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www.red11.org DAILY NEWS
Date: Mon 22 Nov 1999 00:34 GMT
Mail: barry@www.red11.org

This Issue:
1. A Day of Conflicts Match Report by RED KELLY
2. FERGIE: I WANT TO KEEP SHERINGHAM
3. Juve target £15m England hero Scholes
4. report DERBY COUNTY 1 MANCHESTER UNITED 2
5. Butt Bursts into Life to Floor Derby
6. Euro Watch

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

MANCHESTER UNITED DAILY NEWS  Monday 22nd Nov 1999:

Barry Comment:
Read RED KELLY's match going report article one today.


If I Die In The Stretford End - scoreboardpaddock@manutd.com
 Alex Hulme/Manchester/England 
Made by a Manc for Mancs "If I Die In The Stretford End" is for Match Going REDS. 
URL:  

Taken from The Worldwide Manchester United Fans Webring - 400+ RED sites!
 http://www.webring.org/cgi-bin/webring?ring=manufan;list

* UK TV info:  BBC TO COVER UNITED'S BRAZIL MISSION
The BBC will broadcast live coverage of Manchester United's World Team
Championship challenge in Brazil.

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


Click On pic - for latest interviews from OT
A Day of Conflicts Match Report by RED KELLY Don't know what it was about yesterday but at times it seemed as though everywhere I went I would be a peripheral figure in some sort of conflict or other - just one of those days I suppose, but we got the 3 points in the bag and that's about all you could say! As there was no-one from around these parts going to the game, the train beckoned for the second time this season - I mean, why drive when you can relax on a Virgin Express? And in any case the prearranged pub meet was no more than a couple of minutes walk from Derby station. Mind you, I was beginning to wonder if I'd made the right decision as I was stood on the platform minding my own business when half a dozen lads came and stood around me. Fortunately I was a mere bit-part player in the scenario and it transpired they were completely oblivious to me being there anyway - phew, thank Eric for small mercies. Their attentions were directed elsewhere, but what caused my concern went something like this: "What ya standing there for?" said the lad on my left to the lad on my right who was blocking the door to the Gents toilets (had to get it in somewhere!). I was smack in the middle of a conversation and feeling more apprehensive as the seconds wore on and more lads approached. "I'm stopping anyone getting out," replied the lad to my right. "Why?" "Cos the lad inside did me with a baseball bat." A strategic and nonchalant withdrawal was definitely called for and in the nick of time the Derby bound train arrived and I was out of there. What could the journey be like but uneventful after that, so I arrived in Doorby an hour and a half later and legged it to the pub. As I walked in I was greeted by wall to wall people, and mostly United, although no-one was wearing colours. The place was so packed that it took nearly five minutes to locate the bar and another fifteen to get served. I'm not sure what the landlord was even doing there as apparently he'd won eight million smackeroos on the lottery and I'm damned sure I wouldn't have been bothering serving beer to a brawl if I were him, I'd have been on some tropical island drinking the stuff instead. Still, the beer was good, 'real' and cheap and they even sold match programmes behind the bar, so all anyone could want apart from that was some space to move around in. I eventually made it over to Pete who was looking slightly frazzled as, along with the vast majority in there, he was dressed for the arctic conditions outside, not the tropical ones inside. After necking a couple of quick pints and after a brief encounter with Jon Leigh who had obviously been in the place far too long for his own good, Pete, Buz and I made our way out and down to Pride Park. I'd been to the Baseball Ground on a number of occasions, but never before to Pride Park and I can't say I was that impressed. Sat next to a huge gasometer in the middle of a retail park, it was nothing special and looked just like most other new stadiums and with it's MacDonald's Community Stand it smacked more of the new age football commercialism I felt comfortable with. It was obvious what to expect when I got inside - rampant hype, over zealous PA and over-active ABU fans. Guess what,that's what it was - what a surprise! After a quick visit to the Gents and a brief encounter with Adam Brown - good job our away hoodoo seems to be over mate ( we always used to lose when we met up at away games, so much so that we would avoid each other at all costs!) I was into the stadium proper. It was just like Middlesborough and coincidentally my seat was in more or less the same place - right down the front behind the goal, excellent for the extra room to move about, but a crap view, as all you could see were the stewards and the goalkeeper, which was frightening in the first half as Poom was hardly Mr Attractive. The activity going on down at the front was unceasing all the way through the game with one particular steward taking his duties far too seriously, not that he ever threw anyone out although he tried his best - the offender just reappeared a couple of minutes later and stood right behind him which provoked a few smiles. There were senior stewards, supervisors, deputy supervisors, Police and men in white coats and in truth their activities were far more interesting than the game itself. At the beginning there were some empty seats around me but their occupants soon arrived, slightly the worse for wear, but you had to do something to help keep the cold out! Apparently Pete was not far from me, not that I saw him inside the ground, but I did see Pat, who was a few rows back and also the lad who sits in front of me at Old Trafford for the first time ever at an away game, even though he goes to the majority of them. The Doorby fans were well up for it of course and were dishing out the usual crap and aiming most of it towards Beckham. Now there's a surprise and no doubt they'd all have been supporting England last week, so we gave them a bit of "United 2, Scotland nil" for good measure, but in truth we could hardly be bothered. Nev was back alongside his mate Becks on the right and the two of them spent most of the game giving as good as they got which wound up both the opposition players and their supporters and provided us with some much needed entertainment. The trouble was United hadn't bothered to turn up for the game at all and were obviously dreaming of wandering round the Uffizzi and gazing in wonderment at Botticelli's "Birth of Venus" - or something like that. They weren't on the pitch anyway and it took a while for them to come and say hello to us down at our end and then it wasn't a very long hello. Nice to see Becks reaction when we got our first corner though - giving us a nod, a wave and a wink as he ran over to take it, but for the most part the Doorby penalty area was a no-go area for anyone in a red shirt. In fact Becks was the only one who went close in that half when he hit a superb shot from the edge of the box which just skimmed inches past post and bar. The game was in need of warming up and so were we, and it came when Schnoor was booked and then a couple of minutes later sent off. As Pete said afterwards, "if anyone's daft enough to take a player out with a two footed tackle from behind just after he's been booked then he deserves to walk - stupid b.....d." And then all hell broke loose both on and off the pitch. The Doorby fans went ape-shit and we taunted them. The madness was in danger of getting out of control though as the Doorby players flew into the tackles which at one point left both Phil Nev and Nicky Butt on the ground clutching various parts of their anatomy. Nev was hacked down by Sturridge and lay there clutching his knee and Nicky was having lumps kicked out of him by Laursen who was extremely lucky to stay on the pitch. To say that the muppets over to our right were animated would be an understatement as they beat their drums and threatened to lose the plot completely. Fortunately, or not as the case may be, the whistle went for half time and everyone trooped off. As I walked up to the exit I could see something had happened in the crowd just above me and by the time I'd returned from the chaos below stairs there were stewards, St Johns Ambulance, Police, supervisors, deputy supervisors, SPS, SAS, SBS and SIS (how did she get there) all on the scene. As I understand it, some seats had collapsed and a lad had fallen and trapped his leg. He was eventually pushed in front of us, strapped in a wheeelchair, looking a little the worse for wear and already filling in his claim form from the Manchester United insurance plan. The atmosphere had been pretty good all the way through but shortly after the start of the second period it became much better. By this time we had Raimond in front of us and all the action was way down at the other end which, as I've said before was difficult to see and especially past the over active stewards who were up and down more often than Dwight Yorke. It was also freezing cold by this point so we were glad of a goal to warm us up. Becks took a short corner to Nev out on the right, Nev gave it back and it was curled into the box. A defender headed it out to Nicky Butt who buried it in the back of the net on the half volley. It was as though he wanted to scotch all the rumours about his wayward shooting being a threat to the disabled supporters if the proposed extension of their section into East Lower is given the green light. Suddenly Pat appeared next to me as we celebrated a goal at last. "1-0 to the referee" sang Doorby, "1-0" to the champions" we sang. After that United sat back, enjoyed the ride and continued to dream of Florence. We enjoyed ourselves singing the twelve days of Cantona with plenty of "Ob-la-di, ob-la-da's" thrown in for good measure. And so the half progressed until Doorby took it upon themselves to actually make a game of it and United were wrestled out of their reveries. For the first time Raimond's goal was threatened as Powell, I think it was, shot from the edge of the area, but it smacked against Robinson's head and trickled past the post. Was this a sign of things to come? It certainly shook Robinson, but would it shake United? The linesman over on the right was thwarting attack after attack and at times it seemed as though he was a puppeteer pulling strings, he was so much in control of our forwards. Either United were running the line extremely poorly or he was in need of a trip to the opticians, but he had his flag raised almost permanently during that second half. "We could do with another goal" said the bloke next to me and just then Andy went close. "Say it a little louder" I said and as if by magic Giggs was sent through into acres of space by Phil Nev, took the ball to the bye-line and lobbed it onto Andy's head from where it was nodded into the net. There must have been 3 or 4 Doorby players standing around marking no-one in particular as Andy scored, but what did we care, it was the breathing space we needed. Ironic really - we'd just started up a chorus of "Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way, oh what fun it is to see United win away ooooooooooooh........." when they went and scored. Well, what did we expect? United being United, they hardly ever give us an easy ride and when the goal came it was no surprise, not that they'd threatened more than once before, but it just seemed inevitable. It was all Raimondo's fault, coming out and flapping at the ball just like Peter in the Euro Cup last year. He made a complete arse of himself and walked back to the goal very sheepishly which in Ram country was hardly a very safety conscious thing to do. Gary Nev gave him a right mouthful and the rest of the team shrugged their shoulders, raised their eyes to the heavens and wandered back to the centre spot. "We've only got ten men" sang the Doorby fans rather obviously. "You've only got one goal" we sang rather smugly, but all the time hoping the ref would blow his whistle and put an end to this unseemly spectacle. You'd have thought that was the biggest Doorby cheer of the day wouldn't you, well you'd be wrong as the biggest cheer was reserved for when Nicky Butt was booked. United's only booking to 8 of theirs! Pathetically small minded supporters who once again showed the gulf in class between United and the rest of the football fraternity. All in all a poor game with United not getting out of second gear as per usual. Special mention must be made for Nicky Butt who answered his critics with a superb performance along with the inevitable Keano who was driving all the way through. Jaap was his usual mountain like self and Silvestre an ever improving partner in the middle. Nice to see Nev back who gave a performance which was remarkable given how many games he hasn't played this season and Beckham was just about himself. Phil Nev did enough and Giggsy crossed the ball for Andy to score, but not a great deal else. Andy and Dwight were constantly thwarted by the linesman's flag and at odds with the game rather than part of it. So, with the game finished I met up with Pete at the appointed spot and we waited for Buz who finally arrived hours later. By now the Police had set up a blockade which seemingly prevented us from getting round the side of the stadium we wanted to go, but where there's a will there's a way eh!! Loads of Reds were climbing over the fence in front of the Police blockade, down the embankment, along about ten yards, up the embankment, over the fence the other side of the blockade and we were away with the rest of them. Truly farcical as one of the dibble agreed, saying he was embarrassed at having to obey such ridiculous orders - none of them did a thing to prevent us though! Back at the station waiting on the platform it turned out my train was also the London train and I was soon joined by an army of Cockney Reds and the Red News crowd. There was a brief fracas when a drunken local took exception to one of our crowd while we looked on rather bemused by it all. But the miscreant was soon repelled and the whole thing quelled by the arrival of an enthusiastic Police dog and it's handler - difficult to know who, out of the two, barked louder! Finally we got on the train at the front and Barney and I make our way to the buffet car at the back and I loose track of the amount of people who said "Hi Barney." I then changed trains at Leicester and spent the rest of the journey listening to the muffled sounds from a few cars away of "who put the ball in the German's net, who put the ball in the German's net, who put the ball in the German's net - Ole Gunnar Solskjaer." Reds are here, Reds are there, Reds are every ******* where." Copyright © 1999 by RED KELLY. All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced without permission of the author
Click On pic - for all latest pics from OT
FERGIE: I WANT TO KEEP SHERINGHAM Sir Alex Ferguson wants to keep Teddy Sheringham at Manchester United after his contract runs out in the summer. Sheringham is free to sign a pre-contract agreement with another club from January 1 under the Bosman ruling and already he has been linked with a move to Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon. However Ferguson does not want the England striker to leave Old Trafford and he wants to start talks on a new contract. "That's what we are looking at," said the United boss. "I'm just not selling." Asked if he wanted to keep Sheringham, Ferguson replied categorically: "Yes." © PA Sporting Life
Click On pic - for latest interviews from OT
Juve target £15m England hero Scholes By Peter Fitton EXCLUSIVE: Paul Scholes, whose goals secured England's place at Euro 2000, is now under close transfer surveillance by mighty Juventus. The £15 million-rated Manchester United midfielder has been placed high on a list of world-class targets by the hierarchy at the Turin club following his dramatic impact in international football. In fact, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson believes his 25-year-old protege has no peer. 'Scholes is a fantastic player. He's the best around at his job,' said the Old Trafford manager. Juventus coach Carlo Ancelotti and Luciano Moggi, the club's power-broker and negotiator, are both committed to the summer signing of Roy Keane, Scholes's Old Trafford skipper. But the younger United player has also won the approval of significant figures at Juventus. He impressed them with his technical ability and football intelligence in United's Champions League qualifiers against the Italians, when he was still emerging as a force in Ferguson's team. But the impact the marauding Scholes has made with England has underlined his value to any major European team. From an attacking midfield berth, Scholes has claimed a remarkable tally of nine goals in 20 internationals, including a hat-trick against Poland and the two goals that defeated Scotland at Hampden Park last Saturday. The decision makers at Juventus - along with Inter Milan coach Marcello Lippi - appreciate that Scholes possesses the rare, modern-era asset of regularly scoring goals from mid-field. Scholes is tied to an Old Trafford contract until 2002. In recent weeks he has played with an injury that requires a hernia operation. The surgery has been delayed to allow United team-mate Nicky Butt to recover from a similar operation. Ferguson named Scholes as a substitute at Derby yesterday to help him recover from recent England duty.
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365 report DERBY COUNTY 1 MANCHESTER UNITED 2 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. Nicky Butt 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. Then 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.
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Butt Bursts into Life to Floor Derby Sunday Times report Joe Lovejoy at Pride Park Derby County 1 Manchester United 2 "WE ALL agree, United are better than England," chorused the red legions, and after Black Wednesday it was hard to argue. But this was no classic. United did what they had to do - no more, no less. Nicky Butt, who had been out for a month after hernia surgery, celebrated his return with the first goal to help secure United's place at the top of the table and leave Derby anchored in the bottom three after their sixth home defeat in eight League games. But Andy Cole was the matchwinner, his decisive strike, seven minutes from the end, needed to negate Rory Delap's scoring header in the dying seconds. Competitive rather than cultured, it was not a match that will linger long in the memory of a record Pride Park crowd, who headed home muttering darkly about the referee, Mike Reed. On an afternoon characterised by what Sir Alex Ferguson described as "tasty tackles", Reed sent off Derby's Stefan Schnoor after 38 minutes, for two yellow card offences. Like most of the players, the officials did not have a particularly good game. Workmanlike rather than inspired, United were deserved winners, but will need to step up a gearto see off Fiorentina in the Champions League on Tuesday. Derby are having a troubled season, their home form gruesome, but they battled with a spirit which augurs well for the difficult days ahead. "They played it like a cup tie, and I have no complaints with that," Ferguson said. "I can understand their players trying to show their manager and the supporters that they want to stay in the Premier League. I would expect mine to do the same in similar circumstances." Beset by injuries and other forms of absenteeism, and having failed in repeated attempts to strengthen his squad, Jim Smith acknowledged that it was scarcely the best of times to be playing the best team in the country. Derby were left with only one experienced striker, Dean Sturridge, who partnered a novice, Marvin Robinson, in attack. The 19-year-old was making his first start in the Premiership after one outing last season as substitute. He ran around with the enthusiasm of youth, winning a couple of useful balls in the air, and it was hardly his fault that Messrs Stam and company knew rather too much for him. United were without Mark Bosnich, with a swollen knee that Ferguson said could keep him out of the Fiorentina tie. Raimond Van Der Gouw deputised in goal, and Gary Neville and Butt were back after injury - in Neville's case for only his second appearance of the season. Paul Scholes, England's goalscoring hero at Hampden a week earlier, and Denis Irwin were rested. Derby set about their work with a will, competing strongly and hoping to catch United less than fully committed, just four days before another big European tie, but the Reds were never going to be found wanting in terms of vim and vigour. Their movement was good, although accuracy proved elusive in front of goal. The fairly even balance changed when Schnoor was banished for two yellow cards in as many minutes. The first was for dissent, the second for a foul on Dwight Yorke. Neither could be called a heinous offence, but in terms of applying the letter of the law, the referee was right. He also missed the worst foul of the match, by Phil Neville on Sturridge, and ignored some nasty verbal skirmishes on the touchline, notably when Gary Neville and Beckham clashed with Smith. At various stages both managers advanced to the touchline to remonstrate with the officials, and not without reason. Smith was upset that the two United players approached the referee after Schnoor's tackle from behind on Yorke. "I felt it was wrong for two professionals to try to get a fellow pro sent off," he said. "There was a directive whereby anyone doing that was to get a yellow card, but the referee just asked how Posh Spice was and where they were eating tonight, then sent our lad off. They [referees] are on first-name terms with the United players. We don't know them that well." United should have taken the lead early in the second half, but, from Cole's accurate centre from the left, Giggs fired straight at Mart Poom from 10 yards. They were not delayed long. After 53 minutes Beckham's right-wing cross was headed out by Delap, but only as far as Butt, who drove the ball high into the roof of the net from 16 yards. "One-nil to the referee," chanted the disenchanted, which was a bit strong. Cole, after exchanging passes neatly with Giggs, scooped a left-foot shot weakly at Poom from a central position, six yards out. Unsurprisingly, given their numerical disadvantage, Derby rarely looked like getting back into it, although Darryl Powell was unlucky when his strong shot hit Robinson. The second goal finally came after 83 minutes, when Giggs cut the ball back from the byline on the left for Cole to sweep it home from predator's range. Delap's token reply came in the 90th minute, his firm header burying Seth Johnson's free kick from the right, but United ran out worthy winners. For the League leaders, it was another case of a routine job well done. And so to Florence, where it is sure to be rather more problematical. 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. Attendance: 33,370. Referee: M Reed (Birmingham).
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Euro Watch A glance around the Euro leagues to see how our CL opponents are doing. Fiorentina 1 - 0 Perugia This was Fiorentina's first win in the last four home games. Before today, they'd taken just one point out of a possible nine. Even today's winner came late, 7 minutes from the end by Pierino. The win moves Fiorentina up to 8th in the table but their stats aren't impressive: 13 points from 10 games in which they've scored just 12 goals conceding 13. One of their better players, the Yugoslav captain Mijatovic is to undergo an operation and will miss the next 2 or 3 months. Bordeaux 1 - 2 St Etienne This home defeat drops Bordeaux down to 6th, five points behind the leaders (Lyon) from an extra game. They've scored 25 in 16 games and conceded 24. Valencia 3 - 1 Barcelona A surprising win but Barca may have been more distracted by their Euro campaign than Valencia. The win moves Valencia up to 11th place in the league, with 14 points from 12 games, though they have played one game more than most other teams. On current form we should win or at least draw against Fiorentina on Tuesday but, as we know, it seldom works out that way. _____________ Terry Saudii
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