Manchester United Dugout

Manchester United have announced their third major sponsorship deal in a week with Africa’s largest mobile telephone operator, MTN Group Ltd. This is the club’s third lucrative agreement in the space of a week.

Following on from high-profile partnerships with Telekom Malaysia and Turkish Airlines, Manchester United have added a seven-figure contract with African telecoms giant MTN that will see the company become their exclusive South African telecommunications partner for the next three-and-a-half years.

The deal will see MTN become the South African extension of the club with exclusive mobile content and online inventory such as match highlights, player profiles, ringtones available to customers for download through the MTN Play entertainment portal.

Additionally, MTN has the rights to produce co-branded premiums and will receive signed memorabilia to use in competitions to reward its customers. It will also offer exclusive United-branded MTN products such as airtime vouchers and will run competitions for its customer base where some lucky fans will get an opportunity to have one-on-one interactions with players in the local and international football arena.

Man United Chief Executive David Gill said: "The partnership with MTN is a very important step in the club's plan to get closer to its fans based all over the world. MTN's strength, particularly in the pre-paid market will provide us with the perfect platform to achieve that."

Edwin van der Sar, Antonio Valencia and Patrice Evra were at Old Trafford for the announcement of  this partnership.

Sir Bobby Charlton also attended the launch. The United legend said: "I’m delighted to welcome MTN to our club. The fact we have sponsors in various parts of the globe and millions of fans in different countries makes me feel quite proud. But it’s not a surprise to me because ever since I was a player here, I’ve always been well aware that our fans are everywhere in the world.”

Manchester United is one of the best football clubs in the world and Sir Alex Ferguson is the most decorated manager in England. It is very difficult to replace this man once he steps down. But that has to happen and happen soon. So who will replace Fergie?

I wish Sir Alex could continue forever at Old Trafford. But all good things come to an end and probably he might think of stepping down after the end of next season. Of course, there is ample amount of time for management to find his successor, but who will he be?

Manchester United CEO, David Gill and Sir Bobby Charlton have been asked to hire the successor to Sir Alex Ferguson. They have been considering lot of names and have even consulted Fergie about this matter. Its difficult to say who would be the next United manager, but there are some names being linked with the United hot seat.

First of all, Jose Mourinho - the Special One. He has time and again indicated his desire to return to England. There is no secret that Mourinho wants to manage Manchester United. In fact, he is optimistic that Sir Alex will recommend him as his successor when he retires.

Next in line is Carlos Queiroz who was the deputy of Sir Alex for more than 5 years. Queiroz left United when he was appointed as the new head coach of Portugal last year. I don't doubt his abilities but his managerial performance at Real Madrid and Portugal has not really been something which one could expect at Old Trafford.

Laurent Blanc has also been linked with Manchester United. This ex Red Devil is currently managing French club - Bordeaux. He has been instrumental in transforming the club from a being mere football team to becoming the French champions in a short span of time. A recent article on Mirror reported the Blanc has emerged to top the Manchester United short-list of managers to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson.

Though these 3 names are mostly discussed, I believe there are a few others who might be considered for this top job. Those include Mark Hughes, Sam Allardyce, Bryan Robson, Steve Bruce, Roy Keane (why not?) and David Moyes. Fergie has been a great admirer of Moyes (Scottish connection.. huh?) for his awesome work at Everton and might get a strong push.

But there's a clear message that replacing Sir Alex will be the toughest job since Matt Busby left the club. It isn’t just about winning at United. It’s about playing the game the right way and upholding the traditions. Fergie has done that for over 20 years and has nurtured and created legends at Old Trafford. It will indeed be a big day when he retires as the manager of Manchester United.

Who do you think is the best suited candidate for United job and why?

Being a Manchester United fan and choosing the best player who played at Old Trafford is not easy. This is so because we tend to remember only those players who have played during our era. Though we do remember some of the Red Devil legends but they are very few and can be counted on fingers.

We can easily associate people like George Best, Sir Bobby Charlton or Eric Cantona with the red shirt because they were Manchester United legends. They will always be remembered even after 50 years from today for their loyal services towards United. But what about the forgotten heroes of Man Utd? Do you know who Dick Duckworth, James McNaught or Bill Foulkes were? Have you ever heard about them?

I bet, most of us haven't heard about them. But like these three players, there are many other players who played for the Red Devils and are completely forgotten today. So when it comes to choosing the Greatest Man United Player, we have to take all these players into consideration.

The functionality of the site is simple to understand. As soon as you log on to the site you are presented with two players along with their statistics. The only thing you got to do is cast a vote for one of the two players, or vote for a draw. Every time you vote, their database gets updated and the changes are reflected. I have been voting on some of my favorite United players and the site is truly addictive.

The best feature of this site that appealed to me was the ability to sponsor a player. They have some cool advertising options through which you can sponsor you favorite Man Utd player.

So folks start voting for the best Manchester United player and you may also win some goodies through their contests. To vote or know more about this site, visit www.greatestmanunitedplayer.com