Este sin embargo, una vez mas, fué mucho mas trepidante. Una vez mas, futbol inglés en estado puro.

Y eso que este no es el mismo United de hace dos años, le falta algo mas de punch, de velocidad en los últimos metros, sigue tratando muy bien el balón, dominando los partidos, defendiendo bien pero…..no se, algo falta, está como algo mas lento y adelante se muestra fallón y con menos profundidad.

El Everton dió la cara y hasta que recibió el primer gol, con menos técnica, un futbol mas directo, mas arcaico pero agresivo y sin dar un balón por perdido, resistió bien, pero en cuanto cayó el primero el partido se convirtió en algo plácido para el United.

El resultado pudo incluso ser mas amplio, pero insisto, este United tiene una marcha menos que el de otras temporadas y, desde luego, no lo esperaba ya que jugadores tiene y además con lo que cobró por el…pero si, se nota la falta de Cristiano Ronaldo, este le daba otro aire, otra velocidad, mas profundidad.

Mención aparte merece Owen que desperdició claras ocasiones de gol lo que le pone muy dificil, ya que tuvo la titularidad ante la falta de Berbatov, el llegar al mundial, ha desperdiciado una gran oportunidad y a veces estorbó a su propio equipo.

Lo peor es que mucho me temo que el Chelsea camina muy firme este año.

LA JORNADA

CLASIFICACIÓN

There aren’t a lot of words to describe the goal scored by Fletcher over the weekend.  The word that came out of my mouth was wow.  See for yourself….

Go to the 4:30 mark in the video (34 min in the game).

http://www.footytube.com/video/manchester-united-everton-nov21-27850

I thought I’d go back in time to one of our worst ever days in football history.

Man U 7 – WHU – 1

OH it started so well and then went a little pear shaped….One off I hear you say? But If I recall we were given a 7-1 dishing out by Blackburn season before? Plus a 6-0 thrashing by Reading season before that?

Same old West Ham taking the piss….

Jadwal LIGA CHAMPIONS/CHAMPIONS LEAGUE untuk laga 25 november (rabu dini hari) dan 26 november (kamis dini hari) sesuai dengan Waktu Indonesia barat. Ini dia jadwalnya bro

25 november

GROUP E

jam 02:45 wib

DEBRECEN vs LIVERPOOL

FIORENTINA vs LYON

GROUP F

jam 00:30 wib

RUBIN KAZAN vs DYNAMO KYIV

jam 02:45 wib

BARCELONA vs INTER MILAN

GROUP G

jam 02:45 wib

RANGERS vs STUTGART

UNIREA URZICENI vs SEVILLA

GROUP H

jam 02:45 wib

ARSENAL vs STANDARD LIEGE

AZ ALKMAAR vs OLYMPIAKOS PIRAEUS

26 november

GROUP A

jam 02:45 wib

BAYERN MUNCHEN vs MACCABI HAIFA

BORDEAUX vs JUVENTUS

GROUP B

jam 00:30 wib

CSKA MOSCOW vs WOLFSBURG

jam 02:45 wib

MANCHESTER UTD vs BESIKTAS

GROUP C

jam 02:45 wib

AC MILAN vs MARSEILLE

REAL MADRID vs ZURICH

GROUP D

jam 02:45 wib

APOEL NICOSIA vs ATLETICO MADRID

FC PORTO vs CHELSEA

laga yang mana menurut kamu paling seru?

What you missed while scientists were finding a new type of predator coral that can eat jellyfish…

• David Beckham’s LA Galaxy lost the MLS Cup on penalties to Real Salt Lake last night, but Beckham is still planning on coming back after his AC Milan move, possibly with an eye towards one day owning an MLS franchise. Beckham Beckham Beckham Beckham.
• Jermain Defoe scored five goals in Tottenham’s 9-1 demolition of Wigan.
• Barcelona drew 1-1 with Athletic Bilbao Saturday, dropping them behind Real Madrid on the table; even worse, Lionel Messi went down with a thigh tear that will likely leave him out of the Super Classico on Saturday.
• Gaël Kakuta, the controversial Chelsea youth prospect, made his debut against Wolves.
• Liverpool will have to beat Debrecini VSC without Fernando Torres and Ryan Babel; the way things are going lately, look for a 2-2 draw in Hungary tomorrow.
• Carlos Vela’s potential has convinced Arsene Wenger to stop trying to sign Marouane Chamakh.
• Thierry Henry considered quitting after his controversial double dribble against Ireland.
• Philipp Lahm says that Bayern Munich is “sick” and “lame”. No word on whether they’re also “bogus” and “heinous”.
• Switzerland’s FC Gossau and FC Thun have each banned players over their roles in a match fixing scandal.
• Palermo have sacked Walter Zenga for extending the club’s winless run to four games, knocking all the pieces over.
• Rubin Kazan’s scoreless draw with Zenit St. Petersburg saw them clinch their second consecutive Russian Premier League title.
• Gary Neville has hit out against “mollycoddled” players who collect paychecks but never seem to actually play rely on their agents to do everything for them.

The England manager has more concerns ahead of the 2010 World Cup, after David James picked up an injury whilst warming up for today’s game against Stoke.

Fabio Capello said after the friendly defeat to Brazil last week, that Portsmouth goalkeeper must prove he is fully fit before the Italian considers him England’s no. 1.

Capello’s concerns were highlighted amid reports circulating that James’ persistent knee injury prevents him from training two days after every game he plays.

At 39 many are suggesting England’s first choice goalkeeper will still be dogged by the injury come next summer’s World Cup in South Africa.

The other contenders for the no. 1 jersey fail to instill any hope for Capello.

Robert Green has looked less than impressive in goal for England, with the West Ham ‘keeper so far failing to transmit his impressive club form to the national side.

Manchester United’s Ben Foster – who played in goal against Brazil in Qatar – looks both commanding and at ease. Yet his lack of playing time for his club is a concern.

Foster, 26, is United’s third choice ‘keeper behind Edwin Van der Sar and Tomasz Kuszczak, despite Alex Ferguson recently claiming the former Stoke City player is England’s best stopper.

Capello feels England are one of the favourites for next years World Cup, yet James’ latest setback and Foster’s lack of first team football, their chances look to have dealt an early blow.

22 november

jam 00:30 wib

MANCHESTER UNITED vs EVERTON
3-0

jam 20:30 wib

BOLTON WANDERERS vs BLACKBURN R.
0-2

jam 22:00 wib

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR vs WIGAN ATHLETIC
9-1

gol pada laga ini terjadi:

>menit ke-9, oleh P. CROUCH
1-0

>menit ke-51, oleh J.DEFOE
2-0

>menit ke-54, oleh J.DEFOE
3-0

>menit ke-57, oleh
P.SCHARNER
3-1

>menit ke-58, oleh J.DEFOE
4-1

>menit ke-64, oleh
A.LENNON
5-1

>menit ke-69, oleh J.DEFOE
6-1

>menit ke-87, oleh J.DEFOE
7-1

>menit ke-88, oleh C.KIRKLAND
8-1

>menit ke-90, oleh N.KRANJCAR
9-1

jam 23:00 wib

STOKE CITY vs PORTSMOUTH
1-0

1-0

22 november

jam 00:30 wib

MANCHESTER UNITED vs EVERTON

jam 20:30 wib

BOLTON WANDERERS vs BLACKBURN R.
0-2

jam 22:00 wib

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR vs WIGAN ATHLETIC
9-1

gol pada laga ini terjadi:

>menit ke-9, oleh P. CROUCH
1-0

>menit ke-51, oleh J.DEFOE
2-0

>menit ke-54, oleh J.DEFOE
3-0

>menit ke-57, oleh
P.SCHARNER
3-1

>menit ke-58, oleh J.DEFOE
4-1

>menit ke-64, oleh
A.LENNON
5-1

>menit ke-69, oleh J.DEFOE
6-1

>menit ke-87, oleh J.DEFOE
7-1

>menit ke-88, oleh C.KIRKLAND
8-1

>menit ke-90, oleh N.KRANJCAR
9-1

jam 23:00 wib

STOKE CITY vs PORTSMOUTH

“It was easy, though, to see why United are being prominently linked with Jack Rodwell, who played with a maturity beyond his 18 years. The teenager is two-footed, tall, plays with his head up and always wants the ball. He looks like a United player in the making.”

Daniel Taylor, Guardian.

Why do I always type a little blurb here? It never really says anything; I just feel weird diving straight into the match results themselves without any preamble. It’s too… impersonal that way. So hello, hi, here we are, so let’s get down to it:

Calcio:

AS Roma Totti 3-1 Bari – Romanisti always repeat one thing when Er Pupone is sidelined: No Totti, no Party. But sometimes we get so caught up in our own negativity that we forget the flip-side of that equation: Totti = party. Er Capitano made his return today against Bari, back from over a month out after going into knee surgery earlier in the season. And just to remind us why we miss him when he’s gone, he scored a hattrick. In the first half hour. The first came on 7′ – a spot kick after Jean-François Gillet downed Mirko Vucinic in the area. Then, only 7 minutes later, Totti launched a searing free-kick into the back of the net to make it 2-0. On 28′, he scored a world-class – and seemingly impossible – goal, beating Bari’s defense, Gillet and firing an acute-angle shot into the far corner. Beauty. Roma did their usual thing in the second half, sitting comfortably back on their large lead and letting i Galletti tire themselves out. However, the visitors finally pulled one back when youngster Marco Andreolli nodded the ball into his own net on 73′. A bit of a blemish, but a pretty good party nonetheless. To Gillet’s credit, he was outstanding for most of the match (those stretches when Totti was not destroying his self esteem), as was Julio Sergio, who was very solid behind the Roman back four. Mirko Vucinic was phenomenal, back to his old self again, while the only real black spot for Roma was Nicolas Burdisso, who was an absolute horrorshow at right-back. Also, the own goal was unfortunate. But all in all, a very good party with Er Capitano back at the helm. I can’t wait until we get Danielino back – then we can really party.

Inter 3-1  Bologna – The Inter Offside webpage referred to this match as a ‘Mortadella Speedbump’ — that pretty much sums it up for me. The reigning champions probably felt as if they could simply stroll into the Stadio Dall’Ara and come back out with three easy points, and their hosts failed to prove them wrong. There was a bit of tension early in the match; Diego Milito put Inter ahead on 22′ off of a corner from Maicon, only for Marcelo Zalayeta to equalize within 60 seconds, smashing the ball past Julio Cesar and into the top corner. The next 20 minutes saw both teams get really into the game, but Mario Balotelli should have put his side ahead when he beat the Bologna backline and dummied ‘keeper Emiliano Viviano – only to waste enough time that Viviano was able to get up and rob him of his much belated shot. One could see Jose Mourinho rise from his bench, flailing in anger. However, Supermario was able to atone for his sins just before the half; another Maicon corner saw the young striker rise powerfully in the air and head home to make it 2-1 for the Nerazzurri. He picked up a knock in the process, however, and was subbed off for Samuel Eto’o, who made a rare start on the bench. The visitors would make their lead more comfortable midway through the second half, with Esteban Cambiasso, who was in excellent form, burying a left-foot strike on 72′. To be honest, the hosts never looked like they were going to get back into the game, and Inter cruised to a comfortable win over the Emiliani.

AC Milan 4-3 Cagliari – It was a bit of a rollercoaster ride in the San Siro this afternoon, but i Rossoneri came out on top. Clarence Seedorf gave the home side an early lead on 5′, but gli Isolani weren’t interested in falling behind and Alessandro Matri equalized just 3 minutes later. The visitors would take the lead on 30′ when Andrea Lazzari found himself completely unmarked at Milan’s back post and gave his side a 2-1 lead. This time though, it was Milan’s turn to come from behind, as Marco Borriello and Alexandre Pato bagged a pair of goals in quick succession to put their side up 3-2 by the 39th minute. Pato’s goal was particularly nice, a rocket-powered blast into the top shelf which sent the San Siro crowd into an uproar. Milan would further consolidate their lead after the break, with Ronaldinho stepping up to the spot after Borriello had been felled in the area and burying it, sending Federico Marchetti the wrong way. He seems to score all of his goals that way, doesn’t he? More on him later. Cagliari was able to reduce Milan’s lead to a single goal when Nenê beat Dida on 68′, but Milan would hold onto their rather precarious lead and edge their visitors 4-3 in what turned out to be an exciting goalfest. Now, Ronaldinho. He was quite possibly – I’d almost say easily – the man of the match; back to his Barcelona form and full of tricks and flicks. That he only got onto the scoresheet via PK is misleading, as he was the creative force behind Milan’s devastating offense all night. That being said, their defending was quite shoddy, and against a better team (no offense, Cagliari, I like you guys) they might have come away with a rather different result. That being said, an excellent high-scoring match to put il Diavolo into 3rd place. Who says Serie A is boring?

Juventus 1-0 Udinese – Oh that’s right, Juventini say Serie A is boring. Because Juve is boring. I Bianconeri edged, well, i Bianconeri in Turin to keep their Scudetto hopes alive tonight. After the kickoff, it was all Juventus; Diego and Mauro Camoranesi both came close in the first quarter of an hour. After that though, the game went into a bit of a lull, and neither side looked dangerous (or did anything important) before the halftime break – unless you count a Udinese goal rightly disallowed for offside. After the restart, it was once again Juventus who set the pace, and this time it paid off. Summer signing Martin Cácares set up summer signing Fabio Grosso, who beat Samir Handanovic with ease to put the home side up 1-0 on 51′. Udinese fought hard throughout the remainder of the half, and both Handanovic and Gigi Buffon were called upon to make class saves, but ultimately the most exciting thing to happen before the fulltime whistle was Alessandro Del Piero’s appearance as a substitute. Juventino or not, you gotta love that guy.

Football:

A hattrick? No, that was just a warm-up.

Tottenham Hotspur 9-1 Wigan Athletic – Stop the press! What in God’s name do they put in the water in Tottenham? The Spurs recorded the second-biggest Premiership blowout in history at White Hart Lane over a hapless Wigan Athletic, with Jermain Defoe grabbing 5 himself in the second half. Peter Crouch opened the scoring for the home side on 9′, and believe it or not, that was it for the first half. Defoe got started right away after the break though, netting on 51′ and 54′, before Paul Scharner (who may have also pulled a Thierry Henry) pulled one back for the Latics to make it 3-1 on 57′. Defoe wasn’t done yet though, and to complete his hattrick restored the Spurs 3-goal margin just seconds later. Aaron Lennon got in on the action with a goal of his own on 64′, and then Jermain Defoe topped off his hattrick with a brace on 69′ and 87′. Chris Kirkland put the ball into his own net on 88′ to make it 8-1, and then Niko Kranjcar scored in the 4th minute of stoppage time to make the scoreline a whopping 9-1. To put this into perspective, didn’t table-toppers Chelsea lose to Wigan this season? Holy shit, dude.

Chelsea 4-0 Wolverhampton – Speaking of Chelsea, Carlo Ancelotti’s men took part in a rout of their own this weekend, though it seems rather paltry in comparison with their London neighbours’ rather excessive beatdown. The Wolves simply had no chance at Stamford Bridge, and with Florent Malouda opening the scoring with a 25-yard strike on 5′, it seemed a cricket score was imminent. Michael Essien furthered that notion, bagging a brace within a 10 minute span by finding the back of the Wolves’ net on 12′ and 22′. The visitors simply had no response to the dominant Chelsea play, and their ill-advised 2-5-3 formation left plenty of gaps for the Blues to exploit. The teams went into the half with the score 3-0, but not before Sylvain Ebanks-Blake forced a class save from Petr Cech. As the game progressed, Wolverhampton reverted to a more solid 4-4-2, it was not enough to stop Joe Cole from scoring his first Premiership goal in over a year, making the score 4-0. Another quite impressive blowout/shutout from Ancelotti’s men, but until they score 9 goals I think they’ll feel that their crosstown rivals have the upper hand. Then again, they’re leading the league, so who cares about the Spurs?

Liverpool 2-2- Manchester City – Every time a Koppite cries, and angel get its wings. Or so I’ve been led to believe. Either way, both the Reds and the Blues (no, no, other Reds. Other Blues too.) dropped points and further away from the top 4 with a 4-goal draw at Anfield on Saturday. Martin Skrtel gave the home side the lead on 50′, only for Emmanuel Adebayor and Stephen Ireland to respond on 69′ and 76′ respectively to give the Citizens a 2-1 lead. A loss at this stage in the competition would have meant disaster for the Scousers, but luckily Yossi Benayoun cut any Mancunian celebrations short by responding with a goal of his own on 77′ to equalize and make it 2-2. And 2-2 the score would remain. This result is neither a complete disaster for Mark Hughes or Rafa Benitez, but you gotta think that the two of them, and their grossly underperforming squads, have gotta be feeling a little uncomfortable right now.

Manchester Utd 3-0 Everton – As for the other Reds and Blues of Manchester and Liverpool, a draw was not in the cards. The Red Devils trounced the Toffeemakers at Old Trafford to stay within five points of Chelsea in the table. Darren Fletcher opened the scoring for the homeside on 35′ with a beautiful goal that has been compared (somewhat hyperbolically) to the work of Zinedine Zidane. After the half Michael Carrick and Luis Antonio Valencia would add a goal each, while David Moyes’ men could do little but keep the scoreline respectable. I gotta say, the Merseyside derby is going to be downright depressing this year…

Pictured: Arsenal player not fit for today's match.

Sunderland 1-0 Arsenal – Oh, Arsenal. The Gooners had gone over a dozen games without a loss, but as usual Arsene Wenger’s men got a little too close to the sun and their wings simply burned up. Also, they had a lot of injuries. The Londoners put in an unfocused and ramshackle performance against a determined Sunderland side who clearly wanted the result more. And they got it. Sunderland simply rode out wave after wave of potent Arsenal attacking play, though admittedly, it didn’t seem like the Gunners wanted to do much other than controlling the ball in midfield. On 71′, the home side finally got their chance and Darren Bent buried it to make the score 1-0 for the Black Cats. Wenger’s men had simply no will to get back into the game (perhaps their minds were occupied with thoughts of next week’s clash against Chelsea) and ultimately fell to a steely Sunderland side. This is the second time this year that the Black Cats have beaten a top 4 side – and this time it can’t even be blamed on a beach ball.

Futbol:

Real Madrid 1-0 Racing Santander – Well, Los Galacticos are still without their biggest star – Cristiano Ronaldo – and they’re still not playing as ‘Galacticos’ perhaps should, but they’re finally where Galacticos should be: on top. Gonzalo Higuaín provided the difference that Manuel Pellegrini’s men needed to take down mid-table residents Racing Santander, with a strike from close range on 22′. Both sides had second-half goals disallowed for offsides, with both Karim Benzema and Sergio Canales putting the ball into the back of the net only to be notified by the referee that they need not celebrate. As has been the norm this year, Madrid did not completely convince, but their narrow victory was nevertheless enough to see them go top of the table for the first time this season after Barcelona picked up a similarly unconvincing result in Bilbao.

Because Bear Country is more frightening than Basque Country.

Barcelona 1-1 Athletic Bilbao – Treble Champions they may be, but at times this season Barcelona have failed to look the part. They faltered again in their title race during this weekend’s trip to Basque Country. Though many of their starting 11, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, were out with knocks, one could still expect Barcelona to produce a result against midtable opponents such as Bilbao. Early in the match, Los Leones put pressure on their visitors, peppering them with corners and free kicks, while Barca looked simply content to play on the counter. Soon however, Barca wrested control of possession from their hosts, and began to look like the side to score, though when it came to finishing they came up empty – at least in the first half. However, after the restart the Blaugrana got off on the right foot, with Daniel Alves running on to the end of a perfect throughball from Xavi and finding the back of Bilbao’s net. Athletic immediately responded by bringing Toquero into the game; a move that would prove very effective as the substitute would equalize for the home side within 10 minutes of coming onto the pitch, running onto a long ball and smashing it home. All that was left to do for Bilbao was to park the bus and ride out the waves of Barcelona attacks – which they did – in order to gain a point and drop the reigning champions down to second place. What has happened to Pep Guardiola’s men?

Fußball:

Bayern München 1-1 Bayer Leverkusen – Well, Die Roten haven’t sunk any further into their slump, but they haven’t de-slumped either, achieving a draw against league-leading Bayer Leverkusen at the Allianz-Arena this weekend. Mario Gomez and Stephan Kießling each netted for their respective sides early on in the match; both goals came within the first 15 minutes of play. Bayern started off energetically, with their aggressive attack leading to Mario Gomez’s opener on 8′, which he sidefooted in on an advantage play after Miroslav Klose was fouled. However, their visitors soon caught up to them in pace and were able to exploit the home side’s defensive weaknesses; Kießling easily beat the offside trap and slotted the ball coolly past Hans-Jörg Butt to make it all square on 14′. Each team had spells of pacy and bright looking attack, but neither could capitalize during those stretches; Leverkusen keeper Rene Adler saved his side time and time again with world class saves to prevent Bayern from getting out in front. Even Thomas Müller, who has so often been Bayern’s ace-in-the-hole this season proved ineffectual, and was subbed in the second half for Ivica Olic, returning from a lengthy injury layoff. The chances petered out towards the end of the game, and a 1-1 draw it would remain – a result that sees Bayer reclaim 1st and Bayern languish in 7th.

Werder Bremen 6-0 SC Freiburg – Poor Freiburg. On more than a few occasions this season they have found themselvesin situations where they are simply out of their depth. The home side suffered a humbling defeat to Die Grün-Weißen in their own Badenova-Stadion, falling 6-0 in an all-out slaughter. Hugo Almeida opened the scoring for the visitors on 33′, Marko Marin added a second on 55′, Almeida doubled his money on 57′, Mesut Özil netted on 67′, Naldo on 73′ and substitute Markus Rosenberg made it 6-0 with 8 minutes left to play. Freiburg once again made a case for having the worst defense in the Bundesliga (they have the highest number of goals against; 30) and sit 13th in the league table, while this victory propels Werder Bremen to second, just a point behind leaders Bayer Leverkusen. I guess the English aren’t the only ones who know how to have a good blowout!

Si prospetta una stagione transitoria per i Red Devils dopo la partenza di Cristiano Ronaldo

Fino allo scorso anno apparivano essere una delle grandissime superpotenze mondiali.
Reduci dalle vittorie in Champions, Premier e Mondiale per Club i Red Devils, guidati da un grandissimo Cristiano Ronaldo, sembravano essere un’armata eventualmente seconda solo al grandissimo Barcellona di Guardiola.

Cosa che si confermò proprio in finale di Champions League, quando la squadra di Ferguson venne battuta 2 a 0 dai Blaugrana guidati da Eto’o e Messi.

In estate poi la partenza, destinazione Madrid (dove c’era da far ripartire il progetto Galacticos targato Florentino Perez), del fenomeno portoghese con i Red Devils che andavano quindi a perdere moltissimo del loro potenziale offensivo.
Le ripercussioni dell’addio del fuoriclasse lusitano si stanno quindi facendo sentire: lo United, che viene dal 3 a 0 di sabato nei confronti dell’Everton, non è più infatti la squadra schiaccia sassi della scorsa stagione: già tre – su tredici – sono state le partite chiuse con una sconfitta, oltre ad un pari che portano i Red Devils a quota 28 punti, cinque meno del Chelsea del nostro Carletto Ancelotti.

Vanno invece meglio le cose in Champions dove lo United guida il gruppo B a quota 10 davanti a Wolfsburg (7), CSKA (4) e Besiktas (1), con l’approdo agli ottavi che è sempre più prossimo e dovrebbe arrivare già nel corso della prossima settimana.

Ma come guarda al futuro la dirigenza dei Red Devils?

Innanzi tutto la questione legata all’allenatore: Sir Alex Ferguson guida la squadra dal lontano 1986 ed ha un palmares ormai strabordante: 3 Campionati scozzesi, 4 Coppe di Scozia ed 1 Coppa di Lega scozzese con l’Aberdeen, 5 FA Cup, 3 Coppe di Lega inglese, 11 Campionati inglesi ed 8 Charity/Communiy Shield con il Manchester United per quanto riguarda le competizioni nazionali più 2 Coppe delle Coppe (una con l’Aberdeen, l’altra con lo United), 2 Supercoppe UEFA (una con l’Aberdeen, l’altra con lo United), 2 Champions League, 1 Coppa Intercontinentale ed 1 Mondiale per Club con i Red Devils per quanto riguarda le competizioni internazionali.
A tutto quanto questo, poi, vanno aggiunti i premi individuali. Ferguson è stato infatti eletto per otto volte manager dell’anno della Premier League inglese, una volta allenatore dell’anno per la League Managers Association, che lo ha anche eletto come allenatore del decennio per gli anni ‘90 e due volte miglior allenatore dell’anno al mondo per la IFFHS.
Insomma, una curriculum notevolissimo che pochissimi altri allenatori nella storia possono e potranno vantare.

Oggi, però, Alexander Chapman Ferguson (questo il suo nome completo) è arrivato alla veneranda età di 68 anni e potrebbe decidere di lasciare la squadra – ed il calcio, probabilmente – da un momento all’altro, per ritirarsi quindi in pensione per un meritato riposo.
Questa, tra l’altro, è la sua ventitreesima stagione in casa dello United, record non da poco.

A Manchester, comunque, si vive con la speranza che il tecnico scozzese possa continuare il suo rapporto con il club. Ad essere portavoce di questo sentire comune è Paul Scholes, uno dei leader carismatici dello spogliatoio dei Red Devils.
Interrogato riguardo al futuro del proprio manager dal Manchester Evening News, infatti, il rosso centrocampista inglese ha affermato che “I suoi record parlano per lui. 23 anni sono un periodo lunghissimo, spero possa continuare a lavorare per portare altri trofei allo United”.

United che, comunque, starebbe già tutelandosi per il futuro.

Ferguson pare (ma non ci sono conferme ufficiali al riguardo) voglia continuare ad allenare fino ai settant’anni (un paio di stagioni ancora, insomma), ma i dirigenti dei Red Devils stanno cominciando a guardarsi in giro. Ed avrebbero già individuato il successore di Sir Alex: secondo il Times, infatti, sarebbe il Mourinho, tecnico lusitano attualmente alla guida dell’Inter, il manager individuato a rilevare lo scozzese quando questo deciderà di lasciare la panchina.
E la scelta di Mourinho sarebbe avallata proprio da Ferguson stesso: “Mourinho ha un gran rapporto personale con Ferguson ed è sicuro che Sir Alex avrà un certo peso nella scelta del suo successore. Sebbene Ferguson, 67 anni, non abbia annunciato la data del suo addio, questo dovrebbe avvenire nel caso dovesse vincere un’altra coppa europea”. Questo quanto apparso scritto sul quotidiano britannico.

Vedremo tra un paio d’anni, quindi, se sarà davvero l’ex tecnico del Chelsea a raccogliere la pesantissima eredità che lascerà Sir Alex quando deciderà di dare l’addio alla panchina dello United.

Ci sono comunque anche questioni più immediate sulle quali discutere.

Detto del futuro della panchina del Manchester c’è da capire quali sono invece le mosse studiate per rinforzare l’organico e da attuare nel breve/medio periodo.

Innanzitutto un portiere: Van der Sar ha ormai 39 anni, è in scadenza a fine stagione e difficilmente sarà confermato oltre.
Una priorità per la dirigenza dei Red Devils è quindi trovare un degno sostituto al ragazzo di Voorhout che dopo cinque anni di militanza tra le fila della prima squadra di Manchester sembra vicino all’addio.

Akinfeev è il giocatore individuato come successore di Van der Sar a difesa della porta dello United

La scelta del suo successore sarebbe comunque già stata fatta. A raccogliere l’eredità dell’ex portiere di Ajax, Juventus e Fulham, infatti, dovrebbe essere Igor Akinfeev: il portiere di CSKA e nazionale russa, 24 anni ad aprile, sarebbe stato individuato come il sostituto ideale del grande Edwin.
Gli entusiasmi della dirigenza dello United, però, sarebbero stati frenati dall’esosissima richiesta del club russo, almeno secondo quando riporta il News of the World. Evgeni Giner, attuale Presidente della società moscovita, chiederebbe infatti ben 25 milioni per il cartellino del suo giovane portiere, richiesta giudicata eccessiva dai dirigenti inglesi.

E se Akinfeev resta il sogno nel cassetto arrivano invece novità per quello che riguarda Ben Foster, attualmente terzo portiere (dietro a Van der Sar e Kuszczak) dello United. Secondo quanto riporta il Guardian, infatti, Ferguson avrebbe posto il veto sulla cessione – a titolo definitivo quanto in prestito – del portiere ex Watford. Vedremo quindi da qui a gennaio se le cose cambieranno o se il ragazzo nativo di Learnington Spa dovrà continuare a fare tribuna a Manchester.

Per quanto riguarda il reparto difensivo, invece, lo United sarebbe pronto a pescare in Italia.
Il Daily Mirror riporta infatti un episodio piuttosto curioso che ha subito stuzzicato i media inglesi: Ferguson sarebbe stato visto due settimana fa ad una cerimonia di premiazione a Copenghen, dove era stato invitato da un suo ex giocatore, Peter Schmeichel.
Qui il manager dei Red Devils avrebbe avuto come vicino di tavolo niente popò di meno che Simon Kjaer, centrale difensivo attualmente in forza al Palermo.
I due si sarebbero intrattenuti a lungo al termine della cerimonia e Sir Alex avrebbe sondato il terreno con il giovane danese, che si sarebbe detto – ovviamente – onorato di vestire la casacca dello United.
Sarà quindi lui il giocatore destinato ad andare a rinforzare la linea difensiva dello United?

Red Devils che comunque pensano anche al reparto offensivo.
Proprio in questo senso Ferguson sta lavorando su Daniel Villalva, talentuosissimo prodotto della cantera del River Plate e colonna della nazionale under 17 argentina.
Secondo quanto riporta il News of the World, infatti, il tecnico scozzese avrebbe inviato alcuni osservatori al suo seguito nel corso dell’ultimo Mondiale under 17 e sarebbe fortemente interessato al suo acquisto.

L’operazione più importante per l’attacco dei Red Devils, comunque, si starebbe perfezionando in questi giorni ma riguarda un giocatore che attualmente è già un punto di forza dello United: sempre secondo il News of the World, infatti, la dirigenza inglese starebbe preparando un’offerta irrinunciabile per convincere Wayne Rooney a non accettare la corte del Barcellona (che punterebbe su di lui per il dopo-Henry) legandosi quindi a vita con la società attualmente presieduta da Martin Edwards. 10 milioni di euro l’anno sarebbero infatti pronti per lui, con il ragazzo di Liverpool che qualora accettasse quest’offerta diventerebbe il giocatore più pagato della Premier League.

Sempre riguardo al reparto offensivo della squadra allenata da Ferguson, intanto, esce un retroscena interessante.
In un’intervista rilasciata all’Evening New, infatti, Andy Cole, ex punta proprio dei Red Devils (squadra nella quale ha militato per sei anni tra il 1995 ed il 2001) ha rilasciato una dichiarazione che di certo non farà piacere ai tifosi. Parlando di Fernando Torres, infatti, l’ex centravanti dello United ha detto che “So che lo United lo aveva seguito da vicino, ma poi decise che non era adatto a giocare all’Old Trafford”.
La squadra di Manchester, ed in particolare il suo attuale manager, avrebbe quindi in passato avuto l’occasione di ingaggiare Torres, decidendo poi però di non sfruttarla lasciando che l’attuale punta dei Reds s’imponesse nell’Atletico Madrid prima di sbarcare al Liverpool.
Se davvero così andarono le cose, insomma, si potrebbe parlare di errore di valutazione incredibile da parte di un allenatore i cui meriti, comunque, andrebbero al di là anche di un errore così marchiano.
Pensate però che tridente avrebbero formato Rooney-Torres-Ronaldo e che coppia formerebbero oggi i primi due…

Sembrerebbe essere in Italia il futuro di Nani, seguito da Milan, Juventus e Fiorentina

Su di lui nei giorni scorsi venivano dati Milan e Juventus che sarebbero però ora stati sorpassati dalla Fiorentina. Secondo il Daily Mail, infatti, i Viola sarebbero pronti ad avanzare un’offerta per l’ex giocatore dello Sporting Lisbona già a gennaio quando preleverebbero il ragazzo in prestito con un diritto di riscatto fissato intorno ai 17 milioni di euro. Operazione sicuramente interessante per una squadra che di anno in anno punta ad accrescere la forza del proprio organico per poter consolidare la propria posizione nel nostro campionato ed accrescere quella in Champions League (dove quest’anno potrebbe, in compartecipazione con il Lione, sancire la clamorosa eliminazione del Liverpool già al primo turno).
Nani, comunque, resterebbe un giocatore tutto da testare: già a Manchester ha dato idea di non riuscire a sviluppare fino in fondo le grandi potenzialità di cui era accreditato, è da capire quindi come si inserirebbe in un campionato difficile e tatticamente all’avanguardia come il nostro.

Queste sono, in breve, le notizie principali della situazione che sta attualmente attraversando il Manchester United. Vedremo quindi nei prossimi mesi come si svilupperanno le cose e se Ferguson riuscirà nell’ennesima impresa di regalare un altro trofeo ai suoi tifosi. Il tutto prima del suo, come abbiamo visto, sempre più imminente ritiro.

With Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool all looking light up front – an unusual suspect may well ease the pain.

Stefan Kiessling may be at the centre of a bidding war come January

Bayer Leverkusen’s Stefan Kiessling is a time bomb waiting to explode.

Kiessling, 25, is the German league leaders’ top goalscorer. Tall, athletic, calm and blessed with an industrious work ethic, the German international has got the lot. He’s so far managed 9 league goals, with the latest coming against Bayern Munich in his side’s 1-1 draw earlier today.

According to those in Germany, this guy has had it for a while now without ever really producing the desired goods. Back in his hometown of Nuremberg, many footballing wise guys felt Kiessling – a teenager back then – was the hottest prospect in Germany, a player who could go as far as he so pleased.

There’s added pressure this time around for Kiessling, however, as Leverkusen are without another German international, the influential Patrick Helmes, who is out injured until the new year. Early signs are good, as Kiessling continues to thrive under the extra responsibility, regularly providing as well as scoring, which has propelled his club to the top of the Bundesliga.

The target man has more than meets the eye. His goldie locks fail to show his exemplary determination, trickery and strength. It quickly becomes apparent just how good Kiessling can become once you see him in action for a full 90 minutes.

With or without the ball, he continues to willing run anywhere his legs can take him. His intelligence and self awareness allows those runs to be used to maximum potential. If you watch a game for long enough you’ll soon wonder why Kiessling always seems to gain possession in acres of space.

Finishing isn’t a problem either. Aerially, left foot or right, nothing is too daunting for a player who confesses to enjoying celebrating a goal he’s scored more than anything else.

So, come January, with Drogba and Kalou away for Chelsea, Van Persie just returning from a lengthy absence for Arsenal, and United and Liverpool still looking light in the final third, all four may well be keeping a close eye on the availability of a certain Stefan Kiessling.

1. Normally I’m on the edge of my seat worrying that the game will take a turn for the worse even when United are dominant. Not so in this game. I felt that United were totally in control throughout. This probably stemmed mostly from central midfield. Darren Fletcher (now generally known as “football genius“) had a great game, but so did Michael Carrick. Carrick’s brilliance is sometimes understated as it’s often “just” about positional sense and hitting the simple passes right. You tend to notice Carrick’s importance most when he’s not on top of his game as the United engine then tends to stutter.

2. Antonio Valencia gets better and better.  He has the rare quality that every time he gets the the ball I feel he will make something happen. The only other United players that give me this feeling are Rooney and Evra. Valencia even smiled after scoring.

3. We will probably have to get used to a mixed bag of performances from Ryan Giggs this season. Sometimes he makes brilliant use of his vision and experience, while at other times he drifts out of games. Pehaps not surprisingly at his age. This was not one of his better days.

4. If we can sign Jack Rodwell for £20m he will be worth every penny. Nothing very remarkable in this game, but he looks total class.

The stage was set for the big day and the teams performed as expected with some giant killing touch in it. The premiership Saturday saw some exciting matches and of course some major change in the top four of the table with Manchester United going to second place after their win against Everton and Arsenal loosing to Sunderland and it was business as usual for Chelsea which had no problems in beatingWolverhampton Wanderers.
It was a chilly day at Old Trafford and United needed a win to prove that the defeat against the premier league leaders was totally unjust and 75000+ strong crowd expected the same.

There were some minor changes applied at the back by Sir Alex where Rafael replaced John O’Shea on the right and fit-again Nemanja Vidic returned to the centre in place of the recently injured Jonny Evans. Michael Owen was the extra man for the attack.
The home side’s first chance came as early as the sixth minute when Fletcher’s shot was just wide of former Red Devils’s keeper Tim Howard. While the home side kept attacking Everton’s goal, the goal finally came in the 34th minute when Patrice Evra crossed from the left-hand byline, Valencia headed it down to Fletcher who flashed a stunning volley into the top left-hand corner, giving no chance to the keeper. One of the best goals seen in thepremiership this season. The match went in to the break with United leading 1-0.

In the second half, Everton’s goal was disallowed in the 55th minute due to offside when Marouane Fellaini shot with a great kick beating United’s goal keeper Edwin Van der Sar. After that in the 60th minute Rooney’s long shot just kissed the top crossbar. The second for Man United finally came in the 66th minute when Wayne’s wayward attempt was kept in play by Giggs and the Welshman passes to Carrick to stroke the ball left-footed into the bottom right-hand corner. And with 15 minutes remaining United finally came up with a third through Valencia who got it offBaines’s deflection.
So in the end a clean sheet for United which looks fired up after the break and gives some strong signals to the leaders Chelsea that “that place is ours”.

Manchester United’s Darren Fletcher produced a superb strike as he helped his side ease to a win over Everton.

Fletcher converted United’s dominance into a goal when he got over a hip-high ball and sent a shot into the top corner from the edge of the box.

Michael Carrick swept in the second after being picked out by Ryan Giggs.

Antonio Valencia completed Everton’s misery when his angled far post shot went in via a deflection as the champions ran out comfortable winners.

It was an improved performance from United following two defeats in three Premier League games and came after leaders Chelsea had temporarily moved eight points clear of them by hammering 4-0 Wolves.

Everton had knocked United out at the FA Cup semi-final stage last season but, without a win at Old Trafford in the league since 1992, anything but a United win seemed unlikely – and so it proved.

The visitors’ tactics played into United hands as a depleted Everton set up to frustrate the home side and invited pressure.

United rarely need any encouragement and they quickly set about trying to engineer a way through the visitors’ defence.

Wayne Rooney sliced a shot wide and a Giggs effort was saved by Tim Howard, although a probing United initially struggled to find a cutting edge to their slick build-up play.

Everton striker Louis Saha – back at Old Trafford for the first time since his summer switch to Goodison Park – provided some rare action for Edwin van der Sar when he struck a shot on the swivel which the United keeper comfortably saved.

However, it was the home side making all the running and the inevitability that they would eventually score became a reality in spectacular style.

More here. Source:BBC

I got home really late last night and the game just started, but by the 14th minute, I was falling asleep on the computer chair already. I decided not to watch the game anymore and just check the final score the next day. It was a comprehensive victory for United against Everton, 3-0 with goals from the midfield.

As I was only able to watch the opening 14 minutes, United were simply dominant. The extended highlights I was able to watch only featured around, 4 or 5 Everton attacks, the rest was all Manchester United. To add to that, that’s 14 minutes of Highlights seeing attacks over and over again, United seem to be getting in groove.

Michael Carrick is starting to get his form back, he’s traditionally not a good started but slowly the season is progressing and it seems that he and Darren Fletcher, who was absolutely superb last night (including the Zidane-like volley) can be the best midfield combination of United. Scholes and Anderson would easily slot in and replace them, and with the pending return of Owen Hargreaves we’ll probably see a lot of movement in the midfield area, a very good challenge for the gaffer.

Michael Owen got a 6 rating from Goal.com but I honestly think he deserved at the very least, a 7. He had several very good opportunities but credit to the keeper. His running is very good and really has a poachers mentality. With Berbatov out, Owen has the opportunity to form a very good partnership with Wayne Rooney (I honestly think it’s a better partnership than that of Berbatov) since both are very energetic on the field. Then again, Owen as a substitute gives so much energy vital during late game situations.

The defense was okay as well as most of the attacks came from United. I think that the United defense also need a solid holding midfielder, Carrick and Hargreaves come into mind in that role and they’re doing pretty well.

3-0 for me was a surprise against a very good Everton side, however a side not in form.

United are now in 2nd place, 5 points off Chelsea and 3 points on top of Arsenal with a game in hand (after they lost to Sunderland). It’s the time of the year when United are slowly starting to peak and today should just be a glimpse of what’s yet to come. Say whatever, but a 3-0 win is still very comfortable win.

Darren Fletcher's wonder goal v. Everton (Getty Images)

I’m going to keep this brief: Manchester United dominated Everton today at Old Trafford. From the kickoff, United dominated possession and kept the pressure on the Everton back four. A good number of chances were created even before Darren Fletcher’s excellent goal in the 35th minute. I’ll digress for a second for some illustrative superlatives: it was an amazing, impressive, shockingly good goal. Darren, I didn’t know you had it in you. I am impressed by both the goal and his form this season. Back on point. Everton came out somewhat better in the second half but Michael Carrick’s (him again!) goal in the 67th minute sealed the victory. Antonio Valencia’s goal in the 76th minutes – bouncing in off the unlucky Leighton Baines – was icing on the cake.

Good teams have short memories. In this case, the fact that the defeat at Chelsea’s hands happened 2 weeks ago probably had a lot to do with it. The Fox Soccer Channel announcers made a good point: last year at this time, United lost to Arsenal and then proceeded to go on a 16-match unbeaten run. Perhaps United will round into form now after looking ragged for two or three weeks before the international break.

We’ll see. But for now, I’ll enjoy the win.

An outstanding goal from Darren Fletcher set Manchester United on their way to a 3-0 victory over Everton on Saturday that kept them within five points of league leaders Chelsea.

With Carlo Ancelotti?s side having beaten Wolves earlier, United could ill afford any slips although for long periods it looked as though they would struggle to break Everton down.

But Fletcher’s 35th-minute half-volley broke the deadlock before Antonio Valencia and Michael Carrick struck when the game opened up after the break and United ultimately ran out comfortable winners.

United coach Sir Alex Ferguson stated in the build-up to this game that he was growing increasingly concerned by the number of chances his side have failed to take this season.

The Scot’s forward options for the visit of Everton were reduced when Dimitar Berbatov was ruled out with a suspected knee problem following his goalscoring appearance for Bulgaria in their mid-week friendly win in Malta.

That meant the United boss paired Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen up front for only the second time this season in the hope that the duo would finally rekindle the understanding they once showed for England.

However, there were precious few signs of the two strikers gelling during a disjointed opening period when the home side struggled to break down the packed Everton defence despite dominating possession.

And while Everton ceded territorial advantage, they comfortably cut out any meaningful supply to Owen and Rooney and the early signs were that this would be a frustrating 90 minutes for Ferguson and his players.

Rooney sliced a half-chance wide in the 14th minute after Fletcher?s excellent pass had released Patrice Evra down the left-hand flank moments before Ryan Giggs sent a low drive tamely wide and Valencia skied over.

Everton offered little as an attacking force with Louis Saha?s snapshot, easily dealt with by Edwin van Der Sar, the sum total of their first-half efforts.

Neither Valencia nor Evra were making much headway down the flanks while Rooney was proving uncharacteristically ineffective through the middle.

United needed a spark of inspiration from somewhere and it came in the 35th minute when Fletcher capped his excellent work in midfield with a superbly controlled finish that gave visiting keeper Tim Howard no chance.

The opening arose after Evra had worked his way forward on United’s left flank before directing a deep cross towards the far post where Valencia laid off a cushioned header into the path of Fletcher, who struck the bouncing ball into the top-left corner from the edge of the area.

Everton opened up after the break but their hopes of a comeback disappeared in the 67th minute when Carrick collected a pass from Giggs and drilled a low shot beyond Howard.
The Merseysiders were then forced to chase the game, and Valencia sealed a home victory when he broke into the box and saw his shot deflect off Leighton Baines and into the goal with 14 minutes remaining.