www.red11.org DAILY NEWS
Date: Sun Oct 24 04:08:05 GMT+00:00 1999
Mail: barry@www.red11.org
This Issue:
1. Ask the StatMan - How many Manchester United shirt DESIGNS have there been?
2. Carling Report - Tottenham (2) 3 Man United (1) 1 FT
3. STATS - MANCHESTER UNITED - AS AT 23/10/99 ***
4. Slick Spurs stun United - Guardian
5. SCHOLES FACING HERNIA HELL
6. United haven't fined Beckham
7. MEN THE WAY WE WERE . . .
8. BUTT OUT FOR SIX WEEKS
9. GRAHAM - GIVE UNITED FA CUP BYES
++++++=========+++++++========+++++++++========++++++++
MANCHESTER UNITED DAILY NEWS Sunday 24th Oct 1999:
Barry Comment:
REDS lost a fine record v Tottenham recently. The team played well
according to Fergie, it was defensive errrors which caused the loss.
more in todays edition .......
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
Group D P W D L F A PTS
Marseille 4 3 0 1 6 3 9
Manchester Utd 4 2 1 1 5 2 7
Croatia Zagreb 4 1 1 2 4 3 4
SK Sturm Graz 4 1 0 3 1 8 3
Fixtures/results
Tue Sep 14 Manchester United 0-0 Croatia Zagreb
Tue Sep 14 Marseille 2-0 SK Sturm Graz
Wed Sep 22 Croatia Zagreb 1-2 Marseille
Wed Sep 22 SK Sturm Graz 0-3 Manchester United
Wed Sep 29 Manchester United 2-1 Marseille
Wed Sep 29 Croatia Zagreb 3-0 SK Sturm Graz
Tue Oct 19 Marseille 1-0 Manchester United
Tue Oct 19 SK Sturm Graz 1-0 Croatia Zagreb
Wed Oct 27 7:45 NK Croatia v Man Utd
Wed Oct 27 7:45 Sturm Graz v Marseille
Tue Nov 2 7:45 Manchester United v SK Sturm Graz
Tue Nov 2 7:45 Marseille v Croatia Zagreb
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 23/10/99 ***
Aston Villa 1-1 Wimbledon 27,160
Bradford City 3-1 Leicester City 17,655
Chelsea 2-3 Arsenal 34,958
Sheffield Wednesday 0-0 Coventry City 23,296
Southampton 1-1 Liverpool 15,241
Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 Manchester United 36,072
*** FIXTURES ON 24/10/99 ***
Everton v Leeds United
Watford v Middlesbrough
West Ham United v Sunderland
*** FULL LEAGUE TABLE AS AT 23/10/99 ***
Pos Team P W D L F A W D L F A GD Pts
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Leeds United 11 4 1 1 10 5 4 0 1 11 7 9 25
2 Arsenal 12 5 0 1 13 5 3 1 2 7 7 8 25
3 Manchester United 12 4 2 0 19 6 3 1 2 9 13 9 24
4 Sunderland 11 4 2 0 8 2 3 0 2 12 7 11 23
5 Tottenham Hotspur 11 4 0 2 15 11 2 2 1 5 4 5 20
6 Leicester City 12 4 2 0 11 6 2 0 4 9 11 3 20
7 Chelsea 10 4 0 1 13 3 2 1 2 4 4 10 19
8 Aston Villa 12 3 3 0 8 3 2 0 4 5 9 1 18
9 Everton 11 3 2 0 11 3 2 0 4 6 11 3 17
10 West Ham United 9 4 0 0 6 2 1 1 3 5 6 3 16
11 Liverpool 11 2 0 3 5 5 2 3 1 7 6 1 15
12 Middlesbrough 11 3 0 3 6 7 2 0 3 7 8 -2 15
13 Coventry City 12 3 0 3 11 8 0 4 2 5 7 1 13
14 Southampton 11 2 2 2 10 10 1 1 3 8 12 -4 12
15 Wimbledon 12 1 3 2 9 10 1 3 2 9 16 -8 12
16 Bradford City 11 1 2 2 5 10 2 0 4 4 7 -8 11
17 Watford 11 2 0 3 5 6 1 0 5 2 9 -8 9
18 Derby County 11 1 0 5 3 12 1 3 1 7 7 -9 9
19 Newcastle United 11 2 1 2 14 7 0 0 6 7 20 -6 7
20 Sheffield Wednesday 12 1 1 4 7 9 0 1 5 1 18 -19 5
NEXT MATCHES
---------------------------------------------------------------
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)
06-NOV-1999 [15:00] Manchester Utd. vs Leicester C (FA Premier 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 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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Subject: Ask the StatMan - How many Manchester United shirt DESIGNS have there been?
Date: Saturday, October 16, 1999
Time: 7:31 AM EST
Submitted by: Anders Peter Holstebro
Email address: erik-rene-nielsen@post.tele.dk
Subject: Ask the StatMan
visitor_country: Denmark
visitor_age: 13
question: How many Manchester United shirt DESIGNS have there been?
============================================================================
In the past ten years the regular Red shirt has seen subtle changes every two
years or so. But back in the first seasons in the Football League (1892-94) Newton Heath
wore Red and White Quartered jerseys with Blue shorts.
Between 1894-96 it was Green and Gold halves. From 1896 to 1902 they wore White shirts
and Blue shorts. When the club became Manchester United in 1902 the Red shirts were
worn for the first time. But between 1922-27 there was a change to White shirts with a Red
'V' on both back and front. In 1934 they tried Maroon and White hooped shirts.
United wore Blue when winning the Finals of the 1948 FA Cup, 1968 European Cup and
1992 League Cup.
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Subject: Carling Report - Tottenham (2) 3 Man United (1) 1 FT
Tottenham (2) 3 Man United (1) 1 FT
Iversen 37 Giggs 23
Scholes 40 (og)
Carr 71
Magnificent Tottenham handed Manchester United another dose of capital
punishment as Sir Alex Ferguson's Treble winners crashed to their fourth
defeat in the last five games - just three weeks after a 5-0 thumping at
Chelsea.
Manchester United should never be written off, especially with only a third
of the season gone, but as Spurs hit back from a goal down to claim a
famous victory - their first in the FA Carling Premiership against United
for nearly three years - there were definite signs of decay in a team that
has carried all before them over the last seven years.
Click image for full size
They finished with their defence and discipline both in tatters after
Frenchman Mickael Silvestre's blunder led to a 36th-minute equaliser by
Steffen Iversen, and then Paul Scholes put through his own goal just four
minutes later.
And what really finished them off was a rocket shot by Republic of Ireland
rookie Steve Carr, crashing home a 35-yard thunderbolt that left Mark
Bosnich completely helpless with 19 minutes still to go.
But that was enough time for United to show how standards have really
slipped. David Beckham was booked for a bad foul on Mauricio Taricco and
substituted almost immediately.
Then Roy Keane, making his first League start since late August - and lucky
not to have been booked for two earlier pieces of petulance - finally
pushed referee Jeff Winter's patience too far with a crude lunge at the
battered Taricco.
At the end of a soggy yet sometimes sunlit afternoon, there was a rainbow
hovering over White Hart Lane - but the pot of gold was promised only to
Spurs.
Manager George Graham had worked another minor miracle against the side he
believes set the benchmark for all the rest - and Graham did it with a team
robbed of key personnel by injuries.
With Les Ferdinand, Darren Anderton and Willem Korsten all on the casualty
list, it seemed a fatal double-blow when striker Chris Armstrong and
£4million defender Chris Perry were also ruled out.
But with out-of-favour winger Ruel Fox making his first start of the season
and 22-year-old Luke Young partnering captain colossus Sol Campbell at the
back, Spurs matched their mighty visitors with a thundering commitment and
in the end superior craft.
United appeared to be in complete control when despite an early scare after
Bosnich had to smother a sharp shot on the turn from Oyvind Leonhardsen,
they moved into a well-deserved lead with Ryan Giggs's first Premiership
goal of the campaign.
Andy Cole pushed the ball through beautifully between Campbell and Young on
the edge of the Spurs area and Giggs strode onto it to flick expertly past
Walker.
But Tottenham refused to buckle and were generously allowed a way back into
the contest by some catastrophic defending.
First Silvestre, playing in his apparently preferred central position after
being used as a full-back by Ferguson since his arrival from Inter Milan,
carelessly headed a routine back-pass beyond Bosnich and was relieved to
see it just miss a post and go out for a corner.
But the relief lasted just a few seconds because from Ginola's flag kick on
the right, Tim Sherwood sent a flying header across goal and Iversen
scrambled in a 36th minute equaliser even though the Australian goalkeeper
bravely blocked his first effort onto a post.
And four minutes later, Ginola, who had looked largely redundant as a real
on his left wing outpost, did the damage from that side - calling for a
short corner from Leonhardsen and whipping the ball over.
Young was totally unmarked and yet missed completely with an attempted
back-flick header but it was enough to unsight Scholes who could do nothing
about it as the ball thumped off him and past the bemused Bosnich.
Even the rumbling thunder and torrential downpour that greeted United at
the start of the second period would hardly have matched the intensity of
the half-time lambasting Ferguson must have given his shell-shocked troops.
Click image for full size
And for a while they responded splendidly with only a desperate, last-ditch
tackle by the resourceful Young stopping Scholes pounding clear on Cole's
adroit header.
Spurs had to launch themselves into tackles and cover space for all they
were worth to repel a United revival. And Walker did well to smother Cole's
low drive through the surface water in the penalty area after the striker
robbed Steffen Freund and played a delightful one-two with Dwight Yorke.
But any hopes of a comeback were blasted into oblivion by Carr's explosive
drive after 71 minutes.
There seemed no danger to United's goal when the Ireland full back, who
scored his first League goal only a few weeks ago at Wimbledon, came
trotting down the right wing.
But Bosnich was left groping at thin air as the 22-year-old Dubliner
unleashed an unstoppable rocket that zipped into the far, top corner from
all of 35 yards.
It came just three minutes after David Beckham had been booked, for a
petulant foul on Taricco and then almost immediately substituted by Ole
Gunnar Solskjaer.
And it set the mood of utter frustration for United. Roy Keane, making his
first League start since late August, had already been lucky to avoid a
booking for dissent when he brought down Taricco and left referee Jeff
Winter no alternative but the yellow card.
For some reason Winter also chose to book Tottenham's German midfielder
Steffen Freund in the same incident but the former Borrussia Dortmund had
already played a full part in his side's triumph and was magnificent in
helping shore up the barricades as United fought in vain to repair the
damage in the last 19 minutes.
Tottenham: Walker, Carr, Campbell, Young (Vega, 76), Taricco, Fox (Piercy,
87), Freund, Sherwood, Leonhardsen, Iversen, Ginola.
Subs not used: Baardsen, Edinburgh, Dominguez.
Booked: Fox, Sherwood, Freund.
Man United: Bosnich, Neville, Stam, Silvestre, Irwin (Greening, 82),
Beckham (Solskjaer, 68), Scholes, Keane, Giggs, Yorke, Cole.
Subs not used: Van Der Gouw, Berg, Higginbottom.
Booked: Beckham, Keane.
Attendance: 36,072.
Referee: J Winter (Stockton-on-Tees).
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Subject: *** STATS - MANCHESTER UNITED - AS AT 23/10/99 ***
Date Opposition Score Pos. Attend.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
08/08/99 Everton Away D 1-1 10 39,141
11/08/99 Sheffield Wednesday Home W 4-0 3 54,941
14/08/99 Leeds United Home W 2-0 1 55,187
22/08/99 Arsenal Away W 2-1 1 38,147
25/08/99 Coventry City Away W 2-1 1 22,024
30/08/99 Newcastle United Home W 5-1 1 55,190
11/09/99 Liverpool Away W 3-2 1 44,929
18/09/99 Wimbledon Home D 1-1 1 55,189
25/09/99 Southampton Home D 3-3 1 55,249
03/10/99 Chelsea Away L 0-5 2 34,909
16/10/99 Watford Home W 4-1 2 55,188
23/10/99 Tottenham Hotspur Away L 1-3 3 36,072
*** TEAM STATISTICS - MANCHESTER UNITED - AS AT 23/10/99 ***
AVERAGE HOME ATTENDANCE: 55,157
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)
HEAVIEST AWAY DEFEAT: 03/10/99 - Chelsea (0-5)
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Subject: Slick Spurs stun United - Guardian
Gerry Cox at White Hart Lane
Manchester United's slump continues as they crashed 3-1 at Tottenham
yesterday, their fourth defeat in five days, a result which denied them a place at the
top of the Premiership.
The game started at a cracking tempo, and from the way United knocked the ball
about, you would never have thought this was a side who had lost three of
their previous four games.
However, those defeats, against Aston Villa, Chelsea and Marseille, seem to
have affected United's confidence once they concede a goal, and it was
remarkable to witness the turnaround in fortunes in the 10 minutes before
half-time.
Up to then, Tottenham had rarely looked like scoring. Steffen Iversen was
playing as a lone striker because of injuries to Les Ferdinand and Chris Armstrong,
and George Graham's tactic of playing with just one man up looked doomed as United
took control of the game from the start.
Spurs relied on midfielders such as Oyvind Leonhardsen and David Ginola to
support Iversen, but they had little joy early on against a United defence
well marshalled by Jaap Stam, who had Mickael Silvestre as a new partner.
In contrast, United's passing and movement going forward was a delight to
watch, with David Beckham, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes able to switch their
positions and the direction of play at will.
Andy Cole had the first chance, a tame volley straight at Ian Walker, and his
strike partner Dwight Yorke had a similar effort from 20 yards superbly
blocked by Sol Campbell, playing his first home game of the season.
Roy Keane went rampaging through the home defence, but was stopped by an
unlikely last ditch tackle from Ruel Fox, playing his first game of the
season for Spurs.
Iversen put a header wide and then failed to control an incisive through
pass from Ginola before Giggs opened the scoring in the 23rd minute. The Welsh winger
traded places and passes with Cole and took the ball with his back to goal.
With a quick turn he was past Campbell and Luke Young and had the simple task
of flicking the ball over Walker.
But Spurs were undeterred. Ginola's long shot won a corner, which Mark Bosnich
flicked away unconvincingly and resulted in Tim Sherwood having a header
cleared off the line by Keane.
Silvestre almost scored a bizarre own goal 10 minutes later, when he headed a
bobbling ball past Bosnich and narrowly wide of the post. But from the corner
Spurs equalised in scrappy style. Sherwood headed Ginola's corner towards the
far post, where Iversen threw himself at the ball and it flew off his chest
and against the post.
Bosnich scooped it out but straight to Iversen, who stuck out a leg and put
the ball home.
Three minutes later, Spurs were ahead from another corner, this time Ginola's
cross being headed into his own net by Paul Scholes from close range.
United went all out for an equaliser after the break and Cole went close
with a long shot and Beckham had a clever chip headed off the line at the far post after
Walker flapped at a cross.
But the Spurs goalkeeper redeemed himself with a succession of good saves,
denying Cole twice and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, sent on as a substitute for
Beckham a minute after the England midfielder was booked for a foul on
Mauricio Taricco.
A minute later, Spurs increased their lead with a spectacular goal from
Stephen Carr. The Irish right-back sensed Bosnich off his line and hit an
unstoppable shot from fully 35 yards out and close to the touchline.
The ball flew like an arrow past Bosnich into the far corner of the goal to
a roar of delight from the home supporters, who had not seen their side beat United
in the Premiership for almost four years.
Still United pressed, with Cole having a header and a shot well-saved by
Walker, who then made a superb reflex stop to tip away Solskjear's close range
volley.
But at 3-1 there was no way back.
Afterwards, Alex Ferguson said: 'I can't criticise my players because I
thought we played well enough to win.
'But sometimes fortune plays a hand and Tottenham took advantage. They worked
very hard and took their breaks.'
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Subject: SCHOLES FACING HERNIA HELL
Paul Scholes is the latest Manchester United midfielder who must undergo a
hernia operation, news which Alex Ferguson and Kevin Keegan could do without.
United's Nicky Butt, who began a three-match suspension for today's game at
Tottenham, had hernia surgery last week and has been ruled out for at least six weeks.
Now the Old Trafford boss has announced that Scholes must undergo a similar operation.
He said: "Scholesey has been trudging on but he's going to need an
operation for a hernia.
He's doing OK and can carry on for a while yet, a good few weeks, but
eventually he'll have to have it done."
It is another setback for Ferguson who has just got skipper Roy Keane
back after knee problems, but he hopes to have Gary Neville and David
May challenging for places in the squad to face Champions League rivals
Croatia Zagreb next Wednesday after lengthy periods out on the side
lines.
Ferguson is hoping Scholes will be able to hold out long enough to play a
part in the closing stages of the first round phase of the Champions
League on November 2 but England chief Keegan is probably unlikely to
have what he calls his "little hand grenade" at his disposal.
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Subject: United haven't fined Beckham
By Peter Fitton
EXCLUSIVE: David Beckham has NOT been fined by Manchester United in a
hard-line crackdown on their England star.
But, as Soccernet revealed last week, the FA are pressing for talks with
him over
his behaviour on the pitch.
Sources inside Old Trafford and the players' union insist reports
suggesting United
manager Sir Alex Ferguson had imposed a £50,000 fine - two weeks' wages - are
incorrect.
Yesterday Ferguson refused to enter the debate over his high-profile player.
Beckham's appearance at a London fashion show 48 hours before a Champions
League game against Sturm Graz in Austria was claimed to be the catalyst for
hard-line action by United.
But Beckham, who faces another torrid reception from fans at Chelsea today,
has
not so far suffered any financial penalty or the wrath of his manager. As
Sportsmail revealed, Graham Bean, the FA's compliance officer, wanted to call
Beckham to a private meeting to warn him about his conduct after a
two-fingered
gesture to Leeds fans earlier this season.
The players' union headquarters in Manchester was seen as the ideal neutral
venue.
But United have resisted such a move in the belief that Ferguson should be
left in
control when his players need bringing into line. The union back the
principle of
errant stars being called in for a quiet word rather than seeing players
repeatedly
handed disrepute charges.
The key issue inside Lancaster Gate now is that if the FA fail to back their
compliance officer they are effectively making Bean's position untenable.
Bean, a former policeman appointed last year, could change his approach by
recommending that Beckham is charged with miscon-duct. But that would end
any attempt at a softly-softly approach to discipline and seriously embarrass
leading officers inside the FA.
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Subject: MEN THE WAY WE WERE . . .
TEDDY Sheringham and Jesper Blomqvist are on course to top up Manchester
United's first team squad. The injury-ravaged Reds have had a bitter-sweet
week with operations for Nicky Butt (hernia), Wes Brown (cruciate knee) and
Ronnie Wallwork (appendix). That has been offset by the Champions' League
return in Marseille of Roy Keane and Ryan Giggs and, 48 hours later,
reserve comebacks for defender Gary Neville and David May.Now Swedish
winger Blomqvist and striker Sheringham have also posted encouraging
medical bulletins.Sheringham has been unavailable since injuring his calf
in Sir Alex Ferguson's testimonial match almost two weeks ago, and misses a
return to his former club Tottenham at White Hart Lane today. However, the
Reds' boss says: ``Teddy will begin training again next week and he'll be
back in contention soon.'' Blomqvist hasn't played all season since
returning from the Reds' pre-season tour of Australia and the Far East with
knee trouble. The Swede played and scored in Melbourne and was a sub in
Sydney before starting again in Shanghai and Hong Kong. However, he
aggravated a knee knock in training during the tour and it has dogged him
ever since. Blomqvist underwent surgery six weeks ago to cure his knee
trouble and is content with his progress. ``The injury is feeling okay. I
have been back a week after going back home to Sweden for a fortnight for a
change of scenery,'' says Jesper. ``I am at last going in the right
direction now. I have come to terms with it. It is difficult to say if it
will be two weeks or three before I am back, but as long as it is getting
better and better and there is improvement then I am happy.``It was a
clean-out of the right knee. The surgeons smoothed some rough cartilage
down. ``It was nothing more than that. It was still very inflamed inside
the knee when they went in, and that hasn't completely gone down.``It is
still not 100 per cent of course. I ran for the first time in two months
last week and I'll be taking it steady and be as smart as possible.``I have
to build it up now. I have been doing a lot of bike-riding and also walk an
hour every day around the Wilmslow area where I live.``I am pleased with
things but I won't be setting myself any comeback dates.'' With no Pontins
League match scheduled for the reserves until November 9 at Newcastle, Sir
Alex Ferguson is planning to arrange some kind of outings for Neville and
May next week in a bid to assist their match fitness.
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Subject: BUTT OUT FOR SIX WEEKS
BUTT OUT FOR SIX WEEKS
Manchester United have been rocked by the news that their England
midfielder Nicky Butt faces six-weeks on the sidelines, after a hernia
operation.
However, he should only miss one Premier League match as he would have
begun a three-match suspension this weekend for a sending off at Chelsea.
Butt will now miss England's Euro 2000 play-off double-header with fierce
rivals Scotland next month. But will be able to resume playing at the start
of the Champions League's second phase.
In reality, Butt's inclusion in an England first eleven would be a surprise
more than a racing certainty, but the enforced omission of the fiery
red-headed Salford-born midfielder will not be welcome news for Sir Alex
Ferguson.
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Subject: GRAHAM - GIVE UNITED FA CUP BYES
By Neil Silver, PA Sport
George Graham has added his voice to the campaign to have Manchester United
reinstated in the FA Cup.
Tottenham manager Graham, whose team face the Treble winners at White Hart
Lane on Saturday, feels it will set a bad precedent to let United opt out
of the prestigious trophy they won last season.
He reckons United should be given a bye for the early stages, which would
enable them to play in the FIFA World Club Championship and then return to
defend the FA Cup.
"I am disappointed, like a lot of other people, that Manchester United are
not in the FA Cup," said Graham.
"I still think things could have been structured so that they could have
come in at a later stage, as has happened for Real Madrid in Spain.
"It wouldn't have bothered me to see United given a bye for two rounds
because I'd rather have them in it than not.
"A lot of people would say that is unfair, but for the good of the
tournament you want every club in it. It happens in the Worthington Cup.
"Once you get one club pulling out you start to wonder if we are getting
the thin end of the wedge and question whether will it happen again in the
future.
"The FA Cup is special and it should be special."
Graham and United manager Alex Ferguson are the two most successful
managers currently in the Premiership, and are also close friends.
Although Ferguson has won it all in his glorious reign at Old Trafford,
fellow Scot Graham has an impressive record with six major trophies in
eight years at Arsenal and the Worthington Cup in his first season at White
Hart Lane.
Graham feels he was ahead of Ferguson while he was in charge at Highbury
and, if he hadn't had his reign cut short by the infamous 'bungs' scandal,
reckons he may have outstripped his friend and rival's achievements in
recent seasons.
"It could have happened, looking back on it," said Graham. "Maybe if I had
pushed the Highbury board into spending some money, but I was getting
fantastic success on low spending and low salaries and maybe I should have
done things differently. But the board curbed my spending.
"If you look at Alex he has resurrected a sleeping giant and turned them
back into one of the greatest clubs - that is solely down to him because he
is one of the best managers in the world.
"He has set unbelievably high standards and that is what has made him the
best manager in the game. He is a natural born winner and deserves all the
success he can get.
"I have come here to resurrect Tottenham and put them where they should be.
They are a big club but have slipped in comparison with Arsenal. To put
them back there competing at the highest level would be fantastic.
"But it is much harder now to succeed because unless you can get everything
you want - and that takes finance - it is going to be gradual.
"It is harder to attract players and there has been unfair criticism of us
because the players you would like are just not available. The number of
players I have enquired about is into double figures and I would say to the
fans that we are trying but the quality players just aren't available at
the moment."
Graham's next target is to turn Spurs into a top six club, then a top three
club. He knows that will be the jackpot as it opens the door to the
Champions' League.
He said: "Next year the clubs competing in the Champions League are going
to be guaranteed more or less £25million. It means nowadays your target
doesn't necessarily have to be the Championship, but just making the top
three.
"That will automatically get you £25million and a head start on everybody
else in terms of spending power.
"There will be a few people chasing one of those top three spots and
ultimately that is what I would like to be doing here.
"You have got to be a super-optimist if you enter football as a player,
coach or manager. You've always got to believe you have a chance. You
always try to set yourself targets which are maybe unattainable. But if I
can get everyone fit then I think we'll be in the top six.
"If we'd had Sol Campbell, Darren Anderton and Les Ferdinand all fit we'd
have been in the top six, no problem.
"Few clubs can afford to lose three of their better players. Considering
these injuries I'm more than satisfied with the position we are in now."
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