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www.red11.org DAILY NEWS
Date: Sat Sep 25 07:21:34 GMT+00:00 1999
Mail: barry@www.red11.org
This Issue:
1. Sparky + Southampton Preview
2. Player View By Jaap Stam - Telegraph
3. History repeats with Beckham under scrutiny - Telegraph
4. UNITED DIG HEELS IN OVER FA CUP
5. FERGIE - WE CAN HANDLE SCHEDULE
6. The Death of Duncan Edwards by Arthur Hopcraft
7. Keane may need surgery on knee
++++++=========+++++++========+++++++++========++++++++
MANCHESTER UNITED DAILY NEWS Saturday 25th Sept 1999:
Barry Comment:
Today is a special day at OT as "the old warhorse" Mark Hughes
could well play his last game there today. I am sure all REDS will join me
in wishing Sparky all the very best for the future with Wales.
BARRY Memory - I was one of the 18,414 Watford that fateful day 3rd May 1986 when
Mark was sold to Barcelona (£2.5 Million). He was gutted leaving that pitch we all
knew he didn't want to go, we sang, Mark acknowledged but Atkinson had sold him!
Thankfully he was back August 1988 v QPR under Alex Ferguson. Loftus Rd and a crowd
of 46,377 welcomed him back to English Football! fee from Barcelona (£1.8 Million)
Uniteds unbeaten runs currently stand at:
28 games League
43 games League and Cup
37 games domestic League and Cup
Message from Paul Hinson:
The 40-game record Nottingham Forest hold is 40 games in domestic League
and Cup. United need to remain unbeaten against Southampton/Chelsea/Watford
and whoever we play in the Worthington Cup 3rd Round to beat it.
The League only record is 42 games, against by Forest, and we would need to
avoid defeat up to around January 15 2000 to manage that!
NEW Treble Background
http://www.red11.org/mufc/images/bmp/treble_big.bmp
2359352 Sep 20 08:33 treble_big.bmp
or http://www.red11.org/mufc/images/99/treble_mufc.jpg
111250 Sep 20 08:32 treble_mufc.jpg
Group D ** Manchester United **
Olympique de Marseille * NK Croatia Zagreb * SK Sturm Graz
Manchester United FC Champions League Squad List
1 Mark John Bosnich 2 Gary Alexander Neville 3 Dennis Joseph Irwin
4 David May 6 Jakob Stam 7 David Robert J Beckham
8 Nicholas Butt 9 Andrew Alex. Cole 10 Edward Sheringham
11 Ryan Joseph Giggs 12 Philip Neville 14 Johan Jordi Cruyff
15 Lars Jesper Blomqvist 16 Roy Keane 17 Raimond RJH Van der Gouw
18 Paul Scholes 19 Dwight Yorke 20 Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
21 Henning Berg 23 Michael Jamie Clegg 25 José Quinton Fortune
26 Massimo Taibi 31 Nicholas James Culkin 33 Mark Antony Wilson
34 Jonathan Greening
Real Audio - Last weeks Daily News Sound Archive:
Click on INDEX at http://www.red11.org/sound
*** FIXTURES TODAY ***
Arsenal v Watford
Coventry City v West Ham United
Derby County v Bradford City
Leeds United v Newcastle United
Leicester City v Aston Villa
Manchester United v Southampton
Middlesbrough v Chelsea
Sunderland v Sheffield Wednesday
*** FIXTURES ON 26/09/99 ***
Wimbledon v Tottenham Hotspur
************************
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
** FULL LEAGUE TABLE AS AT 18/09/99 ***
Pos Team P W D L F A W D L F A GD Pts
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Manchester United 8 3 1 0 12 2 3 1 0 8 5 13 20
2 Arsenal 8 3 0 1 8 4 2 1 1 3 3 4 16
3 Aston Villa 8 3 1 0 7 2 2 0 2 3 4 4 16
4 Sunderland 8 2 2 0 5 1 2 0 2 8 7 5 14
5 Chelsea 6 3 0 0 6 0 1 1 1 3 3 6 13
6 West Ham United 5 3 0 0 4 1 1 1 0 5 2 6 13
7 Leeds United 7 1 1 1 3 3 3 0 1 9 6 3 13
8 Middlesbrough 7 2 0 2 4 6 2 0 1 6 4 0 12
9 Leicester City 8 2 2 0 6 4 1 0 3 5 6 1 11
10 Everton 7 2 1 0 9 2 1 0 3 4 7 4 10
11 Tottenham Hotspur 6 2 0 1 7 5 1 1 1 3 3 2 10
12 Liverpool 7 1 0 2 4 4 2 1 1 6 5 1 10
13 Southampton 7 2 0 2 6 6 1 0 2 4 7 -3 9
14 Watford 8 2 0 2 4 4 1 0 3 1 4 -3 9
15 Derby County 8 1 0 3 3 10 1 2 1 4 4 -7 8
16 Wimbledon 8 0 2 2 5 7 1 2 1 7 10 -5 7
17 Coventry City 7 1 0 3 6 7 0 2 1 2 3 -2 5
18 Bradford City 7 0 2 1 2 5 1 0 3 1 4 -6 5
19 Newcastle United 7 0 1 2 4 6 0 0 4 4 13 -11 1
20 Sheffield Wednesday 7 0 0 4 2 8 0 1 2 1 7 -12 1
---------------------------------------------------------------
NEXT MATCHES
---------------------------------------------------------------
25-SEP-1999 [15:00] Manchester Utd. vs Southampton (FA Premier League, HOME)
29-SEP-1999 [19:45] Manchester Utd. vs Marseilles (UEFA Champions League, HOME)
03-OCT-1999 [16:00] Manchester Utd. vs Chelsea (FA Premier League, AWAY)
16-OCT-1999 [15:00] Manchester Utd. vs Watford (FA Premier League, HOME)
19-OCT-1999 [19:45] Manchester Utd. vs Marseilles (UEFA Champions League, AWAY)
The line-up for the testimonial game is:
Eric Cantona Peter Schmeichel
Zinedine Zidane Gabriel Batistuta
Paul Gascoigne Juninho
George Weah Alessandro Costacurta
Christian Ziege Lillian Thuram
Roberto Mancini John Collins
*** TEAM RESULTS - MANCHESTER UNITED -
UNITED Stats v All teams:
http://www.red11.org/mufc/stats/
ALL FIXTURES at: http://www.red11.org/mufc/fix992000.htm
First Team Fixtures 1999/2000
All dates/times subject to change
Dates of possible cup ties also shown
Date Opposition Score Pos. Attend.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
15/07/99 Melbourne Australia pre-season W 2-0 - 60,000
18/07/99 Sydney Australia pre-season W 1-0 - 78,000
21/07/99 Shanghai Shenhua pre-season W 2-0 - 80,000
24/07/99 Hong Kong South China pre-season W 2-0 - 40,000
1/08/99 Arsenal Wembley Charity Shield L 1-2 - 70,185
3/08/99 Omagh Town Omagh Bomb Fund W 9-0 - 7,000
4/08/99 Wigan Athletic friendly W 2-0 - 15,000
08/08/99 Everton Away PL D 1-1 10 39,141
11/08/99 Sheffield Wednesday Home PL W 4-0 3 54,941
14/08/99 Leeds United Home PL W 2-0 1 55,187
22/08/99 Arsenal Away PL W 2-1 1 38,147
25/08/99 Coventry City Away PL W 2-1 1 22,024
27/08/99 Monaco - Lazio ESC L 0-1 - 15,223
30/08/99 Newcastle United Home W 5-1 1 55,190
11/09/99 Liverpool Away W 3-2 1 44,929
14/09/99 Croatia Zagreb Home EC D 0-0 - 53,250
18/09/99 Wimbledon Home D 1-1 1 55,189
22/09/99 Sturm Graz Away EC W 3-0 - ?
25/09/99 Southampton Home PL 15.00
29/09/99 Marseille Home EC 19.45
3/10/99 Chelsea Away PL 16.00 "live on sky"
*11/10/99 Sir Alex Ferguson's testimonial OT [Schmeichel + Cantona]
13/10/99 ? WC 3
16/10/99 Watford Home PL 15.00
19/10/99 Marseille Away EC 19.45
23/10/99 Tottenham Hotspur Away PL 15.00
27/10/99 Croatia Zagreb Away EC 19.45
30/10/99 Aston Villa home PL 15.00
2/11/99 Sturm Graz Home EC 19.45
6/11/99 Leicester City Home PL 15.00
20/11/99 Derby County Away PL 15.00
24/11/99 ? EC
27/11/99 Sheffield Wednesday Away PL 15.00
30/11/99 Tokyo Palmeiras WCC 20.00
1/12/99 ? WC 4
4/12/99 Everton Home PL 15.00
8/12/99 ? EC
11/12/99 FAC 3 Will not enter ...
15/12/99 ? WC 5
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
***** 5-14 /01/2000 Brazil WTC ***** [3-4 games]
* 8/01/2000 FAC 4 Will not enter ...
12/01/2000 ? WC sf i
15/01/2000 Leeds United Away PL 15.00
22/01/2000 Arsenal Home PL 15.00
26/01/2000 ? WC sf ii
* 29/01/2000 FAC 5 Will not enter ...
5/02/2000 Coventry City Home PL 15.00
12/02/2000 Newcastle United Away PL 15.00
* 19/02/2000 FAC 6 Will not enter ...
26/02/2000 Wimbledon Away PL 15.00
27/02/2000 ? Wembley WC f
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
* 9/04/2000 FAC sf Will not enter ...
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
* 20/05/2000 Wembley FAC f Will not enter ...
24/05/2000 ? EC f
http://www.red11.org/mufc/match.htm
++++++=========+++++++========+++++++++========++++++++
Click On pic - for latest interviews/pics from OT"
Subject: Sparky + Southampton Preview
From: "Paul Hinson"
My feeling is that Mark Hughes will retire at the end of the season,
particularly if he keeps the Wales job.
If he plays for Southampton at Old Trafford tomorrow it may be our
last chance to salute a REAL Red legend (as long as he doesn't
maim Berg or Stam).
A fearless warrior, who just loved bruising Scousers and Blues
(and is still doing it).
The scorer of critical, priceless and spectacular goals.
8th in the all-time League + Cup appearance list -463
8th in the list of League goalscorers -120
Joint 4th in FA Cup appearances -46
6th in FA Cup goalscorers -17
4th in League Cup appearances -38
2nd in League Cup goals -16
From that thumping header at Oxford in 1983, to the shot drilled in
against Arsenal in 1995. A great collection of memories.
A reminder of his career in a Red shirt...
MARK HUGHES
Birthplace: Wrexham, 1/11/1963
Height: 175cm - 5ft 9in
Weight: 70.76kg - 11st 2lb
Full International: Wales (65 caps, 16 goals)
Position: Forward
Debut: 26.10.1983
Appearances (1983-1995): 468 - 12 as sub
Goals: 164
Mark Hughes was born in Wrexham on 1st November
1963. He was first spotted by United scout Hugh Roberts
as a 12-year-old whilst playing for local schoolboy teams
Rhos Aelwyd under 16's and Wrexham schoolboys. At 14
he joined Manchester United on Associate Schoolboy
forms, signing as an apprentice in June 1980. He was
initially signed as a midfield player until United's youth
team coach Syd Owen, switched him to centre-forward.
The move proved to be a stroke of genius. In 1982, Hughes
partnered Norman Whiteside up front in the F.A. Youth Cup
Final (which they lost to Watford), the first Youth Cup Final
a United team had featured in since the days of Matt
Busby.
In November 1983, Hughes got his opportunity in the first
team, replacing Arthur Graham, on the right-wing, in a
League Cup tie at Oxford in which Hughes scored the only
goal of the game! By the end of the season, with Frank
Stapleton injured, Hughes had become a regular in the first
team. However, despite picking up an F.A. Cup winners'
medal in 1985 and the PFA Young Player of the Year
Award in the same year, all was not going well for the
young Welshman. He was a quiet youngster off the pitch
who kept himself to himself - despite his explosive nature
on the football field. Collecting only £200 per week in 1985,
Hughes refused (mainly through the advice of agents) to
sign a new contract with Manchester United. This sparked
off interest from all corners of Europe, especially when he
netted 10 goals in the opening 13 games of the season in
1985. By the end of the 1985-86 season Hughes was on
his way to the Nou Camp, after signing for Barcelona six
months earlier, in a deal which cost Barcelona £2.5 million.
However, his venture abroad proved to be unsuccessful and
within 12 months he had been loaned out to Bayern
Munich. By the time Hughes returned to Old Trafford in
1988 for £1.8 million, United had a new manager, Alex
Ferguson, new players and backroom staff. The move was
greeted with much delight by the United faithful, who had
blamed the board for him leaving two years earlier and
claimed his departure had robbed them of the chance of
winning their first League Championship in 19 years.
His second spell with Manchester United coincided with
one of the clubs most successful periods. Hughes
collected a second F.A Cup winners' medal in 1990, after
earning a reply against Crystal Palace. He won a European
Cup Winners' Cup medal a year later (United's first
European Trophy in 23 years) and 12 months later he was
in the team when United won the League Cup for the first
time in the club's history, beating Nottingham Forest 1-0.
However, the League title was the one all the United
supporters wanted: the 'Holy Grail'. The final piece in the
United jigsaw was to be Eric Cantona. The press claimed
on Cantona's arrival at Old Trafford in November 1992, that
the two would never work together. Yet nothing was further
from the truth, the Hughes - Cantona partnership worked
from the start culminating in United winning the League
Championship in 1993 and the double in 1994.
Renowned for his strength, this hard muscular forward has
the ability to hold the ball up like no other forward of his
generation. However, he will be remembered by the
supporters for the spectacular, not to mention important
goals he scored. His equaliser in the 3-3 draw in the F.A
Cup final in 1990, his two in Rotterdam, which won United
the European Cup Winners' Cup, his 100th league goal for
United against Crystal Palace which helped clinch the
League title for United in 1993, his stunning volleys - which
are too many to mention. But none of his goals will be
remembered more than 'The one that saved the double', his
equaliser in the last seconds of the 1994 F.A Cup
semi-final against Oldham Athletic.
After playing a total of 459 games and scoring 161 goals
for United, he moved to Chelsea, on a free transfer in 1995.
(The club he supported as a child). At Stamford Bridge he
became a firm favourite with the Chelsea supporters. In
1997 he won a fourth F.A Cup winners' medal when
Chelsea beat Middlesbrough 2-0 in the final. He is the only
player this century to win 4 F.A Cup medals and equalled
Johnny Giles, Frank Stapleton and Joe Hulme's record of 5
F.A Cup final appearances. A move to Southampton was
completed before the start of the 1998/99 season.
He was awarded the M.B.E in the 1998 New Years
honours list in recognition for his services to football.
Did You Know?
Mark Hughes scored on his debut for United and on his
international debut for Wales.
Mark Hughes won the the PFA Young Player of the Year
Award in 1985 and the PFA Player of the Year Award in
1989 and 1991.
MARK SEES RED AGAIN
Southampton FC have one last chance to take home
a League point from Old Trafford in the 1990s.
Manchester United's great decade has seen them
make light work of the South Coast side in this
fixture, and it's not since 19 November 1988, that
they've dropped any home points to the struggling Saints.
The teamsheets from that day make interesting reading.
Saints' midweek sinner Mark Hughes was then a United
player, of course, and he netted the Reds' second goal in
the 2-2 draw. Two current Premiership managers were also
in the United line-up: Gordon Strachan and Bryan Robson.
Southampton, meanwhile, fielded all three Wallace
brothers, including Danny who later joined United. Matt Le
Tissier, then aged 20, wore the number nine shirt, while an
eighteen-year-old prodigy named Alan Shearer sat on the
bench for the entire ninety minutes.
Of course, Le Tiss is still with Southampton, having
resisted Shearer's external route to greater glories. Nobody
has since lived up to the England captain's record at The
Dell, but one of the best imitators, Kevin Davies, is now
back in the fold after a season of woe with Blackburn
Rovers. Meanwhile Egil Ostenstad, a former tormentor of
United's, has travelled in the opposite direction to join Brian
Kidd's stockpile of strikers.
Saints boss Dave Jones has a similar list of forwards
himself, but it might be Hobson's choice on Saturday, given
that Davies is struggling with an ankle injury, Marian
Pahars has a virus, and Luis Boa Morte is suspended. It
was telling that on Wednesday night, when Saints knocked
Manchester City out of the Worthington Cup, the four goals
either came from midfield via Matthew Oakley (two) or
defence via Jason Dodd and match-winner Dean Richards.
Eight men played for the full two hours and several of these
- Lundekvam, Richards and Kachloul - were all under
treatment by the week's end.
Le Tissier was only a substitute against City, and he was
then subbed himself the following night, when he sustained
a facial injury in a Reserve match. The playmaker's split lip
and loose tooth make him doubtful for the Saints' second
September trip to Manchester.
In the light of their injury list, another 0-0 draw such as the
one achieved against City at Maine Road would be a real
bonus for Southampton. Perhaps their best hope is for
United to allow some uncharacteristic complacency to
creep in.
Sir Alex Ferguson would not tolerate that, of course, and
has a plan B should the unlikely occur. Quinton Fortune,
Jonathan Greening and Mark Wilson can all come in and
do a job if a senior player looks remotely disinterested.
They'll sit on the bench while Nicky Butt takes the place of
Roy Keane, whose knee injury has unfortunately recurred.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is also set for a recall, to cover for
Andy Cole who serves a one-match ban.
It remains to be seen whether the bench will accommodate
Mark Bosnich, the Reds' big summer signing. The
Australian is surely now the third choice goalkeeper,
especially after Raimond van der Gouw's magnificent
performance in Graz this week.
On that display, it would be harsh to drop the Dutchman,
but equally Massimo Taibi has done nothing wrong and he
will return for a second home appearance. So too, Mickael
Silvestre, who looks set to become far more popular in
Manchester than he ever was in Milan.
Probable teams:
United: Taibi; Irwin, Berg, Stam, Silvestre; Beckham,
Scholes, Butt, Cruyff; Solskjaer, Yorke.
Southampton: Jones; Dodd, Benali, Richards, Lundekvam;
Oakley, Bridge, Soltvedt, Ripley; Hughes, Kachloul.
Click On pic - for latest interviews/pics from OT"
Subject: Player View By Jaap Stam - Telegraph
LET ME dispel a few rumours about Mark Bosnich. There has been a lot of
talk in the newspapers that our Australian goalkeeper is unpopular in the
dressing-room and has been shunned for his "arrogant" behaviour.
This could not be further from the truth. 'Bozzie' is a very friendly guy
who everyone at Manchester United gets along with. He is not a disruptive
character by any means and I have seen no signs of this alleged arrogance.
Of course, the last few weeks have been difficult for Bozzie. He probably
arrived at Old Trafford expecting to be the first-choice goalkeeper, but
the manager has now assembled a pool of three excellent goalkeepers who are
all competing for that one place.
These situations are a test for any professional, and Bozzie has responded
well.
I am just glad I don't have to decide which one of them plays in which
game, because none of them has let us down this season. Massimo Taibi has
settled in very well; the only goal Mark Bosnich has conceded was my own
goal at Everton; and Raimond van der Gouw has kept clean sheets in both of
our Champions' League fixtures.
Having the goalkeeper constantly changing behind me isn't a problem. They
are all experienced goalkeepers, and you cannot say it has affected our
form. It is now two months into the season and we have yet to lose a game.
The last fortnight has seen us back in Champions' League action, with
differing results. We were disappointed to only draw at home to Croatia
Zagreb, but made amends with a convincing win over Sturm Graz a week later.
The Croatians came to Old Trafford and, as expected, were very defensive.
They put a wall across the back and we just could not break through it. In
a situation like that you have to convert the few chances you create, but
we failed to.
Ossie Ardiles was renowned for his attacking football at Tottenham Hotspur,
but he is not stupid, he knows what we can do, and adjusted his tactics
accordingly.
At the final whistle the Zagreb players celebrated as if they had won the
Champions' League itself. They might have only drawn, but for them it was a
historic result.
Normal service was resumed on Wednesday when we won comfortably in Austria.
Being the home team, Sturm Graz had to come at us and that gave us plenty
of space to play behind them. It was an easy win, but we realise there are
tougher battles ahead. Our next two Champions' League games are against the
group leaders, Marseilles. These clashes will decide the group winners.
We flew home from Austria on Wednesday night to find that the newspapers
were focusing more on a couple of incidents involving David Beckham than
our solid performance in the Arnold Schwarznegger Stadium.
It is obvious that David is increasingly becoming a target for the
opposition this season. They realise how important he is to us as a team
and so try to put him off his game. This takes the form of players pulling
his shirt and aiming sly kicks at him.
David copes very well with such attention, but after a while, it is
inevitable that he is going to react. It would get on anyone's nerves.
I sympathise with him as he has to put up with it every time he steps on
the pitch, it's not something I have to deal with. Players don't waste
their time trying to rile me.
You could see on Wednesday that the Strum Graz player, Roman Mahlich, was
making a real effort to put him off his game. He was going for him all
game. In the end he was booked, but so was David.
David is 24-years-old now, you can't change him, to do so would be to take
away an essential part of his game. A touch of aggression helps David with
his game, making him a more rounded player.
Controlled aggression was what made Mark Hughes, visiting us this afternoon
with Southampton, such a legend at Old Trafford. I never played with
'Sparky', but four years after he left, he is still spoken about with great
affection by the players who did.
The supporters at Old Trafford will give him a wonderful reception as well.
Again, they appreciate a player who gets fired up for the cause. I am just
relieved that he now seems to be playing in midfield, so I may not come up
against him directly too often.
Southampton have had an indifferent start to the season, but as Wimbledon
proved last Saturday, no team in the Premiership should ever be underestimated.
In fact, we were fortunate to escape with a draw against the Dons after
falling behind. We will be on our guard against Southampton and I can only
hope that by five o'clock it hasn't been too happy a homecoming for Mark
Hughes.
Manchester United - The Legend - http://manunited.net
Click On pic - for latest interviews/pics from OT"
Subject: History repeats with Beckham under scrutiny - Telegraph
FORTY years apart, there is a similarity in the tactical dilemma that faces
David Beckham regarding his role for either Manchester United or England
that formerly existed with Bobby Charlton. It is a puzzling option on which
Alex Ferguson and Kevin Keegan ponder, just as it was for Matt Busby and
Walter Winterbottom, then Alf Ramsey.
Both players, prime international figures of their day, have appeared
predominantly on the wing initially: Beckham right, and Charlton left.
There is now a pressing need, in my opinion, for Beckham, at the age of 24,
to switch to central midfield as Charlton eventually did, at 27, in the
autumn of 1964. With the emergence of George Best on the wing, Charlton's
move into a broader role was part of the making of the championship-winning
United years of 1965 and 1967.
Ferguson is well aware of the possibility, though for the moment prefers
the danger to defences caused by Beckham's tantalising crossing of the ball
from wide positions. Beckham himself is open-minded.
"I really prefer the middle of the field," he says. "But so long as the
manager's happy, I'm glad to play on the wing. All that really matters to
me is to be on the pitch." A sound sentiment.
The problem for Beckham, and Ferguson, is that opposing defences are
becoming increasingly adept at shutting down Beckham's threat. His marker
gets close but holds off, giving Beckham space on the outside while
blocking the vision and path for an intended early cross. Because Beckham
has not the same acceleration and body swerve as Charlton had, he is less
likely to beat his marker to create space for a cross from the outside.
Therefore he has to release the ball inside, either square or back.
Charlton began, in his sensational teenage days, as an old-fashioned
striking "inside-forward" - the double spearhead with a centre-forward in
the 3-3-4 formation, including two wingers, which by the late 1950s was
replacing the old WM alignment of two full-backs pivoting around a stopper
centre-half, two wing-halves and two inside forwards in midfield, and three
committed strikers.
Alongside Tommy Taylor, Charlton played between Johnny Berry and either
Albert Scanlon or David Pegg on the left. However, everything altered
following the Munich air crash, with the death of Pegg and injuries to both
Berry and Scanlon.
"I changed because in those days you had to have wingers," Charlton
recalls. "Busby asked me if I minded, in emergency, and soon England also
played me on the wing."
Having scored three goals in his first two international matches in 1958,
and another six in seven matches in 1958-59 at inside forward, Charlton
then switched to the wing where he played in 42 of England's next 51
matches; and was voted the best left-winger in World Cup '62.
When United won the title in 1965, Ramsey likewise reverted to using
Charlton in a central position, now as a free, striking midfielder in the
innovative 4-3-3 formation, first tellingly introduced to defeat Spain in
Madrid in December that year.
"I was best suited to midfield," Charlton says. "I had a good engine, the
stamina, I could run a lot. I was utterly frustrated on the wing [never
mind scoring 31 times in 43 matches], dependent on getting the ball from
others. I found the job easy, attacking the full-back, but I was impatient,
I wanted to make more of an impact."
Having been on the wing in the 1963 FA Cup final, Charlton had remained
there throughout much of the following season in a forward line reading:
Moir, Chisnall or Herd, Sadler, Law, Charlton. His change of role helped to
transform Ramsey's England and United's side.
Beckham has seldom made more impact in his 25 international matches than
against Colombia in 1998, when Glen Hoddle belatedly introduced him to the
ailing World Cup formation in central-midfield. Playing inside Darren
Anderton, and scoring his only goal for England so far, Beckham took full
advantage of the space to be able to move left or right. It was a pointer
which has since been largely ignored.
"He's got all the attributes for midfield," Charlton says. "He has the
stamina, he can run all day, he can shoot. He's not a Platini, but when
he's become a bit more crafty, more deceptive, I'm sure he'll become a
central midfielder."
Perhaps that moment has, of necessity, already arrived.
Manchester United - The Legend - http://manunited.net
Click On pic - for latest interviews/pics from OT"
Subject: UNITED DIG HEELS IN OVER FA CUP
Manchester United insist they cannot re-enter the FA Cup despite Tony
Blair's appeal to them to return.
The Prime Minister wants United to sit down with the Football Association
and try and find a way of enabling the Treble winners to defend the trophy
this season.
But United say no-one has come up with a way of reducing their hectic
fixture schedule to allow them to participate in the FA Cup.
United withdrew from the competition three months ago because the then
Sports Minister Tony Banks and the FA wanted them to compete in FIFA's
inaugural World Club Championship in Brazil in January and so help
England's 2006 World Cup bid.
The Old Trafford outfit reluctantly pulled out of the FA Cup because they
felt they could not play in both competitions.
United maintain that no-one has come up with a better solution that would
enable them to take part without adding to their already considerable
fixture burden.
United spokesman Ken Ramsden said: "The position remains unchanged. The
fundamental issue here is the number of matches our players will have to play.
"We understand what others are saying but until someone can offer a
solution which reduces our number of games then we are stuck where we are.
Therefore our position remains unchanged."
Click On pic - for latest interviews/pics from OT"
Subject: FERGIE - WE CAN HANDLE SCHEDULE
By David Anderson, PA Sport
Sir Alex Ferguson is confident his Manchester United players can cope with
their hectic fixture schedule as they prepare for their fifth game in 15
days against Southampton on Saturday.
The Treble winners have already played 12 matches this season, compared to
10 at the same stage a year ago.
Unlike last season, United seem to be picking up a fresh injury with every
game and they will be without at least seven players for the visit of Saints.
Ferguson admits he is concerned by the never-ending sequence of matches,
but believes his players will manage.
"They have played a lot of matches, particularly the centre-backs and
Scholes and Beckham, they've all played a lot of football and Phil Neville
has played in all the matches," said the United boss.
"It's what you expect really and once the Champions League starts, you know
it's going to be Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday, Wednesday.
"So it is quite a programme, but at the end of the day the players are
strong enough and they can handle it.
"It concerns everyone, but you are faced with it and you have to get on
with it."
Ferguson's confidence is based on his vast squad and even without so many
players, he still has cover in every position.
"We've known for years that you need big squads and ours has proved
invaluable, simply because of the number of injuries we have at the
moment," he said.
"That's the reason why we have a big squad of players and it compensates
when some players are out.
"At the moment we have eight or nine players out, which is a handicap, but
nonetheless we've got to find a way around it and having a big pool of
players helps."
Roy Keane will be one of those missing at Old Trafford and the United
skipper may need minor surgery on his troublesome knee.
Keane saw club specialist Jonathan Noble on Thursday after the injury
flared up again against Sturm Graz on Wednesday.
So far United have been using rest to treat the problem, but now they are
waiting to hear if he may require a small operation to clean out the knee.
Ferguson said: "He went to see the specialist yesterday afternoon and we're
just waiting for him to come back to us.
"We don't know for sure yet what's going to happen with it.
"We knew that he was not 100% fit on Wednesday, but he wanted to play and
we were happy to play him in an important match."
Keane is doubtful for Wednesday's Champions League clash with Marseille at
Old Trafford, but Ferguson is optimistic he will be back for the trip to
Chelsea on Sunday week.
"He's out for Southampton and maybe Wednesday as well," said Ferguson.
"We're probably looking at next Sunday against Chelsea for him."
Another player definitely out is the suspended Andy Cole, while Nicky Butt
has an outside chance of recovering from his groin injury.
Massimo Taibi and Mickael Silvestre are available again and the Italian
goalkeeper is expected to replace Raimond van der Gouw.
Meanwhile, United insist they cannot re-enter the FA Cup despite Tony
Blair's appeal to them to return.
The Prime Minister wants United to sit down with the Football Association
and try and find a way of enabling the Old Trafford club to defend the
trophy this season.
However United claim no-one has come up with a way of reducing their hectic
fixture schedule to allow them to participate in the FA Cup.
United spokesman Ken Ramsden said: "The fundamental issue here is the
number of matches our players will have to play.
"We understand what others are saying, but until someone can offer a
solution which reduces our number of games then we are stuck where we are."
United withdrew from the competition three months ago because the then
Sports Minister Tony Banks and the FA wanted them to compete in FIFA's
inaugural World Team Championship in Brazil in January and so help
England's 2006 World Cup bid.
Click On pic - for latest interviews/pics from OT"
Subject: The Death of Duncan Edwards by Arthur Hopcraft
Anyone who was in Manchester in February 1958, particularly
if he lived there, as I did, will remember for ever the
stunning impact on the city of the air crash at Munich
airport which killed eight of Manchester United's players.
The shock was followed, just as it is in particularly
closely tied families after a death, by a lingering
communal desolation. No other tragedy in sport has been as
brutal or as affecting as this one.
It was not simply that very popular athletes had been killed
and a brilliantly promising team destroyed. There was a
general youthfulness about this particular Manchester
United team which was new to the game. Manchester relished
this fact. The old, often gloomy city had a shining
exuberance to acclaim. These young players were going to
take the country, and probably Europe too, by storm. To
identify with this precociousness, to watch people in other
towns marvelling and conceding defeat, gave a surge to the
spirit. Suddeniy most of the team was dead.
The players killed were Roger Byrne, Geoff Bent, Eddie
Colman, Duncan Edwards, David Pegg, Mark Jones, Tommy
Taylor, Bill Whelan. Four of them were England international
players, Byrne and Edwards and Taylor all firmly established
with appearances in the England side well into double
figures. Pegg had been capped once. It was the death of
Duncan Edwards which gave the deepest, most lasting pain to
the community. This was not because he was liked personally
any more than the others,but because there was a special
appeal to people's ideals about him. Walter Winterbottom,
the England team manager at the time, called him 'the
spirit of British football'. He meant the football that
exists in children's day-dreams and good men's
hopes:honest, brilliant irresistibly strong.
There was an extra poignancy in Edwards's death in that he
lived for fifteen days after the crash. How bitterly that
hurt. One of the key components in Duncan Edwards's appeal
was his size. Big men in sport are always specially
compelling, whether they lumber comically or endear by
their dogged willingness. Edwards at twenty-one was a
six-footer, weighing I3~2 stone, but with the immense
presence he brought to his game he had nimbleness as well
as strength, flair as well as calm.
A youth so equipped was bound to prompt affectionate
epithets from sportswriters and fans, and people cudgelled
their brains to find new ones. He was Kid Dynamite, the
Baby Giant, the Gentle Giant, Big Dunk, the Boy with the
Heart of a Man. As the daily reports came in from the
hospital in Munich, Manchester raised hope for his
survival. In the second week after the crash people began
to talk in their ready sentimental cliche's about the
Lion-heart fighting his way through again. There was much
banality in the words, but the longing was sincere. Then he
died.
Edwards was born in October 1936, in Dudley, Worcestershire.
As a schoolboy of the forties and a teenager of the fifties
he was part of the generation which linked the hard, sombre
days of the war and rationing with the more dashing, mobile
times which followed in such animated reaction. He would be
in his early thirties now and, if still playing football,
which is likely, assuredly an old-fashioned-looking figure
among the imitating contem- poraries of George Best. He had
dignity on the field always, even in his teens: that senior
officer kind of authority which comes to few players and
then late in career, as with Danny Blanchfiower, Jimmy
Armfield, George Cohen.
I looked through an album of photographs in Edwards's
parents' home, which showed him right through his life. The
face was grave, the gaze he gave at the world open and
tranquil. Winter- bottom's description was not fanciful, in
spite of being one which any thoughtful man would hesitate
to use in connection with any player. Edwards represented
the kind of self-respecting modesty which is not nurtured
in the ferocity of the modern game. It has not been
deliberately forced out of football; it is just not natural
to the age.
The album had pictures of Edwards in his street clothes, as
well as in football strips, and in them the period was
caught, fixed by his personality. He was bulky in those
ill-fluing jackets and wide trousers with broad turn-ups.
Clothes did not interest young footballers then; there was
neither enough money nor a teenage~identity industry to
exploit such an interest. He could have been a young miner
freshly scrubbed for a night at a Labour Club dance. He did
not look important, in the celebrated sense; he looked as
if he mattered, and belonged, to his family and his
friends. The anonymity of style was true to his generation
and his kind.
The situation was very different when he put his football
boots on. I went to see Mr Geoff Groves, the headmaster of
a secondary school in Dudley, who was one of Edwards's
teachers when the boy was at primary school. Mr Groves
remembered this eleven- year-old playing for the school
against a neighbouring school the day after Edwards had got
home from a spell of hop-picking. He said 'He dominated
the whole match. He told all the other twenty-one players
what to do, and the referee and both the linesmen. When I
got home that evening I wrote to a friend and said I'd just
seen a boy of eleven who would play for England one day.'
A year later, Mr Groves said, the boy was playing 'in the
style of a man, with wonderful balance and colossal power
in his shot'. Already he was showing the intelligence in
his game which be- came central to all he did. 'He already
understood all about distribution of the ball,' said Mr
Groves. 'And he was such a dominating player that the ball
seemed to come to him wherever he was.' It is one of the
distinguishing marks of the most talented players that they
always seem to have the ball exactly when they want it.
Edwards was a heroic figure in Dudley long before he became
a professional player. He became captain of the England
schoolboys' side, having joined it when he was thirteen, and
many of the leading clubs were clamouring for his
signature. Matt Busby called at his home at 2 a.m. on the
morning after his sixteenth birthday and acquired him for
United. He was sixteen- and-a-half when he played his first
match for Urnted, 6 feet tall and weighing I 2 stone 6 lb.
At eighteen-and~a~half he became the youngest player ever
to be picked for the full England inter- national team. It
was the one which beat Scotland 7-2 at Wembley in April
i955, and this was the company he was in:
Williams (Wolves); Meadows (Manchester City); Byrne (Man-
chester United); Phillips (Portsmouth); Wright (Wolves,
captain); Edwards; Matthews (Blackpool), Revie (Manchester
City), Lofthouse (Bolton Wanderers), Wilshaw (Wolves),
Blunstone (Chelsea).
Sir Stanley Matthews who was forty when he played in that
match, told me that he thought Edwards could truly be called
unique. To Matthews, who learned his football in the days
when, as he put it, 'they all said you had to be strong,
with big, thick thighs,' Edwards's build was no surprise.
'But,' he said, 'he was so quick, and that was what made
the difference. I can't remember any other player that size
who was quick like that.'
The point was emphasised eighteen months later, when
Edwards, normally a left-half, was placed at inside-left in
the England team against Denmark, when the forward line was
Matthews, Brooks (Tottenham Hotspur), Taylor, Edwards,
Finney (Preston North End), Edwards scored twice and Taylor
three times in England's win, which gives an indication of
the scoring power Manchester United had at their command.
The fondness Manchester United's supporters felt for this
player was expressed in the coinmon adulation by boys but
also in the quiet admiration of the kind which fathers show
for successful sons when they speak about them to
neighbours, and out of the boys' hearing. In this regard
for Edwards there was often a sad sympathy for opposing
players who were being crushed coldly out of the game by
him. I remember watching one of United's home matches when
beside me was a spectator in his fifties, who shouted
little but nodded his head nearly all the time in deep
satisfaction,letting out occasionally an equally deep sigh
which was eloquent in its pleasure. By the middle of the
first half one of the opposition's inside-forwards - I
forget, I am ashamed to say, the team involved, but perhaps
this is also kindness - was reacting furiously to the
frustration of being treated like a small child by Edwards,
firmly but without viciousness or even very much concern.
The player threw himself several times at Edwards, either
missing the moving body entirely or bouncing off it, and on
each occasion the man beside me sucked in his breath, shook
his head and said softly: 'Nay, lad, not with 'im, not with
'im.' It was the decent, absorbed football fan like this
one for whom Winterbottom was speaking when he called
Edwards the spirit of British football.
Edwards's funeral took place at St Francis's Church, Dudley,
not far from his home. There were at least S,ooo people
outside the church. The vicar made it a footballer's
service. He said: 'He goes to join the memorable company of
Steve Bloomer and Alex James.' Had he lived long enough
Edwards would surely have joined the company of England
team captains. Instead he left a memory of brilliance and
courage and a sense of vast promise he was not allowed to
fulfil.
His grave in Dudley cemetery is elaborate. The headstone has
an ingrained picture of him in football kit holding a ball
above his head for a throw-in. An inscription reads: 'A Day
of Memory, sad to recall. Without Farewell, He Left Us
All.' There are three flower stands, and one of them is in
the shape of a football. It suits the nature of his class
and his neighbourhood, and it is attended with great care
by his father, a gardener at the cemetery.
His father, Mr Gladstone Edwards, felt he had to explain why
he was working at the cemetery. He said: 'People think I
came to this job because he's there. But that wasn't the
reason. I had to change my work, and I've always liked
flowers and gardening. I felt I wanted to be out of doors.'
Duncan was his only child.
Neither he nor his wife could hide the depth of their loss.
Nor was there any reason why they should try. When I went
to see them Duncan Edwards had been dead for nine years,
and Mr Edwards, at least, could talk about his son
straightforwardly, although all the time with a quiet
deliberation. He said that even then there was still a
steady trickle of visitors to Duncan's grave. There were
days when twenty people would arrive to look at it, like
pilgrims. They seldom knew that the gardener they stopped
to talk to was the player's father. They nearly always said
the same thing: that there would never be another Duncan. Mr
Edwards added that Friday often brought the most visitors,
and they were often lorry-drivers with Manchester accents.
They had stopped on their long run home from somewhere
south. The next day, of course, they would be at Old
Trafford to watch the match.
In Mr and Mrs Edwards's small semi-detached house the front
room is kept shaded and spotless. It was in here that Mr
Edwards showed me Duncan's photograph album, and also let
me open a glass-fronted display cabinet and examine the
mementoes of Duncan's life. It contained eighteen of his
caps at full international, youth and schoolboy level, to
represent the eighteen times that he played in his
country's senior team. Each was kept brushed and was ifiled
with tissue paper. On top of the cabinet were three framed
photographs of Duncan: one taken in uniform when he was in
the Army, doing his National Service, another with his
fiancee and a third in which he wears a Man- chester United
shirt. Beside them was a framed five pound note, which was
the last present he gave his mother. The tiny room was
dominated by a portrait of Edwards in his England shirt, the
frame two feet wide by two-and-a-half feet long. The room
was a shrine.
That showcase also had a copy of the order of service which
was used on the day that two stained-glass windows were
dedicated to Edwards at St Francis's Church. They are close
to the font, beside a picture of a gentle Jesus which was
given to the church by a mother, in memory of a baby girl.
One of the windows has Edwards dowii on one knee and there
is a scroll running across his chest which says: 'God is
with us for our Captain.' All the survivors of the Munich
crash were in the church when the windows were dedicated by
the Bishop of Worcester in August 1961. Busby said at the
service: 'These windows should keep the name of Duncan
Edwards alive for ever, and shine as a monument and example
to the youth of Dudley and England.'
Edwards name is also kept in front of the people of Dudley
in the title of the Duncan Edwards Social Club, which is
attached to the town football club, and in two trophies for
local schools football.
These memorials commemorate not only Duncan Edwards's
football but also the simple decency of the man. He
represented thousands in their wish for courage, acclaim
and rare talent, and he had all three without swagger. The
hero is the creature other people would like to be. Edwards
was such a man, and he enabled people to respect themselves
more.
From 'The Football Man' 1968
Click On pic - for latest interviews/pics from OT"
Subject: Keane may need surgery on knee
By Stuart Mathieson
The Irish midfielder returned against Sturm Graz in Austria on Wednesday
night from a hamstring injury picked up playing for the Republic of Ireland
last month, but once again felt the knee niggle which has plagued him for
the last month.
Despite an opening goal which fired the Reds to victory in the Arnold
Schwarzenegger Stadium Keane was withdrawn from the action by manager Sir
Alex Ferguson after 61 minutes still with discomfort.
The skipper yesterday kept an appointment with club specialist Jonathan Noble.
``The date with the specialist was planned anyway,'' Fergie told M.E.N.
Sport today.
``We'd arranged that to see if there had been any reaction after playing
him in Graz. He went last night to see him and we'll know better today
exactly what is going to happen.
``Roy may need an operation. The indications are that he'll need to have
surgery to have the knee cleaned out.''
It would appear then that United will be without their inspiration again
tomorrow against Southampton.
Massimo Taibi will return in goal for the Reds against the Saints and
displace United's Champions' League number one choice Raimond Van Der Gouw.
Fergie will decided between Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as to
who will get Andy Cole's shirt. The Reds striker is banned for one match
following his sending off at Anfield against Liverpool two weeks ago.
Midfielder Nicky Butt could return to senior action. He has been out since
suffering groin and ankle trouble against Liverpool.
``Nicky has trained and he could be in with a chance,'' said Fergie.
Meanwhile, the United boss has confirmed that fears that Ryan Giggs would
be out until the New Year with his hamstring injury were totally unfounded.
``Hamstring injuries take four to five weeks and that is still the case
with Ryan,'' he says. ``It has never been the case that he'll be out until
next year. Those are just the kind of stories you have to put up with at
Manchester United.''
Click On pic - for latest interviews/pics from OT"
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