Football United Fanzine Issue 6 - Manchester United's premier online magazine

1 ISSUE 6, AUGUST 2011

RELIVING ROTTERDAM ‘91

IS THERE SPACE FOR BERBA THIS

SEASON?

COULD THIS BE CITY’S SEASON?

INTERVIEW WITH

DAN HIPGRAVE

JOURNALIST’S 2011-12

PREDICTIONS

AUGUST

2011

ALL THE NEWS FROM UNITED’S PRE-SEASON AMERICAN TOUR


REGULAR FEATURES

04 EDITORIALS 06 IN THE NEWS 08 HOT TOPIC 09 EDITOR COMMENT 10 BATTLE OF THE LEGENDS 14 MAD MANC’S RANT 16 BLAST FROM THE PAST 18 MICKY OWEN: PI 34 BORN AND RED 46 IN VIEW 47 THE FINAL WORD

20 HOT OFF THE PRESS Sports writers across the country make their predictions for the forthcoming season.

22 FAMOUS FACES Interview with Toploader’s Dan Hipgrave.

28 SPACE FOR BERBA? A look into if Dimitar Berbatov will fit into the United set-up this season.

In this month’s issue of Football United Fanzine

SPECIAL FEATURES

AUGUST 2011

30 United go Stateside

20

Space for Berba?


30 UNITED GO STATESIDE All the news from United’s US tour 2011.

36 COULD THIS BE CITY’S YEAR? With our rivals recent developments we ask if this could be their season.

38 WHAT IF? What if we hadn't signed Cantona? What if he hadn't been banned? What if….

42 THE YOUNG ONE With Nani and Valencia already established as wingers, how will new signing Ashley Young fit into the squad? 44 TEAM SPIRIT The importance of team spirit, written by a former player.

42

The Young One

5 AUGUST: United vs New York Cosmos

Paul Scholes Testimonial 7.30pm

7 AUGUST: United vs Manchester City

Community Shield: Wembley 2.30pm

14 AUGUST: West Brom vs United

Premier League 4.00pm

22 AUGUST: United vs Spurs


25 AUGUST: Champions League draw

Monaco

28 AUGUST: United vs Arsenal


COMING UP THIS MONTH...


Football United Fanzine

W: www.football-united-blogs.com E: [email protected] EDITORIAL Managing Editor: Steph Doehler Deputy Editor: Rachel Turney Contributors: Liam Scott, Brett Burgers, Omar Soliman, Jeff Harbert, Craig Farlie, Alan Tonge, Sam Peoples, Alan Monger, Sufiyan Kala, Peter Dyke. DESIGN Designer: Steph Doehler A SPECIAL THANKS TO Jim White, Oliver Kay, Patrick Barclay, Terry Christian, Dan Hipgrave, Tone Iversen. IMAGES United/America: Gareth Royle Battle of the Legends: Dan Edington FOR ENQUIRES Email: [email protected] Facebook: FootballUnited Blogs Twitter: @footballUB All material unless otherwise stated, is copyright to the Football United Fanzine. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the editors. The Football United Fanzine is completely independent of Manchester United Football Club. The Football United Fanzine accepts no responsibility for services offered by advertisers.

Warming the Bench

It’s been one hell of a month really hasn't it.?! I spent a couple of weeks aboard dur-ing July and more often than not I was stuck with American news channels as a result of the hotel’s lack of English television. I was surprised by how big a story the phone hacking scandal had become in America. It was at the fore-front of almost every headline on CNN for the duration of my

holiday. Without going into too much detail (as I discuss the issue further in Editor’s Comment), I’ve gotten a little bored of it all now. It was with significant grief whilst away that the story of the horrendous activities in Norway occurred as well. I speak for every member of the FUFanzine team when I say our thoughts have reached out to the country following the devastating killings last month. Some things really are far bigger than this silly ol’ game of football. Which leads me on to the start of the new campaign and the occasion we’ve all been waiting for. The Community Shield next Sunday will kick things off quite nicely. Fergie has already said the match is about “addressing our noisy neighbours again.” That’s certainly one way of putting it. And being just under two weeks away from the start of the new league season I’ve spoken to a few well known sports writers about their predictions for the forthcoming cam-paign. I hope you enjoy this issue.

Steph - Managing Editor Follow Steph on Twitter @StephDoehler

Editorials

Sunday’s Community Shield won’t be the friendly it

normally is.


With the start of the season fast approaching I’ve got some very serious decisions to make. Not which team to support, that’s obviously

always United. Not who I’m going to put money on to win what, because I don’t have enough money for that! No, the start of season for me, and many others, is dream team time. I spend more time deciding on my dream team than I do making any important life decisions. I select, re-select, change for-mation, re-calculate, filling up the bin with endless pieces of screwed up paper. Then I complete a victory dance when I have my team finalised only to realise I’ve used too many play-ers from one club. And so it begins again. The problem with doing a dream team is that it inevitable sways your hopes for results, usually to a very unrealistic conclusion. I go from wanting Chelsea to get hammered 3-0 to them losing 4-3 with a Torres hatrick because he’s in my dream team. Normally I love seeing Liverpool get well beaten, but if I’ve got Reina in my goal or a Liverpool defender, 1-0 becomes sufficient as a defeat. Having said that, I’m not sure I fancy my chances of success. I have this incredible knack of picking players who then get long term injuries. If it’s not a long term injury I curse them with an inability to even hit the target. So my conclusion is simple, this year I will pick all City, Liver-pool, Chelsea and Arsenal players. Then when they all get injured or forget how to play football I’ll know I played a sub-stantial part in United winning everything.

Rachel - Deputy Editor Follow Rachel on Twitter @Rachel_jj2011

Editorials


WITH THE TRANSFER WINDOW STILL OPEN FOR ONE MORE MONTH, FERGIE & GILL CONTRADICT ONE ANOTHER ON UNITED’S PLANS.

With rumours still sur-rounding United’s interest in Wesley Sneijder, Sir Alex Ferguson declared that the club were unlikely to make anymore signings during this summer transfer win-dow. Last week Fergie said, "At this moment, I can't see another addition. The type of player we might have been looking for is not available. I am happy with the players I have got at

this moment in time.” How-ever the following day Unit-ed’s Chief-Executive indi-cated that their spending may not be over. He told MUTV, "We are looking at one more player to bring in. Nothing is happening and nothing is imminent but we will see what happens when we get home.” It would certainly appear here that they aren't singing from the same hymn sheet.

If you believe the newspapers, United could still be in the hunt for one of these players.

(Left: Nasri Right: Sneijder)



As the rumblings of the “he’s crooked...no he isn’t” argument remains at FIFA, UEFA are continuing to show the world why they are leagues ahead of their global counterpart. Whilst FIFA have been busy fuel-ling the endless money problems in world football, UEFA have been working to curb it.

The 2012 season brings about changes for European teams wishing to take part in UEFA sanctioned events, such as the Europa and Champions League. Clubs will have to be able to show, over a three year rolling period, that they have only spent money that the club has earned. On the surface of it there are potential opportunities to struggle. The Manchester City and Chelsea’s exter-nal bank rolling could leave them in hot water, whereas Manchester United have an issue in that we spend much of our profit before it hits the bottom line, in respect of the debt payments we have to make to continue the Glazers ownership. Some leeway is being given over the first six years, with the rules tightening after three, to allow the rules chance to bed in. Surprisingly, Arsenal will have no issues. If only the world leaders had kept their eye on the ball, they could have implemented this on a global scale.

Hopefully for us English, the knock on effect will be that teams who are not generating enough revenue to continue buying in the world’s talent from outside the UK, will resort to home grown players, thus improv-ing the quality of player being fed into the national team set up. We live in hope! For me though the changes are only a start to what needs to be done in football. Whilst I hope that the changes to the UEFA rules will result in the ridiculous price tags for players being reined in, I also hope it will go some way towards curbing the ridiculous wages that players are paid. I think in the next ten years we could be looking at a series of rule changes to calm the finances of football down. For me this financial constraint to competition is just that, financial. Money can be moved around and put into different columns on tables without an issue, making a spread sheet, say whatever you want it to. That’s where UEFA’s challenge lies, in validating their rules are being adhered too. I wonder if they are up to the task? At least their task is football relevant and not to do with bribes, in fighting or other petulance, but pro-gress to improve the game!


WITH UEFA’S PROMINENCE IN FOOTBAL LIAM SCOTT ASKS IF WE STILL NEED FIFA AS A GOVERNING BODY.


I know it hasn't even started yet but the 2011-12 Premier League season really is shaping up to be the best in some time. Whilst, naturally, I will never back anyone other than United to win the title, our clos-est rivals are strengthening their own teams as we look to replace some of our best players. Chelsea will be interesting and much of their success will depend on how Andre Villas-Boas plans to shape the squad. Liverpool and City have made some decent signings and will no doubt improve upon last season, as much as it pains me to say it. And Arsenal...are just Arsenal. Their own fortunes will depend more on which players they keep rather than which they sign. All in all we’re set for a fantastically exciting campaign and despite it feeling like a lifetime coming we’re nearly at kick off. With United’s difficult start to the sea-son it’s imperative that they secure as many points as possible during this period.

AGREE OR DISAGREE? We want to know what you think about anything you read in the magazine. You can email: [email protected] or tweet us @footballUB

Will the forthcoming season be the best ever?

only publication guilty of this, that’s for certain, although they are the only ones being severe-ly punished in this manner. I don't condone the actions of some journalists, in fact I think they are rather sickening. I do however believe it would be unfair to tarnish all the NOTW’s reporters with the same brush. The newspaper did a lot of good which we shouldn't forget, most notably introducing Sarah’s Law and domestic violence campaigns. The NOTW did wrong and for that it has paid the ultimate price. I’m sure I’m not alone when I wish their sports writ-ers all the luck in their future endeavours. Thank you to all of them.

I have a confession to make. One that I shouldn't really be all that unashamed of and yet in this past month I was made to feel so by various different entities. I was a News Of The World reader and I wish I still was. People may ask why I would choose to read such tripe and whilst the showbiz scandals were mildly enter-taining the main reason was because of the enjoyable work by their talented sports writ-ers. The likes of Neil Ashton and Andy Dunn have ensured never a dull Sunday for me. So yes, I was saddened to hear that the newspaper had be-come embroiled, or at the cen-tre of, the phone hacking scan-dal. By no means were they the

As the News Of The World pays the ultimate price in Britain’s phone hacking scandal, Steph discusses her views on the former newspaper.

END OF A NEWSPAPER ERA



Page 11

Is it actually possible to debate just how fantastic these players were for Manchester United? Each goalkeeper experienced the deserved plaudits

during their coveted careers. Omar and Rachel will be fighting the respective corners for your vote. So get reading and get voting on the

website.

Back in 1977, Brian Clough spent £270’000 to bring England goalkeeper Peter Shilton to Not-tingham Forest. An exorbitant sum at the time and one which Clough himself was derided for, with the late great manager saying “I was asked by someone on our board why we should bother to spend so much cash on a guy who might not be in the game for 85 minutes.” Three years, two European Cups, the League Championship and the League Cup later, Clough was fully vindicated. Thankfully Sir Alex Ferguson has a similar philosophy that successful teams start at the back with a world-class goalkeeper. In the summer when Edwin Van Der Sar finally hangs up his gloves we attempt to compare the Dutchman with the last truly great United goal-keeper, Peter Schmeichel. The statistics don’t lie. For goals conceded per game, Van Der Sar averaged 0.74 to Schmeichel’s 0.82 and for clean sheets the Dutchman had a mar-ginally better rate with 51% to 44%. Delve a little deeper and there are reasons why which I will detail. Goalkeeper/Sweeper Arguably Van Der Sar covered two positions, a custodian of the

net but also an adept sweeper. Witness his heroic tackle on Nicolas Anelka in last season’s Champions League quarter final second leg. As the Chelsea striker charged and chased Nemanja Vidic’s clearance, he was met outside the area by the sort of sliding tackle and clearance that Gary Neville would have been proud of. His intelligence and versatility also lends itself to assisting attacks; notably his peach of a lofted pass for Wayne Rooney to open the scoring against Aston Villa at Old Traf-ford last season. Consistency Consider this, during the 2008-09 season he went 1,311 minutes of play over a three month period without conceding a goal, keeping 14 clean sheets in the process and setting a new Premiership, as well as Europe-an league, record. Such an achievement comes from an assuredness and concentration that means he can be called upon to make a crucial save in the quietest of games. You could probably count the number of mistakes he has made on one hand, certainly Ferguson is one to forgive. Following his fumble to allow West Brom’s Somen Tchoyi to equalise at Old Traf-ford in October, Ferguson said:

“Here’s a lad with 130 caps for Holland, the most fantastic career you could imagine. You couldn’t even criticise him be-cause he doesn’t deserve that. He’ll probably make one hor-rendous mistake in his life.” Penalties Of course, he may well be best remembered for his penalty save against Anelka which proved the difference in the 2008 Champions League final. However, the previous season he denied Darius Vassel with his trailing leg to earn United a 1-0 win against City which ultimately claimed the league title. The three in a row series of saves also proved enough to deny Chelsea in the 2007 Com-munity Shield shootout. Shot stopping For a 40 year old, Van Der Sar


displayed incredible agility to not only tip away long-range efforts but to instinctively block tap-ins. His triple save against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last season in the league defied be-lief. One, to block the free-kick despite an onrushing Michael Essien. Two, to block Ivanovic’s follow-up effort despite being on the floor and finally to tip away the loose ball. Again, his intelli-gence proves in standing up for long enough to ensure that once the shot is released, he can spread himself. Character For a goalkeeper he was of a quiet, unassuming breed. Whilst many tend to laud themselves on keeping the back four on their toes and rollocking them when necessary, he demonstrated an unflappable cool. Even when

performing heroics he would often turn away and solemnly walk back to his spot to pre-parefor the oncoming corner. Put frankly, he made the art of goalkeeping look sublimely easy but would share in celebrating a goal with the crowd. Possibly my enduring image of him will not be from a crucial save but of Rooney’s winner against City in the 2010 League Cup semi-final. As the camera zooms out from Rooney wheeling away to the corner flag, Van Der Sar thumps the air triumphantly at the other end of the pitch. Perhaps the real shame is not that he is retiring now, but that it took ten different goalkeepers and five years before he arrived.

By Omar

scored an overhead kick against Wimbledon but it was unfortu-nately ruled offside. The inten-sion of these runs up the pitch was not only to try and score but to distract the defenders and perhaps allow someone else to be unmarked. I can think of no better example than in the 1999 Champions League final when he was up there with everyone else trying to save the game. He would do whatever it took to finish his United career on the highest of all highs. Consistency His level of consistency is shown by how hard he was to replace. United ended the 1999 season on a 33 match unbeaten run, which he played a key role in. There is no one I would trust more between the sticks. The ‘95-96 season also saw him keep a clean sheet in 12 of the last 16 league games to help United lift the league title. Our number one goalkeeper for an incredible eight years, winning the league five times. Penalties Best remembered for his penalty save against Arsenals Dennis Bergkamp in the 1999 FA Cup semi-final replay. The penalty was awarded in the last minute of normal time with the scores tied at 1-1. That save was pivotal not only in the match, which United went on to win but also in the quest for the treble. Just think, if he hadn’t saved that penalty, we would never have seen THAT Ryan Giggs goal. The pressure on him was massive but as always he delivered. He also saved Van Basten’s penalty in a shootout against Holland in the 1992 Euros to send Denmark to the final, which they went on to win against World Champions Germany, with Schmeichel

Sir Alex Ferguson described him as “bargain of the century” in 2000, having acquired him for just £500,000 in 1991. Peter Schmeichel, the fiery, passionate, giant of a man who for me is the true United number one of all time. Voted the world’s best goalkeeper in 1992 and 1993 and our keeper for United’s most memorable year, 1999. The man who made his last appearance

for the club as captain in the Champions League final which completed the historic treble. Goalkeeper/Striker Schmeichel is fondly remem-bered for running up the pitch to try and score from corners when his team needed a goal. He even scored for United once in the 1995 UEFA Cup match against Rotor Volograd. The Dane also


Diego Wolfsburg

TRANSFER TAVERN

Sometimes it’s hard to keep up with just how many players United are linked with during the transfer window. Here we have brought you

just a small selection of the rumours from July.

Wesley Sneijder Inter Milan

Mirko Vucinic Roma

Douglas Costa

Shakhtar Donetsk

Mikkel Diskerud Staebek

Joey Barton Newcastle Utd

holding a cross with one hand. Shot stopping This was one of his greatest assets. He had unbelievable presence and was fantastic in one on one situations. His save against Newcastle in 1997 was also voted save of the decade - a wonderful reaction to a close range header. Who can forget his famous star jump saves which involved spreading out both his arms and legs to block the ball? He is also remembered for mak-ing a wonderful save against Rapid Vienna in the 96-97 sea-son, likened often to a Gordan Banks save against Pele. Character He was a warrior and a leader. He shouted at his defenders and he intimidated his opponents. He had a fierce temper but an even fiercer passion and will to win. He epitomised the United never say die attitude. My greatest memory of him was his cart-wheel celebration when the treble was clinched. Celebrating his finest and final moments with United in style. Statistically it can be argued that Van Der Sar was better, but num-ber only tell half a story as clean sheets depend very much on the whole teams performance, par-ticularly that of the defenders. There is also no way to measure such qualities as influence and presence which Schmeichel had in abundance. Van Der Sar is a world class keeper but Peter Schmeichel is still the very best for me. I just hope our new keep-ers can live up to their great heights.

By Rachel @Racheljj_2011

HOW TO VOTE

Now that you have read Omar and

Rachel’s arguments you can vote on the Football United Blogs website by clicking on the “Battle of the

Legends” tab at the top of the homepage. The result will be revealed in Issue 7 of the fanzine as we bring you another compelling Battle of the Legends debate.

http://www.manunitednews.net/link/1010884





Twitter is a bit of a double-edged sword for me. On one hand, I love the fact that I can talk about football with fans of any club on the world, from any country in the world. I can talk to United fans from India about our summer signings. I can speak to City fans from the USA about their disgraceful choice in foot-ball team. I can even speak to fans in Australia about Mel-bourne Heart FC (whilst trying to track down Jesper Olsen, but that's another story). On the other hand, it’s opened my eyes to certain groups of United fans who I simply just don't under-stand.

This summer, United have said goodbye to a fair few senior players. We've had the emotion-al retirements of Edwin Van Der Sar and Paul Scholes, who both deserve their place in United folklore for their services to the club. We have also said goodbye to two senior squad members in Wes Brown and John O'Shea. These are not your flashy-passing, step-over dishing, shot-stopping type of player. They aren't the type of player who would sell out shirts from the megastore or who would be on the cover of a FIFA or Pro-Evo football game, but they were amazing servants for the club. I

have never been John O'Shea’s greatest fan and I was often a critic of his, but I was genuinely sad to see him go as he was a good utility man. Wes Brown was a different matter. I've al-ways rated him and thought when he played alongside Rio was a fantastic, if not a little erratic, defender. I assumed that this would be the feeling the majority of United fans would have. Yet I was astounded to see that a significantly large portion of fans adopted a 'no room for sentiment in football' type atti-tude. How can this be? In a season when we lost one of the greatest ever to pull on the United shirt, surely sentiment is a football fan’s right? For a start, each of these players have won five Premier League winners medals. You don't do this by fluke and you don't hold your place in the squad of a successful team for

“In a season when we lost one of the greatest ever to pull on the United shirt, surely sentiment is a football fan’s right?


that long if you aren't deserving. Each player has appeared over 350 times for the club and have each played their part in some of the most successful United teams in our distinguished histo-ry. Were they squad players last season? Yes. Were there better options in the squad? Yes. But this doesn't mean that we can't appreciate the effort they have both put in and look back over their careers with the club. The-se players have dedicated a sig-nificant portion of their playing careers furthering the United cause and yet some fans can barely be bothered to acknowledge their place in the book of records. My guess is that these are the same fans who knee-jerk at every point dropped throughout the season. The same type of fan who thinks that every time Michael Carrick touches the ball during the course of ninety minutes, the world will come to an excruciating end. The same type of fan who says that maybe Sir Alex Ferguson should step down in favour of the 'younger man' - yes, I have actually heard these words muttered.

I'm a firm believer that every fan is entitled to their own opin-ion and no single person’s opin-ion is more significant than the next person. If you don't like these players, that’s fine, they weren't everyone’s cup of tea. If you think they are past their best and that the future is what’s important, that’s fine too and I would totally agree. But don't lose sight of the fact that they have bled for the club. They have stood shoulder to shoulder with some of the greatest players in our history, and been part of some of the most successful squads. Take a minute to appre-ciate one of Wesley Brown's many great performances in the shirt, or John O'Shea’s goal at Anfield. Give these players the thanks they deserve and then move on as you will, which will probably moaning about us not spending £40m on Luca Modric or Wesley fucking Sneidjer!

You can read Peter’s further ramblings at The

Faithful MUFC or follow him on Twitter

@MadManc78

Tweets From The

Terrace

In light of the O’ Shea & Brown

sales, do you think there is room for sentiment in the

sport?

@Mst2bad: Sentiment still has a

place but the club comes first. When they return to

OT there will be a standing ovation for

them surely.

@VarunKaul: Don’t think it holds a

place in todays world or even a few years ago, I vividly remember Roy

Keane's quotes regarding the same.

@Shaun_Payne_7: It shouldn't no. I'm gutted

about those sales (saw them in Sunderland kit yesterday- it hurt) but

Brown has had his time O'Shea however, I feel has

been let go a year too early.

If you want to get involved in

these questions just look out

for #tweetsfromtheterrace

on @stephdoehler’s Twitter

Have you heard the one about a group of United fans discussing all issues RED? No? Well you’ve not

heard the Football United Podcast then? Get over to

www.football-united-blogs.com/podcast to listen or you can download them

for free from iTunes by searching for Football

United Blogs.

http://thefaithfulmufc.wordpress.com/

http://thefaithfulmufc.wordpress.com/

http://twitter.com/madmanc78


The date is Tuesday 14th May 1991, the venue is the Shake-speare pub at Victoria Station in London, the 'poison' is Guinness and I am waiting for my never-to-be-brother-in-law (many apolo-gies Miss C, but history has shown it was for the best) to join me. Anthony is late and I'm get-ting a bit worried. Actually no, I’m not worried, but HE bloody well should be because frankly, if he's not here in the next ten minutes I'm going to make that walk to the coach station alone and board my transport to Rot-terdam, with not just mine but also his ticket for the Cup Win-ners Cup Final in my pocket. Sorry mate, but I ain't risking missing getting to this game for anything. Not even if it's going to cause WW3 in my never-to-be-in-laws house. This is Manchester United in a European final for God’s sake! Ok, so he made it with a few minutes to spare. Loads of time he said and yes I guess the fact he had enough time to down not just the pint waiting for him on the bar, but also a second one suggests it was probably a good job he'd not arrived twenty

had to go cap in hand to my step-father to ask whether he could get any via his FA contacts. The old man came through big time but not soon enough for me to get on to an official United coach going to the game. Which then necessitated organising normal travel, not the easiest task bear-ing in mind the mere suspicion of you being a football fan on the way to Holland was apparently good enough reason for the coach firms to prevent you book-ing seats. 'Is your intention to go to the football?' was the question when phoning. The response 'Um no, what football?' luckily did the trick. Phew.

With this in mind, it was then fairly hilarious to see about 30-40 mostly young males and fe-males boarding our Eurolines coach to Rotterdam, together with about ten elderly 'holidaying' couples. Then the coach driver making an an-nouncement to the effect that OBVIOUSLY none of us were Rotterdam-bound for the foot-ball, but if he was given real causes to suspect anyone was, then he was empowered to ei-ther throw individuals off, or at

minutes earlier, because a pissed up Anthony on this particular coach we were boarding was definitely not part of the script.

Let's put things into context here. 1990-91 was the first sea-son English clubs were allowed back into European competition after the ban following Heysel. And United had got to the Final, to play against Barcelona. I had already travelled to Wrexham, Montpellier and Warsaw to watch our European adventure and now Rotterdam beckoned. All season it was as though the eyes of the whole of Europe had been on us, the Red Army, the loyal travelling support. One bad incident of any consequence surely would mean English clubs being thrown out again, with no idea as to when they would re-turn, if ever. United, not for the first time, were the standard bearers for English football. Rotterdam was not to be missed and yet leading up to it everything suggested I wasn't going to be there. I had been unsuccessful in acquiring tickets through the club (United's allo-cation was only 25,000), so had

Rotterdam 1991 By Alan Monger

Barcelona vs Manchester United 15th May 1991

Cup Winners Cup Final


any point in the journey to actu-ally turn the coach back. At which point about 30-40 people looked around at each other as if to enter into an unspoken pact. Happily common sense prevailed and apart from a few quiet pints on the ferry, an alcohol free and trouble free journey to Holland, via Belgium, ensued.

Arriving in Holland, our final destination was obviously Rot-terdam. But Amsterdam was the first stopping point. With the best part of 20 hours to kill be-fore kick off, and Rotterdam having already been described as 'just a seaport' it seemed like a good idea to experience some of Amsterdam’s famous social life prior to moving on. Traditionally orange, that night Amsterdam was most certainly red. And no, nothing to do with the colour of lights that adorned many a win-dow on our travels! Suffice to say a great drunken night was had, and more than a few sore heads set off to a very wet Rot-terdam at lunchtime the follow-ing day.

In truth no trouble ever looked likely between United and Barce-lona fans on the day, but the Dutch authorities had taken every step to ensure that this was going to be a trouble free occasion. English and Spanish fans were directed to different areas of Rotterdam and 'entertainment' in the form of several bands was laid on at the sites of the coach parks. From recollection, such musical lumi-naries as The Lunatics, Ratsink and Rattle and Reel performed for United fans with Keith Fane DJing. Alcohol wasn't on sale in and around the city centre so come kick off time that evening the massive majority of the crowd were pretty much sober and able to concentrate fully on the events unfolding in the tor-rential rain. United won 2-1 of course, with both United goals coming from Mark Hughes, his second a sen-sational drilled shot having tak-en it wide of keeper Carles Busquets (father of current Barca player, Sergio).

It was a great goal worthy of winning any game, let alone United's biggest match since Wembley 1968, and to be scored by Hughes an ex-Barcelona player made it all the sweeter. Our joy was un-confined, even more so some twenty minutes later when the final whistle sounded after a fairly nervy end to the game. United had won a European trophy. Against Barcelona of all teams. And I'd been there to witness it! So to the journey back home. How Ant and I managed to find our way back to the coach station after the match and hence begin the slow journey back to England remains one of life's mysteries. What I do remember is the ferry journey back. No longer under threat of possibly not even getting to the match, the shackles were off. Booze was drunk, songs were sung, friendships were made. Happy days…and they've kept coming ever since.


Micky has seen it all. From the depths of despair and depravity on the streets of Liverpool, to the bleak cultural black hole of the North-East. When Sir Alex Ferguson approached him with the opportunity to sharpen his investigative tools without having football as a distrac-tion, he wholeheartedly embraced it. The champagne life-style of an international secret agent suits Micky just fine, but sometimes you have to actually get off your arse, which isn’t much fun.

It was just your typical day before a pre-season tour and I was gathering my belongings together. My passport, travellers cheques and my ‘American phrase book’ were all safely in my bum bag. Oh no wait, I’m not wearing a bum bag, that’s just my bum. Girlfriend, I need to lose some junk from that trunk. I’d packed sweets for the jour-ney, no need to pack any fudge now that John’s gone to Sunderland, but plenty of Werthers Origi-nals for the cherubs (Fab and Raf to you) and boiled sweets for Giggsy. Okay, everything ready. Clothes, check. Papers, Check. Hargo, Check. Yeeeahhhh you heard right. How could I let Hargo walk away (well, hobble) after what happened last month. I wanted to take him along as my new sidekick, every great detective needs a sidekick. Besides his grasp of the American language would come in very handy. “Like, I’m so Canadian Mi-chael, it’s actually, like, very different.” “Whatever, whoops!” I gave the case Hargo was stowed away in an all mighty boot totally by acci-dent. “Shit!” I yelped, I’d stubbed my toe. Agent Lineker had warned me about this debilitating injury. I got on the SAF-phone immediately to inform him I’d have to catch up with the tour after a few weeks of convalescence. As I picked up the receiv-er to dial I glanced outside to see SAF’s head bob-bing up and down over next door’s fence. His mouth was grappling so hard with his chewing gum, garden tools were beginning to stick to the side of his face from the gravitational force. I crawled outside. “Micky, Micky!” SAF beckoned me over in hushed tones. “Hold me steady you big numpty” he hissed. “Sorry, I’m not really into that,” I replied. “Not you Micky…this chocolate fire-guard,” he said gesturing downwards to where Mike Phelan was planted, providing SAF with a

piggy back. “Now did you get that fax I sent you?” He whispered. “Of course.” The fax he’d sent was a critical examination of how the game was going down the pan and being put under huge economic threat from wealthy overseas business men buy-ing up shares and then offsetting accrued debts against Premier League clubs’ assets. I agreed with the sentiment especially when it mentioned clubs like City, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea…But STOP THE PRESS!! The article went on to mention our dealings with the Glazers! This was indicative of the nega-tive destructive institutional bias within the press against our exemplary reputation. “Okay, well then you know how important it is to not miss out on the tour, it’s been purposely contrived for you, you you, youuoooooerergh..!” At that point Phelan collapsed, fortunately cushioning SAF’s fall with his face. “Good job I landed on your head, the thick-est part,” SAF scoffed at Phelan. I returned to the house and had the wife put my poor toe in hot water immediately. Typically, despite having a complete clean bill of health for as long as I can remember, I had a stubbed toe and while I’d been down at the stable earlier I’d felt a little ho(a)rse. But I couldn’t let these ailments get in the way of one of my most important assignment to date. Something had to be done and fast. I’d already arranged with our overseas agent, Agent Becks, via messages in bottles to do some exploratory investigations and he said he had “Obviously got some important information, obvi-ously.” I’d also managed to arrange a lift across the Atlantic with Ben Fogle and James Cracknell. I asked them why it was necessary to do it without wearing clothes. They told me it wasn’t they just preferred it that way.

18 ISSUE 4, JUNE 2011


By Brett Burgers As a young 'un Brett fell in love with football,

Robbo and United all at the same time. He grew up in awe of Eric and Scholesy. Brett is also one

half of www.bifurcated.co.uk


Agent Becks had asked me to meet him in a disused sports stadium after dark and all would be revealed. As I approached I saw agent Becks talking to George Bush, Rupert Murdoch and Margaret Thatcher. I looked to the sky again for an explanation. Eric popped from behind a cloud, “Just go with it Micky.” The closer I got I realised I’d been mistaken; Agent Becks was actually talk-ing to the Glazers. No wait, now he was talking to Bill Gates, Sepp Blatter and Bono. “Ah, Micky, glad you could join us,” said Chris Martin from Coldplay. This was all too much. Agent Becks pulled me to one side “Obviously, you don’t get it yet Micky?” I looked back blankly. “Obviously, we’re all shape shifting reptilians and obviously the reason Manchester United are obviously exempt from any wrong doing with regards to the Glazers obviously is because the experiment we’re carrying out on your planet is obviously a socio-neuro-eco-physio-biological case study designed to enhance human development through our findings obvious-ly and establish a means of providing the Universe with a more stabilised climate, obviously aiding the perpetuation of the existence of all life forms obvi-ously throughout the solar system. Obviously the Glaziers are just a vehicle forming part of the ex-periment, they obviously aren’t real people.”

“Could you repeat that,” I asked after nodding off halfway through. “No, obviously.” Case Closed. After last month when Chris from Bury, Peter from Firswood and Sally from Hulme forgot to leave ample space outside for their laptops to be collected by Skip-away and destroyed, we would prefer if you just get your cleaner to put your laptops in a black bin bag and dump it in a bin round the corner. That seems to be the preferred method for disposing of sensitive information used by some of the country’s most underhand criminals. Hargo is still trapped in the suitcase refusing help. I will not rest, okay maybe 40 winks now and then (it’s harder than I originally thought), until the integrity of Manchester United is upheld. Keep ‘em peeled!

@HoldAndGive


Steph has spoken to four men in the media to get their predictions for the 2011-12 Premier League season.

QUESTIONS: 1. Who do you think will be United’s closest rivals this season?

2. Looking into your crystal ball, what will the top four be next May? 3. Who has been the best Premier League signing so far during this window?

4. What media/United related predictions do you make this season? 5. Which United youth player could break through this year?

JIM WHITE Columnist for The Telegraph. Author of “You’ll Win Nothing With Kids” and “Manchester United: The Biography.”

1. I think it will be very tight between Utd, City and Chelsea. Liverpool and Arsenal will have their say, too. Expect it to be a season of real tension. Pass the Imodium... 2. United, City, Chelsea, Arsenal. Same as this sea-son, but a slightly different order. 3. Like the look of Phil Jones. And Villa signing Shay Given and Charles N'Zogbia seems good business. 4.There will undoubtedly be a mini point-dropping crisis in the autumn (possibly involving a shock reverse at Swansea), resulting in someone somewhere suggesting now really is the time for Sir Alex to retire. 5. Paul Pogba and Ravel Morrison could both fea-ture in more than just Carling Cup games. Pogba looked as if he had real potential in the Youth Cup last season.


OLIVER KAY Football Correspondent at The Times.

1. City. Seriously. They reached a stage towards the end of last season where it seemed it was all about to unravel, but it seemed that beating United in the semi-final gave a much-needed sense of purpose and togetherness. Their big weakness is still in the mind and in the collec-tive, but they have a really good squad now. I wouldn't rule out Chelsea, but they have quite a few issues they need to overcome.

2. United, Manchester, Chelsea, Arsenal.

3. Phil Jones should be very good, certainly in the long term. I'm not blown away by too many of the other deals. Demba Ba should get a few goals for Newcastle, likewise Jay Bothroyd at QPR. Some decent deals from Sunderland (not necessarily O'Shea and Brown, more Larsson, Gardner and Vaughan) and Wolves.

4. I wouldn't want to predict anything after what's happened in the past few months. It's a gloomy time. United? A slow start, mid-table in late September, lots of questions being asked about Fergie's judgement, then a long unbeaten run. Just like old times. Expecting a really good season for Rooney and Carrick. But Fergie has to sign someone to improve his options in midfield. I'd have said the same even if Scholes and Har-greaves had stayed on. 5. It depends what you class as a youth player. They've got an awful lot of players in the 20-23 bracket who will be playing fairly regularly, but I don't imagine much will be seen of the real youngsters (Pogba, Tunnicliffe, Morrison etc) just yet. There is space for at least one more midfielder in the regular squad, but I just can't see them starting many games this season. They would probably all need to go on loan first - and I don't see Fergie letting Morrison out of his sight yet. Cleverley, Macheda and Welbeck will get a few games, but there wasn't really enough from them on loan last season to suggest they're ready to make a huge impact in United's first team. It's just a shame Bebe isn't around.

PATRICK BARCLAY Chief Football Commentator at The Times. Author of “Football: Bloody Hell.”

1. Manchester City. 2. Manchester United, Manchester City, Arse-nal and Chelsea. 3. Ashley Young 4. By Christmas, Jack Wilshere will be favour-ite for Footballer Of The Year, with Ashley Young and Wayne Rooney also candidates as English becomes the flavour of the League. 5. None because the first team is so young.

TERRY CHRISTIAN Broadcaster, TV presenter, writer, actor, producer, United fan. 1. Chelsea. 2. United, Chelsea, City, Liverpool. 3. I think Young for United will be brill but Liverpool will slot Charlie Adam in very nicely good business. Aguero's great but the atmos-phere behind the scenes at City doesn't bode well for when they're up against it. 4. It’s too early to make those kind of predictions. 5. Ravel Morrison or Paul Pogba.

@jimw1 @OliverKayTimes @pbarclaytimes @terrychristian


How pleased are you with United’s signings during this transfer window? I think it’s been outstanding so far. I think United’s policy has been “youth is the way forward” and Chicharito proved that last year and Ronaldo previously. I think it’s exciting getting a youth player and it actually turned me on watching the under 21’s to see what Phil Jones was like as I don’t know much about him. I thought he was absolutely out-standing. Apart from YouTube clips I don’t know an awful lot about de Gea so he obviously has a lot to prove ‘cos he’s a young man and has big boots to fill. I can’t imagine Fergie and his coaching staff not getting that one right though. And Ashley Young I think is a great player. He’s been playing for, without being disrespectful, a fairly aver-age Aston Villa team over the last few years so I’m sure he’ll excel at United amongst all the great players. Just one more signing is needed now, there’s still a missing piece in the jigsaw in the midfield area I think. Hopefully we’ll sort that out in

the next couple of weeks. Well there’s been a lot of ru-mours with the likes of Nasri and Sneijder, what are your thoughts on them? Well I think there are three who could do the job, that’s Modric, Nasri and Sneijder, with differ-ent pros and cons for them all really. My theory is that Sneijder is probably the best player of the three. I think Nasri had one great season and it’s debateable be-cause not always does one sea-son mean you’ll go on to be a great player. And Modric is just a really good choice. He’s probably a bit more like Scholes than the other two I guess and I think he would be a great acquisition but when a player opens up and says he wants to go to a team like Chelsea you have to back away really. You’re fighting a losing battle. And City might already have the Nasri deal wrapped up so that leaves Sneijder. Which isn’t bad! The disadvantage with Sneijder is his age, he’s 27 so he’s got a few seasons but little resale value which Ferguson likes to look at. Plus he’s not

always a gamble. But any one of those three, any top club in the world would be happy with. So just put your hand in the bag and see which one you pull out real-ly. I think they all do the job that United desperately needed last season to unravel the midfield and spray some balls around. Moving on to your support for the club. Obviously you’re not from Manchester so what made you become a United fan? To be honest I grew up a Bright-on & Hove Albion supporter. I was born in Brighton and my dad has always supported them and then it got to the early-mid 90’s and I started really follow-ing football. At the time I think there were seven first team United players who were playing for England, there was a really English contingent within the squad and it started from me supporting England. Not quite so much these days but I really supported them back then. The Premier League has become such a massive thing and I think a lot of people adopt a team now,


Toploader sprang to into the public eye in 2000 when their debut album Onka’s Big Moka went three times platinum and peaked a number four in the charts. Hit singles such as Dancing In The Moonlight and Achilles Heel made the band a house-hold name. They are now back recording again and Steph took time last month for a chat with guitarist and Manchester United fan, Dan Hipgrave about the club, their musical comeback and winning the “Stella Cup” at Wembley.

Toploader (left to right – Rob Green, Joe Washbourn, Dan Hipgrave and Matt Knight)


I don’t know how that sounds to local people, but that’s kind of the truth of it really. It’s been a sad season with a lot of players coming to the end of their careers and no doubt Fergie will in the com-ing years too. Who would you like to see replace him? I was actually talking to Denis Irwin about this the other night ‘cos I went to the charity dinner. It was really interesting talking to him because he’s an old Fergie boy anyway and he was a little bit sad with Fergie going one day. He was saying that the whole club, all the way through to catering, hinges on Sir Alex. He is the ethos of the club and therefore it’s going to be a real challenge to whoever takes over. It’s not just about managing the club, it runs deeper than that. I always thought the man that could handle that the best was Mourinho and I think he would really want the job. What comes with that though is all the antics and the press, possibly not the style of football we would want either. But who else could handle it? Fans will constantly be on their backs. Mourinho could soak the pressure up, plus he could attract the big players, we might even get Ronny come back. You never know! I think that’s why I think he would be the best of the

job. But I can’t wait to see what Chelsea do with this Villas-Boas guy, I really mean that. I think that’s a really adventurous, posi-tive move. It’s quite a romantic move to get some young guy in and hope he stays there for 20 years, that would be nice.

I think Ambramovich has run out of other big names though hasn’t he? Well yeah. I don’t know how much patience he’ll have, Villas-Boas is younger than some of the players which will be difficult. But at the same time there’s sometime nice about that, I’d love United to do that. I wouldn’t even be massively surprised to see Pep Guardiola to step down from Barcelona and took the job. There’s a couple of options out there. I don’t think there’s a manager in the world who wouldn’t want the job.

Moving on to yourself then Dan. A couple of years ago you launched Original Music Travel, tell us a little bit about that. I was doing a lot of travel writing for some newspapers and all my stories were about music festi-vals and it just sort of dawned on me as I was sitting on a sun lounger. Actually it was my wife who thought of it. You go on all these orientated, cultural trips

with music festivals all around the world but no-one actually put them together, packaged them up and sold them. And it stemmed from that really. I spent a year doing a lot of mar-ket research, putting things together and then I joined forces with Original Travel and we set it up. It’s going really well and it’s just a different type of travel experience. I think people want that experience now that the world has got so much easier to travel in. It’s very weird for me, to get into business but I’ve learned so much over the last few years, it’s been a really nice journey to learn the fundamen-tals of running a business. Some of the trips are further afield, in Seville for example there’s a brilliant Flamenco weekend or Argentina and a tango experi-ence. Or there’s things like mini raves in Croatia and you get your hotel, flights and transfers.

Sounds excellent. Have you got any festivals lined up yourself this summer? We’re playing loads, we’ve got about 15-20 of them. But we were a bit late getting our album out, you don’t get to headline the big ones unless you’re Coldplay. With the album coming out in June hopefully we’ll get onto them next year. But this year we’re doing 5000-10,000 capaci-ty and we’re headlining most of them so in a way it’s nice to be a big fish in a little pond. We’re really enjoying it. It’s so much fun going out and singing the new records.

I read somewhere last week that you were actually the last British band to play at the old Wembley. That must be quite an honour. I don’t think we even knew at the time. We might have known on the day when someone men-tioned it. We were supporting Bon Jovi on their UK stadium



tour and two of the dates were at Wembley and it was closed I think five days after we played there. I remember a lot was said that Bon Jovi were the last band to play there and then we thought “hang on a minute, they’re American, so we’re the last British band to play there.” So yeah it’s quite an honour really, it’s one of those useless facts about Toploader ‘cos it doesn’t really mean much but it felt pretty special on the night. There was like 150 roadies working for Bon Jovi and they were all ripping the seats out and taking their shovels out, taking lumps from the pitch. It was quite amazing really, watch-ing Bon Jovi’s road crew demol-ishing Wembley stadium. It’s funny actually because on EBay you can buy bits of turf from the stadium for thousands of pounds.

You should have taken some to sell on. Maybe we were just young and stupid but we were too busy getting drunk and in the night when everyone was ripping it up we were playing football on the pitch. We might even be the last people to play football on it. We had our own little FA Cup cere-mony on the steps and I think it was an empty can of Stella as the trophy. Someone, somewhere has got footage of this ‘cos they were filming us walking up and holding the can of Stella. It was a great night.

So what made you guys reform so many years later? When you’re a musician and you make a living from it, earning money, it will always come back round to you that is kind of what you are, it’s what you do. As much as I’ve enjoyed the interim years, there’s always been a bit of the jigsaw missing for me and that is playing and performing


Page 24

live, nothing will ever replace that. But it was on my stag night in….(pause)…oh I should know this shouldn’t it?!...it was on my stag night in 2008 and I think it was the first time we had all been in a room together since we’d split up in 2003. And it wasn’t because we didn’t like each other, we had just all moved on. We all lived in differ-ent parts of the country and had families. It’s very hard to get everyone in the same room and my stag night did that and we started going “maybe we should do a gig.” We finally did do one, it all happened quite naturally. There was no plan to record music then. It was great to get back with the lads, it’s like we’re 22 years old again it’s no differ-ent at all.

As you said you’re all grown up these days. Would you say this has influenced your new music? Yeah definitely. Our album is so much more grown up. There’s something extremely beautiful about naivety whether that’s anything, football, music. If you could bottle up naivety I think it would be priceless, so much

good comes from it. It’s like watching Rooney on the pitch when he’s 19 years old and it’s so lovely to watch, you kind of hope he never gets that out of him. It’s the same in a young band. We didn’t know about the business side of it, we didn’t know what people wanted or didn’t want, we just did what we did. That was so lovely about our first album and probably why it sold millions of copies, because people connected with it. As you get older you become more cyni-cal about things, you start weigh-ing everything up. So this album is probably a section of where we are now in our mid-30s real-ly. You always have to be true to yourself, we couldn’t have gone back in the studio and made a record like the first one because we’re not the same people, it had to be what we are now. People have said it’s different to the first album, but people like it which is good.

Having listened to it a few times I would certainly agree it sounds different. Like you say, it just seems a little more grown up. Grown up is definitely a word




that’s been used a lot. It’s strange because I don’t really know how age reflects music but I guess it must do as everyone’s saying that. I think we’ve just become better musicians, better at our trade. Like if I was to build a house right now it would proba-bly be quite a shit house but if I studied building for 20 years I’d probably build a really nice one. So I guess in a way the songs don’t change but the craft within them changes. For so long when you say Toploader everyone automati-cally thinks of iconic anthem, Dancing in the Moonlight. Have you ever got bored of this? Are you ready to move away from it? I was bored of that song before we even released it in 2001. I mean you should never bite the hand that feeds you really and Dancing in the Moonlight got us around the world, it was a hit in over 20 countries. We really had a good time and a lot of it was to do with that. But also, we had seven other top 20 singles. Actu-ally Achilles Heel did better chart wise. What frustrates us as a band is being called a one hit wonder. Over two albums we had eight top 20 hits and that isn’t one hit. But you know what, the public will always do and say what they want and I guess as you start getting older you stop giving a fuck what people say. It’s just whatever really, let peo-ple say what they want. You just never want a song to become bigger than the band and I think that’s what happened with us and we broke one of the golden rules. And another thing, 98% of bands in the world chase their tails looking for a hit single, so it would be really devilish to start moaning. That’s the holy grail, to have a song that will last for decades which it has done so I can’t really complain. It’s like a billionaire moaning he’s bored!

I’m not a billionaire clearly, but you know what I mean.

The music industry has changed vastly since you were last involved in it. Are you happy coming back as it is now? It is what it is. I can’t be happy or non-happy, that said if I was to compare it I know which the better of the two is. The better is when people stepped out into a shop and bought a record, obvi-ously I don’t like people not paying for it. All you can do is work with what you have, there’s more money live now than what there was before. Musicians will always put their heart and soul into making a record, if people choose not to pay for that then what can you do about it? I really hope that in years to come that the download, or lack of money in it, doesn’t stop people from putting their heart and soul into it because a world without music would be really boring. I hope it doesn’t put people off.

So which bands are you into in the current industry? There’s a lot of good music around at the moment but I think we’re lacking a theme. We’ve always been good with themes, right from the 60s we’ve always had one. If you asked ten people what the music industry is at the moment they wouldn’t be able to answer, which is a shame. But Miles Kane is doing something really good at the moment, I really like that kind of northern regressing right back to the 60s again. There’s a lot of pop out there are the minute, especially American pop and even if they aren’t America, bands are trying to sound as though they are.

I must admit I listened to the top 40 the other week for the first time in three years and

there were probably seven or eight songs that I liked. Much of the rest was awful. Yeah every decade has a period like this. In the 90s at one point we were overrun with boy bands. Every decade has a lull. I’d just like to see a bit more guitar music really.

Finally, you mentioned about touring, how does it feel to be on the road again playing live? It’s fantastic, it’s the best part of the job really. Instant gratifica-tion. It’s like football players going out at Old Trafford per-forming their art in front of 70,000 people. That’s the payoff for all the work you do all week and for us gigging is exactly the same. There’s that reward you have, looking into people’s eyes and seeing them happy, cheer-ing. But as Charlie Watts from the Rolling Stones said, 95% of the time as a musician you spend doing fuck all and the other 5% you actually enjoy yourself. That’s what being on the road is like really. You do a show that lasts an hour and 20 minutes and that’s all you do all day. The rest of the time you’re sat there going “I’m bored, I’m bored.” All I can say is thank god for the iPad. But that’s life on the road really, I love it but haven’t missed the boring bits.

Toploader’s latest album Only Human is out now.

@toploaderuk



www.thefalse9.blogspot.com @The_False9

Inspired from Inverting the Pyramid and Zonal Marking, this blog talks about the tactical aspect of the beautiful game. The False Nine is a blog com-pletely devoted to the fascinating and intriguing world of football tactics for the ordinary football fan. From its humble beginnings our blog so far has reached nowhere but we hope it will end up being one of Guardian's top 100 blogs. After one's understanding of the inverted wingers, double pivots, false nine and so on even boring 0-0 draws become intriguing tactical battles. So far the biggest prize we have got is being featured on The Guardian's favourite things this week.

With so many football themed websites out there it’s hard to know which are

worthy of your clicks. We aim to bring you some of the best each issue giving you

greater insight into what’s on offer.

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Launched in August 2010, Our Beautiful Game has en-joyed a successful first season in a highly competitive field, we have emerged as a website noted for its ability to pub-lish diverse content courtesy of talented writers, many of whom have received academic recognition for their football based literature. Our objective is to provide a plat-form for which prospective sports journalists or keen blog-gers of our adored sport can share their content with visi-tors from over 100 countries totalling in excess of 50,000 pageviews. We cover multiple English divisions, with a particular interest in the Premier League. We also take the time to deliver content from afar with Spanish articles featuring weekly on Our Beautiful Game. Regular visitors to the website have enjoyed reading regular content through the form of our Viva La Liga series and Football Weekly posts. We don't choose to publish content en mass as it detracts from the quality of individual pieces whilst also restricting the success of particularly well executed pieces of writing. Football content shared online has become an increasing-ly popular choice for both supporters and fans alike. Com-petition is prevalent in this area of blogging meaning that keen football writers may be deterred by the prospect of attempting to publish their content whilst contending with established and reputable football websites. As such Our Beautiful Game is an ideal source to submit content, as we take care of everything for you, we publicise and optimise content whilst continually analysing our personal perfor-mance.



Sam Peoples explains exactly why he thinks Dimitar Berbatov might struggle for a place in the United side next season.

Ever since Dimitar Berba-tov became United’s most expensive signing in 2008 when he was bought for £30.75 million from Tot-tenham Hotspur, he has been the subject of much disdain amongst some of our fans. For every sup-porter who enjoys the style of football and the ele-gance that he brings to United, there is another that simply dislikes his lackadaisical approach to the game and has many a time called for him to be shown the exit. If there was ever a time where it looked like Dimitar could possibly be leaving United then it would be this sum-mer but is it really the right thing to do? Last season, Berbatov was United’s most prolific goalscorer and emerged at the end of the season with a total of 20 league goals which gave him the covet-ed Golden Boot trophy for the Premier Lethe division. Having scored a goal every 105.3 minutes of play (in comparison to Rooney’s 202.4 minutes and Her-nandez’s 114.5 minutes),

his strike rate became one that United fans had craved ever since he joined. Some still cried wolf at the fact that he only scored against eleven teams but considering United went into the month of January firmly atop the table, it was down to the goals of Berbatov and the creative spark of Nani. It was only after January that the Rooney and Hernandez partner-ship flourished and amidst the phenomenal rise of the Mexican, many forget just how important Berbatov was to us. SAF can’t be blamed for leaving Berba-tov on the bench as United came out of the run-in in glorious fashion, thanks in

no part to the unbreakable aforementioned partner-ship of Rooney and Her-nandez, and I respect Ber-batov for his mature ap-proach to being benched because he could of quite easily kicked up a fuss, especially after being left out of the squad entirely by SAF in the Champions League final (something I am still slightly baffled at). The signs are there for all to see that we may have seen the last minutes of Berbatov in a United shirt and from a strategic point of view, the future doesn’t seem to hold a place for the Bulgarian. After SAF purchased Ash-ley Young, it became


obvious that he was build-ing a team around the strengths that the team had without Berbatov. Utilising the pace of Her-nandez up front on his own sparked Rooney’s cracking end of the season in form and Berbatov just simply doesn’t fit into the for-mation. I will be very sur-prised if United line-up next season in a 442 for-mation at any point be-cause now that we have Valencia, Nani, Park and Young all giving viable options to the winger de-partment, it is likely that we will see a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1 formation being uti-lised more often than not. It would create a dynamic formation that would allow for the three players be-hind Hernandez to drift inside and create more space and the pace on the counter-attack would be frightening to behold for any opposition and it just simply doesn’t have any room for Dimitar. There is even less room when you consider that Michael Owen has been rewarded with a one year contract extension and Danny Welbeck, Federico Macheda and Mame Diouf are all returning from loan. Seven strikers in a squad? It is not feasible. Taking 1999 as my rule of thumb, United will line-up next season with four squad strikers that will be rotat-ed and shifted. Considering Rooney and Hernandez are guaranteed a spot and Michael Owen has become a cameo player from the bench, it only leaves room

for one more and for me, that place has to be given to Danny Welbeck. The Mancunian striker im-pressed me a lot when he was on loan at Sunderland and his form at the U21 Championships in Den-mark has surely got SAF on red alert. The financial situation surrounding Berbatov also points towards an exit for him as he only has one year left on his contract before he can leave on a Bosman next summer. Seeing as rumours that Valencia and PSG are inter-ested in signing him for around £13 million have emerged, it seems a feasi-ble option that United may well choose to get a return on the £30 million invested on him in 2008. Don’t get me wrong, I am a big fan of Dimitar Berba-tov and all that he has done for United but this summer is marking a big change at Old Trafford. The retirement of Paul Scholes, Gary Neville and Edwin Van Der Sar and the loss to Barcelona in the Champi-ons League final once again has led SAF to be strong in the transfer market. The influx of youth into the squad is revitalising our counter-attacking ethos that has existed at United for many seasons and unfortunately there just isn’t the squad space for Berbatov. For me, I think we have seen the last of him and he will be sold before the season starts and I want to just say that I

wish him the best in what-ever he does next. I think if he went to the Bundesliga or Ligue 1, he could re-kindle the sort of form that made him such a prized asset last season at United but I think the curtains are now closing on what has been a very topsy turvy career for the Bulgarian at Old Trafford.

By Sam Peoples www.thepeoplesperson.com

@PeoplesPerson_

Tweets From The Terrace

Does Berba have a future at United?

@BS1878mutd: Simple ans, NO. This year he can stay,

ultimately don't think he will be offered a new deal. 2012-13 season

will be Danny's

@Woodhouse111: Nah I definitely think he could still do a good job for us! He will probably come back to haunt us if we sell him as well!

@TrickiMickey: United seem to gave more strikers than a

game in a kindergarten playground. A quality defensive midfielder would be perfect!


As Manchester United return from their second consecutive pre-season summer tour in America, we reflect on what turned out to be quite an eventful trip. Words by Jeff Harbert, Craig Farlie and Steph

FIRST STOP: NEW ENGLAND

United kicked off their USA Tour in style with a resounding 4-1 win over the New England Revo-lution at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA. After a goalless first half, substitute Michael Owen broke the deadlock before a double salvo from Federi-cho Macheda and a superb goal by Park Ji-Sung (80’) wrapped up proceedings. Benny Feilhaber’s free-kick in the 56th minute took a wild deflection off Kevin Mansally to provide the hosts with a small consolation. United supporters received their first glimpse of any of United’s summer signing as Ashley Young completed a 67 minute shift in his first match for the club. Donning Paul Scholes’ vacated #18 jersey, Young enjoyed a fine run out in front of the 51,523 crowd.

By Jeff @JHarbert7

The twins & Rio on a trip to Harvard

Tour gossip Rio Ferdinand revealed that the only players to share a room throughout the tour would be the Da Silva twins. Ashley Young talked to United reporters about his excitement at joining the club and how enjoyable his first week had been with his new team-mates. Other new signings David de Gea and Phil Jones were set to meet up with the squad later in the tour, having been given further time off to recover from the Under-21 European Championships. Michael Owen spoke of contribu-tion to the forthcoming season, “the manager has spoken to me and said I’ll be firmly in his plans this season and he expects me to play a lot more.” New Twitter boy, Federico Macheda, caused a storm by declaring his hope that Wesley Sneijder will soon be signing for the club. It didn't take long until the Italian deleted his tweet.

Nani & Macheda prior to take off to the States


SECOND STOP: SEATTLE

United continued its fine start to its pre-season tour of the USA by putting on a finishing clinic in a resounding 7-0 win over the Seattle Sounders. Despite being unbeaten in eleven matches and being widely considered as one of the best sides in Major League Soccer, the Sounders were no match for a rampant United. Michael Owen struck the opener for the second consecutive match with a simple header in the 15th minute. The first half ended 1-0, but as soon as substitute Mame Biram Diouf doubled the score in the 59th minute there was only ever going to be one winner. The Sounders deserve credit for showing plenty of attacking intent throughout the 90 minutes and providing a competitive match for United, although ultimately it would be a case of United’s class – particularly in the final third – overpowering the home side. Rooney, who also entered the fray as a second half substitute, notched a collector’s hat-trick while Ji-sung Park and Gabriel Obertan also added their names to the scoresheet.

By Jeff

Tour gossip The tour squad expanded in Seattle as Tom Cleverley, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, David de Gea and Danny Welbeck arrived. Some of the team enjoyed their rest day by playing golf. Rafael & Fabio supplied the entertainment, losing five balls on the first tee. Rafael also had to dive for cover at one point as his brother chipped a shot right towards him. The double team of Rio & Rooney reigned supreme in the FIFA ‘11 tournament, Nani & Macheda, Vidic & Berba and Young & Anderson, amongst others...although the twins did manage a victory against them on one occa-sion. Rio also took the honour of beating every-one at table tennis! The boys decided to give American Football a blast inside the club bus, all was good until Nani hit one of the security guards in the face with a ball.

The twins’ golfing experience

Nani the American Football pro

THIRD STOP: CHICAGO

Rooney came off the bench to help United to a 3-1 victory against Chicago Fire as the club uphold their 100% record on this American tour. Nani and Rafael also scored in a match which United went into half time 1-0 down following Cory Gibbs opener. David de Gea was awarded his first match in a United shirt, standing behind the central midfield pairing of Phil Jones and Chris Smalling.

Tour gossip The Fifa ‘11 tournament continued and despite some fighting talk from Macheda, Rooney & Rio were still the team to beat. Meanwhile Rooney also faired well on the table tennis table, beating Kiko & Phil Jones. Best friends, Evra & Park, spent some free time learning how to make pizza’s in Chicago’s famous restaurant, Gino’s East.


FOURTH STOP: NEW JERSEY

United hit New York to play the Major League Soccer All-Stars in the penultimate match of their tour. The Reds invaded the Big Apple and dis-mantled the best Major League Soccer had to offer in a punishing 4-0 victory at Red Bull Arena. The night represented a homecoming of sorts for others, as well, as the All-Stars featured former Red legend David Beckham, now playing his football in LA, as well as former menace Thierry Henry, now a star with the host New York Red Bulls. Although the All-Stars began the game strongly, United gradually grabbed control of the opponent’s throat and began to squeeze. United’s attack began with a lack of first half fluidity, which is completely understandable in light of the evening’s match being only their fourth of the season. And while the attack may have looked a bit laboured at points, some first half plays left a lasting impression: man of the match Park Ji-Sung’s juking and jiving goal which effectively killed off the contest just before halftime following Anderson’s opener. United redoubled their effort in the second half and doubled the final scoreline as they took control of the match. The last ‘45 boiled down to one mo-ment of magic: Dimitar Berbatov’s goal in the 51st minute sealed the deal and left the crowd gasping in awe. Sent in even with the last defender, Ber-batov outmuscled his man before chipping the MLS ‘keeper and glancing the ball off the cross-bar. Calm, cool and collected, Berba waited for the rebound before finally pounding it home. Danny Welbeck bookended Anderson’s opener for the final score, and the crowd went home both pleased and well entertained.

By Craig @farlieonfootie

Tour gossip Controversy ensued during the New Jersey golf session during the tour. United reporters were told Gary Neville had secured victory, whilst Rooney said he and Evans had won. Causing fur-ther confusion, Carrick and masseur, Rod Thornley were declared official winners. Javier Hernandez joined up with the squad after being given time off following Mexico’s Gold Cup win. However a concussion during training looks set to keep the Mexican sidelined for a couple of weeks having spent the night in a New Jersey hospital.

The players took part in a charity event with United sponsors, Hublot, which in-volved a catwalk fashion parade with some of the team. The event raised $65,000.

Michael Owen and Thierry Henry switched on the Empire State lights, lighting up Manhattan in the teams’ colours. Perhaps not the best task for Owen, who has a self-confessed fear of heights. Fergie declared in one press conference that United would be making no more signings during this transfer window only for David Gill to contra-dict him the following day, saying that one more signing may well come in. Kiko Macheda made the school boy error of falling asleep on the team coach, waking up to find out that Rio had tweeted a picture of him to his million followers.


FIFTH STOP: WASHINGTON DC

The match has an eerily familiar feeling to it. Just five minutes in, and it's typical Barca: a man down on the pitch, flopping and writhing as if shot, as the United faithful we're seated amongst greet the scene derisively with catcalls. But ten minutes in and the game has hotted up consider-ably. Wayne Rooney flashes just wide after a beautiful ball in from Nani, and it's clear that United are intent on translating their early ener-gy into a lead goal. Although United's early domi-nance faded at about this point in the game at Wembley, tonight the team's sustained effort pays off when Nani solves the offside trap and beats Valdes for a 1-0 lead. The United crowd erupts: the goal represents an early and deserved lead over the European Champions, as Nani flips head over heels. By the end of the half, though, Barcelona have begun to look more like themselves. It's been apparent to this point in the match that United is slightly ahead of Pep Guardiola's charges in their pre-season preparation, but the men from Spain -- ahem, Catalonia -- grow into the match with their tiki taka triangles, and intricate, side-to-side passing game becoming the order of the evening. Their dominance of possession lasts well into the second half, and when Thiago levels the match in the the 71st minute, the fans in my section begin to fear the worst. Are we fated once again to be handed a cruel defeat at the hands of the La Liga Champi-ons? Will their mesmerizing passing game lull our defence into a somnambulant state, in which the winning goal will slip right by us as if in a dream? Will it be David Villa or Thiago once again who'll score the winning blow? It's just as the tension can't get much higher that the answer is finally provided: it's Michael Owen, played in cleverly by Tom Cleverly, who beats Valdes and sets off a jubilant celebration both on and off the pitch. Even though nearly 15 minutes remain on the clock, the fans chanting "UNITED" are not to be denied their joy this evening. United's defence regain their footing, standing firmly in the path of Barcelona's goal, and refuse to surrender or back down in the slightest. For newboy 'keeper David De Gea this has to be especially sweet, having too

often been on the wrong end of the scoreline in his previous encounters with the Blaugrana The 88,800 plus in attendance stand and applaud both teams as they depart the pitch. The match ends the Reds' time on American soil, and sends them off to Manchester with what have to be very positive feelings heading into the season. It sends us off, too, clapping and singing into the night. Our time with United has come to a close, but the memories we've made will last a lifetime.

By Craig @farlieonfootie

Tour gossip Michael Owen helped new signing David de Gea with the Spaniard’s first tweet in English, “We are about to fly to Washington!! Saturday play again Barcelona.” (sic). The team went on a visit to the White House, where some of the photos Rio tweeted were taken off the internet by security, much to the confu-sion of the player. The rest of the team enjoyed the home-made White House cookies, following the tour.

Players delving into White House cookies

News of Hernandez’s concussion developed after stories in Mexico reported that the player suffered from regular migraines in 2007. Fergie dismissed that the two incidents were linked, reiterating that this was a simple mild concus-sion.

Macheda lets fly in training


It’s always nice to get to know United fans a little better. This issue we introduce to you our Born and Red fan, Tone Iversen.

Name: Tone (pronounced Toni in English)

Age: 26 Occupation: Radio Broadcast Assistant

Where do you reside? Salford

How did you become a United fan? I hated football as a kid, but was at a friend’s house when I was around 11-12 where they all suddenly sat down to watch United, so I had no choice. Been hooked ever since. First match you attended? First match was a friendly against Norwegian side SK Brann back in 1998. First official match was a horribly dull 0-0 against Villarreal in 05/06 that made me wonder if moving to Manchester for United had been such a great idea! Preferential seating area at

Old Trafford? Currently sit on Stretford End Tier 2 and love it, but I do like to sit down and really focus on the game so lately have been dream-ing of something down the sides, preferably right on the halfway line, but will never be able to afford that… Favourite ever United player? Paul Scholes, since the very first match. Shed a few tears when he retired. Fave current player? As Scholes has only just left, I haven't really had time to get a new one. I really like Berbatov, but he might be gone by the time this comes out, so I really don't know. I follow a lot of potential new favourites in the youth set up, though. Signing you were most excited by? I never really get involved in that, as I hate silly season, but the only player I ever wanted was Alan Smith, as he was some-one I had admired for a few years.

Least liked United player? Risking a lot of hate mail here, but I can't stand Ronaldo! Are you an away match goer? Not as much as I would have liked in the last few years, but it's too expensive Best away ground? Emirates, but only been there for a Youth Cup semi-final. Best away experience? Probably winning the league at Wigan with half the Wigan end suddenly sporting United kits and the stewards being sensible and letting them celebrate in-stead of kicking them out. Are you a shouter or a thinker at matches? Definitely a thinker, which is why I'd probably fit in better somewhere else than Stretty, but I still shout out occasionally and I sing along to most of the songs. Best and worse things about the club? I'd say that's the same thing, it's success. Obviously, it's great to


Any experiences with players to share? Never met anyone, but I sent a link to the radio show I work on to Rio Ferdinand and he gave us a FollowFriday on Twitter, with-out me actually asking for one (although that was obviously what I hoped for). Best match you've ever attended? Semi against Barcelona, ahead of semi against AC Milan. Favourite piece of United memorabilia? I don't really have any, but I treasure my scarf from the Munich anniversary against City. Biggest rivals and why? Growing up in the 90s, I have to say Arsenal. They were our main competition through my 'formative' years and I couldn't stand them. Still can't. After moving here, Liverpool and City have crept closer to them. I meet more fans of those clubs, and being called a Munich for the first time after a Youth Cup match at Anfield, really doesn't help! Best moment as a United fan? Getting my own season ticket, I

was dancing round the room after I secured that. This year's Youth Cup is high up there as well, after having been to every single match in that campaign. Worst moment as fan? Alan Smith's injury. It looked so bad, I felt sick for days. I don't tend to get upset over matches, I get more angry when we lose, so they don't stick in my mind for years. Biggest prick in football? Tevez. How anyone could want us to sign such a whiner, I'll never know. Sum up United's last season in ten words or less. Underwhelming, but still the best. Your best United XI? I'd say the team of the mid to late 90s, swapping Schmeichel for Van der Sar and maybe throw Vidic in at the back, with Cole and Yorke up front. Classic 4-4-2 with proper wingers and attack-ing fullbacks, that's what I prefer.

see a team of champions. We get treated to a lot of good football, Champions League, trophies etc. But at the same time, I often find myself a bit jealous of fans of 'smaller' clubs. They know all the fans in the stadium are genuine, they can buy tickets on the door and (for the thinker in me) they have room to 'breathe' at matches. I can also imagine the thrills of staying up on the last day of the season. I satisfy most of those needs with reserve football. Who do you want as next United manager and why? I don't really know, I dread the day Ferguson goes. Not saying I want them necessarily, but I prefer managers like Tony Pulis and Mick McCarthy over the Mourinho's of this world. They'll say what they mean without all the antics, they're honest and hardworking, they wear tracksuits! And I don't get stressed when I watch inter-views with them. I think that sort of manager is more like Ferguson when he first came to the club, and that's what we need to keep our traditions, which are very im-portant to me.

Stretford End “as close to an away game as you're gonna get at OT.”

@ToneIversen “Risking a lot of hate mail here, but

I can't stand Ronaldo!”


In light of our bitter rivals progressions last season, Sufiyan Kala discusses whether or not this will be City’s season.

It was a big day for Manchester City when they beat Stoke in the 2011 FA Cup Final. Playing in any cup final is always a big occasion, nay, a massive occa-sion and for City it was definitely that, massive. They finally ended up winning a trophy after 35 long years and did as Mancini once promised and took down the banner from the Stretford End which reminded City of the length of their success drought. Still, it took 35 years, many man-agers and many millions of pounds. In a way, they did make history

that day. It was just a shame United stole their belated mo-ment of glory by clinching a record 19th league title. A sense of de ja vu of 1968 when Matt Busby’s Babes lifted the Europe-an Cup after City had beaten them to the league by two points just weeks earlier.

Buoyed by the purchase of the FA Cup, they claim that the up-coming season could be 'their season.' Some football pundits have even caught City's giddi-ness disease and are tipping them to storm the league and win the European Cup and in


doing so, inadvertently highlight-ing that money is the root of all success. This debate normally tends to bring up the argument that United have in the past 'bought success' - a claim which I think is made out of envy. The difference between United and City is that we tend to sign players who want to play for the club, who want to be a part of the success and who want to make history with the club by winning countless accolades and trophies. All of City's signings are only inter-ested in being a part of the ludi-crously huge wage bill. If anybody could find me one player City have signed since Sheikh Mansour's takeover that has had a desire to play for them, a genuine desire filled with enthusiasm and passion, then I will revoke this statement. For now, I'm going to stick by it. Winning the FA Cup hardly does justice to the amount of money spent on transfers by their rich owners. Since Mansour's takeover, they've spent more than £400million on transfers alone by enticing and luring players to the club with money, not their history and tradi-tion - not that I'm aware of any history or tradition existing at City or among their fans apart from the yellow banana's and singing de-rogatory songs about their own deceased ex-players.

Another reason why I don't be-lieve this could be City's year is because of the amount of unrest and lack of unity within the squad. Last season, there were reports of

constant bust-ups and fighting amongst the players . Also, not forgetting the uncontrollable

heathen that is Mar-io Balotelli who has made Roberto Mancini's life a minor misery with constant outra-geous actions such as throwing darts out of a window at their youth team players and claim-ing to be allergic to grass which was the reason for his substitution in a

Europa League fixture. Massive. Just recently, in an attempt to attract more fans to the club, they released a short handbook on their official website aptly titled The Bluffers Guide to Man-chester City which was received by football fans nationwide with hilarity and City were once again laughed at. In an attempt to be as good as United, they are lacking in class somewhat, they want to swiftly change from being a 'small club' to 'big club.' The efforts which were even recog-nised by our very own David Beckham.

Just a few weeks ago, in a press conference before the pre-season friendly between his LA Galaxy and City, Beckham taunt-ed Roberto Mancini by proclaim-ing, "There's only one team in Manchester" before also adding, "players have been bought and that does a lot but United have that history and it’s not all about paying fortunes for players." Therefore acknowledging that City are merely trying to elevate themselves to the status of their Red neighbours by wanting to change their history, their tradi-tions and everything Manchester City, overnight.

There is no doubt that they are improving and the fact that they'll win more trophies is inevitable but I think we'll be waiting a long time yet before we see them lift the Premier League and European Cup so for now all I have to say to Mr Mansour and his club is, Rome wasn't built in a day.

How realistic would this be next season?

@Sufiyan_Kala

"There are three types of Oxo cube: Light brown

for chicken stock. Dark brown for beef stock.

And light blue for laugh-ing stock." ex-United

boss Tommy Docherty's quote which still rings

true today.


Mirroring life itself with all of its ifs, buts and maybes, football can be looked at as being de-pendent upon circumstances, upon events, upon things hap-pening at particular times and for particular reasons. Let's think. What if my Dad had pointed me towards a different team to support other than Unit-ed when I was a kid? What if he'd said, oh, I dunno, what if he'd said “son, go support Liver-pool” ? WTF??? As the song goes (sort of), "Go away, boys bits, you're an idiot" would obviously have been my instant retort - expletives obviously not forming part of my vocabulary as a six year old… Yes, ok, growing up as a Liv..., a Live...no, I can't bring myself to saying the word. Ok, growing up as a rat-eating, bindipping, gran-ny stabbing, hubcap stealing, work shy football fan would have seen plenty of trophies won, granted, but let’s be honest, I'd have hated my life forever. I'd also almost have drowned in phlegm every time I attended a match too. No, thanks Dad, you directed me well. That said, I did have to wait until 1993 to watch United win the league. It was a long wait, too bloody long and looking back

now, a few more 'What if?' ques-tions come to mind.

What if we had not secured the services of Alex Ferguson? What if he'd decided to stay in Scot-land and continue his quest of knocking The Old Firm off their perches (ooh, that rings a bell!) with his Aberdeen team? And, after a trophy-free first four years, what if the United board had lost patience with the great man? Which leads of course to the often asked question, what if Mark Robins had not scored THAT goal at the City Ground that ultimately proved the cata-lyst to propelling United to win-ning the FA Cup in 1990? And ensuring Fergie's tenure as man-ager continued. Moving on, the story goes that in November 1992 the Leeds Chairman, Bill Fotherby, picked

up the phone to ring his counter-part at United, Martin Edwards, to enquire about the availability of Denis Irwin. Fergie, who was in Edwards' office at the time, said no and then asked Edwards to ask about Eric Cantona. Was he available?

What if Fotherby had not made that phone call? What if Fergie had not asked about Eric? What if Leeds had said no? What if Eric had not wanted to come? Stupid question I know, Eric KNEW Old Trafford was the stage his tal-ents deserved. So basically what if Eric Can-tona, our talisman, the widely acknowledged catalyst for us finally achieving league success after so many years of hurt, had not joined United? What if in-stead we had signed David Hirst,

Alan Monger asks the age old question of “what if…” with regard to many of United’s unanswerable questions.


a target at the time? How would the last 18 years have panned out? Mmm, it doesn't bear think-ing about really. Thanks to Eric my life was enriched beyond description. After the 26 year title wait had ended, just like an albatross being removed from around one's neck, the floodgates opened, and eleven more titles have been won since. That's right just the eleven. Wow! And hey, it could even have been more. Being a bit greedy here maybe, but what if Eric hadn't been banned in the 1994-95 season? What if Matthew Simmons had not been at Selhurst Park that fateful night on 25th January 1995? Surely Eric would have gone on to inspire us to a third successive title? After all, even without him we only lost out on the league by failing to beat West Ham in the last game. Which reminds me, what if Andy Cole had put one of those chances away? Just the one Andy, that's all that was needed! Oh, and of course what if Eric had played against Everton in the 1995 Cup Final? We'd surely have won, and thus secured back-to-back doubles, yes?

Obviously Cantona was a mas-sive hero to me. As was Ole Gun-nar Solskjær. As the song goes, "though Alan Shearer was f**king dearer, please don't take my Solskjær away," the reference to Shearer obviously linking to Ole in that at the time he was pur-chased at the start of the 1996-97 season, so United were in the hunt for the services of Eng-land's best striker. So what if Shearer had joined United? What if the allure of joining the biggest club in the

world had proved bigger than joining his local team? Well, for one thing he'd have a trophy cabinet full to overflowing with domestic honours. His loss, but I kind of respect the fact that at least it wasn't a money driven motive that caused him to shun us. And if he'd joined, would we still have seen Ole? Or at least as much of him as we did? I tend to think not so for that I am grateful history panned out the way it did. After all, I kind of like my ringtone constantly telling me that "AND SOLSKJÆR HAS WON IT!!" "What ifs" can obviously be attached to any choice or action taken by any player and at any time. For example, what if Roy Keane had chosen Blackburn, or more worryingly Arsenal over United back in 1993? Please don't tell me we'd have ended up with Vieira instead! A great choice well-made Keano. Anoth-er United legend. What if David Beckham had not spotted Neil Sullivan off his line in August 1996? Actually, in this case, probably nothing different to had he not. The boy was al-ready destined for great things.

If anything maybe his goal from the halfway line merely acceler-ated the onset of stardom.

One last one. At a time when money is bandied around like confetti to secure star players to complete dream teams, what if United had not shown amazing insight (and maybe a wee snippet of luck as well) to purchase a certain relatively unknown Javier Herna ndez Balca zar, aka Chicharito, at the time that they did? What if they had let him play in last year’s World Cup before deciding to make their move? Had we dithered, I'm tended to believe he may be currently ply-ing his trade in a Barca or Madrid shirt having been purchased in an auction for something way in excess of the £6m we paid. A simple case of dismissing any thoughts of 'what if?' and just going ahead and doing it. Good work United! Now, what if I press delete instead of send right now..... ?

By Alan Monger

@Almanuman


In the coming months the FU Fanzine team will be selecting their Manchester United XI each issue. The only stipulation - they can only

choose players they have actually seen.

Edwin Van der Sar

Gary Neville

David Beckham

Nemanja Vidic Patrice Evra Jaap Stam

Roy Keane

Eric Cantona Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

Cristiano Ronaldo Paul Scholes

Schmeichel Ferdy Irwin Giggs Hargreaves Rooney Hernandez


@footballUB

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Brett Burgers investigates how new United acquisition, Ashley Young, will slot in with the Premier League champions.

Some players need a club that matches their playing ethos to reach the pinnacle of their footballing powers, but more, they need a club that matches their ambi-tion and ego before they really flourish. A recent example of this being Eric, who although was very good at Leeds, took his individual performance level to somewhere seldom superseded by any United player before or since. Not just in some cases single-handedly winning games, but managing to lift the level of the players around him. The same can of course be said of Roy Keane. Other players can move to clubs on the back of a burgeoning reputation and despite showing glimpses of what they are capable of somehow the fit isn’t quite right. Diego Forlan and Jordi Cruyff, probably being good exam-ples of this. Of course there are lots of other outcomes in between and beyond these. Some players just flop (Taibi). Some players don’t tactically fit the pre-ferred formations of their new employers (Veron) etc

etc. The reason though I used the first two exam-ples is because I see this as the two potential outcomes likely to befall our most surprising summer acqui-sition Ashley Young (I’m not suggesting he’s going to be the next Eric or Roy, just that he may finally achieve the heights he’s been reportedly threaten-ing to since he signed for Villa). I prefaced Ashley Young with ‘surprising summer acquisition’ because I’m fairly certain that most United fans would have prized a tenacious mid-fielder (replacing the per-petually bed-ridden Har-greaves) or a creative

attacking midfielder (replacing the irreplacea-ble Scholesy), a box-to-box midfielder (replacing Keane 6 years late), or maybe even a trequartista to allow more flexibility in attack as the priorities, after a goalkeeper, when SAF promised at least 3 new faces would be grac-ing the team photo come August. I’m not suggesting Ashley Young isn’t a very good footballer, no, but at first glance he’s not ‘the signing’ some of us were anticipating. We are all aware that Ashley Young has the abil-ity to play in a variety of positions and we assume that that is one of the at-tractions in obtaining his services. But the ability to play in a variety of posi-tions in itself hardly sets him apart from his peers. In fact it’s fast becoming a given that a player at the highest level should be able to adapt tactically to a certain degree. Players who specialise (and spe-cialise well) are now be-coming the rarer commod-ity. Remember the twins


played wide midfield against Arsenal in arguably one of our best perfor-mances of last season. All of our attacking players, bar possibly Chicha and Berba, are capable of and have intermittently alter-nated positions for United. Yes, SAF likes this changea-bility from players, so the more the better, right? But, can’t you have too many? I’d argue that the more interchangeable players you have doesn’t actually equate to a stronger team. We won the Premiership last season on the back of a strong squad, but we lost the Champions league because we didn’t have the quality in our first eleven. Yes, there’s more ‘healthy competition’ for places which is important, but without the player coming in being of superior quality the hierarchy amongst the players remains the same. No feathers ruffled. No ‘upping of games’. So the questions I initially posed myself are these… Is Ashley Young better than any of the players in direct competition for his position(s) Rooney, Park, Valencia, Nani? The simple answer, with-out arguing individual plusses and minuses, in to the small hours, is no. Has he been cited as a di-rect replacement for Giggsy? One of the most talented players in premiership history? Categorically, no. Is he a long term replace-ment for any of the other

aforementioned players? Well he’s older than them all, aside from Park and they’re probably the least likely to be considered vying for the same posi-tion. I’d also argue that he doesn’t automatically stick out as ‘something a bit different’ to what we al-ready have at the club. As a matter of fact, Ashley Young and Nani I think some football fans, myself included, will agree are on a similar level. I’m not saying they are similar players, however they do have a remarkably similar output as ‘wide midfield-ers’. Both are capable of scoring spectacular goals, in amongst a few woeful scuffs and hoofs into row Z. Both are capable of man-of-the-match performances from time to time. Both spend at least 1% of most games ‘fishing’ (Dangling out appendages in the hope a flailing limb will brush against them, awarding them a free kick or pen) Both fancy them-selves at free kicks, with varying levels of success. Both have a very healthy confidence in their own ability. Both are hugely likeable whilst maintaining an irritating petulance. Both have an issue with consistency. Both are capa-ble of creating a piece of individual match winning ‘magic’ (I like them both). Most tellingly as I list these is. the thing that sticks out most, both still have a lot to prove. So the competi-tion, for the left midfield berth, between these two,

could bring out the best in both of them. That could be in part behind the thinking in his arrival. You’ve probably gleaned from the preamble to this point a feeling of negativity towards his signing. Well, I’m going to surprise you and say that what I believe is that SAF has seen some-thing particularly special in Ashley Young, similar to when he signed Saha, that he strongly feels will blos-som at United. He’s obvi-ously not going to become an Eric or a Roy, but if his performance level went from 1 in 4 (strong games) to nearer 1 in 2 then we could soon have a very, very good player on our hands, one who can sur-pass Nani and Park. He is without doubt endowed with the tools, he just has to mature in to a player who understands better how to use them. I weighted the question about him being a ‘replacement for Giggsy’ with the word ‘direct’ to intentionally suggest that you can’t ‘just replace’ players like Giggs. I actual-ly think he has been brought, with the hope through his much needed development to, at least in part, soften the blow of Giggsy’s retirement. Here’s hoping. Martin O’Neill may be one consultation away from the looney bin but he once described Ashley Young as ‘world class’. History teaches us that it’s often the ‘mad’ ones that get it right.


Former Manchester United trainee, Alan Tonge, spent four years with the club. In this article he discusses how Sir Alex ensures a good level of team spirit with United and how vital this is to be a success on the pitch.

Throughout the managerial sovereignty of Sir Alex Fergu-son and within much of the literature written about him or by him, there seems to be consistent mention of the importance around “spirit of his teams.” Where does the term come from? Why is it a key quality? Why is it such a key issue? This article will seek to address such ques-tions and provide an over-view of the concepts and ideas around its significance in success.

As far back as I can remem-ber there has always been coaching and managerial substance behind developing and building team spirit. Much of the design and sug-gestions to encourage this has focused upon a shared and collective approach (i.e. doing things as a group). One of the well reported ways of Sir Alex developing togetherness over his career has been to create a “siege mentality” or a “common cause.” Within his autobiography “Managing My Life” Sir Alex openly admits that he had learned this meth-od of approach off Jock Stein and wasn’t afraid to use it early on in his managerial

experiences (e.g. to break the Rangers/Celtic domination whilst at Aberdeen and to challenge the Liverpool pow-er when he first joined us). The concept lies behind creat-ing a “victim” scenario, en-couraging the players to think that the “the world is against us” and the “bigger teams” get the decisions and journalists favour them. In fact, I can recall Sir Alex coming away from Anfield around 1988 citing that teams are left choking on their own vomit because they don’t get the key decisions. As well as this clever meth-od employed by Sir Alex there

Alan Tonge @alantonge_


are other ways of generating unity and solidity within teams. The primary concept from a managerial/ coaching perspec-tive is to try and get individuals out of their comfort zones by partaking in activities which foster trust and cohesion (i.e. working together). In my experi-ence at football clubs, such activ-ities have included rock climb-ing, pot-holing, abseiling, moun-tain biking and even venturing into military environments (e.g. pre season training with the marines or army). I have wit-nessed and indeed been involved with both mentally and physical-ly demanding tasks, such as carrying logs over assault cours-es and working in teams to prob-lem solve and remedy various conundrums. Not all team spirit dimensions are manufactured around the concept of demanding scenarios however. Throughout my

involvement with football there have been many less gruelling and more placid ideas from man-agement and coaching teams such as going to the cinema, taking part in quizzes or even going for long walks. These are key areas employed strategically throughout a demanding season. They are all deployed to keep everyone together and involved as a team. Another area where spirit can be crafted is by listening to inspi-rational tales and by visiting places where people are less fortunate than us. I believe Nob-by Stiles and some of the other players involved with the 1968 team spoke before our CL victory in Moscow and many players visit hospitals over the course of a season. There have been many players who have immersed themselves within children’s charities and social events with-in the last six months to raise

money for trips and equipment (e.g Edwin, Rio, Wayne, Ji Sung). All of this can raise and produce a phenomenal team spirit. The “spirit of a team” or the “spirit within a dressing room” seems to be a commonly used phrase within press conferences or interviews and this “sense” from a manger or coach definite-ly seems to lend itself to the chances of success and winning. It must be recognised though that team spirit doesn’t just happen, whatever level you play at! It is something that needs to be worked at with shrewd manage-rial/ coaching planning and inte-gration. If the areas mentioned above can be employed and nur-tured, it can bring added dimen-sions to team performance. It seems plausible to argue that if players are subjected to physical, mental and group based tasks (both inclusive and witnessed) outside of the competition envi-ronment, they will be ready and willing to overcome barriers and persist in the face of adversity within the competition environ-ment? Over the years of following and playing for Manchester Unit-ed, there can be no argument on this score. Spirit and together-ness has been a key component of their successes over a period of many, many years. Long may it continue!


DVD

Unknown After Liam Neeson’s performance in Taken it was hard to believe he would make an equal-ly compelling action, thriller film to rival it and yet he has with Unknown. Telling the

story of a man who wak-ens from a car accident in Munich to find his identi-ty has been stolen and his wife doesn't recognise him, Neeson goes on the run to find out exactly what’s going on. If you liked Taken then this is a must.

MUSIC Sonic Boom Six Sunny Side of the Street Sunny Side of the Street is Sonic Boom Six's bit-tersweet love-letter to the city they call home. The track captures SB6 at their most melodic and anthemic and is already a live-favourite following its debut on The Boom's support slot on The King Blues' sold-out UK tour. The Sunny Side of the Street video (filmed by Manchester's Trifecta Films) drops just in time for SB6's head-line slot on the Red Bull stage at Sonisphere 2011 festival. The single is available on Digital Download format from all the usual digital ven-dors now! The video is also available to watch on YouTube.

Steph offers news on what’s been big this

month, keeping you up to date with the best in

view.


GAME

Uncharted 1 & 2 In anticipation for the eagerly awaited third Uncharted offering set for release this November, the first two games are now available on the PS3 in one double pack. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune: A 400-year-old clue in the coffin of Sir Fran-cis Drake sets our hero on an exploration for the fabled treasure of El Dorado, leading to the discovery of a forgotten island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The search turns deadly when Drake becomes stranded on the island and hunted by mercenaries. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves When a mysterious artifact propels Drake on an expedition to find the legendary Himala-yan valley of Shambhala, he finds himself embroiled in a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse against a fugitive war criminal who's after more than just the fabled riches of the lost city. A must for any gaming fan.

CINEMA Bridesmaids Deemed The Hangover for girls, Bridesmaids is actually a little more embarrassing than its male counterpart. Not one to take your mum to go and see at the cinema! It’s not the rom-com you might be expecting. Annie is a thirty something single woman living with weird flat-mates, which is what makes her a strange choice as maid of honour at her best friend's wedding. Presented with a group of seriously inappropriate bridesmaids to lick into shape and the hen night to organize, the road to the wedding day is looking increasingly hazardous.

APP

Where’s Wally? We all remember the Where’s Wally? books from our childhood but now you can play the game on your iPod or iPhone to whittle away all those bored hours waiting for the football sea-son to start. There is also a child version on the apps which is ideal for if your kids want enter-taining whilst you’re watching pre-season friendlies.


We’re nearly there, the moment we have all been waiting for all summer, the start

of the new football season. With a successful American tour under their belt all that is left before United battle City for the Community Shield is the opportunity

to say goodbye to a red legend in Paul Scholes’ testimonial on Friday evening. Next month we’ll be bringing you all the news from that match and giving Scholes the send off he deserves. Until then, let’s have a great start to the season as United

look to their 20th league title.

Issue 7 is out on Thursday 1st September 2011

Documents

Football United Fanzine Issue 6 - Manchester United's premier online magazine