Ladies and Gentlemen, Dimitar Berbatov’s top 5 goals scored in the last two years:

Number 5

Number 4

Number 3

Number 2

Number  1

He won’t disrupt things with Sir Alex Ferguson in charge, nor will the long-servers like Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville and Paul Scholes allow it. They wouldn’t stand for anything that would cause problems to one of the foundations of United’s success. I don’t think Berbatov himself would come in with anything other than full commitment and a desire to get to the very top. He has gone stale at Spurs but this is his big chance and probably his last chance at a major opportunity like this. He’s not going to put that on the line. He won’t get another chance to be a top player at a massive club, so he’ll knuckle down and go along with whatever it is that makes United tick.

Macari believes, however, the 27-year-old will arrive with a burden of expectancy.

It is a huge fee that brings him to Old Trafford and there will be a lot of anticipation. He’s got to deliver. The price will be big and people will question it, but I think he will relish the chance to show he is worth every penny. He doesn’t look the kind who would let anything faze him.

Macari doesn’t believe United’s lack of transfer activity suggests the Reds won’t be challenging again.

I don’t think Sir Alex Ferguson would have been biting his nails about cover at full back or central defence or in midfield, but there may have been concerns about lack of firepower. If Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez stay fit and you get Cristiano Ronaldo back soon then all well and good. But if Rooney or Tevez is injured early on where do you go? That would be a problem.

You can’t afford to take that chance so targeting a striker like Berbatov was right and I don’t think United need any more than that to show they will be challenging again.”The squad is stronger than 1999 and the one major signing would be enough.

‘66 was a great year for English football.
Eric was born.Hailed as the most influential player of the most influential team in British football, Eric Cantona was the catalyst for some of Manchester United’s greatest successes of the 1990s. With his swagger and a unique termperament, Cantona welcomed the limelight of Old Trafford and quickly became a crowd favorite and as Dimitar Berbatov has pointed out, he never smiled either. Even with his abrupt exit from the greatest stage, his many brilliant goals, are cherished as some of the greatest footballing memories that the Old Trafford faithful have had.

Last night, brought another landmark transfer with the purchase of Dimitar Berbatov from Tottenham Hotspur for a reported 30.75 million pounds. While the exact details of the deal are not fully understood, it is most likely that two thirds of the fee will be paid upfront, and Tottenham agreeing to drop their allegations of tapping-up. In addition, Frazier Campbell will be going in the reverse direction for a season-long loan.

While Gary Pallister and numerous pundits have compared Berbatov to Eric “The King” Cantona, I’d argue that for all of their similarities, Berbatov will play a significantly different role. Cantona had an incredible deft touch and the ability to hit the unexpected shot. Paired with amazing vision and the most gifted passing most have seen from a striker, his ability to act as catalyst, was as important as his ability to provide a perfect finish. His romanticizing of what the sport should be, only helped grow the legions of fans that supported the sometimes contentious misfit. The analogies are only natural to United’s new Bulgarian striker, down to the misbehaving temperament.

The differences however will show in the way the two players are used within the United system. While Cantona was placed as a supporting striker, often linking the midfield and forward, his role was far more marauding then what may end up being Berbatov’s place. United in the current system already have a player that plays this same role in the form of Wayne Rooney. Instead, Ferguson will be looking to Berbatov to give the attack a more structured form and lead the line as opposed to traveling in between the midfielders and the defense. His hold-up play, his pouching ability and his aerial presence will all be assets to be called upon.

While some make the comparison, the current squad has plenty of players that can play the supporting striker role, and few that can lead the line. With an array of similar skills, Berbatov may have to live up to the greatness of Cantona and display similar wonders as The King was able to perform in 1992 when Brian McClair and Mark Hughes were off form. In the same way, the real player to benefit from this acquisition may be Wayne Rooney. His faltering and inconsistent form has puzzled many fans who expected a far more prolific goal scorer. Berbatov showed that he could bring in his fellow striker and provided plenty of chances for Robbie Keane. The same may occur for Carlos Tevez and Wayne Rooney, bringing them into a more centralized force and diminishing the reliance on Cristiano Ronaldo. In the back of Ferguson’s mind, he may know that the structure that won the two greatest trophies in 2008, is not sustainable.

One cold and bitter Thursday in Munich, Germany,
Seven great football stalwarts conceded victory,
Seven men will never play again who met destruction there,
The flowers of English football, the flowers of Manchester

Matt Busby’s boys were flying, returning from Belgrade,
This great United family, all masters of their trade,
The pilot of the aircraft and the skipper Captain Thain,
Three times they tried to take her up and twice turned back again.

The third time down the runaway disaster followed close,
There was ice upon the wings and the aircraft never rose,
It ran upon the marshy ground, it broke, it overturned.
And seven of the team were killed when the battered aircraft burned.

Roger Byrne and Tommy Taylor who were capped for England’s side.
And Ireland’s Billy Whelan and England’s Geoff Bent died,
Mark Jones and Eddie Colman, and David Pegg also,
Before the blazing wreckage went ploughing through the snow.

The trainer, coach and secretary, and a member of the crew,
Also eight sporting journalists who with United flew,
and one of them was Big Swifty, we never will forget,
the greatest English ‘keeper who ever graced a net.

They said that Duncan Edwards had an injury to his brain,
They said that Jackie Blanchflower would never play again,
Matt Busby he was lying there, the father of the team
Six months or more did pass before he saw another game

Oh, England’s finest football team its record truly great,
its proud successes mocked by a cruel turn of fate.
Seven men will never play again, who met destruction there,
the flowers of English football, the flowers of Manchester

The Flowers of Manchester. It leaves a lump in my throat, every time I sing it. I’m sure it’s the same for multitude of Manchester United supporters across the world.

February 5th, 1958

On a surprisingly warm and sunny day in Belgrade, Manchester United took the field to play against the mighty Red Star Belgrade. It was their second leg Quarter final of the European Cup.

It was a typical battle of attacking football and robust tackles, a young team was willing their bodies and minds to greater heights. This was Manchester United, and this was what they were famous for. People flocked to see United play. Back in 1958, it was a refreshing change for the public, who were torn apart by lengthy wars. With emphasis on the exuberance of youth, Manchester United took England by storm. Always willing to play attacking soccer, with a carefree attitude, they raised the profile of the game in the home of football. They were the Busby Babes. They played romantic football.

“Play to the situation”, they knew not that phrase!!! It was the same brand of attacking football, home or away. They believed in expressing themselves on the football pitch, and they were fully supported by Sir Matt Busby, the manager. They were a sight to behold. On the 1st February, United travelled to Highbury to play against Arsenal, in what turned out to be their last match in England. Within no time, United had raced to a 3-0 lead. Pat Rice, the current assistant manager at Arsenal, was an on looker who was swayed on that day by the Babes. Incredibly, in what is still considered as the greatest match played at Highbury according to Rice, Arsenal scored 3 goals in 3 crazy second half minutes to tie the match at 3-3, only for United to win it 5-4.

Back to Belgrade, and the match kicked off. Barely 90 Seconds on the clock, Dennis Viollet scored to put United 1-0 up. In what turned out to be a dominating half, United raced to a 3-0 lead, thanks to a young Bobby Charlton double before the break.

This extra-ordinary goal glut in an away European away match, was against a side boasting the best goal keeper in the whole of Europe that day, in Meara. Incredibly, Manchester United did not sit back and defend, and went for the kill. Red Star scored a quick opener after the break and the game became an enthralling spectacle for the 52,000 odd home supporters.

But United never seem to do it the easy way. One penalty and several anxious moments later, Red Star Belgrade fought back to 3-3 with minutes remaining on the clock. But United saw the game off with some tigerish tackles and ferocious defending from Foulkes, Byrnes and Edwards. It ended 3 all, and United were through to the semi finals with a 5-4 aggregate, by virtue of the 2-1 win at Old Trafford in the first leg. AC Milan awaited them in the semi-finals.

A jubliant Manchester United team started it’s journey to England on a chartered plane on Thursday, 6th. Little did the team know the fate that was awaiting them. Little did Manchester know about the woe that was about to strike them. While Manchester was getting ready to welcome it’s young heroes, the Gods were getting ready to welcome the Busby babes to play for Heaven’s football team.

The Aborted Attempts and the Crash

The Airspeed Ambassador plane belonging to the British European Airways was ready to bear the team back to Manchester, where they were scheduled to play against Wolverampton Wanderers on the weekend. As fate would have it, the ever affable winger Johnny Berry, who had lost his place in the first team to the precociously talented young Welsh wizard of yesteryear Ken Morgans, had lost his passport.

After an hour’s delay because of the passport fiasco, the plane started its fateful sojourn towards Manchester. There were 44 passengers on board, players, coaching staff and journalists included. Legendary English goal keeper Frank Swift, was one among them. He was working for News of the World as a journalist covering the match. Old timers swear that Big Frankie’s hands were so big that he could catch the ball as if a normal person could catch a cricket ball. Swift’s career was cruelly cut short by World War II, and thus the keeper widely regarded as the finest of all time English goal keepers, even better than the legendary Gordon Banks had only a handful of wartime appearances for England and 20 odd full fledged appearances.

The plane stopped for a routine fuel stop at Munich. Cruelly, the plane never left Munich. The unthinkable happened. Under questionable weather conditions, two attempts to take off, already ended in failure and the airplane was forced to return to the terminal. Safety measures in those times were pretty rudimentary, and nothing compared to the present conditions. Though the players wanted to be in Manchester as soon as possible, there was resigned feeling that the night might be spent at Munich. There were even telegraphs sent by the United contingent to the near and dear ones in Manchester, about the impending bad weather.

The runway of the Reim airport in Munich, was inundated with snow. It was late afternoon and just when it appeared that the team was going to stay overnight at Munich, Thaine, the captain of Airspeed Ambassador, after consulting with engineers, decided to try a final attempt to take off. And it was a terrifying try. A try which would change the club forever. As the phrase “The blood of the martyr is the seed of the Church” goes, that try would change Manchester United forever. They were no longer a club, who provided relief to the war ravaged people by playing high octane football. That single try, changed the club with a carefree and joyous attitude towards life in general to the one synonymous with hope, hard work and perseverance.

Before the third attempt for the take off was made at around 3 in the afternoon, Captain James Thaine and co-pilot Kenneth Rayment made sure that there was no ice present in the wings of the airplane. This was a known hazard on that day. German Engineers were contacted and advice was taken regarding the take off. Normally when ice starts melting, the combination of ice and the liquid water becomes a mild paste like liquid, which often mixes with other minerals and dirt and becomes dark in colour. This is called as “slush”.

The runway was filled with slush, and the effect of slush on aircrafts like the Airspeed Ambassador was unknown at that time. The excess slush on the aircraft’s wheel can have a negative effect during take off. This would be the cause of the demise of a precociously talented football team. The plane shot down the runway hitting full throttle, but it could not take off as it entered the slush hit part of the runway, as it lost speed and veered away.

The highly religious Catholic Liam Whelan, was heard shouting “If this is death, then I’m ready for it.” How right those prophetic words were? The airplane, as it lost speed, crashed the airport fence and hit an unoccupied house. As the house caught fire, the starboard side of the plane hit a wooden hut.

As fate would have it, the hut had a truck filled with fuel and tyres parked inside. The truck exploded as the plane hit the truck. Before any help could arrive, 21 lives were lost. Seven of them players, and eight journalists. Fate, had its last laugh. The best team in England was brutally torn apart by one swift and sadistic swish of fate’s blade. The dead players included Geoff Bent, Roger Byrne, Eddie Colman, Mark Jones, David Pegg, Tommy Taylor and Liam Whelan. The journalists who died on the scene included Alf Clarke, Don Davies, George Follows, Tom Jackson, Archie Ledbrooke, Henry Rose, Eric Thompson, and the legendary Frank Swift.

What happened after that, a mixture of miracles, heroism in face of diversity and the sheer agony of having to live the life without so many close friends for the survivors. The newly signed “World’s most expensive keeper” former Doncaster Rovers player Harry Gregg, was more than a hero on that fateful day. Gregg had suffered only bruises and he was thrown out of the plane. Gregg raced back to the plane, as he remembered there was a little girl Vesna Lukic, and her mother, Vera on the plane.

After he had hauled back both the mother and the daughter to safety, he raced back to save more people. He saved the lives of young players like Bobby Charlton, Dennis Viollet, and Jackie Blanchflower. He saw Sir Matt Busby lying there, with his legs pointing haphazardly towards the wrong directions. He slowly hauled the hapless United manager to safety.

Bill Foulkes, was another lucky survivor. The plane had broken almost under his chair. As a result of it, Foulkes escaped without any injury. Apparently, the only injury he suffered was a blow to his head by his own whiskey bottle. In his own accounts, the first instinct that he knew was to run far away from the plane. As he had reached about 50 paces, he realised that the plane wasn’t going to blow to pieces.

He raced back to help Gregg save some of the survivors. Young Bobby Charlton had passed out on the floor, with a head injury and concussion. Johnny Berry, a severely injured Jackie Blanchflower, Albert Scanlon, Dennis Violett and Ray Wood were the other survivors. After the search had been called off, a full five hours later, a couple of German journalists found Kenny Morgans buried deep underneath the plane debris and rescued him. The other survivors included a couple of photographers and the only journalist of the lot, Frank Taylor.

The full horror of the tragedy did not strike Foulkes till he visited the survivors the next day in the hospital. He made an enquiry where the others were, and promptly told that no one else survived.

While back home in Manchester, the newspapers ran the story of the crash. This was going to be one long day. Particularly heart wrecking is the account given by Nobby Stiles. This soon to be United legend was a 15 year old apprentice player in the United youth ranks at the time of the tragedy. He vividly recalls the day with terror and fear when he read the news about the tragedy and how he hoped that it was a sick joke by Chronicle. But it was so not to be.

The Heroic Big Dunc

Special mention has to be given to Duncan Edwards, or otherwise called the “Big Dunc”. Arguably or for the old timers of football, unarguably the best footballer Great Britain has ever produced, The Big Dunc was destined for great things, no, amazing things.

There are people who insist if Munich had not happened, it would have been Big Dunc, instead of Bobby Moore lifting the World Cup trophy in 66. Dudley born Duncan, joined Manchester United as a 16 year old amateur. In his first two seasons, he played for the regular Man Utd XI in the league and FA Cup, as well as in Youth Cup competitions, where he helped United win the cup for three seasons. Along the way, he set records for the youngest player to appear in the Football League, and the youngest England International player, broken only by the precocious Michael Owen. Along with Dennis Viollet, and Jackie Blanchflower, Duncan Edwards was the future generation of talent at that time.

Alas, but ‘The Big Dunc’ had already played his last match against Red Star Belgrade. Duncan Edwards was injured seriously with multiple leg and rib fractures and severely damaged kidneys. Doctors were sure that he could never play football again, but were fighting to save his life. They knew for any chance of survival, they would need a kidney transplant. In the days of artificial kidneys, he was fitted with one.

But the artificial kidney reduced his blood’s ability to clot and the internal bleeding began. Newspaper reports and the hospital workers of Rechts Der Isar Hospital of that day, swear to this day, that the doctors were amazed at his fight for life, in spite of the odds against him, and the sheer pain of his injuries. This, they said, was a heroic man.

So undying was his optimism, when Jimmy Murphy, United’s assistant manager stepped in to see him, The Big Dunc asked him,

“What time is the kick off against Wolves, Jimmy? I musn’t miss that match”,

reducing Murphy to a heap of tears.


But after a long and painful fight against the injuries and pain, the candle that could never be put out, finally burned bright and ended in a blaze of glory on the 21st of February. Edwards was buried at the Dudley Cemetery five days later, alongside his sister Carol. More than 5,000 people lined the streets of Dudley for his funeral.

His tombstone reads

“A Day of Memory Sad to recall,
Without Farewell He left us all”.

“Keep the flag flying, Jimmy”.

“An unprecedented blow to British football has touched the hearts of millions,” he wrote. “The road back may be long and hard but, with the memory of those who died at Munich, of their stirring achievements and wonderful sportsmanship ever with us, Manchester United will rise again.”

Quoting his wife:

“I don’t think that the boys who have gone would want you to finish. They would want you to go on.”

“He was still very ill. I used to help him with dressing and getting into bed.

“My dad took time thinking about it and decided to carry on.”

“Maradona good. Pele better. George Best.”

“Eusebio and I say Kiddo…Kiddo,Kiddo - Wembley’68″

Rock on Fergie. Give us a wave.

“We’ll keep the Red flag flying high,
Because Man United will never die.”

RIP, The Busby babes.

Lest we Forget.

The recent articles about Aaron Ramsey were pointing to United as favorites for signing him. Last week, Cardiff manager Dave Jones spoke in favor of United, saying that a transfer to United would be a perfect foundation for a bright future

“United are the major force in European football, if not the best club in the world, and with the squad of players they have that domination is set to continue for some time to come. I believe Aaron can go there and play a valuable part in that in the future.”

“Cardiff City were informed on Friday morning that Aaron Ramsey’s preferred destination this summer is at Emirates Stadium with Arsenal”

ANDREW YATES/AFP/Getty Images

When the players came out I was so proud to see them standing there, ready to fight until the death for the trophy. I felt like I was among them. The atmosphere in the stands was awesome and I was expecting a tense match, with lots of duels, fireworks and numerous goal opportunities. I also imagined United going into the match with only one thought in their minds: win the match and get revenge. And that’s exactly what they did. At least in the first half, United was dominating the game from A to Z. We managed to score quicker that I expected. Wes had a throw in, then a one-two with Scholesy and Wes crossed the ball to the far post. At the end of the cross was Ronaldo, who brilliantly directed the ball in the back of the net with a very nice header. All Cech could do was to stand and stare.

Chelsea hadn’t given up, and at one point Drogba headed the ball across the face of the goal, Rio tried to head it away but, being under pressure from Ballack, he only managed to head it toward his own goal. Van Der Sar proved again that he’s a wonderful keeper keeping the ball out of the net.

Despite being ahead, United were still attacking and pressing, trying to get the second goal. However, luck was on Chelsea’s side this time, narrowly escaping on numerous occassions. At one point, Rooney played an excellent cross-field pass to Ronaldo, who crossed it for Tevez. But Carlos’ powerful header was palmed away by Cech. I really thought we were about to score as the rebound had fallen only as far as Carrick, but his shot was turned round the post for a corner.

As we were getting to the second half I wasn’t expecting anything from Chelsea, but they proved again that they have great deal of experience, and scored in the dieing minutes of the first half.

With Chelsea’s late equalizer I was expecting United to get back into the game and fire up one ore two more goals in the second half and put an end to Grant’s dream of coming out of the duel victorious. Instead, it was Chelsea who dominated the second half and they came very close to taking the lead after Drogba’s curled shot hit the post.

As the first 90 minutes ended up in a draw, they were followed by 30 minutes of extra time and Chelsea had another big chance to take the lead, in injury time when Frank Lampard’s shot hit the crossbar. It was the second time the ball hit the woodwork and I was afraid that they wouldn’t miss if they were given another chance. 7 minutes later Terry managed to deny Giggs’ shot, saving his team from what was supposed to be a certain goal and the winner.

In the 25th minute of extra time, Drogba received a red card for slapping Nemanja Vidic. Ballack and Tevez also were each yellow carded. As the ref was showing the yellow card to Carlos Tevez, John Terry spat at Carlos Tevez, but wasn’t seen by the referee. I think he deserved a red, but that would have unfairly spared him his future embarrassment.

The two extra-time halves ended as the first 90 minutes and we were up to a penalty shoot-out. I hate these shoot-outs so much because of the tension. I think my pulse was around 120, my knees were trembling and hands shaking. I was so damn nervous.

Tevez converted the first penalty calmly, like a true professional. Michael Carrick, the player I have begun to like very much of late, stepped up to take the second penalty kick and I was relieved to see the ball in the back of the net. I could have seen any of these two to miss the kick but I could have never imagined it would be Ronaldo that instead would faulter. The first thought that came through my mind after he missed was: “We’re fucked!”

Hargreaves converted calmly his penalty kick and in a way managed to calm me down. As we all know, the surprise was delivered by Terry, who missed the shot as he slipped across the Russian pitch. What was supposed to be his moment of glory turned into a nightmare. I suppose it was a proper punishment for his earlier behavior.

After that the two new youngsters Nani and Anderson took their chances, our legend Ryan Giggs was the last man to score for United as Edwin Van Der Sar managed to save Anelka’s shot and bring the Champions League trophy back to Old Trafford.

Manchester United – Kings of Europe… again, after 9 years of waiting, what a night it was. We managed to win it again, in a dramatic manner as it happened in 1999. I began dancing, jumping, singing as the players lifted the trophy. What a glorious moment for our team. The happiness on their faces was so contagious.
A wonderful night, a wonderful match, a wonderful trophy. What else could an United fan desire? The match was a bit spoiled by the incident with Drogba and Vidic, but who cares about that? We won and that’s all that matters.
Congratulations to all United fans with this season’s double. With our current squad I expect United to get another treble next season. Happy days for Manchester United and The Republik of Mancunia.

PAUL ELLIS/AFP/Getty Images

“Everything suggests he is going to be a superstar, a prodigy, as he has undisputable quality,”

“We’ve been delighted with him and he has proven himself to be a true central midfield player,” Ferguson added, saying “There was an urgency to get him once we’d scouted him, even though he’d broken his leg and had been out for four or five months.”

“It was amazing, not just for me but for my family as well,” Anderson said. “As a young boy it was always my dream to play for a big European club. I was lucky enough to do it with Porto and now I am at United. I feel proud to be here and I want to do my best.”
Anderson, though, admits he took his time before joining United because he wanted to continue to build experience at Porto before making the move.

“I heard about United some time ago through my agent but we thought it would be better for me to wait a little bit longer,” he added. “I was doing well at Porto and knew that joining a club like United would bring its own pressure. But when they expressed an interest in me again in the summer I felt it was the right time. Joining United is a dream come true for any footballer in the world.”

“He’s very good, a huge talent, but you need to be patient with him. His development should be controlled, giving him encouragement, but everything done calmly. We’re talking about a youngster who has the qualities to be a great player.”

“I expect Anderson/Possebon to be the favored combination in a couple of years. Possebon looks fantastic, poised, and accomplished - a lot like Michael Carrick but with a much, much higher ceiling. And we know that the sky’s the limit for Anderson. Happy days for our club.”

Manchester United wrapped-up a rather intense and nail biting conclusion to the English Premier League season, by winning their 17th league title.

There are several celebration clips which have made their way onto Youtube, including the trophy celebration, a picture compilation of the season and trophy presentation and the awards dinner, which occurred during the evening. Most of the players looked absolutely beat. I’m guessing playing 90+ minutes and then drinking copious amounts of bubbly would do that to anyone.

Congratulations to Manchester United Football Club!

Build-up To Moscow

One day left to go before Manchester United and Chelsea square off in the Champions League Final. The final is being staged this year at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia.

This is the first all English final and possible travel issues have been partially averted. Russia requires a visa for entry and require a 45 pound fee to process this visa. It was increased just as Manchester United defeated Barcelona to reach the Finals. The fans have accused Russia and UEFA of a money grab. In response, Vladimir Putin, the President of the Russian Federation, waved the fee required to obtain a visa between the dates of May 19th and May 23.

In team news, Sir Alex Ferguson has some major decisions to make with regards to who starts and the player subs. One player who could possibly not start for United is Ryan Giggs. There will be quite a few players that won’t get a chance at the big dance. However, the squad unity and professionalism will present little to no discontent.

Injuries sustained by Chelsea’s John Terry (elbow dislocation) and Didier Drogba (twisted knee) will be magically healed in time for the final.

Here are two youtube clips. One of Manchester United’s 07/08 Champions League campaign so far and the other of United’s 98/99 Champions League campaign.

Transfer Season Is Upon Us

Manchester United Chairman, David Gill has announced that funds will be made available for Sir Alex and his staff to bring in players. With needs for another striker and an attacking right back, its assuring to hear the Chairman, and United for that matter not resting on there success.

Transfer Rumours

The football cycle for rumours goes like this. Season begins in August and you have to deal with last minute transfer rumours up until September 1st. Then the winter transfer begins January 1st, and you have to deal with rumours until the end of the month. And then there’s May, when the season wraps up and every team, supporter and media outlet weigh in on what is needed to improve their football clubs. This merges into the summer transfer period which goes right up until the end of August. Here are the latest comings and goings to the club:

1) It seems United are looking for a player to replace Paul Scholes. And he’s a Welshman by the name of Aaron Ramsey, who is currently playing for Cardiff. He can be had for 5 million pounds.

2) Strikers galore are being linked to United. The ones that are being talked about a lot are, Luis Fabiano, Dimitar Berbatov and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.

Other strikers getting mentioned are Karim Benzema, Michael Owen and Dean Ashton.

3) With United rivals, Manchester City having internal issues, reports are coming out that Micah Richards could be sold. Guess whose at the front of the cue?

4) 2nd place Ligue 1 contenders, Bordeaux are looking into the possibility of buying Mikael Silvetre in hopes of strengthening there side for next year’s Champions League competition.

Supporter Videos

One of the most popular player chants of the season happens to belong to Anderson. His energetic displays, hustle and tremendous potential have captured the hearts of United supporters.

Anderson-son-son
He’s better than Kleberson
Anderson-son-son
He’s our midfield magician
On the left, on the right
to the samba beat tonight,
he is class with a brass,
and he shits on Fabregas!

With the stakes so high not only for staying up in the English Premier League, but securing a European place, the yearly fallout of managers is taking place as the season draws to a close.

Sven Goran Eriksson’s days as being Manchester City’s ex-manager have a 99.99999% chance of happening by the end of the club’s tour of Thailand. Its disgusting really. He improves the team, gets them to the UEFA Cup through fair play and gets City a top 10 finish (8th). They were fighting relegation a season before. It seems the owner’s diluted “big club” dreams has lead to Sven’s departure, with rumours swirling that he’ll end up with Benfica. As a United supporter, I couldn’t be happier seeing a major rival flounder in mediocrity. As a football fan however, I’m bitterly disappointed that football clubs nowadays have become increasingly impatient with managers and player development.

The Special One, Jose Mourinho, will more than likely be managing a club by next season. Having mutually agreed to terminate his contract with Chelsea FC, he has been rumoured to manage just about everywhere. From England to Australia’s National Football Teams, to Liverpool, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City over the course of the season. The chances are very good that The Special One will be managing an Italian side.

Awards

English Premier League Managers have named Sir Alex Ferguson Manager of the Year. Congratulations on the honour.

The United awards dinner was held Sunday evening and Cristiano Ronaldo cleaned up. He won Players Player of the Year, Fans Player of the Year and Goal of the Year.

Ronaldo has had a tremendous year, having scored 41 goals in all competitions so far. It’s a testament not only to Ronaldo’s skill, but United’s tactics and team cohesion which allow him to have so many scoring opportunities as a winger.

English Premier League

With several managers complaining about ‘boring’ football in this league, here’s an interesting take on the 07/08 league campaign.

Interviews

Cristiano Ronaldo speaking with Mandy Henry about the season and Champions League Final next Wednesday against Chelsea.

Clip of the Week

If you haven’t had a chance to watch, “I’m on Setanta Sports,” it is must see viewing. Its a parody clip each week during the English Premier League season featuring Jose Mourinho.