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www.red11.org DAILY NEWS
Date: Sun Apr 11 03:15:53 GMT+00:00 1999
Mail: barry@www.red11.org
This Issue:
1. Ferguson told to drop interest in Zidane
2. Cooke's recipe to bridge the Manchester divide
3. BERG RULED OUT OF SEMI
4. Man Utd takeover bid blocked
5. GUNNERS INJURY SCARE
6. Telegraph - Michael Crick
7. FERGUSON OUT TO SILENCE GUNNERS
8. Referee's decision on Man Utd bid was offside
++++++=========+++++++========+++++++++========++++++++
Daily RED Trivia Sun 11th April 1999:
11/4/1953:
Dennis Viollet made his United debut against Newcastle United. A gifted
striker with pace and vision, Viollet won League title medals in 1956 and 1957,
and played in the 1958 FA Cup Final. In 1958-59 he scored League 32 goals in
36 games, still a United record. A survivor of the Munich disaster, he made
291 appearances, scoring 159 goals. 2 England caps. Viollet joined Stoke City
in January 1962 and won a Division 2 Championship medal in 1963.
11/4/1990:
United win their FA Cup Semi-Final replay 2-1 after extra time against
Oldham Athletic at Maine Road watched by 35,005. Brian McClair and Mark
Robins scored the goals that took United to Wembley. Team was: Leighton,
Ince, Martin (Robins), Bruce, Phelan, Pallister, Robson, Webb (Gibson),
McClair, Hughes, Wallace.
**************
09-APR-1999 [16:28] United Respond To Sky News
UNITED RESPOND TO SKY NEWS
Friday, April 09, 1999 16:28
Manchester United have issued this statement following the DTI's blocking
of the BSkyB takeover deal. "The Board of Manchester United note today's
announcement of the decision by the Secretary of State for Trade and
Industry not to permit the proposed merger between Manchester United and
BSkyB. Although disappointed by the decision, the Board is confident that
the club will maintain its record of success and secure its objective of
achieving consistantly outstanding playing and business performance for the
benefit of its supporters, employees and shareholders."
http://www.manutd.com/news/feature.sps?from=latest&id=576136
************************************************************
Real Audio Sunday
9-APR-1999 [14:52] Don't Miss This
Friday, April 09, 1999 14:52
Haven't got a ticket for Sunday's match? Don't despair, just tune into
ManUtd.Com and let us bring you every kick of the match live and direct to
your PC. Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, our Century Radio
commentary team will transport you to Villa Park, and you'll be able to
hear every crunching tackle, every great save, and, hopefully, lots of
United goals. Tune in, and help us cheer the Reds to victory!
Sun. 11 April
Kickoff 12.30 BST / 11.30 GMT / 6.30am CT
FA CUP SEMI-FINAL
Manchester United v Arse
Real Audio url's:
http://www.manutd.com/matches/ram/arsenalpromo_14.ram 14400 kb/s
http://www.manutd.com/matches/ram/arsenalpromo_28.ram 28800
You can listen NOW!
Archive of Sat. 03 April ManUtd v Wimbledon
http://www.broadcast.com/makemedia/makeram.asp?id=57179
or
http://www.broadcast.com/makemedia/makeram.asp?id=57180
---------------------------------------------------
Barry Daily Comment:
BIG game day again, this tike our rivals Arse in
FACUP Semi. We now have to beat them after losing 3 times in a row!
Results vs Manchester United in the 90's
Arsenal P20 W8 D5 L7
Date(YMD) Comp Round WLD H/A Utd Opp Venue Goal Scorers Attendance
98 09 20 LgPL L A 0 3 Highbury 38142
98 08 09 CS L N 0 3 Wembley 67057
98 03 14 LgPL L H 0 1 Old Trafford 55174
97 11 09 LgPL L A 2 3 Highbury Sheringham2 38203
97 02 19 LgPL W A 2 1 Highbury Cole1 Solskjaer1 38172
96 11 16 LgPL W H 1 0 Old Trafford WinterburnOG1 55210
96 03 20 LgPL W H 1 0 Old Trafford Cantona1 50028
95 11 04 LgPL L A 0 1 Highbury 38317
95 03 22 LgPL W H 3 0 OT Hughes SharpeL Kanchels 43623
94 11 26 LgPL D A 0 0 Highbury 38301
94 03 22 LgPL D A 2 2 Highbury SharpeL2 36203
93 09 19 LgPL W H 1 0 Old Trafford Cantona1 44009
93 08 07 CS W N 1 1 Wembley Hughes1 60000
93 03 24 LgPL D H 0 0 Old Trafford 37301
92 11 28 LgPL W A 1 0 Highbury Hughes1 29739
92 02 01 LgDiv1 D A 1 1 Highbury McClair1 41703
91 10 19 LgDiv1 D H 1 1 Old Trafford Bruce1 46594
91 05 06 LgDiv1 L A 1 3 Highbury Bruce1(Pen) 40229
90 11 28 LCup4 W A 6 2 Blackmo Sharpe3 Hugh1 Wallace1 40884
90 10 20 LgDiv1 L H 0 1 Old Trafford 47232
MANCHESTER UNITED STATS v ALL teams on the Web
http://www.red11.org/mufc/stats.htm
Remember takeover news/pics at http://www.red11.org/mufc/bskyb.htm
Previous News:
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
Next games:
ALL Result/Fixture Index:3
http://www.red11.org/mufc/fix9899z.htm
Next Games:
Today! FAC Semi Arsenal at Villa Park 12.30 UK Live Sky Sports Uk
17 Sheff Wed (H) 15.00 PL
21 European Cup Semi Juventus (A) 19.45 CL
25 Leeds (A) 11.30 {am} UK PL Live Sky Sports UK
UNITED Stats v All teams:
http://www.red11.org/mufc/stats/
*** RESULTS AND ATTENDANCES ON 10/04/99 ***
Aston Villa 3-0 Southampton 32,203
Derby County 1-0 Nottingham Forest 32,217
Leicester City 0-0 West Ham United 20,402
Middlesbrough 2-0 Charlton Athletic 34,529
*** CONDENSED LEAGUE TABLE AS AT 10/04/99 ***
Pos Team P W D L F A GD Pts
---------------------------------------------------------
1 Manchester United 31 18 10 3 69 32 37 64
2 Arsenal 32 17 12 3 43 13 30 63
3 Chelsea 30 16 11 3 45 23 22 59
4 Leeds United 31 16 9 6 52 28 24 57
5 Aston Villa 33 13 10 10 44 39 5 49
6 West Ham United 33 13 9 11 34 40 -6 48
7 Derby County 32 12 11 9 36 36 0 47
8 Middlesbrough 32 11 13 8 44 41 3 46
9 Liverpool 30 12 7 11 57 41 16 43
10 Newcastle United 32 11 9 12 43 45 -2 42
11 Wimbledon 32 10 11 11 36 48 -12 41
12 Tottenham Hotspur 31 9 13 9 35 37 -2 40
13 Leicester City 31 9 12 10 32 39 -7 39
14 Sheffield Wednesday 32 11 5 16 38 36 2 38
15 Coventry City 32 10 7 15 34 43 -9 37
16 Charlton Athletic 32 7 10 15 34 43 -9 31
17 Blackburn Rovers 32 7 10 15 32 43 -11 31
18 Everton 32 7 10 15 26 40 -14 31
19 Southampton 33 8 6 19 28 60 -32 30
20 Nottingham Forest 33 4 9 20 30 65 -35 21
*** TEAM RESULTS - MANCHESTER UNITED - AS AT 21/03/99 ***
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 United 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 Middlesbrough Home L 2-3 3 55,152
26/12/98 Nottingham Forest Home W 3-0 3 55,216
29/12/98 Chelsea Away D 0-0 3 34,741
10/01/99 West Ham United Home W 4-1 3 55,180
16/01/99 Leicester City Away W 6-2 2 22,091
31/01/99 Charlton Athletic Away W 1-0 1 20,043
03/02/99 Derby County Home W 1-0 1 55,174
06/02/99 Nottingham Forest Away W 8-1 1 30,025
17/02/99 Arsenal Home D 1-1 1 55,171
20/02/99 Coventry City Away W 1-0 1 22,596
27/02/99 Southampton Home W 2-1 1 55,316
13/03/99 Newcastle United Away W 2-1 1 36,500
21/03/99 Everton Home W 3-1 1 55,182
03/04/99 Wimbledon Away D 1-1 1 26,121
*** TEAM RESULTS SUMMARY - MANCHESTER UNITED - AS AT 21/03/99 ***
P Won Drawn Lost For Against Points
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Home 16 11 (69%) 4 (25%) 1 (6%) 38 (2.4) 16 (1.0) 37 (2.3)
Away 14 7 (50%) 5 (36%) 2 (14%) 30 (2.1) 15 (1.1) 26 (1.9)
Total 30 18 (60%) 9 (30%) 3 (10%) 68 (2.3) 31 (1.0) 63 (2.1)
Averages per game in (brackets)
*** TEAM STATISTICS - MANCHESTER UNITED - AS AT 21/03/99 ***
AVERAGE HOME ATTENDANCE: 55,183
HIGHEST HOME ATTENDANCE: 27/02/99 - Southampton (55,316)
LOWEST HOME ATTENDANCE: 15/08/98 - Leicester City (55,052)
BEST WIN: 06/02/99 - Nottingham Forest (8-1)
HEAVIEST DEFEAT: 20/09/98 - Arsenal (0-3)
BEST HOME WIN: 17/10/98 - Wimbledon (5-1)
HEAVIEST HOME DEFEAT: 19/12/98 - Middlesbrough (2-3)
BEST AWAY WIN: 06/02/99 - Nottingham Forest (8-1)
HEAVIEST AWAY DEFEAT: 20/09/98 - Arsenal (0-3)
*****
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-FINALS
Manchester Utd 2 v 0 Inter Milan
Real Madrid 1 v 1 Dynamo Kiev
Juventus 2 v 1 Olympiakos
Bayern Munich 2 v 0 Kaiserslautern
**DYNAMO KIEV 2 v 0 REAL MADRID (Agg:3-1)
FC KAISERSLAUTERN 0 v 4 **BAYERN MUNICH (Agg:0-6)
INTERNAZIONALE FC 1 v 1 **MANCHESTER UNITED (Agg:1-3)
OLYMPIAKOS 1 v 1 **JUVENTUS (Agg:2-3)
Semi Final 2nd legs to be played 21st April
Manchester United v Juventus [1-1]
Bayern Munchen v Dynamo Kiev [3-3]
++++++=========+++++++========+++++++++========++++++++
Click on pic for more!
Subject: Ferguson told to drop interest in Zidane
By Jon Brodkin and Michael Walker
Saturday April 10, 1999
Juventus responded swiftly and predictably to talk of Manchester United
prising Zinedine Zidane to Old Trafford by insisting yesterday that the
Frenchman was not for sale at any price.
United officials were understood to have made preliminary enquiries about
signing the world player of the year before he inspired Juventus to a 1-1
draw in the Champions League semi-final at Old Trafford on Wednesday night.
But Juventus's director general Luciano Moggi said: 'We haven't discussed
anything about Zidane because he is one of the players on whom we are
building the future. He is one of our key players for next season.'
That, though, is doubted by many. The Italian sports daily Corriere dello
Sport yesterday cited club sources in a story that the 26-year-old will
leave Juventus for Old Trafford or a Spanish club at the end of the season.
Zidane, it said, is not considered essential to the tactics of Carlo
Ancelotti, who replaced Marcello Lippi as coach earlier this year.
The player is certainly under pressure from his wife to leave Turin,
although her preference for living in a coastal city may work in
Barcelona's favour. Zidane, who joined Juventus from Bordeaux in 1996,
would cost around £18 million.
Peter Reid's determination to strengthen his Sunderland squad before
returning to the Premiership included a £2 million bid for Sheffield
United's midfielder Curtis Woodhouse on transfer deadline day, it emerged
yesterday.
United rejected the offer despite Sunderland being prepared to let
Woodhouse stay at Bramall Lane until the end of this season and pay his
wages while he remained there. Reid is expected to make an improved offer
for the 18-year-old in the summer, but will face fierce competition.
Middlesbrough's manager Bryan Robson has criticised the teams who have made
a late attempt to play in the InterToto Cup. Robson declared Boro's
interest in the tournament at the start of the season, along with several
other Premiership clubs, with a view to reaching the Uefa Cup via the back
door.
But competition for the single English berth included Aston Villa and West
Ham by yesterday's deadline. 'Because teams who thought they were going to
go for the Champions League are not achieving that, now they turn round and
say they want to go in the InterToto,' Robson said. 'I feel that's unfair.'
Brighton have sacked their manager Jeff Wood after only nine weeks. The
Third Division club have lost nine of their past 10 games under the former
Charlton goalkeeper. Martin Hinshelwood takes temporary charge.
Click on pic for more!
Subject: Cooke's recipe to bridge the Manchester divide
Daniel Taylor meets the Old Trafford exile who is spurring on United's poor
relations to new heights
Saturday April 10, 1999
As Zinedine Zidane and friends indulged in a spot of La Dolce Vita at the
expense of Manchester United on Wednesday, Terry Cooke could have been
forgiven for regretting his neighbourly instincts. He was present at Old
Trafford that night - but, for this product of the United conveyor belt of
young talent, the forthcoming work agenda has a distinctly less glamorous
tone.
Most pressing of all, instead of this Champions League lark, is the thud
and blunder of today's Second Division encounter between Manchester City
and Lincoln City at Maine Road. Even United's pampered stars have to slum
it sometimes, and Cooke has been a revelation since swapping the Theatre of
Dreams for an honorary place on Moss Side as a loan signing for City.
He has scored five goals, two of them free-kicks straight out of the David
Beckham manual, since joining the select band who have turned out for both
Manchester clubs. Such form has played no small part in the city's poor
relations enjoying one of their most productive spells of an era in which
the two rivals have rarely mingled in more contrasting circles.
Yet, if Cooke harbours dark thoughts of 'that could have been me' after
watching his old pals take on the Old Lady of Turin, he conceals it well.
'I know I could have been in the squad because Alex Ferguson has wanted me
in the past for European games,' he says. 'But there is no point thinking:
"They're playing Juventus while I'm in the Second Division". That hasn't
entered my mind once.
'I want United to win everything, and I want City to get promotion. It is a
bit strange but the fans of both clubs seem to understand. I was
apprehensive at first as I didn't know how the City fans would react, but
I've given 100 per cent in every match and, as long as I do that, they
can't grumble.'
A slip of a lad, the 22-year-old Cooke has suffered in the past from being
a right-sided midfielder at a club that has a coatpeg marked Beckham. His
early promise was halted by a cruciate ligament injury which almost brought
his career to a premature end.
Now, with his injury problems firmly behind him, Cooke is proving, like
Denis Law and Brian Kidd before him, that it is possible to prosper on
either side of the city. But while he may have won over the sceptics with
his feet, it remains to be seen whether he will be around to help his new
playmates wipe the egg stains from their faces after an inglorious few
years for City. His loan spell expires next week and, while the manager Joe
Royle would love to keep him, there remains the considerable stumbling
block of Alex Ferguson's £1.5 million asking price. Cooke appears destined
to resume duties with his Stretford employers.
'It's all about what United want and what City can offer,' Cooke says. 'It
would be a shame to miss out on the play-offs, but hopefully the lads can
go to Wembley and win promotion.' If they do, at least one United fan will
be happy.<
Click on pic for more!
Subject: BERG RULED OUT OF SEMI
Manchester United have been struck by an injury blow to Henning Berg ahead
of Sunday's FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal at Villa Park.
Norwegian defender Berg has been ruled out with a knee ligament problem and
Alex Ferguson is forced to break up the partnership with Japp Stam which has
contributed to United's unbeaten run of 21 games.
Ronny Johnsen will take over after replacing Berg for the second half of the
Champions' League semi-final, first leg against Juventus on Wednesday.
The injury also looks likely to rule Berg out of the return leg in Turin and
Norway's Euro 2000 qualifier in Georgia on April 28.
Manchester United (from): Schmeichel, G Neville, Stam, Johnsen, Brown,
Irwin, Beckham, Keane, Scholes, Giggs, Cole, Yorke, Solskjaer, Blomqvist, P
Neville, Butt, Sheringham, Greening, Curtis, van der Gouw.
Click on pic for more!
Subject: Man Utd takeover bid blocked
Friday, April 9, 1999
Trade and Industry Secretary Stephen Byers today blocked BSkyB's bid to
takeover Manchester United.
The Department of Trade and Industry said Mr Byers was acting on the
recommendation of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission which delivered its
report on the proposed takeover last month.
Mr Byers said: 'The MMC's findings are based mainly on competition grounds
where they concluded that the merger would adversely affect competition
between broadcasters.
'But they also examined wider public interest issues concluding that the
merger would damage the quality of British football. I accept these findings.
BSkyB launched its takeover bid for Manchester United in October offering
to pay £623 million for the club.
The deal was accepted by the club's board but was referred to the MMC amid
opposition to the deal from some MPs and Manchester United fans.
Andy Walsh, chairman of the Manchester United Independent Supporters
Association, said today: 'It is a tremendous victory for supporters of
Manchester United and for all football club fans.'
He added: 'The news is fantastic and follows seven months of hard work.
This is great for us and for anyone fighting for the independence of their
club.'
Click on pic for more!
Subject: GUNNERS INJURY SCARE
ARSENAL have been hit by two injury scares that could
wreck their FA Cup defence.
Veteran defenders Lee Dixon and Nigel Winterburn face
fitness tests this morning before coach Arsene Wenger
decides if they can play at Villa Park tomorrow. Dixon
has an abdominal problem, Winterburn a groin injury.
It would be a particular blow to lose both first-choice
full-backs because the Gunners must handle the threat
on the flanks posed by United's David Beckham and
Ryan Giggs.
Wenger said: "We will have to see how they are on
Saturday morning. The character of both men makes me
optimistic they will be available, but we will just have to
wait and see."
Wenger is without influential midfielder Emmanuel Petit,
who is suspended. Nelson Vivas, Remi Garde and David
Grondin will be on standby to deputise on the flanks,
although Vivas could step in to fill Petit's role.
Martin Keown was sent off against Blackburn on
Tuesday, after discovering his seven-year-old son needs
a major operation, but there are no fears about him
coping with the fierce atmosphere. "Martin is in a much
better frame of mind now," said Wenger."
The Gunners coach insisted that United will not be
affected by the 1-1 home draw against Juventus in
midweek. "They are not out of the competition yet and
they can still go through," he said. United looked strong
in the second half. It was the same when we played them
at Old Trafford and that is why we must concentrate for
the whole 90 minutes."
Wenger also predicted that "sparks could fly" in the
midfield confrontation between Patrick Vieira and United's
Roy Keane. "They are very strong and both are winners.
It will be very interesting," Wenger said.
Click on pic for more!
Subject: Telegraph - Michael Crick
1-0 to the SUAM as BSkyB takeover is blocked - By Michael Crick, organiser
of Shareholders United Against Murdoch
IF ONLY I'd noted the names of all those who told us not to bother. "You're
wasting your time," they all said last autumn. "There's no way Tony Blair
and Peter Mandelson will ever offend Rupert Murdoch."
In my heart I feared they were right. Mandelson is well known for his
friendship with Murdoch's daughter, Elisabeth, and must be about the only
Labour MP who isn't a football fan. Our chances of success, then, looked
about as strong as Nottingham Forest's prospects of winning the Premiership.
Nor did it help that the vast majority of United fans didn't seem to care
much. Outside the ground, on the day the Sky bid was announced, I was
horrified to find myself surrounded by supporters who thought the takeover
was great news. "With Murdoch's money, we'll now buy Ronaldo," was the
common cry.
But there comes a point when one has to take a stand. We should have
objected when the club was floated on the Stock Exchange eight years ago.
But we didn't. Even if a protest is only a gesture, there are times when a
gesture is worth making.
Quickly, our campaigns gathered momentum. Already in existence was IMUSA -
the Independent Manchester United Supporters' Association, based in
Manchester, representing ordinary fans. But not many IMUSA members hold shares.
A friend from Manchester Grammar School, Richard Hytner, chief executive of
the Publicis advertising agency, suggested a separate body to represent
shareholders' interests. Other "Old Mancs" were quickly recruited. We would
work with IMUSA, rallying those middle-class United fans who, famously,
live everywhere but Manchester, channelling a wide range of professional
skills.
We knew we had to concentrate on the competition inquiry, marshalling the
legal arguments which would persuade first the Office of Fair Trading, then
the Monopolies Commission.
We had help from one of Britain's foremost competition lawyers, and the
City law firm Rosenblatt joined the battle. But it was only when our
six-member team addressed the MMC in January that we began to feel there
was any chance of success. The five-member panel seemed genuinely concerned
about all the competition implications.
There's an obvious temptation now, of course, to go back to watching
football. But we can't be complacent.
The danger is another bidder will come forward in place of Murdoch. Martin
Edwards, with 14 per cent of the shares, would clearly love to sell his
stake, and Sky - despite words to the contrary - must be keen to offload
the 10 per cent they bought last autumn.
SUAM is now seeking a meeting with the United board to discuss their plans
for future ownership, and the possibility of setting up some kind of trust
to combine the shareholdings of individual fans.
But the best way to stop another Murdoch is for supporters to do what more
of them should have done when the club was floated back in 1991 - go out
and buy more shares - not for financial reasons, but as the best way to
assure the club's future independence.
Manchester United - The Legend - http://manunited.net
Click on pic for more!
Subject: FERGUSON OUT TO SILENCE GUNNERS
By David Anderson, PA Sport
Alex Ferguson must ensure his Manchester United players are not distracted
by BSkyB's failed takeover bid when they face Arsenal in Sunday's FA Cup
semi-final.
The United boss will privately be cursing the timing of the announcement
that the Government has blocked BSkyB's bid for the club coming as it did
just 48 hours before one of their biggest games of the season.
A few weeks ago Ferguson had called for the matter to be resolved one way or
the other, but he would have preferred the decision to have come out at the
start of next week and not at this critical time.
However the United players did not let the frenzy surrounding the bid affect
them back in September when the takeover was made public and he will expect
them to be just as professional now.
Ferguson is confident going into the Villa Park clash that his players will
soon be getting measured up for their cup final suits.
His treble-chasers are unbeaten in their last 21 games and he has won all
four of his FA Cup semi-finals with the club.
"There is a good consistency and I know that we're all looking forward to
this game," he said.
"The belief and confidence is certainly there.
"We've got a great record in semi-finals at Villa Park and a great record in
semi-finals in general.
"The most important thing, though, is that we're going into this game in
good spirits.
"We've had a good season so far and we want to make sure it finishes a great
season."
Ferguson is not bothered by Arsenal's record of four wins and a draw from
the last five matches between the sides.
He is adamant that his players are talented enough to beat Arsene Wenger's
Cup holders.
"They beat us at Highbury in the league, but I thought we were unlucky in
the last league game at Old Trafford in February," he said.
"We played well and maybe could have had three or four, but these things
happen in football."
One disappointment for Ferguson is that he will be without Henning Berg. The
Norwegian damaged his medial knee ligaments against Juventus on Wednesday
night and came off at half-time to be replaced by Ronny Johnsen.
Ferguson claims he could be out for three weeks and is unlikely to play in
the Champions' League semi-final return against Juventus in Turin.
"We're looking at two or three weeks out for him," he admitted.
The injury is a cruel blow to Berg, who had been playing so well alongside
Jaap Stam at the heart of the defence, and Johnsen will continue in his
place.
"It's unfortunate for the lad, but Ronny Johnsen, who played well against
Juventus, will play against Arsenal," said Ferguson.
The omens favour United. They have triumphed in their last nine semi-finals
and they last went out at this stage in 1970.
Sixteen years ago on the only other occasion United met Arsenal in the
semi-finals they won 2-1. And the venue? Villa Park.
Click on pic for more!
Subject: Referee's decision on Man Utd bid was offside
By Mark Milner
Saturday April 10, 1999
The decision by the Trade and Industry Secretary, Stephen Byers, to block
BSkyB's bid for Manchester United is being hailed as a brave decision.
Labour has been criticised for cosying up to big business in general, and
to Rupert Murdoch in particular. Yesterday's decision can hardly have been
seen as doing anything for its business-friendly image or the warmth of its
relations with the Murdoch empire.
The reality is, however, that once the Monopolies and Mergers Commission -
now the Competition Commission - and the director general of Fair Trading
had come out against the BSkyB bid, Mr Byers' hands were tied. Imagine the
furore that would have followed had he not done so, given the strength of
popular feeling against the bid.
More to the point, perhaps, Mr Byers would have been seen to be acting
against his government's policy. It has already decreed that in all but
issues such as defence competition decisions should be taken out of
political hands. That may have been bad government - what are politicians
for if not to take decisions that affect voters? But Mr Byers and
colleagues can hardly introduce such a policy while the Trade and Industry
Secretary is simultaneously overruling the CC.
That leaves the CC decision itself. The first thing to say is that it was
at best flawed and at worst wrong.
It was taken without a crucial piece of information - the outcome of the
Restrictive Practices court's review of the way in which the rights to
broadcast Premier League are negotiated. At present they are negotiated
collectively, but if the court rules that out of order and forces the
league to allow clubs to negotiate individually, the case against BSkyB
being allowed to own Manchester United would have become overwhelming.
Manchester United is the jewel in the Premier League's crown. As the club's
owner, BSkyB would have controlled the rights to a very large slice of
those games which television's soccer audience most want to watch, and
which BSkyB and its rivals most wanted to broadcast. The idea that BSkyB
would agree to pass on such rights to a competitor is risible.
As long as the television rights are negotiated collectively, the case for
blocking the merger on competition grounds is much harder to sustain.
Manchester United is only one of 20 clubs represented at talks over
television rights, even if it is the biggest.
Within such negotiations there would be conflicts of interest, given
BSkyB/Manchester United's dual role, but despite the Competition
Commission's doubts these would by no means be insurmountable. The idea of
BSkyB/Manchester United opening the way to other mergers which might
restrict competition is superficially more attractive.
If other clubs were owned by broadcasters the CC scents the possibility of
a cosy carve-up of the television rights. But any such situation would
surely constitute a complex monopoly against which the competition
authorities have powers to act.
As for the broader case that the merger would reduce the prospect for
competition in overall pay-television market, that is surely
over-extrapolating the admittedly considerable importance of sport as a
hook to bring in subscribers.
Fans may worry that BSkyB might be tempted to sell the club's best players
to finance other business ventures but that is a matter for commercial
judgment, not for the competition authorities.
Concerns that a BSkyB-owned Manchester United might break away from the
premiership to join a European super-league may similarly be submitted to
the judgment of the paying spectator, whether in the stands at Old Trafford
or in the armchair at home.
The concerns about the wider public interest are, frankly, odd.
Professional soccer is already suffering from growing inequalities emerging
on a huge scale. Premier League clubs are becoming relatively richer than
those in lower divisions; those who regularly qualify for Europe richer
than their premiership colleagues which do not. But are British clubs to be
banned from Europe or the league structure to be based on, say, a regional
basis for fear of a disparity of wealth? The CC's logic suggests they should.
Looked at dispassionately, yesterday's decision would have been more
logical had the CC argued that it was taken not because BSkyB's acquisition
of Manchester United was against the public interest, but because it did
nothing for the public interest. That begs the question of just who is
allowed to own a soccer club. Perhaps the CC believes there are phalanxes
of super-rich fans like Blackburn's Jack Walker just itching to spend their
millions.
Click on pic for more!
Pic Link today is http://www.red11.org/mufc/bskyb.htm
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