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| Sunday September 07, 2008 | Manchester United Fan Forum |
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| Current League Table |
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| Campbell Eyes Old Trafford Future | Posted by Bill on Sun Sep 07 @ 13:01 GMT |
Fraizer Campbell has been given assurances by Sir Alex Ferguson about his Manchester United future and wants to compete for a first-team place when he returns from his loan at Tottenham. Campbell will be at White Hart Lane until the end of the season as part of the deal that sent Dimitar Berbatov to United, and the England Under-21 striker has suggested the loan is unlikely to be made permanent. The 20-year-old insists he is still in the plans for United boss Ferguson, and told BBC London 94.9 said: "I've had various meetings with him and I'm in his plans for the future. "Hopefully I can get some experience, come back and get a place in his team." Campbell made an impression while on loan at Hull last season and will now be competing with Roman Pavlyuchenko and Darren Bent for a place in Juande Ramos' starting XI. "It's an exciting time for me, it's a great loan move that I've managed to get on," Campbell added. "Hopefully I can get in the team and hold down a regular first-team place and score a few goals, but most importantly learn from the experience. "I enjoyed my time at Hull, and I'm thankful to all the people there, but this is a new season and I have to concentrate on my new loan club." SportingLife.com | |
| City can't be serious about Ronaldo bid, says Gill | Posted by Bill on Sun Sep 07 @ 11:30 GMT |
LONDON (AFP) - Manchester United chief executive David Gill said he would treat suggestions that Manchester City could table a 135 million pound bid for Cristiano Ronaldo "with a pinch of salt". Ronaldo heads into the new English Premier league season still being closely followed by Real Madrid, who tried but failed during the summer to secure the Portuguese international's signature. But now cross-city rivals Manchester City have entered the fray. Sulaiman Al-Fahim, the billionaire businessman at the centre of the club's takeover by the Abu Dhabi United Group, said he wants to build a "dream team" which can compete in the Champions League within the coming three years. And he added they could be willing to make a world record bid of 135 million pounds (210 million dollars) for the United star. Gill, speaking to BBC radio's Five Live show on Sunday, admitted that any club would get excited about such a sizeable bid for one player. But, while highlighting the fact that United manager Alex Ferguson was the subject of complaints to the Premier League during his pursuit of new signing Dimitar Berbatov, Gill said he needed convincing about the authenticity of City's ambitions. "It was an interesting comment, I think it's a fan's-type comment," said Gill. "It's interesting when Alex [Ferguson] mentioned the Dimitar Berbatov signing in advance that complaints were made to the Premier League. "He (Al-Fahim) mentioned (Fernando) Torres and (Cesc) Fabregas in the same article so I think we will treat that with a pinch of salt. "I have never met the gentleman. That is a fantastic amount of money and would turn the industry upside down so I can't believe he is serious at those sorts of levels. "Ultimately we would discuss any offer with Alex and the owners, as that sort of money is very large for one person. But we are not in the market to sell our best players." Gill also insisted the club stayed "entirely within the rules" during their pursuit of Berbatov. Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has called for a change in transfer rules, and initially complained to the Premier League about United's approach for the player. Gill however has rejected allegations that United did anything wrong. He added: "We are very comfortable with how the whole thing went. There were allegations made, we are comfortable that how we approached it was entirely correct and within the rules." Gill also confirmed they would be looking to finalise a permanent deal for Argentina striker Carlos Tevez. He said: "One other bit of business we will do is finalise the Carlos Tevez deal and then the composition of the squad will be first class." | |
| Gunners open to investment - Chief | Posted by Bill on Sun Sep 07 @ 11:01 GMT |
Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood is "concerned" the club's shareholders could receive an offer from investors that is "too good to refuse".It was announced on Monday that the Gunners' Premier League rivals Manchester City had struck an agreement with Abu Dhabi United Group for Development and Investment (ADUG). Arsenal, though, agreed an extended revision of the lock-down agreement over any potential sale of their shares last October, safeguarding against the possibility of a takeover. But while Hill-Wood is keen to retain the club's current structure, he concedes shareholders would be forced to consider a potentially lavish bid from foreign investors in the future. He said in the Sunday Mirror: "If somebody came and made a really huge bid then you cannot recommend shareholders turn it down because we don't like it. "We want the club to stay in its current ownership and, of course, you have some concern that someone will try to buy the club. "The directors don't want to sell but we are a public company. It depends on the price." teamtalk.com | |
| Heinze tells Real Madrid to forget Ronaldo | Posted by Barry on Sun Sep 07 @ 10:32 GMT |
Gabriel Heinze has told Real Madrid chiefs to forget about trying to prise Cristiano Ronaldo away from Manchester United - for at least another 12 months. AS says the former United defender, despite being at Real for just a year, has become a huge influence inside the dressing room and with coaching staff - and has made it clear to Bernd Schuster and co that Ronaldo won't consider any contact from Madrid for another year. Heinze was in daily contact with Ronaldo during the summer and always knew the United star would not consider rocking the boat at Old Trafford. The Argentina international has told Schuster that any public pressure coming from Real will only antagonise his good friend - and also United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
www.tribalfootball.com | |
| Campbell hints at Utd return | Posted by Barry on Sun Sep 07 @ 10:28 GMT |
Tottenham loan signing Fraizer Campbell says his move from Manchester United is unlikely to be made permanent. The 20-year-old striker moved to White Hart Lane for a season as part of the deal that took Dimitar Bervatov to Old Trafford on transfer deadline day. But Campbell told BBC London 94.9 he is still in Sir Alex Ferguson's plans: "I've had various meetings with him and I'm in his plans for the future.
"Hopefully I can get some experience, come back and get a place in his team." Nevertheless, the England Under-21 international is looking forward to spending the season with Spurs. "It's an exciting time for me, it's a great loan move that I've managed to get on," he said. This is a new season and I have to concentrate on my new loan club. Hopefully I can get in the team and hold down a regular first-team place and score a few goals, but most importantly learn from the experience." Campbell came close to re-joining Hull City, where he scored 15 goals in a loan spell last season, but that deal eventually fell through. "I enjoyed my time at Hull and I'm thankful to all the people there but this is a new season and I have to concentrate on my new loan club," added Campbell. news.bbc.co.uk | |
| Gallas questions Barton ban | Posted by Bill on Sun Sep 07 @ 10:01 GMT |
Arsenal captain William Gallas does not believe the FA handed out a long enough punishment to Newcastle United midfielder Joey Barton.On Friday, Barton was handed a 12-game ban, six of which are suspended, for his training-ground assault on former Manchester City team-mate Ousmane Dabo. Gallas, who came up against Barton in the Gunners' 3-0 win over the Magpies last weekend, feels the FA failed to sanction a tough enough penalty on the 26-year-old. The France international said in the Sunday Express: "In my opinion it is not long enough, especially when you think about his attack on Ousmane Dabo and everything he has done besides. "I don't understand the Football Association." Barton made a late cameo in the Premier League match at Emirates Stadium, and was quickly involved in the action after he made a strong challenge on Arsenal's Samir Nasri. Summer signing Nasri was then criticised after the game by Kevin Keegan with the former Magpies boss accusing the Frenchman of tripping Barton after the tackle. Of the matter, Gallas added: "The moment Barton came on to the pitch he made a bad challenge on Samir Nasri. "Samir responded with an act that maybe wasn't especially nice. But bearing in mind the player he did it to, then fair enough." teamtalk.com | |
| United laugh off City's Ronaldo link | Posted by Bill on Sun Sep 07 @ 10:01 GMT |
Manchester United chief executive David Gill insists he is treating reports of a ý135million bid for Cristiano Ronaldo "with a pinch of salt".Sulaiman Al-Fahim, the billionaire businessman at the centre of the Manchester City takeover by the Abu Dhabi United Group, said this week they could be willing to make a world record bid for the United star. Gill said faced with a serious offer of that size, any club would have to consider it. But he told BBC Radio Five Live: "It was an interesting comment, I think it's a fan's-type comment. "It's interesting when Alex [Ferguson] mentioned the Dimitar Berbatov signing in advance that complaints were made to the Premier League. "He mentioned Torres and Fabregas in the same article so I think we will treat that with a pinch of salt. "I have never met the gentleman. That is a fantastic amount of money and would turn the industry upside down so I can't believe he is serious at those sorts of levels. "Ultimately we would discuss any offer with Alex and the owners, as that sort of money is very large for one person. But we are not in the market to sell our best players." Gill also insisted the club stayed "entirely within the rules" during their pursuit of Berbatov. Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has called for a change in transfer rules, and initially complained to the Premier League about United's approach for the player. Gill however has rejected allegations that United did anything wrong. He added: "We are very comfortable with how the whole thing went. There were allegations made, we are comfortable that how we approached it was entirely correct and within the rules. "It came together on Monday and the agent was given permission for the player to come up to Manchester, we arranged the plane for him and Alex met him at the airport. "It's true to say when the medical commenced we had not finished all the final negotiations with Spurs but both parties were confident they would be completed to everyone's satisfaction. "We are very comfortable we had permission to do what we did and it was clear to Tottenham and Daniel Levy in particular that he knew what we were doing and if that wasn't the case we wouldn't have done it." Gill also confirmed they would be looking to finalise a permanent deal for Argentina striker Carlos Tevez. He said: "One other bit of business we will do is finalise the Carlos Tevez deal and then the composition of the squad will be first class." teamtalk.com | |
| Spanish still see Ronaldo as Real deal: media | Posted by Bill on Sat Sep 06 @ 15:45 GMT |
MADRID (AFP) - Real Madrid still have their heart set on Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo, Spanish media insisted Saturday amid fresh reports of the Portuguese star's "dream" of starring at the Bernabeu. Spanish sports daily AS said Ronaldo would ultimately move to Spain and reported that United coach Sir Alex Ferguson had told him he could go next season, the Premiership and European champions having had their way in keeping him for now. AS added that it understood Ronaldo - touted all summer as an 80 million euro Real target - would only leave Old Trafford for the Spanish champions despite reports that Manchester City, following their buyout by billionaire Arab owners, would bid a record 135-million-pounds (170 million euros) for him. The newspaper said it had information a pre-accord for a five-year deal had already been drawn up. Britain's Daily Mirror earlier quoted Ronaldo as explaining the summer tug of war for his services to Inside United magazine was prompted by the fact that "I have a dream of playing at Real and I thought it was time to move on." "I never hid the fact that I wanted to play in Spain, at Real Madrid in particular, and I thought it could be the right moment." The 23-year-old added that a further attraction was the closeness of Madrid to his family in Portugal - but he admitted he had been "naive" to imagine he could force through a move. "What I said publicly, which was maybe a little naive, I take total responsibility for. I just said what I thought: I have a dream of playing at Real and I thought it was time to move on. "People can't be upset about me fulfilling a childhood dream. I knew Real were interested in me and they had, allegedly, made a substantial offer. For a while, I wanted United to accept. If we hadn't been European champions, I probably wouldn't have thought about going to Madrid." He insisted he would always give his all as long as he remains in United red. "I'm 100 per cent professional and have always given my heart and soul to this club. If one day I leave, I want to do it knowing I did everything I could to help the club win as much as possible." | |
| Posh Eye United Raid | Posted by Bill on Sat Sep 06 @ 14:01 GMT |
Peterborough are talking to Manchester United about taking some of their youngsters to London Road when the loan window reopens on Monday. Posh boss Darren Ferguson is in discussions with his father Sir Alex, but Barry Fry could not confirm whether speculation linking Darren Gibson to London Road was correct. "The manager has had talks with his dad about several Manchester United players, but I don't know whether Gibbo is one of those," he told skysports.com. "He went to Wolves last season on loan and certainly as a player, I'm sure he'll be interested, but whether anything can be sorted out that's up to father and son." Fry also revealed his frustration at having missed out on John Akinde, who opted to join Bristol City from Ebbsfleet instead of the Posh. He said: "I was very disappointed to miss out on John Akinde. "I first spoke to Liam Daish in February about John Akinde and I had bids of ý40,000, ý60,000, ý100,000 turned down and then I went in with a bigger bid than what Bristol City paid and although I was given permission to speak with him, we never got him down here because he'd already gone to Bristol. "Once he'd gone to Bristol, they never let him out of the room until he signed. "I got Liam Daish the job at Gravesend when I called up the chairman and recommended him and also signed him for ý50,000 for Birmingham City from Cambridge and then sold him to Coventry for ý1.8 million. "I thought I had some sort of relationship with him, but obviously his previous manager, Gary Johnson, who was his gaffer at Cambridge United, had more of a relationship with him than me because he sold him cheaper to his mate. "I was absolutely gutted because John Akinde would probably have gone into our first team, whereas I don't think he'll get into Bristol City's for many months to come." SportingLife.com | |
| Giggs backs Phelan to do business | Posted by Bill on Sat Sep 06 @ 13:30 GMT |
Veteran winger Ryan Giggs has welcomed the "excellent appointment" of Mike Phelan as Manchester United's new assistant manager.Giggs, 34, played alongside Phelan, who takes over the post vacated by Carlos Queiroz, early in his United career. Phelan spent five years at Old Trafford as a player in the late 1980s and early 90s. Giggs told the club's official website: "I played with Mick and know him well. You always trust the manager with these things, but it is an excellent appointment. "Mick knows the club well, has a very good relationship with the players and is a very good coach." teamtalk.com | |
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