All things Manchester United here and you can subscribe to the RSS News Feed Link. Also there will be a huge collection of Manchester United photographs, Manchester United videos, Manchester United gifs, Manchester United wallpapers, Manchester United avatars, Manchester United Myspace layouts and much, much more for you all. A great place for United fans to get what they want. Any requests for stuff you may have then email me at small_carly@yahoo.co.uk with what you're looking for.
I am constantly looking for Manchester United wallpapers, Manchester United sigs, Manchester United avatars, Manchester United photos, Manchester United pics and anything else to do with United especially anything really old to add to my History Section'. So if anyone has anything they think would be good to add, then email me at carliona.trocina12@googlemail.com, thankyou.....
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
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
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.
I read this on Clubcall and was wondering to myself is there much truth in it? Would this really happen? Is it a possibility?
Manchester United are reported to have held talks with AC Milan star Kaka with a view to wrapping up a summer swoop. Representatives of the Brazilian are said to have met up with United officials on Friday to discuss a possible deal and now the ball is in the club's court according to sources close to the player.
If United are keen they would first have to match Milan's sky high valuation, thought to be in the region of £100m, before agreeing to the Brazilian's personal demands. Whether United are keen remains to be seen but reports are rife suggesting a deal could be on the cards.
"It was a very positive meeting, although nothing was agreed," the source has been quoted as saying. "The player wants a five-year contract and wages of £135,000 a week. He is very keen to join United and these are figures that are within United's pay structure. It's up to them what happens now."
I suppose if Ronaldo were to move to Real Madrid, then it would be a logical move to find someone in the same class to replace him. But why would Kaka want to leave AC Milan? Maybe the fact their team is getting rather old now and their effectiveness in the Champions League seems to have wavered a bit in recent years would be reason enough.
Why would Kaka want to come and play in the Premier League? I think every player in Europe would like to play in the EPL to be honest. Right now it's the best and most successful league in the world.
Surely United wouldn't pay 100 million Euros for a player. The day will come when football has it's first 100 million Euro, or £100 million player, so why not now? I think in the current climate Kaka, Messi and Ronaldo could all be valued at around the £100 million mark. That's not to say they are worth that. Many people criticise Ronaldo and say he is not worth £100 million, but that's irrelevant. People seem to forget that their opinions are worthless when it comes to valuing players. The people who say he is not worth 50, 60, 70 or £100 million are talking through their asses.
The simple fact is.....a player is worth whatever sum of money he commands on the open market. If Ronaldo were to come up for sale, after a fall out with Fergie for instance, and Fergie was determined to get rid of him no matter what, and the best bid was £50 million, then he IS worth £50 million. A players value comes down to the simple fact that he is only worth whatever anyone is willing to pay for him.
AC Milan say they want 100 million euros for Kaka, to them he is worth that much. I agree he is worth somewhere in that region too. Manchester United can afford to pay this money. He is demanding £135,000 per week sources say, and that is within United's pay structure. Add to this the fact Kaka has openly said on many occasions that he wants to play in the EPL and this deal is not as crazy as it sounds.
Personally, I don't think Ronaldo is going anywhere as it happens. If Ronaldo stays then we certainly wont be signing Kaka, not a chance. But, if Fergie were to sell Ronaldo, he does have a habit of quelling the fans displeasure at some of his transfer dealings by coming up with replacements and results that soon make United fans forgive him.
Exit Ronaldo, enter Kaka is a good scenario, and it's the only way either of these players is going anywhere, but would you be happy with this exchange, do you believe it will happen, is it on the cards or is all this rumour mongering a ploy by the newspapers to get us to but their goods, no matter what they write is true or not?
Barnsley player Reuben Noble-Lazarus is currently training with Manchester United for two weeks.
Noble-Lazarus is still only 15 years of age and has made two substitute appearance for the Barnsley this season.
He has been a regular in the Reserves and also scored a memorable hat-trick against Sheffield United in the Academy side.
Reuben has been with Barnsley Football Club setup from the age of twelve and this season he has played for the Under 16s, 18s, Reserves and First team.
Noble-Lazarus was born 16 August 1993. He can play as an outright striker or on the left, and is renowned for his speed. At 15 years and 45 days old, he became the youngest player ever to feature in a Football League match when he came on as a substitute during Barnsley's 3–0 Championship defeat by Ipswich Town on 30 September 2008.
The previous weekend, Noble-Lazarus had scored a hat-trick for the Barnsley under-18 team, for whom he had played since he was 12 years old, and was selected as a substitute for the senior team's visit to Portman Road. Coming on in the 84th minute of the match to replace Martin Devaney, Noble-Lazarus surpassed the record set by Bradford Park Avenue's Albert Geldard in September 1929, and equalled by Welshman Ken Roberts for Wrexham F.C. in 1951, by 113 days. He was too young to be paid for his appearance – Barnsley manager Simon Davey joked he would be given pizza and a ham sandwich for his efforts – and was due to return to Newsome High School in Huddersfield the following day.
Davey had wanted to play Noble-Lazarus in the League Cup earlier in the season but was prevented from doing so by the competition's rules, which prohibit the selection of players under the age of 15. The club has made an agreement with Noble-Lazarus' school to allow him to train with the club for two days each week. Davey has said that the club will "nurture" Noble-Lazarus by ensuring that he is "...dipped in and dipped back out..." of the team. Noble-Lazarus was included in Barnsley's squad to face Doncaster Rovers the weekend after his debut, making another substitute appearance when he came on for Iain Hume in the 87th minute.
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has claimed he has never had a single enquiry for midfielder Paul Scholes during his time at the club.
Scholes is set to make his 600th outing against Portsmouth tonight, with only Bill Foulkes, Sir Bobby Charlton and Ryan Giggs having played more games.
Ferguson said: " We have never had one enquiry for Paul Scholes - because they all know he will never leave."
Scholes was born in Salford and grew up as an Oldham Athletic supporter, but has trained with Manchester United since the age of 14. He then later joined as a trainee upon leaving the Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School, Middleton, Greater Manchester in the summer of 1991. In his final term at school, he was selected to represent Great Britain National Schools in football.
Scholes was not a member of Manchester United's 1992 FA Youth Cup-winning squad that included future senior team mates David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs, but he was part of the youth team that reached the final in the following season, alongside Phil Neville . Scholes turned professional on 23 July 1993, but did not make his breakthrough into the senior squad until the 1994–95 season, when he made seventeen league appearances and scored five goals. His debut came on 21 September 1994, where he scored twice in a 2–1 victory over Port Vale F.C. in the Football League Cup. Scholes came on as a substitute in the 1995 FA Cup final against Everton, which United lost 1–0.
In 1995–96, after Mark Hughes moved to Chelsea, Scholes had even more first-team opportunities. He stood in for the suspended Eric Cantona as Andrew Cole's strike partner for the first two months of the campaign. Scholes scored fourteen goals in all competitions as United became the first English team to win the double twice. He picked up another Premiership medal in 1996–97, but was restricted to three goals in sixteen league games.
Scholes moved to the midfielder and forward attack positions in the 1997–98 after Roy Keane suffered a knee injury in late September and did not play again that season. United finished the season without a major trophy, only the second time in the 1990s that this happened.
In 1998–99, Scholes was a key player in Manchester United's Premiership title, FA Cup, and UEFA Champions League Treble success. He scored one of Manchester United's two goals against Newcastle in the FA Cup final. He also scored an away goal against Internazionale in the CL quarter-final, but was ruled out of the final victory over FC Bayern Munich through suspension.
Scholes netted a career-high twenty goals in all competitions in the 2002–03 season, a number that dipped to fourteen the next year, despite a career-best four FA Cup goals in comparison to his total of five in his first nine seasons. He was ruled out for the second half of the 2005–06 campaign with blurred vision. The cause of this was initially uncertain, sparking fears that it could end his career. He overcame this problem through the beginning of the year and he appeared in Manchester United's final game of the season against Charlton Athletic. Reportedly, Scholes' vision has not completely recovered.
On 22 October 2006, in the 2–0 Premiership victory over Liverpool in which Scholes also scored, twelve years after marking his Red Devils debut with a League Cup brace against Port Vale, Scholes became the ninth United player to play in five hundred matches, joining Sir Bobby Charlton, Bill Foulkes, Denis Irwin, and current teammates Giggs and Gary Neville.
Scholes was dismissed during Manchester United's 1–0 away victory over Liverpool F.C. on 3 March 2007, for swinging an arm at Xabi Alonso. It marked his first league expulsion since April 2005. A month later, he was sent off in the first leg of Manchester United's Champions League quarter final at A.S. Roma. On 23 August, he was shortlisted for a spot in the National Football Museum Hall of Fame, which ultimately went to Dennis Bergkamp.
Scholes was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in September 2008. In a December 2008 interview with The Daily Mirror, he said he planned to retire from football completely in two years. "I think I've got two years left at the most. I'm looking forward to finishing and everything that goes with it."
On 24 January 2009, Scholes scored his first goal of the season against Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup. His shot from out-side the box in the 34th minute deflected in off Tom Huddlestone to bring the game to 1–1, while United would go on to win 2–1. On 18 February, Scholes scored his first Premier League goal in over a year in a 3–0 win over Fulham, a swerving volley that hit Mark Schwarzer and rebounded in.
The Office of Fair Trading ordered Manchester United to "revise its season-ticket terms and conditions to make them clearer and fairer for fans'' on Monday, prompting supporters' groups to claim a "significant victory'', but it is clear that the fight to stop the Glazers continuing to hike prices is far from won. A Department for Culture Media and Sport select committee hearing may be the next battleground.
Manchester United introduced the ACS (Automatic Cup scheme) which often compelled season ticket holders to take and pay for mid week Carling Cup and FA Cup games against lowly opposition where the game normally held little appeal to some fans, or they were just not able to attend. Thus passing on the onus of selling tickets to the fans and not themselves. The English and European champions have agreed to ensure season-ticket holders have "upfront transparency on potential costs to a guarantee of a ticket to all home games in all competitions'', according to the OFT, although really such conditions should be a given, not a privilege, in any season ticket.
United fans had expressed concern over commiting for an unknown amount of cup ties against unknown opposition. Some buyers of "one-year'' season tickets found they were not automatically entitled admission to some cup ties, indeed, in some of the bigger Champions League games they were overlooked completely as United used tickets for these games for Corporate packages which bring in far more cash then your average fan would. . Concessions have now been made by United, who are to abandon single-year deals.
How much pressure the OFT action places on the Glazers to freeze prices for next season is debatable. Having recently released annual accounts revealing United's startling debts, there is a need for the American owners to maximise revenue.
The OFT, though, are happy with its investigation. ''We have worked closely with Manchester United and are pleased that the club has amended its season-ticket terms to the considerable benefit of its fans,'' said Mike Haley, OFT head of consumer protection. "These changes greatly improve the protection for season-ticket holders.''
The OFT told fans groups such as the Manchester United Supporters Trust that there would be "ongoing monitoring to ensure [ticket schemes] are operated fairly in future''. United, though, will feel the OFT judgment is a score draw. Fans' complaints about price increases and the Automatic Cup Scheme were not upheld.
Fans insist these are an "abuse of a dominant market position'' under the Competition Act and pledged to fight on. "We have forced United's hand on a few of their ridiculous policies and this is a win for supporters,'' said a MUST spokesman. "Yet it is only the first step and shows what can be done with supporters working together and not letting the club roll over the fans.''
Clearly, the OFT must keep a sharp eye on the Glazers, a point that will doubtless be made at Westminster if fans have their way. "We are hoping for a DCMS select committee hearing,'' added the MUST spokesman. Given the friends the fans' groups have in Whitehall and Westminster, this hearing should definitely take place.
David Moyes, speaking with the Daily Mail, has revealed how he could easily have been lost to Everton if he had ignored advice from Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson in 2000 when a Premier League club came knocking for the then Preston manager.
"I called Sir Alex and he told me to pop down to Carrington to have a chat, I can’t say I really knew him that well. You’d bump into him at games and reserve games and we’d had some dealings, initially when David Beckham came on loan to Preston and I was assistant to Gary Peters. We then went on to sign the likes of Colin Murdoch, Jon Macken and Michael Appleton so there’d been quite a bit of contact. But it was still good of him to give up his time and let me come to see him. We sat there and went through the squad — he knew every one of them — and he advised me not to take it and, instead, stay at Preston. Which is obviously what I did."
Oddly enough, Fergie had already interviewed David Moyes for the vacant assistant managers job at Old Trafford and turned him down, choosing instead to hire Steve McLaren.
"He did tell me someone else was in the frame, and the guy he gave it to went on to manage England, which shows that he gets those decisions right because we’ve both gone on to do OK. But I remember sitting there, jaw open just wanting to get there and start learning. He was telling me what the job would be, and what was expected, and an opportunity to work with him would have been hard for anyone to turn down.
"Even now, I’ll take any opportunity to learn from him. The Scottish Premier League invite Scottish coaches to a dinner every year and Sir Alex comes up and lets the coaches fire questions at him. And I’ll be among those asking him how he’s done things and why. He’s a source of inspiration for us."
Here's wishing David Moyes good luck for the future, but not on Sunday of course !!
Alex Ferguson is expected to make wholesale changes to the team that beat FC Porto on Wednesday night saying "anyone believing I could play the same side that defeated FC Porto is “off their heads”. I remember last year as he sent a weakened team to Barcelona with the sole intent of coming home with a draw, and remarkably, almost coming home with a win. That was a stroke of genious as far as I am concerned, but on a certain Manchester United forum I was on at the time, they were whining and whinging about Fergie's decision to do that. These same people were there at the end though basking in the glory of another Champions League win.
Despite the enormity of their meeting with Everton, Manchester United will be virtually unrecognisable from the team that started in Portugal. Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ryan Giggs and Michael Carrick are all expected to stand down, with Edwin van der Sar and Dimitar Berbatov possibly joining them, although some will be on the bench in case of emergency.
The move may not sit well with traditionalists, however Ferguson insists he has no other choice.
“When I pick my team, no matter what it is there will be critics voicing a concern about me not playing my strongest team, not everyone agrees with changes. There are some supporters who want me to play my best team every game. That is impossible. If you look at Wednesday’s game you are off your head to think I could play the same team again."
The sheer energy expended in United reaching the last four of Europe’s number one club competition for the third season in a row means the men asked to do the bulk of the running will not be asked to put their bodies on the line again. It means Rooney is set to miss out on an emotional last four meeting with his former club, with Ronaldo due to sit the game out as well having toiled on his own up front for the last half hour.
“I am in a difficult position because we have got so many hard games coming up, Somewhere along the line I have to make changes. The speed of the game has changed. Look at how fast the Premier Division is. The intensity of the matches is the reason English teams have a head start in Europe.”
Yet Ferguson also denies he is devaluing the FA Cup. Replacements such as Park Ji-sung, Darren Fletcher and Carlos Tevez are all senior internationals who have been integral figures in United’s pursuit of an unprecedented quintuple this term. It is easy therefore for Ferguson to reject the theory he is playing a weakened team.
“Hand on heart, the FA Cup is important, we don’t want to have a defeat at this time of year. No matter what the defeat is, we have to answer for that.”
There is also the little matter of Ferguson’s impeccable record in semi-finals, which dates back to 1990 and currently stands at eight. Nevertheless, United will not start quite the red-hot favourites they were expected to be, with their manager placing his trust in a defence which, with Rio Ferdinand back alongside Nemanja Vidic, kept its first clean sheet in six matches on Wednesday night.
“Defensively we did really well on Wednesday, we were back to something like our best which is what we need now. We can take encouragement from it but we can also take the understanding of what that partnership at the back means. ”
As individuals, Ferdinand and Vidic are outstanding, both on the six-man short-list for the PFA player of the year award. However, as a pair they are even better, standing alongside Steve Bruce and Gary Pallister as the best partnership of Ferguson’s time at Old Trafford.
“Experience is important at this time of year, it allows you to be composed under pressure and gives you a presence. But it is more than that. It is the partnership. I keep on about Bruce and Pallister, who were together for seven years and hardly missed a game. Through that they got a consistency and an understanding and knowledge of each other’s capabilities. Now it is the same with Ferdinand and Vidic.”
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Sir Alex Ferguson will reshape his humiliated Manchester United squad after their Champions League debacle against Barcelona. 
