Manchester United

[mrbojangles]

sianjai Posted Today, 2007-02-21 19:05:50

Keep up the good work! Liked the Evra nicknames. Good win last night , c`mon the Barca.......

Many thanks sianjai....

I reckon Red and sianjai are the same person. No one was responding to his posts, so he made up a friend

[taxexile]

i responded , but he showed me the red card...... not even a warning yellow.

[redrus]

i responded , but he showed me the red card.. .... not even a warning yellow.

I'm not clever enough to have two nic's....!

Who, me, you ain't seen me right.

redrus

[redrus]

Mass hysteria news part II.

LILLE LEAP TO THEIR DEFENCE

By Ed

Thursday 22nd February 2007

Which was more than their wall did

Lille have launched an official complaint with Uefa about Ryan Giggs' free kick on Tuesday. Uefa will discuss Lille's protest and the behaviour of their players during the match tomorrow.

Lille president Michel Seydoux has insisted his players would not have walked off the pitch.

"It was not an attempt to get the game abandoned - it was an emotional moment," said Seydoux.

However a decision over the probe into what went on inside the ground will not be resolved for a month. Surprisingly UEFA haven't ruled out the chance of the game being replayed.

"The reason for the two dates is because a protest against a technical error could mean the match being replayed, if the protest was upheld," said a Uefa spokesman.

"So the question over the goal would have to be decided way earlier than March 22, since the (return leg) is due to take place in two weeks' time."

Both the president and coach of Lille have reacted angrily to losing on Tuesday with Claude Puel taking a swipe at Ferguson's reaction to the kafuffle over the goal:

"It is Sir Alex Ferguson's usual trick, and it is his way of putting the pressure on," he said.

"Sir Alex Ferguson can think what he wants. I don't understand how this man allows himself to have such thoughts. He could have avoided (saying) them.

"My players simply wanted to make a complaint on a fact of the game. It wasn't laying it on thick. They didn't want to leave the pitch."

Puel added: "In France, you must express a complaint after the first stoppage in play which follows the decision. It is for that reason we stopped the game.

"In the Champions League, it is different. You can intervene after the match.

"Quite simply, two refereeing decisions went against us in a very good match between two excellent teams. I am sorry for that."

Lille president Michel Seydoux will put pressure on Michel Platini to call a replay due to a refereeing technical error.

"I will call Michel Platini, who says he defends the beautiful game and the little teams," he said.

"We have developed a beautiful game and we are a little team."

Perhaps Lille should study this before speaking to UEFA

The Free-Kick Law

The referee only needs to blow his whistle if the attacking team ask him to move the wall back. Otherwise, the kick can be taken quickly, without warning.

UNITED LOOK FOR ANSWERS

redissue

Thursday 22nd February 2007

They want to speak to fans who were in Lille

United are trying to collate fans' experiences from their trip to Lille before taking any safety concerns to Uefa.

"We are collating some of the experiences of the fans to get a picture of what happened," said Phil Townsend.

"We need to establish exactly what happened before we move on."

Sports minister Richard Caborn has also waded into the debate.

"I think some of the grounds are not coming up to what even Uefa are saying are the minimum standards," he told LBC NEWS 1152.

"I think one's got to be asking Uefa are they now going to be taking action with those grounds that are not coming up to the standards?

"Not a few hours before the match but weeks before the match so they go out, they look at those grounds and indeed if they're not up to standard then Uefa - by their own code - ought to be taking action.

"Now I think it's up to Uefa to make sure they do carry out inspections and those inspections are acted upon if they are substandard."

Evidence of police 'heavy-handedness'

From The Guardian

Manchester United will recommend that the Stade Félix-Bollaert loses its Champions League licence unless it implements significant safety measures after the crowd problems that marred the 1-0 defeat of Lille on Tuesday.

United received 75 statements from supporters yesterday. The club's security officials have studied mobile-phone video footage and there is overwhelming evidence of police heavy-handedness and poor security. It is United's firm belief that the police took a dreadful risk by allowing in supporters who had black-market tickets for other areas of the Lens stadium.

It has also emerged that United had written to fans warning of "very basic" facilities and metal fences. There was only one entrance and, privately, United say they are amazed the stadium was granted a Uefa licence. Uefa will decide on possible sanctions on March 22 and United intend to submit a dossier of the fans' claims that a tragedy was only narrowly averted.

One fan, Mark Harrison, said: "One young woman fell forward and was crushed against the fence. She was crying and tried to climb over the fence. When all the other fans saw this they started to panic and did the same thing. People were worried it might be like Hillsborough and so they started climbing the fence and trying to get out. The police started spraying us with pepper spray ... The police reaction just made things worse." Another fan, Nick Boazuk, said: "I was genuinely scared for my life."

Uefa's initial investigations have uncovered startling evidence about the number of United fans who travelled to Lens. The club had received 3,700 tickets but the Direction Départementale de la Sécurité Publique says that figure was swelled to 5,000. "The English fans sold counterfeit tickets and the stand reserved for them was saturated," said its spokesman.

Nine United fans were taken into custody and the DDSP defended its tactics. "We had to use the tear gas. We had to intervene. We were in opposition with uncontrolled fans." United will dispute that, but a flare was lit in the away end and they are braced for a Uefa charge.

CRUSHED, COUGHING AND BEATEN

redissue

Thursday 22nd February 2007

One witness talks of events inside the Stade Félix-Bollaert

More from the Guardian. This time a travelling fan's account of the events of the evening.

I was in the away end with my dad and a couple of friends and from what I saw it was a miracle that nobody was killed. What the press are reporting tells only half the story because it was a whole evening of continuous events rather than just one terrifying crush. I saw women and children doubled up on the floor because the police had fired tear gas in their faces and when fans started being carried out I did wonder whether people had died.

There were no signposts outside the ground and it had taken 20 minutes walking around the dark paths and narrow alleyways around the stadium to find the right entrance.

We finally found a place to the left of the goal and when the game started we realised people were climbing the fences to our right. At first we thought it was just a few idiots looking for trouble but it quickly became apparent something was seriously wrong.

The terrifying thing was seeing stewards carrying out people in their arms. We've all seen the images of Hillsborough and it looked to us, in that moment of panic, like they were dead. All sorts of rumours were going around, all sorts of things were flashing through our minds - is this as bad as it looks? Then texts started arriving from people watching on TV asking if we were OK. I was getting texts from America and Australia and it felt like they had a better idea of what was happening than us.

People started trying to get away from the area where the fans were being crushed and were moving over in our direction, coughing and choking and spluttering because of the tear gas. There were women and children among these supporters and they were in obvious distress. They were being crushed, they couldn't breathe and then tear gas had been sprayed in their faces. The police were in their Robocop uniforms, had their batons drawn and it felt like they were enjoying it.

What the media don't seem to have picked up is that the police continued to treat everyone this way after the game. We were kept inside the stadium for 40 minutes. The riot police were behind the steel gates. They couldn't see us, we couldn't see them. All of a sudden some black gloves appeared at the top and started spraying tear gas indiscriminately in our direction. People were just dropping to the floor.

They finally let us out and there were dozens of riot police charging into us. By this stage it did result in some fighting. I saw one policeman being attacked. But it was under extreme provocation. Everyone was absolutely furious about the way we were being treated.

We were locked into a car park and kept there for 45 minutes. The police's attitude seemed to be that they wanted us to attack them. They had their batons out and their tear-gas canisters. One man, in his 70s, said to one policeman: "We would never treat you this way in our country." The policeman told him: "If you don't like it, stay in England in the future." The United fans were unbelievably calm and patient but eventually they started heaving forward like a rugby scrum. The police lines broke but they did everything possible to smash us over the heads as we passed. It was an absolute nightmare.

IT'S THE RED ARMY'S FAULT

redissue

Thursday 22nd February 2007

Too much drink and no one speaks French.

Jean-Yves Guerin a football correspondent for Le Figaro gives a French view on Tuesday's events in the Telegraph

A few hours before Tuesday's match between Lille and Manchester United, I was strolling through the centre of Lille. I therefore saw the start of the chain of events beforehand: a few hundred English fans had gathered in the central square; they were all singing, which is nice. But they had drunk too much, which is less nice.

I went to get a coffee in the cafe Paul, which is well known in Lille, and the waitress told me with some concern that the English had been in the bar from 10am until 2pm and had spent more than 240 euros (£161) on drinks.

Afterwards, I took a train to Lens' Stade Bollaert and there were already plenty of drunk Englishmen in the carriages who were upsetting the passengers. In fact, some of the drivers refused to do their work and some trains were delayed.

All of this does nothing for the image of Manchester United fans. Nor do they need any help in this regard. In France, English fans are considered the most dangerous in the world.

I think the French police were very nervous after the afternoon's incidents on the trains, and seeing drunk fans trying to scale the fencing must have scared them. It gave off the impression that they were going to try to invade the pitch.

The policemen and the supporters could have spoken with each other but the English don't speak French and I'm not sure that French policemen speak very good English.

The French police claim that English fans had bought tickets on the black market and that there were 5,000 people in a stand that can only hold 3,500.

We have had some problems with violence in French football before.

In November, after a Uefa Cup tie between Paris St Germain and Hapoel Tel-Aviv, a hooligan was killed by a policeman.

VAN DER SAR PRAISES GIGGS INGENUITY

By Ed

Thursday 22nd February 2007

Although it should only happen once.

Despite suffering blurred vision in the first half Edwin van der Sar thinks Lille can only blame themselves for losing the match.

"It is obvious as a keeper you have to be aware of situations like that," said the veteran Dutchman.

"The rules are the same everywhere. If a player asks the referee if he can take a quick free-kick, he can take it.

"We have seen this kind of thing happen all over Europe and Ryan showed good imagination by taking advantage of the situation.

"As a keeper, that kind of thing will probably happen to you once in your career. It was a good time for it to happen in our favour."

He also believes United's players shouldn't have got involved with the Lille players after they had 'walked off':

"I have never seen that before," he admitted.

"I actually think we should just have played on. It was a legitimate goal and that is it."

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Manchester United Are To Blame

Footballexpo.com

Controversy was rife midweek when Manchester United faced Lille at the Felix-Bollaert stadium.

United were quick to condemn the actions of the Lille players, coaching staff and groundsmen. Xavier Thuilot, Lille's director general, has now fired criticism in Manchester United's direction.

continue reading

"Manchester United are imposing their own brand of the law to Lille football club, to the Felix-Bollaert stadium and to Uefa. There was a real will on their part to impose their side of the story right from the full-time whistle because the club knows what's at stake following incidents involving their supporters."

He then went on to blame Manchester United for the crowd trouble. "We sent their quota of places to Manchester several weeks ago, as is the usual thing to do. But the English club, instead of distributing the tickets to their supporters on their arrival at the stadium (or) on their descent from the bus, sent them out a month ago. The result - some very good forgeries, which have allowed some supporters to enter the stand reserved for them. All the forged tickets on the night were Manchester United tickets."

Manchester United view: Are Lille lying about everything?

Tagged: UEFA Champions League, Manchester United

Written by Red_Rach

Posted on February 22nd, 2007

So far Lille has come up with various reasons for the whole fiasco that happened over at Lens.

Firstly, they have suggested that the lower tier where the Manchester United fans were seated was NOT overcrowded! They have claimed that the reason the United fans were climbing the fencing was due to violence by Manchester United fans and therefore the staff acted appropriately by using tear gas and batons and have claimed they were not heavy handed at all!

They have also gone on to say that although the area was overcrowded it was Manchester United’s fault due to the fact that tickets were forgeries! Apparently this is Manchester United’s fault for releasing the tickets a month before the game instead of distributing the tickets on arrival in France. It’s always been procedure for the club to release tickets weeks before a game and the club has never had this problem before!

As well as all the stadium problems, they have also complained to UEFA about the controversial Ryan Giggs free kick and have suggested that the match be replayed despite the fact that it appears to be well within the rules to take a free kick in this manner!

Are Lille trying to play the innocent party in this whole fiasco? is it just sour grapes? Or have they really been hard done by?

redrus

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United Chasing Nine Point Lead

Rio Ferdinand admits the chance to go nine points clear in the Premiership title race is a massive incentive for United to beat Fulham on Saturday.

The Reds travel to Craven Cottage for the early kick off safe in the knowledge that they can extend their lead over champions Chelsea, who face Arsenal in Sunday's Carling Cup final.

"Going nine points clear is a massive incentive for us," he told Red View. "I'd be lying if I said we weren't thinking about that.

"We need to win the game regardless of how many points it puts us in front, but if we're sitting nine clear at the final whistle it'll be a great feeling."

The England defender is well aware of the threat Chris Coleman's side pose, however, and is ready for a tough examination.

"It's a cliche but you don't get any easy games in this league and every match presents a different proposition," he said.

"This weekend we'll be up against something different to what we've faced recently in McBride and Helguson. They're both internationals and good players so we'll be expecting a tough match."

United haven't contested a Premiership fixture since the 2-0 win over Charlton on February 10, and Ferdinand admits he and his team mates are relishing a return to the title race.

"It's been a while since our last league game so we're all looking forward to getting back to it on Saturday," he conceded. "The players thrive on the pressure which comes at this stage of the campaign.

"The season can sometimes feel a bit long when you've only got one game a week, but the games are coming thick and fast now and hopefully we'll be there or thereabouts when the trophies are handed out."

Rio Ferdinand was speaking at the opening of a five-a-side artificial grass pitch at Seymour Park, Old Trafford as part of the 'Re-use a shoe' initiative.

redrus

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FootyMAD's Fulham match preview

By Footymad

Friday 23rd February 2007

The game between Fulham and Manchester United in the Premiership on Saturday 24th February 2007 at 12:45 takes centre stage for FootyMad's preview analysis.

Footymad preview

History of the Fulham v Manchester United fixture

Man Utd. face a trip to Fulham at Craven Cottage at lunchtime on Saturday, having the edge over their hosts in previous meetings. The visitors have won 10 of the 30 previous games, with the hosts winning just 9.

The most recent encounter between these two sides was just last season, in October 2005, with Man Utd. inflicting a narrow 2 - 3 defeat upon the Cottagers in a Premiership match.

For a detailed analysis of the head-to-head between the two sides, Click Here

Recent encounters between the teams:

2006/2007 Sun 20 Aug Man Utd. 5 - 1 Fulham PREM

2005/2006 Sat 04 Feb Man Utd. 4 - 2 Fulham PREM

2005/2006 Sat 01 Oct Fulham 2 - 3 Man Utd. PREM

2004/2005 Sat 19 Mar Man Utd. 1 - 0 Fulham PREM

2004/2005 Mon 13 Dec Fulham 1 - 1 Man Utd. PREM

2003/2004 Sat 06 Mar Man Utd. 2 - 1 Fulham FAC

2003/2004 Sat 28 Feb Fulham 1 - 1 Man Utd. PREM

Recent respective form guides

Fulham have been playing quite well at home, winning 3, drawing 2, and losing just 1. The goals for column just outweighs the goals against over this period, 10 to 9.

The Red Devils have had a decent run of form away from home recently, coming away with three points on 3 occasions, but drawing 1 and losing 2. The games have constituted a decent return of 11 goals for the Red Devils, and 4 goals against.

Fulham find themselves struggling down in 14th position in the league having picked up 32 points from their 27 matches. Man Utd. are currently sitting proudly at the top of the entire league, having collected 66 points from the 27 games played.

For a detailed analysis of team form guides throughout the leagues, Click Here.

Current form guides: P W D L F A P

Fulham 6 2 1 3 7 10 7

Man Utd. 6 5 1 0 14 2 16

FootyMad's prediction ...

Man Utd. are in reasonable form away from home coming into this match, and the Madmen are quite confident that they should come away with a comfortable victory from this contest. Away win

Sequence statistics:

Fulham 4 games since last home draw.

Latest 2 games ended in defeat.

Not won in the 2 most recent games.

Man Utd. 4 games since last away draw.

7 games since last defeat.

Come on United....!

redrus

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LILLE ACCUSE UNITED 'HOOLIGANS' FOR MAYHEM

By Editor

Friday 23rd February 2007

They ludicrously say banned fans are responsible.

Lille's Xavier Thuilot is quoted in a statement on the club's website as saying:

"Troisièmement, quand on reçoit les clubs anglais, on reçoit également les supporters classés en catégorie C, c'est à dire les supporters interdits de stade en Angleterre. Avec ces derniers, il y a eu une manoeuvre de diversion dans la tribune. Certains se trouvaient en haut de la tribune pour faire pression vers le bas."

Which roughly translates as "category C" supporters who are banned from English stadia were in the stand and that these "hooligans" went to the top of the stand to push the other supporters at the bottom into the fence.

Prick.

redrus

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PETULANT RONALDO TO MISS TOMORROW?

By Editor

Friday 23rd February 2007

He injured his foot when subbed on Tuesday.

From the Sun:

Ronaldo could be out of Manchester United's trip to Fulham on Saturday — after kicking some water bottles in a huff.

The winger was angry at being subbed after 67 minutes of United's 1-0 win over Lille on Tuesday night.

He stormed over to the dugout, refused the offer of a tracksuit top and then kicked a pile of water bottles with his right foot. That is understood to have bruised his foot and he needed an ice pack on it while he sulked on the bench.

Ronaldo was given a precautionary cast to wear on the flight home. He still had it on as he came through Manchester airport — and United boss Alex Ferguson will find out this lunchtime if the Portuguese star can play at the weekend.

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FERGIE SCENTS TITLE VICTORY

Friday 23rd February 2007

From the Sun:

"The players know they've got the league within their grasp. It's knock-down time now as every week goes by we get another game knocked out of the road and eventually your opponents run out of games.

"If we win all our games we're going to win the league. It's as simple as that. And with the confidence and ability the players are showing, there is no reason we can't."

United could be 12 points clear by the time Chelsea next play a league game.

redrus

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UNITED OVERCHARGE FOR READING TICKETS

Friday 23rd February 2007

IMUSA reclaim cash for Reds.

From IMUSA's site:

IMUSA has close links with the nationally representative Football Supporters' Federation and thanks to these contacts it has come to light that fans buying tickets through the United ticket office have not been receiving the members' discount that Reading had allowed for and was expecting them to get.

The price for standard tickets for the FA Cup replay against United was set at £36 with Reading season ticket holders getting a £4 discount on this price.

Reading's standard practise is to pass on the same discount to away fans who are also season ticket holders. However, the United ticket office has been charging the full £36.

IMUSA contacted the Club and they have responded to this misunderstanding by agreeing to refund the £4 difference to those that have overpaid.

redrus

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Lille face charges after Uefa rejects goal complaint.

Dominic Fifield

Saturday February 24, 2007

The Guardian

Uefa has charged Lille's players with improper conduct and emphatically rejected the French club's complaint over the validity of Manchester United's winning goal near the end of Tuesday's acrimonious Champions League tie between the clubs in Lens.

The French club had argued that the match should have been replayed - a suggestion laughed off as "crazy" by Sir Alex Ferguson - after Ryan Giggs scored a quickly taken free-kick seven minutes from time to secure a potentially pivotal first-leg advantage. The Lille players claimed they were not ready, having been waiting for the referee Eric Braamhaar to blow his whistle, and responded by kicking the ball out from the restart and threatening to walk off the pitch.

Article continues

Their coach Claude Puel later explained that the players were apparently citing an obscure and particular rule applicable in French domestic football known as "réserve technique", whereby a team - most usually their captain - can lodge a formal complaint with the fourth official over a controversial decision at the first subsequent break of play. "But the fourth official didn't understand what we were saying to him," said the Lille midfielder Mathieu Bodmer at the time, with the rule not applicable in the Champions League.

However, that apparent willingness to leave the turf, which so infuriated Ferguson and his captain Gary Neville at the time, has now prompted Uefa sanction. "Having examined the official referee's report, the television evidence at hand as well as the laws of the game, the Uefa control and disciplinary body decided to reject the protest as there was no proof of a technical error," confirmed a Uefa spokesperson. "As a result the body declared that the goal was perfectly valid. Furthermore the control and disciplinary body decided to instigate proceedings against Lille for the improper behaviour of their players after the goal."

"There are many occasions in football when you complain but you don't walk off the pitch," said Ferguson yesterday. "Lille now have a serious problem." The French club have the right to appeal against that charge, although a second disciplinary hearing has already been scheduled to scrutinise potential breaches of security and safety regulations by the club, as well as allegations of improper behaviour from both Lille and United fans at the game at Lens' Stade Félix-Bollaert.

The English club has suggested that tragedy was only narrowly avoided after fans were crushed into a section of the ground, which was used at the 1998 World Cup finals, with the French retorting that early distribution of tickets allowed high-quality fakes to be produced. That claim has been rejected by United, who will cite the poor quality of tickets provided by the French club, although the stadium's head of security, Damien Vanoise, has accused visiting fans of sparking the problems with their "violent behaviour".

Those arguments will be aired at a separate meeting of the control and disciplinary body on March 22, while Lille have until midnight on Monday to appeal against the decision to veto their protest.

There should never have been any doubt.

redrus

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Fulham v Man United

Craven Cottage

Saturday, 24 February

Kick-off: 1245 GMT

Coverage on the BBC Sport website, BBC Radio Five Live & highlights on MOTD

Fulham's Franck Queudrue suffered a badly bruised ankle in training with Liam Rosenior taking his place at left-back against Manchester United.

Michael Brown is available again after his ban, but Fulham will be without Vincenzo Montella (suspension).

Manchester United wingers Ryan Giggs and Cristiano Ronaldo have both been passed fit.

Ronaldo sustained a foot injury in the win over Lille, while match-winner Giggs suffered a minor knock.

606 DEBATE: Give your thoughts on the match

Fulham (from): Lastuvka, Warner, Volz, Christanval, Knight, Rosenior, Radzinski, Diop, Brown, Smertin, Davies, Helguson, McBride, Bocanegra, John Dempsey.

Man Utd (from): Van Der Sar, Kuszczak, Neville, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Silvestre, Evra, Heinze, Ronaldo, Park, Fletcher, Scholes, Carrick, Giggs, Richardson, Larsson, Rooney, Saha, Solskjaer.

#

Fulham boss Chris Coleman:

"We respect United but we don't fear them. If you fear them it's over before you start.

"At Old Trafford earlier in the season we were like rabbits caught in the headlights, we never asked them questions, it was a nothing performance.

"Whatever happens we have to make sure they know they have been in a game."

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Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson:

"We have a terrific chance of the title. But we don't want to look too far ahead. It can make a difference in people's minds if we open a bigger lead and Chelsea start to close it. But if we win our games, what does it matter?

"We are in a busy period now, so the use of our squad is going to be important," he said.

"There is no question we have more options this season than we had last, and I don't have any concerns in terms of confidence and the overall performance of the team."

BIG-MATCH FACTS

FULHAM face the daunting prospect of halting Manchester United's relentless push towards a ninth Premiership title, and first in four seasons. Chris Coleman's side have won only one of their last nine top flight engagements, but are unbeaten in six at their Thames-side home.

That the Cottagers are not higher than 14th in the table is due in part to the fact that 11 of their 27 League games have finished all square. They are the joint draw specialists with Aston Villa in the top tier, and in United, face a side who have recorded the fewest draws in the top table - three. If this Saturday lunchtime kick-off finishes all square, it will be United's 200th stalemate in top flight football under Sir Alex Ferguson.

The Cottagers have only gained three points out of 15 in home Premiership games against Manchester United, all from 1-1 draws. The Londoners have not enjoyed a home League win over the Red Devils for 43 years. They last beat United on their own territory by 2-1 on 5 September 1964.

MANCHESTER UNITED return to the bread and butter of the League after the diversion of an FA Cup home draw with Reading, and drama of the Champions League victory over Lille in France on Tuesday night. They're chasing a fourth successive Premiership victory after winning the last three 4-0, 4-0 and 2-0, and know that maximum points will increase their lead over second placed Chelsea to nine points, as the Londoners are otherwise engaged on Carling Cup business this weekend.

United have the strongest attack and the tightest defence in the highest League. They've won three times as many League games as Fulham, bagged more than twice as many points, and are still setting a club record pace in the Premiership era. However 66 points from 27 outings is still three points short of Chelsea's tally at this same stage last season.

Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo played together for the first time since the World Cup when United turned on a scintillating display against Fulham in the reverse fixture in August, and got the season off to a winning start with a 5-1 rout of the Londoners. They're now vying to beat Fulham for a fifth successive time in the Premiership.

REFEREE

Peter Walton (Northamptonshire)

Premiership referees' table

Peter Walton's 2006-07 Premiership card count

SEQUENCES/RECENT FORM

FULHAM

Club stats

Fixtures

14th 32 points

Highest achievable after Saturday's matches: 11th

Lowest could fall: 15th

1. Lost the last two in League and Cup, and won one of four.

2. Drawn six of the last nine Premiership games.

3. The 2-1 home victory over Newcastle on 3 February, is the only maximum in nine League fixtures.

4. Kept one clean sheet in eight Premiership matches.

5. Won 50 and lost 60 of 146 League matches under Chris Coleman.

6. The next League goal conceded will be the club's 300th shipped in the Premier League.

7. Completed 39 top tier matches, since winning by more than a single goal (6-1, home to West Brom on 11 February). It's the longest such current run in the Premiership.

8. The current tally of 32 points after 27 matches equals last season's performance, when they also had 32 points after the first 28 matches.

9. Won three and drawn three of the last six Premiership games at Craven Cottage, since losing 0-1 to Reading on 25 November - their only reverse in eight home League encounters.

10. This is the first of two home fixtures. Aston Villa visit the Cottage next Saturday, then there's a trip to Wigan and home clash with Portsmouth.

MANCHESTER UNITED

Club stats

Fixtures

1st 66 points

Highest achievable after Saturday's matches: 1st

Lowest could fall: 1st

1. Hoping to add the scalp of Fulham to those of Watford (h), Spurs (a) and Charlton (h) gained in the last three Premiership outings, since their only defeat in nine League engagements (2-1, away to Arsenal on 21 January).

2. Not conceded in 270 minutes (four and a half hours), since Robin Van Persie's 90th minute winner for the Gunners at the Emirates Stadium.

3. Won more Premiership matches than any other club this season (21), and dropped fewer points than anyone else (15).

4. Lost three top flight matches, opened the scoring in 21 and failed to score in two. Only Chelsea match United in all these three categories.

5. Own the strongest attack in the highest League, having scored 63 goals in 27 outings (that's one every 39 minutes on average).

6. Conceded fewer goals than any other club in the uppermost echelon (18), at one every 135 minutes (two hours 15 minutes) on average. One of two clubs in the highest League with a 100% record from matches in which clean sheets have been kept. Won all 12 in which block-outs have been achieved - Arsenal have won all of their 10.

7. Boast the highest number of different scorers in the top League (15).

8. Premiership matches involving United have generated more goals than any other club (81; 63 for, 18 against).

9. Failed to score in only one away League game this season (the 1-0 defeat at West Ham on 17 December).

10. Another lunchtime fixture, away to Liverpool next Saturday follows Tuesday's FA Cup fifth round replay at Reading. Thereafter, the home tie with Lille in the Champions League, and a Premiership home game against Bolton are scheduled.

KEY PLAYER NOTES/POTENTIAL MILESTONES

FULHAM

Squad profiles

Brian McBRIDE is Fulham's leading scorer, with 11 goals - eight in the Premiership.

Only Liam ROSENIOR has been on the field for every minute of every one of Fulham's Premiership matches this season.

If they play, Carlos BOCANEGRA and Collins JOHN will be making their 100th appearances for Fulham.

Mark PEMBRIDGE needs one more appearance to total 400 in his English League career (Luton, Derby, Sheffield Wednesday, Everton and Fulham).

Suspended: Vincenzo MONTELLA

MANCHESTER UNITED

Squad profiles

Cristiano RONALDO is United's top scorer with 15 goals. They're all in the Premiership, which leaves the Portugal World Cup star two behind Chelsea's Didier Drogba at the head of the race for the Barclays Golden Boot.

RONALDO has scored four goals in three starts and one substitute appearance against Fulham.

Ryan GIGGS is a hat-trick short of 100 League goals.

Wayne ROONEY is a brace shy of 50 goals for the Red Devils.

If he participates, J-Sung PARK will be playing on the eve of his 26th birthday.

If he gets a run out, Ole Gunnar SOLSKJAER will be playing two days before turning 34.

Louis SAHA and Edwin VAN DER SAR are both ex-Fulham players. The former made 117 League appearances and scored 53 goals for the Cottagers between June 2000 and his £12.8 million pound move to Old Trafford in January 2004. The latter, kept goal on 127 occasions in the Premiership for the Cottagers in four seasons, from August 2001.

LAST SEASON'S CORRESPONDING GAME

Fulham 2-3 Manchester United

1 October 2005 - Ref: Howard Webb

Fulham scorers: John 2, Jensen 28

Man United scorers: Van Nistelrooy 17 pen, 45, Rooney 18

THIS SEASON'S REVERSE FIXTURE

Manchester United 5-1 Fulham

20 August 2006 - Ref: Andre Marriner

Man United scorers: Saha 7, Pearce 15 og, Rooney 16, Ronaldo 19, Rooney 64

Fulham scorer: Ferdinand 40 og

HEAD TO HEAD TOTALS

Home and away

League: Fulham 10 wins, Man United 30, Draws 13

Prem: Fulham 1 wins, Man United 7, Draws 3

at Fulham only

League: Fulham 8 wins, Man United 8, Draws 10

redrus

Prem: Fulham 0 wins, Man United 2, Draws 3

[sianjai]

The games are coming thick and fast, the way we like em. Hopefully not a lot of changes today from midweek.

£10 on 2-0, Vidic to score first!

M.U.F.C- HATED + ADORED -NEVER IGNORED !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ThaiPauly]

I watched the game...have to say that United did what they had to do...not a convincing win by any means...but just one moment of pure class by Ronaldo and you have a nine point cushion!

Now I would say the title is yours to loose...but I dont think you will, its all about grinding out results and that is exactly what you are doing.

I have sent a PM to AF asking him to take things easy on Tuesday night....dont really need more than League and the Champions League do you?..plus you have a big game at Liverpool next week...I think he will understand my concern that I would hate to see any of his superstars get injured or anything like that !!!

[redrus]

I watched the game...have to say that United did what they had to do...not a convincing win by any means...but just one moment of pure class by Ronaldo and you have a nine point cushion!

Now I would say the title is yours to loose...but I dont think you will, its all about grinding out results and that is exactly what you are doing.

I have sent a PM to AF asking him to take things easy on Tuesday night....dont really need more than League and the Champions League do you?..plus you have a big game at Liverpool next week...I think he will understand my concern that I would hate to see any of his superstars get injured or anything like that !!!

Was at work, again....!

I think you'll win mate, honestly.

redrus

[mrbojangles]

I saw the highlights and although you don't see everything, Fulham looked to be playing a blinder and United where a bit off. Fulham missed loads of chances and had a decent penalty shout turned down. However, United put away their chances and that was game, set and match. It must be a good feeling when your team can play <deleted> and still come away with 3 points.

I agree, it is for United to throw away now. Effectively they're 10 points in front with the goal difference.

I will stay bitter til the end though and hope some miracle happens

[redrus]

I will stay bitter til the end though and hope some miracle happens

Un-bloody-believable.....!

redrus

[redrus]

This team can match class of 99

By Gary Lineker, Sunday Telegraph

Last Updated: 12:04am GMT 25/02/2007

Ferguson sends out players for victory salute LINK

In pics: Premiership action LINK

Your View: Football fans' forum LINK

You could tell by the wild celebrations at the final whistle at Craven Cottage how much that victory meant to Manchester United - even the manager was getting involved. The difference between winning and drawing is massive at this stage, with 10 games to go, and to grind a win out of a game in which Fulham had been the better side for long spells shows that this team have got real hunger for the title.

It is wins like this that convince me that this side have the mental strength and ambition to win serious silverware: they have the makings of a great team. Perhaps inevitably, comparisons have been drawn with the great United treble winners of 1999. Sir Alex has made it clear that that kind of status can only be conferred once titles are won. That 1999 team was full of match winners and world-class competitors, but Ferguson does seem to be building a team that can try to emulate their achievements. By looking at a breakdown of the two teams you can see that this United team certainly have the potential to match them.

Goalkeeper

All the very best teams have a great goalkeeper and the 1999 side had one of the best in Peter Schmeichel. He was exceptional in all departments-. After Schmeichel, Ferguson used a multitude of different goalkeepers, none of them inspiring much confidence: it became a bit of a problem position. Edwin van der Sar solved that problem. He is not as good as Schmeichel, but he is top class and showed against his old club Fulham how vital he is. He breathes confidence into the defence and, with his vast experience at the top, rarely makes a mistake.

Defence

In 1999, United's defence was built around the towering presence of Jaap Stam. Ronny Johnsen was his defensive partner with Gary Neville and Denis Irwin in the full-back roles. Rio Ferdinand is the obvious defensive leader now, but for the past few seasons Ferguson has not found him a stable partner. Mikael Silvestre and Wes Brown have tried, but never quite succeeded. The manager has finally cracked it with Nemanja Vidic.

He is big, strong and quick and he has as powerful an aerial presence as anyone in the Premiership. He's so good with his head that he'll score many goals from set-pieces. He's bonded well with Rio and they look a formidable pair. Patrice Evra, like Vidic, took a bit of time to settle, but he looks the part now - he has sensational pace. And, of course, Gary Neville is still there and playing as well as ever. A good indicator of how strong a defensive line-up this is, is that Gabriel Heinze cannot make the team.

Midfield

The United side of eight years ago had wonderful match winners in David Beckham, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes. Two of them are still there and are having outstanding seasons. What the 1999 team had that this one lacks is Roy Keane. There is no comparable presence in the heart of this side, which is why Ferguson is after a ball-winner such as Owen Hargreaves, to complement the passing of Michael Carrick and Scholes. However, what this side does have is Cristiano Ronaldo who, on his day, can tear any team apart. His goal yesterday showed how important he is, capable of creating a goal out of nothing. If he continues to improve like this he will become a truly great player.

Strikers

With Dwight Yorke, Andy Cole, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Teddy Sheringham, the treble team was packed full of goals. Having four top-class strikers allowed Ferguson to fight on multiple fronts without risking fatigue. Solskjaer is still around and Louis Saha offers the threat of power allied to pace. In Henrik Larsson they have a wily old fox who likes to run off the shoulders of defenders. He might not have scored lots of goals, but he has scored at crucial times and gives depth to United's play. That in turn brings out the best in Wayne Rooney, who is capable of acts beyond the capabilities of us mere mortals. It is this capacity for the exceptional, possessed by Rooney and Ronaldo, that makes me think this team has the makings of greatness.

[email protected]

redrus

[mrbojangles]

I will stay bitter til the end though and hope some miracle happens

Un-bloody-believable.....!

Why Red. You would surely not expect me to say anything to the contrary, would you.

[redrus]

Torres back on the menu.

Reds tipped for Torres swoop

20070225 13:32

Manchester United's hopes of landing Fernando Torres have been boosted by the news Atletico Madrid could let him go in the summer.

United have been chasing the player for sometime and Sir Alex Ferguson would dearly love to sign him if the Spanish club gave him the all clear to make an approach.

There is a clause in Torres' contract allowing the player to move on if a club come in and pay a certain amount of cash and a £27million offer from the Reds would be enough to strike a deal.

Madrid have tried to keep hold of the player for as long as they can but it looks as though the Spanish club have now come to terms with the fact he will move on in the summer.

Atletico sporting director Jesus Garcia Pitarch says he expects Torres to move on. "To hold on to Fernando Torres, a product of the youth system seems virtually impossible," he revealed.

redrus

[redrus]

VIEWS FROM THE BROADSHEETS

Sunday 25th February 2007

United steal the show is the consensus

THE INDIE

If Manchester United are to win the Premiership after three seasons of London domination - as now seems increasingly likely - they will look back fondly on a windy Saturday lunchtime down by the Thames and a game they could so easily have lost. The reason they won it instead was the positive thinking that has always characterised the club's approach down the years and will make them the preferred choice as champions of most neutrals.

Bringing on the former Fulham hero Louis Saha for Michael Carrick meant they had six attacking players on for the final 25 minutes and it was one of them, Cristiano Ronaldo, who silenced the inevitable booing with an individual goal fit to win any game just before the end. Collecting the ball in his own half, he pulled away from two defenders and skipped into the penalty area between two more before driving in a 16th goal of the season. Even then, Fulham felt they should have had a penalty in added time for Edwin van der Sar's challenge on Heidar Helguson.

It led to an apoplectic reaction on the touchline by their manager Chris Coleman. Fined £2,500 recently for comments after a 1-1 draw with Tottenham, he laid into the referee Peter Walton, claiming: "The referee had no excuses. He was perfectly positioned, which was the one thing he got right all afternoon. It's why the big clubs don't want video analysis, because it evens things up. In games like this you need a strong referee and we didn't get one."

Unexpectedly, it was the scoreline United had to even up after Fulham had made much the brighter start and taken a deserved lead in the 17th minute. Alexei Smertin and Simon Davies, two members of a midfield moving the ball around smartly and accurately, had already gone close before Davies played a pass to Michael Brown and chased the return into the penalty area. Either Van der Sar or the normally uncomplicated Nemanja Vidic should have cleared but the ball rolled out to Brian McBride, who scored with an angled drive off the far post despite Rio Ferdinand's desperate attempt to clear.

Ronaldo's drive across the face of goal 10 minutes later was the first hint of a threat from the leaders, who required a defensive error to force an equaliser just before the half-hour. Moritz Volz failed to deal with Vidic's punt forward, allowing Ryan Giggs to play Rooney down the left and then set off for the far post, where he met the cross by volleying past a startled Jan Lastuvka. Only then did Fulham lose their belief for a while, during which Patrice Evra and the outstanding Giggs might have finished off swift breaks.

Coleman's side swiftly recovered, fuelled perhaps by a sense of injustice that Ferdinand had not been sent off before half-time for raising both hands to Tomasz Radzinski's face. Van der Sar made two excellent saves from Davies and, in between them, Radzinski's header came back off the crossbar. Playing Wes Brown at right-back instead of Gary Neville, apparently to combat the opposition's supposed height advantage, proved a rare error on Sir Alex Ferguson's part, all the more so given that Fulham had dropped Zat Knight and Helguson.

Ferguson demonstrated a surer touch in his substitutions, employing a 4-2-4 formation during the exciting last period. Ronaldo and Giggs both had chances before the Portuguese winger, now on the left, sent his team nine points clear of Chelsea having played one game more. Being knocked out of the Carling Cup by Southend will hardly seem too unbearable a fate as United watch this afternoon's final. With another early kick-off at Liverpool on Saturday, before Chelsea go to Portsmouth, they could stretch the lead to something even more daunting.

THE OBSERVER

At the end, the Manchester United supporters left walking, as they so like to sing, in a Fergie wonderland. Now nine points ahead of Chelsea, who play in the Carling Cup final today, their team produced the kind of result that wins Premiership titles. It was cruel on Fulham, who fought all match, but as the United manager said: 'We looked for a player to dig out a performance and Cristiano Ronaldo did so. He fully deserved his goal.'

The Portugal winger's 88th-minute winner was among the best of the 18 he has scored this season. Picking up the ball near halfway on the left, he skinned Moritz Volz, left Clint Dempsey behind, swerved inside and then hit a shot that took a telling deflection off Philippe Christanval. Cue manic celebrations with the United bench - 'Gaby is my friend,' Ronaldo said of Gabriel Heinze, who was not in the squad of 16 but received the longest smooch - and a 22nd league win this season. A jovial Sir Alex Ferguson said: 'We were flat. Once they scored, it was an uphill battle. But we dug ourselves out of a hole.'

Fulham manager Chris Coleman had told the club's fans that he was sure they would be watching this season's champions - and he had no reason to change his mind after the match. 'We will not be going into the game to surrender,' he had said and was proved right by a performance by the players that 'made me very proud. We fought and made it very difficult for them.'

Fulham captain Michael Brown led the way, harrying and annoying wherever he could find action. At the opening of each half, especially, it worked. United were made to look half-asleep. And until Ryan Giggs - captaining United because Gary Neville was rested - equalised in the 29th minute, the visiting team were heading for Ferguson's industrial hairdryer. 'Lille was an emotional night that left us flat,' was the manager's take, with reference to the midweek Champions League match that had featured another, more controversial Giggs goal and the worrying crowd problems.

Ronaldo also mentioned that evening, but he was less keen to confirm that Chelsea are out of the title race. 'We must think of ourselves only,' he said. 'That is important.'

All Coleman could think of was Peter Walton. According to the manager, 'the referee lost his nerve all afternoon. Can anyone tell me that if the challenge on Heidar Helguson had been at the other end it [a penalty] would not have been given?'

The incident came a minute after Ronaldo's goal. Edwin van der Sar might have taken more of the striker than is legal and it was the type of decision that often goes to the home team's way, but, as the collected Coleman said: 'It's not United's fault, it's the referee. He lost his nerve. Will I have a word? What's the point? I'll only get fined.'

For the first time in memory, though, Walton did prove to be an official brave enough to allow a flow to the game, so the inconsequential niggles that usually bring free kicks were ignored. This meant, in particular, that Rio Ferdinand received a yellow for gripping Tomasz Radzinski's face when it might have been red and Brown and Paul Scholes could enjoy a running battle all afternoon.

Even Coleman agreed enough to contradict himself. 'To be fair, he did allow an old fashioned kind of game,' he said. 'And it was a good match for it. We certainly didn't want Ferdinand sent off for that.'

On 17 minutes, United conceded an embarrassing opener. Alexei Smertin, playing at the base of a midfield diamond, threaded the ball through. Simon Davies, who lined up to his right and might have scored with one of three good chances in the match, ran on to it. He collided with Van der Sar and Nemanja Vidic and the ball popped out to Brian McBride. From a tricky angle, his finish went in off a post.

United's second attack of venom ended in Giggs's strike and had a whiff of exhibition about it. The winger collected near halfway, fed Wayne Rooney and set off for the area. When the England striker looked up, Giggs was approaching the six-yard box. His left boot was meant for the volleyed finished, but Giggs will hardly care that his shin did the job.

Until Ronaldo's winner, a draw had looked a fair result. But the winger had the final say and the message from the United fans to Jose Mourinho - 'Keep the trophy glistening, we'll be back in May to take it away' - sounded convincing. It is their team's to lose now.

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

Sir Alex Ferguson urged his Manchester United team to offer a prolonged salute to their travelling support at Craven Cottage after their last-gasp 2-1 win against Fulham yesterday that took the club nine points clear of Chelsea in the Barclays Premiership.

The celebrations mirrored those of Chelsea following their hard-fought 1-0 win at Blackburn Rovers in February two years ago that took them nine points clear of Manchester United at the top of the table. Jose Mourinho, the Chelsea manager, had ordered his players to remove their shirts and throw them to their fans on that occasion and, while Ferguson's side did not go so far yesterday, his players' body language appeared to be telling the same story: the title within touching distance.

However, with two minutes remaining on the clock at Fulham yesterday, such celebrations looked unlikely. United were being held 1-1 by an efficient Fulham side. Brian McBride had given Fulham an early lead before Ryan Giggs's equaliser. A draw seemed like a fair result before Cristiano Ronaldo scored a spectacular individual goal in the 88th minute. He ran with the ball from his own half and scored past Jan Lastuvka to take his goal tally to 16 for the season and give United an intimidating advantage with only 10 games remaining. They can extend their lead to 12 points next Saturday morning when they visit Liverpool because Chelsea are not due to play another league game until that afternoon against Portsmouth.

Today Chelsea play in the Carling Cup final against Arsenal in Cardiff and yesterday's result is likely to make Mourinho want to win even more now that the Premiership trophy appears to be heading to Old Trafford following its two years adorning the trophy cabinet at Stamford Bridge.

Mourinho may also join Fulham manager Chris Coleman in taking issue with yesterday's referee Peter Walton, who had to rule over a penalty claim for Fulham in stoppage time. Edwin van der Sar, the Manchester United goalkeeper, appeared to send Heidar Helguson sprawling but Walton was not moved.

United barely deserved to be level and after the interval they were grateful to Van der Sar. The pick of a trio of saves was the first: a product of agility and the nous to guess to which of his sides (the left) Davies would send an artfully self-made chance. He parried another Davies effort and dropped low to foil McBride, then watched with relief as Radzinski headed Michael Brown's cross against the bar.

Coleman sent on Helguson and Collins John to pursue victory, only to have it dramatically snatched by Ronaldo. However low the winner might have scored in terms of justice, it had some class, the Portuguese winger (as if you can categorise such a player) popping up on the left, skipping past Volz and Clint Dempsey and being given half a yard by Philippe Christanval, off one of whose heels the ball flew beyond Lastuvka. It is not just decisions; sometimes you wonder if the big teams get all the big luck too.

You could understand how Coleman felt, but all he is likely to have to show after this is a hole in his pocket where the FA have been, once they read his crack about the referee and the United bus.

SUNDAY TIMES

If, or more likely when, Manchester United are recrowned champions of the Premiership, Sir Alex Ferguson will think back to this scrawny Saturday down by the River Thames as a crowning moment in terms of his team's will, as well as their skill, to take the title from Chelsea.

You could see it in his body long before he opened his mouth. He is of an age that qualifies him for a state pension but he danced a jig on the touchline when the final whistle blew that would have been apposite from a child of six. When it was all over, recalling great goals by Ryan Giggs and especially Cristiano Ronaldo, who claimed his 16th goal of the season, he admitted: "After an emotional night that we had against Lille, you wait for a game that is flat, in which you do not play well but your players dig out a result. This was the most difficult game we've had all season: credit Fulham, they were aggressive, they got about us. When I made my changes, I tried to keep all the goalscorers we have on the field. Winning the way that we did is significant but Edwin Van der Sar at times saved us with fantastic courage."

Rarely does one hear from a manager so succinct and so accurate a summary, devoid of spin or speculation. The knight got this spot-on, even in a game that obliged him to change every element — defence, midfield, attack — in his team to wring out victory. Fulham had lost 5-1 in Manchester last August and capitulated 4-0 at home to Tottenham in the FA Cup last Sunday. They rebounded with the spirit of wounded, but proud warriors. They set about United with pace and tenacity, especially from Michael Brown and Simon Davies, never allowing their opponents' presumed superior talents the freedom to show, never giving up a ball let alone a cause. And they deservedly led after 17 minutes.

Van der Sar had shown himself to be brave and alert but his judgment erred when he rushed off his goal line, collided with Nemanja Vidic and was left stranded when he failed to reach the ball in confrontation with Davies. Brian McBride was so quick of eye and movement that he anticipated the lucky break. He was onto it in an instant and his shot against the inside of the far post brushed Rio Ferdinand on its way into the net.

United struggled to find the urgency or fluency for which they are renowned. Wayne Rooney was trying to referee as well as play the game and it was on his intervention that Peter Walton, a weak and easily persuaded referee, booked Brown for an innocuous foul on Paul Scholes. Walton has not issued a red card all season and he may not do so given the way that he abrogated that responsibility after 53 minutes, when he failed to show a second yellow card to Papa Bouba Diop for a blatant foul from behind on Giggs.

redrus

[muckypups]

Thanks as ever for the round-up Red.

I watched the match and was spitting into my beer.. there's no doubt that Fulham deserved a point . We looked hungover and uninspired.. (and the Neville affair was a mystery to me..) but like all winning teams we rode our luck and got the result.. and fair play for that..

Tuesday? I think a second string Reading will beat a second string United.. clearing the decks for a sumptuous double in May..

[sianjai]

Thanks as ever for the round-up Red.

I watched the match and was spitting into my beer.. there's no doubt that Fulham deserved a point . We looked hungover and uninspired.. (and the Neville affair was a mystery to me..) but like all winning teams we rode our luck and got the result.. and fair play for that..

Tuesday? I think a second string Reading will beat a second string United.. clearing the decks for a sumptuous double in May..

I`ll have a double please

[ThaiPauly]

If the general concensus among United fans is that you are gonna loose to Reading...then you are bound to win.

it will be a 3am kick-off here...so its gonna be early to bed-early to rise for me.

However having got a pretty credible draw against you in the league at the Mad Stad we do have a chance...but you will not find me "bigging it up" about our chances. United are probably the best team in the world right now and have not lost a competative match in England since.....West Ham I think and that was last year and that was pretty much expected after all the hype about Curbishley's arrival..so thats almost four months!

However its the cup..anything can happen.

If we loose it's no big deal...I never imagined in my wildest dreams that we would play united four times in one year.

Good Luck in your quest for another treble

[redrus]

Thanks for the responses Gents, especially TP, with his wishes of luck the treble is finally on again...

jjp and nev, whats happened to them, don't even see them lurking anymore, give us a sign lads, is everything ok....?

redrus

[redrus]

'LUCKY' UNITED

Tuesday 27th February 2007

Mourinho be moans luck, lack of injuries and Ronaldo's 'diving'.

"They go to the Champions League and have a disallowed goal for the opponent, and their goal is that [Giggs'] goal..

"They go to Fulham and it looks like they deserve to lose and they win.

"The information I have is that it was completely undeserved. But football is about this. Sometimes you don't deserve it and you win. It's a game that they could lose and in the end they win it.

"They play in Tottenham, it's 0-0 and Cristiano [Ronaldo] dives, they get a penalty and after that they win 4-0. It looks like everything is on their side, but that's football.

"This is a season in which they've had no injuries and every player is fine to play.

"We've had one less match than United.

"We have to try to go back to six points. What we have to do is keep going and see if the next step is to close the gap or open the gap. If it's to open the gap then it's very, very difficult. If it's to close the gap and go from six to four, then everything is possible.

"My first season here, no injuries, and I remember we had five consecutive matches where we scored in the first minute of the game, and it's over."

redrus

[redrus]

TONIGHT'S MATCH PREVIEW

Tuesday 27th February 2007

Will Neville return after 'tactical change'? Quotes from Ferguson, Quieroz, Ferdinand, Fletcher andf more with team news too.

Ferguson:

"Reading will play the same type of team as at Old Trafford. The interesting thing for me is whether they will play one up front or two.

"I expect a difficult game, because Reading are the team of the season so far.

"They and their manager Steve Coppell have done fantastically."

"It [Liverpool match on Saturday] will influence me in terms of leaving out the older players in my team. The likes of Scholes, Giggs, Larsson are unlikely to be involved - but that apart everyone else will be there

Queiroz:

"We trust the players.

"We know they can deliver. We don't have to make changes but we need to do it because we have to ensure the team is as well prepared as possible for each individual game.

"As we approach this game, we have one thought in our minds; to make sure we travel back home knowing we are still in the FA Cup.

"If we start play against Reading with Liverpool and Chelsea on our minds, it will create a big weight for us to carry.

"Suddenly, you might see 25 players in front of you. You might see a midfield where Steve Sidwell is playing with Steven Gerrard. The players cannot afford to let that happen. They must create a blank wall in their minds and remain focussed on Reading and nothing else."

Talking about the first match at OT:

"We play a lot of games against a lot of different teams.

"Quite often, they do something special in one moment, or in one situation. On that night, Reading did it for 90 minutes. In every area of the pitch, their players knew what to do and how to do it.

"The quality of that performance was not something that just drops out of the sky.

"It only happens when you have good players, a good manager and a well-prepared team.

"During that game, I had a feeling Reading had something special."

Ferdinand:

"The FA Cup is massive for me. I would very much like to get my hands on it.

"I have never won it. I missed the Millwall games because I was banned and, obviously, then we got beaten by Arsenal, which will go down as one of the most disappointing days in my career so far.

"Winning it this year would wipe away some of the bad memories, so fingers crossed it will happen.

"The opportunity to play at Wembley is a great incentive.

"I grew up watching matches there, so it would be great to be one of the first players to go there and win."

Fletcher:

"These are exciting times.

"It is the business end of the season and we know there will be games now on Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday, right until the last week.

"But that is what you want. That is why you are at a club like Manchester United. That is what we should be doing.

"The FA Cup is still what it was.

"Nobody at the club is saying any competition is more important than another and we definitely regard this as a special tournament.

"The fact the final is back at Wembley just adds to the hunger to win.

"Wembley is the home of English football. It is a new stadium and everyone is looking forward to playing at it."

Coppell:

"We can't lose these next two games as far as I'm concerned. Given the agenda we had at the start of the season, even if we do lose we can't lose, but that's not an indication of our approach. We'll just give it our best shot and try and win both games. But realistically, who would relish playing Man United and Arsenal in two consecutive games? Most teams wouldn't, but in our circumstances we have nothing to lose. We'll just crash on.

"I wouldn't say having home advantage means anything, given their quality. Wenger says it sometimes, against Bolton, that they probably have a better chance away from home because teams play a certain way against them at the Emirates. That doesn't apply to us, but I'm sure Fergie isn't frightened about coming to the Madejski Stadium. In the last 10 minutes [at Fulham on Saturday], they had six players up front. In many ways you are in awe of these teams when they are flowing.

"You look at their ability going forward and you think 'Wow'. Our dilemma is do we go hel_l for leather, which is often admirable but fails, or do we be more circumspect and tailor our game?"

Reading captian Graeme Murty:

"It will be just like a Cup final, but then again it's been like that for every home game.

"Our fans have been magnificent all the way through. They've been the loudest they've ever been and it's got better and better. It will be a full house and they'll go absolutely nuts. It will be fantastic.

"I've no idea whether I'll be playing but I'm certainly really looking forward to the game. Our fans have been desperate for big games like this for years. It's a long time since we've had a real Cup run. It will be the fourth time we've played Man United this season - that's the biggest club in the land - so our fans are in dreamland."

He is a man who played in York's League Cup 3-0 win at O.T. in 1995:

"When you've been playing in the lower leagues for so long and then you finally get the chance to play against people you've only been able to watch on Match of the Day every week, it makes playing in the Premier League even sweeter.

"For example, you've got Cristiano Ronaldo, who can make you look an absolute mug any time he fancies. When you've got to go up against people like that, either you relish it or approach it tentatively. Our attitude has been that we should just go flat-out and show what we can do. Touch wood, it's worked thus far."

"We want to win every game. At Old Trafford people were saying it was a changed team but virtually every player was an international.

"Ulises De la Cruz has played over 100 times for Ecuador and appeared in two World Cups. You're doing him a disservice by denigrating him in that way. The manager put a team out he thought would win. Simple as that.

"There aren't many of us around who can say they've been to Old Trafford and won 3-0.

"It was an incredible feeling. I didn't score, nor was I involved in any goals, but I was heavily involved in the celebrations."

BBC:

Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic is struggling to be fit and looks likely to miss out.

Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Edwin van der Sar and Henrik Larsson may be rested, while striker Alan Smith is likely to make a reappearance on the bench.

Reading defender Andre Bikey returns from suspension and Kevin Doyle is fit agin but January signings Michael Duberry and Greg Halford are cup-tied.

Boss Steve Coppell is expected to use some of his fringe players.

Reading (from): Federici, De La Cruz, Ingimarsson, Bikey, Sodje, Gunnarsson, Shorey, Oster, Seol, Sidwell, Harper, Little, Kitson, Long, Lita, Doyle, Hahnemann, Murty.

Man Utd (from): Van der Sar, Kuszczak, Heaton, Neville, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Silvestre, O'Shea, Evra, Heinze, Ronaldo, Park, Scholes, Carrick, Fletcher, Giggs, Richardson, Larsson, Saha, Rooney, Solskjaer, Smith.

Daily Mail:

Sir Alex Ferguson is considering asking captain Gary Neville to play in an under-strength team for tonight's FA Cup replay at Reading.

Manchester United manager Ferguson will rest a host of senior stars at the Madjeski Stadium tonight as he looks ahead to Saturday's crucial Premiership match at Liverpool.

But although Neville was originally set to be one of them, it is understood that Ferguson may now play him after leaving his skipper out of the team that won at Fulham at the weekend.

Neville was left out at Craven Cottage after becoming involved in an altercation with Ferguson during the chaotic scenes that marred last week's Champions League victory at Lille.

Sources at United have indicated this week that he was omitted as a one-off punishment.

United do not travel to Berkshire until today and Ferguson has not yet made the final decision on his team.

But it is known that Neville was in his usual right-back berth as United practised team shapes for the match at their Carrington training centre yesterday along with fringe players such as Darren Fletcher, John O'Shea, Ji-Sung Park, Kieran Richardson and Alan Smith.

Senior players such as Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Henrik Larsson are not expected to start tonight's game which will leave Neville as by far the team's most experienced player, if he plays

The Guardian:

Sir Alex Ferguson has indicated he will again leave out Gary Neville when he names his side for tonight's game at Reading, this time as part of his policy to rest the club's thirtysomethings in the FA Cup. Neville was omitted from Saturday's victory over Fulham, reportedly after a row with Ferguson, but his absence tonight can be put down to more innocent reasons, with Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Henrik Larsson also expected to be given the night off.

Sir Alex Ferguson has indicated he will again leave out Gary Neville when he names his side for tonight's game at Reading, this time as part of his policy to rest the club's thirtysomethings in the FA Cup. Neville was omitted from Saturday's victory over Fulham, reportedly after a row with Ferguson, but his absence tonight can be put down to more innocent reasons, with Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Henrik Larsson also expected to be given the night off.

Instead Ferguson intends to put his faith in a side incorporating at least half a dozen understudies as he prepares for a fifth-round replay against, in his words, "the team of the season so far". Alan Smith may get his first start since November 7 while the extent of Ferguson's alleged fall-out with Neville may not become clear until Saturday's game at Liverpool.

Ferguson's reasons for excluding Neville at Craven Cottage, not just from his starting XI but also the substitutes' bench, was that he expected Fulham to play a tall side. It was an explanation that raised eyebrows - Neville is regarded as an accomplished header of the ball and United's smallest player, Patrice Evra, was preferred to Gabriel Heinze at left-back - and there have been reports that the United captain was being punished for aiming a stream of invective at Ferguson as they clashed on the touchline during the Champions League tie against Lille a week ago. Perhaps tellingly, United have chosen not to deny those stories.

Ferguson preferred to talk yesterday about Smith's impending return to the side. The former England striker has not been involved for the last four months after struggling to regain anything approaching his best form when he made his comeback from a broken leg.

"I said to him at the time that I thought going out on loan would be a good thing but he had the drive and ambition to say 'I want to get back into he team.' That showed great faith in himself and I like that," said Ferguson. "Alan has been unfortunate because of the form of the team without him but he still has a long-term future at the club."

Smith's involvement, however, is a clear sign that Ferguson no longer views the FA Cup with as much importance as previous years. "Everyone is saying it would be nice to get to the first final at the new Wembley," said the manager, "but it is not only going to be there for one year, is it?"

The Indie:

It was Sir Alex Ferguson's intention to "leave out the older players" for Manchester United's fifth-round FA Cup replay against Reading tonight, but for Gary Neville the rules have changed over the last few days. The club captain was left out on Saturday amid suggestions that Ferguson wanted to punish him for a dispute between the pair during the match against Lille last week.

Whether Neville gets a reprieve tonight - with the Premiership lunchtime kick-off against Liverpool looming on Saturday - will be a sign that he has served his punishment, a rare sanction for a player who has served Ferguson without a hint of indiscipline for 15 years. Having turned 32 this month, he has watched many team-mates fall out with Ferguson over the years but stayed firmly onside himself.

Neville could clearly be seen swearing at Ferguson when the United manager tried to usher him away from the Lille players as they seemed about to walk off in protest at Ryan Giggs' quickly taken free-kick.

Neville's rest on Saturday could now mean that he is among a United team tonight that will be changed with the Liverpool game in mind and will not feature, according to Ferguson, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Henrik Larsson. Even in spite of the admissions by Ferguson, it seems that a far greater percentage of his first team will feature than Reading's, as Steve Coppell again made no apology yesterday for picking an almost identical side to the largely second-string XI that played at Old Trafford.

"It will almost be the exact same team," he said, "and I don't mind anyone knowing that."

Some conflicting reports and I'm not sure it was a good idea to travel down today. All in all, I'm not confident at all and, although Reading are certainly no Southend as we all know what happened there, this could be worse and, only underlines the scarcity of anything like a second team of any real quality....!

redrus

[redrus]

Boring Boring Arsenal Lille....!

LILLE APPEAL

Tuesday 27th February 2007

They just won't let it lie.

The Guardian:

Lille yesterday filed another appeal against Ryan Giggs's goal in Manchester United's 1-0 win over the French side in the Champions League last week.

On Friday Uefa rejected Lille's attempt to get the game replayed on grounds that the referee made a technical mistake when he allowed Giggs to take the winning free-kick before the whistle in last Tuesday's game. European football's governing body will hear the second appeal on Friday.

In the 83rd minute, following a foul on Louis Saha, Giggs looked at the referee and then curled a shot over the wall, leaving the Lille goalkeeper, Tony Sylva, stranded as the ball sailed into the net.

Telegraph:

A Uefa disciplinary commission threw out Lille's original protest last Friday, saying they were standing by Dutch referee Eric Braamhaar's decision to allow the quickly taken free kick to stand.

At the same time Lille were charged with improper conduct after their players appeared to briefly threaten to stage a boycott over the 83rd-minute winner.

With another Uefa disciplinary hearing set for March 22 to examine who was to blame for breakdown in security which led to a dangerous crush in the manchester United section of the Stade Felix Bollaert, Lille's decision to contest last week's verdict will only heighten tensions ahead of next week's second leg.

Lille claim Braamhaar made a technical mistake in allowing Giggs to take the free kick without having blown his whistle beforehand and asked for the game to be replayed.

The club said: "The president (Michel) Seydoux and management have decided to appeal the decision announced Friday by the European authority.

"The real question is to establish how the Manchester players came to take the free kick quickly which lead to a goal while they signalled their intention of doing the opposite. Following these principles, [we] have therefore taken the decision to go through with a fight that seems correct."

They had until midnight yesterday to file an appeal against the decision by Uefa. Lille's second appeal will be heard on Friday.

Last week's match was played at the home of French league rivals Lens as Lille's own stadium is considered not to meet Uefa safety standards.

redrus

[ThaiPauly]

Congratulations United.

I really hope that you can now go on and win the treble !

I nearly went back to bed after 6 minutes...but I am glad i didn't...what an incredible game