Manchester United blog..

Reading between the lines it seems fairly certain that Cristiano Ronaldo would like to move on to Real Madrid or indeed Barcelona; the only question is when and not if.

The majority of Reds fans have loved and supported the Portuguese star from the start of his United career, but we will have to accept and live with whatever Ronaldo decides is best for his future. We also have to remember that he did not have to sign his last contract extension. Ronaldo has known of Madrid's interest for quite some time, so we should show him respect, no matter what happens after the Champions League final next week.

Many United supporters were deeply unhappy with the way that David Beckham appeared to engineer his own move out of the club – at the time many fans believed that he had tried make the club look like the guilty party when all along his camp had been working his ticket out of Old Trafford. Like Ronaldo, Beckham wanted to sample life in another country and play for another huge club, you cannot blame them really.

However, unlike Beckham, Ronaldo is being open and honest about his long term intentions, this week he has spoken of his 'dream' to play in Spain.

Should our worst fears be realised this summer, then Ronaldo could be off to sunny Spain and quite where would that leave United? It would quite ridiculous to suggest that we will just replace him, as that is clearly impossible.

The media keep on banging on about Cristiano being 'the best player in the world' - that may or may not be true, but one thing is for sure, he's one hell of a player. No way would United have won the title without his goals, he has given the Reds so much it is almost impossible to quantify.

Losing Ronaldo is unthinkable and should it happen don't be surprised if Fergie also throws in the towel as his job would suddenly look ten times harder.

Whenever a United genius or legend moves on, the club have been lucky enough to eventually replace them. In the case of Beckham, we replaced him with Ronaldo, even though they play in the number seven shirt, like Cantona before them they are entirely different players.

All that United fans can hope for is that we will eventually find another fabulous number seven - after all, that is what the club have always been about, finding the most talented players who can go on to play the game the United way, long may it continue.

Whatever you decide Cristiano - we the fans salute you - at least I will, there is only one Ronaldo.

Labels: Cristiano Ronaldo

Russian star Arshavin lit up Manchester last night in the UEFA Cup final when producing the game's only genuine moments of class, Zenit St Petersburg won two-nil, Arshavin was at the heart of both goals.

In truth, the match itself was like too many finals, with so much at stake, not that memorable and there were few technical skills on view. However, the Zenit number ten did more than enough to ensure that Europe's biggest clubs will be making enquiries about his availability this summer.

Rangers huffed and puffed their way through the match, but they had no answer to Arshavin who once again proved that he is the man for the big occasion. England fans will no doubt recall that he was the architect of the Three Lions downfall in the Euro 2008 qualifiers.

Paul Scholes is not unlike Arshavin in his style of play, both have the ability to unlock tight defences with killer passes, the 24-year-old Russian would be an ideal long-term replacement for the United midfield general.

As the song goes "Fergie, Fergie sign him on".

Labels: Arshavin

Officially United have around 1,000 Champions League final tickets that have been returned from season ticket holders. However, rumours have been circulating the city today suggesting that that up to 3,000 tickets could be offered to the club's 140,000 membership. United remain confident that they will not be returning any unsold tickets to UEFA.

David Gill had gone on record stating that United could have sold five times the club's initial allocation "We could sell well over 100,000 tickets for this final, so there will be a lot of disappointed people."...

Chelsea are thought to have sold far fewer tickets than United, though at this moment in time the exact numbers of unsold tickets is a matter of conjecture and speculation.

What we do know is that it's a desperate situation for many supporters who cannot afford to spend around £1,000 on a day trip. Understandably, fans of both clubs are not happy about the final being played in Moscow given the huge expense involved in getting there, added to which all of the city's hotels were booked up weeks ago.

There's also the question of UEFA acting responsibly with regard to football's carbon footprint - where is the sense in dragging 40,000 English fans across Europe to Moscow?

Labels: Moscow Champions league final

It was a fantastic weekend for United fans, the Premier League title was wrapped up at Wigan. It was a nerve-racking game for all those who follow the Red Devils, but we got the right result and of course Chelsea faltered against Bolton - few had predicted the game at Stamford Bridge would end in a draw.

Manchester City even went down losing by an eye-watering score-line of 8-1 against 'Boro. Many Reds will have been so absorbed by events at the JJB that the City result was always going to be academic given both teams had little to play for, but still news of the result capped off what was a truly memorable day for United fans with a few added laughs thrown in.

The good news didn't end there though as those who were lucky enough to see Watford vs Hull City earlier in the day will have witnessed another treat in the form of young on-loan United striker Frazer Campbell, who went on to have an outstanding game for the Tigers who won two-nil. Campbell expertly laid on the first goal for Nick Barmby when pulling the back from the by-line; he also had a hand in the second goal and could have scored a couple himself.

Those United fans who follow the Reds youngsters will no doubt be hoping that Campbell isn't offloaded like David Healy. The big problem is that United are almost spoilt for choice in the 'second striker' department with Rooney and Tevez both coming into that category and course we have Ronaldo who can play anywhere up front - though his best position like Ryan Giggs is out wide.

However, Giggs cannot go on forever, therefore it's likely that Campbell will spend another season on-loan and if he continues to develop at the current rate Fergie will have a ready made replacement for the Welshman in 12 month's time.

While competition for places at Old Trafford is fierce in the wide positions, Fergie is looking to bring in another out and out striker; ideally the Reds will find someone with power, pace and skill - not an easy task - and many are rightly hoping that Angolan striker Manucho gets the green light for that work permit.

There was a further development on the search for a new striker today, with the name of Luis Fabiano being added to the list of potential new acquisitions. The 27 year-old Brazilian is thought to have a buy-out clause in his contract that could see him arrive at Old Trafford this summer for a knock-down £9m, but his club Seville reportedly have a prohibitive £46m price tag on the player who has scored 34 goals in all competitions this season. Most of the newspapers ran the Fabiano story today, which had all the hallmarks of originating from one source, probably the Press Association. Is there any truth behind the story as Fabiano has also been linked to Manchester City?

We have been led to believe that United have been watching the Brazilian all season, but again this could be paper talk as was the Michael Owen link to United at the weekend.

At this time of year, players' agents' will go the extra mile when talking to the press and their contacts with a view to brokering a big money move for their clients and course we are now entering the silly season where transfers are concerned.

I personally wouldn't rule out United's reported interest in Fabiano - the fact that respected sports papers like the Times and Telegraph ran the story suggests that somewhere along the line credible sources must have been consulted on this link.

Labels: new striker

United retained the title at the JJB Stadium on Sunday after Ferguson once again gambled on the fitness of Wayne Rooney. The England striker didn't look to be 100% match sharp against Wigan especially in the opening twenty minutes, but unlike against Chelsea recently, this time the gamble paid-off handsomely as the former Everton star went on to win the Reds a first-half penalty and then lay on the second crucial goal for substitute Ryan Giggs.

Going into the game reports suggested that Rooney was an injury doubt, and exit bound Louis Saha's inclusion on the bench as insurance was further evidence that the Reds had concerns over starting with Rooney up top.

Ferguson now has a nice break before the Champions League final in Moscow on May 21st; it will be long enough to ensure that the players are rested and fully ready for the clash with Chelsea who have their own injury concerns over Drogba and skipper John Terry.

However, all thoughts on Moscow were put to one side going into the final league game with Wigan, it was win or bust for the Red Devils and all the talk centred on what Steve Bruce and his players would do. "In the name of fair play" many in the media tried their best to ensure that justice was seen to be done - while at the same time the media managed to more or less completely ignore Bolton's duty to perform against title challenger's Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

The fear was that Wigan might roll-over for the Reds, those fears were completely washed away after the first 20 minutes at the JJB, with the home team edging the contest. United looked a bit nervy in the opening exchanges with Scholes and Carrick gifting the ball back to the other side and up top Rooney, Tevez and Ronaldo were giving the army of visiting fans little to shout about.

Rio Ferdinand (my man of the match) was given the benefit of the doubt by referee Bennett with a dubious looking hand-ball decision inside the United penalty area. United would have had few complaints if a spot-kick had been given.

Then on 33 minutes a United attack led to Rooney being decked in the Wigan penalty area and this time the referee pointed to the spot. Ronaldo scored in some style to ease the Reds nerves, but not long after Scholes who had already been booked made another late and stupid trademark challenge, worst case it could have cost United the title, but bizarrely Bennett only lectured the former England star on this occasion.

There was the usual post-match inquest on Bennett's performance, this a referee who has made some awful decisions against United over the last few seasons, was he attempting to redress the balance somewhat, or was it that Bennett did not want to court yet more controversy given he'd sent off Ronaldo twice? Whatever it was the stopped Bennett issuing a red card to Scholes he may well be back on Fergie's Christmas card list.

Having already given United a penalty they were denied a cast-iron second-half spot-kick when Scholes was hacked down by Bramble and once again it was Rooney who'd supplied the killer pass, but this time Bennett gave the benefit of the doubt to Wigan. Steve Bruce later described the referee's performance as 'horrific', objective United fans couldn't argue really; the rest will not care one jot...

Giggsy came on to equal Bobby Charlton's all-time United appearance record and he fittingly hammered the final nail into Chelsea's title hopes when scoring on 80 minutes following United's best move of the game which again ended with Rooney supplying the killer pass.

The Giggs finish was exemplary, like the Ronaldo penalty it was coolness personified. The Welshman first checked that he was onside while at the same time realising that he was in space, before receiving the Rooney pass then turning after just one touch and firing smartly beyond the reach of Kirkland to send the Red Army into raptures.

The fact that Giggs has matched Charlton's record is nothing short of remarkable in the modern game; it was the perfect way to end to this game on what turned out to be a magical day.

Giggs is now being rightly held up as a model professional both on and off the pitch, the fans are hoping that he goes one better in Moscow and helps to secure that elusive Champions League trophy.

Back at the JJB the news just got better when it emerged that Bolton had equalised at Stamford Bridge and with it came the knowledge that the race for the title had been finally won.

The joyous scenes at the end of this game showed exactly how much this title victory meant to everyone at the club. Ferguson hasn't celebrated like he did at the JJB since the win in Champions League final in Barca in 1999. It's the perfect 10 now for Fergie and the speculation is that he might carry on until he's won another couple in doing so overtaking rival's Liverpool.

We can now look forward to the trip to Moscow with something to show for a season's hard graft, failure to do so yesterday was unthinkable given the task ahead.

The experts are saying this has been the most competitive top division in England ever. Few, perhaps only Liverpool fans would argue...

For most of the campaign Arsenal have played some great football and only ended up four points behind United. Chelsea after an unbelievable end to the season finished just two points behind the Champions. All three clubs have had to endure injuries to key players. Gunners fans will be wondering what would have happened if Eduardo had not had his leg broken. United lost Rooney and Vidic and Chelsea have lost Drogba, Carvahlo, Ballack and Terry.

Yet for all the injury problems coupled with the criticism of the Premier League, we had three teams in the quarter finals of the Champions League and two in the final.

For these reasons United can look back with pride at their wonderful achievement of retaining the title. As Mark Lawrenson opined on MOTD2 "They've scored the most goals, let the least in, United never give up, they always attack you - they only know how to play one way" and that isn't a bad summary even for a plastic Scouser...

Labels: United back-to-back Champions

Fergie went on the offensive this week in a bid to redress the media's campaign to ensure that the Wigan Athletic players put on a good show against the Red Devils on Sunday at the JJB stadium. The United manager's gripe was that while the media have been quick to focus on Steve Bruce's players, few have questioned Gary Megson's Bolton stars who take on title challenger's Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on the finally day of the season. Via his "spying network" Fergie revealed that the Bolton players have been out partying all week after they secured their place in the Premier League next season.

There is no love between United fans and those who follow Wanderers, so much so that I personally wouldn't be surprised if the Bolton fans at Stamford Bridge start cheering on the home team.

The same can be said of sections of the ABU media, who appear to be desperate for Chelsea to win the title given their incessant questioning of the Wigan players all week. Leading up the this final day of the season it has been an unbalanced media led barrage of questioning as far as Bruce and his players are concerned, while Megson and his players have been left to go out on the piss and live it up at the races.

On Sunday the talking will have to stop and then the United players will hopefully put on show worthy of the name champions, and if they do that all the hype will be blown away.

It's very nearly that time of the year again folks, the summer transfer window is set to open and with it will come the usual plethora of players who will be linked to Manchester United.But before we get into some of the names in the frame, how much will Ferguson have to spend this summer?

According to one recent report Fergie has up to £50m to spend on new signings, but let us not forget that the future of Carlos Tevez needs to be resolved, that deal could account for up to £20m.

The good news for United fans is that the player known as the "Apache" says he wants to stay, and he's in no hurry to sign - but with only one year left on his current loan deal, it seems likely that the Reds will have earmarked a substantial amount of this summer's transfer kitty to secure the Argentine's long term future.

There has also been no official news on what is likely to be happening in the transfer market from within Old Trafford - and that is how it should be - we don't want a repeat of our chief executive announcing to the world that the club are cash rich and ready to spend, as did Peter Kenyon prior to capturing Rio Ferdinand from Leeds United. At that time the West Yorkshire club were on their financial uppers, but it didn't stop United from shelling out silly money for a defender, over £3om to be precise.

The Ferdinand transfer was an abject lesson on how not to conduct a transfer, it is to be hoped that lessons were learnt, because down the years, United really have been their own worst enemies where inflated transfer fees are concerned.

Whenever the Red Devils come knocking enquiring about the availability of potential transfer targets the selling club almost always adds on a few noughts' - it is entirely our own fault, if you act daft, expect to be treated accordingly.

Another case in point being Jaap Stam's move to Lazio - we paid them £30m cash for Veron - in return the Italian club didn't stump up the £14m for "the big Dutchman" for about three years... I could go on and on...

So who are the names that Ferguson's most wanted list? As ever we can only speculate. Spurs Bulgarian striker Berbatov reportedly wants Champions League football next season, should United's interest be firmed up with a bid, there's no doubting the North London club will take the greatest of pleasure in pulling down our collective trousers on the transfer fee as they did with Michael Carrick - once he had signed for £18m, sources close to the club let it be known they'd have accepted a lot less - suffice to say Spurs could be about to double their money for a player they signed for £10.9m ...

However, there's has been suggestions that Berbatov sulks when not selected (another Saha?), added to which he doesn't track back in the manner of our very own "White Pele" aka Wayne Rooney. The Bulgarian star is also more than a bit lazy, but the boy can play and there's no doubt about that. My gut feeling is that Fergie would love to have him at Old Trafford, he's a big player for the big occasion, for this reason I can see United making Spurs an offer which they cannot refuse.

Samuel Eto'o name is being linked to all of Europe's top clubs - no surprise there given that Barcelona have parted company with manager Frank Rijkaard, but like the rest of the Barcelona players including Thierry Henry, he will want to see what the new coach has to say before making any decisions on his future. Another potential stumbling block stems from the fact that the Catalan club would want Ronaldo in part exchange - a request that would surely bring to an end any prospect of a deal? There's also talk that Samuel Eto'o is another complex character and is quite hard to manage. My own view is that both Samuel Eto'o and Henry are unlikely to arrive at United this summer.

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar's name has been constantly linked to United over the last few seasons, the Dutch striker would appear to fit the bill, he's the right age and he can score goals - 33 from the current campaign.

A recent report claimed that Huntelaar was keen to stay at Ajax under the guidance of Dutch legend Marco van Basten, but Huntelaar is 26 this year and given his age he can no longer be classed as "Europe's hottest young striker" added to which the Ajax star must have surely contemplated moving to a bigger stage. My own verdict is that this deal is possible - given it's likely to be the one that offers the best value for money.

Kenwyne Jones has risen to prominence since his move to Sunderland where he is currently top-scorer, but surprisingly he has only bagged seven goals this season in what is a struggling side.

Ironically, his move to Sunderland could potentially scupper any prospect of a dream move for Jones to a big club of because of the Black Cats likely sky-high transfer valuation.

Sunderland manager Roy Keane has not spent wisely in the transfer market and Jones is the club's most valuable asset. The Trinidad and Tabago star has been described as the next Didier Drogba - he's not quite that good and due to Sunderland's valuation, my view is unlikely.

Labels: new striker

Kevin Keegan is seemingly in trouble with Mike Ashley the Newcastle United owner for stating that the Premier League is in danger of becoming one of the most boring but great leagues in the world. We know what you meant Kev... The Newcastle manager was talking to the media following Monday's two-nil defeat to Chelsea and it's not the first time that Keegan has lost the plot somewhat on such occasions, it is understandable really following the heat of battle.

Ashley should not be reprimanding his manager for speaking his mind; Keegan is all about passion he speaks from the heart. The former European footballer of the year wants to see the Magpies up their mixing it with the top four - but he and Ashley both know full well that it is unlikely to happen. No doubting Ashley will be telling his manager to keep such views to himself in future, that's assuming he's still in the job after Friday's meeting in London.

The fact is the Premier League is like any other top European league - it is dominated by a few clubs - it's the same in Spain, Italy and Germany, it's up to the other clubs like Newcastle to try to break the monopoly of the bigger clubs. As we have seen this season it can happen, the big boys can be beaten, Manchester United have lost five games this season and we have dropped points a plenty when drawing games.

If Michael Owen had used his left foot and taken other chances against Chelsea, Newcastle could have won that game, but did not happen.

No doubting Ashley will be asking Keegan to clarify his comments - was it a public cash call to the Newcastle owner, or more likely was KK just venting his spleen following a hugely disappointing second-half display by his team? Whatever Keegan's motives "I'd like to be a Mole on the wall" (As Keegan said once said) at that meeting on Friday when the two meet to discuss those comments.

Whatever the outcome, Keegan is wrong, the Premier League might be predictable, but so is La Liga - how many times have Madrid won the league in the last 20 years?

The Premier League is a great league - only those who follow clubs that haven't won the title for a long time would argue otherwise. Sure, it's nigh on impossible for promoted clubs like Derby County to survive, but even the Rams nearly managed to beat United this season. The Premier League is exciting and it's competitive, if it wasn't the grounds would be empty.

The old first division did have more winners in the 60s and 70s, but Liverpool had periods of domination and we cannot turn back the clock.

For the record since 1990, England's top division has been won by five different clubs:
United, Leeds, Blackburn, Chelsea and Arsenal.

Here's a breakdown of the other top leagues in Europe since 1990:

La Liga - six clubs: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, De Portivo, Athletico Madrid, Athletico Bilbao (La Liga has been more or less totally dominated by Real Madrid and Barcelona)

Serie A - six clubs: Inter, Milan, Juve, Roma, Lazio and Sampdoria (Dominated by Milan and Juve - six wins each)

Bundesliga - five clubs: Bayern Munich ; Stuttgart, Borossia Dortmund, Werder Bremen and FC Kaiserslautern (dominated by Bayern, nine times winners)

Labels: Kevin Keegan, Premier league boring