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www.red11.org DAILY NEWS Date: Thu 23 Dec 1999 01:30 GMT Mail: barry@www.red11.org This Issue: 1. Rivaldo could be jewel in crown at United 2. Beckham shortlisted for world honour 3. Another 1st for United in 99 4. Why I'm Red by Dave 5. ASSOCIATED PRESS HONOUR MAN UTD 6. Extra 12,400 tickets - official ++++++=========+++++++========+++++++++========++++++++ MANCHESTER UNITED DAILY NEWS Thurs 23rd Dec 1999: Webmaster comment: Three players have had to miss training this week with injuries that threaten their involvement against Bradford City at Old Trafford on Boxing Day. David Beckham is the biggest concern after picking up a hamstring strain against West Ham United. Andy Cole has sore ribs, while Denis Irwin has Achilles problems. Both, however, hope to return to training tomorrow. Barry & Bill at The Theatre Of Dreams wish all our Daily News readers a Very Merry Christmas! * If you have an article for this MUFC Daily News bulletin please mail it to Thanks! *** Remember our December Competition! To enter first download 1 meg here http://www.red11.org/mickz/mufc_snow.exe Lets see how far us REDS can get, I already made it to Level 2 Proof here: http://www.red11.org/mickz/level2.jpg The best 3 efforts will win a copy of the NEW book "European Glory" by RED NEWS edited by Barney Chilton Eyewitness Accounts of United's 1968 & 1999 European Triumphs A book celebrating the amazing events in the Nou Camp on May 26th - retails at £7,95 Enties to the competition must include an attched screen pic as proof of your efforts mail to barrylee@post3.tele.dk GOOD LUCK Comp closes 24th Dec 1999 ---------------------- Red Devils' Webstation - danlim@mailexcite.com Danny Lim, Malacca, Malaysia. URL: This is the place for rantings, ravings and reverence (well, mostly reverence) of the marvelous football institution known as Manchester United FC ! Man United's All-Time Greatest XI and the Red Devils' Hall of Fame ! Great Manchester United Line-ups in History The Manchester United Squad United in Transition Taken from The Worldwide Manchester United Fans Webring - 400+ RED sites! http://www.webring.org/cgi-bin/webring?ring=manufan;list ++++++=========+++++++========+++++++++========++++++++
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Rivaldo could be jewel in crown at United Manchester United pride themselves on being the biggest club in the world. Now Martin Edwards has the chance to prove it, even if he must go back on his word. Edwards' refusal to break the bank and satisfy Sir Alex Ferguson's desire to attract Rivaldo to Old Trafford last summer was a significant element in the breakdown of their relationship. Yet, that was before Edwards submitted to Ferguson over Roy Keane's new £52,000-per-week contract, a financial commitment which demonstrated the club will bend over backwards if the cause is justified. Despite Edwards' public statement that he had not set a precedent with the Keane contract, the reality is that the financial Rubicon has been crossed. The signature of the world's finest player would signal to the Old Trafford supporters that the money men are not in total control. Simultaneously, it would alter the dynamics of the chief executive's dealings with the man who has delivered an unprecedented four trophies this year. Ferguson's gripes, scarcely hidden in recent months, have been that Edwards does not understand the football side of the business, that he capitulates in the face of the balance sheet bean-counters. They have not gone away and last week's revelations of Edwards' alleged personal animosity towards Ferguson will not have improved matters. But the rift between them could be bridged if Edwards is prepared to walk the extra mile and tear off the financial straitjacket. Not only would Ferguson be reassured that his squad comes first, but also that his judgment is being backed 100 per cent. That Ferguson wants Rivaldo is hardly a secret. In the summer, however, he thought the chances were nil as Edwards and the United board baulked at the prospect of a transfer fee and salary package amounting to more than £50m over four years. Yet, with news of Rivaldo's apparently insoluble breach with Barca coach Louis Van Gaal, life has suddenly been breathed into the prospect, even if United will have to match or improve upon Parma's world record £32m bid and the Brazilian's wages of £100,000 per week. The value of Rivaldo, in football terms, would be almost incalculable as Ferguson knows more than anybody. But the United boss would have to accept the Brazilian's individualism at the expense of the team ethic. As Rivaldo himself admitted, his self-belief puts him at odds with those he feels wish to stifle his creativity. 'I defend with the other players and help my team-mates,' he said. 'But I like to do the things that come to me. 'The system is always important, but a player who has skill must do the things that he feels are right on the pitch.' Barca skipper Pep Guardiola conceded the Brazilian's relationship with Van Gaal had been fraught. He said: 'Rivaldo comes from a different football culture and every one of his actions is interpreted as an act of disapproval. 'But whatever the system demands, he always adapts his role according to what he feels to be the best for the team. He loves football above everything and rejects anything else.' Ferguson, as strong-willed as Van Gaal, would not seek to yoke Rivaldo, although he would demand some acceptance of his responsibilities within the team structure. In exchange, he would get the player Pele believes is 'without discussion, the best in the world' and whom Rivaldo's Barcelona team-mate Frederic Dehu described as 'an exceptional man'. Dehu added: 'He's not exactly a leader on the pitch for us. That falls to Guardiola or Luis Figo. But when he talks, we listen. I'm not giving away any secrets when I say his weakness is his right foot but there is no way of stopping him because he can pass the ball from anywhere and take out his opponents in the smallest amount of room.' United and Old Trafford would be a suitable backdrop for Rivaldo to display those exquisite talents. Their stock market valuation of £457m dwarfs even the biggest of the continental giants, although the policy that dictates no more than 30 per cent of turnover is spent on salaries would have to be abandoned to accommodate him, something that would require Edwards to convince a doubting board. But if the club was willing to take the giant leap by taking advantage of Rivaldo's fall-out with Barcelona, they would send out a message to the world - and deal a stunning blow to the heart of Serie A's self-obsession. Italian football may accept that the Premiership is its equal financially, but it would never do so in playing terms, haughtily pointing out that England's top division avails itself of Serie A cast-offs rather than winning the bidding wars for the very best at the peak of their powers. But if United could tempt Rivaldo to turn his back on the seductive embrace of Parma - or Roma - and opt for the Premiership, it would say much about the English game. For United, however, it would mean so much more. Rivaldo's presence in their already-glittering ranks would represent the richest gem of all, a player whose abilities are so great that the head-shaking at his cost would soon disappear.
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Beckham shortlisted for world honour David Beckham is on a three-player shortlist for the title of World Footballer of the Year - with Brazilian star Rivaldo again his opponent. The Manchester United midfielder finished runner-up to Rivaldo in the European Footballer of the Year contest and now faces him and Argentinian striker Gabriel Batistuta for the world honour. The decision will be announced officially at a ceremony in Brussels on January 24. The award is voted on by 140 national coaches. Rivaldo, the 27-year-old Brazilian, lifted his trophy on Monday and 24 hours later was dropped by his authoritarian Barcelona coach Louis van Gaal for Wednesday's Primera Liga match. Batistuta, the Fiorentina striker, has almost single-handedly kept the Italian club's Champions League hopes alive. Brazil will receive the award for best team of the year while Slovenia have won the most improved outfit prize after qualifying for Euro 2000 having beaten Ukraine in a play-off. FIFA will also hand out two Fair Play awards to the New Zealand football community and to China's women team from the World Cup, which they lost to the United States on penalties.
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Another 1st for United in 99 Manchester United voted 1999's top world sports story 1999 Associated Press LONDON (December 21, 1999 2:48 p.m. EST http://www.sportserver.com) - Manchester United won four major titles in 1999, cementing its place as the richest and most successful club in soccer and earning its spot as the top international sports story in a worldwide poll by The Associated Press. The Red Devils took the Premier League, the F.A. Cup, the European Cup and the Intercontinental Cup. In results released Tuesday, Manchester United's season edged out the corruption scandal which rocked the Olympic movement as the No. 1 story. Editors and broadcasters from more than 30 countries submitted ballots. Manchester United's exploits received 13 first-place votes in the AP poll and got a total of 272 points. The Olympic scandal ran a close second with 237 points, including 12 first-place votes. The scandal broke a year ago after allegations that International Olympic Committee members were bribed to vote for Salt Lake City as host of the 2002 Winter Games. Michael Johnson's world record in the 400 meters finished third in the voting with 158 points. The fourth-place story, with 156 points, was the 100-meter world record set by Maurice Greene. The retirement of basketball superstar Michael Jordan, who led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA titles in the 1990s, was fifth in the voting with 152 points. Jordan has been a regular feature in the top 10 list this decade, testament to his global appeal. Finishing sixth in the survey with 151 points was Mika Hakkinen's second consecutive Formula One title. British boxer Lennox Lewis accounted for the seventh-place story (143 points) by unifying the world heavyweight title. American cyclist Lance Armstrong's inspiring victory in the Tour de France was voted eighth with 141 points. Next, with 97 points, came the retirement of Steffi Graf, the dominant women's tennis player of her generation. Andre Agassi's remarkable resurgence to the top of men's tennis finished 10th in the voting with 82 points.
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Why I'm Red by Dave For me it all started back in 1982/3ish when I was nine or ten years old. Because my dad had never been into football, and as I was the oldest child, there were no big brothers to pass alliegances on to me, and until this point I don't think I was too interested in the game - my only memory being visiting someones house and they were watching (what I later found out to be) the 1981 European Cup Final between Aston Villa and our German friends Bayern Munich. Instead the reason why I am a United fan is down to my best friend when I was at Primary school. As most of you will remember things in 1982 were almost ironically opposite to how things are these days, with another team in red strutting their stuff as the best team around winning league titles and cup competitions at will - although their glory period differed from ours in that they regularly won the league/milk/littlewoods cup, we of course regularly win the formerly littlewoods sponsored FA Cup. I began to play football at playtimes at school, joining in because it was the thing to do - all the lads played, and the girls did whatever they did - you know, formation skipping or hop-skotching. I was completely crap, and generally I'm not that much better to this day, but I still enjoyed joining in. Nearly all the others were Liverpool fans, but my mate was a United fan (as his dad had brought him up that way) and out of loyalty I would side with him in arguements about who was the best despite not knowing what I was talking about. Luckily for me he did know what he was talking about, as out of our entire class he was the only one with a season ticket for any team and used to go with his dad every other Saturday. My side interest continued and the 1982 World Cup rolled around and I was ready (armed with my Penguin World Cup'82 book) to cheer on our England and in particular this United player Bryan Robson who my friend had told me about. He was the most expensive player ever, so therefore (as a nine year old's logic works) he must be the best player ever, and sure enough after rushing home from school to watch England's first match of the tournament who should score after 24 seconds, but Captain Marvel himself. These sort of things impress you when you're nine, and twenty minutes later he scored another one. I remember watching the rest of the tournament even after England eventually got knocked out. I was now hooked on football. I began to half follow the adventures of Bryan Robson and his team Manchester United. Tthe 1982-3 season was the first time I paid attention to results and this team seemed to be pretty good, they won more than they lost but it was in the Cup Competitions that they were the best. After each home match my schoolfriend would report to me on who the best players were, whether there was a big crowd, and what the other team was like, and I began to get more enthralled. The first matches I can remember didn't take place until after Christmas, when I remember watching Elton Welsby previewing United v Nottm Forest in the Milk Cup - a nighttime match under floodlights and I wanted to be there. The papers the next day reported a 4-0 win for United. Then came United v Everton in the FA Cup and Frank Stapleton scoring in the last minute, this was followed by a Semi Final win over Arsenal with another of my faves big Norm scoring the winner. I can't remember when exactly, but Bryan Robson broke his ankle at some point in the season and I was devastated. United lost the Milk Cup Final to Liverpool & I had to put up with all the rubbish from my Liverpool supporting friends, allthough that was all forgotten when we won the FA Cup against Brighton in a replay which I watched on telly after frantically rushing home from taking my cycling proficiency test. By now I was hooked and couldn't wait for the new season to start, and danced round my living room when we beat Liverpool in the Charity Shield with Captain Marvel banging in the goals again. In December 1984 I made my 'home debut' in my first trip to Old Trafford against Everton and I was the most excited kid in the whole world. We lost 0-1 to a Kevin Sheedy goal and I was gutted, allthough not as gutted as I was when we lost to Oxford in the milk Cup and then bloody Bournemouth in the FA Cup. After the Oxford game I remember crying myself to sleep - I had been allowed to stay up late and listen to it on Radio 2 (as it was then). I was now officially a United nut and a full home kit followed for Christmas which I wore everywhere, awake or asleep, and of course to matches - I managed to try and get taken for birthday presents or whenever my friends dad couldn't make it. Since then it's been like a drug, by the time I was 15/16 I used to go and stand on United Road for £1.50 where I learnt all the songs and gained match going independence. This carried on (My United Road career ending in a party against relegated Charlton in 1990, when I moved over to the Stretford End) until I went away to University in 1992/3 - the same season it went completely all seater, all the prices doubled, the first season of the premier league, and of course ironically the first season we won the league ever (for me). I know it was the first time since 1967, but it was the first time in my life and it felt like it couldn't get any better. Since then it just hasn't stopped and apart from a couple of seasons of disapointment the pinnacle was achieved last May. I've just read through this & I'm not sure if it actually says why I'm a red, more like how I became one. I don't know the exact reason why I'm red, I just am, and it's great. Thanks for reading Dave d.briscoe@mcbride.co.uk
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ASSOCIATED PRESS HONOUR MAN UTD ASSOCIATED PRESS HONOUR MAN UTD Manchester United's Treble win has been voted the top international sports story of the year in a worldwide poll of Associated Press subscribers outside the United States. © PA Sporting Life
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Extra 12,400 tickets - official Wednesday, December 08, 1999 12:06 Manchester United have announced how the extra 12,400 tickets will be distributed, once Old Trafford's expansion is completed. It is proposed that the seats are sold as follows: * 6,400 day tickets to members in accordance with current practice * 6,000 will be sold for the season as League Match Ticket Books (LMTB's). These will not carry any rights to Manchester United away games or cup finals. There is a view that to increase the number of Season Tickets would only increase the amount of disappointment when allocating tickets for away matches, including cup finals. Because LMTB's would carry no ticket rights whatsoever for matches played away from Old Trafford, the situation in respect of Season Ticket rights will remain unchanged. The club have yet to decide how the Ticket Books will be sold. At this stage please do not write to the club - details will be issued in due course. In addition to the above changes, the club will be offering the opportunity to the East Stand ticket holders to move to the new West Stand Tier Two. This will ensure that those in the West Stand do not have to be moved for cup matches, and will move the supporters back to the traditional Stretford End. Much has been said about the lack of atmosphere here at Old Trafford, and there have been calls for a 'singing section'. The club are considering designating the whole of the West Stand second tier (almost 6,400) as a singing area. First priority will be given to those in the East Stand who will need to be relocated but all other season ticket holders who wish to be part of this section will be welcome to apply at the time of renewal. There is also good news for disabled supporters. The current area for the disabled will be extended further in to the East Stand lower section and therefore, a number of Season Ticket holders will need to be relocated. We are sure that everyone will appreciate the reasons and will be pleased that additional facilities will be available to wheelchair bound supporters especially. It is envisaged that the second tiers of both the East and West Stands will become no smoking areas. Good news all round. Taken from Man Utd.Com Hot Tickets
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