Fergie Looking For Eighty From Manchester United--And That's Just The Forwards

ALEX FERGUSON reckons the Manchester United strike force can break through the 80-goal mark this season and carry them to glory.

All the recent chat has been about the 1032 minutes since United last conceded a Premier League goal and the fact United haven't conceded in eleven straight games but now Fergie wants his strikers to get themselves in amongst the headlines and start scoring freely much as they did against West Brom on Tuesday night as they dished out a 5-0 thrashing and the United boss believes Dimitar Berbatov, Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez and Cristiano Ronaldo can all go on and get 20 goals each this season.

Ferguson said: “I certainly think they are capable of doing it. Quite rightly the defenders have been taking the credit this season up until now. I just hope now that it’s going to be the forwards who take the credit. The case of Ronaldo is a good one. Last year was a miracle season. To score 42 goals as a winger, it is hard to imagine he could replicate that. Yet people are saying he has not had a great season but he’s still got 13 goals for us and had 11 assists.

“If we could dismiss last season altogether you would say that was incredible for a winger to score 13 goals by the half-way mark. So he will without doubt end up with over 20. Berbatov’s record at Tottenham was 20 goals or more a season and we expect that again. And of course if we can get the extra stuff from Carlos and Wayne it gives us a better chance.”

As things currently stand Ronaldo has 13, Rooney 12, Berbatov 11 and Tevez 10. After a slow start Berbatov has now scored in four of United’s last five and Fergie said: “The most important aspect is the other players are understanding him now. They are feeding him with passes, playing to him much more and bringing him much more into the play now. It took the players time to recognise his talents. He’s a different type of player from what we are used to but now they are doing that and you are seeing the benefits of that.”

United look confident on top of the table, two points clear of nearest rivals Chelsea with a game in hand ahead of today’s home task against Everton. If they can chalk up a win today they can sit back and watch at least one of Liverpool or Chelsea drop points as they do battle at Anfield tomorrow.

Fergie said: “If we win I don’t care what happens at Anfield, if they both lose — that would be the perfect day! Look after yourselves is the name of the game. Do your job and you don’t have to worry about elsewhere.”.......Back To Home Page...

How Refreshing To Have A Referee Like This !!

OFFICIALS in charge of Celtic's 3-0 Champions League loss to Manchester United on Tuesday have apologised to the Parkhead club for errors in their handling of key incidents during the match. The Belgian referee Frank De Bleeckere and his assistants Peter Hermans and Alex Verstraeten came under fire after Dimitar Berbatov netted the opening two goals despite being offside each time. They also ruled out a legitimate Wayne Rooney strike as the SPL champions were out-classed by the Champions League holders.

It takes a big man to admit you got things wrong, despite the fact the offside offences were very difficult to spot. It's easy for us to watch TV and see 10 slow motion replays and then pour scorn on the ref who sees it just once in real time and from an entirely different perspective to us. Rob Styles might like to take note of this guy and what he said.

De Bleeckere said: "At the moment itself, we were not aware of the error. There was no protest. I walked off the field with a good feeling. But when you see the images, it's a shame. The officials are a team. We must help each other and see it as a learning curve."

Assistant referee Verstraeten yesterday admitted that he had been stung by a wave of criticism which followed the Group E encounter.

"This is the first time that we have made a mistake in 52 international matches. I admit to the mistakes, but we also ask for understanding. Offside decisions are the hardest to judge. We are only human. It is our bad luck that the mistakes came at goals. We made mistakes and that should not happen. It is no consolation that Manchester United would have won without these decisions. Some players argue their case in front of us, but no Celtic player protested. That proves that the offside decisions were very tight. At the end of the match I was surprised when I saw the television images."

Meanwhile, John Hartson has insisted Celtic can still qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League despite damaging defeats to Manchester United and Villarreal and a disappointing home draw with Aalborg that has left them sitting third in Group E, six points adrift of the La Liga side.

Former Celtic striker Hartson said: "I think you have to keep believing and the amazing thing about Celtic is that they have a fantastic home record, and Celtic are capable of winning their next three games. Now they can finish on ten points, so they are capable of beating Manchester United in two weeks' time and Villarreal and Aalborg. While it is still mathematically possible I think Celtic fans should keep believing they can do it." .....Back To Home Page