man chester united online magazine issue 3
TRANSCRIPT
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Pung the football world to rights
www.football-united-blogs.com
FUB is a ManchesterUnited themed website which
oers regular arcles, latest news, interviews, podcasts
& compeons
FootballUnited Blogs @FootballUB
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Like many fans I settled down in front of the
television last Sunday night to watch United,
the BBC drama retelling the story of the Mu-
nich air crash, which as we all knew killed 23
people including eight Manchester United
players. The programme has come in for criti-
cism from some corners, most notably from
the families of those depicted in the 90 minute
show. Sir Matt Busbys family were rightly
dismayed by the performance of Dougray
Scott who played the United manager. Consid-
ering, like Busby, Scott hails from Scotland
himself, I found his accent would have been
more appropriate had he been playing a sinis-
ter Spanish matador. The whole demeanour of
Scott came across quite uncomfortable view-
ing, an assertion that appears to be favourable
with most fans who watched the programme.
That said, it would be wrong for me to be
overly critical of a programme which I actual-
ly found both emotive and fascinating (for
great want of a better term). As with manyfans, due to my age I never experienced life
after the crash, so reading books and accounts
of the incident and aftermath is really all I
have to fall back on. However after UnitedI do
feel like I understand it a little better. By no
means was it a documentary (and it never
advertised itself in that way), I do believe the
sentiment of the tragedy was spot on. Whilst
many have criticised some ill-informed inci-
dents in the programme I revert back to what
it said at the beginning, based on true events.The word based says all that needs to be said
on the matter.
I was most impressed with the performances
of both David Tennant and Jack O Connell
who starred as Jimmy Murphy and young
Bobby Charlton respectively. I found the mo-
ment that Tennant/Murphy was told about
the crash by the club secretary one of the most
spine tingling scenes within the whole show.
Prior to the programme, like many United
fans, I was nervous as to how the BBC would
portray the incident, after all theyve got it
badly wrong with Munich broadcasts in thepast. However on this occasion I was pleased
with the outcome. United was hugely emo-
tional, a quick glace on Twitter during the
show compounds this with many fans openly
admitting they cried throughout most of it. An
action I shared. Possibly, however, the emo-
tion rendered most forcibly was one of pride.
After what Manchester United overcame in the
years that followed that fateful day, I feel
proud to be a fan. Not just a United fan, but a
supporter of football in general. Unfortunatelythe night following Uniteds airing the ugly
side of our sport reared its ugly head once
again at Ewood Park.
Within minutes of Blackburn and our classy
neighbours kicking off, City were joined in
unison singing about the Munichs. Oddly on
this occasion it wasn't just a small, disgusting
minority either. Anyone who watched the
match would have heard the singing quite
explicitly through their own television sets.The songs were sickening. Even more so when
you consider the effect the crash had on Man-
chester as a whole. City lost one of their own
Welcome to the
Football United fanzine
Editorials
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As this is an exclusively online magazine we do not offer printed copies.
However if you would like to receive a PDF ile of the magazine, so you can
print it off yourself, please send an email to: [email protected] and we
will happily email a copy over to you.
ContributorsLiam Scott
Chris Bennett
Alan Monger
Brett BurgersKeith Woodford
Paolo
Tony Park
Will Davenport
Alex Wardrop
Tom Clare
A special thanks toOlly Murs
Ambuj Gupta
The Chelsea Blog
in Munich and yet still feel it appropriate to
sing these songs. Im not sure whether its
stupidity or sheer uneducated fools.
Im under no illusion that United fans are
perfect either. Not so long ago a group of reds
were rightly criticised for their Hillsborough
chants during the clubs FA Youth Cup victory
over Liverpool at Anield. I ind both Hills-
borough and Munich chants equally sickening
and offensive. I came in for some stick not so
long ago when I compared the two but in my
eyes (which I don't expect everyone to agree
with), singing about either is quite simply
wrong. Innocent lives were lost on both occa-
sions, whether it was players or fans, people
still died. As a result of my day to day job Ive
had to watch the footage of what happened at
Hillsborough a few times over the years. Thosewho say the fans deserved it, or some rubbish
like that are very, very wrong. If youre read-
ing this believing that those who lost their
lives in Shefield deserved it I urge you dig out
the live footage, you might change your mind.
I dont live in a fantasy world where I believe
all the bad things in football will be eradicated
from the game. Of course that wont happen.
But I would like to see those who partake in
these type of chants severely reprimanded by
the authorities. Will it happen? Probably not,
but it doesn't stop me from hoping. A deroga-
tory Carlos Tevez chant is one thing, a chant
about people who have lost their lives is an-
other. Heres to hoping that football fans focus
their attention to what is happening on the
pitch.Steph (editor)
@stephdoehler
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ContentsPage 3: Editorials
Page 6: Hot Topic
Page 7: Captain Legend?
Page 8: United Against
The World
Page 11: Tweets From
The Terrace
Page 12: Bye Bye Berba?
Page 13: The Gossip Tree
Page 14: Blast From The
Past
Page 16: Olly Murs
interview
Page 18: Micky Owen PI
Page 19: The Great De-
bate
Page 22: Overseas Reds
Page 24: Youth Watch
Page 26: Views From TheStretford End
Page 28: Simply The Best
Page 31: The Ones That
Got Away
Page 33: April Round-Up
Page 35: Meeting The
Enemy
Page 38: Its All In The
Mind
Page 39: May Predictions
Page 41: Legends
Allenby Chilton
Page 44: Pretenders To
The Throne
Page 46: The Final Word
All material unless otherwise stated, is copyright to the Football United Fanzine. The views expressed are not
necessarily those of the editors, however you have the right to reply to the following email address:[email protected]
The Football United Fanzine is completely independent of Manchester United Football Club. The Football United
Fanzine accepts no responsibility for services offered by advertisers.
Page 5
I ended my last editorial with two
wishes. One, for us to start April better
than we did March, which we succeeded
in with four victories in a row. I alsowished to still be talking about United
winning the treble this season, which
Im not, following our FA Cup semi-inal
defeat to City. I was of course disap-
pointed, as we all will have been by that
game, but hopefully you all got some
nice Easter eggs to cheer you up. I got a
Manchester United birthday cake the
day after the City game and made sure I
ate Berbatov and Scholes irst. I felt it
was fair punishment for Berbatov miss-ing a sitter and Scholes seeing red. Lets
hope that Stoke can rustle up another 5-0 victory on the 14thof this month when
the inal is played at Wembley. If Bir-
mingham can do it against Arsenal,
Stoke can do it against City.
All in all April wasnt a bad month
though. Those four victories I men-
tioned obviously included back to back
wins over Chelsea in the ChampionsLeague, taking us through to the inal
four. No Terry or Anelka comedy mo-
ments this time, but still no Champions
League win for the blues either, so hap-
py days. We then also managed to take
an advantage over Schalke in the semi
inal with a 2-0 victory in the away leg. I
felt it was one of our best performances
of the season and gives us a great
chance of making the Wembley inal. We
have also not conceded a single awaygoal in the competition this year which
is a brilliant achievement.
A big inal month of the season there-
fore ahead of us, with the second leg
against Schalke at Old Trafford and a
title run in featuring clashes with title
rivals Chelsea and Arsenal who we are
currently 6 points and 9 points clear of
respectively, with four matches to
play (if you can still call Arsenal title
rivals!). We can no longer dream of
partying like its 1999 but I will deinite-
ly be happy to party like its 2008 by
completing the league and Champions
League double. If we can get past
Schalke we will obviously have the not
so easy task of defeating Barcelona or
Real Madrid in the inal. Hopefully, if we
make it, we can get a better Wembley
result. It could be a repeat of the 2009
inal which United lost to a wonderful
Barcelona side or it could be a Ronaldo
reunion with the familiar Mourinho
factor. Either is a highly exciting pro-
spect, but we do of course actually have
to get their ourselves irst.
We have been criticised all season
from all angles yet here we are, top of
the league and the only English team
still standing in Europe. Everyone it
seems is so desperate for us to fail. I for
one just hope we can inish the season
with some silverware so we can stick
two ingers up to all the other fans, the
media and the FA who no longer allow
opinions or emotions from our playersor manager. The hate (jealously in the
most) will just make it all the sweeter if
we can inish strong. The inal league
table never lies and if we have been so
poor this season, what does that say
about all the teams who inish below
us?
Ill leave you with that thought. Enjoy
the rest of the magazine and the all-
important inal month of the season.Lets hope its a great one for United.
Rachel (Deputy Editor)
@Rachel_jj2011
Editorials
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It should mean more to them than money.
Lets be honest, most can no longer be called profes-
sional footballers. Being a professional footballer used
to be about being the elite of the world. For very few,
they live the alternate life and spend every day playing
the game we all hoped we could. And, for their talent,
they dont have a bad life out of it. Flash cars, house,
totty on the arm, not to mention the spare couple of
quid they have lying around after paying for all of that
- in some cases that includes the totty too.
On top of this they have sponsorship deals, imagerights, appearance fees, all looding into bank de super-
stardom. And ok, this isnt about the money they pick
up, albeit an overly exuberant igure, why shouldnt
they, most outield players only play until theyre, at a
maximum 36, goalkeepers until theyre 40ish- why not
set themselves up for life- its what wed do, right?
Actually no, this is something bigger than all of that. As
was covered in the last issue, the ticking time bomb that
is our nations greatest sport. Incorrect decisions might
be one reason to think the game is at the point of implo-
sion, but this is a much more pressing issue. Footballersthinking they are above the laws and traditions of the
game they are paid to play. So why do they think they
are above the game? And what can be done to stop it?
Hot topic to initiate discussion- Rooney shouting exple-
tives into a camera during a live broadcast. Lets get my
view out there straight away so theres no confusion- no
amount of heat of the moment, wasnt directed at any-
one in particular, but swearing is part of the game, will
cut it. What Rooney did WAS WRONG. He knew it and
the club knew it because lets face it, the apology made
afterwards wasnt written by Rooney himself was it?!
And yet, in deiance of the rules, Rooney and Manches-
ter United began a quest, to have the penalty reduced,
stating that it was clearly excessive. Which can only lead
me to one real conclusion on the individual- Wayne, if
you know what it means to be clearly excessive, why
are you swearing into a camera- isnt that also clearly
excessive?
The topic seemed to divide the footballing masses into
three groups, those who agreed with the penalty, thosethat didnt, and the non United fans that thought he
should of being hung from a yardarm. So why the big
issue with what he did? Footballers swear, everyone
knows it. Unfortunately for parents watching the gamewith their children, its quite dificult to explain to the
aspiring footballing sprog watching with you, that
Rooney was actually shouting about his pet duck!
What ducking what, when he was 3mm away from
the lens. Doesnt leave much to be lost in the crowd
chants does it? And whether Rooney likes or accepts
the fact, he is to many youngsters, a role model.
So the FA saw sense, which Rooneys penalty should
now serve as a big shout out to all Premier League
players. We all know swearing happens on the pitch
and it is accepted. The test will come when the nextmuppet tries it. If the FA are able to clearly deine in
their punishments what is classed as on ieldand off
ield I think the etiquette improvement will be there
for everyone to see. If they dont and their decision
making is as luctuant as referees match to match
variance, the newspapers, managers and players
wont be able to help themselves lining up to take a
pop at the system - much to the destruction of the
sport.
My other thoughts on this are the example on disci-
pline that rugby gives. Teams disciplining their ownplayers before the leagues or competition organisers
have to get involved. Why? Because there is a better
sense of fair play in rugby, which runs not only through
the individual teams, but through the leagues. The idea
that Rooney would have been irst banned by Manches-
ter United, and the FAs ban relect the punishment the
club have handed down. Could you imagine the impact
clubs self-regulating themselves would have? How many
matches would Chelsea of banned Torres from - for
diving in the irst leg of the Champions League quarter
inal? (Not that it would have made any difference to his
effectiveness).
If clubs took a bit of responsibility and stopped
worrying about player revolts, fan revolts and re-
sults, the sport would be a much more enjoyable,
less controversial, fairer game. Something that it
once used to be.
First and foremost, the FA, Premier League, all of
the Clubs, United included, must remember
football: sport irst, business second.
By Liam Scott
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Recently, as you are probablyaware, Bryan Robson
was diagnosed with throat cancer, however, the prog-
nosis is good and he should make a full recovery.
It is generally considered by all that saw Captain
Marvel (and even by those who didn't, myself includ-
ed) that he was, and still is, a legend in every sense of
the word.A player thathis colleagues and fans alike
looked to when the going got tough, the player thatwould run through a brick wall to win a football
match and invariably get an injury in the process,
only to recover to reach the same standards he had
always set himself. To borrow an opinionfrom a mate
of mine, Robbo is the second best player he has ever
seen in a United shirt, the best being, well, Best!
This got me thinking about United legends and what
makes a legend? What separates a legend from the
good players? For other clubs, it would be
their highest appearance maker or highest scorer,maybe the captain that led them to their irst league
title or to the FA Cup inal. But not at United. The
beauty of this club is that such a variety of players are
considered legends that you cannot set criteria for a
player to meet and then be considered one.
As I have researched this in more depth I have come
to realise that a legendfor one supporter is not neces-
sarily a legend for the next, going back to my mate
mentioned earlier, he does not count Bobby Charlton
in his top 20, whilst other fans from this era have himin their top three or ive. However, speaking
toaround 30 other supporters, covering every season
from 1962-63 to the present day and asking them to
pickthree legends, there are a lot of names that crop
up, but only two seem to be constant amongst all,
Best and Robson.
Now, George Best needs no introductions from me,
so much has been written about him I would only be
covering old ground. Whereas Bryan Robson is a very
subjective opinion, when looking at stats alone, these
point to no more than a good player. Eight major
honours (two being league titles in which Robson was
sadly, a fading force), whilst impressive is relatively
low compared to other United players who have been
lucky enough to play in much better teams, for exam-
ple:Phillip Neville has 11, Nicky Butt andJohn O'Shea
have 10 each. Robbo wore the red shirt in an impres-
sive 461 competitive matches which still only puts
him 15th on the list of all-time appearance makers. His
goals, 99 of them, whilst an impressive haul for amidielder still only rank him 22nd on the all-time list,
albeit the majority of the 21 ahead of him are either
strikers or have played many more games for the
club.
Luckily, stats don't even tell half the story! Robson
achieved all the above despite suffering a list of inju-
ries that would cripple mere mortals, how he man-
aged to play into his late 30's will bafle medical pro-
fessionals for generations. These achievements were
also in a very mediocre team, cup runs were plentiful
but the holy grail of the league eluded the
team,always in the top four (barring three seasons in
the late 80's and early 90's) but never lasting the
distance, much like the Arsenal team now just with
the ability to win the odd FA Cup and European Tro-
phy.
An all action, leave everything on the pitch, run
through brick walls to win the tackle type of player,
the man the fans and players alike turned too when
things weren't going well. If any of us got the
chanceto play for United, welike to think we'd show
the desire and passion that Bryan Robson did. The
type of passion that we ask from all players that only
very few possess, that win at all costs attitude that
only the very best have.
Unfortunately for Robbo,but luckily for United,his
replacement was a certain Mr Roy Mau-
rice Keane who ensured that we did not miss his
inluence on games as much as we could have done.
Still, this has far from diminished the fans memories,still recognised as a legend despite being the out-
standing player in a distinctly average team.
I just wish that we could have seen Robson in his
prime, alongside the likes of Scholes, Keane and Giggs,
alongside a team that was able to match up to his
ambitions.
Ah well, for now, get well Bryan Robson, Captain,
Leader Legend!
By Chris Bennett
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In the eyes of a lot of non-United
supporting fans, United are treateddifferently by oficialdom, be it theFA, UEFA, referees, the media,whoever. And you know what,
they're probably correct. However,whilst the ABUs bang on aboutbias being shown towards United,
history actually shows that Unitedare more often than not the perse-cuted party. To illustrate, justlooking at the two bans incurred
by Sir Alex Ferguson and WayneRooney since I wrote last monthsarticle in FUFanzine would appearto back this view up.
Literally within hours of inishing
my article came news that Sir Alexhad been given a ive match touch-
line ban for his comments aboutreferee Martin Atkinson after theChelsea game. He'd said "You want
a fair ref, a strong one anyway....when I saw who was refing it I
feared the worst"His leeting use ofthe word 'fair' before he quickly
adjusted it to 'strong' was jumpedon by the FA who deemed him tobe questioning the integrity ofAtkinson. A good job really that he
didn't go the whole hog and call
him incompetent, biased and pret-ty useless.
Compare Fergie's comments withsubsequent utterances of threeother Premier League managers:
"Im too disgusted to speak about it.
These things can have an impact on
the Premier League. Justice has not
been done. The decisions punished
us severely. You do not want things
going against you, but it hap-
pened...The referees job is to makeright decisions"Arsene Wenger inthe wake of Arsenal's 0-0 drawwith Sunderland.
"When I saw he was refing, with his
record against Stoke I was worried."
Tony Pulis talking about MikeDean.
"You need to have personality,
courage and character. Not always
do referees have these kind of skills"
Carlo Ancelotti after the Chelsea vUnited UCL QF 1st leg.
None of Wenger, Pulis or Ancel-
lotti has been charged by either theFA or UEFA for their comments.Funny that. One rule for Fergie, onerule for the others? Appears to be
so.
Quickly onto Rooney's ban. Heswore. He shouldn't have. He apol-
ogised. End of matter? Um no.Actually a two match ban handeddown for "abusive, indecent or
insulting words or behaviour" (NBnothing in there about swearinginto camera). Therefore, clearly an
FA statement of intent to "clean up
the game," to strengthen the Re-spect campaign. So, in the interestsof fairness ALL subsequent in-stances of "abusive, indecent or
insultingwords"being picked up on
camera are now going to bringforth a two match ban, yes? You'd
have thought so. But no. Alreadywe have seen the likes of PeterCrouch in particular quite clearlystepping over the newly estab-
lished parameters but with nopenalty.
So, United have been shafted
twice in quick succession. It'snothing new though.
The issuance of bans, plus theactual length of bans once issued,has down the years invariably
shown an anti-United bias by the
FA. Back in 1950 for example,Charlie Mitten of United wasbanned by the FA for the 'crime' ofhaving gone to play for leading
Colombian side Santa Fe of Bogota,who in the time of the maximumwage, offered riches too great for
the 'Bogota Bandit,' as he came tobe known, and many other playersto turn down. At the time however,Colombia was outside FIFA, and
any player based there was consid-ered an outlaw. One year on, theSouth Americans were re-admittedby the sport's governing body
but only on condition that the so-called rebels were sent home. So
Mitten returned and was handed asix month ban, a 250 ine and a
transfer by United to Fulham forhis 'misdemeanours.' Two otherEnglish players, Neil Franklin and
George Mountford, both formerlyof Stoke City, and who had actuallyjoined Santa Fe before Mitten,were also banned on their return.
Six month bans for them too? Uhno, four months for them. Incon-sistency, but a sign of things tocome.
Last issue Alan Monger quashed the notion of the FA favouring United, as
regularly perceived. Today he looks at this notion from a historical
perspective. Sit back and enjoy...
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feature in the same sentence.
September 2009 JavierMascherano clearly elbows Jer-maine Beckford in Leeds v Liver-
pool Carling Cup match. No actionat time, video evidence ignored. Noban. January 2010 Ferdinand re-ceives retrospective three match
ban for elbow incident againstFagan in match v Hull. Ban in-creased to four games after
'frivolous' appeal.
March 2010 Steven Gerrard givestwo ingers up to referee Andre
Marriner, and also mouths an
obscenity at the same time to himduring Liverpool's defeat to WiganAthletic. FA take no action. January
2011, Steven Gerrard visiblymouths fuck off Manc twatsto thecamera after being sent off in FA
Cup tie at Old Trafford. No actionby FA, despite viewers' complaints.March 2011 Rooney swears atcameraman who has invited him to
kiss the camera after completion ofa match-turning hat trick vs West
Ham. FA administer two matchban.
Enough of disciplinary matters.History shows that United have
suffered at the hands of the FA orthe old Football League in so manyother ways. Let's go back to themid 50's. The European Cup began
in the 1955-56 season, but theEnglish authorities had adopted asniffy attitude towards it and had
told Chelsea, the previous year'sEnglish Champions, not to competeand they duly complied. The fol-lowing season
ine. September 2003 Rio Ferdi-
nand forgets to take drug test(though did provide a negative testwithin two days). Subsequentlyreceives 8 month ban plus 50k
ine. He offers to take 'hair follicletest' which would have given re-
sults for the past 6 months, datingbefore his original test date, but
the FA declined his request. Boththe FA and FIFA sought to have theban increased to 12 months (half
the possible maximum). In 2004Adrian Mutu, Chelsea, tests posi-tive for Cocaine use. 7 month banplus 20k ine. 2011 Kolo Toure
suspended by Man City after test-ing positive for carrying a'speciied substance.' FA have still
not oficially banned him some twomonths later.
August 2003 Liverpool pair Ste-
ven Gerrard and Neil Mellor bothsent off against Galatasaray in pre-season Amsterdam tournament. Noban for either, tournament outside
of FA jurisdiction. August 2006,Scholes and Rooney sent offagainst Porto in Amsterdam tour-nament. Both receive three match
bans, with appeals against bansrejected by the Football Associa-tion. FA seemingly from nowhere
'acquire' jurisdiction.
January 2006 Robbie Fowlerscores for City against United, and
celebrates excessively in front ofUnited fans. No questions asked, nocomplaints from United. No actionby the FA in respect of possible
incitement of United fans. The
following week, Gary Neville runsfrom halfway line back to his own
goal and celebrates Ferdinand'slast minute winner in front ofLiverpool fans. Carragher bleats,FA impose 5,000 ine for
'Improper conduct.
2008 Patrice Evra receives fourmatch ban for altercation with
Chelsea groundsman during postmatch warm down. FA ignore
separate witness statements stat-ing Evra was racially abused, quot-ing inconsistencies. Delicious ironythat the FA and 'inconsistencies'
Twenty years or so later, it was
George Best's turn to consistentlyfeel the wrath of the governingbodies. Each mistake by him(throwing mud at a referee was a
good one) brought forth longersuspensions than any other con-
temporary player received (5-6week bans compared to the norm
of 2-3). Maybe our sometime way-ward genius would have beentreated the same by the stuffy
beaks at the FA had he played foranother club, but I doubt it. Historysuggests merely being a Unitedplayer is usually ample enough to
raise their hackles.
As exempliied further by Eric
Cantona's ban for events atSelhurst Park on 25th January1995. No need to go into detailshere, sufice to say that United
immediately, and in accordancewith FA wishes, suspended Can-tona for the remainder of the 1994-95season (effectively handing the
title to Blackburn Rovers), andined him 20k. In most people'seyes United's swift action was seenas suficient punishment and cer-
tainly United felt that the matterhad been dealt with fully. The FAhowever had other ideas and in-
creased the ban up to 8 monthsand ined him another 10k. It wasalmost as if they were saying "hangon, we can't have United being
happy' with this outcome, let'sscrew them a wee bit more."
At this point let me say that the
Cantona 'Kung fu' attack was pret-
ty much without precedent, so theban can't really be compared to
any other likewise incident interms of how (un)fair the FA were.Unlike the following exampleswhere if you look really closely a
trend can be seen to develop....Actually I lie, you don't really haveto look THAT closely, the inconsist-encies are about as obvious as the
results of Tevez's argument with akettle.
2003 Man City's ChristianNegouai misses drug test, havingbeen 'stuck in trafic.' No ban. 2k
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Alan has been a United fan ever
since his dad took him to watch
them play Spurs in 1972. He wasa Stretford Ender in the days
when you could turn up and pay
20 minutes before KO. He also
had a ST in North Stand before
work took him abroad. His best
memory was the trip to Barcelo-
na for the 1999 Champions
League inal. His favourite play-
ers are Eric Cantona and Ryan
Giggs.
Matt Busby decided that United
WOULD play in it, telling his Chair-man: "football has become a world
game...this is where the future of the
game lies." Opposition still came
from the Football League, whowrote to United forbidding them to
enter. Busby however was ada-mant: "at our next board meeting I
again proposed that if the Football Association were willing to accept
and back us we should enter. This
was duly forthcoming... " Whoa,hang on, the FA supporting Unitedin something? ..... Yes, butpossiblyonly to counter the Football
League's stance. And only briely.Roll on two years and this is clearlyshown to be a minor aberration on
their part.
In the aftermath of the Munichdisaster, and as a mark of sympa-
thy and respect, United were ex-tended a special invitation to com-pete in the 1958-59 European Cupby the European Union, despite not
being English champions. RealMadrid, the winners in 1958, werefully supportive of this invitation(NB they had actually proposed
that the 1958 competition bescrapped once the disaster hadoccurred), yet the English authori-
ties prevented such participation.The Football League had immedi-ately objected, and whilst the FAinitially gave their blessing, they
subsequently did a complete aboutturn, Stanley Rous, the Secretary,penning a letter to United saying"as by its name this is a competitionof Champion Clubs, Manchester
United F. C. does not qualify to take part in this season's Competition.
Consent is therefore refused". Shab-by, heartless and completelydisre-spectful treatment by BOTH theFootball League and the FA to
United, and to the memories ofthose who lost their lives in Mu-nich.
So Englands football authori-ties showing a complete reluctance
to afford any spirit of bon accord toUnited is nothing new. And yetthey expect, nay demand, so much
in return.
Fast forward to 2000 for exam-ple, and the FA in the hope of im-proving their chances of being
awarded the 2006 World Cup,applied extraordinary pressure on
United to participate in the inaugu-ral World Club Championship in
Brazil. Taking place as it did in themonth of January, so United had topull out of the FA Cup that season,
a decision they've never beenallowed to forget, forever beingaccused of devaluing the Cup bynot participating in it. As Sir Alex
said: "Perhaps we should not havebeen too surprised to ind that themen from the FA and Government
who orchestrated that pressuresomehow faded into the back-
ground, and behaved like mere
bystanders once the media fastened
on to the issue and it became clear
that the absence of the trophy hold-
ers from the oldest knockout compe-
tition in football was being treated
as a national scandal. All the quiet
promises of oficial backing evapo-rated and we were left on our own
as the convenient villains of the
piece."
With the massive beneit of
hindsight United would probablyhave been best served by tellingthem to stuff it. After all, the subse-quent years' maltreatment we have
received at the hands of the FAcould hardly have been any worse.
One last example of United being
shafted by the FA, and particularly
relevant as we prepare for ourChampions League Semi Final
against Schalke. Can you imagineone of our top players not being
allowed to play in the forthcomingsemis because England are under-taking a rather meaningless sum-mer tour and have selected him togo on that? No? Well, it happened
in 1958. Bearing in mind that theMunich disaster occurred as theteam lew home from a successfulquarter inal in Belgrade, thus
setting up a semi-inal against ACMilan, the two games taking placein May 1958, a rather heartless
(again) FA decided to deny a cer-tain Robert Charlton the oppor-tunity of playing in this two leggedtie, instead selecting him to go on
their short tour of Canada, a tourthat preceded that years WorldCup. Barely believable, but truenonetheless.
Finally, the FA are keen to pushthe Respect campaign, and rightly
so. What I would say to them how-
ever is that respect is earned notjust given. Get your own house inorder, get rid of all of the inconsist-
encies and then maybe, just maybe,you might actually merit somerespect yourself. At this presenttime, and indeed for quite some
time now you just don't. Fact.
@almanuman
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Home leg pending,
who would you like
to see United face in
the CL inal?
@TheMancunianRed:Barca, you want to beat the
best and I want to see
Messi live again and also
want the world to see us
attack Barca.
@JackColeman7:I wouldn't want to face
Ronny in a major inal but
at the same time I fear
Barca would murder us.
@SpookeLuke:
Unquestionably Real. Bar-
ca, are far too strong for
United currently. Our
chances of overcoming the
former are much greater.
@gallifrey24:Bara for sure in the inal.
to avenge our defeat in
2009 of course.
Is David De Gea the
right person to
replace Van der
Sar?
@dilynux:Would prefer
Stekelenburg. Bit cheaper,
more experience (WC),
well with ball at feet,
Conident.
@aquelious:Yes. Quality keeper, if
inexperienced. With Rio,
Vidic etc in front of him, he
will learn from the best.
@redracoon1:No he's not! He still hasn't
proven himself but then
again it will be dificult to
replace VDS anyway. Not
convinced.
@jharbert7:
Da Gea certainly one of the
most talented young
keepers in Europe,
but#mufcneed someone
with a bit more
experience.
Was Wayne Rooney
inappropriate to
swear at the camera
or was it just
emotion taking
over?
@AlexWylie:
Emotion taking over. It
was a huge goal and I
know that I would
celebrate in exactly the
same way.
@mazymixer:
It was inappropriate and
deliberate. Not great towatch MOTD with your
kids and for them to see it
straight at camera.
@Spalletti:
WR can't do anything
without criticism. Don't
like the kid, but think he is
being treated unfairly.
@HoldAndGive:Didn't think it was
emotions or inappropriate.
I actually thought it was a
well delivered satirical
comment#mufc
@AlGordon1980:Emotions, that win may
get 19th & he knows it.
Inappropriate of MOTD to
replay just to let Lineker,etc be judgemental. IMO
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http://twitter.com/#!/starkravingredhttp://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23mufchttp://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23mufchttp://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23mufchttp://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23mufchttp://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23mufchttp://twitter.com/#!/starkravingred -
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Despite having arguably his
best season at United since his
arrival from Spurs in 2008 the
speculation surrounding the
future of Berba continues to
linger in the air around Old Traf-
ford like an over cooked
Gyuvetch. Hes been linked withrumoured moves to Real, Milan,
Fenerbache and more recently
Bayern Munich, Genoa and Juve.
I preface the question of
whether to pay a blind bit of
notice to the speculation by
reminding everyone of the
Tevez saga. A very popular
player on the surface of it, a very
successful player on the surface
of it, a very important United
player on the surface of it. Specu-
lation surrounding the future of
Tevez at United was rife for a
long time. The player kissed the
badge, gestured to the fans with
an overtly apparent appreciation
of a mutual devotion and then
buggered off for a wheelbarrow
full of money. We all know Kia
Joorabchian was without ques-
tion the person most responsiblefor the whole messy affair, but
what is an agents job if its not
to make his client the most mon-
ey? In the end none of the things
that most fans think are im-
portant seemed relevant to
whether the deal went ahead or
not. It all came down to cold
hard cash.
Now to Berba. Many fans have
always appreciated his languid
style coupled with his
undoubted footballing ability
and he has won over his fair
share of doubters recently with
his goal scoring exploits. Howev-
er, there are still fans who right-
ly or wrongly suggest his body
language is that of a player not
giving it his all or 110% in foot-ball speak. He has recently, with
the phenomenal break through
of Chicharito, been used as an
impact substitute or been
pushed to the fringes dependant
on your philosophy.
Now please, understand I am
only putting this in very simple
terms. My personal opinion is
that Berba is an integral part of
the squad, if not starting eleven,
and I would be for want of a
better word gutted if he were to
be sold in the summer.
Bearing in mind what hap-
pened with Tevez, a player who
with the greatest of respect for
Berba, appeared a more commit-
ted and popular player, left. It
would be silly to assume that
whatever the fans think or how-ever popular he is in the dress-
ing room - he recently won a
rather dubious award for being
the most popular player amongst
active players in Europe - or
however many goals hes scored
when the season is over, he is
anything more than a commodi-
ty to the PLC.
The rumours are rumours,however continued speculation
tends to have a root somewhere.
Then the weed grows. Whether
the manoeuvres behind the
scenes are being made by Berba-
tovs agent Emil Dantchev or by
someone acting on behalf of
United to test the water as to
who might be interested if he
were to be made available well
never know. But put simply
Berba is at a pivotal point in his
career, having just turned 30 and
just had, on paper, his best sea-
son in the Premier League he is
more than likely never going to
be in such a strong position to a)
Improve his terms at the club b)
Make a big money move.
Dantchev has obvious inancial
gain from both. As for Berba, aman who always speaks highly
of plying his trade here, Im sure
would love to stay at United, but
he may not have a say in the
matter. We do know one thing
and its that United dont like
being made to feel like they are
being held to ransom. His agent
recently stated his intent to see
out his career at United, but
statements like this, as we haveseen historically, are nothing
more than the early posturings
of contract negotiations.
Personally, I think he will leave
in the summer. I dont think
there is any sentiment in football
for players like Dimitar. The
business of football cant com-
prehend what happens inside
fans when Berba brings down a60 yard hoof from Van der Sar
whilst performing a steadying
pirouette. I really dont want him
to go. The brief glimpses this
season Ive seen of Chicha and
Berba with Rooney in behind
(add Nani and Tony V on the
wings for good measure) have
been enough to bring on heart
yearning palpitations.
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Its hard to keep up with the number of Manchester United related rumours
we hear each month. Here Steph takes a look at some of the transfer storiesthat have come up in April.
* United are closing in on a 25m deal
for Aston Villas Ashley Young. The Sun
* Javier Hernandez is Jose Mourinhos
top summer transfer target.
caughtoffside.com
* United are preparing a summer move
for Bayern Munichs Franck Ribery.
caughtoffside.com
* United have held initial talks about a
17.5m move for Atletico Madrids
David de Gea. Daily Star
* United will take advantage of impend-
ing cut backs at Everton by bidding for
Jack Rodwell. Various
* Bayern Munich will make a summer
move for Dimitar Berbatov. Various
* Valencia midielder Juan Mata could
move to either United or City this sum-
mer. Metro
*United are monitoring the form of
Juventus midielder Claudio
Marchisio.talkSPORT
* Spanish legend Raul reveals that talks
were held between him and United dur-
ing lasy years close season. Daily Mirror
*Patrice Evra has vowed to sign up for
yoga classes following the recent perfor-
mances of team mate Ryan Giggs. The
Sun
* Oliver Bierhoff has urged Manuel Neu-
er to sign for United if he has the chance.
Sky Sports
* United will go head to head with Liver-
pool for the signing of defender Phil
Jones during the summer transfer win-
dow. The Sun
* Manchester United have opened talks
with Sporting Lisbon for 10million-
rated keeper Rui Patricio. Daily Mirror
* Sir Alex Ferguson will try to exploit
growing turmoil at Inter Milan by mak-
ing a concerted attempt to sign WesleySneijder at the end of the season. Daily
Mail
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Having supported Unit-
ed since the 60s I hadnt
been to a Euro away until
the opportunity arose in
the 1977/78 season. Hav-
ing won the FA Cup in the
previous season (and hav-
ing thwarted a possible
treble for the Scousers),the 77/78 season saw
great optimism amongst
United supporters and
qualiication for the Cup
Winners Cup. During the
70s it wasnt uncommon
for United to take 15,000
or more fans to domestic
away games and likemany lads around my age
there was a desire to ex-
tend our adventures into
Europe.
The draw for the Cup
Winners Cup matched us
with St. Etienne, who
were enjoying the mostsuccessful period in their
history. I decided, along
our accommodation and
set off in pursuit of tickets
for the match. I still have
no idea how many United
fans went on that trip but
the city centre was buzz-
ing with supporters drink-
ing and singing but gener-
ally in good humour. Hav-ing settled in a pub for a
couple of beers we started
to ask around about ticket
availability. We were di-
rected to a pub where a
French guy was selling
tickets for the home end.
Having been told that tick-
ets for the away sectionwere near on impossible
to ind we decided that
the home end tickets were
our best option.
After a bite to eat and a
couple of drinks or more
we set off to the game
with a little trepidationnot knowing what to ex-
pect. Entering the
with three friends of the
time, that this would be
our irst foray into Eu-
rope. Having decided that
a ferry and rail would be
our best means of travel
we set off not knowing
what to expect.
After a relatively une-
ventful journey to Paris
we started to meet up
with more United fans
who were making the
same journey. The train
south to St. Etienne was a
lively one and a fair few
beers consumed.
It became apparent that
many on the trip, includ-
ing myself and mates,
were travelling to the
game without tickets, but
which nobody thought
would be a problem. We
arrived in St. Etienne justafter midday on the day of
the game. We booked into
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You do quite a bit of work with the MU Foundation, can
you tell us a bit about that?
Yeah we did a bit last year, I did various different events forthem. Its great to be involved to help the kids of Manches-
ter United, its truly fantastic. Im always open to JohnSheilds, the chief exec, if he ever needs me he knows to get
in contact. For me its great to get involved with Manches-
ter United and theres only certain things you can do to tryand help out the club in some way, shape or form. The door
is always open if they need me. I did a performance for
their open training session and all the money for that was
going to go to the Foundation. Obviously I didnt get paid
for that, it was to help out the club.
As youve said you have played and sang on the Old
Trafford pitch, have you met many of the players?
I met Wayne Rooney last year at the Player of the Year
awards which was wicked. I met and trained with Giggs for
Soccer Aid. Van der Sar came up to me and I did someautographs for his kids, which was truly weird! Ive tweet-
ed Rio a couple of times and hes replied so thats good. Iperformed at Darren Fletchers wedding last year which
was a really great night. Being a United fan and being asked
by Darren Fletcher to do it was wicked, I was really hon-oured. Anytime I can get up to see United train or play, Im
always there so its great.
Finally, whos your favourite player in the current
squad?
(long pause), ermId have to sayIve got allegiances so
Id have to say Fletcher. What I love about Fletch is that heworks like an absolute horse, he works, works, works. Hesgot great ability and hes become one of the sought after
players at Old Trafford in midield and he puts a good shiftin. Hes been brilliant for United. I really think hes been
one of our best performers. Hes been really consistent
when weve played. Hes been out lately but hell come backstrong for the run in. And if we win the treble, well, itll
probably be the best weve won. With the players weve gotit would truly be a shock to most fans to go all the way. I
think most United fans would be happy with just winning
the 19th league title.
Being an Essex-boy, what made you start supporting
United?
Basically it was all down to when Leeds won the old FirstDivision, just before the start of the Premiership. My dad is a
United fan and he bought us kits for the season so I startedsupporting them. They were also one of the irst teams you
could be on computer games as well so I sort of fell in love
with them. It inally hit home around 95 -96 when Beckhamscored against Villa I think. Here was this blonde haired guycoming through from Essex and people were talking about
him. Then he scored the goal at Selhurst Park from the half
way line. I fell in love with Beckham and United even more.
It was easier for me to go to school where people supportedthe likes of Arsenal, Chelsea, West Ham, Tottenham and Iwas able to turn around and say Well I support Man United
and theyve got David Beckham.
With some players coming towards the end of their
careers, the likes of Van der Sar, Scholes and Giggs,
which particular players would you like to see replace
them?I think for Giggs the one player that everyones talking aboutthat plays left sided is Gareth Bale. He was someone United
were interested in when he left Southampton to go to Tot-tenham and we didnt quite pull it off but now I think Bale
would be a fantastic addition to the team. Id love to see thenumber 11 shirt never to be worn again but I dont suppose
that will happen. I think for Bale it would be a massive
opportunity for him. Hes the kind of player who could go onto prove he is the best left winger in the country and if he
comes to Man United he can achieve that. Scholes yourenever going to replace this player but for me personally
theres three players, Modric would be fantastic. Wesley
Sneijder at Inter Milan and also Schweinsteiger at BayernMunich would be a great signing as well, so those three for
me. It would be great to get an English player to playScholes role but I dont think there is anyone as good as him
in the league. I still think Jack Rodwell would be good but
we need somebody who has lair. Van der Sar, again, youre
never going to replace him. But there are some good keep-ers across the country. Yknow what I think, theres some-
thing about Shay Given. A lot of people havent spoken aboutShay and I know obviously crossing Manchester to come to
United might be a problem, I dont think itll ever happen,
but hes a fantastic goalkeeper. Hes got great experience, wecould still get a good 5 or 6 years out of Given.
You can get a get a copy of Ollys debut album
Olly Murs on Play.com
@ollyoficial
Page 17
Murs vs Giggs
Soccer Aid 2010
It was great and I can say itwas a dream come true.
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Page 18
After plying his trade in Europes shanty town, Liverpool, Micky Owen spent most of his
investigative career embroiled in English and Spanish gambling cartels. That was until Sir
Alex Ferguson found him, loundering on a park bench at St. Jamess Park and offered him
a contract to protect the integrity of the players & staff of Manchester United Football Club.It was a normal Friday evening like any other. I was
at the card table sipping on a Gin and Lucozade. It
wasnt my night, so I decided to call it a day. I waved
farewell to Mike Ashley and Alan Pardew who were
playing craps together in the corner, they were al-
ways playing craps. Two guys, one cup, enough said. Inodded to Roman Abramovich as I left; he was sitting
in a lower position at the premier table throwing
money at the game but not winning anything. As Istepped outside there was a screech of tyres break-
ingIt was the SAF Mobile! I instinctively knewsomething was wrong. Wazza and Ravel Morisson
didnt even hang out round here. Micky Phelanwound the window down and Sir Alex poked his head
out, he was chewing so hard I thought he was going to
dislocate his jaw! He thrust some print outs from the
tinterweb in to my hand and gestured for me to read.
The article was discussing the recent Respect cam-
paign launched by the footballing authorities and in itthey were lambasting managers who had bought the
game into disrepute by inappropriately commenting
on referees. I agreed with the sentiment, especially
when names such as Wenger, Redknapp, Coyle andWarnock were mentioned But STOP THE PRESS!!!The article went on to accuse Sir Alex himself of being
one of the main perpetrators of this heinous crime
This was tantamount to treason. Michael, Michael?Sir Alex shouted behind me as I limped off into the
night, but I didnt have time to say goodbye, some-thing would have to be done and fast.
After calling in a few contacts I received word from
Andy McNab via a long piece of string with a paper
cup on each end that he knew of the whereabouts ofthe evidence that would undoubtedly clear Sir Alexs
good name. McNab had worked with the S.A.S on asimilar case (when Alan and Chris were still at Black-
burn) so I knew I could trust him. Id rented my all
terrain wheelchair to Hargo for the weekend so had
to make my way on my bionic legs, sometimes re-
ferred to as crutches. Sir Alex had already put thepress off the scent, issuing a statement that I hadaggravated my groin in training and would be out for
another 2-
3 weeks.
In no time at all (about 12 days), I arrived at the
address in Cheshire McNab had painstakingly foundfor me. Something terrible was afoot, I could see
Cathy Ferguson, Sir Alexs wife inside the property
cooking! I let myself in via a patio door round the
back and made my way to the study to ind the box
iles I was looking for. With my instinctive nature
inside the box, I soon found what I was looking for.
The colour coding and alphabetised system also camein handy. But then, the lights licked on! I turned to
see Sir Alex standing over me and with an almighty
hairdryer he said Looking for this wee Micky?! Heput the almighty hairdryer down, explaining his hair
had really needed a good drying and placed downbeside it a document entitled Timetable of voluntary
work for The Samaritans. Sir Alex explained that hehad been shouting me the other night to see if I want-
ed a lift round to his house, where we were now, so he
could explain to me what was going on, but Id disap-
peared before he could get my attention. Being a life
long volunteer for The Samaritans Sir Alex had been
scheduled to work on Saturdays through April andman the phones. The Glazers, being very uncharita-
ble folk, had refused Sir Alex compassionate leave and
suggested that revealing his caring nature may be
seen in the media and with rival clubs as a weaknessand had suggested he ind an alternative means ofoperating the phone lines on match days. As a inal
twist, Sir Alex introduced me to their dinner guest
that evening and fellow Samaritans volunteerMartinAtkinson. They had come up with the whole covert
plan together. Martin added, Sometimes I cantswitch off from my voluntary charitable work and
give decisions to the less privileged players and clubswho need a helping hand against United! We all
heartily laughed. Case closed.
Due to its sensitive nature this article will self de-
struct on completion of its readingOh yourestill reading? Ok Ill try and get that function sorted
for next time. If youve downloaded it as a hard copy,
then just burn it. If youve saved it to your hard drive
then chuck your laptop in the nearest incinerator,
Thank you.
I will not rest until the integrity of Manchester Unit-
ed is upheld. Keep em peeled!
Image courtesy of www.deemointernational.com
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Page 19
There is two sides to every argument, right? Steph and Paolo
are going head to head in the irst FUFanzine Great Debate:
Should United fans forgive and forget Wayne Rooneys early
season contract saga?
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I still remember the moment when Fergie conirmed
hat our star player, Wayne Rooney, wanted to leave
Manchester United, the biggest club in the world, be-
ause they didnt match his ambition. Thats probably
he only thing I would never expect a United player to
ay. Lacked ambition? Surely there was more to the
tory than meets the eye. I wouldnt surprise me if we
never hear exactly what happened during those few
days between Fergusons press conference and
Rooney signing a new contract, maybe well ind out in
Rooneys ifth autobiography released when he retires.Though, in truth, Im not entirely sure I really care
what happened. I know a lot of United fans have strug-
gled to forgive Rooney over the last few months, how-
ver I am not one of them, and here I will explain why.
We choose which football club to support, normally
rom a young age, and we follow them for the rest of
our lives. For many of us, supporting a football team
especially one like United) consumes us each and
very day. Quite simply, we live our football club. I am
one of those people, Manchester United possess this
trange quality which can either make or break my
weekend (and sometimes my week). The joy I have
rom watching them is unrivalled. I am sure I share
hose feelings with fellow fans. Wayne Rooney,
hough, isnt a United fan hes a United employee and
herein lies the difference.
So often we, and here Im referring to football fans
across the world, are sucked in by our players. We
believe they feel like we do about their clubs. Maybe
ome of them do, the likes of Giggs, Neville, even *dare
say it* John Terry, but most players, those boughtnto the club, are unlikely to harbour those feelings.
Case in point, Mr. Rooney once a blue, always a blue
according to the t-shirt he wore when playing for
Everton. His feelings werent going to change just
because he had a new boss and its unfair for us to
xpect them to. Fernando Torres looked to be Liver-
pool through and through, even before his move to
England, now hes struggling to score goals at Chelsea.
Essentially speaking it is our fault that we have this
irm belief players love the club as much as we do.One of the only things Id criticise Rooney for is his
dishonesty about the situation, dont claim to love us if
you dont simple. We all knew it was Ronaldos dream
to one day play for Real Madrid and as much as it hurt
losing him, I think every United fan could understand it.
Yes, Rooneys situation is a little different but Im not
sure its fair to expect pure dedication from a player
who we not only purchased, but grew up supporting a
different team.
However, Ive digressed somewhat here, in essence I
think its time for our anti-Rooney fans to move on, get
over it and realise that as long as he is a ManchesterUnited player, we should be supporting him. For the
Rooney bashers out there let me ask you a simple ques-
tionsyoure not happy with your current employer so
tell them youd like to leave but before you can look for
another job they offer you a nice big pay rise and tell
you everything will be ok does it make you a bad
person if you remain with the same company? You
might sit there thinking this is a completely different
situation but how is it? Rooneys job may be a little
lashier than ours but it is still his job nevertheless.
Since the debacle Rooneys form is on the up he is
scoring goals, playing well and pretty much pulled us
back from certain defeat at Upton Park almost single-
handedly. Finally we are talking about his one ield
actions once again (even if that does include an elbow
and some profanities). At this pivotal time of the season
lets get behind each and every one of our players, yes
even Darron Gibson, and show them why we are the
biggest club in the world. Until Wayne Rooney leaves
United whether it be via transfer or retirement, we
must support him. I have never agreed with the notion
of booing one of our own and whilst it is a select fewwho still bare grudges against the player, Wayne
Rooney is one of us for the time being whether you
like it or not.
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From a very young age I can remember sitting at
family lunches and football would always be brought
up. Being an Italian meant that the likes of Zoff, Rossi
and Maldini were always brought up in the conversa-
tion. My Nonno (Grandfather) would always say that
these men played with pride, they played because they
wanted to play for the club and did it with passion.
Money was not an issue. Later on, I was told about
players like Best, Charlton and Law. Players who
wanted to be at United, players who played with pride.
I am sure we can all agree that since 2009 it has been ahard time for United fans, taking into account Ronaldo
leaving, the Glazer situation and missing out on the
league by one point. During this hard time we needed
a leader. Someone who was going to stand up for us on
the ield, someone we could rely on to bring us suc-
cess. Wayne Rooney seemed to be that man. He was
brilliant in 2009/10 and we all expected the same
from him in 2010/11 season.
When the news broke about Rooney wanting to leave
I couldnt believe it. I was furious with the player and
the situation we were in. It felt as we had been kicked
when were down. Our leader had turned into a Judas
and money got the better of him. The one player we all
knew would take this club forward had turned his
back on us. What is worse is that he fed us garbage
about wanting to stay till his late 30s and emulate
Giggs and Scholes. What a load of nonsense that all
turned out to be. We should have known that when he
so easily turned his back on Everton he would do the
same to us.
I suppose the reason for my anger is that before hisI want to leave United... oh you will pay me more mon-
ey? I will stay now saga I was proud to say that
Rooney could one day be a United legend. In 30 years
time I would tell my grandchildren of the great Best,
Charlton, Cantona and Rooney. Now I will tell him how
the hero of Old Trafford stabbed us in the back.
How can he expect the fans to ever be on his side
again after he lied? Yes he is staying now, but he has
shown his true colours. Maybe the only positive this
could have brought for us is that the Glazers might beforced to give Sir Alex Ferguson money to buy news
players. Even with that said, it still not justiication for
manipulating us like a bunch of sheep. I genuinely
dont know where Rooneys loyalty is anymore, and at
this stage I feel as if he doesnt deserve to wear the
shirt- a shirt worn by greats that would frown down
upon him for his actions.
I have seen some articles justifying Rooneys
transfer in, transfer out by saying he is an employee
of Manchester United and he is right in asking for
more money. The only problem here is that playing for
United is not a job, it is a privilege. If you cant see thedifference you dont understand, and will never under-
stand what the club is about.
The rise of Hernandez has conirmed by desire in
wanting to see Rooney leave. Here is a lad who really
wants to play for United. Never mind the glamour and
money, he genuinely wants to be a United player. His
body langue on the ield and his comments off the ield
conirm that.
I remember when United accepted an offer from
Spurs for Ole.The only thing left was for Ole to sign. He
never did, and said I would rather play for United
reserves than Spurs irst team. He did play in the
reserves and the rest is all history. These are the char-
acteristics I look for in a United player: pride, passion
a desire to be a Red and the money issue coming last.
If a player doesnt show these attributes, in my opin-
ion, they would be better off sipping cocktails in Spain
or Italy.
Lets hope for the best and see Rooney leave in the
summer and to be replaced by a local Salford lad whowill be the backbone of the team!
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As we all know Manchester United are one of the
most widely supported clubs across the world. Each
issue the fanzine will interview an overseas fan and
discuss their experiences of supporting the club.
IntroducingAmbuj Gupta from India
What made you start supporting United?This is a question that I am asked frequently
by anyone who knows that I am crazy about
United. And rather than giving the stereotype
answers like they play beautifully, they
win or they have good players; I say even I
dont know. I mean, it was like an infatuation.
The moment I started watching football, I
knew United is my team. The irst Unitedmatch I saw was the UEFA Champions League
match against Porto in which Ronaldo scored
from a nearly impossible distance in the 6th
minute. Since then, I have read innumerous
books, articles related to United and watched
the old United matches, like the 1999 FA Cup
semi-inal, Munich inal, the oficial United
history and everything I could lay my hands
on.
How well known are United in India?United are perhaps the most followed team in
India, followed by Arsenal and since the arri-
val of Abrahimovic, Chelsea. Barcelona and
Real Madrid are also a common name in India.
We have United cafe -bars over here. Indian
telecom company, Bharti Airtel, recently
agreed a 5 year deal with United and so now
we expect United soccer schools to open up
shortly. For most of the fans, United =
Rooney. You will ind a lot of them sporting
United jerseys but on being asked to nameeven ten United players, they go quiet. When
Iactively started blogging about United I had
to face various people accusing me of being a
glory hunter etc. Yes, most of the Indian fans
follow United just because they win but then
for others, its just an obsession.
How big is football in India compared to
your other big sport, cricket?
India is basically a cricket obsessed nation.
You will ind the streets deserted if a cricket
match is going on. People here live andbreathe cricket. But ever since the arrival of
the Premier League and perhaps growing use
of internet, the popularity of football has
grown leaps and bounds. Now you will ind
more and more people talking about football,
mainly EPL and La Liga.
How do you go about watching their match-
es?Most of United matches are shown on the TV
channels. Though, different tournaments gettelecast on different channels. Like for Carling
Cup, there is a different channel, for the FA
Cup there is another. Watching Champions
League matches or mid-week Premier League
matches is a pain. They start early morning at
around 1:30 AM and end at 3:30 AM because
of the difference in time zones. But then, any-
thing for United.
Is it expensive to watch United in India?
Nah, I dont think so. A basic cable connectionis enough. Though if you decide to go to the
United cafe -bar, things get a bit expensive.
Overseas Reds
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Does supporting them have an impact on
your life with regard to work and leisure
time?
Alot! When I am not doing anything, I am on
my mobile phone, accessing internet, getting
regular United updates, reading the articles on
various blogs etc. I avidly follow the Football
United Blogs (especially the 60 second round-up) along with various others like 7Cantonas,
writtenoffmufc, therepublikofmancunia etc. I
also write about football on a website
www.sportskeeda.com where most of my
articles are United related and my co-writers
often pull my leg for my obsession with Unit-
ed.
Have you ever been to Old Trafford?
Not yet. But it is now like a dream to come
over there and feel what it is like to be in thestands, shouting at the peak of your voice,
supporting, taunting. Heaven.
Do you support any team in theIndian
leagues?The condition of football in India is very poor.
You can put the blame on poor administration,
corruption or the supremacy of cricket. But
still, there are a few football teams in India
like Mohun Bagan, East Bengal. But no, I dont
support any Indian football team.
What's been your favourite United
moment?Since I started watching United, my favorite
moment has to be Michael Owens winner
against Manchester City in the Premier League
and Wayne Rooneys winner against the same
opponents in the Carling Cup. Also, when
Ronaldo was here, every moment was special.
You just couldnt take your eyes off the televi-
sion set. The guy would do impossible thingswith the ball. Also, I know how joyous the year
1999 was for United fans. I have seen the Mu-
nich match tape over and over again and I
could still feel the chill running down my spine
whenever I hear the words, Beckham into
Sheringham and Solskjaer has won it.
Who is your favourite United player and why?Considering the plethora of stars that United
have produced over the years, its impossible
for me to pick up a single player. From thecurrent players, Gary Neville (yeah I know he
is retired now) is my favorite. The guy gives
his all whenever he wears the United shirt and
never gives up and that is what United is all
about, never giving up. From the youngsters,
Anderson is my favorite. Although at the mo-
ment he is not performing up to the mark but
he has enormous potential to become the best
midielder in the world. He just needs to be a
bit more consistent. Also, Macheda is another
youngster I simply adore. I just wish he re-
turns to Old Trafford from Sampdoria at the
end of the season. Though I havent watched
him play live, Roy Keane is one player I ad-
mire. I was reading his quotes the other day
and I couldnt help but smirk when I read this:
Patrick Vieira is 6 foot 4, and he starts having
a go at Gary Neville, so I said come and have a
go at me. Simple as that. He's trying to intimi-
date my players and Im not having it."I mean,
he was a fantastic leader, the kind of player
that we dont see much often now days.
Indian players have yet to force their way
into the English Premier League, why do
you think that is?
The only reason is the poor administration
and the lack of facilities. Just the other day, I
read about a 15 year old Indian boy who was
selected to play in American Soccer League
but the boy had no money to buy decent foot-
ball kit. The website I write for took the initia-
tive and started a campaign to collect a partic-ular sum of money for him. The nation is simp-
ly obsessed with cricket and a very little atten-
tion is paid to other sports. Even then, there
are a few who have performed well. Sunil
Chhetri is in MLS team and played against
United when they visited USA for the pre-
season.
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Name: Jesse Ellis Lingard
Born: Warrington, 15th December 1992
Position: Midielder
When I irst started watching the Manchester Unit-ed youth teams the irst thing I noticed was how big
the opposition were in comparison to our lads. Sides
like Blackburn, Wolves, West Brom, Birmingham,
Derby and particularly Manchester City were full ofgiants!
Check his birth certiicate!
I wish I had a pound every time some wag from the
sidelines yelled that one outbut it was true, visitingteams seemed to select players not on their foot-
balling ability, but on how big they were!
While at U/18 level our boys had developed sufi-
ciently to compete, at the lower levels it was men
against boys. The bigger, more physical lads of Leeds
or Huddersield used their strength to win gamesand believe me, even at 15 years old every visiting
team wanted to beat Manchester United.
Of course we have always had a different philoso-phy, focusing on technical skill, passing, movement
and teamwork. An ethos reinforced by Rene Muelen-
steen and now integrated across our Academy.
So back in 2007 I had the shock of my life when Isaw three boys take the ield who looked about ten
years old. Brad Byrne, Larnell Cole and Jesse Lingardlined up for the U/16s after being promoted from the
year below. Comedians would have had a ield daymost people on the sideline did! Yet when the game
kicked off, all three boys just got on with itpassing
the ball the Manchester United way, asking for theball, moving into position.
I would like to tell you that football won that day
but the smaller boys were completely knocked out oftheir stride and Leeds won comfortably. I asked a few
people afterwards and it became clear that Unitedvalued all three lads very highly.
Just wait until they get olderthey will come into their
own!
Although Brad moved on to another club, both
Larnell and Jesse proved that skill can win overbrawn.
So when I was at Stamford Bridge a couple of weeks
ago for the FA Youth Cup semi-inal, I allowed myselfa wry smile as Larnell Cole ran the Chelsea midield
ragged and Jesse Lingard scored a peach of a goal toput the Reds back in the game.
Their time had most deinitely come!
Born to a Jamaican father and English mother, JesseEllis George was in born in Warrington some sixteen
miles west of Manchester. A pupil at St. Margarets
Infant School, his natural ability with a football wasevident from an early age despite his size. CreweAlexandra offered him a ten-year deal, however, after
being spotted at a youth tournament at Great San-
key, he originally joined Liverpool for a year when hewas six years old.
Twelve months later, Lingard, who had taken up his
mothers name after his parents separated, joined
Manchester United, the team he had always support-ed and he started progressing through the junior
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Page 26
Here we are, the business end of the season.
Squeaky Bum Time as the now famous saying
goes and we got to witness two games of foot-
ball that could not be more different if you
made them wear helmets and use an oval
shaped ball.
First of allwe hadFulham. The thing that
struck me about this was the weather, strange-
ly enough, beautiful sunshine enabling me to
break out the loral shorts for the irst time
since I care to remember.However, for a hugely
important game that was just as much a 'must-
win' as the following two games, itlacked the
nervousness and tension that the teams of old
have created, there was no going behind, no
wasted opportunities and as a contest was overwhen Valencia scored our second just after the
half hour, and boy you could tell.
There are not many games I have attended at
Old Trafford that have been instantly forgetta-
ble, Bursaspor earlier in the season was possi-
bly the irst due to sheer lack of anything hap-
pening but this game is now part of the not-so
illustrious club. Against a Fulham team that
were clearly there just because they had to be,
the team and fans seemed to make the most of
the sun, topping up our tans and waiting for the
Grand Nationalresult to come in.
Then came Chelsea, with all that money they
took from that big Russian crook (and they'll
never win three in a row), in the Champions
League, witha vital away goal brought back to
Old Trafford you could sense the conidence.
However, for such a big game the atmosphere
was terrible in comparison to the heights it hasreached for similar games in recent years. After
two minutes you knew it was going to be a
constant battle with 'Steptoe,' the steward from
our block, ordering people to sit down, thus
ruining the momentum our block had gathered,
and if you read my irst article, you know how
strongly I feel about the whole crowd momen-
tum issue.
After a while a large proportion of the stand
decided to ignore him and stand regardless,
allowing the 'prawn-sandwich' brigade to up
and leave, some with 25 minutes left on the
clock! Oh well, these prawn sandwichers also
missed the sheer euphoria or watching Park
bang one in past Petr Cech to virtually seal the
tie.
So, with two home games played, my hearthasn't been put under half as much stress in the
previous seasons with late winners and come
from behind wins. Which means one of two
things, the team has learnt how to get ahead
early in games and stay there, or, there is a lot
of drama to come in the inal weeks of the sea-
son. I'll take a guess at the latter and get my
cardiologist on speed dial!
As with last months article, I have one inal
word, aimed at the stewards who earn their
money parading the concourses and stairwells
at Old Trafford.
We're Man United, we'll stand if we want!
By Chris Bennett
Chris has been a season ticket holder for two years
and a regular matchday goer for eight. His favourite
former players are Eric Cantona and Denis Irwin.
Although his favourite current player is Paul
Scholes he is, in his own words, developing a man-
crush on Javier Chicharito Hernandez.
The Stretford End, oficially named the West Stand, has long been
known as Uniteds premier area on matchday. Here, two seasonticket holders discuss their recent experiences.
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By Will Davenport
Will is 24 and been going to Old Trafford for ten years,
however this is his irst as a Season Ticket holder.Despite being from the Wirral, on Merseyside, his whole
family are United fans and his uncle, Peter Davenport,
played for the club from 1985-89.
Im not going to lie. That really hurt. A fantas-
tic day spoilt by a lapse in concentration. It just
didnt seem fair yet we got what we deserved.
The Wembley Manchester Derby Experience
was an odd one to say the least. Driving down
to London, it was astonishing to see the amount
of coaches travelling both United and City fans,
even more astonishing to see a car with a Unit-
ed AND a City scarf hanging out the window!
As for the game itself, Im still at a loss as to
why we simply never came out for the second
half. The momentum that you usually feel when
were attacking and chasing a game just wasnt
there. It all felt a bit lat really. Walking away
from the stadium, it was hilarious to ind nu-
merous City fans taunting us with You can
shove your treble up your arse! True, we can,
but at least weve won one you bitter bastards.
So the unlikely treble dream may be dead but
were still ighting on all fronts. By the time this
goes to print, we will be in the middle of our
Champions League semi-inal with Schalke.
Everything is set for a memorable night at Old
Trafford as we look to book our place in our 3rd
European inal in four years; a simply incredi-
ble achievement if we can pull it off. Make no
mistake, what we are on the brink of achievingdoesnt happen often and its even more special
considering we have been written off all year
by pundits, journalists and opposing support-
ers. Its hard to blame them for writing us off
though. Who would have thought wed be here
after dropping points at Fulham & Everton,
blowing a two goal lead at home to West Brom
and going through the Wayne Rooney saga?
Speaking of Rooney, how good has he been
lately? His hat-trick at West Ham was season-
deining in the same way that Macheda (v Aston
Villa), Hargreaves (v Arsenal) & Kettleneck (v
Blackburn) were in previous title-winning cam-
paigns. My friends & I often talk about those
moments. Moments which feel absolutely hugeand make you feel unbeatable. Heres to a cou-
ple of them in the upcoming games against
Arsenal & Chelsea.
Enough has been written about Wazzas goal
celebration at Upton Park and subsequent two
match ban by the Football Association. It was a
mind-boggling decision and had more than an
air of skulduggery about it. All of these things
will just make any success we have this seasonall the sweeter. The same can be said about
losing to the bitters. While I love the FA Cup
and value it highly as a trophy, it would pale
into insigniicance if we can get to #19 and
make it back to Wembley at the end of May. For
this team to do that would surely rank as one of
Fergies greatest achievements.
The atmosphere against Chelsea was brilliant.
We need to keep that level of noise up for the
remainder of the season, home and away to
help the lads inish the job. It feels like were on
the verge of something special and I think thats
why the anti-Glazer chants have quietened
down somewhat. Everybody seems to be focus-
ing on the team and what they can achieve. I
think this is a good thing. I also believe this kind
of support is down to the them versus us atti-
tude that United have created. Were all rallying
around the lads and showing that nobody is
going to stop us winning this title.
So Martin Atkinson, David Bernstein, Man-
chester City; enjoy your moments in the spot-
light. It wont last. Were Man United. And well
never die.
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Page 28Page 28
On 22nd May George Best would have been
65 years old. Many argue he was Unitedsgreatest ever player. Sadly most of us who
work on this magazine were not fortunateenough to witness him play irst hand.
Rachel has written a moving tribute to theNorthern Irish winger.
Simply The Best
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I think Ive found you a genius, Manchester
United scout Bob Bishops telegram pro-
claimed to United manager Sir Matt Busby
when he discovered George Best at the age of
just 15 in Belfast. He wasnt wrong. The wing
wizard was phenomenal with the ball at his
feet and is widely regarded as one of the
worlds best ever footballers. He could beat
players, score goals and use both feet in a way
that few, if anyone else, could. Republic of
Ireland and Leeds midielder Johnny Giles
described Best as the most naturally gifted
player I have ever seen. He had the lot: balance,
pace, two good feet, he was brave, strong and a
good header of the ball. Pele wasnt as gifted as
George Best and I would deinitely put George
above Johan Cruyff because he had more heart.
Best would have been 65 on the 22ndof the
this month if he hadnt unfortunately passedaway on the 25thof November 2005 due to
multiple organ failure in relation to his ongo-
ing alcohol problems. To celebrate the birth-
day of a United legend I have taken some time
to have a look into his life.
Best grew up in Cregagh, Belfast. His local
club Glentoran had deemed him too small and
light to become a footballer but Manchester
United thought differently. He was given a
trial and signed up before making his debutfor the club in September 1963 at the age of
17 against West Brom. He got his irst goal for
the club in his second game in December of
that year against Burnley. The youngster went
on to make 26 appearances for the club that
season, scoring six goals. United were howev-
er pipped to the league by Liverpool, but
would win the title in Bests second season
which ended in 1965. He played 59 games that
season, scoring 14 goals, 10 of which came in
the league. He won the league again with Unit-ed in 1967. That season he made 45 appear-
ances, scoring 10 goals, all of which came in
the league. He scored over 20 goals in each of
the next ive seasons for the club.
The season he really shone was however
1967-68. United failed to win the league but
Best made 53 appearances and scored an
impressive 32 goals. That season United be-
came the irst English team to win the Europe-
an Cup with a 4-1 victory against Benica. Thegame entered extra time with the teams level
at 1-1. Best then scored Uniteds second be-
fore they added two more. His pace saw him
b