Manchester United

[MiG16]

Me too Nev, .. and Arsenal get something from Chelsea.. !!!!

so you all supporting Arsenal then

[muckypups]

Certainly will be on Sunday.. Your mob are not going to let us down I hope Mig..

[SiamSquare123]

what an embarrassing game tonight. ruined my day.

[Seapok]

I must say the Utd boys were very gracious in our defeat so I won't be rubbing salt into your wounds

RED DEVILS SWEPT ASIDE IN MILAN

Manchester United's Treble dreams disappeared on a wet night in Milan, as the Rossoneri produced a display out of the very top drawer to book their passage to the UEFA Champions League final.

The Rossoneri raced out of the traps and early goals from Kaka and Clarence Seedorf brought the San Siro to life.

United improved after the break, they could hardly have got much worse, but substitute Alberto Gilardino raced clear to add a third and put some gloss on an impressive performance which yielded a 5-3 aggregate success.

Nemanja Vidic was handed his first start since breaking his collarbone at the end of March and he looked a little rusty as Kaka glided past him inside 60 seconds, but the Brazilian dragged his shot across the face of goal.

It was an early marker by Milan, though, as Seedorf forced Edwin van der Sar into an excellent save with a drive from the edge of the box, while the Dutch keeper was able to gather a volley from Kaka which lacked venom.

While Milan's play was assured, United were wildly profligate in possession and the Rossoneri's blistering start was capped on 11 minutes when Kaka fired them in front.

The impressive Seedorf flicked Alessandro Nesta's pass into the path of the Brazilian and even though the ball was bouncing and he was 18 yards from goal, it seemed inevitable he would score and that is exactly what he did - arrowing a shot into the bottom corner.

Such was Milan's stranglehold on the game, it took 20 minutes for them to make a mistakes but Ryan Giggs could not capitalise on Nesta's misplaced header as Dida made a comfortable low save.

If Milan's first goal was entirely of their own doing, the second was gift-wrapped by The Red Devils.

Gabriel Heinze played Vidic into trouble and he slipped and gifted possession to Andrea Pirlo who dug out a cross. Vidic, in his haste to atone, headed the ball straight to Seedorf on the edge of the box and the Dutchman killed the ball in an instant before slamming a low shot into the corner.

Milan came within a whisker of putting the tie to bed on 41 minutes, as a slick move involving Seedorf and Massimo Oddo fashioned a chance for Filippo Inzaghi, but he failed to wrap his foot around the cross and shot wide of the near post.

Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo were bit-part players in the first half, but they did at least show some attacking intent as Rooney knocked Nesta off his feet with a fierce drive and Ronaldo lashed high over the bar.

Milan made a subdued start to the second half, but a misplaced pass from Ronaldo allowed them to spring forward and it needed a fine save from Van der Sar to deny Kaka who had made a mug of Vidic.

Gennaro Gattuso had a superb game, but he blotted his copybook when giving away a couple of free-kicks in dangerous positions. Ronaldo though, in what summed up his evening, lashed his efforts straight at the wall.

Milan's intensity dropped in the second half and Darren Fletcher had a chance to bring the tie back into the melting pot, but he sliced Rooney's inviting pass disappointingly wide.

Moments later Rooney produced a great turn and flashed a ball across the face of goal, and then made a mess of an acrobatic volley as United finally found a foothold in the game.

Although content to concede ground, Milan still carried a threat and it took a timely block from Wes Brown to thwart Kaka who had been played in by Seedorf.

Sir Alex Ferguson threw on Louis Saha with 15 minutes remaining, but the late push failed to materialise as Gilardino galloped through a huge gap before curling a shot beyond Van der Sar.

The third goal changed the equation very little, but it knocked the stuffing out of Manchester United who must now concentrate on domestic matters.

While for Milan, a trip to Athens hands them the chance to exorcise the demons of two years ago.

[ThaiPauly]

Bad Luck United, I never thought they could hang on at 3-2. Especially there and with a weekened defence

Well it may just have to be the double this year !

[muckypups]

Congratulations to Milan, they were by far the better team and we were dreadful. It would have been great to get to the final but all the press talk of destiny was no more than romantic column inches. I'll take solace in the fact that we had two amazing Euro nights with the Roma win and the first Milan game at OT. In the end we were well beaten.

Oddly enough I'm not completely gutted... as long as we win the Premiership that is...

[muckypups]

The Independent.. to the point..:

Milan 3 Manchester United 0 (Milan win 5-3 on agg): Milan style and steel are too much for outclassed United

Cancel the pageant for English football; postpone the Premiership's annexation of Europe. The prospect of an all-English Champions League final in Athens on 23 May was made to look little more than fanciful last night, ended by a Milan team who did not just eliminate Sir Alex Ferguson's team but vanquished them to the margins of this game.

Embarrassing would be one way to describe the way in which Ferguson's side were reduced to the role of callow apprentices as Kaka orchestrated a Milan performance of breathtaking style and control. That old schemer Rafael Benitez stands between this great Italian football ensemble and Milan's seventh European Cup, and Liverpool's manager has pulled off a miracle once before. But beating Milan in this form might just be an even greater achievement than the comeback in Istanbul two years ago.

So the two most famous clubs in English football will not meet on the pitch of the Olympic Stadium in Athens, and neither will their followers have a chance to add to the existing ruins in that ancient city. There will be a sigh of relief from every Athenian policeman and bar owner.

To the United manager's enduring credit, he did not attempt to explain away this pasting with a refereeing conspiracy or an injury crisis. He mentioned the freshness in Milan's legs but he accepted what every United fan in the top tiers here will have known instinctively: they were outclassed. "But I still expected more from my side," Ferguson said, "I expected more from them" - and those words were delivered with an unmistakable sadness.

For this 65-year-old knight of the realm it is another long journey back through the Champions League again next season, another long wait to see if the latest team he has painstakingly created will ever rise to the occasion. Certainly, Cristiano Ronaldo owes his manager a performance after last night, so too Wayne Rooney, both of whom only needed to look to Kaka and Clarence Seedorf to know how the true winners respond.

Like every United Champions League embarrassment, this one was accompanied by Ferguson's usual protestations about the impetuousness of youth and the dearth of experience but that is harder to rationalise with Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs in the side. Ferguson picked out Seedorf as an example, but Seedorf is younger than the most senior United players - and he does not necessarily have more experience in the Champions League. He has just won it more often.

Should Benitez find a way of beating Milan, it will surely be difficult for Ferguson to swallow. There was one final barb from Carlo Ancelotti who weighed the relative merits of United and Liverpool and made a cutting observation: "Liverpool are certainly a well-organised team in defence and they won't allow us to play the way we did tonight because Manchester United left more space for us."

It was a night of Milanese style and Mancunian weather, an angry sky over San Siro and thunder and lightning to go with the pre-match deluge. United were skewered on the sharpness of Milan's passing from the second minute when Kaka whipped a ball across their goal. Seconds later Seedorf cracked a shot from the edge of the area that Edwin Van der Sar had to turn over - more excitement already than the whole first half at Anfield on Tuesday.

It was bold stuff from Milan and, in the face of their tenacity, United buckled. Rino Gattuso snapped and snarled around Ronaldo while on the right wing for Milan, the full-back Massimo Oddo was a ferocious overlapper, pinning Gabriel Heinze back into his half.

But no one was more influential in those early stages than Kaka and he scored his third goal of the tie on 11 minutes. Alessandro Nesta's long ball was flicked perfectly by Seedorf into the stride of the Brazilian, who drilled a low shot past Van der Sar. From Massimo Ambrosini on the left to Oddo on the right Milan stretched United on one wing then the other.

None of that could excuse the sequence that led to Milan's second goal. Heinze lost possession needlessly on United's left and Andrea Pirlo hit a cross from which Nemanja Vidic made two bad mistakes, a weak header out of the area, then a challenge on Seedorf that allowed the ball to squirm up for the Dutchman to drill past Van der Sar.

This season the usual source of inspiration in moments like these has been Ronaldo but he looked dreadfully out of sorts. "Cristiano had a disappointing night and he knows that," Ferguson growled.

United rallied a little after that and produced their one meagre chance of the match. On 63 minutes, Rooney pushed the ball wide to Darren Fletcher in the right channel but he could not keep his shot on target.

Milan's third goal came just a minute after Ferguson had sent on Louis Saha to rescue the tie. On 78 minutes Ambrosini picked out the substitute Alberto Gilardino, who ran free on United's goal and poked the third past Van der Sar.

In Ferguson's defence, it was a mystery how Gattuso managed to commit so many fouls without getting a booking, but in the end it hardly mattered. Ronaldo was not quite so lucky, an exasperated lunge in the later stages meant a booking and a suspension. By then the final was so out of reach it was immaterial. That is the seventh European Cup semi-final his club have lost, and for Ferguson the long climb back next season looks more demoralising than ever.

Milan (4-3-1-2): Dida; Oddo, Nesta, Kaladze, Jankulovski; Gattuso (Cafu, 85), Pirlo, Ambrosini; Seedorf; Kaka (Favalli, 86), Inzaghi (Gilardino, 67). Substitutes not used: Kalac (gk), Bonera, Serginho, Brocchi.

Manchester United (4-3-3): Van der Sar; O'Shea (Saha, 77), Brown, Vidic, Heinze; Fletcher, Scholes, Carrick; Ronaldo, Rooney, Giggs. Substitutes not used: Kuszczak (gk), Ferdinand, Smith, Solskjaer, Richardson, Eagles.

Referee: F De Bleeckere (Belgium).

Man-for-man marking

Milan

Dida 6

Could have taken out a pipe, book and deckchair. One soft shot to save.

Massimo Oddo 7

More a right winger than a right-back, performed both roles with aplomb.

Alessandro Nesta 7

Rarely worried by United's ineffectual attack, either on the ground or in the air.

Kakha Kaladze 7

Solid and brave. Paolo Maldini was not missed, but he will be back for the final.

Marek Jankulovski 7

Got forward to good effect and rarely troubled defensively. Tremendous energy.

Gennaro Gattuso 9

Outstanding, if cynical, the grit in Carlo Ancelotti's oyster. Dominated midfield.

Andrea Pirlo 8

Quietly, classily, pulled the strings as effectively as he did in Italy's World Cup triumph.

Massimo Ambrosini 7

The quiet man in this stellar midfield, but rarely wasted a ball or missed a tackle. Booked.

Clarence Seedorf 9

Made one, scored one, always involved. Still under-rated, but the secret should be out soon.

Kaka 9

Beautifully struck goal set tone for the night. Stylish, influential. Can ask: "Cristiano who?"

Filippo Inzaghi 5

Created space with movement but the veteran goal poacher never threatened Van der Sar.

Substitutes Alberto Gilardino (for Inzaghi, 67) 7; Cafu (for Gattuso, 85); Giuseppe Favalli (for Kaka, 86)

Manchester United

Edwin Van Der Sar 7

Totally exposed. Must have felt he was playing behind the defence of Fred Karno's Army.

John O'Shea 5

United's best defender, but that is to ###### with very faint praise. Crossing not up to scratch.

Wes Brown 4

Had begun to put together a good run of form, until last night. Never looked comfortable.

Nemanja Vidic 3

Rusty. It was not just a risk to throw him in, it was a mistake. At fault for second goal.

Gabriel Heinze 2

Nightmare for second goal, emblematic of a poor performance despite being in usual role.

Darren Fletcher 4

Lost Seedorf for opening goal. Missed best chance on hour. Still to convince at this level.

Paul Scholes 7

Worked hard, never shirked a tackle despite being on a card, but unable to find spark.

Michael Carrick 4

This was the old Carrick. Unfortunately. Failed to dictate play, or move ball at pace.

Cristiano Ronaldo 5

Disappointing. By fair means or foul, was never allowed to get into stride. Booked.

Wayne Rooney 6

Barely saw the ball in the first half. Creative in second when he did but lacked support.

Ryan Giggs 4

Had United's shot on target in first hour, but it was weak. Quiet by recent standards.

Substitutes Louis Saha (for O'Shea, 77). A 100th United game to forget.

[Penkoprod]

At least SAF has the class to admit the best team won

He must be mellowing in his old age, lol

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/arti...d=1779&ct=5

[muckypups]

There's no question that the best team won.. in fact they were better than us for a fair part of the first leg too.. The defeat I can accept, the manner less so, but it was a Euro semi-final and I'm happy we got that far. Football matches can be lost.. I just hope we're not adding the City game to that list...

[helicoptor]

There's no question that the best team won.. in fact they were better than us for a fair part of the first leg too.. The defeat I can accept, the manner less so, but it was a Euro semi-final and I'm happy we got that far. Football matches can be lost.. I just hope we're not adding the City game to that list...

As a Blue I am dreading this coming Derby; combined with the facts of City's dismal record especially at home and Uniteds recent departure from Europe, the reds will have blood in their nostrils....

All I can hope for is damage limitation...

[chonabot]

Ok people , I have decided that if you want to have a pop at your least favourite team you can now do so using a new thread thread

Those of you that continue to slag off other teams on their dedicated thread will be treated in a vulgar fashion..

You are still welcome to add sensible critique but try to be intelligient in your chocie of words.

CHon

[muckypups]

From The Guardian..

Fighting on two fronts draws the sting from United and Chelsea

Should Chelsea and United consider sacrificing their war at home for victory in Europe?

Two points rang out loud and clear in Sir Alex Ferguson's instant analysis of his side's failure to reach the final of this year's Champions League. First, he said late on Wednesday night, Milan's players had been better prepared and their freshness enabled them to take the initiative in the vital early stages of the second leg at San Siro. Second, his own players had failed to keep possession of the ball.

By demonstrating that Manchester United enjoyed 52% of possession in the first half and 53% in the second, the statistics appeared to undercut his second observation. But it was what his players did with possession that counted.

Whenever Milan had the ball they swept and switched it around with marvellous incisiveness, deploying a range of passing, a command of angles and a cleverness in support of each other that United, for all their combative spirit, could never match. On the night the clarity and assurance brought to the game by Clarence Seedorf, Massimo Ambrosini and Andrea Pirlo were beyond the scope of Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Michael Carrick. And when United attacked, individuals such as Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo were lost in a swarm of red and black.

An admiring Ferguson singled out the priceless experience of Seedorf, winner of three European Cups with three different clubs, and the sheer quality of Kaka, whose goal in the 11th minute mirrored his two strikes at Old Trafford. "He floats from side to side and behind the striker," Ferguson said, "and he's got lovely movement with his running style, a long stride and deceiving with his pace. We didn't man-mark him because that's not our approach. The nearest defender has to be responsible for getting to him."

Of the four teams in the semi-finals, the best conceptual and technical football was clearly played by the only non-Premiership club. On the face of it, this was the familiar story of an English side - the Premiership leaders, in this instance - being out-thought and out-passed by opponents more comfortable on the ball. But English sides no longer prepare themselves by running up and down slag-heaps at the urging of sergeant-majorish coaches. Ferguson and his assistant, Carlos Queiroz, are students of world football, while Rafael Benítez and Jose Mourinho lack nothing in tactical sophistication. Milanello's facilities may define the state of the art but Carrington, Cobham and Melwood are close behind. And in men such as Xabi Alonso, Arjen Robben and Cristiano Ronaldo the Premiership sides contain players of the highest technical gifts.

So the problem, if there is one, must lie elsewhere, and the key to it lies in Ferguson's opening remark. Milan were simply better prepared for such a big night, in a way that asks questions of the Premiership's current and future ability to produce a Champions League winner via anything other than the superhuman effort of will seen from Liverpool two years ago. And while it is not impossible that Benítez's side will repeat the achievement in Athens on May 23, it is harder to know what such an achievement would prove in terms of the Premiership's standing in Europe.

According to Mourinho, Liverpool made progress in Europe only because they abandoned all pretence of competing for domestic trophies. Coming from a man with infinite resources at his disposal, it seemed a tiresome claim. After all, Mourinho's handling of his own squad has not been beyond criticism. But, like Ferguson's compliment to Milan's physical preparation, his words could not be ignored. Perhaps the lesson to be learnt from the semi-finals was that a team committed to the climax of the race for the Premiership will have the utmost difficulty in summoning the very different effort needed to capture the European title.

At this stage of the season the fixtures come too thick and fast, generating the kind of injuries that reduced Ferguson's defence on Wednesday to a shadow of its first-choice incarnation. In terms of tactical preparation, too, there is no breathing space. Milan in a semi-final is not the same as Arsenal or Bolton in the league. The time to isolate the specific requirements of such a match simply does not exist for a championship-chasing side.

For Milan, as for Liverpool, the priorities were different. On the Saturday before the first leg of the semi-final Carlo Ancelotti played a Serie A match against Cagliari with just two of the men who would start at Old Trafford. A week later against Torino the number was three. Needing only to retain third or fourth place to keep their Champions League place, Milan won both matches at a canter while ensuring the freshness of vital figures such as Kaka and Alessandro Nesta.

The Premiership may not be unique in this respect. Seldom, nowadays, is the Champions League won by a club topping their domestic league. When Barcelona managed the double last year they were comfortable winners of La Liga and could approach the final stages of the Champions League with their concentration relatively undisturbed. Those involved in a real title race will find it far more difficult.

Although Liverpool and Milan may well produce another thriller, it would be the product of a competition whose parameters have significantly changed since it was truly a contest between Europe's champions. Mourinho and Ferguson would be entitled to view this year's final as a battle of also-rans. But they will also wonder whether, in order to achieve their European ambitions, they must contemplate sacrifices on the home front.

[nev]

best team won we were very lack lustre

too many games bad weather and milan able to rest players,good luck to milan i think they will easily beat liverpool.

[scousemouse]

best team won we were very lack lustre

too many games bad weather and milan able to rest players,good luck to milan i think they will easily beat liverpool.

I think the weather suited the mancs more than milan. "Milan will easily beat Liverpool ???? " , just like they easily beat the mancs , dont think so. The 2 teams are evenly matched and I think its going to come down to who wants it the most.

AIG - Almost In Greece .(nice one joe !!).

[muckypups]

Good to see you back Nev..having a good time in LOS ?! It's been a bit lonely on here.., plus all the usual ABU's seem to have forgotten the overall quality of our football this season, and the fact we're still leading the Premiership and in an FA Cup Final. It might all come to nothing of course.. but we can go a long way to avoiding that with a performance against City tomorrow..

Come on you Reds....

[muckypups]

Surely we won't need firing up for this game..

From The Independent:

Cool Ferguson resets United's sights ahead of derby drama

Foregone conclusions are a dangerous approach to derby day, and that is why Sir Alex Ferguson plans to take in a game at Estadio La Romareda in Zaragoza rather than walk the fairways and wait for the telephone call that could confirm his ninth Premiership title as Manchester United manager tomorrow afternoon.

Only a month ago the Old Trafford faithful contemplated 5 May as their "Perfect Day", when the prospect of winning the championship at Manchester City while relegating their local rivals on home soil had some foundation as Stuart Pearce's team sailed close to the brink. Instead, from the mathematical safety of 13th and on the brink of lucrative new ownership, it will be City dispensing the taunts over their adversaries' abrupt Champions League exit in Milan, with a few Rossoneri jerseys no doubt mingling with the plain-clothes policemen on patrol outside the City of Manchester Stadium today.

Ample consolation remains on offer to United in the form of a domestic double and, specifically, the title they can wrestle from Chelsea this weekend with victory in the 136th League derby this lunchtime coupled with a failure of Jose Mourinho's side to beat Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. On Wednesday, however, an unwanted reminder of how swiftly football fortunes shift ambushed Ferguson when Kaka turned a slender first-leg advantage into an uphill task after 11 minutes, and the knowledge there are no guarantees prompted the United manager to dismiss any suggestions of celebration yesterday. Other business, such as convincing the 20-year-old Spanish defender Gerard Pique to return from a season's loan at Real Zaragoza at the end of this season, must come first.

"I promised I would go and see Pique play on Sunday, and I'm trying to organise flights for that," Ferguson revealed. "I want to bring him back and so I will sit down and have a chat with him. I'll probably be in Zaragoza on Sunday, so you don't need to send your spies looking for me."

Ferguson rarely outlines his social engagements through the media, so this can be considered a deliberate attempt to remind his players of the work ethic required to seal the title. In a 65-year-old manager who arrived home from Milan at approximately 4.30am on Thursday and later attended Alan Ball's funeral at Winchester Cathedral, they have a living example.

Ferguson said: "The best way to approach it is by not relying on anyone. For us to be relying on another football club to help us is the wrong attitude, we can only think about winning our game against City... A derby is a derby and you can't legislate for some of the things that happen in the match. That's the nature of a derby. Derby games can be physical, like last season when the referee [steve Bennett] allowed it. The first thing we have to do is play our football. We don't want to get embroiled in any physical contest. We need to keep the ball moving, take our chances and hopefully win. It is a big test, derbies are never easy, but if we win we will have a big chance."

Ferguson's reluctance to venture further on United's title prospects stems from anger at the Premier League's refusal to move today's 12.45pm kick-off and concern at how his squad will react to their Champions League defeat, although Rio Ferdinand, Louis Saha, Alan Smith and Patrice Evra could all return for the derby. The United manager, who is unlikely to have the captain Gary Neville available until the FA Cup final, said: "No one likes to lose, especially a European semi-final, but it is a derby and City trying to stop us winning the League provides a big incentive for us. I've always said that if you win one trophy you should be delighted. I don't think there was any burden on us in respect of winning the treble, that didn't affect us in Milan. You just hope one trophy is in your cabinet at the end of the year."

If only City had such elevated problems. Pearce's team enter the derby without a Premiership goal at home since New Year's Day and with their preparations overshadowed by the training ground fight between Joey Barton and Ousmane Dabo that resulted in the England international being suspended by his club until the end of the season and the French midfielder requiring hospital treatment. Dabo is considering taking legal action against Barton, who has lost the support of City colleagues and is likely to be sold for £5.5m in the summer.

Richard Dunne, the captain, said: "The team spirit is fine and our preparations have not been affected. Now it is up to us to go out and prove we are together."

City have won three of the past four derbies at home and, despite this season's problems, can have tentative optimism towards the future as several interested parties vie for control of the club. The current favourite, the former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, lodged his proposals with the City chairman John Wardle this week and Pearce's future will depend heavily on who takes over.

"In some people's eyes maybe a win would make up for some sins, but not in mine. No matter how we finish the last two games I will still feel as though we had more in us," Pearce said. "A month ago some people outside the club - United fans mainly - felt that they might send us down on derby day but we soon ended any thoughts of that and now we want to put a final twist in the title race."

[muckypups]

The Times:

Clear derby hurdle or title is there for Chelsea’s taking, says Ferguson

In 1993 it was the fairway at the 14th hole at Mottram Hall; in 1997 it was a restaurant; in 2003 it was his five-year-old grandson’s birthday party. Sir Alex Ferguson has a habit of getting away from it all on the day that Manchester United clinch the title and, if it is to happen again courtesy of a Chelsea slip-up at the Emirates Stadium tomorrow, the Scot will again be elsewhere, watching the La Liga match between Real Zaragoza and Racing Santander.

Before that, there is the small matter of overcoming Manchester City in a derby match at the City of Manchester Stadium this lunchtime, but the trip to Spain – to monitor the form of Gerard Piqué, the 20-year-old defender who has spent the season on loan at Zaragoza – says much about Ferguson’s priorities.

First of all, it shows that he is planning for the long term, shooting down theories that he might be tempted into retirement at the end of the campaign, and, secondly, it demonstrates that he and his United team remain wonderfully aloof of the Chelsea side whom they have kept at arm’s length in the Barclays Premiership these past months.

Defeat by AC Milan in the Champions League semi-finals on Wednesday has caused a little introspection at Old Trafford, but not so much that they have lost sight of what is in front of them. “Footballers have defeats and we’ve had some bad ones in my time here, but you have to recover from them and, historically, we have done that very well,” Ferguson said. “The players know City will want to put one over on us and try to prevent us winning the league, but these are all things that make it a bigger incentive for us.

“The name of the game is for us to win our games. That’s the only way we can think. The best way for us to approach it is not to rely on anyone else to do us favours. That would be the wrong attitude. I don’t know what Chelsea are going to do, but if we lose against City and they win their last three games [the second of which is against United at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday], they will win the league.”

To that end, Ferguson hopes to recall Rio Ferdinand and Louis Saha to his starting lineup today after their return to fitness. The France forward has a point to prove, with Ferguson disappointed by his cautious approach to returning to action. Even though he signed a new long-term contract in December, Saha is well aware that his future at the club is in doubt, with Dimitar Berbatov, of Tottenham Hotspur, and possibly Michael Owen, of Newcastle United, emerging as potential replacements.

Securing the Premiership title would be some consolation for defeat in Europe – as would winning the FA Cup Final, with Chelsea again the opposition at Wembley on May 19 – but Ferguson is not getting ahead of himself.

“It’s difficult to prioritise competitions, given the way our league is,” he said. “Because it’s an every-week event and because we’ve been top for so long, it has become a prime target. You just hope at the end of the campaign you come out with some silverware. I’ve always said that if you win one trophy, you should be delighted. Hopefully that will be the case.”

Gary Neville, the United captain, faces a race to be fit for the FA Cup Final and for England’s matches against Brazil and Estonia next month, the latter a Euro 2008 qualifying game. Ferguson said that the defender, who has not played since damaging ankle ligaments against Bolton Wanderers on March 17, “has got a chance of making the Final”, but his prospects are uncertain.

Securing the Premiership title would be some consolation for defeat in Europe...

Consolation? I've wanted the Premiership above any other trophy this season... please don't blow it lads..

[muckypups]

Dire match.. great result... We only need a point...

[blacklabel]

Cheers..............just 1 point to get league title

[nev]

yes very dour match great win one point to go.

[muckypups]

Early reaction from Fergie...

Ferguson lauds players' character

Sir Alex Ferguson praised his players' character after Manchester United beat Manchester City in their derby tussle to close in on the Premiership title.

United bounced back from the Champions League exit in Milan and Ferguson said: "What you saw today was human courage.

"The players showed great courage to come back from Wednesday and we are happy with 1-0, I think.

"It wasn't a great performance but derby games are like that and in the end we got through it."

Ferguson paid particular tribute to Cristiano Ronaldo, who was stamped on early in the game by City's Michael Ball but was tripped by the same player to earn the match-winning penalty, which the Portuguese winger dispatched.

"He was a victim of a really bad challenge early in the game and at that point it looked like the referee could have lost control," added Ferguson.

United will be crowned champions if Chelsea slip up against Arsenal on Sunday and Ferguson said: "A draw would do us fine.

"And if we have to go to Chelsea on Wednesday to get a result to win the title I would look forward to it.

"I won't be watching Chelsea's game - if the weather is nice I might go and have a round of golf."

City boss Stuart Pearce felt his side's failure to prise a point from the Manchester derby summed up their season.

Darius Vassell saw a penalty saved by United keeper Edwin Van der Sar and Pearce said: "We had a great opportunity to get equal and we missed it.

"Our problem all season has been putting the ball in the net. At the other end, defensively we've looked sound.

"Had we taken that opportunity I think we would definitely have got something out of the game."

Pearce defended his ploy of playing with only one striker, despite City's lack of goals this season.

He stated: "The bottom line is that when we chase the game we look vulnerable.

"We stayed in the game right until the last minute, against the team who look as though they are going to be champions."

[Pattaya_Fox]

Excellent result.

[muckypups]

From The Observer...

Fergie has one hand on the trophy

Does it really matter where, when and how the medals are secured? Does it matter that Manchester United's players could be enjoying a siesta on a welcome day off and Sir Alex Ferguson will be patrolling the golf course if weather permits?

All that matters is, the finish line is in sight. United secured the required win in the den of their neighbours and if Chelsea do not win at

Even if Chelsea can delay the passing of the baton back to the Old Trafford team after three seasons of London champions, United will need only a point from their two remaining league matches, at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday and at home to West Ham on Sunday. Deliverance here came courtesy of two penalties that went in their favour - Cristiano Ronaldo scored and Edwin van der Sar blocked - and the United contingent celebrated with the conviction of a team who know that their work is all but done, the players hurling shirts and clenching fists in front of their supporters, with Ferguson on the pitch grinning wildly behind them. This was the perfect antidote to the deflation inflicted by Kaka and company in the Champions League last week. It has been an emotionally charged few days.

Ferguson summed up his team's efforts with the phrase 'pure courage'. It certainly took bravery for Ronaldo to withstand the full force of Michael Ball, especially on the back of a stinker at the San Siro last week.

In the frenetic opening moments, Ball took the opportunity to aim a sly and ugly stamp into Ronaldo's midriff while the double player of the year was grounded. The thought occurred that it was just as well Joey Barton was not in the vicinity. Ferguson railed on the touchline. The City fans wailed back. The temperature soared. What must Jose Mourinho have thought watching on television? A symbol of game on?

Hardly. It was more of a clue as to what would decide this crucial instalment of the Premiership quest. Ball was on a mission to stop Ronaldo more by foul means than fair. Unfortunately for City, they had no other means of squaring up to United.

This particular duel aside, it was too cagey a spectacle to set the pulses racing. United were comfortable, if tired. City were toothless. Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand struck the bar from set pieces in the opening 25 minutes. United's breakthrough arrived shortly after and it was no surprise to see the joint catalysts were Ronaldo and his gritty shadow. When Smith's crossfield pass found Ronaldo, the overture to his dribble consisted of two stepovers - evidently a red rag to Ball's bull. The City left-back crowned a malicious performance when he dived in and naively kicked at Ronaldo's foot. Rob Styles pointed for a penalty without hesitation and the boy himself relished the chance to put United in front.

Ronaldo, hardly one to keep things simple if there is some showmanship to be had, used the old Robbie Fowler routine. He stepped forward, stopped, then whacked his spot-kick low into the corner. It was his seventeenth Premiership goal of a campaign Ferguson described as 'a fantastic season for the boy'.

There was little evidence that City could respond to peg United back, considering the closest they came to troubling Van der Sar until their 80th-minute penalty was a volley from Emile Mpenza aimed nicely at the goalkeeper's chest. Stuart Pearce tried to inject a fraction more energy when he replaced the creaking Dietmar Hamann with Sun Jihai at the interval. But the second half served up more of the same as United stroked the ball around without exerting too much of what was left of their mental and physical power after arriving home deflated from Milan at 5am on Thursday.

Ten minutes from time, United's title advantage hung in the balance as Ball jinked into the area and crashed into Wes Brown. Styles awarded the second penalty of the match. Thousands of Chelsea fans willed Darius Vassell to do the honours, but the former England striker shot straight down the middle of the goal, enabling Van der Sar to pull off a theatrical save with his legs. And the Dutchman knew it, roaring to the heavens before the ball had even been cleared.

And so the chance for City to end their uneasy run without a goal at home was dashed. They have not scored at the City of Manchester Stadium since New Year's Day. On this evidence they may not until 2008. 'Putting the ball in the back of the net is our Achilles' heel,' lamented Pearce afterwards. 'It is what we have to address going into next season.'

Unsurprisingly, the stadium was half empty by the time the City players reemerged for a sheepish lap of honour. Their fans may feel like hibernating over the next few days. Apart from the handful who left the ground in the free City scarves that had been handed out singing 'We're all going to Wembley'.

Man of the Match - Nemanja Vidic

There is only one contender if the criteria are the game's most influential player and talking point - Michael Ball wins that hands down. But seeing how the City left-back undermined his case through the ugliness of his performance, the honours go to the cool and composed Vidic.

[muckypups]

I hope I'm not premature with this..

From The Sunday Telegraph...

Prepare to salute Ferguson

Does football hold a distorting mirror to our society? Or have we really become a touch too vindictive in our reaction to events? I ask with the benefit of time in which to ponder accounts of last weekend's match between Everton and Manchester United, the result of which, taken in conjunction with Chelsea's draw at home to Bolton, was generally accepted as confirmation that United would be our national champions regardless of derbies and other dramas to come. And the central figure in the Goodison Park episode was generally agreed to be Iain Turner, Everton's goalkeeper for the occasion.

To judge from some reports, you might have thought that Turner had not only dropped a high ball at the feet of John O'Shea but been subsequently tape-recorded telling friends he did it on purpose because he was a lifelong United fan who, moreover, had put a large pre-match bet on O'Shea to score. What actually happened was that Turner, a 23-year-old Scot on loan to Sheffield Wednesday who had been recalled to Everton because Tim Howard was contractually barred by United, his former club, from playing against them this season, failed to hold the ball but recovered sharply and might even have grabbed it at the second attempt but for the remarkable alertness of O'Shea, who swept it into the net.

Now, to me, the amazing aspect of that incident was not that the ball slipped from a goalkeeper's grasp - even the best in the world are susceptible to that, as we note in the case of Petr Cech from time to time - but that the ensuing opportunity was accepted by a utility player displaying the instinct and technique of a top-class striker.

When, 21 years ago in the Mexican city of Monterrey, my esteemed colleague Gary Lineker did to Poland roughly what O'Shea did to Everton, seeing his chance when the goalkeeper flapped at a corner and doing the rest with a controlled swing of his left leg, he was rightly hailed as England's World Cup saviour. True, Lineker was completing a hat-trick at the Universatario Stadium. But O'Shea deserved more than to leave Goodison as he arrived. He had shown why United are back on top. Even their squad players are a bit special.

The point is made to air a suspicion that Sir Alex Ferguson's collection, especially the likes of O'Shea, Ji-sung Park and Darren Fletcher, may not get the credit due for a magnificent campaign. Nor their manager, perhaps; after yet another stumble on the road back to the European title, a humbling one in Milan, more eyes have been on Ferguson's inability to get the better of his Champions League rivals than his enormous achievement in building a team classy and consistent enough to wrest domestic supremacy from Chelsea.

But Ferguson is indeed about to complete the task of putting one over Jose Mourinho, Rafa Benitez and Arsene Wenger in the competition which, though it might not necessarily matter most to them, means most to their clubs' supporters. The hero, of course, has been one of those mischievous footballers, like Eric Cantona, whom Ferguson loves to direct. It was well before the end of last season that Ferguson told me Cristiano Ronaldo would be a great player. The interview was for an official club publication, the lavish Manchester United Opus, which was not to be published for many months, and I confess to having fretted a little over the inclusion of what seemed more of a forecast than a judgment; we had yet to experience Ronaldo's contribution to the World Cup. But Ferguson knew the brave young attacker was about to flourish. Whether he knew Ronaldo was about to win him back the title is not known. Suffice it to say that many critics had their footballer-of-the-year forms filled in by Christmas and that, by Easter, we were all wondering why the rule that says the form of World Cup stars must sag at some stage of the following season did not apply to him.

Less spectacular, inevitably, has been Wayne Rooney, but progress has been made on one vital front: he is controlling his frustration better. Also Rooney remains an impressively team-oriented star, which must have helped Ferguson to keep reminding his players of the need for sacrifice. Accordingly Patrice Evra, Michael Carrick and, above all, Nemanja Vidic have grown quickly amid the Ferguson-dictated United ethos. Meanwhile Paul Scholes has, until recently, been brilliant week upon week, beating out the rhythm of a side who have made a habit of almost literally passing opponents to death; Goodison represented just one of a few occasions when the cause appeared falsely to be lost.

There have been United teams with stronger spines - Ferguson's first Double side, with Peter Schmeichel, Steve Bruce and Gary Pallister, Paul Ince and Roy Keane, Eric Cantona and Mark Hughes, comes to mind - and it remains to be seen if Owen Hargreaves will be enough to give United as daunting a look as they had then. Today's men, though young on average, will have to cope with further change as the years catch up on Scholes and Ryan Giggs. But for now it is time just to prepare to salute Ferguson and the spirit of Old Trafford, which may prove to have become one and the same thing; if I were a United supporter, only the little fear for the future that proposition represents would cloud my celebrations. For this has been not only the season of Ferguson's resurgence but the season of his 65th birthday. The progress of Mark Hughes, now established as the leading candidate for the succession, is encouraging, but carries no guarantee.

[ThaiPauly]

CONGRATULATIONS UNITED.

A hard fought season.

But YOU R THE CHAMPIONS

Well done.

Reading will probably give you a run for your money next year

I wish

[muckypups]

:D Champions!

[Seapok]

As much as I hate to say it..............WELL DONE.....

[muckypups]

Cheers TP.. from all of us Reds.. fookin" brilliant!!

[EastSaxCol]

Don't forget to rest the best. Apart from the obvious, I'd like Chelsington to win sweet fa this season.

Yeah I know, but that one doesn't count. Even their 'supporters' couldn't be arsed.

Cummon You Irons !!!

[muckypups]

Respect Seapok.. Here's to a great Cup Final between us.. and no need for either side to rest players now.. may the best team win..