Ok, ok, so I give up – you guys wanted detailed United coverage, now you guys have it.
Here’s ALL the news related to Manchester United in the media today.
1. Injury Update
First things first – Manchester United should have John O’Shea, Patrice Evra and Rio Ferdinand back in the starting line up on Saturday against Boro.
In addition, the club hopes to have Neville available for the Everton game next week.
The good news is Nemanja Vidic, who Ferguson says has been training and could be ready in two weeks (pointing to a possible start against Chelsea on the 9th and involvement in the FA Cup final) and Saha should be back by the end of April.
I’m surprised to see Vidic’s recovery – I can only assume that his collarbone wasn’t as badly injured as we first expected, and if he’s in training then there’s a chance for his return.
I wouldn’t want to rush Vidic, but if he’s fit to play, he should play.
2. Wayne Rooney on PFA Awards
Wayne Rooney comes out and says exactly what every Manchester United fan has been thinking – that Cristiano Ronaldo is good enough to win both the Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year PFA awards on Sunday.
Rooney’s voted for Drogba and Fabregas, btw, which is a fair choice I think.
I just realised that with votes for Ronaldo split between the two categories, he might lose out to Drogba and Fabregas, who are the second-best (if not best) options to Ronaldo in both categories.
That and the fact that the votes were cast at the end of January, so Ronny might miss out 🙂
And speaking of the PFA awards, Ronaldo has Terry’s vote, Scholesy has Nolan’s and Henry’s vote, while Lamps thinks Drogba should win because of his goals.
3 . Rooney vs Moyes
Speaking of Wayne Rooney, boy wonder is being sued by David Moyes’ lawyers for allegations made about his former boss in his autobiography.
To quote the Daily Mirror: “Moyes is believed to be seeking damages of £300,000 over remarks made in a chapter ‘I Don’t Want to Play for You Ever Again’.”
and:
“The writ is an embarrassment for Rooney and Manchester United.”
An embarrassment indeed. Hopefully the matter will be settled outside court and Moyes and Rooney can be bubbly friends again.
And has anyone actually read Rooney’s book?
4. FA Cup Final
Steve Bennett is the referee for the FA Cup final.
Bennett famous for two things – one, being the target of Neil Warnock’s wrath this season and two, for giving Tim Cahill a second yellow card for taking his shirt off while celebrating a goal in 2004.
It’ll be interesting to see how Bennett handles Chelsea’s tackling and niggling fouls as well as Ronaldo’s antics and Scholesy’s tackles.
And speaking of the FA Cup final, Chelsea are complaining about their tickets allocation, which is only 25k out of 90k (United got 25k as well, with the rest going out to neutrals). Chelsea want more, which I think is fair as both clubs should have gotten atleast 40k each (the neutrals can watch the bloody thing at home).
The FA thinks otherwise, and says that the FA Cup is for the country and the final is for all the fans.
I can’t resist this opportunity to pose this question:
“Manchester United can fill a 90k stadium, can Chelsea?”
They probably can, btw…
5. Neil Warnock on a rampage
Neil Warnock is still going on about that penalty. Now he’s speaking of taking up the case with referees chief’ Keith Hackett.
My view? Stop whining, talk to the FA about helping refs instead of publically criticising them and making their job harder.
6. Will Solskjaer retire?
Solskjaer is eager to play for Manchester United next season but is counting out the possibility of continuing a career beyond 2008.
While the media is hopping about and saying that Ole’s retiring next year, I think we just might see him have a change of heart and keep playing at a lower level (most likely outside UK).
[Source: BBC]7. Giggs the supreme motivator
Giggs has been pseudo-motivator for Manchester United this year, first telling them that they are good enough to win the treble and now using reverse-psychology by telling them that this year the treble will be tougher because of the injuries.
Substance over flair and luck are what’s needed, as Giggs says.
We have the substance, and according to Jose Mourinho we have luck too.
Giggs also thinks that having him, Scholes and Neville around is good for the younguns in terms of experience. A little less of the obvious the next time, Giggsy?
8. Manchester United fans banned
Lastly, 3 Manchester United fans have received a 3-year banning order for their involvement in the clashes outside Old Trafford before the second leg of the Manchester United – Roma game.
9. Transfer Rumours
In the transfer stakes, we’re being linked with Ribery and Berbatov. Been there, done that, nothing’s happening till the Premiership and Ligue 1 seasons end.
And Wes Brown isn’t going anywhere folks – come on, he’s been excellent for us.
Alright guys, that’s a wrap for this first edition – let me know what you think and especially if you want to see more of this (maybe a daily version?).
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