Man Utd blog, news, transfers, rumours, highlights, Manchester United

Berbatov Transfer to Manchester United is back on!!!

2008-08-13T08:46:00.000+00:00

It seems that a deal for Berbatov is crucially close. United and Tottenham are reported to have agreed a £25 million fee for the Bulgarian and will visit Carrington today to finalise personal terms. In one of the most drawn out transfer sagas of the summer, it seems that Tottenham have caved in to the might of United and have agreed a fee to let Berbatov go. The potential line up of attacking options that Ferguson will have at his fingertips (when they are all fit) will be simply memorising. Rooney, Tevez, Ronaldo, Nani, Anderson, Giggs, the list goes on and on and on.

It's funny that the day we are on the verge of signing Berbatov, Terry comes out and says that he believes United can't get any better. Hey Terry, go take some more penalties mate, when you get that sorted then come and chat to the Champions about winning!

Here are some links to some stories about the Berbatov transfer!
The mail
The Mirror
The Telegraph
The Guardian
The Sun
The Times

As always I love to know what you guys think. Is he worth £35 million, will he improve us further or can our current squad win the double again?

Countdown to the start of the premiership!

2008-08-12T10:17:00.001+00:00

So there is less than a week to go until the start of our new premiership campaign and we still haven't signed anyone. Should we be worried? Can we do it with the old boys? You bet we can. This weekend saw us take on Portsmouth in the charity shield, a rather drab affair, but one we won nonetheless. I didn't get to see the game, as I was away in Ireland on my stag do (I have a few bruises for memories sake), but I heard that Nani and Tevez were our men of the moment!!

Although there was a distinct lack of goals on Sunday, I think this has more to do with the fact that, we always start the season, a little slow, we get the wins however we can, battling away, grinding out those 1-0 victories, knowing that they will be the games that make our season. I do feel that our best asset this season will be our defence. We are difficult to break down, and pressurise in attack.

Over the weekend I heard that our man Fergie is after Henry. Personally I think that this is a ploy to try and hurry the transfer up of Berbatov. Spurs know that it is a battle that they will ultimately lose, trying to keep a player against his will, will never end up with the club coming out on top…. Where have we heard that before? Whether it's next season or this season that he moves, is the only subject for debate, again where have we heard that one before? I guess the difference between us and Spurs is that we have a lot more money and we win stuff. However ultimately that Portuguese cry baby will leave for Spain and he will kiss the badge of Madrid and that is why I can never take him to my heart like I could with players like Rooney, Tevez , Scholes and Giggs! No player is bigger than the club.. nobody.

So last post I said that I wouldn't take about Ronaldo and as I type I end up talking about him… man the guy has infuriated me! But enough of that, let's look at the season ahead. Next up we have Newcastle at home. Let me know in your comments, you first 11. remember you can have 5 subs as well.

I'm back.. I know it's been a while

2008-08-08T09:59:00.001+00:00

Hi everyone… man it has been a long time since I posted on this blog, but thought that I would try and pick it up again. I have been really busy recently with a few projects, but it has chilled out a little bit now and I have a bit more time to do a few posts here and there. So where do I start?

Well, we only went and won the double… The team last season was nothing short of extraordinary. Ronaldo had the season of his life (more on that little twerp later), as did Scholes, Nani, Vidic, Rooney, Ferdinand and many, many others. I think what made it for me was the team spirit. At any one time you always felt as though the team were working together to strive for the success they so richly deserved. It is testament to our hero Fergie that he keeps creating teams that want it so much that they go out week in week out and give their all for the club… Well done Fergie, you truly are the greatest manager to ever have lived.

Then there was the whole Ronaldo Saga. To be honest I don't want to waste too many lines of this blog talking about him, but I will say this.. You ungrateful little sh*t. We raised you, we made you the player that you are, and then you go and disrespect your team mates and more importantly your manager, who is like a "father figure" to you (your words Ronaldo, not ours), by openly flirting with the Spanish press. Spare me your jokes about Paella and fish and chips. I hope we sell you next season, good reddens, nobody is bigger or better than Utd.

Onto transfers. It seems that the big man is happy to put his faith in the current squad and why shouldn't he? They are champions of England and Europe. I also think that Fraizer Campbell fully deserves his shot in the first team. With a couple of premiership games under his belt, I think he could be the finished article. I also like the look of our Brazillian twins, I hope to see some more of them in the Carling cup this season.

Right well that's enough from me for today. I will be back soon with some more ramblings, but till then, feel free to comment away.

International breaks... perhaps a blessing this time?

2007-11-17T11:04:00.000+00:00

I seem to remember me cursing the international breaks a lot last season, why should we interrupt the flow of our all conquerring United team to watch a mediocre England team eek out a 1-0 victory against a country with little over 500 people? This time last year we were sitting pretty at the top of the league and every time internationals came around, the following couple of couple of games we seemed to spend trying to find our form again.

Why is it any different this year i hear you ask? Well our strength and depth is greater now. We have cover in almost all postitions, meaning we don't need to worry so much about one of ourt key men getting injured (although I can't help it). The other more important reason, is it gives Rooney and Hargreaves time to recover from their injuries.

I know we beat Blackburn quite convincingly last week with the absense of Rooney, but it seemed as though we lacked that killer edge. ROoney is the kind of player that brings others into the game. He makes the link between midfield and attack, he draws players into an attack, relaeasing them at just the right moment. Sure we have enough firepower to cope without him, but with him we have the confidence that we wll score 4 instead odf 2.

So as we endure another week of dull internationals, let's look forward. We have a run of fairly easy games, before the big one against Liverpool. We all know how important this game is. We are at Anfield and nothing other than a win will do. We win and we put distance between us and them... we lose and they are hot on our heels. Anyone for a John O'shea last minute special?

Manchester United V Middlesbrough match highlights and review

2007-10-29T09:11:00.000+00:00

Morning people, so that’s 4 successive games that we have scored 4 goals, who said United were struggling to score? With our sluggish start now out of the way, we now boast the best form in the league, can we maintain it? Based on Saturday's performance the signs are looking good!

Middlesbrough for all their fight simply could not contain a rampant United who have set their sights on nothing other than domination in all competitions. Yes Middlesbrough could have taken the lead after their fight back but you really get the sense that United will always score more goals than the opposition. It's a very continental style of play, often demonstrated by none other than the Brazilian's. You started to see it towards the end of last season and now that the team has gelled, we seeing it again.

The link up play between Tevez and Rooney was one of the points worth highlighting. It's hard to believe that this pair has only started 5 games together. What is more astonishing is how their understanding of each others game and movement dramatically improves every minute they are on the pitch together. Rooney's back-heal for Tevez was simply sublime, Arsenal be afraid, be very afraid.

A great comment I heard on Sky Sports news this morning that I'll leave you with "Wayne Rooney loves playing for Manchester united." Isn't it just great having players that love the club?

p.s here's the goals

Internationals bring injuries!

2007-10-17T08:09:00.000+00:00

Internationals say one thing to me. Injuries and boy we could do without any more of those at the moment. It's not been long since Rooney returned from yet another broken foot and I for one would hate to see him pick up another injury. Having said that I think that we are better placed to cope this season than this time last year.

Let's have a quick look at the injury list. Carrick is out with a broken elbow, John O'shea has a strained hamstring, Louis Saha has yet another knee injury, Wes Brown has a knee injury, Owen Hargreaves has tendonitis, Van Der Sar has a dodgy ankle/foot and Park, Fost and Silvestre are out for the long term. For many other squads this would represent a crisis but Fergie has built a squad with real depth and strength, our first team still looks strong.

But what if we lose Ronaldo and Rooney? We all know how the results went when these guys were out and we cannot afford for this to happen again. These two add a new dynamic to the attacking line, they provide the movement and pace that we remember so well from last year and most of all they bring a desire to win.

Rooney's desire to play as well as he possibly can was demonstrated aptly on Saturday against Estonia. It was evident that he was a player desperate for a goal and lacking a little confidence. Some players would shy away from fully committing themselves, but not Rooney. He stayed late in training and practiced in a solitary fashion, testament to his drive to reach the top of his game. Then during the match I remember him giving the ball away with a sloppy pass, he ran all of 60 yards to put in a tackle to win the ball back. I remember thinking to myself, "that is Rooney all over" and of course his efforts were rewarded with a goal.

So onto the fixtures tonight, I hope our boys perform well, but more importantly I hope that that don't get injured. For there are more important battles to be faced in the weeks to come! Roll on the Premiership.

The Man Utd blog is back, read it now!

2007-10-15T10:54:00.000+00:00

After a long break I thought I would post again. Sorry that I have been ever so elusive over these past few months, I've been so busy with work that I've let the blog slip. I will try and update on a weekly basis from now on, more if I have the time. I have also noticed that the forum is offline.. I'll see if I can get that fixed and up and running as there was some pretty good discussions going on in there last season.

Well back onto our beloved united. After a stumbling start (our worst in 18 years or something ridiculous) we are sitting second in the table, second only to a bunch of kids from the Emirates stadium who are yet to play any of the top 4. Despite our stuttering start we find ourselves ready to pressure the gunners all the way to the end and boy am I excited about that. It seems like the clock has rolled back five years and we are about to witness yet another season of Fergie Wenger mind games as the season draws closer to its ever exciting climax.

What about the whole Mourinho affair. It seems the Russian sugar daddy had finally had enough with the "special Ones" demand for absolute power and decided to do away with one of the worlds greatest coaches. Never mind hey… at least he has Grant, the big man from Israel, who's achievements I can count on one limb, to take Chelsea to Champions league glory.

I think more of this post needs to be dedicated to United and not Chelsea. Let's look at the team. We had problems early on trying to find goals. Rooney was injured in the first game and Ronaldo decided to take out one of Portsmouth's players with a head butt, resulting in a 3 match ban. We were solid at the back, controlled much of the possession, but lacked that killer edge.

I think much of this was down to the lack of experience of playing together. We need to remember that Anderson, Tevez, Nani and Hargreaves had never played together before and it will take time for them to understand each others game. Against Wigan we saw glimpses of what this team is capable of, but I think the best is very much yet to come. What do you guys think?

One last thing that I am keen to find out is… who do you think our best player has been so far? For me it has to be Vidic, he has been solid and consistent and has even scored rescuing some vital points for us. Well that's it from me today. I look forward to reading your comments, if there is anyone left reading this blog!

Can Tevez fill Rooney's boots?

2007-08-14T11:15:00.000+00:00

Can Tevez fill Rooney's boots? That is the question on most United fans lips today as we face the prospect of being without our star man for 2 months, possibly longer. There was a lot of talk before Tevez signed for us that he was too similar to Rooney and that there was no way that they could play together. Now that is not a statement that I agree with, but if there was ever to be a time for Tevez to endear himself to the United fans, now would most definitely be it.

Tevez has vowed to win over the United fans hearts and minds, he is the kind of player who is easily adored. At West Ham last season, he took the burden of a relegation threat upon his shoulders and made it his personal crusade the club from impending disaster. Now he must do the same, take over the mantle from Rooney and keep the front line alive and well & truly kicking. We have faith in you Carlos, we know that you can do it.

It seems that Tevez will make his debut against Portsmouth tomorrow night, earlier than Ferguson had anticipated. It promises to be a fiery encounter, where nothing less than victory will suffice. Can Carlos Tevez carry on where Rooney left off, let me know here?

Manchester United V Reading highlights and review

2007-08-13T07:32:00.001+00:00

Good morning fellow United fans. It seems a while since I had to post on a regular basis, but the new season is now upon us and let's be honest, it wasn't the greatest of starts. It seems that we will now be playing catchup with the other boys, but we seem to do that pretty well! The more concerning bit of news is that Rooney has fractured a bone in his foot and will be out for 2 months, possibly longer.

The Rooney injury is a great concern. It comes at the worst possible time. Just as he was getting his confidence back, our star striker gets an injury that will see him out until October at the latest! All is not lost however, Ferguson's strengthening over the summer periods has been done with exactly this kind of incident in mind. I think we can expect to see Tevez making the starting line-up quicker than we previously thought.

The game yesterday leaves us 2 points behind all of our rivals. It was a day of trying, but never really threatening. Of course it is always difficult to play against a team that puts 11 men behind the ball, but we are United and we can expect a lot more teams to do that to us throughout the remainder of this campaign.

The best chances fell to Giggs and Rooney. Giggs had a shot from a tight angle, but it was directed straight at the keeper. Minutes later Rooney made a break with some trademark movement only to see his shot drift agonisingly over the bar.

The game ended in a drab 1-1 draw, despite Reading going down to 10 men after a shocking tackle from Dave Kitson. It was a case of huffing and puffing, but Reading's house refused to come down.

Onto Fantasy Premier league… I promised I haven't rigged it, but yes I am top after a glorious week of points. Congratulations to Xth-United who is only 1 point behind. FC TKK started the defence of his title with a good week of points, scoring 54 along with Kaki Bola Kajang who is on the same score. Those of you further down the league, remember that it's only early and there is plenty of time to catch-up, well up to 2nd place that is lol!

Here's some quick highlights of the game, as always please let me know what your thoughts were on the result!

Manchester United V Reading highlights and review

2007-08-13T07:32:00.000+00:00

Rossi moves To Villarreal

2007-08-01T08:42:00.000+00:00

Manchester United have agreed a reported £6.7 million deal for Guiseppe Rossi to Villarreal. For me it is a sad day, but an inevitable one. Rossi is an exceptional player and I have no doubt that he will shine in Spain. I would like to thank Rossi for his services at the club and wish him all the best for the future. £6.7 million is a bargain!!

It seems that the Tevez saga is rumbling on, with a court date set for the 22nd August. We sure do know how to pick them. I am opeful that the matter can be settled out of court and he will be donning the red shirt for the first game of the season, here's to hoping!

Thanks to everyone who has signed up to the fantasy football league, we currently have 22 teams, but there is still time to enter.
To enter simply click here and signup. Then goto join a league and enter the following code 349621-72423

It's free and a lot of fun, but be warned…. I think that I have got the ultimate team this year, FCTKK beware, I'm gonna take a lot of beating lol.

It's not long until the season starts now, I'm getting excited about this one. There are so many teams with a lot of potential this time around. I really fancy Newcastle and Tottenham to challenge the top four and make this a really exciting encounter. Of course we know there will only be one winner in the end… Glory Glory Man Utd

join the Man Utd blog free Fantasy Football league

2007-07-22T13:49:00.000+00:00

Hi to all,
just to let you know that after all your suggestions I have decided to go for the premier league fantasy football. It's time for you to pit your wits against other fellow man utd fans and see if you can become champion. Last seasons' winner Time killing kid will be eager to retain his title against some stiff competition.

To enter simply click here and signup. Then goto join a league and enter the following code 349621-72423

It's free and always a lot of fun, so good luck!

Mirror mirror on the wall, what's the greatest lineup of them all?

2007-07-13T10:41:00.001+00:00

I'll keep my post quite brief today. Thanks to everyone who posted their line-ups on the blog and please keep them coming in. I think I have a winner so far and that goes to Andy W with the following lineup:

VDS
Neville Ferdinand Vidic Heinze

Hargreaves
Ronaldo Nani
Anderson

Tevez Rooney

You will notice that most of the experienced heads are missing and for good reason. Do you remember when Ferguson got rid of Hughes Ince and the other old heads? Everybody thought he was crazy, with a certain commentator stating "you'll never win anything with kids". The rest is history.

This team represents the future of United. It's a team that has the potential to rule domestic and European football for years to come and that is why I believe this is Fergies best eleven. The only person I would maybe change would be VDS, replacing him with Foster. We should be looking to the future and it with a team like that, it really is a bright one.

Amey Nevrekar couldn't see why I omitted Solskjaer from both starting line-ups and he does have a point. At 33 he was still instrumental in helping us salvage valuable points last season, there is no doubt that the baby face assassin still has that killer edge. But I see him as no more than a bit player this season. As much as I respect him as a player, it is now time for the likes of Rossi and Dong to step up to the plate and show what they can do. Solskjaer will always be in our hearts, but now it's time for the kids to shine!

On a side note, I'm thinking of starting up the fantasy football league again. If anyone has some good suggestions for a free one that we can use, please let me know.

What will United's 2nd eleven be?

2007-07-12T08:12:00.000+00:00

Good morning United fans and thanks for all your opinions on the formation I picked for United yesterday. It seems that 2 controversial points were picked out in the comments yesterday so I would like to talk through them at more length today. It seems that this season we have a very palatable problem, in that we too many good players in the squad, just who is going to play?

The first thing that I was picked up on was that people favoured Giggs over Anderson on the left. This is a fair point, Giggs was truly immense in a number of games last season, anyone remember Benfica home? But I think that this year is going to be all about pace and movement. I expect Giggs to be saved for the big games like Liverpool and Chelsea, as he has the experience to pull the others through. Anderson will be more exciting bringing pace and dynamism to the team. I expect to see the Brazilian pitted against lower ranked teams to begin with to ease him into English football.

Up front Amey Nevrekar prefers to go with Tevez over Rooney, based on his chance conversion ratio. I think this will be Rooney's season. He spent a lot of last season out of the limelight with Ronaldo stealing the show. I think this has given him time to mature and grow his game. He has also had chance to recuperate over the summer with no games being played. This will do Rooney the world of good in my opinion. Expect to see a fresher revitalised Rooney this season.

I would like to present our alternative selection today. This would be the team that we play when we are resting key men before the big ones:

Foster

Brown, Pique, Silvestre/O'shea, Heinze

Park, Fletcher, Anderson, Nani

Tevez, Saha

Subs: Kuszczak, O'shea, Eagles, Rossi, Hargreaves

I have tried to ommit as many first team players as possible to make way for the squad players. Of course we know that Fergie always packs his bench full of stars just in case we come unstuck.

Again it's over to you now. You can have a lot more fun with this one and please feel free to continue commenting on my first team suggestion.

Fergies first eleven. What is it going to be?

2007-07-11T09:53:00.000+00:00

It seems that Tevez is now prepared to force a move through to United by writing to FIFA expressing his concerns. It seems that this has the potential to run and run, especially if the courts get involved. I wouldn't count on him being here when the season kicks off in less than 30 days time.

This has been one of the hardest summers I can remember. Yes it's great that we have signed all these fantastic players, but boy I can't wait for the games to start. It will be great to see Fergie showcase all his new talent, especially as we are by far the strongest team in the league.

Liverpool have spent big on Torres, but to be honest I never really rated him in the first place. He's a good player but in all honesty I would take Tevez Rooney or Anderson over him any day.

This year it will be vitally important that we come out of the blocks firing on all cylinders. We know that Chelsea will be strong, we know it will be tough. Liverpool I'm sure believe that they are also in with a chance, That is until they go through their usually dodgy spell before Christmas and spend the rest pf the season playing catchup.

Thanks to everyone who commented on their dream formation, it makes really interesting reading. I am going to stick my neck out and put forward my best 11. Please feel free to rip it to shreds!

VDS

Neville, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra

Hargreaves, Carrick,

Ronaldo Scholes Anderson

Rooney

Subs: Foster, Heinze, Nani, Giggs, Tevez

Scholes to pus forward and drop back as required, he would be rested and Tevez to replace him. Rooney and Tevez to interchange being the hole player linking midfield to attack.

Anderson on the right in the mould of Ronaldinho. I see him breaking on the left and cutting inside creating space for Rooney. Scholes would also play those clever balls into space for Anderson and Rooney to terrorize the wingbacks. Nani and Giggs can replace Anderson as required. Note Anderson will not play the majority of games but I think he will shine when he plays.

The key to Ferguson's success this season is how the team interchanges positions. We saw it last season, where each player up front changes positions throughout the game. This makes it virtually impossible for the opposition to man mark any of our attackers. Adding the likes of Nani, Anderson and Tevez only strengthens this style of play.

Now it's over to you. Am I talking rubbish, or is this the team to lead us to the quadruple? You decide.

Pre season update, United now the most feared in Europe!!!

2007-07-09T14:21:00.000+00:00

Yet again it's been a long while since I posted on the blog. There has been so much going on what with the Tevez saga continuing. It now seems that West Ham are refusing to let him go, whilst the Premier league are insisting that all transfer money goes to West Ham rather than to Joorabchian.

Ferguson has come out to the press and said that he is confident that a deal can be concluded and to be honest that is good enough for me. Ferguson has always had his doubters, but we United fans know that he always get his man. Fergie is building yet another dynasty, with Tevez completing the jigsaw.

Today was a historic day. Ferguson unveiled both Hargreaves and Nani to the press. This year United fans have been living in dreamland. Nobody has bought better than United this summer, with the likes of Anderson, Nani, Hargreaves and now Tevez seemingly on his way. The thought of watching these players grace the field in 2007/2008 is simply mouth watering.

I overheard 2 Arsenal fans talking in the pub the other day, it made for quite interesting listening. They were saying that United and Barcelona are a cut above any other team in Europe and I have to say I agree with them. No other team in the Premiership can match the flair of United up front. Lets look at it for a second. We have Nani and Ronaldo on the wings, with Giggs as backup. In the centre we have the battling Hargreaves and the creative Carrick pulling the strings and for attacking prowess how does Rooney, Tevez and Anderson sit with you? Of course we still have the ginger warrior that is Scholesy boy. I feel that this year we have a truly devastating combination of youthful vengeance coupled with experience.

One last thing before I sign off. Is it me or does it seem that every star in the world is queuing up to play for United? It seemed that only last year nobody wanted to join us, we were a team in decline, Chelsea were the new force to be reckoned with. This year it's all different, we are back where we belong, at the top of the tree and long may it continue. Teams of England and Europe be afraid, be very afraid.

One last thing, I would love to hear your thoughts on formations with all our new signings, so please comment on what you think our line-ups will be!

It's been a while so here's a quick United update!

2007-06-21T13:42:00.000+00:00

Hi to all, it's been a while since I last posted on the blog. I've been so busy with other projects, but thought I should just check in. looking at this year from last year, it's been a real contrast. Firstly we had the European championships to keep us occupied and secondly United didn't sign anyone until the close of the transfer window. Now of course it's much better this year as we have purchased some real quality, but it does leave me kicking my heals a bit wondering what on earth to write about.

There is one more possibility of a striker coming in. He goes by the name of quagliarella. With United reportedly increasing their offer for the future Italian star, would this guy represent a shrewd acquisition for the mighty reds? If I'm honest I haven't seen too much of him, but he seems like a strong goal scorer and could be worth a punt at £13 million.

I think much of the remaining talk will be of players leaving. The three players talked about a lot recently are Alan Smith, Giuseppe Rossi and Gabrielle Heinze. For me it would be a shame to lose any of them. All have exception qualities, both Heinze and Smith played vital roles in our seasoned campaigns last season.

As always I want to hear what you have to say on the issue, so I welcome your comments, do we need to lose players? Or is our squad perfect for next seasons battle?

Man Utd in for Tevez - Transfer rumours!

2007-06-11T07:32:00.000+00:00

Hi people, it’s been a while since I posted, mainly because we sealed all our transfers so early. But this weekend a new prospect arrived on the scene. That prospect is none other than Carlos Tevez. The Mail on Sunday led with the story, stating that Ferguson has demanded we investigate the possibility of us signing him.

Such a deal would be fraught with problems. Firstly there is the circus that surrounds the player. When 2 of the brightest talents in Argentinean football arrived for West ham most fans couldn’t believe what they were seeing. It all seemed too good to be true and indeed it later emerged that it was. If a further transfer were to go through United would want categorical proof that West Ham own Tevez outright, with everything done legitimately to prevent any FA comeback in the future.

The second problem and an altogether more serious one is Inter Milan. Whilst it is reported that united are prepared to fork out £12 million for Tevez, Inter say that they are willing to pay up to £34 million. It doesn’t take a mathematician to work out which bid the owners (whoever they may be) would choose.

I suppose it all boils down to how much Ferguson really thinks that Tevez is the answer. The Scot is rarely wrong in his purchasing decisions and as we know, he normally gets his man, so watch this space!

Anderson Video

2007-06-02T08:21:00.000+00:00

I found this whilst reading a newspaper article. We all know about Nani and his tricks, but how about this guy? I think the next Ronaldinho is an appropriate fitting. Just check out his tricks! Perhaps Ronaldo and Anderson can compare notes?
Man Utd opponents be affraid, be very affraid

Manchester United sign Nani and Anderson. The transfer lowdown

2007-05-31T08:47:00.000+00:00

Good morning boys and girls. I thought that I’d get my post in early this morning because of the fantastic news that broke last night. I check my comments and six guys have beaten me to it on the comments, God you guys are fast. I think it’s important for us to welcome Nani and Anderson to the club, so I’ll see if I can find some Youtube videos of them.

Reports suggest that the pair have been purchased for up to £30 million. This would take Sir Alex Ferguson’s pre season spending close to the £50 million mark. Both players represent an attacking prowess, which gives us some insight as to how United are going to play their football next season…. Anyone for more goals?

The sun article says that Ferguson is opting to play a 4-2-3-1 formation next season. We would have our standard back four, Hargreaves and Carrick as holding players, Ronaldo, Anderson and Ronaldo as our attacking options with Rooney up front. To me that sounds a little devastating. My only concern would be that Rooney is not an out and out striker, but the way the front four play, changing positions and interlinking with each other I think that they will all interchange positions throughout the game.

Anderson is one of the most coveted talents in Europe with Chelsea and Real Madrid both interested. His first club was Gremio coincidentally the same club where Ronaldinho rose through the ranks, indeed some have even gone as far as to compare him the Brazilian master. In 2005 he won the player of the tournament at the Fifa under-17 world championship. His move from Porto was completed in real haste, something United have not done all that well in recent years. Anderson has been named in Dunga’s squad for the Copa America. View Anderson’s stats here.

Nani is a more renowned talent to many United fans. Dubbed the new Ronaldo, he has long been a target of Sir Alex Ferguson. He is seen as a long term successor to Ryan Giggs who this week announced his retirement from international football to prolong his United Career. Nani is considered the most promising of left Wingers in Portugal, he has speed, skill and is a good striker of the ball. Nani made his first-team debut for Sporting Lsibon aged 18, making 29 appearances including all six champions league games. He scored 5 goals last season. View Nani’s Stats here.

I think that one important thing has emerged with these two signings and that is the growing role that Carlos Queiroz is havign at the club. These two deals were done in Portugal, Queiroz’s home country. I don’t think this is a bad thing, after all he is bringing flair and exciting players to the club. It’s not that Sir Alex didn’t do that before, more that Carlos maybe has the connections in Portugal at a time when they are producing some of the finest talents on the world scene.

The papers are saying that Ferguson is not finished yet and still wants to add another striker to his ranks. At £50 million already spent I think we will see some departures before this happens. According to journalists, Heinze is a forgone conclusion and I woulld expect Richardson and Saha to move on in order to fund a new set of legs up front.

These signings come at the right time for United. As Scholes and Giggs prepare to hang up their boots, the future of United arrive. They will have one or two seasons to learn from the masters, let’s hope they do and pick up where our Salford heros left off.

Videos of Anderson

Videos of Nani

See the UK Newspaper stories here.

the Guardian

The Mirror

The Sun

The Sun part 2

The daily mail

The Daily Telegraph

The Times

Manchester United transfer rumours 30/05/2007

2007-05-30T07:34:00.000+00:00

Good morning people, apologies for not posting in a while, it’s been a hectic week and surprisingly not many transfer rumours about. The latest news is that Hargreaves will join up with United at the start of next week. It will be great when one of the longest transfer sagas in history finally winds up. We are hoping that this is just the start.

What was going on with Bale? So many people have said that this kid is going to be special. We were in the hunt for him and then all of asudden, Tottenham unveil him for £5 million, possibly £10 million. Let’s just hope that we don’t end up paying over the odds for him in 2 years time. I honestly feel that we’ve missed a great opportunity there.

Then there is Nani. This is a player who we have been tracking for a couple of years now. All of a sudden Totttenham are in Portugal looking to do a quick deal. I think the Man Utd scouts need to wake up a little and sign the players that we actually earmark.

Anyway rant over. The news in the oh so reliable Daily star reports that Sir Alex is making his move for both Eto and Huntelaar. These are old stories and I know we need to keep our transfers quiet for fear of being priced out of the market, but let’s have some fresh developments!

I think we should also be focussing on wingers. As it stands we have Giggs, Ronaldo, Park and Richardson. This needs bolstering this summer if we are to avoid being caught thin on the ground next season. Who do you think we should sign other than Nani?

Finally Ryan Giggs is to announce his retirement from international football today. He is quoted as saying that he would like to prolong his playing career at United! Good man! I’m sure you will all join with me in congratulating Giggsy on a fantastic international career!

Manchester United Transfer News 23/05/2007

2007-05-23T08:00:00.000+00:00

Good morning fellow United fans, after the drab performance at the weekend, we are left kicking our heals, doing housework and generally making nuisances of ourselves. For after tonight we hit a baron spot of club football. Of course tonight sees Milan and Liverpool battle it out for the champions league crown. I think you’ll all join me in wishing AC Milan the best of luck?!

So onto transfers, it was reported this morning that Bale could move to either Tottenham or United in a cut-price deal, such is Southampton’s financial situation. Please let’s not make this another Berbatov saga, where we had the opportunity to sign him, then Tottenham stole him from under our noses!

The Gudjohnsen deal has reared its head again, with West Ham reportedly lining up an £8 million deal. Do you think he could cut the mustard at United? Such is our pace and attacking flair! For me we need someone with more pace and skill than Gudjohnsen. Eto or Torres would fit the bill more aptly I think.

With Hargreaves, I look forward to him being unveiled as our next midfield honcho. It has been some time since we have had a real ball winner in midfield, I think that we missed that on Saturday and I am hoping he will add that aggression next season, oh next season seems so far away!

Owen Hargreaves transfers to Manchester United

2007-05-20T17:44:00.000+00:00

So it's official, Owen Hargreaves has finally completed his move to Manchester United from Bayern Munich. The fee is rumoured to be in the region of £17 million, a record for a bundesliga player. For United it has been a long time coming but we knew it would happen eventually.

I will write a full article on this tomorrow with links to all the newspaper articles, but I just had to get the word out now as quickly as possible. Yesterday was a real bummer and Terry really wound me up when he said his team had the fitness after 90 minutes to push on for the victory. What utter rubbish, neither team played well, but I thought we edged it in extra time. They took their chance and fair play! It was a drab match with neither team playing well.

Guess what Chelsea? We're the Champions. Roll on next season, Hargreaves and Carrick to rule for years to come!

Manchester United Transfer News 17-05-2007

2007-05-17T07:36:00.000+00:00

Good morning people, it’s not long to go now until the FA cup final. I’m sure you will all join me in hoping that Jose finds his little yourkie terrier safe and sound. It must be a torrid time for the little thing! On a lighter note Ladbrokes are offering odds of 500-1 that he will make a pitch invasion on Saturday.

Transfer news has been quiet over the past couple of days, but there are a couple of stories that have come out this morning that may be of interest. Let’s kick things off with a story in the Sun about Mark Viduka. Read the article here. I think for a free transfer this guy could work perfectly. He is strong and can hold the ball up well. The only problem would be his pace, but he could be used as and when to provide another option.

The Daily Star is assuring us that Bale will definitely move to either Manchester United or Tottenham this summer in light of them missing out on qualification to the premiership. This old news to be honest, I think we will get him as he is quick, can tackle and can cross. I think United is a bigger pull than Tottenham!

What is going on with Saha? The guy is always injured. I think it might be high time the Frenchman moved on. We need a clearout of certain individuals if we are to progress. Players I think we can afford to let go are Richardson, Silvestre and Saha. That would provide us with the extra funds we need to bring in the big boys!

2007-05-14T13:16:00.000+00:00

Hi to all,
This is an appeal to anyone who might have any information as to the whereabouts to Madeleine McCann. If you have any information, no matter how small you may think it is, please call the number on the picture below. Our thoughts and prayers are with Madeleine and her family at this time.