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www.red11.org DAILY NEWS
Date: Mon Jan 04 07:53:05 GMT+00:00 1999
Mail: barry@www.red11.org

This Issue:
1. FAC results + PL Fixtures + predictions
2. FA CUP DRAW
3. UNITED OUTCLASS BORO
4. United battle back to earn clash with Liverpool
5. Robson fumes at Butt 'dive' after United land plum tie with Liverpool
6. MANCHESTER UNITED 3 MIDDLESBROUGH 1 
7. United - Boro TV game report
8. GUNNERS 'LIKE A SCRAP' - FERGUSON 

++++++=========+++++++========+++++++++========++++++++

Daily RED Trivia  Mon 4th January 1999:

4/1/1951: Paddy Roche born in Dublin. A much-maligned goalkeeper, Roche made his
 debut at Oxford United in February 1975, and between 1975-81 was restricted to
 53 appearances. He won 8 caps for the Republic of Ireland, and also played for
 Brentford and Halifax Town.

1998: Goals from David Beckham 2, Andy Cole 2 and Teddy Sheringham give
 United an amazing 5-3 win at Chelsea in the FA Cup 3rd Round. Attendance
 was 34,792. Team was: Schmeichel, G.Neville, Irwin, Butt, Johnsen, Pallister,
 Beckham, Scholes (Solskjaer), Cole, Sheringham, Giggs.

***************

Barry Daily Comment:

A good win yesterday we played well although it took a while to score.
Goal chances were around 25/Utd - 3/Boro. It was one way traffic although Boro
took the lead against the run of play. A deserved scoreline by the end.
Now Liverpool in the next round, phew!

http://www.iol.ie/~redcafe/kidd.htm
Brian Kidd Press conference, pic, real audio


Next games: 
ALL Result/Fixture Index:
http://www.red11.org/mufc/fix9899z.htm

      10/1 West Ham       (H) Sky Sports time 16.00 UK
      16/1 Leicester      (A)  15.00
23 or 24/1 Liverpool      (H) FA CUP 4th rnd
      31/1 Charlton       (A)  15.00 UK

UNITED Stats v All teams:
http://www.red11.org/mufc/stats/

*** TEAM RESULTS - MANCHESTER UNITED  ***

Date        Opposition                        Score   Pos.   Attend.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
15/08/98    Leicester City           Home     D  2-2    11    55,052
22/08/98    West Ham United          Away     D  0-0    11    26,039
09/09/98    Charlton Athletic        Home     W  4-1     9    55,147
12/09/98    Coventry City            Home     W  2-0     5    55,193
20/09/98    Arsenal                  Away     L  0-3    10    38,142
24/09/98    Liverpool                Home     W  2-0     3    55,181
03/10/98    Southampton              Away     W  3-0     2    15,251
17/10/98    Wimbledon                Home     W  5-1     2    55,265
24/10/98    Derby County             Away     D  1-1     2    30,867
31/10/98    Everton                  Away     W  4-1     2    40,079
08/11/98    Newcastle United         Home     D  0-0     3    55,174
14/11/98    Blackburn Rovers         Home     W  3-2     2    55,198
21/11/98    Sheffield Wednesday      Away     L  1-3     2    39,475
29/11/98    Leeds                    Home     W  3-2     2    55,172
05/12/98    Aston Villa              Away     D  1-1     2    39,241
12/12/98    Tottenham Hotspur        Away     D  2-2     1    36,079
16/12/98    Chelsea                  Home     D  1-1     2    55,159
19/12/98    Middlebrough             Home     L  2-3     3    55,152
26/12/98    Notts Forest             Home     W  3-0     3    55,216 
29/12/98    Chelsea                  Away     D  0-0     3    34,741


	******
  
Champions League:
Group D         P  W  D  L  F  A   Pts
Bayern Munich   6  3  2  1  9  6  11   
Man United      6  2  4  0 20 11  10
Barcelona       6  2  2  2 11  9   8    
Brondby         6  1  0  5  4 18   3   

Dec  9 Brøndby         0-2  Barcelona
Dec  9 Man Utd         1-1  Bayern Munich

	******

CHAMPIONS' LEAGUE QUARTER-FINAL DRAW
 Manchester Utd    v   Inter Milan
 Real Madrid       v   Dynamo Kiev
 Juventus          v   Olympiakos
 Bayern Munich     v   Kaiserslautern

 Ties to be played on March 3 and 17

++++++=========+++++++========+++++++++========++++++++


Peter Schmeichel's last season at OT" Click on image for more!"


Subject: FAC results + PL Fixtures + predictions

*** ROUND 3 RESULTS ON 03/01/99 ***
      MANCHESTER UNITED   3-1   Middlesbrough            52,232
              Port Vale   0-3   LIVERPOOL                16,557
    SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY   4-1   Norwich City             18,737

        *************************************

*** PL FIXTURES ON 09/01/99 ***
             Arsenal  v  Liverpool
    Blackburn Rovers  v  Leeds United
       Coventry City  v  Nottingham Forest
             Everton  v  Leicester City
       Middlesbrough  v  Aston Villa
    Newcastle United  v  Chelsea
 Sheffield Wednesday  v  Tottenham Hotspur
         Southampton  v  Charlton Athletic
           Wimbledon  v  Derby County


*** PL FIXTURES ON 10/01/99 ***
   Manchester United  v  West Ham United

__________________________________________


*** FIXTURE PREDICTIONS ON 09/01/99 ***
             Arsenal   2-1   Liverpool
    Blackburn Rovers   1-2   Leeds United
       Coventry City   2-1   Nottingham Forest
             Everton   1-0   Leicester City
       Middlesbrough   1-1   Aston Villa
    Newcastle United   1-2   Chelsea
 Sheffield Wednesday   1-1   Tottenham Hotspur
         Southampton   2-0   Charlton Athletic
           Wimbledon   1-1   Derby County

*** FIXTURE PREDICTIONS ON 10/01/99 ***
   Manchester United   2-1   West Ham United
Peter Schmeichel's last season at OT" Click on image for more!"



Subject: FA CUP DRAW

Sheffield Wednesday or Norwich City v Stockport County 
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Preston North End or Arsenal 
Bristol Rovers v Leyton Orient 
Wrexham v Huddersfield Town 
Portsmouth v Rushden and Diamonds or Leeds United 
Oxford United v Chelsea 
Sheffield United or Notts County v Cardiff City or Yeovil 
Swindon Town or Barnsley v AFC Bournemouth 
Newcastle United v Bradford City 
Leicester City v Coventry City 
Aston Villa v Southampton or Fulham 
Blackburn Rovers v Sunderland 
West Ham United or Swansea City v Derby County 
Manchester United v Liverpool 
Wimbledon v Tottenham Hotspur 
Everton v Ipswich Town 
Peter Schmeichel's last season at OT" Click on image for more!"



BREAKING NEWS - Monday 04 January 1999

Subject:  UNITED OUTCLASS BORO

It was unlikely that lightning would strike twice for Middlesbrough from
the clear skies above Old Trafford and so it proved as Manchester United
beat them 3-1 in their FA Cup third-round tie.
United boss Alex Ferguson's forecast that Boro would not repeat their
historic win of just over two weeks ago turned out to be correct as his
players were as good as his word.
United fully deserved their place in the FA Cup fourth round and the
mouthwatering prospect of a home tie against arch rivals Liverpool after
battering Boro for the entire match.
Middlesbrough, though, briefly sniffed an upset to rival their 3-2 league
win when Andy Townsend put them ahead against the run of play in the 52nd
minute.
But United were determined not to suffer a bout of deja vu and they stormed
to victory with goals from Andy Cole, a Denis Irwin penalty and Ryan Giggs.
United have never lost a third-round tie under Ferguson and they were in no
mood to start now.
The memory of that Boro win was still fresh in United's minds and they went
for the Teessiders' jugular straight from the kick-off.
Roy Keane was is in the thick of the action and Cole could not quite connect
with his inviting cross after 50 seconds, while the United skipper had a
drive blocked and blazed over off balance from another chance.
Boro were struggling to get out of their own half, but after 21 minutes they
almost caught United cold when Robbie Mustoe forced a good save from Peter
Schmeichel with a header from Dean Gordon's cross.
Despite their territorial dominance United had yet to test Mark Schwarzer
and Boro were weathering the storm quite well.
Schwarzer was quickly called into action after the interval and he produced
two great saves to deny United.
Cole dummied Giggs' ball into the box and Dwight Yorke played it back to his
strike partner only for Schwarzer to palm away his shot at full stretch.
The Middlesbrough goalkeeper thwarted the home side again three minutes
later when he rushed out to save Yorke's shot with his feet after United's
record signing had been played through by Cole.
Schwarzer's saves became even more significant when Boro took the lead after
52 minutes totally against the run of play.
Brian Deane flicked on Schwarzer's long kick into the path of Townsend, who
came running in at the back post unmarked, and the Boro midfielder slotted
the ball into the far corner past Schmeichel.
United's search for an equaliser became frantic following Townsend's second
goal of the season.
Cole turned and unleashed a shot from Giggs' pass, but once again Schwarzer
made the save.
Justice was done in the 68th minute when Giggs played Cole through on
theright with a slide-rule pass and the United striker fired the ball into the
top right-hand corner.
Ferguson was anxious to avoid adding a replay to United's already hectic
fixture schedule and with 18 minutes remaining he brought on Ole Gunnar
Solskjaer and switched to a 4-3-3 formation.
Paul Gascoigne, playing his first FA Cup game since he was stretchered off
in the 1991 Final, was quite anonymous for Boro and he was duly replaced by
Mikkel Beck in the 75th minute.
Referee Graham Barber, who has incurred the wrath of Ferguson in the two
other United matches he has officiated this season, finally made a decision
he agreed with nine minutes from time when he awarded them a penalty for
Neil Maddison's challenge on Butt.
Maddison was incensed, but Barber had no doubts that he had brought Butt
down and Irwin fired home the spot kick.
Giggs sealed United's place in the next round when he played a one-two with
Solskjaer before beating Schwarzer in stoppage time.
Peter Schmeichel's last season at OT" Click on image for more!"



 
Subject: United battle back to earn clash with Liverpool

By Adrian Warner

LONDON, Jan 3  - Manchester United, who have won the English F.A. Cup a
record nine times, needed to battle back from behind to clinch a 3-1 win
over Middlesbrough on Sunday and move towards a fascinating fourth-round
clash with Liverpool.

After going behind to a 52nd-minute goal from midfielder Andy Townsend,
United showed composure under duress to win the third-round tie with
second-half goals from Andy Cole, Denis Irwin and Ryan Giggs.

They will now take on Liverpool at Old Trafford in the most glamorous of
the fourth-round ties to be played on January 23 and 24.

United beat Liverpool 1-0 in the 1996 final of the competition, the last
time they won the world's most prestigious domestic cup.

"It is a belter of a tie," United manager Alex Ferguson said. "Manchester
United-Liverpool is always a great game."

Liverpool striker Michael Owen added: "You can't get much tougher than
that. We'll be looking forward to it."

Liverpool enjoyed a comfortable 3-0 victory over first division Port Vale
in their third-round tie on Sunday.

Owen scored a penalty in the 34th minute before a headed goal from fellow
England international Paul Ince four minutes later effectively ensured
victory.

A fierce left-footed shot from Robbie Fowler in the dying seconds finished
off the scoring for the English premier league side who last won the Cup in
1992.

United had a much tougher day despite having most of the early play against
Middlesbrough.

Townsend gave the visitors the lead when he made a clever run into the
left-hand side of the box and struck the ball superbly inside the
right-hand post with his left foot.

But Cole produced the same kind of composure for United's first goal in the
68th minute, taking a pass from Giggs on the right-hand side of the penalty
area and blasting the ball into the roof of the net.

Irwin then put United ahead from the penalty spot in the 82nd minute after
midfielder Nicky Butt was brought down on the edge of the area. Giggs
struck the third in injury time.

"We played really well in the first half but just could not get the goal
and then they scored and it was hard," Giggs said.

"Liverpool is always a tough game but it adds extra spice and the lads are
looking forward to it already."

Peter Schmeichel's last season at OT" Click on image for more!"



Subject: Robson fumes at Butt 'dive' after United land plum tie with Liverpool

Monday, January 4, 1999

Bryan Robson last night branded his former team-mate Nicky Butt 'a diver'
over the controversial penalty decision that helped Manchester United into
an FA Cup showdown with Liverpool.

Even Old Trafford manager Alex Ferguson admitted that Neil Maddison's
81st-minute challenge on Butt produced what he described as a 'softish
penalty,' while the Middlesbrough player insisted after United's 3-1 win
that he had made no contact.

Middlesbrough, having gone ahead-tourna-Boro manager and former United
stalwart Robson said: 'Unfortunately, the referee fell for it when Butt
dived. Neil swears he made no contact. It's a shame when things like that
happen.' Maddison added: 'No part of my body touched Nicky Butt. I told him
I couldn't

Then Maddison, who also claimed referee Graham Barber had been deceived,
tangled with Butt. Denis Irwin converted from the spot to set up the
glamour clash of the fourth round, with United playing host to their great
rivals from Merseyside-believe what he had done - it just wasn't a penalty.
I know Nicky and I know he's an honest player. But I'm as honest as he is
and I'm saying that there was no contact whatsoever. I'm sure the video
will prove that I'm correct.

'What was so frustrating was that the linesman did not even flag for a
penalty while the referee was on the blind side, yet the ref immediately
gave the penalty decision.' Ferguson said: 'I thought Maddison caught Nicky
with his knee. But it was softish. Though it was softish technically
speaking, it was a penalty because he did catch him. These things can
happen in football.'

Ryan Giggs sealed matters with a third goal in the 90th minute but Robson
has now joined a growing band who believe an extra official may be required
to judge controversial moments. He said: 'Especially in big games like
this, when one decision can affect you either way in the cup, a fourth
official being able to judge on replays would not do any harm.'

Liverpool earned their trip to Old Trafford thanks to two goals from
Michael Owen in a 3-0 win at First Division Port Vale. The 19-year-old
England striker said: 'What can you say, the draw is unbelievable. It can't
get much tougher.'

Manager Gerard Houllier added: 'It's not an easy draw but if you want to
win the FA Cup you have to be able to beat some of the harder teams. So why
not now at this early stage of the competition?'

Ferguson said: 'It's a belter . . . fantastic. There are some terrific ties
in the next round but Manchester United and Liverpool is always a big game.'

Among the other highlights of the draw are Wimbledon meeting London rivals
Tottenham and Coventry making the short trip up the M69 to Leicester.

Other potential all-Premiership clashes could involve League leaders Aston
Villa, who host Southampton or Fulham, and Derby County, who visit West Ham
or Swansea.

First Division Oxford United, struggling to stave off bankruptcy, have a
lucrative home game against Chelsea, while non-League Rushden and Diamonds
face a trip to Portsmouth if they win their replay with Leeds United.

Two managers who were far from happy about yesterday's draw were rival
bosses Danny Wilson and Bruce Rioch, who complained about it taking place
in the middle of their third-round tie at Hillsborough.

Sheffield Wednesday manager Wilson, whose side won 4-1 against Rioch's
Norwich City and now host Stockport, said: 'I didn't want the players to
know because there was a distinct danger it could distract them.

'It strikes me that it's a case of TV companies trying to get one up on
each other. Whatever the reason, it's not on. It shows a lack of respect
for the clubs.'

Rioch added: 'It was totally out of order - I can't believe anyone in their
right mind could allow it to happen. We are talking about a competition of
worldwide renown and I find it totally unacceptable that the draw can be
taking place when we have only reached half-time in the previous round.'

Peter Schmeichel's last season at OT" Click on image for more!"



Monday 04 January 1999 

Subject: MANCHESTER UNITED 3 MIDDLESBROUGH 1 

Alex Ferguson's men came back from a goal behind
to make their overall class tell against a Boro side
which never quite reached the levels of their
Premiership victory at Old Trafford before
Christmas. Goals by Andy Cole, Ryan Giggs and a
penalty from Denis Irwin were little more than
United deserved for their impressive superiority. 

But it wasn't until the last half an hour of a
pulsating FA Cup clash that United truly came into
their own, after Andy Townsend had given Boro a
surprise lead just after the break. In the end United
turned on the style to set up yet another
mouth-watering encounter with great rivals
Liverpool, comfortable victors over First Division
Port Vale earlier in the day. 

United huffed and puffed their way throught the
first half but, despite enjoying a massive share of
the possession, they could not break down a
Middlesbrough defence marshalled brilliantly by
former Old Trafford favourite Gary Pallister. Wave
after wave of United attacks came along but Boro
succeeded in restricting their hosts to pot shots
from long range. 

It was a disciplined performance from Bryan
Robson's side and much more cautious than their
display in their 3-2 win here just over two weeks
ago. Dwight Yorke had returned after his groin
injury in one of four United changes, while Pallister,
Robbie Mustoe and Paul Gascoigne, playing his first
FA Cup match since he was stretchered off in the
1991 Final, shrugged off injuries to line up for Boro. 

The memory of that Boro win was still fresh in
United's minds and they went for the Teessiders'
jugular straight from the kick-off. Perhaps news
filtered through quickly that the winners will
entertain Liverpool in the Fourth Round, but Boro
were nothing if not resilient for over an hour. 

Boro struggled to get out of their own half in the
first period, but after 21 minutes they almost
caught United cold when Robbie Mustoe forced a
good save from Peter Schmeichel with a header
from Dean Gordon's cross. United regained their
grip on the game after that scare and Nicky Butt
turned well on the edge of the box, but could only
shoot into the arms of Mark Schwarzer who was in
inspired form as United turned up the heat in the
second half. 

Boro continued to defend stoutly but it took a
couple of smart stops by the giant keeper, denying
Yorke and Cole, to keep United at bay and provide
his teammates with the chance to launch a
counter-attack which provided a shock opener for
the visitors early in the second half. 

Totally against the run of play, Boro broke out of
defence and Andy Townsend strode onto a through
ball from Hamilton Ricard with some purpose and
slid his shot past the outstretched figure of
Schmeichel to give his side a lead not even Bryan
Robson could have said they deserved. 

The Boro goal provided United with the signal to go
forward in even greater numbers and their
ambition was rewarded when Andy Cole levelled
the scores mid-way through the second half,
seizing a delightful through ball by Ryan Giggs
before hammering an unstoppable shot past the
exposed Schwarzer. 

A further United onslaught was inevitable and a
winning goal only marginally less so. Neil Maddison
clumsily brought down Nicky Butt just inside the
Boro area and a penalty was the only just decision.
Denis Irwin made no mistake and Ryan Giggs gave
the scoreline a more realistic look with a late third
to set up a Fourth Round belter with you know
who? 
Peter Schmeichel's last season at OT" Click on image for more!"



From:         Terry Dale 
Subject:      United - Boro TV game report

Quite a good performance from the team tonight, with Butty earning an
Oscar for his handy little dive that brought us the penalty. It's
comforting to know we have someone  who can hit the deck as convincingly
as the Angel Owen. And another sweet penalty from Dinnis, as well. I
don't much like it when we get goals this way but cheating the ref is
now so much a part of the game that you either do it, or have it done to
you, and, let's face it, we don't get too many penalties these days.

It was good to see us start a game in an attacking mood, and sustain it
for the full 45 minutes. So often, we seem to start slowly and give the
initiative to the opposition. In tonight's game we were helped by an
unambitious Boro, who seemed to be looking for a draw or a goal on the
break. However, having pressured Boro almost constantly for the whole of
the first half, it was worrying that we hardly had a decent chance (just
Keano's effort that was blasted over). In fact, the best chance really
fell to Boro with a header directed straight at Schmikes. Jaap was
superb yet again in that first half, and the team as a whole combined
well, too. Jesper looked okay but I wish he'd go outside his man
occasionally and try and reach the line before crossing; he kept moving
inside and telegraphing his crosses into the box.

We deserved to be leading after all the possession we'd had, so it was
annoying to see Boro take the lead. I thought Wes might have done better
to challenge for the ball when the cross came over for Deane (?) to head
on to Townsend, but he was generally good value again. Our equaliser was
a well worked effort with Giggs sending in a brilliant defence-splitting
pass for Andy Cole to run onto and blast past the goalkeeper. Cole was
another star tonight, working really hard to shield the ball and lay it
off or running into space. He combined well with Yorke a couple of times
as well. I felt a bit sorry for Boro after the penalty, so I was glad
Giggs added the third as we can at least claim that we didn't win the
game on a disputed penalty.

It was a fine team effort with Jaap, Keano, Dwight and Andy consistently
excellent for the whole 90 minutes and everybody else doing their job
well. Becks should come straight back in to the team but I wonder if
Fergie will keep Wes in for another extended run rather than bring in
Gazza Neville. On balance, I think I'd be inclined to let Wes have two
or three more games.

So, it's on to the fourth round at home to Liverpool. That shouldn't
present too much of an obstacle as long as we can keep the Angel Owen on
his feet in our penalty area. It won't be easy; the boy likes to fall
over and he is so convincing.
_____________
Terry
Saudi
Peter Schmeichel's last season at OT" Click on image for more!"



Subject:  GUNNERS 'LIKE A SCRAP' - FERGUSON 

Alex Ferguson has fired the first shots in the annual
mind-games with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, by accusing
the Gunners of roughhouse tactics. The Manchester United
boss called Arsenal "belligerent" and said several of the
Highbury stars "liked a scrap". Ferguson, whose team were
pipped to the Premiership title by Double-winners Arsenal
last season, said: "I'll tell you what they do - and I've
spoken to other managers about this, and they all agree.
When Arsenal are not in a game, they turn it into a battle
to try to make the opposition lose concentration. They do
that all the time. The number of fights involving Arsenal
is more than Wimbledon had in their heyday." Ferguson told
the Sunday Times that French midfield duo Patrick Vieira
and Emmanuel Petit and defenders Martin Keown, Lee Dixon
and Nigel Winterburn all "liked a scrap". He added: "I
believe there's no ground where players are sent off more
regularly than they are at Highbury." Wenger and Ferguson
have had psychological battles in both the last two
seasons. Two seasons ago, the pair clashed when Wenger came
out against Ferguson's call for United's fixture congestion
to be sorted out. Last season, Wenger won the mind-games
with his constant insistence that Arsenal were out of the
title race, until the Gunners finally overhauled United.
Arsenal have had 18 players sent off since Wenger took over
- one red card was later rescinded - and five dismissed
this season. United have had two players sent off this term
- including Nicky Butt at Highbury - but have had one more
booking, 38, than the Gunners.

-------------------------------

Fergie slams FA «« 

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has hit out at the FA, claiming that the way
things are going an English side will never again win the European Cup.

His view have been echoed by Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, and the pair want to see
 fewer games being played in the Premiership and a winter break introduced.

Ferguson said: "We have a great league, but it will be very difficult for any English
 team to win the European Cup from next season. 

"A lot of the people in the FA haven't played the game . They haven't got a clue.
"None of them would have any idea what it's like to play eight games in December."


 
Peter Schmeichel's last season at OT" Click on image for more!"

          If ever they are playing in your town
          You must get to that football ground
          Take a lesson come to see
          Football taught by Matt Busby
          Manchester, Manchester United
          A bunch of bouncing Busby Babes
          They deserve to be knighted