---------------------------------
[21] Fegie on the lack of Asians in top flight football
---------------------------------
Posted Saturday, April 14, 2001 by tb:
>From the MEN:
SIR Alex Ferguson today launched a fierce attack on football clubs for excluding Asian
youngsters from the sport.
The Manchester United boss said it was a scandal that only one Asian professional was
currently playing at league level.
Sir Alex spoke out as United players, including David Beckham, Ryan Giggs and Andy
Cole, took a stand against racism before today’s home match against Coventry
City.
Sir Alex added: ‘‘There is one Asian footballer in England. That’s a
scandal. Why? Because they feel excluded.
‘‘Ask clubs such as Walsall or Bury where the best teenage footballers are
in their areas. They’ll say the Asian kids who play in the streets and develop
close control. Get them in, make them feel welcome.’’
Sir Alex’s plea came as United, which does not have any Asian players in its
line up, today displayed anti-racism posters and banners at Old Trafford as as part of
a nationwide ‘‘Kick Racism Out of Football’’ campaign.
England captain David Beckham said racism was still in the game and had to be snuffed
out. Andy Cole also urged fans to challenge racists in the crowd.
Ryan Giggs also urged children from ethnic minorities to seek help if they were the
victims of abuse.
---------------------------------
[20] Ole on the 'tag'
---------------------------------
Posted Saturday, April 14, 2001 by tb:
‘‘There is always competition for places at the best four or five clubs in
every country now. I don’t think any top side anywhere now has just 11 players
playing every week,’’ says the Norwegian.
‘‘As a club, we want to play in the league, the FA Cup and Europe every
season so with that many games you have to accept you are not going to play in every
match.
‘‘But I don’t want to be known as a good substitute. I want to play
from the start. Everyone wants to do that, obviously. But you have to get on with it.
It is no use feeling sorry for yourself. There are 25 players here capable of playing
in the first team. You have to accept the manager’s decision because he is the
boss.
‘‘I have shown over the years my loyalty and my patience. However, the
manager is always right. He picks the team who he thinks will win games so I would
never complain about any of his decisions because of his record.’’
‘‘I don’t count my goals because I think I have added more to my
game this season,’’ Ole added.
‘‘This season, I have created goals and chances for other players which is
as pleasing.’’
---------------------------------
[19] A jealous scouse ginger on Ole
---------------------------------
Posted Saturday, April 14, 2001 by tb:
As Fairclough feels the need to give his opinion (not that we need it)
>From the MEN:
‘‘Solskjaer is the most effective sub around these days, there is no doubt
about that,".
‘‘But it is cruel for anyone to say that he’s better doing that than
starting matches. I wouldn’t say he is better at one rather than the other.
That’s an unfair debate and for me, Ole is a class international goalscorer in
his own right whether he starts or comes off the bench, there’s no denying that.
He’s fantastic the way he comes on to rescue things.’’
‘‘Ole will never rid himself of the label,’’ David goes on.
‘‘People have this image of you and you get pigeon-holed. Solskjaer has
said he hates the tag and I said it in my day.
‘‘But asking people not to call you that is the worst thing you can do. I
didn’t enjoy it at the time but it won’t go away and it is best to forget
it and get on with your game.
‘‘Once you finish, you appreciate it more. I was grateful to Sir Alex
Ferguson for bringing it up again the other night!
‘‘There is a tendency for managers to take liberties with players like I
was and Ole is. Bob Paisley admitted a few times to me in my early days that putting
me on the bench allowed him to change things. He said it was no use asking someone
like John Toshack, for instance, to come off the bench because he wasn’t that
type of player.
‘‘It’s arguably the same at United. Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke
probably won’t give you the same late impact as Solskjaer does.
‘‘You have to make it work for you. However, there came a time with me
when I was just treading water. I came on against United in the 1983 Milk Cup final at
Wembley and I realised after that I was no further ahead than I was six years previous.
‘‘I was flogging a dead horse and it was best to get away from Anfield.
But Solskjaer isn’t flogging a dead horse. In my day I could go elsewhere and
probably play in other teams from the start. But in the modern game everybody has more
than two first choice strikers. Every top team is rotating their players.
‘‘Solskjaer has nothing to gain by going elsewhere. The top clubs in
England like Liverpool, Arsenal, Leeds and Chelsea all do the same. He’s best to
stick where he is.’’
God, someone switch off that microphone!
---------------------------------
[18] Fergie slags off the Denis doom merchants
---------------------------------
Posted Saturday, April 14, 2001 by tb:
>From the MEN:
''It was absolutely scandalous to suggest he'd played his last game for United,'' says
Fergie.
''I was absolutely appalled. How do you think Denis and his family felt when they read
headlines like that? He's twisted the knee but it is not serious and he'll only be out
for 10 days to a fortnight.
''As far as I am concerned, I want him to stay at the club for another year. The club
will be talking to him about a new contract. There is no problem over that, these
things just take time.
''We've got a lot of deals to get through and it is just a case of ticking them off
one by one.''
''Denis isn't going to play every game but he'll give you 30 good quality matches a
season,'' Ferguson adds.
''He's top drawer. He's fantastic and has never lost his appetite. He might not be as
quick as he was five years ago, but who is? That's only natural but even though he'll
be 36 next birthday in October he's still as fit as a flea. I certainly want him to
stay.''
---------------------------------
[17] Keano looks forward to Wednesday
---------------------------------
Posted Saturday, April 14, 2001 by tb:
"We're determined to put the performance of two weeks ago against Bayern Munich behind
us and go there and hopefully win the match."
And on today:
"The goals we lost were disappointing, but the goals we scored is a plus point because
we haven't been doing that in recent weeks."
---------------------------------
[16] Fergie on the title
---------------------------------
Posted Saturday, April 14, 2001 by tb:
>From the official site:
"The achievement of winning three in a row is fantastic,"
"The players have shown phenomenal consistency over the season and we showed today
that we always try to win our games.
"This is a great tribute to them and when you win the Championship, it is a fantastic
feeling because it is the true test of the best team in the country and we have proved
that over the years.
"The attitude of the players throughout the season has been brilliant, absolutely
phenomenal. Now we've got a big game on Wednesday and I hope this is going to give us
the confidence to get the right result for the country."
---------------------------------
[15] A fat person speaks
---------------------------------
Posted Saturday, April 14, 2001 by tb:
I remember players like Hartson from teams I played with - look good to begin with,
score a couple of goals and then, due to being totally unfit, jog around for the rest
of the game having convinced themselves that they didn't have to do any more.
Still, bolloxs to him we're champions!
Anyway his verdict on today:
"There is only so much defending you can do.
"It was like the Alamo in the second half. We were disappointed with the two goals we
gave away in the first half. We couldn't do much with the third and fourth.
"Our keeper kept us in it for long periods but class told in the end.
"United have world class players. We have good players but you can't cope with all
that pressure.
"We work hard in training but you can't gift United goals. You know they are going to
score good goals anyway.
"We have no excuses. The better team by a mile won today.
"We have to pick ourselves up very quickly but we can take a lot of pride out of
today's performance.
"We are up for every game. We will keep going - it's going to be a dogfight."
---------------------------------
[14] Fergie's roll of honour
---------------------------------
Posted Saturday, April 14, 2001 by tb:
Thanks to PA
The championship is Ferguson's 14th major honour since coming south of the border and
makes him the most successful manager in English football. In total he has won seven
championships, one European Cup, four FA Cups, one League Cup and one European Cup
Winners' Cup.
Ferguson had been level with Liverpool's legendary former manager Bob Paisley who won
13 trophies during his nine-year reign.
Only Huddersfield, Arsenal, Liverpool and now United have won three successive
championships.
The championship is Ferguson's seventh and he has won more titles than any other
manager.
In total United have now won 14 titles. They are second in the all-time list, just
behind Liverpool.
United have also equalled Liverpool's record sequence of seven championships in nine
years achieved between 1976 and 1984.
And Fergie is the first to win 3 on the trot
---------------------------------
[13] Fergie on Coventry
---------------------------------
Posted Saturday, April 14, 2001 by tb:
"They had a go at us because they knew that was the best way to play, and it's a great
credit to them.
"I expected them to have a go and they proved a real threat to us."
---------------------------------
[12] Champions!
---------------------------------
Posted Saturday, April 14, 2001 by tb:
Thanks to Capt Marvel (with a bit of help from a couple of gooner own goals!) We are
champions again!
More reaction as we get it!
Enjoy
---------------------------------
[11] Statto alert!
---------------------------------
Posted Saturday, April 14, 2001 by tb:
League games V Coventry in total
Played 73
Man Utd 38
Coventry 19
Drawn 16
And at OT
Played 36
Man Utd 22
Coventry 6
Drawn 8
And this season
32 Games 32
ATTACKING
70 Goals scored 31
2.19 Ave goals per game 0.97
44% Shooting Accuracy 39%
15% Goals to shots % 9%
PASSING
16094 Passes 10255
79% Pass completion % 62%
DEFENDING
75% Tackle success rate % 77%
22 Goals conceded 52
0.69 Ave goals conceded per game 1.63
DISCIPLINE
370 Fouls 450
36 Yellow cards 57
2 Red cards 4
Ref - Mike Riley
---------------------------------
[10] But Fergie also slates other coucils
---------------------------------
Posted Saturday, April 14, 2001 by tb:
"It's a matter for individual councils to deal with but I am disappointed by it. I was
at Manchester City for the game against Arsenal on Wednesday and their fans were
standing up for the whole game. We're not being treated the same as other clubs but
when were we ever treated the same as everyone else. What I would say is that this
will spread to other clubs if they don't take notice of what has happened here."
---------------------------------
[9] Fergie on losing seats
---------------------------------
Posted Saturday, April 14, 2001 by tb:
"We were warned about it and I suppose you have to say the fans have let themselves
down. There was a clear message they couldn't afford to stand up. It's disappointing
for the team but the club and the supporters were warned about it enough times."
---------------------------------
[8] Keano - Fergie my greatest influence
---------------------------------
Posted Saturday, April 14, 2001 by tb:
"People are always asking me who has been the biggest influence on my career and,
without a shadow of a doubt, it has been Alex Ferguson. The advice he's given and the
way he's looked after me, especially when things haven't gone that well, have been
great. That's the sign of a good manager. I'm talking about my bad injury, while I
also had one or two off-the-field problems when I first came to Manchester."
"I got involved in one or two scrapes and stuff I'm not proud of. I then had my bad
injury, but everyone at the club stuck by me and I hope I can repay them over the next
few years. I know the manager could have got rid of me over a few of the incidents and
I feel honoured that he stuck with me."
---------------------------------
[7] BBC weather for Munich next week
---------------------------------
Posted Saturday, April 14, 2001 by bar-knee:
5-Day Forecast - it's not going to be warm, t-shirt weather like Porto!
Temperature (°C / °F)
Sat Max: 6 / 42 Min: 1 / 33
Sun Max: 6 / 42 Min: 5 / 41
Mon Max: 7 / 44 Min: 5 / 41
Tue Max: 8 / 46 Min: 4 / 39
Wed Max: 12 / 53 Min: 6 / 42
Sunrise (GMT) 4:28 4:26 4:24 4:23 4:21
Sunset (GMT) 18:00 18:02 18:03 18:05 18:06
---------------------------------
[6] MEN on Trafford Borough Council farce
---------------------------------
Posted Saturday, April 14, 2001 by bar-knee:
Even though I sit in K the smell of fish continues a day late as how can they just
pick on the West Stand when K stood as well - is it because TBC is ONLY massively
concerned with the Fanzone. The answer is simple - move it down and put the prawn
brigade upstairs. They won't even clap let alone stand...
MEN report:
"UNITED fans have attacked a council decision to close part of Old Trafford if their
team win a place in the European Cup semi-finals.
But town hall chiefs insist supporters left them with no choice after breaking safety
rules by standing. As reported in later editions of yesterday's M.E.N. Trafford
council has decided to shut an area within
the West Stand upper section if United beat Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals.
A decision on the number of seats affected will be taken within a week, but the M.E.N.
understands it is likely to be less than 1,000 - at the front of the stand.
Mark Longden, chairman of the Independent Manchester United Supporter Association,
said: ''It's absolutely ridiculous and will be a logistical nightmare. I can see fans
whose seats are taken away suing the council over this. They are tackling the
symptoms but not curing the problem. This will do nothing to stop fans standing.''
United's remaining league games will be unaffected, but the council is warning that
full sections of the ground could be closed next season if the problem persists.
The council's report on the problem over standing initially recommended there should
be no closures because fans heeded pleas from Sir Alex Ferguson to remain seated. But
officers changed their view when they saw fans standing during the Reds' defeat to
Bayern Munich in the first leg of the tie.
The council, in partnership with United, is also planning a tough new action plan to
combat standing.
United's Director of Communications, Patrick Harverson said yesterday: ''We have not
received formal notification from the council so it would be inappropriate to
comment.''
---------------------------------
[5] Houllier takes yesterday's defeat well
---------------------------------
Posted Saturday, April 14, 2001 by bar-knee:
"Losing Steven was too much for us to cope with. I thought the decision was very
harsh. It was not malicious or dangerous with any intent to harm the player. Their
player (David Batty) even tried to keep him on the pitch. He had gone down very
cleverly but then tried to redeem himself by trying to stop him being sent off.
Leeds were far better than us in the first half. They moved the ball around well while
we looked weary and out of touch. We we were slow to the second ball, slow in our
passing and movement. It cost us the game. Both their goals could have been avoided.
One was poor marking and the other when we gave the ball away in a dangerous area.
What was a shame was that the game ended 11 against 10, maybe if Steven had of stayed
on we could have snatched the equaliser.
It was a bad day at the office, and we came up against a Leeds side who are flying.
But we still have two games in hand and we won't play as badly as that again. I could
have substituted the whole side at half-time, nobody had played well."
---------------------------------
[4] Big Fat Ron on Ole
---------------------------------
Posted Saturday, April 14, 2001 by bar-knee:
>From the Guardian:
"Sir Alex Ferguson's comment this week that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was "the best
substitute ever" set me thinking. David Fairclough would have plenty of fans willing
to argue his case, and I can't help feeling that over the years the art of
substitution has become easier.
First of all the number of substitutes you can use and choose from has
increased substantially. I remember being able to name only one man on the bench for
United in the 1985 FA Cup final and going for Micky Duxbury, who could cover in
defence or midfield. Not until 1987-88 were two changes allowed in league matches.
On top of that, clubs in the Premiership benefit from carrying larger
squads of quality players, which means the assets at a manager's disposal on the bench
are better.
It's a different game replacing one player with another of equal ability rather than
putting on a kid with potential or a lad who was seen as not quite good enough or was
just coming back from injury.
At one time even the top sides worked with about 14 or 15 top players, with the rest
of the squad made up of reserves or youngsters who were trying to force their way in.
I remember having a young Mark Hughes in that position at Old Trafford.
Now the depth of squad is such that United, Arsenal and Liverpool have four top-class
strikers. At Panathinaikos in the Champions League, Ferguson was able to take off
Cole, throw on Solskjaer and Teddy Sheringham alongside Dwight Yorke and watch United
get a last-minute equaliser. Arsène Wenger's Arsenal have ended games with four
forwards.
The Liverpool management had to be spot on with their use of Fairclough, who was the
original supersub in everyone's books. They couldn't bring him on and then reinforce
that with someone else, so they had to make sure the point of impact was perfect.
Although Fairclough never seemed to get a regular place at Anfield he came on and
scored some vital goals, most famously the winner against St Etienne in the European
Cup quarter-final of 1977.
One of his great ingredients was the extra pace he could offer, which can be so
important from a substitute. Obviously Sheringham offers something different, but that
speed can catch out defenders who are tiring physically and might also mentally be
going to sleep.
That's why I understand Glenn Hoddle and, to a lesser extent, Kevin
Keegan's thinking in using Michael Owen as an international substitute
while he is rounding off his all-round game. He can come on with fresh life and
vitality and be a surprise package, as he showed by scoring against Romania at the
1998 World Cup and in Paris last year against France.
Of course, bigger benches make it easier for managers to keep players
happy. I recall how disappointed Steve McCall, Garry Parker and others were be left
out of the 13 for Aston Villa's 1994 League Cup final against United because I could
only name two substitutes.
But even with only one change at your disposal a manager could turn a game, as Bob
Paisley showed with Fairclough. I remember making a decisive substitution for United
when we playing Everton in the sixth round of the FA Cup in 1983 at Old Trafford.
We were drawing 0-0 with 30 seconds remaining when we won a corner. As a last throw of
the dice I decided to put on Lou Macari, who was in the veteran stage but still
capable of an impact. Micky Duxbury came over to ask who was coming off and I said:
"You are, you're the nearest."
Lou ran straight into the box, got up and won a header from which Frank Stapleton
volleyed the winner. People were saying what a masterstroke it was, but it was more a
bit of jam.
So many of Solskjaer's contributions from the bench have been less flukey. He picks up
the pace of a game very quickly and when you talk to people at Old Trafford they will
tell you he is the best finisher on the books.
He's not a great combination player and I'm not always sure United's play benefits in
terms of overall quality when he's in the side. But if there are chances being made
he's great to have around.
There's hardly a team Solskjaer wouldn't be the regular centre-forward for, and of
course he's in United folklore for scoring what is probably the all-time substitution
goal: the injury-time winner against Bayern Munich in the 1999 European Cup final.
At Arsenal Sylvain Wiltord has also made some vital contributions from the bench,
sparking the comeback against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League and nicking two
goals to knock Chelsea out of the FA Cup.
But there's no question substitutions can misfire as well. When I took
United to the 1983 Charity Shield, Joe Fagan made a change for Liverpool as we were
preparing to take a corner. The replacement ran on and before he had got into position
or picked up the tempo, Bryan Robson scored. That taught me not to change things when
you're defending a set-play in the last third.
But the classic misfiring substitution came at the 1970 World Cup, when England were
leading Germany 2-0. Alf Ramsey brought on Colin Bell and Norman Hunter for Bobby
Charlton and Martin Peters with 13 minutes left. Somehow, by the end, England had lost
3-2."
---------------------------------
[3] Remember to get RN 76 before the game today
---------------------------------
Posted Saturday, April 14, 2001 by bar-knee:
Trafford Borough Council interview - and lots more. Just £1.50 from Reds before the
ridiculously early game against Charlton.
---------------------------------
[2] Scholes on recent life
---------------------------------
Posted Saturday, April 14, 2001 by bar-knee:
"To win against Charlton after losing to Liverpool and Bayern Munich and take a step
closer to winning the League was important. We've come back from losing a couple of
games on the trot before, so it wasn't going to dent our confidence. We were always
going to come back. We do have to raise our game quite a bit. We were disappointed
with the result against Bayern, so we're looking forward to the second leg. We can
definitely still get through as long as we play as well as we can. Effenberg is a
player who makes them tick and a lot of their moves go through him. But it's not just
him, they've got Scholl and Jancker who is a handful.
But we're just concentrating on the Coventry game. We don't expect Arsenal to drop any
points at home, so if we get a win on Saturday we'll need one more win and that will
get us the League."
---------------------------------
[1] Scholes on Coventry
---------------------------------
Posted Saturday, April 14, 2001 by bar-knee:
"They've played very well in their last two games and got a couple of wins. They'll be
trying to beat us and win three on the trot. Hartson is a big forward with a lot of
presence. He can definitely score goals and create them too. He's very strong and
physical, and will probably be their danger man. It's always quite a close game
against them. They like to play football and create chances. They're a hard-working
team and it's going to be difficult."
---------------------------------
[26] Fancy a flutter?
---------------------------------
Posted Friday, April 13, 2001 by bar-knee:
You'll notice (below) that we've signed up with Ladbrokes on the site - not to
persuade you to bet away your dosh of course but for those of you who were going to
have a bet anyway somewhere else, to provide you with a simple and effective way to
check odds and back a tip via the net.
Quite simple really - but just make sure you win.
Seriously though, from personal experience don't bet what you don't have and only go
with certs! And those lucky rich sods out there - go win on us on the bet of us to
beat Bayern 2-1!
Just click on the link below and go to the top right hand bar of the Ladbrokes site
and click on 'open account' to set up a betting account, and hey presto - you're
off...and you can also get odds in fractions as well on every bet imaginable (bar city
not going down!).
Also ask away to the Ask Jeeves bod below on that link (lovely fella) - ask him any
question you like really.
Thanks for helping us with the site and most important of all, win!
