Ferdinand Still On Hold

Rio Ferdinand had a shot to ease his long time back complaint.  He has been out of active play since the end of October after deciding he could not stand it much longer.  And Sir Alex Ferguson had fears of a long-term absence.  Ferdinand has 13 games missed, plus a defeat to Brazil in Qatar.

There is a worry that there is still no sign of a near recovery.  While Ferguson is saying that it should not be long before the Ferdinand is coming back in action, he also said that there is still no light at the end of the line and admitted there is still no timescale on when he will eventually be playing again.  He was given an injection just over two weeks ago.   We have to let it settle for a week then he return for the gym work and do more core work this is what Ferguson said.  We are just praying that the pain leaves.

United and Arsenal Closing In

Wayne Rooney shifted from being a hero to a villain and again back to being a hero in the English Premier League champions when Manchester United overpowered Hull 3-1 on Sunday. This win made them second place, United is now just two points behind leaders Chelsea, who only manage a scoreless draw against Birmingham on Saturday, with Rooney the England striker involved in all four goals.

He managed to put United ahead on the stroke of half-time at the KC Stadium with a near finish after Giggs touched on Fletcher’s cross. But second to the cellar dweller Hull made it equal on the hour via a Craig Fagan penalty. Rooney’s back pass was cut off by Fagan and following his cross, Jozy Altidore was jammed at the far post by defender Rafael of United. Referee Alan Wiley which Sir Ferguson accused in October of not being good enough for Premier League football after siding 2-2 draw with Sunderland who signaled a penalty that Fagan sent Kuszczak far from the spot.

Manchester United signing Evra

Manchester United added power to their defense by adding more power via signing Patrice Evra, a very fast defender, from AS Monaco.  His performances had a lot of people wondering if the Frenchman was a poor signing.  But in 2006-07 he was cited in the Premier League as the best left-back.  The Dakar-born player transferred to United for a fee that was not disclosed, believed to be in the £5m range with a contract to last until the summer of 2009.  He started his profession with Paris St Germain and had a short stint with Marsala and Monza before signing for Nice in 2000. He worked for two years at the club before moving to AS Monaco.  

A well-known member of the Monaco side that achieve the Champions League final in 2004, Evra followed players such as Ludovic Giuly and Fernando Morientes, and then coach Didier Deschamps, left the principality team.  He began a centre forward as a youth, before transferring to the left wing.  He was again transferred to left-back in 2003 at Monaco.

Manchester United Soccer

Manchester United Football Club is a English Premier League football club who play in Greater Manchester.  The club was formed in 1878 as Newton Heath, who joined the Football League in 1892 and has played on the top division of English football since 1938 except for the 1974–75 seasons.  The average attendances at the club have been higher than any other team in English football for all but six seasons since 1964-65.  Manchester United is the reigning English champions after winning the 2008-09 Premier League.  

They are one of the most successful in the history of English football and won 22 major honors since alex Ferguson became manager in November 1986. In 1968, they became the first English club to win in the European Cup that beat Benfica 4–1. They won another European Cup as part of Treble in 1999, and in 2008 a third one and became runner-up in 2009.  They hold the joint record for the most English league titles with 18 and the record for the most FA Cup wins with 11.

Beckham Reunion with United

David Beckham is hoping AC Milan will meet against Manchester United in the Champions League draw on Friday, this will enabling the midfielder to face his old team for the first time since it left for Real Madrid in 2003.  The LA Galaxy veteran, who will move to the San Siro on loan for the remainder of the 2009-10 season upon the opening of the transfer window next month.  This was disclosed by Gazzetta dello Sport that he would love to return to Old Trafford with his adopted Italian club. 

The draw rules would mean that United will be one of six sides which Milan could be paired with in Nyon.  Beckham said that he would like to face his former team in the next round.  Since he left “United” in 2003, he has not returned to play at Old Trafford.  After seven years, he would like that play to happen. Manchester against him, it would be beautiful, wouldn’t it? He said.

Manchester United Dumped by Fulham

Fulham beat Manchester United 3-0 in English Premier League, and Portsmouth the team in the last place defeated Liverpool 2-0.  Arsenal thrashed Hull 3-0, Aston Villa defeated Stoke 1-0 and Tottenham won at Blackburn 2-0. Manchester City defeated Sunderland 4-3 and after a short time also released Mark Hughes as manager.  The win made Fulham retain its ninth place on 26 points.  Three time defending champion United remains second on 37, just three points behind Chelsea, which will try to increase their lead in a game tomorrow at West Ham. 

Portsmouth won for the fourth time in 18 league games this season to move higher off the bottom of the table.  Belhadj scored in the first half and Piquionne clinched the victory with eight minutes left. Pompey goalkeeper Asmir Begovic made a lunging one-handed save of a Steven Gerrard shot that was deflected off by two Portsmouth players in the 67th minute.

Sir Alex will not sign in January

Sir Alex Ferguson ruled out new signings to lessen his defensive injury crisis. United lost two out of three games, the latest was on Fulham on Saturday.  The result leaves them four points down of Premier League leaders Chelsea and Ferguson is very much aware that if United’s form does not improve quickly, they can forget the fourth consecutive title.  With seven senior defenders and their keeper out of action,

Ferguson was hinted to make an emergency signing.  Even though he ruled out the possibility of Sol Campbell out of contract on a short-term basis will join the Old Trafford outfit.  But with most of his players coming back some time in January, Ferguson will not make any additions saying that they are not so bad and are not signing players.  That is not part of the agenda, he told Key 103.  They are hoping that Wes Brown will be playing in a week or in 10 days.  Silva has started his training. Rio Ferdinand is starting to improve and Gary Neville is getting there.

The Fantastic Four for the Finals

Sixteen games before the season ends and it is shaping up to be one of the most hotly contested championships in modern history.  What is exciting for the fans is that it seems as if there will not be a runaway leader or even a possible two horse race for the title.  Manchester United is always in strife until the end but without Ronaldo’s magic they lack the killer edge that made them so strong last term. Sir Alex Ferguson will not give up on the trophy that he has won for three consecutive years and a total of eleven times and they would love to make it four in a row. 

Chelsea is also in second after a shaky start.  They are no doubt that they are United’s biggest threat.  Arsenal will also mount a serious assault on United’s title and has steadied the ship and the coming game could prove crucial in their quest to reclaim the crown they won in 2003.  Finally, completing the line-up is Liverpool, who was eyed to win the league before the season kicked off after running neck to neck with Manchester United last season.

Twist of Faith for United

Fulham made the twist in the race for the title of the English Premier League with a shocking 3-0 win over champions Manchester United at Craven Cottage.  Goals from Danny Murphy, Bobby Zamora and Damien Duff condemned injury-hit United to their fifth season loss.  For the meantime, Mark Hughes Manchester City manager was sacked, in spite of seeing his side defeat Sunderland 4-3 in an East lands thriller and replaced by Roberto Mancini former Inter Milan coach.

The other shock of the day came from Portsmouth, where Liverpool lost Javier Mascherano to a red card in a very disappointing defeat at 2-0.  In the news, Arsenal fired three past Hull City, Tottenham won against Blackburn 2-0 and Aston Villa kept its hope for the Champions League with a 1-0 win at home to Stoke. United’s defeat left Sir Alex Ferguson’s team, without some of the sidelined defenders are three points following the leader Chelsea.  The Blues will extend their advantage to six points if they win away to demotion endangered West Ham on Sunday.

 

United Struggling due to Injuries

The resources of Manchester United’s may have envied the world of football but Sir Alex Ferguson has confessed a lack of defensive players may cost them a fourth straight title of the English Premier League.  United are making a struggle just to cope with a serious injury list which has taken away six senior defenders in the last few weeks.  This is a scenario that even for a club with a lot of funds has proved unsound. 

Having already a surprise defeat at home to Aston Villa this month, United’s back-line bugged down again on Saturday, as they were beaten 3-0 by Fulham at Craven Cottage.  Ferguson, lacking the services of Rio Ferdinand and a lot of other great named players through injury, cited his cluttered treatment room as mitigation for this latest loss. Ferguson said that there is a fragility at the back at the moment and this was a difficult day for the team all round. 

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