ensured United remain in the driving seat at the top of Group H.

Another three points in Portugal will seal a place in the last 16 and banish last season's early-exit memories.

"After last year the aim was to get ourselves through the group as quickly as possible," the Scot told MUTV. "One more victory should see us through and hopefully we can do it in the next game in Braga with two games to spare.

"If you take away the first 20 minutes when we went 2-0 down it was a good performance," he added, in reference to the win over Braga at Old Trafford.

"People will talk about slow starts and giving away early goals but the fact we came back to win showed great character. Nevertheless, we know we can't keep doing it [giving away early goals]."

The game was Fletcher's third full match for the Reds this season following his battle with ulcerative colitis last term. And the 28-year-old is delighted to be involved again.

"I feel fine. It was good to get another 90 mintues under my belt and the more of them I get the better I'll feel," he said. "I'm fully aware there is huge competiton for places in midfield. I've just got to get as many minutes under my belt as I can and keep taking my opportunities when they come.

"There is great competition for places all over the pitch and the more of us that can stay fit the better it will be [for the team in the long run]."

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has never been denied transfer funds by the club’s American owners, according to vice-chairman Ed Woodward.

The Glazer family have been heavily criticised on a number of occasions in the past, with large sections of the Red Devils faithful believing finances have been withheld when it comes to the transfer market.

However, Woodward insisted that players like Lucas Moura were not missed because of a lack of financial resource, and that the Old Trafford chief has always been given complete backing when chasing a transfer target.

“The Glazers have never said ‘No’ to Sir Alex’s request for a player,” Woodward told The Independent, according to Goal.com.

“There is no difference between staying as a plc [the corporate structure of the club pre-May 2005] or the Glazer takeover in terms of the team on the pitch. We do have a majority of very happy set of fans because of what happens on the pitch.

“The purchase of Robin van Persie was an example of Sir Alex buying players and always being allowed to buy players he wants.”

Dutch international Van Persie signed for Manchester United in a £24 million deal this summer, joining Shinji Kagawa and Nick Powell as the latest additions for last season’s Premier League runners-up.

Other targets were missed, but Woodward insists it was for a number of reasons that don’t include a lack of finances.

“It can be a whole raft of reasons [that a player does not sign]. It can be the change in the players’ attitude through the negotiations,” he added.

“It can be an agent getting involved in a certain way that changes things. Or someone turning their head for a different reason, and all these things can happens.”

Woodward concluded by admitting that lines of communication between the Manchester United owners and fans should to be improved, although supporters have no reason to worry about the current situation at the club.

“I really hope that we can continue to communicate and get fans comfortable and demonstrate that we are financially strong by buying players,” Woodward concluded.

“Obviously that helps so that they don’t feel concerned. They really shouldn’t be concerned.”

Man United line up whopping £1bn Nike extension to boost the coffers:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/foo...-kit-deal.html

Nani: I know why I'm out of favour at Manchester United - but I'm ok

Manchester United winger Nani insists he’s content to stay at Old Trafford, and revealed he knows the reasons why is not being used on a regular basis by Sir Alex Ferguson.


The Portuguese international has struggled for a regular run in the side this season, and has recently been linked with a move to Italy, with Juventus rumoured to be monitoring his situation.

However, Nani, who joined United for £17 million from Sporting Lisbon back in 2007, announced after the 3-2 win over Braga in the Champions League that he knew why he was being overlooked by the manager, and suggested he was willing to stay and fight for his place in the side.

‘I’m fine [at Manchester United],’ Nani reportedly told Portuguese newspaper A Bola.

‘I know my future and I also know why I’m not playing more often.

‘Only God knows what awaits me.’

It has been rumoured that United chiefs were unhappy with Nani’s lofty pay demands during negotiations over a new contract this summer, and his subsequent drop in form at the start of the season prompted Ferguson to axe him from his line-up.

Manchester United plan for when Sir Alex Ferguson steps down as manager

Manchester United have devised plans over how to replace Sir Alex Ferguson as manager.

Ferguson, 70, who completes 26 years at Old Trafford next month, has made no public pronouncement over when he plans to step down but there has been speculation it could be at the end of this season, depending on what his side achieve.

United’s vice-chairman, Ed Woodward, revealed on Tuesday that the club already had a strategy in place to replace Ferguson, although he said it was presently “in the drawer”.

Woodward said: “We have a view as to what that process will look like in terms of finding a replacement and what type of manager we want and how and when we’ll go about it. But it’s in the drawer and long may it stay in the drawer.”

Former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola, who is taking a year off from management, is likely to feature on any list of candidates, although he also has admirers at Chelsea.

The final say on who replaces Ferguson will be made by the Glazer family, who are exploring options for the club to become the first Premier League team to tour India after ruling out the prospect of selling up.

Having sold off 10 per cent of their stake in the club on the New York Stock Exchange in August in order to help alleviate United’s debt, which stands at £360 million, the possibility of the Glazers using the partial flotation as a precursor to a possible sale has been dismissed by Woodward.

Interest from the Middle East remains strong, with the Glazers having rejected a £1.5 billion bid for the club from that region in late 2009. But despite the balancing act of servicing the club’s debt and funding the manager’s transfer plans, the Glazers, who completed their leveraged takeover at Old Trafford in May 2005, remain determined to extend their stay at United for the long-term.

Woodward said: “There is always interest in this business. It is a phenomenal brand and club, but they [Glazers] are not willing sellers at all, they won’t even engage, they are long-term investors.

“It’s a very popular business that people have interest in. The answer is: ‘Not for sale’. I talk to them every day and the excitement they have in this club is undiminished and I don’t see them selling completely for many, many years.”

With six members of the Glazer family on the Manchester United board, however, Woodward conceded that some of the Americans could choose to relinquish their interest.

He said: “They could, they are a family of six siblings and from time to time, seven to 10 years, who knows if one wants to sell a small piece or not.”

The Glazers’ plans to tap into the growing football market in India could open up a hugely lucrative new stream of revenue for United.

Although Blackburn Rovers, owned by Indian poultry producers Venky’s, played a game in Pune last season, no Premier League club have yet undertaken a tour of the country.

However, with Bayern Munich drawing crowds in excess of 100,000 on recent visits to the subcontinent and United aware of the vast English-speaking middle-class in the country, offers to play in India next year are being discussed at Old Trafford.


I dread the day when SAF has to leave:(, although it will happen one day. He splits opinion but the man is a legend to me!:worship:

Ferdinands issue statement

Statement issued by New Era Global Sports

It has been a year since the incident at Loftus Road. During that time, some of the deep divisions that exist in football have been exposed. In the coming months there will be ongoing discussions, we are sure, on finding a way forward. We intend to participate in these discussions, along with numerous other current and ex-professionals of all races, from the grass roots upwards, across the football community as a whole.

On the issue of Kick It Out, we would like to go on record to say what fantastic work they have done in the past regarding education and awareness. However, times change and organisations need to change with them. We are more than happy to join the discussion, privately, to make Kick It Out more relevant in its fight to stamp out racism in football.

Although we have been left disappointed by the PFA and the FA's actions over the last year, as a family, we are committed to working with football's existing organisations towards the betterment of the game and to achieve immediate action.

We would like to thank all the fans and the staff at Queens Park Rangers and Manchester United for their support in what has been a difficult year. In particular we want to thank Sir Alex Ferguson and Mark Hughes.

We will not be discussing publicly any issues connected with the case. We are now going to concentrate on playing football.

- Rio and Anton Ferdinand

Paul Scholes might take charge of Oldham Athletic one day http://bit.ly/XgVBYc #mufc

are you after a job at the manchester evening news?

Are you after the job of being a twat?

Cut out the thread.

Nice one BL:).

Wayne Rooney trolling the hypocritical moron that is Piers Morgan, he who has retreated back to slagging off Arsene Wenger again:joker:.

Ruud van Nistelrooy is coming back to Old Trafford for the unveiling of Sir Alex Ferguson's statue on 23/24th November 2012.

Ruud coming back for this special reason, cannot wait to see him and the statue of SAF:worship:.


Ruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuddd!!!!!

Chicharito earns fans' acclaim

Javier Hernandez was the runaway victor of the ManUtd.com poll for the Man of the Match award against SC Braga.

The Mexican was at his brilliant best against the Portuguese visitors and converted two headers to help the Reds to a 3-2 success which takes the club a huge step closer to qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League. Indeed, he was afforded a standing ovation when being substituted towards the end.

Almost 4,500 fans backed Chicharito as he logged 89 per cent of the vote - just reward for his exertions on Tuesday night.

Tom Cleverley, who provided the cross for the winner, and Wayne Rooney finished second and third respectively.

Thanks to everybody who voted.


Well done Chicharito, he was sublime:).

Evans: Reds may have edge

Jonny Evans believes United might have a slight advantage over Chelsea in Sunday's Barclays Premier League showdown at Stamford Bridge.

The top-of-the-table encounter allows the Reds to close the gap on the European champions following their excellent start to the campaign.

Evans hopes that the decision to leave the likes of Patrice Evra, Rio Ferdinand, Antonio Valencia, Danny Welbeck and Paul Scholes out of the starting line-up against SC Braga will pay off with a full-strength Chelsea team making a gruelling trip to Shakhtar Donetsk and losing in Ukraine.

"I think the manager has been good at rotating the squad over the years," Evans told MUTV. "He always seems to get it right.

"Whereas Chelsea always seem to play a full-strength squad in most games so it may give us a wee bit of advantage going into the game. But it's going to be a tough away game down there, it always is, and it's up to us to put on a good performance.

"I think you can see the way Chelsea have been scoring goals, they scored four again at the weekend [at Tottenham]. It's going to be a tough game and I don't think our record has been great down there in the last few seasons so we have to put on a good away performance like we did at Newcastle."

Darren Fletcher, also speaking to MUTV, accepts the Blues will provide a stern challenge that will test United's title credentials.

"It's always difficult there," stated the Scot. "We haven't won there for a few years and we're well aware of that.

"We know how well Chelsea have started the season, even though I know they lost in Donetsk.

"We'll go there in good confidence. We believe in ourselves as a team and we're capable of getting a good result. Hopefully, we can get a win."

Connelly passes away

Manchester United are saddened to hear of the death of former star John Connelly.

The St Helens-born winger died peacefully at his home at the age of 74.

The former England international joined the Reds in April, 1964 and lifted the league championship in his first full season at Old Trafford. After joining Burnley as a teenager, he became a real favourite at Turf Moor and cost United £60,000 after winning another title medal in 1960.

An ever-present in the successful 1964/65 league campaign, he scored 15 times and went on to make 112 starts for United before joining Blackburn Rovers for £40,000. He scored one of the goals in the famous 5-1 demolition of Benfica in Lisbon in 1966.

Connelly was also a member of England's World Cup-winning squad of 1966, one of three Reds representatives in Sir Alf Ramsey's party, but had to wait until 2009 to get a medal as FIFA decided to change their rules of only those featuring in the final receiving the honour.

Looking back on his career with United Review, he said: "Burnley's success was essentially down to teamwork and relying on tactics, whereas there were great individuals at United. Bobby Charlton, the best player I ever appeared alongside, would shoot from everywhere and you could also rely on Denis Law and George Best producing pieces of brilliance to win us a game."

Speaking in 2010, he added: "I am enjoying retirement in Barrowford, Lancashire, with my wife Sandra in the house we’ve lived in since 1966. We have a motor home, and since retiring have travelled all over Great Britain and Europe. Sandra and I ran a fish and chip shop in Brierfield (near Burnley) for 31 years."

Connolly finished his professional career with Bury in 1973 and won 20 England caps in total, scoring seven times for his country.

Our thoughts are with John's family and friends at this sad time.

RIP:(.

very nice, you sound like an aggresive thug

Well if you come into The Man United thread you can expect news stories on Ma United.


Like it or lump it :pipe:

their name's Manchester united to their real fan's

Kagawa out for weeks

Shinji Kagawa will be sidelined for a few weeks after a knee injury forced him to miss the second half of the midweek win against SC Braga in the Champions League.

The former Borussia Dortmund star is out of Sunday's top-of-the-table encounter at Chelsea and it is likely to be "three or four weeks" before he is playing again, according to Sir Alex Ferguson.

"It's a knee injury similar to the one Ashley Young had but not as bad," revealed the boss. "I think playing on with the injury did not help the situation for him, even though he did well to play on with it. It's disappointing for him."

More positive news is that defenders Chris Smalling and Phil Jones continue to make progress in their bid to return to first-team action.

"Smalling is back training on the football side of things," added Sir Alex. "Phil Jones will hopefully start full training a week on Monday so things are getting better on that front.

"Certainly getting Smalling back is a big bonus for us. Other than that, everyone else is available for Sunday's game."


Gutted:(. I hope he makes a speedy recovery!

Sir Alex tackles striker problem

Sir Alex Ferguson believes the only problem posed by having four in-form strikers to choose from “is having to tell one or two of them they're not playing”.

The manager has a major selection headache ahead of Sunday’s top-of-the-table clash with Chelsea in the Barclays Premier League, after Javier Hernandez scored twice in midweek to stake his claim for a starting place alongside either Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie of Danny Welbeck.

“It’s a good problem to have” said Sir Alex. “I don’t always enjoy it [telling players they’re not playing] but it has to be done. In fairness to all the players they've accepted it well and adapted to it. I don’t have any great problems other than having to tell one or two of them they're not playing.

“Chicha was tremendous the other night. He’s a really terrific player and such a dedicated footballer and professional in every training session. He’s improving – that’s the good thing about him.

“The thing that is making the difference to him is he got a proper rest in the summer. It was exhausting in the way it had been in the previous three years for him. That’s helping him.”

United travel to Stamford Bridge with a disappointing record and have not won a single Premier League match there since the 2001/02 campaign, losing or drawing the 10 fixtures that followed - an irregular streak of results that was almost broken on several occasions.

Last season, the Reds climbed off the canvas at the home of the Blues to earn a dramatic 3-3 draw, coming from three goals down to claim what had seemed an unlikely point and narrowly miss out on what was almost a deserved victory.

“It’s an amazing record but it’ll change, sometime - hopefully on Sunday. Last season we were actually very unlucky. In the main I don’t think we’ve played badly. The games that we’ve lost, not last year, but in the years before that, we actually played well in only to get bad decisions against us.

“Last season we did really well to rescue it after being 3-0 down. I think we scored three goals in about eight minutes or something like that. We should have won it really. We were the better team in the first half yet we were 3-0 down just after half-time.

“It was amazing. Apart from last season if you look at the last six or seven seasons before that it was always us and Chelsea vying for the title so that gives you an idea of how we’ll approach this game on Sunday – it’s going to be hard one.”

Sir Alex eyes Blues threat

Sir Alex Ferguson admits United must contend with Chelsea's fluid formation at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

The European champions have only dropped two Barclays Premier League points all season and sit proudly at the summit, four points clear of the two Manchester sides.

With Eden Hazard, Juan Mata and Oscar all impressing with their clever play, it promises to be a real test for the Reds.

"It’s always a very difficult game at Chelsea for both sides," explained Sir Alex. "You’ve got two good teams. They’re top of the league after a great start to the season – they’ve done really well. They've played an interesting formation and it’s something we have to deal with.

"They've brought Oscar and Hazard into the team – they’re similar types of players, I think. They're adapting to having players like Mata also in the same position - there is a situation where they're in behind the front player all the time. It’s not an easy system to deal with, but we just have to find a way.

"They’re all similar players, they play in behind the main striker. Of course they don't have Didier Drogba so their game had to change anyway. They always had that alternative route of playing with Drogba up front – they could play it long or they could play it through midfield. Now it’s straightforward, it’s through midfield all the time."

Scholes up for huge week

Paul Scholes is relishing a huge week for Manchester United, with the Reds aiming to close the gap on Barclays Premier League leaders Chelsea on Sunday.

The trip to Stamford Bridge is followed by a Capital One Cup tie on Wednesday against the European champions at the same venue with Arsenal travelling to Old Trafford next Saturday.

Scholes expects a fabulous game of football against Roberto Di Matteo's men and is determined to improve on the team's recent league record on the Blues' home ground.

"We've got three massive games really in a week," he told MUTV. "Obviously Chelsea twice and then Arsenal at home. Sunday is a big one. We've not got a brilliant record at Chelsea over the last few years and it's something we hope we can change.

"We watched them against Tottenham last week. They've signed a different type of player to a couple of years back when you were looking at a big, powerful team. Now they've signed smaller, better footballers who are difficult to play against. We know each of them is capable of creating chances and scoring goals themselves.

"They're a good team to play against because they like to play football and you always get a fair share of the ball there and a fair share of the chances. There's always a good atmosphere and we want to change the results we've had over the years there."

The midfield veteran is refusing to get too concerned with the frustrating habit of conceding first in matches this season.

"I've no idea," he conceded, when asked for an answer to the problem. "I think the manager is a bit puzzled as to why it's happening. We go out with every intention to start the game well but, for some reason, it hasn't worked in the last few games.

"I'm just thankful we've got the attacking players that can score more goals than the opposition at the minute. I'm sure it will change. It's just the start of the season and it's only early so there is plenty of time to put it right."

Giggs: Diamonds not forever

Ryan Giggs insists width will always be important at Manchester United, despite the manager’s recent decision to employ a diamond formation in games against Newcastle United, CFR Cluj and SC Braga.

The diamond eschews wide men in favour of more bodies in the central channel but Giggs, who was perhaps the archetypal modern winger for more than a decade, says there’s no need for fans to panic. Wingers, he says, are here to stay.

“I think it’s important to have flexibility,” he told ManUtd.com and PA Sport. “In the game against Newcastle at St James’ Park, that first 20 minutes was probably the best football we’ve played all season. That was with the diamond.

“With Antonio missing the game and Ashley Young injured we were short of width a little bit. So the diamond made sense and it means we have that flexibility now.

“Wayne can drop deeper, Shinji Kagawa can play in the majority of midfield positions, Tom Cleverley can play behind the strikers... we have the sort of personnel where we can chop and change and play different systems.

“Maybe we’ll need to use it in some big games – you might see it in Europe – but United, more often than not, will play with wingers.”

What formation Sir Alex employs on Sunday when United travel to Stamford Bridge to take on top-of-the-league Chelsea remains to be seen, but there’s one sight fans certainly don’t want to see: an early concession.

“That’s probably the biggest disappointment from this year, the number of times we’ve gone behind,” Giggs said of the eight games in which the Reds have conceded first this season.

“On the plus side, though, we’ve managed to come back in the majority of those games and win them.

“Obviously we can’t go throughout the season like we have been doing. But we know that if we get clean sheets and we start getting zeros against our name then we’ll create chances at the other end and win more games than we lose.”

Giggs has started in four of United’s last six trips to Stamford Bridge and although he turns 39 next month he says he’s hungry for the chance to take on Chelsea in Sunday’s top-of-the-table clash.

“I’m in good shape,” he said. “I was at the Olympics so I missed the majority of the pre-season training we do.

“That meant I was perhaps a little bit behind in relation to other players – I’d played more games rather than trained.

“But I’ve managed to get that back in order over the last few weeks, working with the coaches. I feel good at the moment.”

Giggs: Chelsea will challenge

Ryan Giggs expects top-of-the-league Chelsea to maintain their challenge until the end of the season.

The team from Stamford Bridge have flown out of the traps this term and won seven of their first eight league fixtures.

The Blues enjoyed a similarly strong start in 2010/11 but fell away sharply (they won just four of 14 league games between mid-October and early January) and ultimately finished nine points behind the Reds.

Two years down the line, Giggs believes they're better equipped to produce more consistently.

"What they've got is that experience and the know-how of how to win a league," he told ManUtd.com and PA Sport.

"Obviously, having added to the squad like they have done, they’re going to be right up there this season. Come the crunch, if they’re there or thereabouts, they’ve got the experience like ourselves (and Manchester City now) to go all the way. I expect them to be up there at the end of the season."

Giggs says Chelsea's new signings will make life difficult for United at a ground where Sir Alex's men haven't won in the league since 2002.

"I think this is a different sort of Chelsea team. In past years they’ve had Didier Drogba’s power and the runs through from midfield of Frank Lampard. We’ve always thought of Chelsea as a big, strong, powerful team.

"They’ve still got that but they’ve added the likes of Oscar and Eden Hazard and Juan Mata is into his second season and coming along nicely. They’ve got clever players who can play in the pockets and make it difficult for teams.

"Sometimes new players settle in straight away and that seems to be the case at Chelsea. They’ve got off to a great start this season and we’re going to have to play well if we’re going to get a result.

"I don’t know why we’ve found it so tough [at Stamford Bridge]. In the 90s we used to go there and win quite regularly.

"Last year we can take heart from how well we played and I think we probably deserved to win. We came back from three goals down and managed to draw 3-3. Also, in the Champions League a couple of years ago, we played well and won. I think we’ve shown good form there in the last few years but just haven’t got the results we’ve wanted."