PRE SEASON - FIRST TEAM CALENDER
July 25 Birmingham City (A)     result: L  3-4
27 Valerengen (A) (Oslo)            result: D 2-2
31 Brondby (A) (Copenhagen)   result: W 6-0
Aug 4 Brann Bergen (A)         result: W 4-0

9 Charity Shield at Wembley .. live on sky
18 Eric Cantona XI (H) - Munich testimonial

Date: Tue, 4 Aug 1998 20:47:31 +0200
Sender: "Manchester United Football Club (soccer)"
Subject: Full time QUICK FIRE TV REPORT pt1+2

             1 Schmeichel
2 Curtis 3 Irwin 4 Keane 5 Berg
     6 Stam 7 Nev P. 8 Butt
     9 Cole 10 Scholes 11 Solskjaer

United white away strip Brann Bergen Red Changes from Brondby: Curtis P.Nev on Beckham presented with Vilking Ship before the start

Heavy rain in Bergen Main chances United start in 2nd gear first 15 mins slow Bergen attack well first touch on a wet pitch difficult

18 Ole header just over top from Scholes corner
20 Cole on target tight angle in bottom corner saved! RAIN BUCKETS DOWN
25 Cole to Curtis great cross dangerous
27 Brann good chance Schmeiks saves close in
28 Butt off target good chance
30 Good chance to Brann missed/wide
32 Scholes cross Keane header saved no one following in as ball spills
39 Stam header saved
43 Corner Scholes punched out free kick to Reds, DENIS IRWIN scores with a deflected shot top corner 1-0
44 Sols taken out in penalty area PENALTY!! Denis 2 never misses!

HALF TIME 2-0

2nd half subs
Nick Culkin in goal for Schmeichel
David May 14 on for Henning Berg
David Beckham 16 on for Ole Gunnar

Nick Culkin in goal, first game for REDS!

52 Scholes yellow carded *
53 Cole through on left cross to Beckham just to high Scrappy start United need to settle with the 3 changes
55 Scholes taken out in the area PENALTY Scholes wanted to take it Denis just comes up and takes over, cool penalty bottom right corner clean HATRICK HERO!!! 3-0 :) Match ball for Diiinnis!
58 Phil Neville puts the goal in the goal from Cole, offside Scoreline looking good for six more??
59 Heavy tackle by May free kick, very wide
60 Cruyff 16 comes on for Keane
61 Sheringham 15 on for Scholes
62 Cool play by Becks twisting and turning
64 Cole, side netting from 10 yds
65 Butt lucky not to be booked after heavy tackle Wave after wave of REDS attacks, less rain helping
67 Culkin out well to collect ball and cover a long ball
70 Heavy challenge by Stam, Bern free kick wasted
72 Stam good centre well saved
78 Good chance for Bergen, wide, Culkin keeps his clean sheet :)

82 Cole Brilliant goal well deserved: Butts cross in two quick touches by Andy and BANG top right corner no chance for the goalkeeper - goal of the night! 4-0!

87 Beckham tries a curler just a little high
88 Cruyff blasts over the bar from outside area, well high
90 End of match blown 1 min early, couldn't wait to get one in the bar?

Controlled RED performance Brann played well as well just outclassed :)

FINAL SCORE: 4-0
16 players used, good use of a big squad, see you Sunday!

All the best Yours Barry at Simplenet.   

Bergen Report (Mirror)
IRWIN EASES PLIGHT OVER DWIGHT

Brann Bergen ..0 Man Utd ..4

Delighted Manchester United fans were last night asking: Who needs Patrick Kluivert or Dwight Yorke when you've got Denis Irwin?

The Republic full-back bagged a hat-trick against Norwegian part-timers to temporarily ease Alex Ferguson's striking woes.

Until Irwin's magic rubbed off in time for Andy Cole to grab United's fourth in a friendly canter, Ferguson must have been wondering where the goals are going to come from this season. Snubbed by Kluivert and unlikely to land Yorke before the start of the Premiership campaign, the United boss watched Cole and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer off target in the rain.

As if that was not bad enough for Ferguson, he witnessed another stuttering display by record signing Jaap Stam.

Irwin struck twice at the end of a pedestrian first half. His 44th-minute free kick flew off a home defender on its way into the net. And just 45 seconds later, Irwin kept his nerve to convert a debatable penalty when Solskjaer was floored.

Irwin completed his hat-trick 11 minutes into the second half, again from the spot, after Paul Scholes was hauled down. Cole volleyed home from close range seven minutes from time.

Young keeper Nick Culkin could be in line for a surprise Charity Shield appearance on Sunday after Peter Schmeichel was substituted at half-time. Schmeichel appeared to suffer a muscle twinge.

And with deputy Raimond Van der Gouw yesterday admitted to a Manchester hospital complaining of chest pains, Culkin has been put on stand by. Meanwhile, Kluivert has admitted he could still end up playing in the Premiership this season - with Arsenal.

The Dutch striker will pack his bags within two months if he is still not happy at AC Milan.

Sunday August 2nd 1998 the day of rest?
Just in from Copenhagen today after what can be only described as 3 days of RED HEAVEN.
My multi-media diary can be seen on the www at http://Red11.org/mufc/copenh98.htm

Barry, Richard and Mick after surviving the streets of Copenhagen for 2½ days may well send their match reports and diaries. This is my early match report, whatever else happened can be either seen at the above url or may (may not) be published by the two gentlemen named above!

Parken Kobenhavn was packed with 28.000 who were unexpectedly going to witness a yellow slaughter. The capacity of Parken is 44.000 so the crowd of yellow Brondby fans behind the goal and the 10.000+ Scandinavian REDS sitting with us in the Fredgaard stand were able to create a good party atmosphere. Of course in Scandinavia BEER is an ingredient which can be sold at football matches, could this have helped? Other famous faces in the crowd? Kerry, Mike Dobbin, Graham and Brian, who had all arrived directly from a supporter meet at Craisy Daisy films and cd's had been played all afternoon.

Teams came out and the REDS fielded a more or less full side:
(Andy on the bench for Teddy?)

Already from the start hopes were high, Jaap was very quickly in his stride passing cooly back to Schmeiks without problems. He looks calm, strong and good on the tackle. All the players looked fresh great to see Roy back in the RED shirt. Brondby picked up their game quickly and were in the game for the first 20 mins. Schmeichel pulled off 3 saves including one world class triple save, amazing stuff!

So now REDS picked up their game and had Brondby scampering about the park trying to stop Ryan and Ole's runs. Even Teddy was playing well and when Keane shot went just wide things were looking good. On 33 mins Sheringham was clear on his own, I do not remember who passed it (around 40 yds) no offside, Teddy lobbed/flicked the ball over the goalkeepers head from close in. 1-0 Songs rang out mostly from the English lads, I will let Richard and Mick explain those! So the pressure remained on Brondby and within 10 mins Paul Scholes got his chance to cooly place the ball in the net after great work from Ole Gunnar! 2-0. Brondby are now in season and are Danish Champions we expected them to at least come back? Half time came and even though Jaap had looked excellent he was to be replaced by Berg in the 2nd half, Andy Cole coming on upfront. Jaap has not been in training due to a fleeting visit to Holland to visit family. Andy Cole was on the pitch for only 10 mins before he scored. He had missed the first chance badly shooting wide then on 65 mins a great goal to 3-0. Typical Andy play, David Beckham putting him through with a beautiful pass. I must say Becks looks immaculate and so calm, most of his work is perfect!

So 71 mins and it was Teddy's turn again for his 2nd goal and 4-0! The move was Johnson own half, ran forward, passed to Cole, Andy found Teddy (great pass) and Teddy just placed the ball. GREAT play by the REDS. Life in Denmark by this time was "just beauuutiful"

The yellow lot were still singing their club songs but there were many blank looks. I'm not sure they had seen Brondby behind 4-0 for a very long time!

The slaughter was not finished there were many subs and changes on the field. I cannot remember tham all Cruyff came on Ronny went off for John Curtis and Becks & Sols were also off. 2 more goals first Andy Cole who played a blinder today. Quick move Brondby left in the dust Butt-Scholes-Cole-Goal Simple isn't it? :) Andy place the ball exactly where he meant to (only 2 misses all day) Jordi played ok and he scored a good goal right at the end from a Giggs pass. But I would hate to say that Jordi is one for the future. Still looks a frail figure compared with Keane Ronny Stam and big Pete!

So final score 6-0 I must try and find out when that happened to Brondby last time!! prob a long time ago

I forgot to mention that Brondby (who are they?) had a few shots on target but they were never in the match after the first 20 mins when they could have been 2 up. Even when they had broken through, they faced a well known worldclass keeper who stopped everything!

Im tired off to bed its midnight and work calls tomorrow. A GREAT TIME WAS HAD BY ALL! Barry Leeming signing off from Denmark see you all Tues live on Eurosport 1900 CET

Goalscorers:
33 Sheringham, 41 Scholes, 65 Cole, 71 Sheringham, 84 Cole, 91 Cruyff  
Score: 6-0

Brondby Report (MEN)
IT'S RED HOT COLE
TOM TYRRELL
Brondby 0 Man Utd 6

ANDY Cole last night showed Manchester United just what it takes to make him the centre of attraction.

The striker slammed two goals past a hapless Brondby as the Reds romped to a 6-0 victory in Copenhagen.

Wonderful, wonderful Cole came on in the second half as United gave the Danes a shock they didn't expect.

Brondby were using the game to test their strengths for Europe. On this showing it will be surprising if Peter Schmeichel's former club gets beyond the qualifying round against FC Kosice in a fortnight.

United were magnificent and the first 20 minutes was a real battle and anything but a pre-season friendly. Alex Ferguson's troops made their intentions abundantly clear as they ran Brondby ragged and turned the tables on the Viking raiders to do some pillaging of their own.

Cole came on in the second half and looked sharp and deadly. His two strikes added to two from Teddy Sheringham, and one each from Paul Scholes and Jordi Cruyff completed the route but all eyes were on Roy Keane who played the whole 90 minutes and was an inspiration behind the win.

Ferguson says he will be reluctant to part with Cole and on this showing you could see why.

United also gave Dutch record signing Jaap Stam his first taste of the feast which lies ahead and the Dutch defender played a superb 55 minutes before being replaced.

By that time United had taken a grip on the game and the Danes were in retreat.

Stam made the first goal, lobbing the ball over the Danish defence for Sheringham to score despite wild appeals for offside from Brondby midfielder John Jensen. The 27,000 crowd in the Parken Stadium was right behind United and made more noise than the crowd who'd attended a Rolling Stones concert there 48 hours earlier when they learned that David Beckham was playing.

Ferguson had virtually ruled out Beckham after he injured an ankle but the England star was there from the start.

Four minutes before half time United went 2-0 up when Sheringham and Solskjaer combined on the edge of the box and Scholes tapped home. Then after the break Cole began to stamp his mark.

He showed he had not lost his goalden touch which brought him 25 strikes last season and plundered his first after picking up a pass from Beckham and hitting his shot on the volley.

Goal number four came after 69 minutes with Ronny Johnsen the creator and Cole combining with Sheringham who beat the keeper from the edge of the penalty area.

Cole then grabbed his second on 81 minutes.

Even then as the Danes did their best to hit back, United got their sixth when Giggs laid on a pass for Cruyff in the last minute.

Pre-season friendlies are rarely seen as a measure of what may lie ahead but this was different - United know what is expected of them when they face LSK Lodz on Aug 12.

United easily overcame the Danish champions Brondby by 6-0 in Copenhagen. Teddy Sheringham opened the scoring in an impressive display, but it was debutant Jaap Staam who caught the eye with a top class performance.

Staam was involved in the first goal when he laid the ball on for Sheringham to lift it over the keeper.

Paul Scholes made it 2-0 four minutes before half time after good work from Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solksjaer.

David Beckham made his first telling contribution on 64 minutes with an interception which led to Andy Cole's first of the night.

It was 4-0 when Sheringham finished from 18 yards and Cole followed suit with a double strike from six yards after a fine flowing move.

The rout was complete in injury time with Giggs supplying a cross to the far post, whcih was met by Jordi Cruyff.

Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 04:41:09

Oslo: Beckham frustrated in United stalemate

Valerengea 2 Manchester United 2

Roy Keane's long-awaited comeback lasted just 45 minutes last night and produced a familiar yellow card as Manchester United began their three-match tour of Scandinavia with a draw against the Norwegian part-timers, Valerengea, in Oslo.

The Republic of Ireland midfielder was playing his first game for 10 months after recovering from a knee ligament injury and he was substituted at half-time as a precaution.

Keane, who was due to play in last Saturday's 4-3 defeat at Birmingham but pulled out with a slight ankle knock, showed good movement while easing his way back into competitive action but was booked for a late challenge.

David Beckham played his first game since his infamous red card in England's World Cup dismissal by Argentina in France.

Like the rest of United's World Cup players, he sat out the club's first pre-season friendly at Birmingham - where United fans chanted his name repeatedly - but went close to scoring a winner for United last night.

His chipped shot, however, was just over the bar, and the Bislett Stadium was not able to provide the kind of dream return that may help to put the memories of St Etienne behind him.

Valerengea took a surprise lead after just seven minutes, but Beckham's Manchester United and England team- mate, Paul Scholes, soon equalised with a simple finish after good approach work by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ryan Giggs.

Solskjaer then burst through two minutes later and ignored appeals for offside to put United ahead.

But the Norwegian part-timers equalised at the start of the second half and although Teddy Sheringham had an effort disallowed for a foul, the game then petered out amid a flurry of substitutions.

IT'S GREAT TO BE BECK IN A FJORD OF DREAMS

VALERENGA 2 MANCHESTER UTD 2

DAVID BECKHAM could not have picked a more hospitable place on earth to return to football after his World Cup hell.

And it was business as usual for Roy Keane, who was making his return after a season out with ligament damage - he was booked!

Angry fans back home might be ready to verbally attack Beckham with Manchester United's trip to West Ham in three weeks already earmarked as a trouble spot.

But here in The Bislet Stadium, the land of the late midnight sun provided a haven for the superstar pilloried for his France 98 red-card shame.

There was no hatred, no venom, no baiting. No foul-mouthed reprisals for Beckham's sending off against Argentina.

Instead, the 22,000 packed house, full of admiring kids, mums and dads, came to hail him in a rickety athletics stadium where Becks was never going to do a runner.

The bleached-haired star was besieged by autograph hunters and signed everything from scraps of paper to T-shirts.

They mobbed him. Idolised him. Paid homage with a deafening cheer when his name was announced in the team line-up.

"Welcome David Beckham," boomed the Norwegian guy on the crackling Tannoy as local newspapers proclaiming the same message were waved around the crowd in unison.

And when he thought it could not get any better it did, with the pre-match announcement that Beckham had been voted Player of the Year by the Norwegian branch of the United supporters' club.

It was love and devotion rarely seen on our own shores. But then as one Norwegian told me: "We love Beckham and his girlfriend's not bad either."

So without any animosity, save for a couple of isolated catcalls, Beckham was allowed to get on with the job of playing his football in his famous red No.7 shirt.

As well as Beckham, Keane was back in the thick of the action too, 10 months after ripping cruciate knee ligaments at Elland Road.

The Irishman, his head cropped to his hard skull, looked as though he had never been away. And United had Ole Gunnar Solskjaer returned to his usual striking role as speculation raged at home about a possible move to Aston Villa as part of the Dwight Yorke package.

New £10.7m Dutch star Jaap Stam was also on show although not in the starting line-up.

Beckham lapped up every minute as United began the job of overshadowing the part-timers of Valerenga, a side third from bottom of the Norwegian First Division with just three wins all season.

But they are famed, fierce fighters in these parts and United were pillaged as early as the seventh minute.

John Careu embarked on a free run down the outside of United's defence and in a flash he had dispatched the ball into the bottom corner beyond Peter Schmeichel.

Five minutes later United were level when Solskjaer broke clear and slipped the ball across for Paul Scholes to tap in.

United stormed ahead in the 15th minute when a through-ball from Phil Neville arrowed to Solskjaer's feet and he bobbled the ball past keeper Tore Krogstaad.

Business as usual then for United - and Keane showed he has lost none of his combative spirit during his enforced lay-off when he was booked for a crunching 43rd minute tackle on Joachim Walltin.

Keane and Scholes put their feet up for the second half with Teddy Sheringham and Andy Cole getting a taste of the action.

And Valerenga cashed in on the disruption with an equaliser two minutes after the break as Bjorn Viljugrein squeezed the ball past Schmeichel from an acute angle.

Beckham magic has Norsemen shouting for more as Reds draw

DAVID Beckham stepped back into football with a smile and a wave for the fans last night.

Their response was to chant his name and hold high banners proclaiming him a hero.

It was anything but the reception being predicted for the Manchester United star in weeks to come. But the only problem was this was Oslo and not West Ham, where Becks can expect anything but a warm welcome next month.

Norway is very much United country. Even the Valerengen fans were on Beckham's side, as he played his first game since his infamous red card against Argentina during France '98.

Oslo's Bislett stadium erupted the moment Beckham's blond head appeared, and once he turned to the crowd to return the applause it was obvious that there would be no problems. He took the plaudits as he was joined by fellow England stars Paul Scholes and Gary Neville in a strong United line-up, in the first of their three-match Scandinavian tour.

Around a thousand England fans made the trip to Norway but their numbers were increased by members of United's Scandinavian Supporters Club - the biggest branch of United's worldwide following.

They had plenty to cheer as four goals came in the first-half, but were shocked to see their favourites go behind against the Norwegian part-timers.

United never really got into top gear, although Beckham almost crowned his comeback after a 27-day exile with a late winner. His fierce volley dipped just over the bar as the crowd urged him to hit one of his trademark goals. United went behind when John Carew beat Schmeichel from close range, but soon hit back following a good run from Ryan Giggs.

His pass to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer saw the ball placed beyond the reach of Peter Tore Krogstad for Paul Scholes to tap in.

The tourists took the lead through local boy Solskjaer, who took on the keeper and slid the ball home.

But the home fans had the last laugh when Bjorn Veljurgrein hit an angled strike to earn a 2-2 draw.

Beckham's return overshadowed the first game for 10 months for Roy Keane who stayed on until half-time and appeared to have no problems with the knee which needed surgery last October.

His only slip was to pick up a yellow card for a late challenge.

REDS: Schmeichel, G Neville, Berg, Johnsen, P Neville, Keane, Beckham, Butt, Giggs, Scholes, Solskjaer. Subs: Irwin, Sheringham, Coles, Cruyff, Curtis.

Birmingham 4 - 3 Manchester United

It was so good to be watching United again. I'd had a few misgivings about going to Birmingham - it seemed a long way to go for a friendly in which we would doubtless field a reserve side, and the son-and-heir had decided a Saturday morning lie-in was more attractive. But, standing in the warmth of a summer's afternoon, waiting for the United team to appear on the pitch, all I could think was that it's good to be back.

It seemed that most other regular away travellors felt the same as I did, because the United section was filled with familiar faces and there was a good welcome for the lads as they appeared on the pitch, particularly for Andy Cole who acknowledged the chants of "Oh Andy Cole" and "Coley Must Stay". Fergie walked over to sign autographs (looking tanned and relaxed) to loud applause and a chorus of "Ferguson's Red and White Army". Whilst we waited for the game to start, most of the chat was about our actual and potential signings, the possibility of the whole Cole/Yorke saga being a smokescreen for the signing of the "one who's name shall not be mentioned in polite company", the presence of Jordi Cruyff and attempts to identify the latest batch of kids wearing United shirts. Even those of us who had been regular visitors to Gigg Lane last season were having trouble identifying some of the younger members of the team - lads seem to change so much at this age, they look like totally different people when you haven't seen them for a couple of months! We were also amused to see that Phil Neville seems to be trying to act as a decoy for Becks - growing his hair a couple of inches and dying it blonde on top!

Despite the result, I found it a very enjoyable game. The first half in particular was great fun which had everything you could want in a footy game - plenty of goals, a young player taking his opportunity to shine and an excellent atmosphere with lots of chanting and singing (unfortunately, my throat is killing me this morning - I am obviously not match-fit yet and will require at least 30 minutes a day chanting practice to prepare me for the Charity Shield!). Quite where all the Birmingham fans were, who were all going to give our David a torrid reception, I don't know. For most of the game, the Birmingham fans sat quietly in their seats whilst we stood and sang and enjoyed ourselves. The only time they stirred was to boo when we sang "There's only one David Beckham" and "David Beckham, King of all Cockneys". At the beginning of the game we chanted for the players - lots of chants for Andy Cole, Roy Keane and Nicky Butt, as well as regular chants for David Beckham. We also sang for Eric (choruses of "Ooh Aah Cantona" and "What a friend we have in Jesus") and all the customary songs celebrating City's demise and their up-coming meetings with Macclesfield. The most popular chant of the day (not unusually) was the old favourite "If you all hate scousers". The second half was not quite so active as we succombed to the heat (and probably the half-time pints) but it picked up towards the end as we went through the anti-scouser songbook.

So what of the players on the pitch? It was a team of two halves! Up front, Andy Cole was superb, and the pairing of Nicky Butt and Phil Mulryne in midfield worked really well. Nicky was commanding, particularly in the first half, and it was a great pleasure to see Phil do so well. I've always known this lad had talent, but yesterday he showed just how much he talent he does have, with two superbly taken goals and a penalty to give him his well-deserved hat-trick. The number of times he weaved his way into the box, he could have had 5 or 6. At the back it was a different story, with what looked like a makeshift defence having an absolute nightmare. In the first half, Culkin looked nervy and edgy (not helped by a defence who kept passing back crazy balls to him) but he gained confidence as the game went on and it was only he who stopped Birmingham scoring at least another two. Even Superstar and Phil Neville were very poor, much to my disappointment. Hopefully, however, the poor display by some of our regulars was just one of those things. The poor display by Jordi Cruyff seems to be a permanent state. The crowd were very patient - and early attempts to start anti-Cruyff chants were ignored or shouted down, but even the most patient have a limit. Apart from getting to one header that led to a goal, his display was inept to say the least. Twice, he had only the keeper to beat inside the box and chickened out, countless time he received the ball at the end of a good United move, only to either give it away or to run round in circles until surrounded by Birmingham players and over and over again, he was nudged off the ball by the gentlest of pushes that even I could have withstood. Eventually, at the beginning of the second half, he bumped gently into a Birmingham player and clutched his eye as if he had been pole-axed (the Birmingham player was lying on the ground "injured" - who was he trying to kid?). Fergie, along with the crowd, finally lost patience and he came off to the loudest round of applause of the game, to be replaced by Ryan Ford who, whilst not setting the world on fire, at least was an improvement. The last 15 minutes or so was a familiar and reassuring picture. A United team full of talented young players who had come through the youth system at OT - the production line is obviously still working well. Twiss came on for Irwin, Notman for Cole and Wilson (who looks about 10 years old) for Mulryne.

So it was an excellent day out that has whetted my appetite for the "real" thing in a couple of weeks time. My man-of-the-match? Andy Cole and Nicky Butt are obvious contenders, but Phil Mulryne has to take the award for a very exciting performance which got him a well-earned standing ovation as he left the pitch.

The teams:

United: Culkin, Curtis, Neville, Wallwork, May, Irwin (captain) (Twiss 54), Mulryne (Wilson 90), Butt, Cole (Notman 90), Cruyff (Ford 64), Giggs.

Birmingham: Bennett, Bass, Charlton, Marsden (Grainger 89), Ablett, Johnston, McCarthy, O'Connor, Furlong, Adebola (Forster 70), Ndlovu (Robinson 89).

"Our Salford lass has been supporting United since the fifties and remembers Munich vividly - in particular, the loss of her first ever footballing hero, Eddie Colman. She is now a season ticket holder in East Lower and attends all United first team games, home and away, except for Euro aways. She also attends youth and reserve fixtures. She is still mourning the loss of Sparky and Eric but her favourite players in the present team are Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs."

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Our Salford Lass

linda@eccles.u-net.com

Copyright © Our Salford Lass 1997-1998, All Rights Reserved

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More at  RED CAFE REPORTS by Niall Mullally

http://www.iol.ie/~redcafe/texts/report98/domestic/birm.htm

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