How A St Bernard Dog Was Instrumental In Saving Manchester United

In 1902 Manchester United neared bankruptcy, with debts of over £2,500. At one point, their Bank Street ground was even closed by the bailiffs.

Just before having to be shut down for good, the club received a sizeable investment from J. H. Davies, the managing director of Manchester Breweries.

Legend goes that Harry Stafford, the club captain, was showing off his prized St. Bernard dog at a club fund-raiser, when Davies approached him to buy the dog.

Stafford declined, but was able to persuade Davies to invest in the club and become club chairman.

It was decided at one of the early board meetings that the club required a change of name to reflect the fresh start they had been afforded. Manchester Central and Manchester Celtic were among the names suggested, before Louis Rocca, a young immigrant from Italy, said "Gentlemen, why don't we call ourselves Manchester United?"

The name stuck, and Manchester United officially came into existence on 26 April 1902. Davies also decided it would be appropriate to change the club's colours, abandoning the green and gold halves of Newton Heath, and picking red and white to be the colours of Manchester United.

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Carlos Tevez Decided To Leave Manchester United Two Weeks Ago

The Daily Mirror claims Carlos Tevez will complete his £25.5 million move in the coming days, but had decided to leave Old Trafford over two weeks ago based on his belief that Sir Alex Ferguson did not rate him enough to make him a first choice player.

News that Tevez would not return for United's pre-season training broke over the weekend after the club announced he had rejected the offer of a five-year contract. City meanwhile are thought to have tabled a deal worth over £100,000-a-week over five years.

It is also being reported that Ferguson was aware of Tevez's decision to go and as such has been on the hunt for a suitable replacement ever since. So far, United have been linked with signing Wigan's Antonio Valencia, Karim Benzema and Franck Ribery this summer using the £80m generated through the almost complete sale of Cristiano Ronaldo.

Tevez's arrival at City stands to cast a degree of doubt over the future of Robinho, who, after one season in the Premier League, may find himself as Mark Hughes' third choice striker behind the Argentine and Craig Bellamy.

Farewell Cristiano Ronaldo And Thanks For The Memories!

Cristiano Ronaldo. He was a diver. He was a poser. He was a faker. He was a primped up poodle, a dummy-spitter and a prima donna. He was flash, he was vulgar, he was diva-high maintenance, a fresh-flowers-in-my-hotel-room type of new-age footballer. He was stretch limos and blacked-out windows, diamond-stud earrings and clothes with his name written on them. In case he forgot who he was. He sulked, he flirted, he pouted, he sat on his backside in protest if he didn't get a free-kick. Like it was an offence against his divinity. He was fickle, he was restless, he was rootless, he was rude. He turned his back on his manager when he had the temerity to substitute him.

His little wink at the Portugal bench after Wayne Rooney had been sent off in the 2006 World Cup said a lot, it was as if we had looked through a window into his soul. There was no Eric Cantona warmth about him. He was not a vulnerable man. Not a football philosopher. Not a man who played with joie de vivre.

But he is a fucking good footballer, there's no question about that. I am an avid Manchester United supporter and I found it hard to like him but it was even harder still not to admire him.

Despite all his faults and his foibles, he established beyond all reasonable doubt during his Manchester United years that he was the best player in the world.

Frank Lampard, Fernando Torres and Ryan Giggs rolled into one. A midfiled goalscoring machine, a classic centre-forward and a wizard of dribble. A man built to terrorise defences and reduce goalkeepers to quivering wrecks.

Take the towering header he scored against Roma in the Champions League quarterfinal back in April 2008. The height he reached with his leap was simply incredible, the way he brushed the defenders aside like they didn't exist, the bravery of his commitment: Any out and out striker throughout history would have been proud of that.

He was just a never ending joy to watch, whether you are a United fan or not.

The goal he scored against FC Porto in Portugal was the goal of the season. An absolute thunderbolt from 40 yards to end the Portugese teams record of never having lost to an English team at home in the CL. That was a magnificent goal.

His one man demolition of Arsenal in the second leg of the Champions League semi-finals was one of the performances of the season, maybe the best performance of ANY player in a Champions League game.

HE REALLY IS THE PLAYER WHO HAS EVERYTHING. Even if Lionel Messi had the last laugh when Barcelona beat United in Rome last month, Ronaldo is still the best player on the planet.

Messi is easier to like than Ronaldo, so he will always have an advantage purely on that basis with those who are rubbed up the wrong way by Ronaldo's petulance and strutting arrogance.

But all this talk of warmth and how easy Messi is to like obscures the fact that Ronaldo is the harder man to play against.

The day before the Champions League final, one of the best defenders the world has ever seen, Marcel Desailly, declared that Ronaldo, not Messi, would have been his worst nightmare.

Unpredictable, powerful, good in the air, lightning fast, an explosive shooter, a fine crosser, a dead-ball expert: there was nothing he couldn't do. United will not miss his attitude. Nor will they regret the absence of his posturing and his selfishness but even if Sir Alex Ferguson is allowed to invest all the £80m from his sale in the purchase of new players, United will be a poorer team without Ronaldo.

The sad thing is that Ronaldo will almost certainly be a poorer player without United, too. At Old Trafford, he had men like Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez who were willing to run themselves into the ground for the team and leave the glory to Ronaldo.

The attacking part of the team was built around him. Others made sacrifices. He reaped the rewards.

Despite all that, he has agitated for a move to Madrid like a little boy tugging at his mummy's sleeve and whining and whimpering until he gets what he wants.

Well now he's got his wish and so to Ronaldo the footballer I say good luck and may you have many, many years of good fortune and success and thankyou so much for all you did for Manchester United and us, the fans.

But to Ronaldo the man consumed by narcissism and hubris, I say grow up and good riddance.

Even if Lionel Messi had the last laugh when Barcelona beat United in Rome last month, Ronaldo is still the best player on the planet.....no one will make me believe otherwise.

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Manchester United Accept World Record Bid Of £80 Million For Cristiano Ronaldo From Real Madrid

Well, it would seem Ronaldo is off to join Real Madrid.

A statement was placed on the official Manchester United website this morning which reads:

Record Ronaldo bid accepted

Manchester United have received a world-record, unconditional offer of £80million for Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid.

At Cristiano's request - who has again expressed his desire to leave - and after discussion with the player's representatives, United have agreed to give Real Madrid permission to talk to the player.

Matters are expected to be concluded by 30 June. The club will not comment until further notice.

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Manchester United Closing In On Antonio Valencia From Wigan

Manchester United have been watching Antonio Valencia for a long time now. With the departure of Steve Bruce from the JJB and the arrival of Swansea manager Roberto Martinez, Valencia has decided it is time to move on. Especially with all this upheavel.

Manchester United are in pole position to beat Real Madrid to the signing of Antonio Valencia. United are embroiled in a tug-of-war for his signature with Real Madrid although agent Diego Herrera says the Spanish giants have yet to make a move. The Ecuador winger has caught the eye of Sir Alex Ferguson this season and the United manager has reportedly made a £16million bid for him.

Madrid were said to have made a bid themselves but Herrera has heard nothing - paving the way for United to pounce. Florentino Perez sanctioned the world record breaking transfer of Kaka from AC Milan but as far as Valencia is concerned, he's kept quiet.

"The only official offer from Real Madrid for Antonio was last January. The offer came from the previous president but Florentino is over there now so I don't know if they are going to go for him again.

"It is the right time for him to leave, now that the manager has left, he feels it is time to move on."

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Cristina Corduneanu Needs Help Right Now

"And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love.

But the greatest of these is love."
1 Corinthians 13:13

Cristina Corduneanu is one of those people you will only ever come across once in a lifetime. She is a young girl who has so far dedicated her life to helping the orphans and poorer people in my region of Romania. She works for the FAST (Fundatia Pentru Asistenta Sociala si Tineret) Charity in Romania.

Her work has involved raising cash and working tirelessly herself in order to make the lives of literally thousands of people much better. She has given many 100s of children a meaning to their lives and hope for their future in my village of Zizin as well as Sacele and Tarlungeni in the Brasov area of Transylvania in Romania.

Cristina Corduneanu has been stricken with Leukemia last year, and recently the disease has become so aggressive, her life is now in danger.

Below you will see the email sent out from the FAST Charity with an update to what is happening to Cristina. If you visit Cristina Corduneanu's Website you can read more about her yourself.

Dear Friends

Thankyou to all those who have given generously so far.

Things are moving very quickly, and Cristina's situation is becoming increasing desperate.

Since the last email you received Cristina has traveled to Belgium for medical tests. Her doctor advised that, due to the advanced nature of her Leukemia, there would be no point conducting any further chemotherapy. He advised that the stem cell transplant needed to take place by the 8th of June. Left longer, the disease will become more aggressive and Cristina's chances of survival diminish.

The cost of treatment has been revised down from 80,000 euro to 50,000 euro, however the clinic cannot commence the treatment until they have either an official commitment from the Romanian health department, or the 50,000 euro up front. Her family has made numerous approaches to the Romanian health department but they are refusing to help. Cristina has raised nearly 32,000 euro so far, this leaves her with the daunting task of raising 18,000 euro in one week.

We again ask all those who can to give generously. If everyone on this mailing list took it upon themselves to raise just 25 euro each, Cristina could have her treatment.

Thank again for all your support.

Regards

Everyone at FAST

Here you can read a message from Cristina Corduneanu herself. She doesn't beg for money or feel sorry for herself. She humbly asks for some help in this her darkest hour of need. Read Cristina Corduneanu's message.

As you can see, the amount needed for Cristina Corduneanu to receive her treatment was 18,000 Euros which had to be raised in 7 days. They now need 7,924 Euros in 4 days.

The sad thing is, if EVERYONE on my Twitter account gave just $2 or £1.50, that would take them to the target they need. So if you can find it in yourself to help with ANY amount, no matter how small or insignificant you might feel it is then please, please do. ANY AMOUNT WILL GO TOWARDS GIVING CRISTINA CORDUNEANU HOPE.

The Human Race has enough bad people at large, we need to grasp people like Cristina Corduneanu and keep a hold of them. She does so much good work and asks for very little in return. Now in her hour of need the world MUST give her something back.

Maybe the Romanian government might step in with the cash, maybe the Belgian government might help but we can't rely on this, we MUST make sure this cash is available to her in case no one helps.

Below you can see a video of Cristina Corduneanu's work with children and poor people. Take a look and find it in your heart to save this young girl's life so she can carry on her great work.

Please don't ask to send cash to me. I am not authorised to collect cash for any charities at all. The places to go for donations are Cristina Corduneanu Website or to the FAST Charity Website

You can go to either of these websites and have them checked out. FAST are registered under a British Charity too. This can be found here at Cleaford Christian Trust.

They have British Charity Reg Numbers, VAT Registration and Inland Revenue Registration if anyone has any doubts about this.

Again, thanks for reading this and if you have a little space on the internet where you can provide a link back here, then please do, PLEASE.



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Tevez, Nani And Park To Be Shown The Exit As Fergie Tries To Reshape Manchester United

Sir Alex Ferguson will reshape his humiliated Manchester United squad after their Champions League debacle against Barcelona.

I think Shell-shocked Fergie has decided he will not take up the option to buy Carlos Tevez, even though David Gill will be meeting up with Kia Joorabchian tomorrow to try to come to some sort of arrangement. I think too much damage has been done to the relationship with Tevez now. After all his efforts and some timely goals for us too, he now feels terribly let down by Fergie. At the same time, Nani and Ji-Sung Park could also be high-profile victims of the Rome drubbing.

The United manager believes Lyon’s Karim Benzema represents better value for money than Tevez – and to meet Lyon’s £30million asking price there will be fall guys. Nani has failed to impress in his second season at United, while Park may be sacrificed so Fergie can bring in Wigan’s £15m-rated midfielder Antonio Valencia, a long-term target.

Goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak is on his way out this summer after failing to impress in three years, with Fergie keen to give England goalkeeper Ben Foster more first-team opportunities next season. United will not take up the option to buy Tevez unless the player’s advisers, led by Kia Joorabchian, lower their asking price by a third to around £18m. (Story continues below)

Tevez’s exit seemed all but decided with him again criticising Ferguson yesterday. He said: “I wanted to play in the starting line-up in Rome but that decision was down to the coach. “But with a strategy more attacking in the first minute then perhaps the result would have been different. It has not been a good time for me because I believe that I should have played more minutes. My future will now be decided. My agents are negotiating and I am waiting to hear some news.”

Tevez was the only senior member of the squad not to return to Manchester with the rest of the United party yesterday and wore a tracksuit to the subdued United post-match party, rather than the official club suits his team-mates adhered to.

One player staying put is Cristiano Ronaldo. New Real president Florentino Perez is targeting AC Milan’s Kaka instead, while former Real icon Zinedine Zidane, whom Perez wants as his sporting director, rates Bayern Munich’s Franck Ribery above Ronaldo.

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Where Now For Manchester United. Should Fergie Rip It Up And Start Again ?

Early on Wednesday morning, as Fergie and his Manchester United looked forward to another Champions League Final he must have still thought he had a team that would place him among the top European managers from right across history.

By full-time he was back in one of those cold-sweat, pre-1993 moments, defeated by a football club, actually a football institution, who made his own look puny. Where does he go from here?

This has been far from being a bad season, don't get me wrong. First and foremost we should bear in mind that this season Manchester United have done everything asked of them except win the Champions League and the FA Cup. They made light of the demands of the Fifa Club World Cup, they saw off the best challenge in 19 years from a Liverpool team and all the emotion that entails. They came back in games against Stoke City, Aston Villa, Sunderland and Tottenham when it mattered.

They are hardly the dysfunctional, bickering side that could not make it out the Champions League group stages in the winter of 2005, Ferguson's lowest point in the recent past. They have won three consecutive Premier League titles and any analysis of how bitter their humiliation at the hands of Barcelona was on Wednesday night should be placed in the context of another astonishingly successful season.

But wednesday night, something was missing. The usual inertia on the United bench when Lionel Messi's goal went in on 70 minutes — Ferguson and his assistants sat slumped like moody teenagers at a bus stop — told you that on this night they had run out of ideas. No-one could argue that Ferguson should rip it up and start again but a new standard has been set by Barcelona and the old Scot would not be doing his job if he did not ask himself how he can reach and surpass it.

You can't have what Barca have got ? The preoccupation now will be Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta, very much the men of the moment. How do United get their hands on two pocket-sized demon midfield passers? How much will it cost? Can they get a Messi too? But trying to replicate exactly another team's model for success, even trying to replicate the model of past United team's success, is dangerous.

Once the theory was that United would never prosper without a new Roy Keane in the middle of midfield. You don't hear that much now. Instead, Ferguson put his faith in equally dominant players, like Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney, who are just as effective only in different ways, in different positions. Ferguson cannot conjure another Xavi or Iniesta, but United need more of those dominant midfield players.

Who can make this United team stronger?

As befits a team that looked so competitive until now, this summer Ferguson has been linked with precious few big-name players. The interest in Karim Benzema at Lyon is longstanding, so too that in Antonio Valencia at Wigan Athletic and Bayern Munich's Franck Ribery.

These are all dominant players, they are not comparable in style to Xavi and Iniesta but then who is? Those two are a real one-off, once-in-a-generation players and attempting to find clones of them would be foolish. Ferguson's policy has always been to buy the best players he can attract to United and trust they will flourish on the biggest stage.

Will Owen Hargreaves be the same player again?

It took a couple of takes to deduce the identity of the bloke on the touchline before the match with curly black hair in a United club suit. A third Da Silva brother perhaps? It was the long-lost, lesser-spotted, too-often injured Hargreaves. One of the stars of last year's final in Moscow, he has not kicked a ball for United since 21 December and last night, for the first time in a while, United were missing him.

The notion that Wednesday's result would have been radically different with Darren Fletcher in the United side is hopelessly optimistic at best. With Hargreaves rather than Luis Anderson you could see a case for United having more energy in central midfield. Hargreaves has been brilliant in patches for United but at £17m he owes Ferguson a big season in 2009-2010.

What do you do with Ronaldo?

On the occasion of one of his greatest disappointments, the behaviour of Ronaldo was encouragingly gracious. On more than one occasion he glanced up at the stadium's big screen for a glimpse of that face he loves more than any other. He swerved a handshake with Carles Puyol as the Barcelona team applauded United up the steps but that was understandable. He never gave up on a pretty wretched night.

A logical mind would say that joining Real Madrid now is an even greater folly, so lost in Barcelona's shadow are they. But if Ronaldo's reasons for staying at United were that they were Europe's premiere team, then Wednesday night has weakened that premise. Yet for all his histrionics, Ronaldo has never been less than professional. If he turns up at United next season there's no reason to doubt he will probably end up top scorer again.

How long can Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs last? With these two United giants now facing surely their last season at the club they handover to a new generation who have an unprecedented chance to establish themselves.

When do we get to see the £7m Zoran Tosic his fellow Serb Adem Ljajic who arrives next January, around £3m? For these young players as well as Darron Gibson, Danny Welbeck and Federico Macheda the door is open. Adam Johnson of Middlesbrough is another Ferguson is understood to be interested in.

If they have to face Barcelona again next season then United will have to learn from Wednesday as they did with their semi-final defeat in 2007 to Milan, whom they subsequently eliminated the following season. The trouble with Barcelona is that they are better and younger than that Milan team and they could be around for a while yet.

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Manchester United Fan Kills Four With A Bus

Well, United lost the cL Final and every bloody sports page and sports blog has reported on what happened and I would imagine every United fan worth his/her salt watched it anyway. So I'm saying nothing about it. It's a bitter pill to have to swallow, being beten like that. But.....it does show there is always room for improvement, no matter how good people think you are.

From Nigeria comes a report of one United fan who seems to have lost the plot over this match.

After United's defeat a fan in Nigeria killed four people when he drove his minibus into a crowd of Barcelona supporters after his team lost the Champions League final, police said on Friday.

The crowd in the town of Ogbo were celebrating Barcelona's victory after Thursday's match when the bus drove into them.

A police spokeswoman said 10 people were injured and the driver was arrested.

"The driver had passed the crowd then made a U-turn and ran into them," she said.

Barcelona beat Manchester United 2-0 in what was hailed as a "dream final" between two of Europe's best clubs.

Both teams have large fan bases in Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation.

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Manchester United To Wear All White Kit For Champions League Final Against Barcelona In Rome

Manchester United lost the call for who would be designated the 'home team' for the Championbs League Final against Barcelona and as such will have to play in their all-white kit. This is not a bad thing either. They wore all white on the only other occassion they faced Barcelona in a European final, the 1991 European Cup Winners Cup Final.

As United's first strip is red and their second is blue, they decided to play in all-white, the colours of Barcelona's arch-rivals Real Madrid.

Sir Alex was reminded that all-white is the colour that Barca's arch rivals, Real Madrid, wear. Ferguson laughed when he was also reminded that the last time Barcelona faced a team wearing all-white they beat them 6-2, the margin of Barcelona's victory over Real on May 2.

"That was not a defeat, that was an annihilation, we had to change our strip and our first two strips clashed, but we are very happy to be wearing white, very happy, and we are better than Madrid," Sir Alex joked.

United wore all-blue when they won the European Cup in 1968 and their traditional red-and-white kit when they won in 1999 and last year. Barcelona wore an all-orange kit when they won in 1992 and their traditional kit when they beat Arsenal in 2006.

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The Green Green Grass

I'm back again. Sorry for my absence, I just needed a break from blogging on here and I had a few family problems too.

What did I miss? Not much, we won the Premier League and reached the final of the Champions League after giving Arsenal a right good spanking, which always cheers me up.

I did get engrossed in all the action and enjoyed every moment of it. Now we await our fate against Barcelona Wednesday night and I can't wait.

One thing has been bothering me though. Who provides the grass seeds at Old Trafford ?

Yes, Carly has gone mad. It is something I did wonder about thopugh, for some odd reason.

Well, I went off and did some research and found out.

The use of grass seed at sports stadiums has, in the last 20 years, become an exact science. Much research has been done into the growing of a suitable product that will give durability, easy maintenance and a 'fresh' look, even after a lot of use.

One of the most famous sports teams in the world, Manchester United, are supplied by a company who specialise in seeding sports stadiums. DLF-Trifolium have developed a seed called Microclover which provides big advantages to the everyday wear of heavily used sports fields.

Inspections show that Microclover closes gaps in the turf quickly and survives heavy use. Heavy training sessions during the wintertime have taken place on these pitches and according to players such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney, the turf is better than ever.

These seeds provide a layer of tiny clover plants just under the grass which has a number of benefits. It keeps the grass green all year round, the clover fixes nitrogen feed to the soil and it's deep roots reduce the need for watering as well as suppressing weed growth at the same time.

Such is the quality and denseness of the grass that from a few feet away it looks like a normal 'grass only' lawn. New microclovers have achieved the smallest leaf size ever seen in commercial White Clovers.

These small leaves give the desired impression of a “grass lawn” rather than a Clover lawn. Ordinary large leaved White Clover often appears in older lawns. They tend to be patchy and give a very uneven look to the lawn. This is the reason why white clover has been seen as a weed until recently.

New microclovers grow short and spread evenly in the lawn with turf grasses, thus giving a perfect “grassy” look to the lawn.

As well as providing seed for Manchester United at Old Trafford, DLF-Trifolium also provides products for Aston Villa at Villa Park, Crvena Zvezda Stadion (FC Red Star Belgrade), Serbia and Ascot Race Course.

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Sir Bobby Charlton Gets Award From UEFA

Sir Bobby Charlton has been awarded a "UEFA Presidents Award"for his contribution to European football and will be presented with it before Manchester United take on Arsenal in their Champions League semi-final tonight.

UEFA president Michel Platini will hand the award to Charlton in a ceremony at lunchtime at Old Trafford.

Charlton played for United from 1953 until 1973, was named European Footballer of the Year in 1966 and was a member of the United team that won the European Cup in 1968. He also played 106 times for England winning the World Cup in 1966 and still holds his country's international scoring record with 49 goals.

Platini said in a statement: "Sir Bobby represents everything that is good about the game of football; fair play, respect, and true loyalty and he is a good example for future generations, both on and off the pitch."

Oooh how that must pain Platini. He spends his life annoying United and having his little digs as and when he can fit them in.

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From Salford To Tucson And Back Again

From Salford To Tucson And Back Again
By: Robert Carter

The Memories of a Globetrotting Manchester United Fan Provide
An Emotional Roller coaster of a book.

This diehard supporter bases his book on experience, passion,
hopes and fears and reminds us all why we love football.

As a supporter of Manchester United, Robert Carter has seen it
all. He has witnessed the highs, the lows, the false dawns; and
more recently, the unprecedented success of his beloved team.

He has watched the DVD’s, read the autobiographies and studied
the history, but something was missing. He couldn’t find a book
that shared the experiences of the supporter from the terraces.
A book that reminded him why he started to support United in the
first place, and why he still supports them almost five decades
later.

The only solution was to write the book himself.

‘From Salford to Tucson and Back Again’ is the result of almost
fifty years of supporting the Red Devils. It takes us from a
bygone age of terracing and camaraderie to the faceless exper-
ience of the modern football stadium.

It starts in the aftermath of the Munich Air Disaster, takes us
through the glory days of the swinging sixties and then the long
barren years before returning to glory in the early nineties.

Born in Davyhulme near Manchester, Carter spent his early years
in Swinton, near Salford. He has lived and travelled all over the
world, before settling back into his native Manchester in January 2008.

Wherever his travels took him, Manchester United was always close
to his heart. Read about a close encounter with the police in Bangkok,
how United's results affected his own playing style and about the
devotion of following the red devils through thick and thin. On a
famous day in May 1999, while United were winning the treble, this
devotion almost cost him his life.

For fan or foe, the Manchester United story is one of highs and lows,
of excitement, adventure and legends. ‘From Salford to Tucson and
Back Again’ is told through the eyes of an ordinary supporter. It is
not the autobiography of a player yet to reach his prime, or one that
will never be anywhere near as good as his ego lets him believe. It is
not written by a journalist, or anybody with an insider view. All the
stories are true, some joyous and some painful. Like every other United
fan that Carter knows, he lives and breathes football. He cries when
they win and he cries even louder when they lose.

Biography:

Robert Carter is an author, poet, motivational speaker and wannabe rock
singer. He has visited more than thirty countries on business and led
sales campaigns to around $2.5 billion in new business.

His first book, The Balanced Innovator, Turning Ideas into Reality has
helped individuals and organizations to achieve increased productivity
while improving the process of innovation. He has been the keynote speaker
at dozens of conferences on innovation and is an after dinner speaker.

Robert began his education at Mossfield Infants and Primary School in
Swinton; and at Wardley Grammar school where he attained 8 O’ Level
GCE’s. He also attended North Trafford College and Manchester Metropolitan
University (when it was still called a Poly) before completing his
education with a MBA at the University of Hertford.

He is also a Manchester United fan and his new book, From Salford to Tucson
and Back Again, the Globetrotting Memoirs of a Manchester United Fanatic
is now available from:



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Rafael Gets A New Contract Deal

Rafael da Silva has signed a new two-year contract extension at Manchester United. The deal will keep Rafael at United until 2013. It's a well earned reward for the youngster from Brazil after a great start to his United career. I have been well and truly impressed with the way he has played in his first year. Rafael has made 24 appearances, scoring one goal and manager Sir Alex Ferguson is delighted with his progress.

Sir Alex, speaking on manutd.com said: "Everyone at the club has been very impressed and excited by his first year as a professional. His enthusiasm and the adventurous way he plays is typical of a Manchester United player and we are delighted that he has signed a new contract."

Rafael, who arrived in July last year after being brought up in Rio de Janiero, hopes to have a long association with United.

"It has been a fantastic first year and I have learned from all the players at the club but especially from the defenders. It has been an exciting time for me and I want to be part of this for a long time so to get an extension is unbelievable."

Rafael's professional football career began with Fluminense in Brazil, where he played at youth level.

Rafael and his brother Fábio were brought to the attention of Manchester United by club scout Les Kershaw in the summer of 2005 while playing for Fluminense in a youth tournament in Hong Kong.

Manchester United got in touch with Fluminense and asked permission for the twins to travel to Manchester to train with them in 2005. Shortly afterwards, a scout claiming to represent Arsenal visited the twins and asked them to come to England to train with Arsenal without the permission of Fluminense; however, they were dissuaded from this by their mother, who reminded them that they had been with Fluminense since they were 11, and that they should show the club some loyalty. The twins were also approached by Real Madrid while they were on international duty with Brazil.

Therefore, the twins decided to sign for Manchester United, and a deal was agreed between the two clubs in February 2007. The twins moved to Manchester in January 2008, but were unable to play in matches until they turned 18 in July 2008.

Rafael made his first appearance for the club in a friendly match against Peterborough United on 4 August. He was then registered in the club's senior squad for the 2008–09 season and was assigned the number 21 shirt previously worn by Dong Fangzhuo.

He made his competitive debut on the opening day of the 2008–09 Premier League season, coming on as a second half substitute for Fraizer Campbell against Newcastle United.

Rafael made his first start for Manchester United on 23 September 2008, playing at right back against Middlesbrough in the Third Round of the League Cup. His first start in European competition was away to Aalborg BK in the UEFA Champions League on 30 September. Selected ahead of Gary Neville and Wes Brown, Rafael turned in an impressive performance, creating problems for the Danish side with his attacking play and two well hit shots before being substituted on 66 minutes due to injury.

He made his first Premier League start in Manchester United's 4–0 win at home to West Bromwich Albion on 18 October 2008. His first goal for Manchester United came in the 90th minute of his seventh game for the club, a 2–1 defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on 8 November 2008, with a powerful volley from just inside the penalty area. At the end of the season, Rafael and his Manchester United team-mate Jonny Evans were shortlisted as one of the nominees for the PFA Young Player of the Year award.

On 19 April 2009, in the FA Cup semi-final against Everton, Rafael and his twin brother, Fábio, started a match together for Manchester United for the first time. However, United lost the match 4–2 on penalties

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Redknapp Jumps On The Moaners Bandwagon

Every football site I go on today is full of the usual nonsense. People up in arms about how Manchester United and Sir Alex Ferguson bribe the referees and have the FA in their pocket to the extent that the FA bend over backwards to do everything Sir Alex wants. Hey, maybe he is even bribing them too.

Now Harry Redknapp is blaming Howard Webb, yesterdays referee in United's 5-2 win against Spurs. Apparently, it is down to the referee that United went on a five goal spree. If Webb had not given the penalty decision, then United wouldn't have scored five and won. What a load of old horse excrement.

"The referee made a terrible mistake," said Redknapp. "The players can't believe it because it changed the face of the game."

He added: "United were not going to win unless something like that happened."

Redknapp challenged Webb after the final whistle, although he got nothing better than the offer of an apology if the FA Cup final referee had got it wrong.

"You should have technology," he said. "The fourth official should be watching the TV monitor and talking to the referee.

"The guy has not done it on purpose, it is just a bad decision but it was the turning point."

Where were all these moaners and complainers last week when Manchester United were denied a penalty in the FA Cup Semi Final against Everton. That would have seen them get to Wembley for the Cup Final and the quintuple would still be a target for us. Did you hear me moan and complain endlessly because the decision went against us. No you didn't. Shit happens and you have to live with it. Last week we lost out because of a bad refs decision, this week maybe we got a good decision in our favour. We went from the swings to the roundabout.

For Redknapp to declare "United were NOT going to win unless something like that happened" is just plain madness, how does he know?

Unfortunately, we need to stick to the real world and look at things in an equal light. Sometimes you get good decisions and sometimes you get a bad one. One thing never changes though, and that's the continual bickering against United because they are successful. One day maybe Liverpool will win the Premier League title, what a dreadful thought, but they will then face the venom and criticism of everyone. Succes in Britain isn't celebrated, it is decried and every effort is made to find a reason why these successful teams don't deserve their success. People should try enjoying football instead of getting tangled up in jealousy and constant bizarre ideas of corruption and other such shite.

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