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--------------------------------- [39] Scary stats --------------------------------- Posted Saturday, January 12, 2002 by tb: As Cuddly Pete strokes the white cat: "We now have 50 million fans around the world and eight million in China alone, while, in the United Kingdom, 25 per cent of all under-14s support the club." --------------------------------- [38] Opta stats for tomorrow --------------------------------- Posted Saturday, January 12, 2002 by tb: Them first: 21 Games 21 ATTACKING 25 Goals scored 51 1.19 Ave goals per game 2.43 43% Shooting Accuracy 50% 10% Goals to shots % 17% PASSING 7,236 Passes 11,087 71% Pass completion % 81% DEFENDING 74% Tackle success rate % 71% 33 Goals conceded 31 1.57 Ave goals conceded per game 1.48 DISCIPLINE 333 Fouls 306 17 Yellow cards 31 3 Red cards 1 7,869 Opta Index Score 11,502 --------------------------------- [37] Cuddly Pete in swipe at Becks? --------------------------------- Posted Saturday, January 12, 2002 by tb: "It's the team who ultimately deliver the prize. Eric Cantona was the most successful thing to Manchester United, the biggest thing." "But he left and the next year we won the Treble." --------------------------------- [36] Former Rent Boy on Ruud --------------------------------- Posted Saturday, January 12, 2002 by tb: Mark Stein on Ruud's chances of breaking his scoring record: "With Van Nistelrooy about, there is no chance of holding on to my record for long. "Although it's a great honour to have the record of scoring in seven successive Premiership matches, I'd have no complaints about losing it to him. "Van Nistelrooy would be a worthy holder because he has got it all — strength, skill, speed and an amazing ability to be in the right place at the right time. "The ball is attracted to him like a magnet. It's simply amazing instinct. "Even if Van Nistelrooy doesn't score at Southampton, he'll probably go and find the net in the next eight. You expect him to score every time he pulls on a United shirt, especially as they create so many chances. "I'm surprised my record has stood for eight years. "Alan Shearer and Ian Wright have both equalled it and it's always a thrill to hear my name mentioned in the same breath as those guys. "There are a lot of great strikers in the Premiership right now, including Thierry Henry, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Michael Owen. But none of them is better than Van Nistelrooy." --------------------------------- [35] Saint on Ruud --------------------------------- Posted Saturday, January 12, 2002 by tb: Paul Williams: "When we went to Old Trafford last month, he was just unbelievable, fantastic. "He showed exactly why he should be playing at United because he has so much to offer. "We know we have to work hard on all the defensive things to find a way of stopping him from playing. "It was the first time I've played against him and he showed all the aspects of his game. It's not just the pace, which is good, but he plays with his brain as well. "Van Nistelrooy has shown all season that he's good in the air, and he can score with either foot. "What he showed against us was just how clinical he is and what a talented footballer. The way he took his hat-trick underlined what a marvellous player United bought. "He doesn't have any weaknesses and he didn't panic at all, just picked his spot and side-footed them in." --------------------------------- [34] Fergie on Ryan --------------------------------- Posted Saturday, January 12, 2002 by tb: “This time it was only tight, not a tear. But with his hamstring history, it is always wise to rest him. “When Ryan feels his hamstring getting tight, we have either to take him off or not play him in the next match.” --------------------------------- [33] Fergie on the blips --------------------------------- Posted Saturday, January 12, 2002 by tb: "We have given the other teams all the encouragement they needed. "Every team has a blip and ours was an unusually long one. "All the other teams had a major chance, the best they have had for years to win the title.” “Every team is due a blip and Arsenal and Leeds are the only teams not to have had one. “After our blip, there is no doubt my players have now got the message. We talked a lot about what had gone wrong and did a lot of work on the training ground to eradicate it. “The 1-0 win at Middlesbrough was a turning point for us. It was the first time we had shown some real resolve about wanting to win the Premiership again.” “It is a long, demanding race and there will be some very interesting events over the next few months.” --------------------------------- [32] More on Di Canio --------------------------------- Posted Saturday, January 12, 2002 by tb: According to a 'ammers site, the decision to sell Di Canio was taken at board level, with Roeder non too happy when he found out, this probably explains his 'in the dark' comments last week. --------------------------------- [31] More transfer targets --------------------------------- Posted Saturday, January 12, 2002 by tb: Apparently Barca full back Michael Reiziger is the latest on the list. Negotiations have taken place, but the deal is 'deadlocked'. --------------------------------- [30] Ruud: Back to PSV one day --------------------------------- Posted Saturday, January 12, 2002 by tb: "I would love to go back to PSV." "I really mean it."I still follow PSV. A week doesn't go by when I don't speak with Arnold Bruggink, Ronald Waterreus or Bjorn van der Doelen.A return to his home region, around Geffen, with girlfriend Leontien Slaats appeals to the highly-prized hit-man, as he has already purchased a property in the area."We will want to return," he told Eindhovens Dagblad. "When the adventure is over, whenever this will be, I will be in Brabant."Of course, there are enough places to live. I love the region where I came from. The atmosphere fits perfectly with us." --------------------------------- [29] Cuddly Pete on the 'Busby syndrome' --------------------------------- Posted Saturday, January 12, 2002 by tb: "There is a fundamental difference between the days of Sir Matt and now and that is the age and quality of the squad," Kenyon said. --------------------------------- [28] Inquiries for Dwight --------------------------------- Posted Saturday, January 12, 2002 by tb: Fergie: "There have been inquiries from quite a few clubs, including from abroad, but nothing concrete yet," he said. --------------------------------- [28] Inquiries for Dwight --------------------------------- Posted Saturday, January 12, 2002 by tb: Fergie: "There have been inquiries from quite a few clubs, including from abroad, but nothing concrete yet," he said. --------------------------------- [27] Di Canio latest --------------------------------- Posted Saturday, January 12, 2002 by tb: >From the Guardian: Manchester United confidently expect to conclude Paolo di Canio's transfer next week despite making it clear that they are unwilling to match West Ham's £3.5m valuation. After 10 days of discussion United have again refused to double their initial £1.5m bid for the 33-year-old Italian. "They have turned down our one and only bid," Sir Alex Ferguson said last night. "The ball is with them now." --------------------------------- [26] More Silvestre --------------------------------- Posted Saturday, January 12, 2002 by bar-knee: "Our next match is on Sunday in Southampton. The home match took place not so long ago, as it was on 22 December. We will surely have a psychological advantage as we beat them 6-1 at Old Trafford, by dominating the meeting from beginning to end. The important thing for us will be to continue our series and our advance, to perhaps even take the top of the championship in little time. But I don't even know where Leeds, Liverpool or Arsenal are playing this weekend. Only Manchester interests me and I'm not looking at the competition. Instead, I am concentrating on our own play. And nothing will change that, as long as everything continues to go well." --------------------------------- [25] Silvestre speaks --------------------------------- Posted Saturday, January 12, 2002 by bar-knee: "As always the momentum carried us forward, and we just achieved our seventh consecutive win, this time at Aston Villa in the FA Cup. Twenty minutes before the end, we were down 2-0, and then we went on to win it, with the final score being 3-2, after scoring three goals in ten minutes. Bringing Ruud van Nistelrooy on changed the course of the match as he scored twice, offering us that chance of qualification. Two goals, one after the other. It proves once again that he is a great attacker. It is simple; he practically scores in every match. This result makes sense, even if we were 2-0 down. We really played well throughout the meeting, creating many chances for ourselves without seeing the success that we saw at the end of the match. The two goals that we let in were a little stupid, unfortunately. Fortunately, we knew how to put a significant pressure on our opposition until the end, and walk away with the qualification. The Cup is one of the objectives of the club, and the coach as well; he didn't give up on it, as if that would ever be the case, in particular two years ago. The FA Cup is legendary here; it is a competition we share. The atmosphere in the stadiums is even more impressive than in championship, and that's saying something! " --------------------------------- [23] Doing the rounds on the net --------------------------------- Posted Saturday, January 12, 2002 by bar-knee: This was posted to the United newsgroup - the teams that various characters from Middle Earth would support... Frodo. Doesn't support anyone, the little annoying suspicious rat. Aragorn. No question. Manchester United. Brave and the true king. Gandalf. Newcastle. Dead once but rises to the occasion. Sam. Arsenal. Can't be trusted to keep his mouth shut - like Wenger. Pippin and Merry. Southampton. Clumsy bastards. Boromir. Man City. Cos he's a c**t. Gimli. Liverpool. Once so successful. Never again. Legolas. Nottingham Forrest. He thinks Robin Hood's playing there. --------------------------------- [22] Big fat Ron - Sourness as Utd boss! --------------------------------- Posted Saturday, January 12, 2002 by bar-knee: Lost it, lost it, lost it Atko "Plenty of managers have been linked with Manchester United as the countdown begins to the end of Sir Alex Ferguson's reign. But one famous name has not been mentioned and that's the man I see as perfect for Old Trafford. Graeme Souness has the strength of personality, the CV and the aura to succeed Alex. There would be a natural respect from key players such as Roy Keane and, although Graeme's Liverpool connections are a stumbling block, I've always had the feeling he's a closet United fan. When I met him on holiday recently he gave me stick for not signing him when I was at Old Trafford. "How the hell could I have signed you?" I said. "There's no way Liverpool would have let you out the door to join Man U." --------------------------------- [21] Fergie on Wes Brown --------------------------------- Posted Saturday, January 12, 2002 by bar-knee: "Wes has been doing some running but hasn't kicked a ball yet. But he's coming along well and we are hopeful he will be ready by the end of January. That's great news.'" --------------------------------- [20] Giggs on Fergie and new boss --------------------------------- Posted Saturday, January 12, 2002 by bar-knee: "Let me say that as far as I know the manager has no plans to stay on after the end of the campaign. He made a decision and we have to respect that. More recently the club and the manager have reiterated their position. As regards who replaces him, I haven't got a clue. I guess we will be the last to know anyway. Most of the time we find out things through the media or TV. Why worry about something when you don't know what is happening? I'm of the opinion that I will come back for pre-season training and someone new will be here, that's probably the first I'll know about it. So many people have been linked with the job, it's become ridiculous anyway." --------------------------------- [19] Giggs on his injury --------------------------------- Posted Saturday, January 12, 2002 by bar-knee: "I tire of talking about the hamstring injury. Of course it's untimely but I accept that by the very nature of the way I play and the type of player I am, I'm always going to be troubled by the injury. I'm not too down about the latest injury though. I've had particular problems with one hamstring in the past and this is the opposite one (left). It's not fun being sidelined, particularly when you're playing well, but it's life and you have to get on with it." --------------------------------- [17] Red Perspective --------------------------------- Posted Saturday, January 12, 2002 by bar-knee: Gary on the SUN yesterday (delayed due to Bar-knees computer failings!) Having turned over from the pages with the "return to violence" stories, imagine my "surprise" to find that pages 60-61 of the Sun give the impression (yet again) of being a United fanzine! Yes, once again the Sun are making the most of United's value to them in terms of sales... "You're a Dwight Waster" is the main headline here Dwight Yorke has been hit by another body-blow after being told: You are the biggest letdown of my football life. Jack Warner, the man who set him on the path to glory as a kid in Trinidad, has blasted the Manchester United hitman for wasting his talents. Warner even reckons the highly-sociable striker's brains are "between his legs". "He's Di Master" Glenn Roeder admits unsettled Paolo Di Canio is "irreplaceable". West Ham are braced for a fresh bid from Manchester United for the Italian striker. And tomorrow's home clash with Leicester could be Di Canio's farewell after almost three years with the Hammers. "Dennis in Limbo" Denis Irwin has no idea what he will do this summer when his Manchester United contract runs out. Irwin, 36, said: "I've not got a clue what my next move will be. I will decide over the next four or five months what I'm going to do. I'll sit back and see if any clubs come in for me but, for now, we'll just have to wait and see." "Race for the Title" This piece takes up a whole page by itself; mostly pictures of Fergie and players at Wetherby races - the accompanying article starts: It's not every day that a Red Striker lets you down. Manchester United's Dutch superstar Ruud van Nistelrooy has been banging in the goals for fun this season. But boss Alex ferguson and his thoroughbreds were unable to see a horse called Red Striker yesterday after their big day out at Wetherby races was abandoned due to fog. The Sun today seem to have embarked on a mission to convince everyone that we are on the verge of returning to the bad old days of violence... Back Page "I could have been killed" screams the headline: "Les Ferdinand claims he could have been killed by a bottle hurled at him. The Tottenham star insists only luck saved him from serious injury after he scored at Chelsea on Wednesday night." Inside back page (pages 62-63) There is a banner headline spread over both pages: "CAGES MAY COME BACK" Under this heading there are a number of different columns labelled as follows: "Chelsea chief fears a return to the 'dark days'" "Pictures that shames game" "Martyn Fear" "Ferdy Bottle" "Clubs face yobs probe" "Sponsors tell FA to sort it out" and, just for good measure... "Noel calls time on boozers" and "Beardo: Keep bad lads away" Now I'm one of the first to agree that a number of incidents and situations from recent times should be dealt with - the Chelsea players (who seem to be unable to stay out of the headlines) and the scenes at Cardiff, to name but two. What really galls me is the way the Sun has obviously taken the decision to put together an appaling set of headlines and sub-headings in this way. WIthout even reading the individual articles, you get an immediate picture of football being on the verge of a full-on return to violence and hooliganism. Sadly, there are many people who will form their opinions on this sort of garbage and I would go so far as to suggest that this is irresponsible journalism at it macabre best. This kind of sensationalism eclipses sensible and rational efforts such as the safe-standing campaign. (Rant Over) --------------------------------- [16] ex-Red Muhren on Ruud --------------------------------- Posted Saturday, January 12, 2002 by bar-knee: `Ruud has the potential to score as many goals as Marco van basten did. Ruud is going to get better and better. So far he has done great but it's even harder to stay at the top. Now he's scored 22 goals already for Manchester United, it's frightening what the expectations are going to be. So much will be expected of him now but he is going to improve. I said when United first showed an interest that they must buy van Nistelrooy. He's got everything he needs to become one of the best. He's got the ability, temperament and he's at a great club Where Marco has the edge in comparison is that he created a lot of goals for himself by beating people easily. At the moment Ruud tends to rely on others mainly to set them up for him. Marco didn't always depend on others to provide the assists. I am not advocating that van Nistelrooy deliberately changes his game but that sort of improvement in that area may come in time. He's 25 now and learning all the time." --------------------------------- [15] Fergie briefing --------------------------------- Posted Saturday, January 12, 2002 by bar-knee: To the official club media before Soton >From official site 'Aston Villa game It was a typical Cup-tie. Sometimes they're decided by luck or sheer opportunism. I thought we controlled the game, though, and when we lost the first goal we said to ourselves 'we don't deserve this.' Then to lose another goal a minute later was a real kick in the teeth for us, but we buckled down and produced some fantastic football. The substitution I had to make was crucial. I didn't want to put Ruud on if we could at all avoid it, but in that situation I had to do it. That's why I didn't use him in the first half when Nicky Butt came off. We ended up with a fantastically exciting Cup tie. Villa Park is one of those grounds which evokes memories of great Cup games. The FA Cup is the greatest Cup competition in the world and it was great to be involved with that. We started to think that it wasn't our day. 2-0 down with twenty minutes to go you have to be realistic. We didn't deserve that scoreline, but that's what the Cup is about. Last year we battered West Ham and lost 1-0. It was a tricky situation. The players know that they can come back in those situations. Over the years we've been in the same situation and we've done something about it. The players have got the character. The pitch invasion was not to incense the Villa fans, it was merely going to our own players. Southampton Their game against Liverpool was a fanastic result. The 4-2 against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge was amazing too. They were also unlucky not to have beaten Leeds United too - they lost to a last minute goal. They have good form and it's a game we know we'll have to perform well in. They beat Liverpool 2-0, so it's obvious they have some useful players. In the game at Old Trafford our finishing was superb and we played some excellent players, but they weren't out of the game. They made a goal in the second half and kept attacking. We're expecting a tough game. St Mary's When a team moves to a new stadium it usually inspires the players. They got off to a bad start at home - they lost to Arsenal and Blackburn. They were probably just acclimatising to the new stadium. I didn't see the game on Wednesday, but most of the lads did, and Southampton got through an amazing amount of work apparently. I thought The Dell was always a great atmosphere, even though we've had some bad results there - the 6-3 for instance. But it was OK for us other than that. It was always cramped and a bit claustrophobic, that was the only thing. This new stadium will give us more room to breathe. Gordon Strachan Gordon Strachan has regrouped the situation well. They're playing with a freshness now, and a new manager can make that difference. Injuries We expect Ryan to be fit, and Fabien too. The only one missing other than the long-term injuries is Nicky Butt, who has a suspension as well as an injury. All the rest are available. David May's had an operation on his groin. It wasn't a big operation, but hopefully the kind that will bring him back quickly. Ruud van Nistelrooy - Player of the Month There's always competition for these awards - a few players have usually made their mark throughout a month. But Ruud's form has stood out a mile and it was an easy choice for them this time. He's been outstanding. " --------------------------------- [14] Cole thinks he was right to leave --------------------------------- Posted Saturday, January 12, 2002 by bar-knee: "It's like a relationship, and sometimes things have to come to an end." (sounds like he's been reading his book of Eric quotes) "You get into a situation where you know you're swimming against the tide, and I thought I'd got to that stage at United. I said at the start of the season that I would give it until Christmas and then see what my position was. My position hadn't changed from August until December. I spent five months on the bench, starting only eight games and coming off the bench in seven others, which is not a lot of football. So I think I've made the right decision to move on and play football at the highest level for another three-and-a-half years somewhere else." --------------------------------- [13] Gary Nev - we won't thrash Soton again --------------------------------- Posted Saturday, January 12, 2002 by bar-knee: "It won't be that for a fact because it wasn't a 6-1 game. I'm sure they won't have thought it was a 6-1 game either and they will want to prove that on Sunday." --------------------------------- [12] Gary Nev on Ruud --------------------------------- Posted Saturday, January 12, 2002 by bar-knee: "Ruud's finishing is unbelievable and he's a ruthless clinical finisher. Give him a slight chance and it's a goal. It's a fantastic feeling to know that when a chance falls to him, he's going to take it 99 times out of 100. He's also got great movement, holds the ball up well, has good feet for such a big man and he has presence because he's 6ft 2ins or 6ft 3ins so all in all he's got a lot going for him." --------------------------------- [11] Fergie backs Ruud month award --------------------------------- Posted Saturday, January 12, 2002 by bar-knee: "A few players have usually made their mark throughout a month, but Ruud's form has stood out a mile and it was an easy choice for them this time. He's been outstanding." --------------------------------- [10] Lee Martin fined --------------------------------- Posted Saturday, January 12, 2002 by bar-knee: >From Ananova 'A footballer has escaped a jail term after admitting benefit fraud. Lee Martin scored the winner in the 1990 FA Cup final to defeat Crystal Palace and deliver the first trophy of Sir Alex's managerial career at Old Trafford. Just weeks earlier, there had been speculation that the United boss's job was under threat. Martin, 33, of Appleton Drive, Glossop, Derbyshire, has been sentenced to 180 hours community service and ordered to pay £522 costs at Glossop Magistrates Court. At a hearing in December, the former full-back, who quit professional football in 1998 after failing to recover from a back operation, had admitted claiming £3,294 in job seeker's allowance and £409 in council tax benefit while working as a television presenter for MUTV - Manchester United's television station. The maximum penalty for the offence is three months in prison, a fine of not more than £5,000 or both.' --------------------------------- [9] Nantes tickets £4 cheaper than expected! --------------------------------- Posted Saturday, January 12, 2002 by bar-knee: >From official site 'Nantes (Away) 20 February 2002, 19:45 It should be noted that no further applications, either for match tickets only or club travel packages can be accepted for the Champions League away game versus Nantes, to be played on Wednesday 20 February. We have been oversubscribed for all club travel packages and heavily oversubscribed for match tickets for this game and therefore a ballot will now take place in order to determine the successful applicants, noting that priority will be given to members who have either travelled with the club, in respect of travel applications or purchased a ticket from the club for at least one away game in the competition so far this season. All applicants will be notified in writing if their application has been successful or not. It should also be noted that we have now been informed by Nantes that the cost of the match tickets is the equivalent of £26.00 each and not £30.00 as previously advertised. Details of match ticket availability and club travel packages for our away game versus Boavista to be played on Tuesday 19 March will be announced via all our usual channels as soon as we have been advised the ticket allocation we are to receive for this game.' --------------------------------- [8] Ruud wants to end his career at PSV --------------------------------- Posted Saturday, January 12, 2002 by bar-knee: When he's in his 30s so don't panic. Ruud was doing loads of interviews yesterday at Carrington because of his player of the month award "I would love to go back to PSV. I really mean it. I still follow PSV. A week doesn't go by when I don't speak with Arnold Bruggink, Ronald Waterreus. When the adventure is over, whenever this will be, I will be in Brabant. Of course, there are enough places to live. I love the region where I came from. The atmosphere fits perfectly with us." --------------------------------- [7] More transfer gossip --------------------------------- Posted Saturday, January 12, 2002 by bar-knee: We were in for Barcelona full back Michael Reiziger a few weeks back. --------------------------------- [6] McClaren on Yorke bid --------------------------------- Posted Saturday, January 12, 2002 by bar-knee: "One of the criteria when I first came in was we had a lot of players and I needed to trim the squad and reduce the wage bill. That still holds, which is why we've had to release, I think, nine players so far this season. Some of that has been a bit unfortunate, but that's the way it is. That's still ongoing and we still need to reduce it. The financial restrictions are that we need to sell players before we bring any in. But that doesn't mean to say that, if the right person comes up and the right situation, that it can't be done. That's something that will be kept private and discussed between the right parties. Availability is one thing. I did say we had made a tentative enquiry, but there are a thousand of them going on every day at every football club that come to nothing. That's all it was, an enquiry, and we're leaving it at that at present." --------------------------------- [5] Another view on Di Canio situation --------------------------------- Posted Saturday, January 12, 2002 by bar-knee: >From KUMBC - read the next Red News for our take on matters so far... 'Fresh reports are suggesting that Glenn Roeder is far from happy with the decision to sell Paolo Di Canio to Manchester United. Gabriele Marcotti, a close friend of Di Canio's claimed last night that the decision to part with the Italian striker was made entirely by the board without the consent of the manager - and that Roeder is fuming as a result....It was thought until recently that Roeder was part of the contingent who would be happy to see the back of the fans favourite - that is, until this fresh evidence to the contrary emerged. Roeder, talking on the club's website last week was clearly at pains to hide his true feelings on the subject. Marcotti's comments would go a good way to explaining why. Manchester United are thought to be on the verge of upping their original bid to one more in line with the Hammers' £3.5m valuation. Should that offer be accepted - which is almost inevitable - Di Canio is likely to join the Reds ahead of this weekend's clash with Leicester. The player has promised to reveal his thoughts once the matter is concluded - and that is likely to include a tirade against the board of directors at West Ham, who are thought to be behind the plot to rid the club of their most controversial and outspoken asset. ' --------------------------------- [4] early team news --------------------------------- Posted Saturday, January 12, 2002 by bar-knee: Squad fo Sunday Squad: Barthez, Carroll, G.Neville, P.Neville, Blanc, O'Shea, Silvestre, Beckham, Veron, Keane, Butt, Scholes, Giggs, Solskjaer, van Nistelrooy, Wallwork, Chadwick. --------------------------------- [3] Yesterday was --------------------------------- Posted Saturday, January 12, 2002 by bar-knee: Robbo's birthday (he and I will drink to that...) and the day Quinton Fortune was due to be married back in South Africa (also the day Red News interviewed a United legend at Old Trafford but you'll have to wait to hear about that one...). --------------------------------- [2] Safe standing press release --------------------------------- Posted Saturday, January 12, 2002 by bar-knee: SAFE (Standing Areas For England) www.SafeStanding.com MPs BLOCKED FROM DEBATING SAFE-STANDING PRESS NOTICE: For immediate release, 02.30pm Friday January 11th 2002 The Football Spectators Bill, a Private Members Bill by Roger Godsiff MP, was due for its Second Reading in the House of Commons today, but co-ordinated efforts were deployed to ensure the issue wasn't debated. It will be presented to the House again on Friday 12th April 2002. Gary Hewitt of the Safe-Standing Campaign said: "We didn't expect to win today. But, as any football fan will tell you, it's about a whole season, not just one game. We've already come a lot further than many people thought we could and we're not going to give up until the Government sees sense. "We're not talking about a return to the old-style, huge, open terraces of yesteryear, but new, small, specially-designed areas using the latest engineering technology. "All we're asking for is an open public debate. The Sports Minister knows we won't be ignored, misled, sidelined or fobbed off any longer. Support for our national campaign is growing rapidly: in Parliament, in the media and at football clubs throughout the land. "Richard Caborn has said that he is "prepared to engage in rational debate on the issue" and that he "does not regard the matter as closed." Why then is he so hell bent on preventing the matter being debated in Parliament? What on earth is he so afraid of? "When Kate Hoey was Minister, at first she was against it too. But then she actually saw the facts for herself. Caborn should approach this with an open mind rather than allowing himself to be deflected by civil servants and advisers or bullied by the Premier League." Kate Hoey MP, former Minister for Sport, said today: "I hope this issue is given serious consideration. When I looked at it as Sports Minister I was convinced that Safe-Standing should be allowed." Roger Godsiff, Labour MP for Birmingham, Sparkbrook and Small Heath, said: "Safe-Standing is about freedom of choice. Every week tens of thousands of people stand at rugby, horseracing and pop concerts. And in Germany, modern stadia such as Hamburg and Bremen allow supporters to stand both safely and legitimately. "In fact, it would be far safer to stand in purpose-built Safe-Standing areas than to stand in a seated area, which many fans currently do. Designated separate Safe-Standing areas would also remove the tension between those who prefer to stand and those who wish to sit but whose view is often obstructed by standers." "The aim of the Football Spectators Bill is to remove from the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport the power to designate Premier League and First Division football stadia as all-seater, delegating that decision to clubs, supporters and local authorities. The construction of Safe-Standing areas would therefore be allowed, but would not be mandatory. "Back in 1995 a prominent politician said: 'While safety must always be the number one criterion, there is no reason to ignore technological improvements made since Lord Justice Taylor reported, which might now allow for safe standing.' "That politician was Tony Blair. I agreed with him then, and I agree with him now - as do the overwhelming majority of football supporters throughout the country. "The Government hiding behind the important issue of 'crowd safety' is erroneous. It's now accepted that incompetent policing, indignant stewardship, and the immovable fences were the contributing factors to the Hillsborough tragedy rather than "standing" per se. Recent disasters at grounds in South Africa and Ghana occurred in all-seater stadiums and the tragedy at Bradford occurred in a seating stand." - EDM (Early Day Motion) 239 in support of the Bill has already attracted 74 signatures, which include the likes of Gerald Kaufman, Chair of the DCMS Select Committee, Boris Johnson, Editor of The Spectator and Bob Russell, LibDem spokesman for Sport. - The Safe-Standing Campaign is backed by the Football Supporters' Association (FSA), the National Federation of Football Supporters Clubs (NatFed) and many clubs' Independent Supporters' Associations and fanzines. --------------------------------- [1] Apologies again --------------------------------- Posted Saturday, January 12, 2002 by bar-knee: We like this self flagellation lark - helps us atone for all those sins see. Once again sorry for yesterday's slim news - today half the stories will have come through late on yesterday. But you kno us. We don't want you to miss out on ANY Utd news story so here they are. And once again if you can resend anything sent in to Red News - as like Kevin keegan at city, it's lost forever. As of yesterday we have a new computer so things will return to normal. Also any regular RN readers who correspond if they could get in touch that would be great. Message over. Thanks. [EMAIL PROTECTED]
