The other day i was reading an article where Aston Villa manager, Martin O'Neill said that he feels Roy Keane will return to Manchester United one day; to manage them. Currently Keane is the manager at Sunderland and has achieved incredible results as he stepped in with no managerial experience and turned results around and won promotion from the Championship at the first attempt. Last year he made sure his team's promotion was not a fluke by avoiding relegation.
Defending champions Manchester United gained their first Premier League home win of the season - after beating near neighbors Bolton 2-0.
The first half ended goal less with both sides just managing to find the target unsuccessfully. Midway through the second half, Rob Styles awarded a controversial penalty to the home side after Cristiano Ronaldo appeared to have been thwarted by Jlloyd Samuel. Ronaldo converted the spot kick and the penalty decision shocked Trotters and they began to lose the grip over the game. Wayne Rooney's excellent finish 11 minutes from time doubled United's lead, giving the wonder kid his first goal of the season.
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson admitted that his side got lucky with the penalty against Bolton. Even he accepted Styles had got the penalty decision wrong, but showed no sympathy towards the ref. Sir Alex said, "Rob Styles turned us down four or five times last year so maybe it is payback time. But he still owes us another four."
This win against Bolton puts the champions in the top half of the table, with more fireworks to come.
He said that every professional footballer dreams of playing for Real or Barcelona. And given the talent and the form CR7 has displayed over the years, Real were tempting him to leave Manchester. This transfer sage stretched the whole summer with the Portugese star deceiding to stay for another year, after the advice from his manager.
First Half: Ronaldo gives United the lead, Johnson equalizes for Boro.
Second half: Giggs gives United the lead and Nani powers a 3rd goal to finish the match 3-1 in favour of United.
That’s how the recent Carling Cup match between Man Utd and
This victory saw the return of CR7 in goal scoring form and helped United progress to the 4th round. This is United’s first victory in 5 games.
What promised to be a great match for this weekend was a damp squib as Manchester United could not hold to the 1 goal lead and had to be happy with a point.
JS Park had given the visitors the lead in the 18 minute after a blooper from the Chelsea golie. United dominated in the first half, but the second half belonged to Chelsea. They kept on piling the pressure on United and the Red Devils succumbed to it. New man Berbatov was a peripheral figure and Ronaldo was introduced in the 55th minute. The game was getting ill tempered in the mid way of second half as lot of United players were cautioned by the ref.
The defending was poor, especially the man to man marking and this gave Kalou space to head in an equiliser in the 80th minute to cancel United's lead. Its so frustrating to see that the champions are made to look so ordinary. Defeat at Liverpool, draw with Villarreal and now another draw at Chelsea. Common champs, pull up your socks and show your devilsih style.
Its a clash of the titans of English football tomorrow as champions Manchester United take on last year's runners-up Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
This match will be very crucial as United will try to close the gap on Chelsea to 3 points. It would be the first meeting of the two sides after Luiz Felipe Scolari took charge of the Blues. There have been a lot of injury worries for both the managers, as many of their star players are not 100% match fit. While United is worried about Ronaldo, Berbatov, Carrick and Foster; Scolari is worried about Essien, Ballack, Drogba.
Whatever might be the line up for today, i expect a great match for a great weekend.
Not even the return of Cristiano Ronaldo could prevent Manchester United from a disappointing 0-0 draw against Villarreal at Old Trafford. Ronaldo's second-half introduction certainly sent a surge through United, with fans giving him a warm welcome. But unfortunately, that was not enough for the European champions as their unbeaten 12 game streak on home soil in the competition came to an end.
European champions Manchester United kick start their Champions league campaign against Spanish outfit Villarreal. Theses two sides had faced each other in the 2005-06 tournament, with both games yielding neutral results.
Man U will get a boost as their star player Cristiano Ronaldo makes his eagerly-awaited comeback from injury at Old Trafford tonight. Ferguson has nothing but praise for the dedication Ronaldo has shown towards his recovery from ankle surgery. His return is well-timed as Michael Carrick could be out for six weeks with a broken foot, Paul Scholes is suspended tomorrow and Dimitar Berbatov a major doubt after suffering a bang on the knee in Saturday's defeat at Liverpool.
Also Villarreal are facing problems upfront as their first-choice strikers Nihat Kahveci and former United striker Guiseppe Rossi are still sidelined. However, former Arsenal winger Robert Pires has regained fitness and could feature in today’s game.
Way to capture Europe again, United!
Liverpool beat Manchester United 2-1 for the first time in Rafa Benitez's Anfield career. The Liverpool boss had never beaten United in nine previous league games.
A game that was looking very promising for United after Tevez put them ahead in 3 minutes, did not materialize as they conceded 2 goals and saw Vidic being sent off (meaning he will not play against Chelsea next Sunday). All eyes were on US$60 million striker Dimitar Berbatov on his first appearance for the Red Devils. He brought instant joy to the manager after his pass was netted by Tevez. United played well in the first 15-20 minutes of the game, but then succumbed to the relentless presure form Liverpool.
Sir Alex Ferguson said, "We were simply outplayed." He admitted that his side were simply outmuscled by Liverpool and not surprisingly, Ferguson was quick to vent his anger. He came down heavily on his defenders for both the goals, as first one was deflected by Wes Brown as an own goal and then Ryan Babel scored a winner after tricking his marksman.
The English Premier League resumes this week after the world cup qualifiers. An early lunchtime kick-off on Saturday sees champions Manchester United visit arch rivals Liverpool at Anfield, which promises to be a blockbuster tie.
There has been lot of talks going around the two teams, as they expext some of their star signings to taste rival games. United would be eager to field their new striker Dimitar Berbatov, while Liverpool would be keen on introducing their new winger - Albert Riera.
New signing Dimitar Berbatov has been asked to get himself in top shape - his first assignment at Old Trafford. He has not yet joined the squad after his transfer from Spurs, as he is away on international duty helping his country in the World Cup qualifiers. Once, he lands in England, he will undergo a full physical check-up and then would be alloted an intensive fitness routine. He has been known for his lethargic and lazy persona, which made United boss Sir Alex Ferguson having doubts about bringing the striker to Old Trafford. Moreover, Berbatov will also now have to quit his habit of smoking as it is strictly prohibited at United. Remember, how Fabian Barthez was caught smoking by Fergie at Old Trafford, which strained their relations and finally led to the exit of the frenchman. Some very strict rules to follow Berbatov.
Man United have successfully received a work permit for Angola striker Manucho, who joined the club last year. Since his signing, he was loaned to Pananthinaikos as he awaited clearance.
Now that we have signed Dimitar Berbatov, made Carlos Tevez's move permanent and the availability of wonder kid Wayne Rooney, the 25 year old Manucho will definitely give Sir Alex, a lot of breathing space.
It seems, we are now fully geared up for another exhausting season of the BPL.
Manchester United have appointed Mike Phelan as assistant manager after Carlos Queiroz had left Old Trafford to become Portugal coach in July. Phelan, a former United player who has worked his way up through the ranks of the backroom staff, has been working as a first team coach since 2001. Elsewhere, Dutchman Rene Meulensteen has also been promoted from technical skills development officer to take on Phelan's former role. It seems everything is falling into place now, with United having the Asst. manager and Berbatov coming to the squad. United are looking much stronger and raring to go for the silverware this season.
Finally, Manchester United successfully signed Dimitar Berbatov on a 4 year deal. One of the summer's longest-running transfers was finally concluded with Fraizer Campbell going to Tottenham in a year-long loan.
Sir Alex Ferguson believes Berbatov has the quality to score goals himself and create chances for others. It now surely will add more firepower to the squad and thus make it even stronger.
