www.red11.org DAILY NEWS
Date: Tues Oct 19 GMT+00:00 1999
Mail: barry@www.red11.org
This Issue:
1. Do They Not Like That Personal Match Report by RED KELLY
2. WALLWORK OUT AS CRISIS CLEARS
3. MAN UTD V MARSEILLE KEY CLASH - Roy Keane v Peter Luccin
4. Boss to make changes ««
5. £20m Sol for sale - teamtalk report ««
6. MIXED WEEK FOR MARSEILLE
7. MARTIN'S MEN FACE TOUGH TIME IN RIO
8. MEN - Cole and Yorke on song
9. Man United Treble DVD - from VCI DVD Production.
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MANCHESTER UNITED DAILY NEWS Tuesday 19th Oct 1999:
Barry Comment:
European day again and the injury crisis is cooling down.
Important news from OT today the pitch is being re-laid ready
for the Villa game on 30th October. See pics on todays news
on the www at http://www.red11.org/news
ECL Group D ** Manchester United **
Olympique de Marseille * NK Croatia Zagreb * SK Sturm Graz
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
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
*** FIXTURES ON 18/10/99 ***
Sunderland v Aston Villa
*** FIXTURES ON 23/10/99 ***
Aston Villa v Wimbledon
Bradford City v Leicester City
Chelsea v Arsenal
Sheffield Wednesday v Coventry City
Southampton v Liverpool
Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester United
*** FIXTURES ON 24/10/99 ***
Everton v Leeds United
Watford v Middlesbrough
West Ham United v Sunderland
*** RESULTS AND ATTENDANCES ON 17/10/99 ***
Middlesbrough 2-0 West Ham United 31,862
*** CONDENSED LEAGUE TABLE AS AT 17/10/99 ***
Pos Team P W D L F A GD Pts
---------------------------------------------------------
1 Leeds United 11 8 1 2 21 12 9 25
2 Manchester United 11 7 3 1 27 16 11 24
3 Arsenal 11 7 1 3 17 10 7 22
4 Sunderland 10 6 2 2 18 8 10 20
5 Leicester City 11 6 2 3 19 14 5 20
6 Chelsea 9 6 1 2 15 4 11 19
7 Everton 11 5 2 4 17 14 3 17
8 Tottenham Hotspur 10 5 2 3 17 14 3 17
9 Aston Villa 10 5 2 3 11 9 2 17
10 West Ham United 9 5 1 3 11 8 3 16
11 Middlesbrough 11 5 0 6 13 15 -2 15
12 Liverpool 10 4 2 4 11 10 1 14
13 Coventry City 11 3 3 5 16 15 1 12
14 Southampton 10 3 2 5 17 21 -4 11
15 Wimbledon 11 2 5 4 17 25 -8 11
16 Watford 11 3 0 8 7 15 -8 9
17 Derby County 11 2 3 6 10 19 -9 9
18 Bradford City 10 2 2 6 6 16 -10 8
19 Newcastle United 11 2 1 8 21 27 -6 7
20 Sheffield Wednesday 11 1 1 9 8 27 -19 4
---------------------------------------------------------------
NEXT MATCHES
---------------------------------------------------------------
19-OCT-1999 [19:45] Manchester Utd. vs Marseille (UEFA Champions League, AWAY)
23-OCT-1999 [15:00] Manchester Utd. vs Spurs (FA Premier League, AWAY)
27-OCT-1999 [19:45] Manchester Utd. vs NK Croatia (UEFA Champions League, AWAY)
30-OCT-1999 [15:00] Manchester Utd. vs Aston Villa (FA Premier League, HOME)
02-NOV-1999 [19:45] Manchester Utd. vs Sturm Graz (UEFA Champions League, HOME)
The line-up for the testimonial game is:
Eric Cantona Peter Schmeichel
Zinedine Zidane Gabriel Batistuta
Paul Gascoigne Juninho
George Weah Alessandro Costacurta
Christian Ziege Lillian Thuram
Roberto Mancini John Collins
*** 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 [RED LEGENDS]
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 19.45
23/10/99 Tottenham Hotspur Away PL 15.00
27/10/99 Croatia Zagreb Away EC 19.45
30/10/99 Aston Villa home PL 15.00
2/11/99 Sturm Graz Home EC 19.45
6/11/99 Leicester City Home PL 15.00
20/11/99 Derby County Away PL 15.00
24/11/99 ? EC
27/11/99 Sheffield Wednesday Away PL 15.00
30/11/99 Tokyo Palmeiras WCC 20.00
4/12/99 Everton Home PL 15.00
8/12/99 ? EC
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"
3/01/2000 Middlesborough Home PL 20.00
****************************************************
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
****************************************************
22/01/2000 Arsenal Home PL 15.00
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 ? EC
4/03/2000 Liverpool Home PL 15.00
8/03/2000 ? EC
11/03/2000 Derby County Home PL 15.00
15/03/2000 ? EC
18/03/2000 Leicester City Away PL 15.00
22/03/2000 ? EC
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
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| Click On pic - for latest interviews from OT |
Subject: Do They Not Like That Personal Match Report by RED KELLY
None of us could remember the last time we played Watford at Old Trafford,
but we all remembered Luther.
It was 9.30 as we set off north because the whole family were coming along
- not to the game, but to visit family in Liverpool - well, someone's got
to live there, but more of that later. It was a crisp autumn morning and
the sun was shining as we took to the M6. we made good time past Birmingham
overtaking a coach load of Essex reds on the way - not United though -
Liverpool, don't let anyone tell you they haven't got travelling support.
But just then there was an announcement on the radio about possible delays
on the southbound M6, but the northbound was fine.
Delays, that's an understatement, we were only glad it hadn't been the
other way around as it wasn't long before we encountered the problem. We
had made it as far as Staffordshire when we saw something that none of us
had ever witnessed before. On the opposite carriageway there was a single
vehicle, a service vehicle, and it was travelling slowly in the same
direction as we were. The rest of the carriageway was completely empty for
another mile or so.
It was an eerie sight and provoked a strange feeling as we approached the
scene. A burnt out Parcel Force wagon was being towed away with it's rear
end completely burnt out. In fact it had been so badly burnt part of it had
melted. The motorway was littered with the charred remains of hundreds of
parcels which were never to reach their destination and a police blockade
had formed and the traffic diverted off the motorway onto the A roads -
absolute chaos ensued.
We drove straight past but spared a thought for the coachload of Burnley
fans obviously on their way to Millwall. At just after 10 o'clock the jam
was six miles long, by midday it was thirteen miles long. Our journey was a
doddle by comparison, in fact a trip to the moon would have been a doddle
by comparison.
Having arrived in Liverpool and dropped off my precious cargo I headed back
the right way down the M62 and reached the Throstles Nest before any of the
regulars, but managed a quick one with a few of them before heading off
with Eliza and Steve. Before we left the Throstles though I was taken aback
by Dr Mark's pronouncement, "see you later, I'll be up your end today." You
may be a doctor I thought, but we'll have none of that and in any case
you're not even that kind of doctor - oh I seeeee, you mean you'll be in
East Lower. Maybe next time it might be better to consider a better choice
of phraseology I muttered to myself.
We eventually got to the ground around 2.30 to be greeted by a sea of
canary yellow. Apparently the whole of Watford were here for the game
whether they had tickets or not. Inside the ground it was the same and over
to our left a huge drum was beating out Sheffield Wednesday type rhythms
and as usual the away section was making a great deal more noise than we
were, but did they have to be singing that same old song over and over
again? Mind you there was sympathy for them when they sang, "We're Watford
'til we die". It just doesn't have much of a ring to it.
We'd been talking in the pub about Wednesday night, the kids who'd played
and how well Bosnich had performed. The consensus from those of us who had
been there, which was myself, Pete and Hal, was that Bozzy deserved to play
against Watford, but I'm not sure any of us thought he would. So when the
teams were announced I was pleased to hear his name and by and large he did
a good job justifying his selection by keeping his legs firmly shut and
making an excellent save late on. It would be nice to think we could now
have some consistency between the sticks.
Up in K Stand the roof was still covered with corrugated plastic but as
long as the sun is shining we are not bothered - the quicker they get the
proper roof on the better though! The little lad who came to his first game
a couple of weeks ago was back again so we frisked him for sweets as he
took his seat, but this time he had empty pockets - foiled again! He still
seemed more interested in the crowd than the game and was still wearing a
permanent grin all the way through. His dad wasn't though, well not after
half an hour after they'd gone off for some food and drink and reappeared
just after the first goal had been scored, laden down with pies, sausage
rolls and cartons of coke.
I know we'd seemed to be getting nowhere breaking down the Watford defence
and had been subjected to the usual "you're supposed to be at home" crap,
but you never know with this lot and they reappeared just as Watford were
kicking off again 1-0 down. A superb goal by Yorkie but I have to admit, at
first we weren't sure whether it had been the ball or the defender's head
he'd bicycle kicked into the net. Fortunately it was the former which
rolled nicely under the keeper's body without so much as a suggestion of
disembodiment.
"You only sing when you're winning" they sang. "We only sing when we're
winning" we sang. True enough, this might be their Cup Final, but it's not
ours, not that that's an excuse for another piss poor atmosphere. There
followed another two goals within six minutes and Watford were not only
dead but buried. The football at times was excellent, but there again
perhaps it should have been against this opposition who played football
themselves, if you see what I mean, but were nowhere near a match for
United. They may have put one over the scousers, but their luck was out on
Saturday.
First it had been Yorkie, then his mate Andy got in on the act with a
superb diving header after another great passing move - and he did like
that? Then as Becks shaped to cross near the by-line he was bundled over
by the defender, the ref waved play on but the linesman stood his ground
and signalled penalty. 50,000 of us knew the defender had fallen for it,
but nevertheless it was a clear penalty. Den dispatched the pen and it was
3-0. It doesn't take long to score a goal and when this team decide to get
a grip they seem to be able to turn it on with ease - well some of the time
they do!
We went below stairs at half time a happy bunch as there was no way back
for the Taylor boys even though we joked about the game having 3-3 written
all over it we didn't mean it - did we? I haven't quite got the hang of the
below stairs bit of K Stand yet. The new configuration has meant the
blending of us with that lot from East Lower with dividing doors between
sections, extended stairways, and it just gets confusing. So it was ages
before I found Linda, Dr Mark and Nick and after a quick chat about the
worries of spending a night on Murkeydive and missing Nick's housewarming
it was time to get back to my seat.
On the way up I got stuck behind a bunch of lads who seemed more content
chatting than climbing the bloody stairs. "Come on lads hurry up" fell on
deaf ears as then they spent ages joking with the bloody stewards and by
the time I got to my row it was "oh not you again, always late back from
half time" in a jokey sort of way. I tried not to trip over peoples' feet
as I stumbled back to my seat but at least I hadn't missed any real action.
So I settled back with my paper and a cup of tea and........oh sorry, I
forgot........ it was so quiet, I thought I was at home, but then Andy
livened things up for a while when he scored another. What is it with the
Souls these days, no sooner does one of them score with an overhead kick,
but the other has to go and do the same thing only better. What a superb
goal it was, only a pity it was down at the other end so we didn't have a
close up view but I suppose we'd seen three already so shouldn't be greedy.
4-0 with Marseilles looming and the lads were on their way to Dover, across
on the hovercraft and down the autoroute already, but Watford had seen them
go and waved goodbye, then realised there might actually be something in
the game for them and with their new acquisition Wooter with the hooter
causing all sorts of problems they went and scored.hang on lads - we didn't
want to see any more goals at our end so cut it out will ya.
Who could have denied them their moment of joy (we could quite easily) but
they'd kept playing football all the way through, until one of them tried
to slice Greening in half that is and was duly shown the red card with
Graham Taylor not liking it one bit. Come on Graham old bean, his foot was
up around Greening's mouth and he's six foot tall, it was a high kick the
late Frankie Vaughan would have been proud of.
In the meantime Yip Jaap had gone off for a rest and on had strolled Keano
to a rousing chorus of you know what which lasted all of .....er .......30
seconds or maybe even more. It didn't matter to Silvestre though - he had a
superb game in the centre of defence. I know he was playing alongside
perhaps the world's best in our Jaap, but he was mopping up everything that
came his, or anyone else's way. It wouldn't have mattered had he been
playing alongside Bugs Bunny he'd have still been superb.
So the game ended 4-1 and most of the United support had woken early and
left by the final whistle, but who could blame the team for taking their
collective foot off the gas when there was an important Euro tie to play in
only a few days. The game had been won in that six minute burst and that
was that.
Outside the ground I said my goodbyes to Steve and eventually met up with
Barney who was bemoaning the lack of atmosphere. It had been poor there's
no denying, but unfortunately that's the norm these days - roll on away
days I say when you can get stuck in and make some noise. I picked up my
copy of the excellent "European Glory" book from him but I've got a
complaint, apart from writing this, I haven't been able to put the damned
thing down.
After a quick lemonade in the Throstles where I'd parked the car it was off
for a night in the part of the country which should have been sliced off
and cast adrift years ago. Despite the donation of the latest copy of Red
Issue from the good doctor with instructions to leave it in a Liverpool
pub, I didn't actually venture out of the house that night. There was just
something rather pleasant about sitting in a house in Liverpool reading
stories of our triumph in Barcelona - I don't know what it was - it was
just nice.
Funnily enough we went to a carboot sale on Sunday morning and in amongst
the scouse infected crap there was a copy of a video entitled "Do They Not
Like That" how very apt I thought, but i tell you what - it's difficult
examining the merchandise when you've still got your hands in your pockets.
I'll leave the final word to karen's dad, a good man who has his own car
repair business. On Sunday afternoon he showed me one of the cars he was
working on, it was an old BMW that someone had brought back from Australia.
A fine old car which had been in a garage out there for years but was in
for some body work. "There's one good side to living in Liverpool for me,"
he said, "you get lots of vandalised cars to repair." Oh - right then!
Copyright RED KELLY 1999
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| Click On pic - for all latest pics from OT |
Subject: WALLWORK OUT AS CRISIS CLEARS
Manchester United's injury worries have eased ahead of Tuesday night's
Champions League game against Marseille - even though defender Ronnie
Wallwork had an emergency appendix operation over the weekend.
The centre-half felt unwell over the weekend, and Wallwork went into
hospital on Sunday night for surgery. He was not going to be part of the
squad which flew to Marseille on Monday morning.
Sir Alex Ferguson said: "I have no real injury worries and I'll have
everyone available who I need for Tuesday."
This means that Roy Keane, who successfully came through his comeback game
against Watford at the weekend, will start in the Stade Velodrome. Also
available will be Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, Andy Cole, Jaap Stam and
Henning Berg.
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| Click On pic - for latest interviews from OT |
Subject: MAN UTD V MARSEILLE KEY CLASH - Roy Keane v Peter Luccin
It is no coincidence that Manchester United's form dipped while skipper Roy
Keane was sidelined with his troublesome knee.
The Republic of Ireland international is arguably United's most influential
player and Sir Alex Ferguson has carefully planned his first start since
his return for this game.
Trying to thwart Keane will be Marseille's Peter Luccin. Marseille think so
highly of the 20-year-old that they gave him a 12-year contract last year
and he is seen as one of the future stars of French football.
Luccin realises how important Keane is and he will have to produce a
performance beyond his tender years to deal with him.
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| Click On pic - for latest pics from OT |
Subject: Boss to make changes ««
Ryan Giggs and Roy Keane are both expected to play against Marseille
tomorrow whilst Mickael Silvestre is ineligible and so Berg will return.
That is a major boost for Sir Alex Ferguson whose selections have been
handicapped by injuries since the start of the season.
Even so he is still destined to make changes to Saturday's side, with
Mickael Silvestre stepping down because he is ineligible for Europe at
present, and Henning Berg expected to return to partner Jaap Stam in the
back four. If Berg fails to make it after missing Saturday's game, Keane
could continue as a central defender, the role he filled after replacing
Stam against Watford.
Raimond van der Gouw is expected to continue his Champions' League run in
goal, but Mark Bosnich must have put himself in contention after facing
Watford at the weekend.
As the European Cup holders take on Marseille, Group D's other game sees
whipping boys Sturm Graz at home to
Croatia Zagreb.
With the top two going through, and United currently leading the section, a
win against the French would virtually secure a ticket into the next stage
but if Marseille win, and Zagreb overturn Sturm, it would throw things wide
open again ahead of next week's trip to Croatia.
Currently United have seven points, one more than Marseille, with Zagreb on
four. One boost for United was Marseille's performance against Lyon at the
weekend. They lost 1-0 in the Velodrome as United beat Watford 4-1 at Old
Trafford.
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| Click On pic - for latest interviews from OT |
Subject: £20m Sol for sale - teamtalk report ««
Spurs are reportedly set to put Sol Campbell up for sale at £20m, with
United favourites to sign him if Lazio haven't paid to have first option.
The England star has refused to commit himself to a new Spurs deal, and
with the club concerned they could lose their prized asset for nothing on a
Bosman move in the summer, the club have reportedly put him up for sale now.
White Hart Lane chief George Graham has made it clear the club cannot wait
any longer for Campbell to renew meaningful talks with the club.
The former Arsenal and Leeds boss admitted: "We've looked at the situation
with Sol, just as Alex Ferguson must have done with Roy Keane, and it won't
be long before we've got to make up our minds.
"We've offered Sol the top salary at this club. He's elected to say he's
going to wait until the end of the season. Now that gives the club as a
business a problem.
"They have an asset that is devaluing as time goes on. If he saw his
contract through, that would be zero.
"I want him to commit himself because I would like to build the team around
him.
"But Sol needs to make a decision or we will have to make it for him."
TEAMtalk understands that the club will make that decision this week.
Several top European sides including Lazio, Roma, Juventus, AC Milan,
Barcelona and Real Madrid - as well as Manchester Utd - have all been
linked with Campbell over the past year.
We await developments on what could prove one of the biggest transfer
scrambles ever witnessed in world football.
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| Click On pic - for all player stats from OT |
Subject: MIXED WEEK FOR MARSEILLE
Monday, October 18, 1999 09:44
Olympique Marseille experienced very mixed
fortunes as they warmed up for Manchester United's
visit in the Champions League.
With Robert Pires back in the side, they travelled to the
French capital last Tuesday for an impressive 2-0 victory over
title rivals Paris Saint Germain.
Fabrizio Ravanelli and Florian Maurice netted for Les
Olympiens.
However, the celebrations were well and truly over by
Friday evening, when Lyon stole a 1-0 victory in Marseille's
Velodrome home.
Former Barcelona striker Sonny Anderson scored the
decisive goal for Lyon towards the end of a stormy first half
in which two players from both sides were booked. By the
final whistle, Marseille's Perez, De La Pena, Fischer and
Gallas had all been shown the yellow card.
The 1-0 defeat, combined with Saturday and Sunday's
results, leaves Marseille in sixth place in the French
League table, six points off the lead. Had they beaten
Lyon, they would have climbed to third.
So coach Rolland Courbis has plenty to worry about
domestically, let alone on the European scene where his
side are seeking revenge for their late 2-1 defeat at Old
Trafford.
Tuesday's match against United will be a crucial one,
especially if - as expected - Croatia Zagreb comfortably
beat Sturm Graz. The losers in the Stade Velodrome would
then drop out of Group D's automatic qualifying places with
just two games to play.
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Subject: MARTIN'S MEN FACE TOUGH TIME IN RIO
Hands up those of you who think Manchester United should
not compete in the FIFA World Club Championship in Brazil.
Ok, hands up for FA Cup participation? Sh*t! Ok, hands up
if you you are going to Rio in January? Ha! Part-timers!
Okay, so the initial opposition might not be in the same
class as AC Milan, Barcelona or Watford. But the fixture
list is still not an easy one, given that United must play three
times in six hours in Group B.
The first game is scheduled for Thursday 6 January,
against Nopaxo, the Champions of North and Central
America. Then, only two days later, the Reds face their
toughest task - a showdown with Vasco pe Jama, winners
of the 1998 South American Champions Thugs' Cup. Jama, of
course, have home nation advantage. Nopaxo may be
ripe for a stuffing, but pe Jama will be tough to unravel
in the sleepy stifling 300C afternoon temperatures.
"Clearly we're going to Brazil, there are two Brazilian sides
in this tournament and they are going to be very hard to
beat on their own patch," excused United chairman Martin
Edwards, referring also to Corinthians, who are favourites to
top Group A.
"I think you will find from World Cups, and things like that,
that home advantage does count tremendously."
One factor in United's favour is that all their group matches
will be played in the Ronnie Biggs Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.
The Championship Final will be held there on Friday 14
January.
"I think to be based in one spot is going to be a help. If we
play three matches in that stadium it's going to be a benefit
if we do get through to the final," added Mr Edwards,
counting his travellers cheques.
United's third and final group game is on 11 January,
against arguably the weakest entrants, South Melbourne of
Australia.
Martin Edwards was talking through his hat to MUTV.
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Subject: MEN - Cole and Yorke on song
Watford Gap . . . United's Dwight Yorke seaizes another attack opportunity
ANDY Cole and Dwight Yorke are dancing to the same tune and it appears to
be: `Anything you can do, I can do better.'
The harmonious Manchester United pair insist there is no personal scoring
war going on no matter how friendly.
Healthy competition? Not a bit of it they declare. Any encouraging little
side bets struck? No, the twin tormentors keep stressing.
Well, whatever it is that sparks these two, Cole and Yorke's compelling
see-saw contest at the top of the Reds' scoring charts continues to be to
United's huge benefit.
They even seem to be trying to out-do each other in the execution of their
goals now! Yorke steamed to the top of the Premiership scoring stakes last
season sharing a stunning 43-goal partnership with Cole in 37 matches.
Their strike rate is getting even better with 16 as a front pairing this
term in 11 matches. And the quality of their goals are getting more and
more spectacular.
Yorke was out of the traps quickest this season with an August flurry. Cole
drew level with his four-goal demolition of Newcastle and then hit the
front for the first time ever in the combo's short yet productive history
when he scored at Anfield against Liverpool.
Yorke overtook him in September and then against Watford Cole regained the
number one spot. Among Cole's collection was an acrobatic winner against
Marseille at Old Trafford last month.
So what does Yorkie do, he matches it with an equally dexterous overhead
opener against Watford. Not to be out done Coley hits back with yet another
piece of agile ingenuity with an over-the-shoulder sublime piece of
finishing.
You just can't wait for the next episode in the duel. ``Dwight and Andy
were very sharp. They can produce electricity in moments in a game which
can catch the very best defenders,'' said Reds' boss Sir Alex Ferguson.
Vanquished Watford boss Graham Taylor knows the pair well too. He brought
Dwight Yorke over to England as a teenager from Trinidad when he was Aston
Villa manager and during his ill-fated stint as England boss he worked with
Andy Cole at Under-21 level.
``They are the best in the country by a mile. At club level, in my view,
this is the best twosome in the country,'' said Taylor.
``These boys can finish. Yorkie produces the cycle kick and Cole's finish
was first class as well. They are excellent. They like scoring for fun. I
know Cole does because I knew him from his England Under-21 days. He likes
putting the ball in the net. Dwight likes to as well but I think he also
takes some enjoyment from getting involved in the build up. Andy will get
involved but his real enjoyment is in the penalty box.
``These two have just gelled. I don't think Alex has to work at it with
them, you just watch it and say, `hey we've got a partnership.' And it is
one hell of a striking partnership.''
Double Tonic - Roy and Ryan in Euro lift
UNITED's Roy Keane and Ryan Giggs are back!
The influential skipper and feared winger are seen on the continent as the
European Cup holder's key players.
Following their comebacks in the morale-boosting Premiership victory over
Watford, the duo were all smiles as they joined the rest of the Reds party
at Ringway today for the flight to the South of France and tomorrow's
Marseille clash.
Reds' boss Sir Alex Ferguson hasn't been able to call on the pair together
all season in the Champions' League. In fact, they haven't been alongside
each other in a United Euro line-up since last April in the semi-final
first leg against Juventus at Old Trafford.
But the Irishman's comeback from a knee problem and the Welshman's first
start in four weeks after hamstring trouble against Watford in Saturday's
4-1 triumph has put them firmly in the frame for a joint European return
against Marseille.
``Ryan came through the game well on Saturday,'' says Fergie.
``We were looking for an hour or so from him and he got that. We are happy.''
But was Keane's 36th minute return at centre-half enough to put the skipper
back in contention for a starting place in Marseille's Velodrome tomorrow
evening?
``If he's OK I don't see why not,'' added the United manager.
The possibility of being able to name Keane and Giggs again will add power,
balance and pace to a United side needing a result in the group D match in
Marseille to inch closer to Fergie's 11-point qualification target for the
section.
The Reds' 2-1 win against Marseille at Old Trafford three weeks ago brought
their tally up to seven as group leaders.
Ferguson looks set to be able to call on his most experienced squad of the
season so far in the Velodrome as United's casualty list begins to clear.
``We are getting the kind of breaks we need now,'' says the United boss.
``Andy Cole felt his hamstring tighten on Saturday and that's why he came
off but he'll be OK. Jaap Stam also felt his calf and he also was able to
come off early. Henning Berg suffered a knock playing for Norway last
weekend so he couldn't play against Watford but he'll be fine for tomorrow
night as well.
``I have everyone available that I'll need for Marseille.''
Not on the plane to France today, but improving are long term injury
victims Gary Neville and David May.
Neville is around a fortnight away from recovering from his torn adductor
muscle injury and May will play in United's reserves on Thursday at Bolton
after regaining fitness following an eve of season knee ligament injury.
And Ronny Johnsen has posted an encouraging personal medical bulletin as
well.
The Norwegian hasn't played since the European Cup final in Barcelona and
had operations on both knees early this season.
He was originally not expecting to be ready again until into the year 2000
but now hopes for a Christmas comeback.
Meanwhile, as Sir Alex Ferguson jetted to Marseille a positional quandary
will have been occupying his mind.
The United chief must decide whether to stick with his regular European
'keeper this term Raimond Van Der Gouw, or continue Mark Bosnich's stint in
net after returning against Aston Villa in the Worthington Cup and keeping
goal against Watford on Saturday.
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| Click On pic - for an MUFC interactive QUIZ! |
Subject: Man United Treble DVD - from VCI DVD Production.
Manchester United - The Treble will be released on DVD on November 1st. It
is the same programme as that available on VHS. However, thanks to the DVD
format, ALL matches from the season will be instantly accessable via a
series of menus, splitting up the games into their relevant competitions.
There will also be a goals menu, listing the top 8 scorers from last season.
Clicking on Dwight Yorke, for example, will then play ALL his goals from the
season in chronalogical order. There is also an option to play all the
remaining goals.
The interactive feature of this disc makes it one of the most complex DVDs
released anywhere in the world.
In addition to this we have an exclusive to DVD interview with Sir Alex
Ferguson. This is an interactive interview where you choose the questions.
The complete interview is 30 minutes and covers all the major talking points
from the season.
The complete package makes this the best football DVD to date and, of
course, the very first Manchester United DVD to be released.
It is an ALL REGION PAL disc so anyone in the world with a PAL player will
be able to view it.
With prices of players now around £180 (Comet), many football fans will
hopefully be converting from VHS to the exciting DVD format.
Please let me know if you need any more info as I have spent many hours
ensuring this will be the definitive football & Man Utd DVD.
VCI DVD Production. [forward from Paul]
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| Click On pic - for MUTV details |
Pic Link today is http://www.red11.org/mufc/sound/99/
