MAN UTD 6-2 win over Newcastle
MANUTD 6-2 win over Newcastle.Rangers 4-3 win over the Motherwell.What do you think the MANUTD 2-2 ARSENEL .Tell me what you think the MANUTD v REALMADRID send me your thoughts.
Real Madrid 3,
Manchester United 1,
Real Madrid
or
Manchester United
versus
Juventus
or
Barcelona
Juventus 1,
Barcelona 1,
Ajax 0,
Milan 0,
Ajax
or
Milan
versus
Internazionale
or
Valencia
Internazionale 1,
Valencia 0,
Barclaycard Premiership
Pos Team Pld HW HD HL HF HA AW AD AL AF AA GD Pts
1 Manchester United 33 14 2 1 35 10 7 5 4 26 19 32 70
2 Arsenal 32 14 1 1 37 14 6 6 4 30 20 33 67
3 Newcastle United 33 14 1 2 34 16 5 3 8 23 27 14 61
4 Chelsea 33 10 4 2 34 12 7 5 5 26 20 28 60
5 Everton 33 10 5 1 24 14 6 3 8 19 24 5 56
6 Liverpool 33 8 8 1 27 13 7 2 7 22 22 14 55
7 Blackburn Rovers 33 9 5 3 23 14 5 5 6 20 23 6 52
8 Tottenham Hotspur 33 9 4 3 30 21 4 4 9 17 26 0 47
9 Middlesbrough 33 9 7 1 31 18 3 3 10 11 17 7 46
10 Charlton Athletic 33 7 3 6 24 26 6 4 7 17 20 -5 46
11 Southampton 32 8 7 2 22 14 3 5 7 13 19 2 45
12 Manchester City 33 8 2 6 25 24 4 4 9 15 27 -11 42
13 Leeds United 33 5 3 8 18 22 6 2 9 28 26 -2 38
14 Aston Villa 33 9 2 6 22 13 1 6 9 14 27 -4 38
15 Fulham 33 9 3 5 22 17 1 5 10 13 29 -11 38
16 Birmingham City 33 6 4 6 17 19 4 4 9 14 25 -13 38
17 Bolton Wanderers 33 5 7 4 22 21 3 4 10 14 27 -12 35
18 West Ham United 33 3 7 7 19 24 4 4 8 18 32 -19 32
19 West Bromwich Albion 33 3 4 9 13 23 2 2 13 9 29 -30 21
20 Sunderland 33 3 2 11 10 24 1 5 11 10 30 -34 19
Scotland
Bank of Scotland Premier League
Pos Team Pld HW HD HL HF HA AW AD AL AF AA GD Pts
1 Rangers 33 16 0 0 44 9 12 3 2 42 14 63 87
2 Celtic 31 16 1 0 49 10 9 3 2 27 10 56 79
3 Heart of Midlothian 32 10 3 3 33 21 5 6 5 20 25 7 54
4 Kilmarnock 33 8 5 4 25 17 6 3 7 18 29 -3 50
5 Dunfermline Athletic 33 9 2 5 29 23 4 3 10 19 33 -8 44
6 Dundee 33 6 5 5 25 22 4 7 6 19 26 -4 42
7 Hibernian 33 6 3 7 22 25 5 3 9 24 33 -12 39
8 Aberdeen 33 3 7 7 16 20 6 3 7 16 28 -16 37
9 Livingston 33 4 4 8 18 23 4 4 9 23 27 -9 32
10 Partick Thistle 33 4 6 7 20 22 2 5 9 9 28 -21 29
11 Dundee United 33 2 7 8 17 28 3 3 10 12 33 -32 25
12 Motherwell 32 5 3 7 21 23 1 3 13 14 33 -21 24
League Tables | Fixtures | Results | Ticker | Chat Forum | Could you? Police
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MANCHESTER UNITED NEWSmore News
TWO TEAMS, TWO CULTURES, ONE GAME
Tuesday April 15 2003
By Pete Gill
Advertisement
Misleading things statistics - and not just the type that used to be provided by the Iraqi Ministry of Information.
According to the stats, Newcastle had more possession than Manchester United on Saturday, won the battle for territory, and matched the visitors shot-for-shot. Judging from that, a 6-2 hiding should be the subject of a police investigation. Neil Warnock would be doing his crunch.
Yet in truth, Sir Bobby’s boys spent Saturday lunchtime chasing shadows, and trooped off after 90 painful minutes on the wrong end of a humiliation they could not claim was any sort of injustice.
The result also served as the perfect platform for Wednesday’s titanic clash at Highbury. ManYoo and Arsenal are now ascloseasthat at the top of the Premiership.
Yet as United went on the rampage at St James’ the contrast between the country’s two leading sides was there for all to see.
Arsenal rely on pace, United on movement and passing; United pack the box, Arsenal don’t even bother to do so when they have a corner. United are utterly, utterly ruthless. Arsenal? Well, they’re just not.
Highbury may boast the players of greater skill and flair, but if you want to see weaker opponents crushed, then it is United upon whom you should call. If this title run-in calls for some minnows to be brutalised to boost the 'goals for' column, you would fancy United rather than their London rivals.
While United continue to go for the jugular, it’s just not in this Arsenal’s team’s nature to search for more goals when the game is already won. 3-0 up at half-time against Sunderland in September, for instance, they lost the second half 1-0. 3-0 ahead against West Brom after 25 minutes they stuttered to a 5-2 win. Quite remarkably, given their riches in attack, that match was one of only two occasions when the Gunners have scored more than five in a game this year - the other saw them winning 4-0 after 19 minutes at Maine Road in February before settling for 'just' 5-1.
Call it bullying, call it ruthlessness, but either way Arsenal just don’t do it.
Arsene Wenger’s side even sat back and settled for a 1-1 draw at St James’ in February against their numerically disadvantaged opponents. 6-1 up on Saturday and Sir Alex was still bawling on the touchline, demanding more goals from his team.
The difference in approach is made all the more starker by their respective strikers.
Would Ruud van Nistelrooy ever pass up the opportunity of scoring a penalty as Thierry Henry did at White Hart Lane? Certainly not judging by the way he demanded to take United’s penalty this weekend.
And would Van Nistelrooy have spurned the chance that came Henry’s way in the 85th minute on Sunday against Sheffield United? His side are under the cosh, a trip to Cardiff is on the line, and Henry finds himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper. Does he make the percentage play and simply side-foot the ball in? Of course not. Instead, he flicks the ball up and with his next kick attempts to chip a volley into the far corner. It goes without saying that Van Nistelrooy would have opted for the more straightforward approach.
Yet then again, Van Nistelrooy will never score the a 30-yard volley, after a spot of ball juggling, with which Henry beat United at Highbury in November 2000. For one thing, Van Nistelrooy wouldn’t try it. It wasn’t the percentage play, after all.
Like his team-mates, the Dutchman is simply seeking the next goal - and any type of goal will do. The Frenchman - like so many of his countrymen in red and white - is searching for the perfect goal.
That’s not to say that either approach is wrong - how could they be when both players are deserving of their world-class tag, or when both sides stand head and shoulders above their domestic rivals - but it does serve to demonstrate the fundamental difference between the two sides. Which one proves the most successful this season is as genuinely enthralling a stand-off as the Premiership has seen.
But let's turn away from those two fantastic strikers. As far as Wednesday’s clash is concerned, then history suggests that the match will be won and lost in midfield. Witness Roy Keane’s brace at Highbury in 1999, the utter domination of Edu and Patrick Vieira last May, the surprising success of Juan Veron and Phil Neville in November, and the apparent handing over of the title of 'Best midfielder in Britain' from Keane to Vieira two months ago at Old Trafford.
Alas, both skippers are carrying knocks from the weekend, but the smart money is on both to declare themselves fit to play - sportsmen of their ilk generally do.
Intriguingly, both managers have decisions to make in the midfield area - Ferguson must decide whether to deploy Scholes on the left or as an auxiliary striker alongside Van Nistelrooy, while Wenger must decide who should partner Vieira.
Gilberto is likely to be given the nod despite his 30-minute howler on Sunday and despite his season-long attempt to prove himself the opposite of Scholes - whereas the Ginger One keeps his international place solely on the basis of his club performances, the only justification for Gilberto’s club selection is his status as a Brazilian World Cup winner.
At best his performances this season could be described as ponderous; at worst they have been a liability. Edu, man of the match at Old Trafford 11 months ago, and a key figure in February’s victory, surely has a more deserving case.
What is less debatable is the notion that this is the clash of Britain’s finest two teams. Certainly their domination of English football is such that soon Scottish fans will be able to deride the Premiership’s predictability and two-team duopoly.
Nor is the Arsenal-ManYoo domination restricted solely to the Premiership (which they’ve won every year between them since 1995 and will undoubtedly do so again this term); no team, other than United or Arsenal, have beaten either United or Arsenal in the FA Cup since January 2002.
Newcastle are the nearest rivals and are vowing an even stronger challenge next time out, but then again so are Hearts and the Liberal Democrats. The Toon may be revitalised but, as Sir Bobby says, "Getting to the top, where there’s no oxygen - that’s the hard bit." United’s 11 goals against Newcastle this season, and the solitary point garnered in Newcastle’s four matches against the big two, indicate just how far they are away from the summit.
Wednesday night: a clash of personalities, of traditions, of football philosophy… and of the undisputable heavyweights of English football.
No manager has stamped his authority on the first 10 seasons of the FA Premier League more than Sir Alex Ferguson, the Manager of the Decade.
The Scot has led the Old Trafford outfit to an unprecedented seven titles in 10 years, as they became the dominant force in English football, and also one of the leading clubs in the world.
As a consequence, players he signed for the club as youngsters have grown into outstanding professional footballers, household names and even the globe's most recognisable faces.
The former Rangers centre forward had already earned plaudits from his time as manager of Aberdeen and Scotland before he moved south of the border.
Indeed, he had been Manchester United manager for almost six years by the time his side kicked-off the Premiership era at Sheffield United's Bramall Lane on August 15, 1992.
The intervening decade ushered in success after success based on over 244 Premiership victories from his 392 games in charge.
He has presided over a 12-game winning run from March 2000 to August in the following season, and a 29-game unbeaten streak which stretched from December 1998 all the way to October the following year - both unparalleled achievements in the opening decade of the Premiership.
But it could not have started more inauspiciously for Ferguson.
He saw his side concede the competition's first-ever goal, scored by the Blades' Brian Deane after just five minutes as they fell to a 2-1 defeat.
However, Ferguson and United have not looked back since.
By the end of the FA Premier League's debut campaign, the Red Devils were English champions for the first time in almost three decades, signalling the start of a new era of success.
As befits a manager of his stature, Ferguson has displayed many talents as he and his club have risen to the status of legends in football heritage.
A keen eye for a bargain saw him develop his first Premier League winning side.
Eric Cantona, Peter Schmeichel and Denis Irwin were all signed for relatively small fees - the combined cost for the three was #2.5million, which even then was the going rate for one international class player.
Allied to more expensive talents such as British record signing Gary Pallister and the 1993 capture of Nottingham Forest's young midfielder Roy Keane the first two Premier League crowns stayed in the M16 postal zone.
Another of Ferguson's talents was soon to become readily apparent.
Blackburn Rovers were the second team to take the title, in 1995, causing a shake up at the Theatre of Dreams.
Pivotal stars such as competitive midfielder Paul Ince and flying winger Andrei Kanchelskis were deemed surplus to requirements.
Observers were stunned as the man known as `Fergie' to the British public put his reputation on the line as United started the 1995-1996 season with a team based on homegrown talent.
Former youth team players Gary Neville, David Beckham, Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes had played intermittently as the Reds won both the first and second Premier League championships.
But Ferguson unleashed the youngsters in a move which brought comparisons with a previous Scottish United manager, Sir Matt Busby and his Busby Babes of the 1950s.
However, after a 3-1 reverse at Villa Park, many outside the club considered the move a brave gamble but one based on misplaced faith.
They spoke too soon.
A third Premiership title was added to the role of honour as the foursome, alongside Ryan Giggs, the fast-tracked Welsh winger, became the latest batch of `Fergie's Fledglings' alongside another British record signing, prolific striker Andy Cole.
And with it, they handed their manager the honour of becoming the first coach to win the `Double Double', as the FA Cup and championship-winning season of 1993-1994 was repeated.
Cole helped Ferguson achieve another Premiership milestone, as the striker scored five times in the 9-0 victory over Ipswich in March 1995 - a result which stands as the biggest victory in the Premier League.
The flow of talent continued, and went on to reach the same heights as their elders.
One of Ferguson's greatest players, Cantona, bowed out a year later as a Premiership-winning captain after taking his fourth winners' medal.
By then, Ferguson had built a second great United team, bringing in Phil Neville - Gary's younger brother - and lightning quick Norwegian Ole-Gunnar Solskjaer to augment the multi-talented squad.
Another force was forming in the Premiership as Arsene Wenger's Arsenal side came together for a first Premiership title in 1998.
Ferguson and United, though, came back bigger and better than ever.
The Premiership trophy was regained, with United's name etched on for a fifth time.
But not only the league prize; with it came the FA Cup and European glory in the Champions League for an unprecedented treble.
After recapturing the crown, United extended their winning run, becoming the first side to win three consecutive Premiership titles - when no other team has taken back-to-back wins.
Not content with the already unique haul, Ferguson postponed his retirement and set about composing another classic United side, adding expensive, proven imports Juan Sebastian Veron and Ruud van Nistelrooy.
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