www.red11.org DAILY NEWS
Date: Tue 07 Dec 1999 01:59 GMT
Mail: barry@www.red11.org
This Issue:
1. Keane deal on Tuesday? ««
2. A question of integrity
3. Valencia win 2-0
4. United to sell 6000 LMTB's in the new stands
5. Personal Match Report by Middleton RED
6. SOCCER STAR RED-CARDED FROM ROADS
7. Yen for glory
++++++=========+++++++========+++++++++========++++++++
MANCHESTER UNITED DAILY NEWS Tues 6th Dec 1999:
Webmaster Comment:
K Day at OT We should have news sometime today about Roy Keane
before the important Euro Game on Wednesday.
* If you have an article for this MUFC Daily News bulletin
please mail it to Thanks!
*** Remember our December Competition!
To enter first download 1 meg here
http://www.red11.org/mickz/mufc_snow.exe
Lets see how far us REDS can get, I already made it to Level 2
Proof here: http://www.red11.org/mickz/level2.jpg
The best 3 efforts will win a copy of the NEW book
"European Glory" by RED NEWS edited by Barney Chilton
Eyewitness Accounts of United's 1968 & 1999 European Triumphs
A book celebrating the amazing events in the Nou Camp on May 26th - retails at £7,95
Enties to the competition must include an attched screen pic as proof of
your efforts mail to barrylee@post3.tele.dk GOOD LUCK Comp closes 24th Dec 1999
----------------------
If I Die In The Stretford End - scoreboardpaddock@manutd.com
Alex Hulme/Manchester/England
Made by a Manc for Mancs "If I Die In The Stretford End" is for Match Going REDS.
URL:
Taken from The Worldwide Manchester United Fans Webring - 400+ RED sites!
http://www.webring.org/cgi-bin/webring?ring=manufan;list
* UK TV info: BBC TO COVER UNITED'S BRAZIL MISSION
The BBC will broadcast live coverage of Manchester United's World Team
Championship challenge in Brazil.
Champions League Url: http://www.red11.org/champ
Manchester United FC Champions League Squad List
1 Mark John Bosnich 2 Gary Alexander Neville 3 Dennis Joseph Irwin
4 David May 6 Jakob Stam 7 David Robert J Beckham
8 Nicholas Butt 9 Andrew Alex. Cole 10 Edward Sheringham
11 Ryan Joseph Giggs 12 Philip Neville 14 Johan Jordi Cruyff
15 Lars Jesper Blomqvist 16 Roy Keane 17 Raimond RJH Van der Gouw
18 Paul Scholes 19 Dwight Yorke 20 Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
21 Henning Berg 23 Michael Jamie Clegg 25 José Quinton Fortune
26 Massimo Taibi 31 Nicholas James Culkin 33 Mark Antony Wilson
34 Jonathan Greening
1999/2000 UEFA Champions League Second Group-Match Stage - Group B
Group B P W D L F A Pts
Valencia CF 1 1 0 0 3 0 3
Fiorentina AC 1 1 0 0 2 0 3
Manchester United 1 0 0 1 0 2 0
Bordeaux 1 0 0 1 0 3 0
Second stage Euro Draw GROUP B
Manchester United Valencia Bordeaux Fiorentina
Tues Nov 23 Fiorentina v Manchester United 2-0
Valencia v Girondins Bordeaux 3-0
Wed Dec 8
Group B: Girondins Bordeaux v Fiorentina
Group B: Manchester United v Valencia
Wed Mar 1
Group B: Manchester United v Girondins Bordeaux
Group B: Fiorentina v Valencia
Tues Mar 7
Group B: Girondins Bordeaux v Manchester United
Group B: Valencia v Fiorentina
Wed Mar 15
Group B: Manchester United v Fiorentina
Group B: Girondins Bordeaux v Valencia
Tuesday, March 21
Group B: Fiorentina v Girondins Bordeaux
Group B: Valencia v Manchester United
FINAL Group D P W D L F A PTS
Manchester United FC 6 4 1 1 9 4 13
Olympique de Marseille 6 3 1 2 10 8 10
SK Sturm Graz 6 2 0 4 5 12 6
NK Croatia Zagreb 6 1 2 3 7 7 5
*******************************
Real Audio - Last weeks Daily News Sound Archive:
Click on INDEX at http://www.red11.org/sound
************************
99/2000 fixtures/match reports are at
http://www.red11.org/mufc/992000.htm
Mark Bosnich's Personal Details
http://www.red11.org/mufc/bosnich.htm
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
MANCHESTER UNITED STATS v ALL teams on the Web
http://www.red11.org/mufc/stats.htm
Previous News:
BSKYB Takeover news/pics at http://www.red11.org/mufc/bskyb.htm
Brian Kidd Press conference, pic, real audio
http://www.iol.ie/~redcafe/kidd.htm
Peter Schmeichel's last Season at United!
http://www.red11.org/mufc/news/schmeichel.htm
*** RESULTS AND ATTENDANCES ON 04/12/99 ***
Aston Villa 0-1 Newcastle United 34,531
Bradford City 1-1 Middlesbrough 17,708
Leicester City 0-3 Arsenal 20,495
Manchester United 5-1 Everton 55,193
Southampton 0-0 Coventry City 15,168
Sunderland 4-1 Chelsea 41,377
Wimbledon 5-0 Watford 14,021
*** RESULTS AND ATTENDANCES ON 05/12/99 ***
Derby County 0-1 Leeds United 29,455
Liverpool 4-1 Sheffield Wednesday 42,517
*** CONDENSED LEAGUE TABLE AS AT 05/12/99 ***
Pos Team P W D L F A GD Pts
---------------------------------------------------------
1 Leeds United 17 12 2 3 30 19 11 38
2 Manchester United 16 11 3 2 40 21 19 36
3 Arsenal 17 11 2 4 31 16 15 35
4 Sunderland 17 10 4 3 31 17 14 34
5 Liverpool 17 9 3 5 24 14 10 30
6 Leicester City 17 9 2 6 26 23 3 29
7 Tottenham Hotspur 15 8 2 5 25 20 5 26
8 Chelsea 15 7 3 5 21 15 6 24
9 West Ham United 15 7 3 5 17 14 3 24
10 Middlesbrough 17 7 3 7 21 24 -3 24
11 Coventry City 17 5 6 6 23 18 5 21
12 Everton 17 5 6 6 25 27 -2 21
13 Wimbledon 17 4 8 5 27 29 -2 20
14 Newcastle United 17 5 4 8 28 30 -2 19
15 Aston Villa 17 5 4 8 14 19 -5 19
16 Southampton 16 4 5 7 20 25 -5 17
17 Bradford City 16 3 4 9 13 25 -12 13
18 Derby County 17 3 3 11 15 29 -14 12
19 Watford 17 3 2 12 13 33 -20 11
20 Sheffield Wednesday 16 1 3 12 14 40 -26 6
*** FIXTURE ON 06/12/99 ***
Tottenham Hotspur v West Ham United
*** TEAM STATISTICS - MANCHESTER UNITED - AS AT 20/11/99 ***
AVERAGE HOME ATTENDANCE: 55,168
HIGHEST HOME ATTENDANCE: 25/09/99 - Southampton (55,249)
LOWEST HOME ATTENDANCE: 11/08/99 - Sheffield Wednesday (54,941)
BEST WIN: 11/08/99 - Sheffield Wednesday (4-0)
30/08/99 - Newcastle United (5-1)
HEAVIEST DEFEAT: 03/10/99 - Chelsea (0-5)
BEST HOME WIN: 11/08/99 - Sheffield Wednesday (4-0)
30/08/99 - Newcastle United (5-1)
BEST AWAY WIN: 22/08/99 - Arsenal (2-1)
25/08/99 - Coventry City (2-1)
11/09/99 - Liverpool (3-2)
20/11/99 - Derby County (2-1)
HEAVIEST AWAY DEFEAT: 03/10/99 - Chelsea (0-5)
NEXT MATCHES
---------------------------------------------------------------
08-DEC-1999 [19:45] Manchester Utd. vs Valencia (UEFA Champions League, HOME)
18-DEC-1999 [15:00] Manchester Utd. vs West Ham (FA Premier League, AWAY)
26-DEC-1999 [15:00] Manchester Utd. vs Bradford C (FA Premier League, HOME)
28-DEC-1999 [20:00] Manchester Utd. vs Sunderland (FA Premier League, AWAY)
06-JAN-2000 [18:15] Manchester Utd. vs Necaxa (World Club Championship, AWAY)
Current Injuries Possible return
Jesper Blomqvist ankle early Dec
Ronny Johnsen knee January
Wes Brown knee August
*** TEAM RESULTS - MANCHESTER UNITED -
UNITED Stats v All teams:
http://www.red11.org/mufc/stats/
ALL FIXTURES at: http://www.red11.org/mufc/fix992000.htm
First Team Fixtures 1999/2000
All dates/times subject to change
Dates of possible cup ties also shown
Date Opposition Score Pos. Attend.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
15/07/99 Melbourne Australia pre-season W 2-0 - 60,000
18/07/99 Sydney Australia pre-season W 1-0 - 78,000
21/07/99 Shanghai Shenhua pre-season W 2-0 - 80,000
24/07/99 Hong Kong South China pre-season W 2-0 - 40,000
1/08/99 Arsenal Wembley Charity Shield L 1-2 - 70,185
3/08/99 Omagh Town Omagh Bomb Fund W 9-0 - 7,000
4/08/99 Wigan Athletic friendly W 2-0 - 15,000
08/08/99 Everton Away PL D 1-1 10 39,141
11/08/99 Sheffield Wednesday Home PL W 4-0 3 54,941
14/08/99 Leeds United Home PL W 2-0 1 55,187
22/08/99 Arsenal Away PL W 2-1 1 38,147
25/08/99 Coventry City Away PL W 2-1 1 22,024
27/08/99 Monaco - Lazio ESC L 0-1 - 15,223
30/08/99 Newcastle United Home W 5-1 1 55,190
11/09/99 Liverpool Away W 3-2 1 44,929
14/09/99 Croatia Zagreb Home EC D 0-0 - 53,250
18/09/99 Wimbledon Home D 1-1 1 55,189
22/09/99 Sturm Graz Away EC W 3-0 - 16,480
25/09/99 Southampton Home D 3-3 1 55,249
29/09/99 Marseille Home EC W 2-1 - 54,276
3/10/99 Chelsea Away PL L 0-5 2 34,909
11/10/99 Sir Alex Testimonial Home F L 2-4 LEGENDS 54,842
13/10/99 Aston Villa Away WC3 L 0-3 - 33,815
16/10/99 Watford Home PL W 4-1 2 55,188
19/10/99 Marseille Away EC L 0-1 - 57,745
23/10/99 Tottenham Hotspur Away L 1-3 3 36,072
27/10/99 Croatia Zagreb Away EC W 2-1 - 30,000
30/10/99 Aston Villa Home PL W 3-0 2 55,211
2/11/99 Sturm Graz Home EC W 2-1 - 53,745
6/11/99 Leicester City Home PL W 2-0 1 55,191
20/11/99 Derby County Away W 2-1 1 33,370
23/11/99 AC Fiorentina Away EC L 0-2 - 40,000
30/11/99 Tokyo Palmeiras N WCC W 1-0 - 53,372
4/12/99 Everton Home PL W 5-1 2 55,193
8/12/99 Valencia CF Home EC 19.45
18/12/99 West Ham United Away PL 15.00
26/12/99 Bradford City Home PL 15.00
28/12/99 Sunderland Away PL 20.00 "live on sky"
pp 3/01/2000 Middlesborough Home PL ??? *No new date yet
pp 27/11/1999 Sheffield Wednesday Away PL ??? *No new date yet
****************************************************
JAN 05-14 Brazil WTC [3-4 games]
----------------------------------------------------
06/01/2000 Necaxa (Mexico) Neut WTC 16.00
08/01/2000 Vasco da Gama (Brazil) Away WTC 16.00
11/01/2000 South Melbourne (Australia) N WTC 16.00
Final? 14/01/2000
****************************************************
15/17? /01/2000 Leeds Away PL 15.00
24/01/2000 Arsenal Home PL 20.00 "live on sky"
5/02/2000 Coventry City Home PL 15.00
12/02/2000 Newcastle United Away PL 15.00
26/02/2000 Wimbledon Away PL 15.00
1/03/2000 FC Girondins de Bordeaux Home EC 19.45
4/03/2000 Liverpool Home PL 11.30 "live on sky"
7/03/2000 FC Girondins de Bordeaux Away EC 19.45
11/03/2000 Derby County Home PL 15.00
15/03/2000 AC Fiorentina Home EC 19.45
18/03/2000 Leicester City Away PL 15.00
21/03/2000 Valencia CF Away EC 19.45
25/03/2000 Bradford City Away PL 15.00
1/04/2000 West Ham United Home PL 15.00
5/04/2000 ? EC qf i
8/04/2000 Middlesborough Away PL 15.00
15/04/2000 Sunderland Home PL 15.00
19/04/2000 ? EC qf ii
22/04/2000 Southampton Away PL 15.00
24/04/2000 Chelsea Home PL 15.00
29/04/2000 West Ham United Away PL 15.00
3/05/2000 ? EC sf i
6/05/2000 Tottenham Hotspur Home PL 15.00
10/05/2000 ? EC sf ii
14/05/2000 Aston Villa Away PL 15.00
24/05/2000 ? EC Final
http://www.red11.org/mufc/match.htm
++++++=========+++++++========+++++++++========++++++++
 |
| Click On pic - for latest interviews from OT |
Keane deal on Tuesday ««
It is looking increasingly likely that Roy Keane will sign a new contract
for Manchester United, possibly by Tuesday.
The Republic of Ireland star is ready to put pen to paper and unless
something goes terribly wrong at the last stage of negotiations, everything
will be sorted out on Tuesday.
Keane dropped a huge hint two weeks ago when he revealed that new talks
were about to take place and he was "hopeful something positive" would come
out of them.
In a pre-Valencia interview, he has said he hoped everything would be
sorted out before the Champions' League game on Wednesday night and with
his representative due to meet with United's financial controllers
tomorrow, that looks likely to happen.
Keane says he reached a decision last week and is ready to end months of
uncertainty. He had refused to sign a new deal at the start of the season
saying he would wait until this campaign was over before making up his mind.
He would be free to leave the club in the summer under the Bosman freedom
of contract rules, and to open talks with other clubs next month, but it
looks as if it will not come to that.
 |
| Click On pic - for all latest pics from OT |
A question of integrity
Ian Ridley
Sunday December 5, 1999
It is 1 January, 2000. As is his right, Roy Keane signs a pre-contract
agreement with Real Madrid, committing himself to joining them next season.
It is 24 May, 2000. Manchester United are playing Real Madrid in the final
of the European Cup in Paris. What should Sir Alex Ferguson do about Roy
Keane?
Imagine Ferguson's dilemma. His captain has always been committed to the
cause, the very heartbeat of Manchester United, indeed. His influence in
taking them to another final may well have brought him English football's
Player of the Year award that he must have been close to winning last
season. What state of mind will Keane be in, however, when facing the club
he will join in another month or so?
Imagine Keane's dilemma. No one would ever suggest that he would
deliberately foul up, but he is in an awkward, no-win position where there
is a clear conflict of interests. If he produces his customary wholehearted
performance and wins with United, what of the reaction at the Bernabeu when
he steps out there for the first time? Or, below par, he flounders as Real
win. Will Mancunian fingers point?
And what of the attitude in Madrid? They would certainly prefer it if their
new man did not play, not only because of the damage he could do to them,
but also to himself should he be injured. Would there be pressure behind the
scenes on him or his advisers to develop a convenient groin strain?
Given such questions, it would be no surprise if Ferguson felt he had to
omit Keane, to the anguish of the player, who missed last year's final
against Bayern Munich due to suspension. It is certainly a glaring anomaly
in a meat market of a transfer system that needs to be re-examined with the
explosion of European football.
The system of pre-contracts sprang up with the Bosman ruling. Players out of
contract the following summer could decide in the January if they wished to
remain or move. It meant that the club, or two clubs involved, and the
player could plan for the following season. Reasonable enough.
The FA were initially concerned, though, by the potential for conflict of
interest in domestic football. The PFA pointed out the pitfalls. 'Sometimes
Fifa bring in regulations that can put players in conflict with their own
national associations,' says Brendan Batson of the players' union.
What, for example, if an Arsenal player out of contract should decide to
join Manchester United and the two clubs were going for the title; met, in
fact, in a crucial fixture in the run-in? Fifa reassured them that
pre-contracts applied only to cross-border transfers and chaos was averted.
In reality, this Keane scenario has existed since the ruling but it seemed
unlikely to happen. Spring saw knock-out competition in Europe and few were
the teams involved compared to those who set out in autumn. But now we have
a second phase of the Champions' League. Now the potential for players being
attached to two clubs, who could well face each other, is increased.
It seems likely that the will-he, won't-he Keane saga will mercifully end
soon. It has been as tedious in its own way as the summer of Nicolas Anelka,
with contradictory stories appearing daily and each statement and piece of
body language examined in detail. Yes, Manchester United are eating into
those mammoth profits to keep him; hang the wage structure and consequent
internal problems it will bring. No, Real's overdraft facility is bigger. Or
is it Juventus? If a week is a long time in politics, in football it can be
an age between first and last editions of a newspaper.
The January man will tell us, possibly before then. And should Keane decide
to go, perhaps Sir Alex Ferguson will decide that he had better go now then,
rather than have his mind somewhere else for five months, which would make a
mockery of Keane's statement that he will definitely be at Old Trafford for
this season at least.
Keane is the highest profile of the Bosman brigade currently, but how many
other players in Europe do we not know about who are contemplating
pre-contracts? Can we be sure when we watch Champions' League matches next
week that there is no hidden agenda within the game, that some player is not
carrying a secret? It is unlikely but are we sure that those acting for
Keane have not been talking to Valencia, whom United face on Wednesday, for
example?
As the tip-of-the-iceberg bungs inquiry revealed, there has always been
scope for dodgy transfer dealings, even in the supposed good old, honest
English game. And we had a small glimpse of potential conflict-of-interest
problems when, acrimoniously, John Gregory left out Mark Bosnich for a game
at Old Trafford last season, it being an open secret that the goalkeeper
would be joining United on a Bosman in the summer. And as for all the scams
in Europe, well, how long have you got?
In which case, then, why add to the possibility with such a system that has
a capacity for corruption? Once the Keane deal is done, whichever way,
perhaps the FA could point out the potential problems to Uefa and Fifa so
that guidelines for such situations are drawn up.
The PFA would like to see it. 'The football village is shrinking,' says
Brendan Batson. 'And this could place players in invidious position.' Then
he adds the crucial point that the watching footballing public needs to be
certain of: 'We have to make sure that the integrity of the game is above
question.'
 |
| Click On pic - for latest interviews from OT |
Valencia win 2-0
Valencia, Manchester United's opponents in the Champions' League on
Wednesday, suffered another blow to their already depleted midfield when
Miguel Angulo strained a muscle early in their 2-0 Spanish League win
against bottom of the table Sevilla at the weekend.
Three other midfielders, the injured Kily Gonzalez and suspended Gerard
Lopez and David Albelda, are already out along with Romanian striker Adrian
Ilie, who has a gall bladder complaint.
In a lacklustre game, striker Juan Sanchez put them ahead in the sixth
minute with a header and Argentinian Piojo Lopez added a second in the 70th
minute. It was only their fifth win in 14 league games this season.
The game was delayed by floodlight failure for more than 20 minutes, midway
through the first half.
 |
| Click On pic - for latest pics from OT |
United to sell 6000 LMTB's in the new stands
In the match programme at OT, United announced their plans for the
stadium expansion. The important points are:
The extra 12,400 tickets will be sold as follows:
6,400 day tickets to members in accordance with current practice
6,000 as League Match Ticket Books (LMTB's). These will not carry any
rights to away games or Cup Final tickets
There will be no club class or exec seats.
They have decided that to increase the number of season tickets would only
increase the "amount of disappointment" when allocating tickets for away
games/Cup Finals. Because the LMTB's will not carry any rights to away
games/Cup Finals, the situation in respect of season tickets, will
therefore remain unchanged.
They justify their decision to sell 6,000 as LMTB's, rather than day
tickets in the following way:
Operational reasons - there would be difficulties in selling an additional
12,400 match day tickets due to the increased number of cup matches and
changes in fixture dates plus the sheer volume of the numbers (they
obviously haven't considered increasing their office staff!). Within this
section, they also mention that they plan to introduce telephone sales.
Financial reasons - "This is a significant investment by the Club and to
have a guaranteed return each season is sound business practice".
The criteria for selling the LMTB's has yet to be finalised and fans are
asked not to write to the club until details are issued later in the season.
The rest of the page is devoted to a repeat of the letter sent to East
Stand Lower residents about the extension of the disabled section and the
formation of the "singing end" in West Stand tier 2.
Salford Lass
 |
| Click On pic - for latest interviews from OT |
Personal Match Report by Middleton RED
Though my day at Old Trafford would probably be more dissuasive to most
people - it usually begins at 7.15 am on Saturday and finishes at 4.45am the
next morning after Barney's had enough to drink, though Saturday was the
coldest I've experienced whilst selling Red News, not really helped by the
fact that I had spent the last week off work with the flu. Also, as there
were not enough train tickets for the group, myself, Kerry and a few others
had to jib on the way up, which was not really helped by the ultra keen
Hector - I was actually saved by the train pulling into Stoke-On-Trent,
enabling me to get back to my seat! You would never believe that after sun
all the way up from London, that within 20 miles of Manchester snow appeared
on the hills and the clouds begin to form and turn a very ominous colour.
Still, it didn't actually rain until we got out of the taxi on Sir Matt
Busby way at 12.15 - fantastic. The next 3 hours of standing on the bridge
through a barrage of rain, hail, snow, sleet and high winds began to make me
wonder just what the hell I was doing there when I should be in bed
recovering - I even put on a plastic mac at one point, I was that desparate
to keep dry. I also had to put up with the odd bit of abuse like the bloke
who told me I was a robbing b.....d for selling Red News for £1.50 and tried
to offer me £1 - yes Ok £1 will be fine mate, I like a good old barter on a
match day - do you do this in WHSmith too? Then after all his moaning he
took an extra 50p out of his pocket and gave it to me as if I was making him
give up his wordly savings for a fanzine which is cheaper than the program
and a much better read. Anyway, notable celebrities this week included,
Angus Deaton, Martin Platt and Captain Darling from Blackadder (oh, how I
wanted to say the joke!) - not that I've turned into a spotter or anything.
By 3pm, I was virtually frozen and so Barney took the rest of the Red News
whilst I walked up to the ground, only to find I had severe difficulty in
walking, mainly because I couldn't feel my feet anymore. Anyway, thank God
there was 5 goals to warm me up or else I would have probably shivered to
death such was the lack of warmth in my body. I thought Sheringham and
Solksjaer looked superb together - always creating chances from the 1st
minute, though Sheringham looked more tired in the 2nd half and with half an
hour left and Barney crying out for nine goals, the team seemed content to
play out the remainder of the game in the knowledge that it was won. Anyway,
as is becoming customary, I left slightly early for the after match sales,
passing the new East Stand (or is it a conference centre) glass shell for
another 20 minute session in the cold before we gathered together whilst
Barney took us on one of his now familiar walks to find a taxi, resulting in
us catching a bus as we neared the city centre.
A quick beer stop and we were on the train with reserved seats for a change.
Just our luck then that the heating shouldn't be working and some of the
loudest most irritating Everton fans should also be in the same carriage.
There was no other option but to go first class and with the typical Virgin
style we arrived in London 40 minutes late. As is customary, the real
drinking then started, firstly at Callaghans near Marble Arch where some
band was playing until 1am and where Kerry made his usual early exit
(probably to watch Fishing USA on TV, though he was muttering something
about a flight), and then onto some really naff Sports bar & Club where for
some reason about 20 people followed us. By this time, I was out of it, but
at least I no longer realised I was ill, having actually taken my coat off.
I believe 'We are the Champions' was sung to several times with emphasis
place on the 'of the World' bit but I remember little else except tall
American girls, spouting crap about giant bugs and arguing about
handkerchiefs - oh and falling asleep on some girls shoulder on the night
bus home at about 4.30am.
 |
| Click On pic - for all player stats from OT |
SOCCER STAR RED-CARDED FROM ROADS
England and Manchester United star Andy Cole has been banned from driving
for six months.
Cole, 28, of Wilmslow, Cheshire, already had nine points on his licence when
he pleaded guilty to doing 65mph on the 50mph A34 bypass in Stockport,
Greater Manchester.
He was given four points and a 500 fine by Stockport Magistrates and was
also ordered to pay 35 costs
 |
| Click On pic - for the history of MUFC 1892-1976 |
Yen for glory
By Martin Lipton
Arsenal and Manchester United were locked in battle again last night - but
this time over the hottest young property in Asian football.
Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson are both poised to table £2million bids
for Japan midfielder Shinji Ono.
Wenger is understood to have already contacted 20-year-old Ono's
representatives following the relegation of his club side, Uwara Reds, from
the J-League.
Now Wenger's greatest rival, the Old Trafford boss, has made firm inquiries,
hoping to beat Arsenal to the pin-up boy of Japanese football, although they
will be joined in the chase by Italian sides including Juventus, AC Milan,
Roma and Bologna, and Dutch giants Ajax.
Japan manager Philippe Troussier said last night: 'Sir Alex came to see me
last week when he was over here for the Toyota Cup and asked me questions
about Shinji. I told him he was ready for the Premiership.
'Shinji is a powerful player, strong and a leader, even at 20. He can play
at the highest level anywhere. He can be like Michael Owen or Gianfranco
Zola, the skilful little players English football needs.'
Despite having just completed only his second professional season, Ono is
already being hailed as the finest player to emerge in Japan - better than
Perugia's highly-rated Hidetoshi Nakata - and has become the fulcrum of his
club side and the national Olympic squad.
He made a World Cup debut at 18, against Jamaica in France 98, and this
season his four-month absence through a knee ligament injury suffered in an
Olympic qualifier against the Philippines was cited as the key reason for
Reds' shock relegation.
Despite the continental competition, it could come down to a straight fight
between Arsenal and United.
Ono said last night: 'I believe I've got to go to Europe as soon as
possible. I know I've got to work on the physical aspect of my game but I
don't think there's anything I can't handle.
'I want to go to a country where football is fun, so I would really like to
go to the Premiership because the players there seem to enjoy what they're
doing.'
Signing Ono would give either United or Arsenal the opportunity to foster
his abundant talents while educating him in the different demands of the
English game.
But it will not be missed by either club that capturing Ono would have huge
potential commercial benefits. His massive following in Japan would ensure
enormous merchandising spin-offs throughout the Far East.
 |
| Click On pic - vote now in our MUFC WEEKLY SURVEY |
Pic Link today is http://www.red11.org/mufc/sound/99/
