www.red11.org DAILY NEWS
Date: Sun 21 Nov 1999 03:35 GMT
Mail: barry@www.red11.org
This Issue:
1. Personal Match Report - by "Paul Busby"
2. Carling Report
3. BUTT CAN SCORE LIKE COLE AND SCHOLES
4. Beckham sparks red card outrage
++++++=========+++++++========+++++++++========++++++++
MANCHESTER UNITED DAILY NEWS Saturday 20th Nov 1999:
Barry Comment:
Great win still top and match reports galore in todays
daily news - thanks to Paul Busby for his efforts!
Important info on Rio from Mike Dobbin:
Re the tournament in Brazil, United have not yet announced ticket
information, but have asked branches for estimates of numbers required.
Contact United immediately and ask to be given ticket information
when this is available, qouting your United membership number.
If you are not a member then this may be a problem if they are supplying
tickets to members only.
Ken Merrett has just visited Rio to check out the arrangements, and adivised
members at the branch conference on Saturday that they should think
carefully before going to the tournament, since Rio is an extremely
dangerous place, with a very high murder rate.
* MANCHESTER UNITED CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE A TRIBUTE
BIFFO'S tribute to that great night in Barcelona, cool links to
Man United and other Champions League sites.
Players gallery, post match chatroom.
A TRIBUTE TO SCHMEICHEL
PLAYERS GALLERY
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.
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
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
Second stage Euro Draw GROUP B
Manchester United Valencia Bordeaux Fiorentina
Tues Nov 23
Group B: Fiorentina v Manchester United
Group B: Valencia v Girondins Bordeaux
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
*******************************
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 20/11/99 ***
Arsenal 5-1 Middlesbrough 38,082
Derby County 1-2 Manchester United 33,370
Everton 1-1 Chelsea 38,225
Leeds United 2-1 Bradford City 39,937
Leicester City 2-1 Wimbledon 18,255
Southampton 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur 15,248
Sunderland 0-2 Liverpool 42,015
Watford 1-1 Newcastle United 19,539
*** FIXTURES ON 21/11/99 ***
West Ham United v Sheffield Wednesday
*** FULL LEAGUE TABLE AS AT 20/11/99 ***
Pos Team P W D L F A W D L F A GD Pts
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Manchester United 15 6 2 0 24 6 4 1 2 11 14 15 33
2 Leeds United 15 6 1 1 13 6 4 1 2 15 13 9 32
3 Arsenal 15 6 1 1 18 6 3 1 3 8 9 11 29
4 Sunderland 15 5 2 1 10 5 3 2 2 14 9 10 28
5 Liverpool 15 5 0 3 11 6 3 3 1 9 6 8 27
6 Tottenham Hotspur 14 5 0 2 17 12 3 2 2 7 6 6 26
7 Leicester City 15 6 2 0 16 7 2 0 5 9 13 5 26
8 Middlesbrough 15 4 1 3 9 9 3 0 4 11 14 -3 22
9 Chelsea 13 4 1 1 13 3 2 2 3 6 8 8 21
10 Everton 15 3 4 0 16 8 2 1 5 8 14 2 20
11 West Ham United 13 4 1 0 7 3 1 2 5 5 8 1 18
12 Aston Villa 14 3 3 1 8 4 2 0 5 5 12 -3 18
13 Coventry City 14 4 0 3 15 8 0 5 2 6 8 5 17
14 Southampton 14 2 2 3 10 11 2 2 3 10 13 -4 16
15 Wimbledon 15 2 4 2 12 11 1 3 3 10 18 -7 16
16 Newcastle United 15 3 2 2 17 8 0 2 6 8 21 -4 13
17 Bradford City 14 1 3 2 6 11 2 0 6 6 12 -11 12
18 Derby County 15 2 0 6 7 15 1 3 3 7 11 -12 12
19 Watford 15 2 1 4 7 10 1 1 6 4 15 -14 11
20 Sheffield Wednesday 14 1 2 4 9 11 0 1 6 1 21 -22 6
*** 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
---------------------------------------------------------------
23-NOV-1999 [19:45] Manchester Utd. vs Fiorentina (UEFA Champions League, AWAY)
30-NOV-1999 [10:00] Manchester Utd. vs Palmeiras (Inter Continental Cup, AWAY)
04-DEC-1999 [15:00] Manchester Utd. vs Everton (FA Premier League, HOME)
08-DEC-1999 [19:45] Manchester Utd. vs Valencia (UEFA Champions League, HOME)
*** 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 19.45
pp 27/11/99 ? Sheffield Wednesday Away PL *No new date yet
30/11/99 Tokyo Palmeiras WCC 20.00
4/12/99 Everton Home PL 15.00
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"
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 FC Girondins de Bordeaux Home EC 19.45
4/03/2000 Liverpool Home PL 15.00
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
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| Click On pic - for latest interviews from OT |
Personal Match Report - by "Paul Busby"
Since its a while since I've done a match report, sorry if
it's not up to the usual list standard ;-)
The morning started traumatically - I got a haircut! With
the weather in Stockport causing the brass monkeys to
install central heating, the first job of the day was a
quick trip to the market to buy a woolly hat! Meeting up
with Pete H, we joined the queue at the station for the
cheap day return to Derby. An uneventful journey other than
the ABU's sitting opposite reading the back of my paper
saying "I hope Derby beat f*ckin' Man U" - somethings never
change!
A short stroll down the road from the station took us to
The Brunswick, a cracking pub where they brew their own
beer and serve arguably the best selection of real ale in
Derby - well worth a visit if you enjoy playing sardines
and spending 10 minutes waiting at the bar! You would have
thought they would have been giving the beer away since the
landlord had recently won £8,000,000 (that's eight million
f*ckin' quid!) on the lottery but sadly it was not the
case. One or three list members were spotted along with many
of the usual faces at aways. The Leamington Skinhead joined
us for a couple of pints and the mood on the way to the
ground was upbeat.
Arriving at the ground, we questioned a representative of
the East Midlands boys in blue as to the way to the away
end. We might as well have asked for an explanation of
Einstein's theory of relativity since the question was
obviously not covered in their pre match briefing! What the
f*ck are these tossers being paid overtime for? A walk
round three-quarters of the ground found us the away end
and an excellent steak and kidney pie (did you really think
this report could avoid a "pie report"?)! A much needed
trip to the gents was perfectly timed to see the
aforementioned LS hugging another bloke! Linda, it's just
male bonding, honest!
The first half started with the reds attacking the goal
where we were standing. End of report for 40 minutes. It
was dire! Other than two (well) off target shots from
Keano, there was nothing worth mentioning. The only thing
of note was the amount of yellow cards referee Mike Reid
was dishing out to Derby for their rash challenges on the
reds. Their left full back (sorry, no idea of his name)
got a stupid one after protesting about an obvious foul and
being booked for dissent. Two minutes later, he dropped
Yorke from behind in what was a clear yellow card offence.
Gary Neville ran to the ref expressing his displeasure and
the red card was duly shown. Cue 30,000 Derby fans booing
GN for the rest of the game. Tossers!
To be honest, the game needed something to spark it off.
The final five minutes of the first half was played with a
passion, both on and off the field, that was sadly lacking
before. A bad tackle on Phil Neville resulted in a free for
all with about 15 players pushing and shoving but,
surprisingly, another red card was not shown. Half-time 0-0.
The second half started in the manor which followed for the
next 45 minutes. The reds with 11 men totally outplaying
the 10 men of Derby. There were no outstanding performances
(Stam and Keano were, of course, their usual 10/10 red
shirted heroes) and likewise, no-one had a crap game.
Giggs, once again, was frustratingly just short of
brilliance beating 3 men before fluffing a simple pass
inside - but would you really prefer
Blomquist/Fortune/Greening/Ole out there? Course not - and
the red hordes backed him up with the "Giggs will tear you
apart, again" New Order song.
The inevitable happened when Becks crossed from the right
and a half clearance fell to Nicky Butt (pretty quiet, but
effective until now) who let fly from the edge of the box
and, with the help of a slight deflection, rifled a
screamer into the top right hand corner of the net. Cue KC
and the Sunshine Band and general merriment from the reds
behind the goal. The support was, as usual (Chelsea
excepted) excellent with "The 12 days of Cantona" getting
its customary pre-Christmas outing. The rest of the half
was more of the same with the only question being if anyone
else would be sent off. The reds were playing training
ground "pass and move" and Derby were hoofing it up hoping
for miracles. With not long to go, United subbed Silvo for
Berg and Becks for Ole then a cross from Giggs (?) from the
left found the leading scorer in the Premier League (not
sure of my facts on this one but you get the point)
unmarked in the six yard box to head home unchallenged.
Shearer for England!
Game over, NOT!
With a minute to go, a (dodgy) free kick was given to Derby
who floated one in from the right. Rai went walkabout
allowing a free header to be nodded into an empty net. 90
seconds of "kick it in row Z!" followed before the whistle
went on a well deserved win. We didn't play great but we
won - isn't that what winning trophies is all about?
Meeting up with PH and the LS outside, the next question
was what to do about the police blockade stopping us
walking round the ground to get back to the station?
Obvious - down the embankment and back up right next to the
police vans. What the f*ck was that supposed to achieve?
Even the coppers seemed embarrassed as they all but helped
us climb over the fences. Whilst PH made the (sensible)
decision to get the 18:00 back north, yours truly decided
to partake of The Bunswick's finest before getting the
19:00 which was, of course, 20 minutes late meaning missing
the connection at Stoke and a 50 minute wait. Time for
another pint!
3 points, still top of the league and a good day out.
Cheers!
=======================
Paul Busby
Manchester, England
buz@phantom.screaming.net
=======================
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| Click On pic - for all latest pics from OT |
Carling Report
Derby (0) 1 Man United (0) 2 FT
Delap 90 Butt 53
Cole 83
England's forgotten striker Andy Cole gave Kevin Keegan a glimpse of what
the Battle of Britain was missing by scoring the goal that made sure
Manchester United stayed on top of the FA carling Premiership.
After Nicky Butt had marked his return to first-team action from a month
out because of a hernia operation by opening his account for the season at
Pride Park with a fierce drive after 53 minutes, Cole - twice left on the
bench by the England coach against Scotland in the past week - hit United's
second.
Butt's was his first goal for 11 months as he deputised for the rested Paul
Scholes to good effect.
Then Cole appeared to have put the game well beyond Derby when he headed
home Ryan Giggs' cross seven minutes from time for his 14th of the season.
Rory Delap gave the Rams a glimmer of hope in stoppage time when he rose
above Raimond van der Gouw to direct Seth Johnson's free-kick into the
bottom corner.
But it was too little too late, and Derby remain in the bottom three after
suffering their sixth home defeat out of eight in the Premiership this
season.
United, who have now won their last five matches, will be relieved to have
recorded their first victory at Derby since 1977 after a bad-tempered clash.
Stefan Schnoor was sent off in the 39th minute after picking up two
bookings in quick succession, and referee Mike Reed showed the yellow card
to five other players - Butt plus four from the Rams.
Never mind the Battle of Britain; Pride Park today staged a match with as
much ill-feeling as either of the two Euro 2000 play-offs - and England
international David Beckham was one of the principal ringleaders.
He got away with planting his boot on Schnoor's chest in the early stages,
an incident ignored by Reed.
Intentional or not, it set the tone for a nasty encounter which continued
with Roy Keane aiming a kick at Marvin Robinson, the 19-year-old Derby
striker making his first senior start, inside two minutes.
Schnoor had no one but himself to blame for being sent off after he was
cautioned twice in as many minutes.
But Beckham, together with Gary Neville - making only his second league
start of the season after a series of groin problems - were out of order in
their behaviour in the run-up to the red card.
First Schnoor was booked after Reed's attention was caught by a flagging
assistant referee, who had been the target of several choice words from the
German after he had been penalised for climbing all over Dwight Yorke.
Then, with the home fans still angered by the initial caution, he ploughed
through the back of Yorke and the ref had little option but to brandish a
yellow card, followed by the red.
Reed, who has booked more players than anyone else in the Premiership this
season, would have needed no encouragement to give the defender his
marching orders - but he was given some by Beckham and Neville.
The England duo raced across to the referee with their arms in the air, no
doubt pointing out he had already taken Schnoor's name and giving him
advice as to what course of action he should take.
Three minutes later they were at it again, although this time they were
joined by the majority of the players on the pitch as Reed lost complete
control of the situation.
Phil Neville collapsed in a heap after challenging Dean Sturridge, and as
the play became scrappy Johnson flattened Butt.
Even though the incident happened on the other side of the pitch, Beckham
and Gary Neville raced 40 yards to join in as managers Jim Smith and Sir
Alex Ferguson stood and watched.
Shortly afterwards Ferguson was storming down the touchline to berate the
same assistant referee who had got Schnoor booked - and the game, unlike
the temperature at a chilly Pride Park, was boiling over.
The half-time interval gave both sides the chance to cool down, and it
transformed United who had failed to trouble Mart Poom in a lacklustre
opening period.
Ryan Giggs went close twice immediately after the restart before United
moved in front, and Beckham and Gary Neville were both involved in the goal.
The midfielder's corner was half-cleared, and after the right-back gave him
the ball his cross was headed away by Delap.
But Butt controlled it superbly just inside the Derby area and with his
second touch he unleashed an unstoppable right-foot drive which arrowed
into the top corner.
It seemed for a time that it was not so much a question of whether United
would win but by how many as they laid siege to Poom's goal.
The Estonian, making his first start since August 21 after suffering a
wrist injury, made a fine save from Cole, and stout defending from Delap,
Jacob Laursen and Horacio Carbonari also kept the champions at bay.
Derby did have one clear chance, Darryl Powell seeing his shot strike
Robinson and deflect away from goal after Johnson and Malcolm Christie had
carved open the visitors' defence.
But Cole all but killed the game as a contest when he rose unchallenged 10
yards out to double United's advantage.
Delap's goal, his sixth this season, caused a few hearts to flutter among
the visitors, but they were able to play out time and go into Tuesday's
Champions League trip to Fiorentina in confident mood.
Derby: Poom, Laursen, Schnoor, Carbonari, Borbokis (Christie, 74), Delap,
Powell, Johnson, Dorigo, Sturridge (Murray, 74), Robinson.
Subs not used: Prior, Boertien, Oakes.
Booked: Borbokis, Carbonari, Schnoor, Johnson, Robinson.
Sentoff: Schnoor 39.
Man United: Van Der Gouw, G. Neville, Stam, Silvestre (Berg, 78), P.
Neville, Beckham (Solskjaer, 86), Butt, Keane, Giggs, Cole, Yorke.
Subs not used: Taibi, Sheringham, Scholes.
Booked: Butt.
Attendance: 33,370.
Referee: M Reed (Birmingham).
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| Click On pic - for latest interviews from OT |
BUTT CAN SCORE LIKE COLE AND SCHOLES
- Sky Sports Derby 1-2 Man Utd
Harry Pratt reports
A forgotten figure of late at Manchester United, amid the scramble for
midfield places, returned ahead of last weekend’s star of the show at
Hampden Park. In keeping with his manager’s ever-uncanny knack of ringing
the right change at the right time, Nicky Butt underlined that anything
Paul Scholes can do he can too.
Not quite as often as the flame-haired England hero, who was left on the
bench after his double strike for Euro 2000 glory seven days earlier.
Butt's deflected right-foot shot from 13 yards, seven minutes into the
second half, was the first time Butt had hit the back of the net in more
than 11 months.
The leaders were able to coast thereafter, minds clearly pondering the
forthcoming second stages of the Champions League. But the streak of
relaxed lethargy did not filter throughout the leaders’ entire line-up.
Andy Cole, still a semi-outcast at international level with England, once
more rattled in another shot at Kevin Keegan’s selection process, heading
in powerfully from Ryan Giggs’ sweet cross from the left hand side.
Thanks very much said the Treble defenders, content with their first
success away to Jim Smith’s men for longer than they care to remember.
Now Pride Park, even with a bulging 32,000 capacity on Saturday, is no
Hampden Park. Yet the flying challenges, which littered the opening 45
minutes, were every bit as fierce as during the Battle of Britain. Derby’s
early dominance of proceedings was not dissimilar to Scotland’s supremacy
over the Auld enemy either.
To add fuel to the comparison, there was no luck for Jim Smith’s men who
after the bright start were rendered helpless with the red card shown to
Stefan Schnoor for two cautions collected inside two minutes. The first was
for dissent aimed at the linesman whose only crime had been to flag for a
late lunge on Dwight Yorke.
A few seconds on, Schnoor had a great deal more to cuss and curse as he
went - another poor tackle leaving the official no choice whatsoever.
That only heightened the growing tension in the stadium and led to a
free-for-all, amid two appalling, deliberately mistimed, studs up tackles
from Darryl Powell and Butt. How the latter escaped the black notebook none
is able to say.
Mike Reed excepted. He made amends later with Butt receiving a deserved
booking midway through the second half. By then, though, the outcome was
sorted thanks to Cole’s header making it a total 14 goals for the campaign.
It might have been very different had Derby skipper Powell’s goal-bound
drive not been diverted to safety by unlucky debutant Marvin Robinson. As
it was that chance went begging, and became all the more painful for
Smith's strugglers when they finally did breach the United defence just
before time.
Mark Bosnich had been left out of the starting line-up after returning from
Australia’s double international Brazil bill in between matches struggling
with a calf strain. So Fergie opted for the more-experienced Raimond van
der Gouw in goal rather than a recall for Italian misfit keeper, Massimo
Taibi.
The Dutchman had not been required to make a save all day until a late
free-kick was badly missed by the wandering van der Gouw and Rory Delap -
who else? - headed in from close range to move farther clear of the club's
other leading marksmen.
So United's fifth successive win keeps them a point clear of bitter rivals
Leeds, while the home side remain in deep trouble. The signs are there that
they can lift themselves beyond the relegation quagmire.
Manager Smith, though, needs a fully-abled squad at his disposal. Not one
that is missing 'permit-problem' Fuertes, injured Burton and Morris at the
start and then lost another - the stupid Schnoor - with two-thirds of the
afternoon still ahead.
Derby: Poom, Laursen, Schnoor, Carbonari, Borbokis (Christie 74), Delap,
Powell, Johnson, Dorigo, Sturridge (Murray 74), Robinson.
Subs Not Used: Prior, Boertien, Oakes.
Sent Off: Schnoor (39).
Booked: Borbokis, Carbonari, Schnoor, Johnson, Robinson.
Goals: Delap 90.
Man Utd: Van Der Gouw, G. Neville, Stam, Silvestre (Berg 78), P. Neville,
Beckham (Solskjaer 86), Butt, Keane, Giggs, Cole, Yorke.
Subs Not Used: Taibi, Sheringham, Scholes.
Booked: Butt.
Goals: Butt 53, Cole 83.
Att: 33,370
Referee: M Reed (Birmingham)
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| Click On pic - for latest pics from OT |
Beckham sparks red card outrage
Soccernet - By Joe Melling
Derby 1-2 Man Utd
Stefan Schnoor's sending-off helped Manchester United retain their place at
the top of the Premiership but two of Sir Alex Ferguson's stars were guilty
of shameless gamesmanship.
Referee Mike Reed requires no encouragement to take Draconian action but
England pair Gary Neville and David Beckham were taking no chances.
There should be no excusing the stupidity of Derby's Schnoor in committing
two yellow-card offences within a minute in front of the infamous
Birmingham official.
But the way Neville and Beckham covered more than 20 yards in double-quick
time to impress their opinions on Reed left a thoroughly sour taste.
Derby's remaining 10 men and the vast majority of the Pride Park crowd were
understandably outraged by the totally uncalled for behaviour by the United
duo.
After all, this was a game United were always going to win against a
dangerously depleted and struggling Derby.
Nevertheless, it was no longer a genuine contest once Schnoor departed the
scene in the 38th minute following a foul from behind on Dwight Yorke,
seconds after an initial yellow card for dissent.
Nicky Butt, in his first game back following a hernia operation, virtually
settled the issue in the 59th minute with a blockbuster from the edge of
the area after Beckham's cross had been half-heartedly cleared by Horacio
Carbonari.
Andy Cole, strangely disregarded by England coach Kevin Keegan on Wednesday
night against Scotland, merely confirmed the inevitable with a handsome
header following a cross from Ryan Giggs seven minutes from time.
Cole's strike was his 12th in the Premiership this season.
But all this was after United had struggled to suppress the energy and
vigour of an admirably defiant Derby side.
In fact, there was not a single moment of consternation for either
goalkeeper in an opening half littered with niggling exchanges that Reed
appeared delighted to jump on.
The referee extended his number of bookings to 52 and red cards to
half-a-dozen in his 10th appearance of the season although, in fairness,
there was no convincing argument to be lodged against any of seven cautions
handed out on the day.
Although United's greater numerical strength, not to mention superior
talent, was bound to triumph in the end, Derby deserve credit for a dogged
persistence.
Cole was denied by goalkeeper Mart Poom in the 62nd minute with a shot on
the turn but, in the main, United's clear-cut chances were reduced to a
minimum.
There was even an opportunity for a Derby equaliser in the 76th minute but
the shot from captain Darryl Powell unfortunately struck colleague Marvyn
Robinson, no doubt to the relief of the visitors' goalkeeper, Raimond Van
Der Gouw.
Derby were eventually rewarded with a last-minute consolation which once
again exposed the prevailing frailty among the men entrusted with the
United goalkeeper's jersey.
Van Der Gouw wandered aimlessly to meet a free-kick from Seth Johnson and
was embarrassed by the leap of the Republic of Ireland's Rory Delap, whose
back-header into the unprotected goal gave Derby due reward for their
exertions.
Derby, who have now lost six of their eight home games, are clearly in a
perilous position.
Their plight has hardly been assisted by the failure of manager Jim Smith
to secure the signings of Scotland internationals Craig Burley and Colin
Hendry, plus the passport problem which prevents striker Esteban Fuertes
from re-entering Britain, let alone Pride Park.
All the more worrying then for Sir Alex Ferguson, who would surely have
wanted a more imposing and fluent performance than this before the tricky
Champions League confrontation against Fiorentina in Italy on Tuesday.
At least United remain in pole position domestically, although such
unsporting gestures from Neville and Beckham hardly encourage greater
respect for the image of the reigning European and Premiership champions.
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