MANCHESTER UNITED NEWS

Charitable Reds irk Sir Alex

noreply@blogger.com (manchester united) — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 09:22:00 +0000

Sir Alex Ferguson admits United’s charity in front of goal is concerning him, following Saturday’s unexpectedly tight victory over Derby County.
The Reds passed up chance after chance at Pride Park, just as they did in last weekend’s FA Cup defeat to Portsmouth, and the manager concedes it is beginning to irk him.
“Last Saturday, of course, it (missing chances) knocked us out of the cup,” he told MUTV. “Today we made it hard for ourselves because we missed so many chances.
“We were really charitable - it was a lot of chances. Maybe it’s a little sticky spell, but we want to get over that. We’ve got big games, Bolton at home on Wednesday and then Liverpool on Sunday, so they’re important games coming up and we want to start taking chances.
“We are making them, and I suppose that’s the biggest bonus of all. If we keep making them, you know at some point someone’s going to suffer. We just have to keep going with that.”
Cristiano Ronaldo was repeatedly thwarted at Pride Park before eventually bagging the winning goal with 14 minutes remaining, and Sir Alex was quick to salute the ease with which the winger converted a potentially difficult finish.
“We needed something special and Ronaldo’s taken his chance very, very well. It’s not easy when it comes off the turf like that and he connected

Reds will be ready for Roma

noreply@blogger.com (manchester united) — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 09:19:00 +0000

Carlos Queiroz is confident United can reach the Champions League semi-finals by disposing of AS Roma for the second successive season.It’s also the second time in this campaign the Reds have been paired with the Giallorossi - United won the first group game at home and drew the other away. Queiroz admits Roma are a much-improved side compared to the one that was so soundly beaten last season, but he is confident the players will get the job done."It’ll be a difficult game as all matches at this stage of the competition are, but I think we have a good chance," said United's assistant manager."Roma are an improving team as they showed against Real Madrid in the last round. I think they're better than when we played them last season and in this season's group stages. But we know we can beat them. Hopefully we can do our job and reach the semi-finals."We’re pleased to be playing against European opposition, rather than one of the English teams," he added. "It’s what you expect when you play in the Champions League."At the moment we are very well positioned in both the title race and Europe and the team are playing well. So we're feeling very positive about the remainder of the season."Roma's first result after being drawn against United was a home win over AC Milan. After going 1-0 down to Kaka's 56th-minute strike, the Giallorossi rallied with two goals in quick succession from substitutes Ludovic Giuly (78) and Mirko Vucinic (81).

Reds in for another fight

noreply@blogger.com (manchester united) — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 09:17:00 +0000

After scraping through against Derby County, United are in for another battle against Bolton Wanderers when the relegation-threatened North-west side visit Old Trafford on Wednesday.Trotters skipper Kevin Nolan has pleaded with the club's fans to get behind the team at Old Trafford as they begin a run of nine games to protect their Premier League status.Gary Megson's men were booed off the pitch after a 1-0 defeat away to Wigan on Sunday, a fourth straight league defeat which continues their perilous slide toward potential relegation."We were poor against Wigan, especially in the first half," Nolan told the club's website. "In the second half we put them under pressure but it was just that goal we needed. We were rightly booed off by our fans."It's always disappointing to see that and to see the anger in their faces. As club captain I ask them to please stay with us. We need them in our hour of need. It's up to us to stand up and be counted. We've got nine games to get ourselves out of this. It's not the time to talk about it, we need to do it."Megson's men, who beat the Reds back in November at the Reebok Stadium, have struggled since Chelsea signed their goalscorer on that day, Nicolas Anelka, in the January transfer window.And they will now also be without influential goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen. The Finland international missed Sunday's defeat to Wigan with a back problem, and is unlikely to play again this season.

Boss: Short-term focus

noreply@blogger.com (manchester united) — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 09:13:00 +0000

The build-up to Easter Sunday's clash with Liverpool has well and truly begun, yet Sir Alex insists he’s not looking past Bolton Wanderers’ visit on Wednesday.The Reds’ boss admits Sunday's game could be “pivotal” in the title race, although it would count for little should United drop points against Gary Megson’s side.“There are big games coming up and [Liverpool] is one of them, especially when you consider Chelsea are playing Arsenal on the same day,” Sir Alex told Manchester United Radio. “But when you see what happened at Derby on Saturday, not taking our chances, you realise you can’t take anything for granted. Sure, there are big weekends ahead, but the other matches are just as important.”Bolton, lingering in the drop zone and without a league win since the first weekend of February, certainly share the Reds’ hunger for points, even if the motivation is different. Megson's team beat United back in November and Sir Alex says they'll make life difficult again. “They’ve got Kevin Davies up front and he’ll do everything he possibly can to unsettle us.“He’s a physical lad and we have to deal with that but I think Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand have the height and ability to do that. Of course, losing Jussi Jaaskelainen is definitely a big blow for Bolton because he’s one of the best goalkeepers in the division, but they have experience in Ivan Campo and Kevin Nolan.“If we perform well and take our chances then we’ll win the match. But it’s important we respect our opponents. Some of our football recently has been terrific and there’s good penetration in the team. It’s encouraging that we’re making so many chances… perhaps the forwards just need to relax a little in front of goal. Then the goals will come.”

Silvestre eyes return

noreply@blogger.com (manchester united) — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 09:08:00 +0000

Mikael Silvestre could return to competitive action this week after a six-month injury layoff.The Frenchman damaged cruciate knee ligaments in United's 1-0 win over Everton at Goodison Park in September 2007.After a successful rehabilitation programme the 30-year-old defender has now returned to training.And Reds boss Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed that the full-back could take part in United’s Reserves clash with Manchester City on Thursday night.“Mikael’s training with the first-team now and he’s coming along well,” Sir Alex told Manchester United Radio.“It’s mainly been no-contact stuff but he should play in the next Reserves game, along with Gary Neville.”The Reserves take on third-placed Manchester City at Northwich Victoria on Thursday 20 March (19:00 GMT).

Ronny: Refs don't protect us

noreply@blogger.com (manchester united) — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:58:00 +0000

Cristiano Ronaldo feels he is not given enough protection from referees and fears suffering a serious injury.The winger was denied a clear penalty against Portsmouth in the FA Cup quarter final defeat at Old Trafford. That incident, coupled with persistent fouling throughout the game, highlights an oft-felt view that the Portuguese is not protected by referees."It's very frustrating, the referee was unbelievable," he told MUTV. "He didn't want to give the penalty, he didn't want to give yellow cards - I'm very disappointed. "Refs don't protect skilful players. I think about the Arsenal player (Eduardo) and I'm scared sometimes to do skills because some players do unbelievable fouls and the ref protects the defender, not the skilled player! It's very disappointing and I'm thinking a lot about changing my game. When referees don't give penalties, yellow cards or reds, it's difficult to play."Sir Alex Ferguson was left aghast that referee Martin Atkinson did not award a penalty for Sylvain Distin's clear bodycheck on Ronaldo in the seventh minute. Ronaldo added: "He (Distin) didn't try to take the ball. It's a joke."But it wasn't just refereeing decisions that disappointed the 22-year-old. "We lost today and everyone is disappointed because we were the best team," he said. "We created ten chances while Portsmouth created just one. It's frustrating to lose like that."We controlled the game, but we didn't score. Carrick had one cleared off the line, Patrice hit the post... we had a great chance to win the FA Cup but we need to think now about the Premier League and the Champions League. These are the priorities."

Reds wait on Edwin

noreply@blogger.com (manchester united) — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:50:00 +0000

United may have to give Ben Foster his competitive debut against Derby in the wake of Edwin van der Sar's groin injury and Tomasz Kuszczak's automatic suspension.If van der Sar isn't fit for Saturday, then Foster's return to action for the reserves last week could prove to be perfectly timed. Assistant manager Carlos Queiroz said van der Sar sustained his injury early in the match against Portsmouth. "He started to feel it after a couple of minutes when he was striking the ball," reported Queiroz."At half-time we decided there was no chance he could keep going."Van der Sar's deputy Tomasz Kusczak came on at half-time for his 13th appearance of the season - unlucky for him as he was later sent off in the match's decisive moment."We accept the penalty against us," said Queiroz, after Kuszczak conceded a decisive spot-kick."It was a one-on-one situation and unfortunately Tomasz touched the player (Milan Baros)."ManUtd.com will bring you news of van der Sar's injury as soon as it's confirmed from Carrington.

Queiroz apologises

noreply@blogger.com (manchester united) — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:45:00 +0000

Carlos Queiroz has issued an apology for comments he made about a Birmingham City player following United's FA Cup defeat to Portsmouth.The Reds' assistant manager was voicing his concern about referees not protecting skilful players when he referred to Martin Taylor, the Birmingham defender sent off for a foul on Arsenal striker Eduardo in a much-publicised incident last month.Queiroz has since reviewed his remarks. He told ManUtd.com today: "I am deeply sorry if my comments, made when emotions were running high after the Portsmouth game, were misconstrued."Everyone at Manchester United knows that Martin Taylor is not that type of player."All I sought to say was that in the modern game, because of its speed, we need to have more vigilance on mistimed tackles. "I apologise for any upset my remarks may have caused.”