---------------------------------
[26] Big Fat Ron on Platt, Collymore and Le Tiss
---------------------------------
Posted Friday, March 9, 2001 by bar-knee:
"Stan's ability was fantastic and, when I look at someone like David
Platt, the waste seems even greater. David was the opposite of Stan. I had him as a
teenager at Manchester United and he was a long way short of the young strikers such
as Mark Hughes and Norman Whiteside. But I told Crewe's manager Dario Gradi to take
him because he was an honest lad who might have a chance of coming back. David worked
his socks off, applied himself and became England captain and a good goalscorer who
never let anyone down.
Stan, on the other hand, let everyone down since the Liverpool period, including
himself. I can't think of anyone who has had such massive money paid for him, been
given such great opportunities and given so little back.
A player I get a real sense of "if only" about is Matt le Tissier,
though he's achieved a lot more than Collymore. He's one of the
biggest talents I've seen and I would have loved to have worked with
him. At Aston Villa we tried very hard to get him. People have said
Matt didn't have the drive but he had the ability to become the man
England could have built a team round through the 90s. If he had gone
to Manchester United when Eric Cantona went there, that could have
been the catalyst but you were never sure whether he had the mental
strength.
As I understand it, Collymore almost ended up at Old Trafford. I
think he was ahead of Andy Cole in the pecking order of strikers Sir
Alex Ferguson wanted in 1994-95. But apparently, when Alex was trying
to buy him, Forest's manager Frank Clark was off with flu and Alex,
unable to get hold of him, decided to take Cole straight away. That
might have been lucky: if Collymore had gone to Old Trafford it could
have been a marriage made in hell."
Or Fergie could have been the only manager to get him right.
---------------------------------
[25] Yet more crap from Mellor
---------------------------------
Posted Friday, March 9, 2001 by bar-knee:
>From Soccernet
'Hoey in terrace tumble
"There's no bandwagon too spurious or discredited for Kate Hoey to be
too embarrassed to haul herself aboard, so it's no surprise that she's always
pandered to the Neanderthal lobby urging a return to terracing at Premiership
grounds.
And absolutely no astonishment either that the Football Licensing
Authority have said no, and her superior, Chris Smith, has agreed
with them. The FLA say it's wholly impractical and too expensive as well as
dangerous to convert token areas for standing as Hoey had envisaged.
The much vaunted German arrangements she relied on turn out to be on
proper inspection a safety and logistical nightmare, providing a
wholly inadequate basis for opening the way to another Hillsborough."
And I wonder who got him to write this crap - so football fans are neanderthal are we?
A man dunked in sleaze telling us how to act?!
---------------------------------
[24] New unofficial Utd web site launched
---------------------------------
Posted Friday, March 9, 2001 by bar-knee:
(link:http://www.iManUnited.com) http://www.iManUnited.com
Win a signed football - videos - CDs
---------------------------------
[23] More from Keano
---------------------------------
Posted Friday, March 9, 2001 by bar-knee:
"It has been a funny tournament this year. We have not played well
but we are still in a decent enough position. If we can get a result next week we are
through. We do seem to do things the hard way...It would have been nice to finish top
but now we just have to make sure we qualify and that is still in our own hands.
There are a lot of reasons why we are playing badly, the bottom line
is we just haven't clicked. Hopefully the time to judge us will be the end of the
season, when we have got to the final. You are not going to play outstandingly well
all season but we know we haven't
played well in Europe for some time.
We are disappointed with our performance, we were very poor against
Panathinaikos. We started slow but, give the players credit, we kept persevering even
though we are not playing well. That is an understatement, we are playing very poorly
but we got a draw and we can finish off the group next week.
I said after the Valencia game that it wasn't going to be easy but
we are making hard work of this. We have to step up a gear without a shadow of a doubt
but we have to qualify first, we are not through yet."
---------------------------------
[22] More Nedved speculation
---------------------------------
Posted Friday, March 9, 2001 by bar-knee:
Lazio midfielder Pavel Nedved: "Until this year, I had never considered leaving
Lazio. But, at the end of the season, I will look inside myself and ask whether I can
give anything to this team. At Lazio, nobody is untouchable. Nobody is
`intransferable`. We will see what the team say at the end of the season. Last year,
I thought my time at Lazio was over, but I ended up staying."
---------------------------------
[21] Giggs fit for Tuesday
---------------------------------
Posted Friday, March 9, 2001 by bar-knee:
>From Midas
'Ryan Giggs has won his race to be fit for Tuesday's Champions League
game against Sturm Graz as he 'warms up' for the game with a full
scale practice match on Saturday morning.'
---------------------------------
[20] Daily Mirror supports Utd fans!
---------------------------------
Posted Friday, March 9, 2001 by bar-knee:
Des Kelly Column from the Mirror today:
'DES KELLY COLUMN: IT'S TIME TO MAKE A STAND AGAINST THESEJOBSWORTHS
ARE YOU local? If the answer is 'no' turn the page. We don't want your sort around
here. If the answer is 'yes', then read on, as you may have what it takes to join a
select group. A local group.
But first, you must pass the following test:
Do you long for a day when heads turn respectfully as you enter the urinal at the
working men's club?
When asked if you want to put your shopping on the credit card, do you
actually pile the objects on top of the card?
Do you dream of inflicting your anal-retentive gripes and petty nitpicking on the
neighbours, but find you're too stupid to make it as an MP?
If you found yourself nodding in agreement, then you could be ideally suited for a
very special job... as a councillor. Not any old councillor, mind, but a local
councillor.
You are ready to join the band of nearly men and women, the ranks of the never-were's
and never-will-be's. The people who spend their waking hours turning your peaceful
community into an open prison with their neurotic little rules.
If you are very sad and very local, they might even allow you stand for the body that
excels in bureaucratic, interfering stupidity. Trafford Council. Now did I say 'stand'
in that last sentence? My apologies.
They don't like standing at Trafford Council, you see. In fact they have threatened to
close swathes of Manchester United's stadium and withdraw the ground's operating
licence if fans have the temerity to clamber to their feet during a match.
Now there are certain things we ask our local councils to do to justify the hundreds
and thousands of pounds they extort from us in 'community charges'.
1. Empty the bins. Preferably not on to the streets. Rubbish should be
collected before the rats get bigger than labradors.
2. Try to keep a few schools open, if only to contain the graffiti in
clearly-defined areas.
3. Rustle up the enthusiasm to run a bus or two to prevent pensioners from dying of
hypothermia by the roadside.
4. Shut up.
But Trafford councillor Barry Brotherton, seizing a moment to try and make a name for
himself, as all Barrys are wont to do, has pronounced that standing up at Old Trafford
is dangerous.
"There is the serious possibility of an accident and the council cannot afford to turn
a blind eye to that," he said.
Now if Barry has a blind eye it sounds like he might have been involved an accident
already.
But please tell me just how many 'accidents' have been caused by an
individual getting to their feet during a match? The seats themselves
prevent any kind of crowd surge, so my guess is - and this is just a wild stab in the
dark here - none.
Maybe Blind Barry is concerned that a fan might pinch a thigh in the hinges when they
sit back down. And if so, well THANK GOD we have a councillor tackling the real issues
on our behalf.
Does he really have nothing better to do? The idea that Barry and his Alf Roberts
cronies can enforce a decree that people must refrain from rising from their seats as
Ryan Giggs sets off on a run or David Beckham curls in a 30-yard free-kick is utterly
idiotic.
Standing is a spontaneous act. It is known as "getting excited". It happens at every
single football ground in the country. It happened at Twickenham last weekend when
England beat Scotland in their Six Nations clash. It happens at Lord's when a wicket
falls.
But the jobsworths at Trafford Council have made such a fuss with their 'regulations',
Sir Alex Ferguson has been pressed to hold a news conference today pleading with fans
to remain seated during Tuesday's Champions League match against Sturm Graz. Adverts
have been taken out in local newspapers and appeals have been included in the match
programme.
It would be far better if the club told the council to get stuffed.
It would be far better to urge as many of the 67,000 crowd as possible to stay on
their feet throughout the entire 90 minutes to demonstrate just how daft this
officious nonsense is. Then we'll see if Trafford Council have the nerve to shut the
entire ground and alienate sixty thousand voters.
Don't be complacent about it, because every club's board of directors and their chums
on the council planning committee would love to see an entire stadium of executive box
clients sitting in expensive seats.
And if one Premiership ground becomes a feeding frenzy for goons in
fluorescent jackets dragging people out of the stands for doing little more than
showing some interest in a match, others will quickly follow.
The delicious irony is that at the very moment the Sports Minister, Kate Hoey, is
examining the feasibility of bringing back standing areas, the dullards at Labour
local councils are trying to get heavy-handed about staying in seats.
Well my advice is to file Barry and Co. in the "totally irrelevant" drawer until it's
time to vote. Then bring out that file and, when he stands for office again, maybe you
might like to discuss whether you should take away HIS seat?
I realise I am sure to receive outraged letters from councillors who tell me they are
only "serving their community", when in reality they tend to be more interested in
serving themselves at the all-you-can-eat town hall buffet.
But it is worth remembering these are the meddlers who vote to re-name your road
'Nelson Mandela Avenue' during the night. The ones who give planning permission for an
office block to be built on the sports field. The ones who stick a yellow line outside
your house and charge you for the privilege of parking there. The ones who cut the
meals- on-wheels service, but find the wherewithal to employ entire battalions of
traffic wardens.
So you don't have to listen to them. The least you can do is stand up for yourself.'
Interesting points here - and see Exiled's excellent viewpoint on the Red News Forum.
For there are many implications out of all this - the Mirror here makes it clear what
Des would like to see happen. And, of course, there is always the ballot box to let
people know just what we feel about the decisions being made 'against' us at Old
Trafford.
---------------------------------
[19] Keano spot on again
---------------------------------
Posted Friday, March 9, 2001 by bar-knee:
"I warned after the Valencia game that we had to improve but we seem
to have gone backwards. I don't know what has gone wrong with our performances but
we're not kidding ourselves. We're not playing well and everyone acknowledges that.
I've been critical of the team and myself and it's only because I know we can play
much better."
---------------------------------
[18] More from Fergie
---------------------------------
Posted Friday, March 9, 2001 by bar-knee:
"There was a bit of Wednesday's match when we were back to the way we played against
Anderlecht and PSV Eindhoven. When we equalised everyone was up the pitch and we were
left open at the back. I think we'll finish second in our group because I can't see
Valencia losing at home next week. You are going to be playing a better team anyway
and so it doesn't really matter."
---------------------------------
[17] Fergie on Europe
---------------------------------
Posted Friday, March 9, 2001 by bar-knee:
"Barthez was a passmark - he was magnificent - Keane to a degree, Scholes to a degree
and Phil Neville did all right, but the rest wouldn't even get passmarks. It was a
bad performance and there's no hiding from that. We have to analyse it. The quality
of passing was bad and so was our concentration at times. It was one of those games
that we'd rather forget. We certainly don't want to repeat it.
But we still played with great pride and tried to claw the game back - risking
everything at the same time - and when you do that, you at least deserve some credit.
But the performance was disappointing. The capability is there, there's no question
about that, but getting
the performance is the key and we'll definitely play better on
Tuesday against Sturm Graz."
---------------------------------
[16] Reserve match off
---------------------------------
Posted Friday, March 9, 2001 by bar-knee:
>From official site
'United's Reserve match against Liverpool, scheduled for Monday 12 March, has been
postponed due to the club being in Champions League action the following day.'
---------------------------------
[15] Merrett in sit down plea
---------------------------------
Posted Friday, March 9, 2001 by bar-knee:
And now he goes cuddly - no relation that TBC have done his job for him so he can join
our ranks...
Secretary Ken Merrett said: "It would be self-defeating if you try to take individual
actions by removing people. It just antagonises people and on this occasion we will
just be reminding them of the threat which is hanging over the club and asking them
for their co-operation. We can't be heavy handed. That would just make it escalate."
Can't be heavy handed - never stopped them before...
---------------------------------
[14] Fergie press conference standing plea
---------------------------------
Posted Friday, March 9, 2001 by bar-knee:
"It would be great to see in the future standing areas and I think I speak for all
football fans and all football clubs. We as a club would welcome this as would other
clubs and other fans. But I'm sorry it's unfortunate these laws are in place and you
have to change laws before you can do anything. We have to deal with the facts and as
the law stands we have to get on with it even if it is very unfortunate.
We're talking about a loss of seats if this threat is carried out and the fans have to
pay heed to this. That would affect the team and we want to see Old Trafford full.
That's why we have to plead with the fans to obey the laws as they stand at the moment
however unsatisfactory they see them."
'United hope Ferguson's direct plea will help diffuse the situation before it
escalates further. The club will insert a statement in Tuesday's match programme and
there will be an appeal by Ferguson and his players on the PA system as well as a
leafleting campaign in the relevant areas, all asking for the fans co-operation.
United claim they will not adopt a heavy-handed approach with anyone who refuses to
sit down because they do not want to inflame the situation.'
---------------------------------
[13] More from Gary Nev lawyer
---------------------------------
Posted Friday, March 9, 2001 by bar-knee:
United lawyer Scott Duxbury said: "We are extremely shocked by the
severity of this punishment and think it is totally out of line with
other recent high profile cases. Gary is very unhappy and we are appealing."
---------------------------------
[12] Keano on the team
---------------------------------
Posted Friday, March 9, 2001 by bar-knee:
"I've been critical of the team and myself but it is only because I know we can do
much better. And we will have to if we want to win it."
---------------------------------
[11] Fergie - is Premiership our Euro problem?
---------------------------------
Posted Friday, March 9, 2001 by bar-knee:
"It is a concern that the edge has been taken off our play because we are in such a
comfort zone in the league. We have to be aware of that. There is no question what my
team are capable of but I have to find the answer of how to get the very best out of
them. We certainly have to improve on what we have been doing in Europe so far this
season if we want to progress.
There is no hiding place when you perform like that (Wednesday)."
---------------------------------
[10] Gary Nev unhappy with ban
---------------------------------
Posted Friday, March 9, 2001 by bar-knee:
United lawyer Scott Duxbury said: "We are extremely shocked by the
severity of this punishment and think it is totally out of line with
other recent high-profile cases. Not least when Patrick Vieira received a one-match
ban after being charged with violent conduct for kicking Olivier Dacourt in the head.
Gary is very unhappy and we are appealing because we do not believe this is a fair
outcome."
---------------------------------
[9] Sparky on playing the big stage once more
---------------------------------
Posted Friday, March 9, 2001 by bar-knee:
Against the Arse in the Cup
"It is a terrific game for the club. It is always great to play in big games and I've
relished a few over the years. But we have big games from now until the end of the
season because our priority is to get out of the First Division. It is the latter
stages of the Cup and if we can go there and play well it could kick us on for the
rest of the season. We want to be playing teams like Arsenal every week in the
Premiership, not just in one-off Cup matches.
Tony Adams is one of the great centre-halves of the modern time. I always used to
have a good battle at Highbury and enjoyed it. I respected the players I played
against and like to think they respected me."
---------------------------------
[8] Handle it if you can
---------------------------------
Posted Friday, March 9, 2001 by bar-knee:
on the Madrid-Sheep handball
Real Madrid's Pedro Munitis: "Everything you can get away with seems good to me. This
is nothing new. Football is for smart people, if you don't actually hurt your
opponent, everything you can get away with seems good to me. It is illogical to talk
about a two-game ban because if the referee had seen it the maximum that he would have
got would have been a booking. If nobody sees the foul and the goal is given, then it
is a goal. If anybody should be sanctioned it should be the referee who didn't see it.
It is absurd, because nobody knows if they deliberately provoked them or whether they
were just another action of the game"
Raul said: "The referee spoke to me in English and I did not understand him. He can't
say I said anything to him, I simply made a gesture that I didn't understand him, and
if for that he thought I was confessing, well there it is. It was a very rapid play
and if the ball hit my hand, and it appears that it did, then it is totally
unintentional. I didn't hit the ball at all. I think that I am one of the players who
sees less yellow cards than most and I have never been sent off. "
---------------------------------
[7] Reserves win last night
---------------------------------
Posted Friday, March 9, 2001 by bar-knee:
At Hillsborough
Sheff Wed 1 : Utd 3 - Chadwick, Fortune, Greening
(even Paddy C said that Mark Wilson must be pissed off that Greening has scored and he
has not - what are you trying to say Patrick?)
Team
1 Paul Rachubka
2 Michael Clegg
3 Danny Pugh
4 Superstar
5 Ronnie Wallwork
6 Michael Stewart
7 Luke Chadwick
8 Mark Wilson
9 Quinton Fortune
10 Jon Greening
11 Bojan Djordic
Subs
Danny Webber for Fortune
Alan Tate came on for Superstar
Mark Lynch for Chadwick
comment from our man on the sofa
'Danny Pugh (and Ben Muirhead who did not play tonight) look the total dog bollox'
---------------------------------
[6] Scouse score from last night
---------------------------------
Posted Friday, March 9, 2001 by bar-knee:
And we thought our game was bad on Wednesday - not a patch on Porto 0 Scousers 0.
---------------------------------
[5] You don't say!
---------------------------------
Posted Friday, March 9, 2001 by bar-knee:
>From Ananova
'England World Cup bid doomed from the start. The man behind England's failed bid for
the 2006 World Cup has conceded that it was a mistake to embark on the campaign
without the backing of other European countries.
Alec McGivan, who was director of the 2006 campaign, told a Commons Select Committee
that it had been "very damaging" to the bid that most European countries favoured
eventual winners Germany.
The committee, which is carrying out an inquiry into staging major
international sports events, heard from McGivan that the Football
Association were aware of European governing body UEFA's position but
believed it could overcome that obstacle.
The FA have compiled an 85-page report into the failed £10million
campaign and McGivan told the hearing: "UEFA's support for Germany
right across the board damaged us enormously. Seven out of eight
European delegates voted for Germany. "Not to have the backing of your confederation
from the start was, looking back, very damaging. It was very difficult to do deals,
it was all block votes and confederation wheeler-dealing, Asia were with Europe and
Africa with South America, and we were simply squeezed out. You need political clout
and that's a lesson we have learned. We were aware it was a weakness but thought we
could overcome it."
At the heart of the matter was the so-called gentlemen's agreement,
where former FA chairman Bert Millichip was alleged to have agreed
not to bid against Germany for 2006 in return for their support for
England's challenge to host the 1996 European Championships.
Millichip later denied this, but it was enough for virtually all of
Europe to side with Germany - only Scotland's David Will backed
England. Current FA chairman Geoff Thompson told the committee: "Clearly there were
people in UEFA who felt there was a gentlemen's agreement. There was a genuine
misunderstanding, something that happened and nobody really knows why."
The report from the FA states: "English football...had adopted an
insular attitude, seen by some UEFA and FIFA members as stand-offish
and even arrogant."
And as we are seeing with the standing debate, they ain't learnt their
lessons!
---------------------------------
[4] An Arse player wins something this season
---------------------------------
Posted Friday, March 9, 2001 by bar-knee:
'Marseille have been ordered by the French league to pay Robert Pires £1.2million.
Pires, now with Arsenal, had claimed the money was owed to him following his transfer
from Metz in 1998. When joining Arsenal last year, the French international requested
the settling of bonuses negotiated two years previously. Marseille argued that his new
contract with Arsenal freed them of any obligations to him, but the league have ruled
in Pires' favour.
However, they also fined Marseille around £4,000 and Pires £400 for what they termed
the "mysterious character of the agreement" which they said "did not respect the
principles of the professional football charter". Pires' lawyer Laurent Zachayus said:
"Robert (Pires) is above all a lad who respects a verbal agreement. On the other hand,
he expects that his negotiating partners show the same respect."
---------------------------------
[3] Another Utd youngster gets England call
---------------------------------
Posted Friday, March 9, 2001 by bar-knee:
>From official site
'United youth star Jimmy Davis has been included in England's Under-18 squad to face
Poland at White Hart Lane on 22 March. "I'm really looking forward to getting a really
big crowd to support us at the match which will hopefully help us on the way to a
great win!".
---------------------------------
[2] If we finish second in our group, another good reason?
---------------------------------
Posted Friday, March 9, 2001 by bar-knee:
is we play the first leg at home and we like that (by the way, the overall statistics
in the CL prove that it's an advantage to play at home first).
---------------------------------
[1] Check yesterday's news first
---------------------------------
Posted Friday, March 9, 2001 by bar-knee:
Thursday's news - for all the info on being told to sit down for the Graz game or face
the consequences to Gary Nev's pathetic two match ban - which in theory will be
Liverpool and Charlton.
---------------------------------
[38] Gary Nev gets 2 match ban - ridiculous!
---------------------------------
Posted Thursday, March 8, 2001 by bar-knee:
What about the ref who pushed him into the Utd dressing room (see issue 75).
'Gary Neville has been hit with a two-match ban for foul and abusive language to a
linesman after West Ham's FA Cup victory at Old Trafford. The Manchester United
defender was unable to contain his anger following the game in January. West Ham won
1-0 with a goal by Paolo di Canio scored as United keeper Fabien Barthez appealed for
offside. Neville, who did not attend the Football Association disciplinary hearing in
London and believed that his case warranted at most a warning, has also been fined
£30,000.'
---------------------------------
[37] Fortune to play tonight
---------------------------------
Posted Thursday, March 8, 2001 by bar-knee:
Yes!
>From official site
'Quinton Fortune has been named in United's Reserve team to face Sheffield Wednesday
tonight, after almost eleven weeks out with a knee injury. The South African
international went under the knife to cure his ligament injury, suffered against
Ipswich on 23 December. He's missed out on a couple of games for his country, but he's
back fully fit and is ready for his first run out of the year at Hillsborough tonight,
kick off 7pm.
Quinton will line up on the opposite wing to Luke Chadwick, who had twelve minutes
against Panathinaikos on Wednesday. Upfront, Jonathan Greening will link up with Swede
Bojan Djordjic.
MUTV will screen the match live, with coverage starting at 6.15pm.
United: Rachubka; M Clegg, Pugh, May, Wallwork; Chadwick, Wilson, Stewart, Fortune;
Greening, Djordjic.
Subs: Webber, Willams, Cosgrove, Tate, Lynch.'
Chadwick will be knackered no?
---------------------------------
[36] March reserve team fixtures
---------------------------------
Posted Thursday, March 8, 2001 by bar-knee:
>From official site
FA Premier Reserve League Fixtures 2000/01
Sheffield Wednesday (a) - Thurs 8 March 2001
Kick Off 7pm
Liverpool (h) - Monday 12 March (brought forward from Thurs 15 March 2001) Kick Off 7pm
Leeds United (a) - Tues 20 March 2001
Kick Off 7pm
Everton (h) - Thursday 29 March 2001 (postponed from 11 January 2001, and previously
14 December 2000)
Kick Off 7pm
Manchester Senior Cup
Manchester City (a) - Tuesday 27 March 2001
Hyde United, kick off 7pm
---------------------------------
[35] TBC viewpoint
---------------------------------
Posted Thursday, March 8, 2001 by bar-knee:
Barry Brotherton, council cabinet member for community safety, said : "There is a
serious possibility of an accident and the council cannot afford to turn a blind eye
to that. What we intend to do is, if there is no improvement at the Sturm Graz game,
we know there are certain areas where people persist in standing, and we'll threaten
to withdraw the operating licence from those parts of the ground. We do understand
that people get excited but in the end safety has to come first."
We must not get excited...and again we ask - how many people have been injured for all
the games that East Stand has stood for this season?
---------------------------------
[34] MEN on standing warning
---------------------------------
Posted Thursday, March 8, 2001 by bar-knee:
'Standing Reds face Old Trafford lock-out
MANCHESTER United has been told to make their fans sit down - or
parts of Old Trafford will be closed for big games. Trafford Council says it will shut
sections of the 67,500-seater stadium if supporters breach safety regulations at
Tuesday's Champions League game.
After four years of warnings, the council, which is responsible for stadium safety,
has run out of patience. If supporters stand during the clash against Sturm Graz some
areas will be closed for at least one match.
Because the council must give United 21 days notice, that could
affect the April derby clash with City, or the Champions' League
quarter-finals.
United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is said to be ''deeply worried'' by the threat. He
will make a public appeal tomorrow to fans to stay in
their seats.
A United insider told the M.E.N.: ''This has been an issue for a few
years but now we know it really has come to a head. Sir Alex knows he
must do everything he can to persuade the fans to co-operate. The team is homing in
on another league championship and desperately want to win back the European Cup. The
last thing Sir Alex needs is them taking on top teams in front of a half-empty
stadium.'' Today town hall safety bosses said the threat was for real.
Coun Barry Brotherton, council cabinet member for community safety,
told the M. E.N.: ''There is the serious possibility of an accident
and the council cannot afford to turn a blind eye to that. If people persist in
standing we will have no choice but to withdraw the operating licence for parts of
the ground. If there is no significant improvement at the Sturm Graz match we will
have no choice but to pursue that course of action.''
Trafford safety inspectors will monitor supporters on CCTV during
Tuesday's match and will recommend shutting any areas where there is
persistent standing.
Sections under most threat are believed to include the East and West
stands, where large pockets of supporters were on their feet recent
matches against Valencia and Arsenal.
It is understood that Sir Alex will repeat his ''sit down'' plea in
the Graz match programme and address fans through the stadium tannoy.
United PR director Patrick Harverson said today: ''We have no comment
on this issue at the moment but a news conference has been called for
Friday.''
Today fans groups condemned the council's ultimatum. Andy Walsh from
the Independent Manchester United Supporters Association, said ''Fans
are aware there is a problem but we have been working with the club
to resolve the situation. Closing the ground is not the answer."
---------------------------------
[33] Keano and Phil Nev
---------------------------------
Posted Thursday, March 8, 2001 by bar-knee:
Keano: "We are making hard work out of this competition. We could have been three or
four goals down if it hadn't been for Fabien. He kept us in it. With the chances they
created we could have been well out of the game before we scored. We didn't play
particulartly well and that's an under-statement. We gave them too many opportunities
and that is a team thing. You defend as a team and we didn't do that well enough and
it put the back four under pressure"
Phil Neville: "Panathinaikos looked like scoring more than we did. We are just lucky
that we have a great keeper like Fabien to save them. He got us out of jail."
---------------------------------
[32] Players hail Barthez
---------------------------------
Posted Thursday, March 8, 2001 by bar-knee:
Gary Nev: "Fabien saved us. Over the two games against Panathinaikos they have
created more chances against us than any team has this season. They pass it well and
if they were a bit more clinical and Fabien wasn't on his mettle, then we'd have been
in toruble. He made some fantastic saves just as he had against them at Old
Trafford last November. They had too many one-on-ones. We were too flat. You can't
afford to be so flat. They got through too many times and that was a concern for us.
We have a world-class goalkeeper behind us there is no doubt about that and Fabien
needed to be"
---------------------------------
[31] Er, we thought you played in Red
---------------------------------
Posted Thursday, March 8, 2001 by bar-knee:
from MEN
'MANCHESTER City are on the verge of creating a new fan base in the
Middle East. Former playing legend and now director Dennis Tueart will lead the
club's youngsters on a ground-breaking, ambassadorial visit to Qatar at the end of
this month. City's fast-growing reputation for developing and looking after young
players in their successful Academy earned them an invitation from the Embassy in
Doha who are promoting a `British Week'.
The Blues were only too pleased to take up the offer and will play
their hosts' national youth team in a showpiece finale to the five-
day stay. Chairman David Bernstein views the tip with a sense of pride and excitement.
``I am sure the experience gained in travelling for this game by our
young players will enhance their worldly knowledge. I am also convinced it will be of
great benefit to them during the course of their football development. The party are
eagerly looking forward to their visit and we trust that those spectators attending
the game in Qatar will enjoy watching the talents of our players.''
---------------------------------
[30] Ruud on the cheap?
---------------------------------
Posted Thursday, March 8, 2001 by bar-knee:
>From Teamtalk
'New transfer market legislation could enable United to lure Ruud van
Nistelrooy to Old Trafford this summer for as little as nine million
pounds. Under the system agreed by FIFA, UEFA and the European Union on Monday, but
not yet approved by the players' union FIFpro, the 24- year-old would be able to walk
out of the Philips Stadium without the fear of personal sanctions because he will
have completed three years of his five-year contract.'
---------------------------------
[29] The local Leeds supporters' branch is in uproar
---------------------------------
Posted Thursday, March 8, 2001 by bar-knee:
'Politicians in Oregon have agreed having sex with an animal should be illegal.
Senator John Minnis said the law against bestiality was repealed when the state's
criminal code was revised in 1971. The senate has now passed a bill which is being
considered by the state's lower house. Bestiality crimes will carry a maximum of five
years' jail if the bill passes into law.'
---------------------------------
[28] Ole speaks
---------------------------------
Posted Thursday, March 8, 2001 by bar-knee:
"Maybe we didn t deserve a point in yesterday s match against Panathinaikos, but once
again we managed to score towards the end of the game. We re well known for playing
until the final whistle and for having good team morale. We have to thank Fabian for
not being more than 1-0 down. Once again he had a great game. We even had a chance to
take all three points when Scholes came close to scoring his second of the game in
extra time, but I don t think it would have been fair if we d won this game. However,
we re now in a good position to get through to the quarter-finals. Only a heavy defeat
against Sturm Graz can stop us I played the last fifteen minutes of the game, and didn
t really get too involved but I did have a header that went just wide, and I also got
us the corner that led to Scholesy s goal. So even though I didn t play much, I still
managed to make a contribution.
Right now I m on a bus in Athens on my way back to the hotel. The traffic is terrible
and even though we have a police escort it s still chaos. Hopefully it won t take us
to long to get back to the hotel. I m looking forward to returning to Manchester."
