www.red11.org DAILY NEWS
Date: Fri Dec 18 09:53:31 GMT+00:00 1998
Mail: barry@www.red11.org
This Issue:
1. SPARKS FLY AS ZOLA EARNS A POINT
2. CHAMPIONS LEAGUE DRAW SETS UP BECKHAM-SIMEONE REMATCH
3. McClair moves south to join Kidd
4. Beckham tormentor has no worries
5. A little perspective
6. George Best's View on Tinkerbell
7. YORKE RELISHING RONALDO CLASH
++++++=========+++++++========+++++++++========++++++++
Daily RED Trivia Fre 18th December 1998:
18/12/1921: Jack Crompton born in Manchester. United's first regular post-war Goalkeeper,
he made his debut in August 1946 against Grimsby Town, playing in the 1948 FA Cup
final and the League Title winning season in 1952. Amassed 211 appearances between
1946-55. Later served United as Trainer in three spells.
1974: United beat Middlesbrough 3-0 at Old Trafford in the League Cup 5th
Round watched by 49,501. Sammy McIlroy, Stuart Pearson and Lou Macari got
the goals. Team was: Stepney, Young, Houston, Greenhoff, Sidebottom, Buchan,
Morgan, McIlroy, Pearson, Macari, Daly (McCalliog).
************
Barry Daily Comment:
Info from Our Salford Lass:
In their wisdom, the FA have decided to hold United's FA Youth Cup game
against Everton at the same time as the Middlesborough first team game on
Saturday!
For those of you not going to OT, the game is at Gigg Lane, Bury. Kick-off 2pm
According to his programme notes in last night's United Review, Alex
Ferguson is in no rush to replace Kiddo. After acknowledging the
contribution that Brian Kidd made to Manchester United (from his playing
days, right through to his departure) Alex says that he is not going to
make a decision quickly, he is going to give himself time. He says that
Jim Ryan is doing a good job and he trusts him and that Tony Coton has
taken over as reserves coach.
http://www.iol.ie/~redcafe/kidd.htm
Brian Kidd Press conference, pic, real audio
Remaining 1998 games:
ALL Result/Fixture Index:
http://www.red11.org/mufc/fix9899z.htm
Sat 19/12 Middlesbrough (H) PL 15.00
Sat 26/12 Nottm Forest (H) PL 15.00
Tue 29/12 Chelsea (A) PL sky sports time 19.45 UK
UNITED Stats v All teams:
http://www.red11.org/mufc/stats/
*** TEAM RESULTS - MANCHESTER UNITED ***
Date Opposition Score Pos. Attend.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
15/08/98 Leicester City Home D 2-2 11 55,052
22/08/98 West Ham United Away D 0-0 11 26,039
09/09/98 Charlton Athletic Home W 4-1 9 55,147
12/09/98 Coventry City Home W 2-0 5 55,193
20/09/98 Arsenal Away L 0-3 10 38,142
24/09/98 Liverpool Home W 2-0 3 55,181
03/10/98 Southampton Away W 3-0 2 15,251
17/10/98 Wimbledon Home W 5-1 2 55,265
24/10/98 Derby County Away D 1-1 2 30,867
31/10/98 Everton Away W 4-1 2 40,079
08/11/98 Newcastle United Home D 0-0 3 55,174
14/11/98 Blackburn Rovers Home W 3-2 2 55,198
21/11/98 Sheffield Wednesday Away L 1-3 2 39,475
29/11/98 Leeds Home W 3-2 2 55,172
05/12/98 Aston Villa Away D 1-1 2 39,241
12/12/98 Tottenham Hotspur Away D 2-2 1 36,079
16/12/98 Chelsea Home D 1-1 2 55,159
******
Champions League:
Group D P W D L F A Pts
Bayern Munich 6 3 2 1 9 6 11
Man United 6 2 4 0 20 11 10
Barcelona 6 2 2 2 11 9 8
Brondby 6 1 0 5 4 18 3
Dec 9 Brøndby 0-2 Barcelona
Dec 9 Man Utd 1-1 Bayern Munich
******
CHAMPIONS' LEAGUE QUARTER-FINAL DRAW
Real Madrid v Dynamo Kiev
Manchester Utd v Inter Milan
Juventus v Olympiakos
Bayern Munich v Kaiserslautern
Ties to be played on March 3 and 17
++++++=========+++++++========+++++++++========++++++++
"Peter Schmeichel's last season at OT" Click on image for more!"
Subject: SPARKS FLY AS ZOLA EARNS A POINT
MANCHESTER UNITED 1 CHELSEA 1
There were almost more bookings than chances,
but a late flash of inspiration from Gianfranco Zola
finally sparked Chelsea into life to strengthen their
title ambitions. Manchester United seemed set for
three points after Andy Cole's reaction shot in first
half injury time, until the Italian popped up seven
minutes from time. The result leaves United two
points behind Aston Villa, when a win would have
seen the Reds move back to the top of the
Premiership.
For the opening 80 minutes, the team sent out by
Gianluca Vialli seemed to be poor impostors for the
team which has produced some sparkling football
so far this season. United were little better, though,
and the match was largely a poor advert for a
supposedly resurgent Premiership as the two
teams tipped as the most-likely title contenders met
head on. Seven players were shown the yellow
card, tackles flew in from all angles, and the game
was crying out for width and inspiration until the
late flurry from the visitors, inspired by substitute
Gustavo Poyet.
But after Zola had struck seven minutes from time
to equalise Andy Cole's 45th-minute effort, the
Blues had chances to win the game and strengthen
a record which has seen them lose just twice at Old
Trafford in their past 23 League games there.
Before kick-off, Old Trafford was feverish with
excitement at the prospect of a Champions' Cup
quarter-final against Inter Milan, with Ronaldo and
Diego Simeone, the Argentinian who must still haunt
David Beckham's worst nightmares, awaiting. But
Europe must be put on hold for both sides until
March as domestic concerns take centre stage.
The absence of their defensive foundation stones,
Marcel Desailly and Frank Leboeuf, was a massive
blow for Chelsea, plunging Michael Duberry and
Bernard Lambourde into action against Cole and
Dwight Yorke. But what the first-half really missed
amid all the wasted passes and lack of inspiration as
two cautious line-ups cancelled each other out was
a winger, someone to take on an opponent and
produce a dangerous cross from the by-line. It was
little surprise that only Jesper Blomqvist provided
any real menace down the flanks, given that Nicky
Butt, Dan Petrescu and Celestine Babayaro are
hardly in the class of Ryan Giggs and David
Beckham, both rested until the second half.
Apart from Cole's goal, the rest of the opening 45
minutes was largely dismal, enlivened only by the
constant whistling of referee Graham Barber. The
first real save came a full 38 minutes into the game,
when Peter Schmeichel parried an effort from the
effervescent Gianfranco Zola. Shortly afterwards,
Graeme Le Saux, who had been at the centre of
most of the controversy, appearing to feign injury
at least once and being tackled into the advertising
hoardings in revenge, limped off to be replaced by
Poyet.
But finally, the painful deadlock was broken just
seconds before the interval. Blomqvist teased the
Chelsea defence down the right and sent in a weak
cross which was cleared as far as Butt. His shot
was blocked, but Cole immediately pounced on the
loose ball to fire a shot in off the left-hand upright.
Cole was straight back into the thick of the action
after the break, setting up Yorke after a thoughtful
through-ball from Paul Scholes, but the striker's
weak shot was easily gathered by De Goey.
The shuddering challenges continued to fly in, and
Lambourde was extremely fortunate to escape his
second yellow card of the game for what seemed a
last-ditch foul on Yorke as the former Villa striker
threatened to break free. Yorke was promptly
replaced by Beckham with 29 minutes left, and he
produced the best cross of the game within two
minutes only to see Scholes head it straight into the
ground and up again into De Goey's hands.
Chelsea had their fair share of possession but were
too often guilty of trying to break down United
straight through the middle, when it has been in the
air that the Reds have largely seemed vulnerable
this season. When Poyet did manage to pick out
Roberto Di Matteo in an inch of space in the penalty
area, the Italian simply fell over his own feet as
Schmeichel plucked the ball from beneath him.
Chelsea were almost made to pay when Ferrer
conceded possession to Cole, and the striker fed
Blomqvist advancing into the area, but his shot
went woefully wide, and he was immediately
replaced by Giggs. Then Di Matteo had another
chance to secure a point, rounding Schmeichel to
reach the by-line after Poyet had bulldozed his way
through, but Brown was there to hack clear his
pull-back.
The young defender was unable to stop Zola two
minutes later, however, as the Italian turned
sharply onto Poyet's flick and held off Brown's
challenge before flicking the ball nonchalantly over
the advancing Schmeichel.
In a thrilling final few minutes, Chelsea finished the
stronger, with Petrescu wasting one chance after
Tor Andre Flo caused more chaos in the United
area, and Babayaro clipping the post with a 20-yard
effort. There was still time for Brown to flick a
header narrowly wide but with honours even, the
focus now turns to the rematch in just two weeks
at Stamford Bridge.
Both sides will not find it hard to improve but after
fighting back to snatch a deserved draw, the
Chelsea fans will not be worrying about that on the
way back to London.
"Peter Schmeichel's last season at OT" Click on image for more!"
Subject: CHAMPIONS LEAGUE DRAW SETS UP BECKHAM-SIMEONE REMATCH
MANCHESTER UNITED and David Beckham face a
tough Champions League quarter-final test against
Inter Milan in March when the England midfielder
comes face to face with arch World Cup enemy
Diego Simeone. Beckham was sent-off for kicking
Simeone in England's France 98 defeat by
Argentina in St-Etienne. Inter will also be able to
call upon Ronaldo, who is returning to fitness after
several injuries. Meanwhile, Chelsea - the only
other remaining British interest in European
competitions this season - have been drawn against
Norwegian side Valerenga in the last eight of the
Cup Winners' Cup.
United chairman Martin Edwards claims any one of
United's five possible quarter-final opponents
would have been difficult to beat and is already
smacking his lips at the prospect of playing the
Italian giants. ''It's a tough draw and it's a great
draw in one sense because of Inter's reputation,''
he said. ''If you are going to win the European Cup
you have to be prepared to play the best teams at
some stage. Italian teams have proved in recent
years that they are among the strongest in Europe,
while Inter are a really good side who have
arguably the world's best player in Ronaldo. Every
team in the last eight is going to cause you
problems. We might have thought: 'Let's have
Kiev', who will have had a winter break, but they
are a good side and then there's the problem with
travelling such a big distance. Some people thought
Olympiakos might have been a good draw, but the
fans can be quite hostile out there. When you come
through the group stages you realise it's going to
be tough whoever you get and it really is an
exciting prospect.''
United have drifted out to second favourites
following Wednesday's draw, Juventus have been
installed as the new 5-2 favourites while the men
from Old Trafford, who were 3-1 favourites with
bookmakers William Hill after the group stages,
have gone out to 4-1 - level with Bayern Munich.
Inter are fourth favourites at 5-1 while holders
Real Madrid are 6-1, Dynamo Kiev 8-1,
Kaiserslautern 20-1 and Olympiakos 40-1.
Chelsea will be less keen for a repeat of their last
trip to Norway when they faced Tromso in sub-zero
temperatures on a snow-covered pitch. Valerenga,
who play in the 25,000-capacity Ulleval National
Stadium, are coached by former Norwegian
national coach Egil Olsen and have had a
remarkable turnaround in fortunes in recent years.
They were relegated to the second division for the
1997/98 season but came back up at the first
attempt and defeated Stromsgodset (who lost to
Aston Villa in the UEFA Cup), 4-2 in the Norwegian
Cup Final. The Londoners, at 2-1, are second
favourites behind Italian giants Lazio (11-8) to win
the competition while Valerenga are 33-1 outsiders.
In the UEFA Cup, Parma, conquerors of Rangers in
the last round, are favourites at 11-4 with Roma,
who knocked out Leeds on their way to the last
eight, second favourites at 4-1. Celta Vigo, who
have beaten both Aston Villa and Liverpool on their
way to the quarter-finals, join Marseille on 6-1.
Champions League: Real Madrid (Spa) v Dynamo
Kiev (Ukr), Manchester United v Inter Milan (Ita),
Juventus (Ita) v Olympiakos (Gre), Bayern Munich
(Ger) v Kaiserslautern (Ger).
Ties to be played on March 3 and 17.
Cup Winners' Cup: Chelsea v Valerenga (Nor),
Lokomotiv Moscow (Rus) v Maccabi Haifa (Isr),
Varteks (Cro) v Mallorca (Spa), Lazio (Ita) v
Panionios (Gre).
Ties to be played on March 4 and March 18.
UEFA Cup: Marseille (Fra) v Celta Vigo (Spa),
Bologna (Ita) v Lyon (Fra), Bordeaux (Fra) v
Parma (Ita), Atletico Madrid (Spa) v Roma (Ita).
Ties to be played on March 2 and March 16.
************************************************
'BOO BOYS JUST JEALOUS' SAYS BECKHAM
Manchester United star David Beckham believes
fans boo him because ''they are jealous of me most
of the time.'' The 23-year-old midfielder was made
a scapegoat for England's defeat in France after
being sent-off against Argentina and he was vilified
on his return home, with rumours circulating that he
would move abroad to escape the criticism. An
effigy of him was even strung up by a noose outside
a London pub but the expected hate campaign at
grounds such as Upton Park never really
materialised, although he is booed at away grounds
and also by some fans at England games.
''The reason fans abuse me is because they are
jealous of me most of the time,'' Beckham said in
the Official Manchester United magazine. "I'm sure
some of these people out on the terraces once
wanted to be a footballer or wanted to make it for
their team. They see me doing well on the pitch,
playing for United, playing for England, enjoying my
life, playing football with a smile on my face. I
suppose booing is their way of getting back at me. I
think when people boo you it's a sign of respect
really.''
''The papers were saying 'Is he going to go?' but I
wasn't going to leave United. The way the United
fans were to me, and the way the manager was to
me, made me even more determined to stay. To be
honest I didn't think it would be as bad as it actually
got. I flew straight out to New York which was my
way of getting away from everything. But it was
hard for my mum and dad. They had, like, 28
photographers camped outside the house.''
About the effigy Beckham added: ''I hadn't actually
seen that until I watched 'The Trouble with
Beckham' on TV recently. I think that was good for
me really because I came out of that programme
quite well. The next day people were saying 'Well
what is the trouble with Beckham?' People are just
trying to put me down but they've embarrassed
themselves putting that on telly.''
Beckham received police protection when he
returned to United's Cliff training ground after the
World Cup but he was heartened by messages of
support from fellow players and several phone calls
from Ray Wilkins, who was sent off playing for
England in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. ''A lot of
people have said the treatment I got after the
World Cup was unfair, and I think it was, but I can't
do anything about that. A lot of people really blew it
out of proportion."
Beckham was not as forthcoming with replies to the
questions everyone wants answering. When asked
about his reaction to Glenn Hoddle's comments
about him being ''unfocused'' he said: ''I'd rather
not go there.'' As to what made him lash out at
Simeone he would only say: ''I think you could see
that on telly. Everyone knows that.'' And when
asked about Teddy Sheringham's comment that
Simeone ''squealed like a pig'' Beckham
diplomatically answered: ''It's in the heat of the
moment that he's chosen to do that but I'm getting
on with my football and getting on with my life.''
Beckham admits he is now very cautious about
what he says or does. ''I'm wary of anyone. I think
you've got to be,'' he concluded.
"Peter Schmeichel's last season at OT" Click on image for more!"
Subject: McClair moves south to join Kidd
COLIN MOFFAT
Brian McClair is to become Brian Kidd's new assistant manager at
Blackburn Rovers.
The former Celtic and Manchester United striker is to leave Motherwell
after the two clubs thrashed out a suitable compensation package,
which will see the Ewood Park side visit Fir Park for a friendly match at
a later date.
Motherwell chairman John Boyle said: " We are sad to lose someone
of the calibre of Brian McClair, but we wish him all the best in what is
undoubtedly a superb career opportunity. " - Dec 18
****************
McClair joins Kidd at Blackburn
LONDON, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Brian McClair has joined English premier league
club Blackburn Rovers as assistant to new manager Brian Kidd, the BBC
reported on Thursday.
McClair, 35, moved to Scottish premier league club Motherwell in the close
season after 11 years at Manchester United where Kidd was assistant manager
for much of the period.
The former Scottish international striker had been expected to join the
United coaching staff but opted to continue his playing career in Scotland,
signing a three-year contract.
Kidd took over at Blackburn earlier this month following the departure of
Roy Hodgson.
"Peter Schmeichel's last season at OT" Click on image for more!"
Subject: Beckham tormentor has no worries
Thursday, December 17, 1998
Inter Milan midfielder Diego Simeone expects no ill-treatment from the Old
Trafford crowd when the Italian giants visit Manchester United on March 3 for
the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final .
The Argentina international was accused of play-acting in the incident which
resulted in David Beckham being sent off by referee Kim Milton Nielsen during
England's World Cup second-round exit from France 98.
But Simeone expects no backlash from the crowd.
He said: 'I'm not worried at all. I don't think I'll be booed, though I know Old
Trafford can be a difficult place to play.'
Millions of English viewers watched in horror at Beckham's moment of folly last
summer, when his ill-judged kick at Simeone's leg caused the Argentina
midfielder to collapse in apparent agony. While Beckham's antics were
undeniably stupid, Simeone's theatrics were roundly criticised.
But Simeone said: 'I'm not going to say anything to Beckham when I see him
because there is no reason for me to speak to him. That game is finished, that
World Cup is over. There is no point in rehashing the past. You can be sure I'm
not going to be thinking about Beckham or France 98 when I step on the field.
I'll only be thinking about winning the game.
'In my opinion, Inter-Manchester United is the best game of the quarter-finals.
There are no easy matches left in the draw, nor should there be. If you want to
win the competition and be the best club in Europe, you've got to prove you're
better than everybody else. Therefore, it makes no difference whether you play
Manchester United or Juventus or whoever. You still have to win.'
Yet Simeone's coach at Inter, Romanian Mircea Lucescu, made no attempt to
disguise his relief at playing United rather than Italian rivals Juventus.
Lucescu said: 'Most teams at this point are equally tough, except perhaps
Olympiakos. But the most important thing to me is that we have managed to
avoid facing Juve and therefore I am very happy with the draw.
'Italian clubs have shown over the years that they know how to play against and
overcome English opposition. Besides, we have a lot of things to our advantage.
We play the first leg away, which is a big boost because it offers us an
opportunity to prepare for the return match at home, and we have three months
to be ready for the game. By then, we should be a much stronger and confident
unit.'
It is not often that Ronaldo has to take a back seat on the footballing stage, or
as a news item, but the first meeting of Beckham and Simeone since France
98 will inevitably be the focal point of interest from the tie.
Simeone was only booked in their first encounter but managed to convince the
Danish referee, if any doubt lingered, that Beckham should receive a red card.
The United player has tried to show greater maturity following the incident, but
Inter will be only too happy to find out how strong Beckham's self-discipline has
really become.
Simeone is one of a galaxy of brilliant stars in the Inter firmament but his
primary position, as an attacking left-sided midfielder, is likely to bring him in
direct opposition to Beckham when the teams meet at Old Trafford and the San
Siro two weeks later.
Inter have been playing fitfully in Serie A despite pushing Real Madrid into
second place in their Champions League group.
Gigi Simoni was sacked as coach earlier this month and Taribo West hurled his
jersey at new coach Lucescu while being substituted.
The incidents highlighted a relative malaise at Inter, the birthplace of catanaccio
football under Helenio Herrera and Italy's leading club when they twice won the
European Cup. But they are without an Italian championship for 10 years.
However, they are the holders of the UEFA Cup, Simoni's side having beaten
Lazio 3-0 in Paris last May after losing the final of the same competition on
penalties to FC Schalke, of Germany, a year earlier.
Inter have enjoyed the patronage of the some of the world's greatest players
over the years and today's 24-carat cast list, which includes Youri Djorkaeff,
Ronaldo, Nicola Ventola, Roberto Baggio, Javier Zanetti and Ivan Zamorano,
goes alongside names from the past like Lothar Matthaus, Jurgen Klinsmann
and Andy Brehme and, from more distant history, Giacinto Facchetti, Sandro
Mazzola and Walter Zenga.
But United manager Alex Ferguson will already have a massive dossier of
information on Inter, who have been coached by sacked Blackburn manager
Roy Hodgson and anchored in midfield by Old Trafford's former Guv'nor, Paul
Ince. Indeed, it is not impossible that Ince will have returned to Inter by the time
the quarter-final is played, although he would be ineligible for their Champions
League having played for Liverpool in the UEFA Cup.
But if Lucescu can harness the incredible amount of raw talent he has at his
disposal, then Inter will not only become bookies' favourites to go through to the
last four but to win the tournament.
In Ferguson's favour is the fact that his League matches around the two ties are
far from the most demanding of the season while Inter must face Juventus
immediately before the first leg and the Milan derby prior to the second.
*******************
Simeone's olive branch ««
Diego Simeone - the man responsible for David Beckham's
sending off in that infamous World Cup clash in St Etienne - has
offered the England star the opportunity to meet up and to put
the events of that night into a more sensible context than many
have so far done.
The Champions' League clash with Inter Milan, which looks set
to pitch the two men head to head for the first time since the
World Cup, has inevitably been hyped up as a revenge mission,
but Simeone is keen to play down the confrontation. The
Argentinian has offered to meet Beckham "any time, anywhere"
to declare a truce.
"Peter Schmeichel's last season at OT" Click on image for more!"
From: Dave Menashe
Subject: A little perspective
Reds,
Okay. So we have not been setting things alight of late and have only won
one of the past few hundred games. Yes we are not playing well consistently
but it ain't that bad. We are in the last 8 in Europe, 2nd in the PL and
only 2 points behind the leaders. We have no serious long term injuries.
And we are out of the Mickey Mouse Cup. Compare that to October-December
last year and the year before. This season, we haven't a) lost 5-0 and then
6-3 away and then 2-1 at home to Chelsea within a 14 day period; b) Lost
our unbeaten European home record; c) Lost our unbeaten status in the CL in
Turin; d) Lost 3-2 at Arsenal.
Although we haven't won many games of late, the fact remains that we have
only lost 9 games out of the 52 played so far in 1998 and one was in the
League Cup. This season, we have only lost 4 of 29. Not bad on the face of it.
The problem is that we have become so accustomed to success and winning
performances that anything less is treated as defeat. Heaven help us -
under Sexton, Big Ron or even the early Fergie years, if we had lost only 4
of 29 games, we would have been in heaven.
This team will win silverware this season and I don't mean just the Pontins
league. Once the heavy fixtures of the New Year kick in, we will have extra
resources that the other teams lack. No championship or European Cup has
ever been won in December and as long as we are in with a fight, I'll be
happy. In the old days, once we were knocked out of the FA Cup, our season
died. At least we know we'll be in with a shout and that's enough.
Someone is in for a serious beating soon. I hope we save it for Forest and
don't beat up on Robbo on Saturday. He has assembled a good team so that is
unlikely but either Forest or Charlton will feel the full fury of the reds
and with a 4 or 5-0 win behind us, all will seem rosy again.
Dave
Manchester United - The Legend: http://manunited.net
"Peter Schmeichel's last season at OT" Click on image for more!"
Subject: George Best's View on Tinkerbell
FERGIE NOT MAKING "BEST" MOVES
By David Anderson, PA Sport
Alex Ferguson's game of musical chairs with his Manchester United squad is
hitting the wrong note for George Best.
David Beckham and Ryan Giggs found themselves sitting on the bench when the
music stopped for last night's clash with title rivals Chelsea at Old Trafford.
Ferguson insists he is rotating his vast and talented squad to give his
star players a breather, but Best disagrees with his thinking.
Best, who was at Old Trafford last night, does not see the need for such
caution and he claims he would field his best 11 players every time.
"I would always pick my best 11 players for every game," said the United
legend.
"It seems, though, that this is the way managers are thinking these days.
"I must say I don't agree. You would have thought United would go for the
jugular against Chelsea, particularly when they were playing at home,
because they are one of the sides up there challenging them for the title.
"You would want to go out and stuff them - for want of a better word.
"I would always go with my best lads, particularly in a game like this, and
yet Fergie has left two class international players on the bench in Beckham
and Giggs."
Best rubbishes suggestions that the demands of the modern game have become
so great that players need to be rested.
He claims players were under as many pressures in his day.
"I don't go along with all that talk and when I played we played 70 odd
games a season," he said.
"We played 42 league games, we played internationals, we had two cup
competitions and we still won the European Cup.
"The pitches were also a wee bit heavier to say the least.
"All this stuff about players playing too many games for me is a load of
rubbish.
"People talk about the game being more physical and faster now, but I don't
agree with that."
Best believes it is better to have a settled side rather than to chop and
change each week.
"It can make it more difficult and sometimes it's better just to have 15 or
16 players like we used to have in the old days," he said.
"If you play with different people each week it's harder to get used to
their individual styles of play.
"But Fergie is the boss. He picks the team and the rest of us have got to
go along with it."
United missed the chance to knock Aston Villa off the top of the
Premiership by drawing 1-1 with Chelsea and Best feels the champions will
come from this trio of teams.
"I said at the start of the season that I felt Arsenal would be the team to
beat," he said.
"I've changed my mind because they don't have anything up front.
"People keep thinking Aston Villa will fade away, but I don't think they
will, while Leeds are coming through as dark horses.
"For me, though, it's between Chelsea, Aston Villa and United."
And no prizes for guessing which team Best is tipping for the title.
"I never back against the Reds," he said.
"Peter Schmeichel's last season at OT" Click on image for more!"
Subject: YORKE RELISHING RONALDO CLASH
Dwight Yorke can't wait to play against his hero
Ronaldo in the Champions League. Yorke will line up
against the Brazilian superstar in March after
Manchester United were paired with Inter Milan in
the draw for the last eight. The Trinidad and
Tobago striker seldom has the opportunity of
testing his skills against the world's best on the
international stage and that makes the draw even
more attractive for him.
''I don't get the chance to play against people like
Ronaldo at international level but they don't come
any bigger than this game do they?'' he said.
''Ronaldo is one of the players I admire most at the
moment. He has got a bit of everything. He can
score goals, he can dribble round people, he is very
quick and his all-round game is pretty good. He is
definitely on the shortlist of quality players
around.''
Yorke was quick to add that United do not suffer
from any inferiority complex when they look at the
Inter side. ''That is what the Champions League is
all about and if you are going to win the thing then
you have got to beat everybody,'' he said. ''Inter
have got Ronaldo and we all know he is the world's
number one footballer but we have got a lot of
quality here as well and I'm sure we can match
anybody.'' United face Inter in the first leg at Old
Trafford on March 3 before the return match in the
San Siro on March 17.
REFEREE Graham Barber has fallen foul of United
boss Alex Ferguson for the second time this season
after Wednesday night's 1-1 draw with Chelsea at
Old Trafford. Fergie was furious with Barber for not
sending off Chelsea defender Bernard Lambourde
after he appeared to pull down Yorke as the United
striker raced through on goal. The Frenchman,
already on a yellow card, escaped unpunished.
Ferguson said: "It was a poor decision and nobody
could argue with that. It's the same referee who
sent Nicky Butt off at Highbury in September even
when he wasn't the last man. If the referees were
consistent from game to game, you could
understand why they did certain things as they
maybe had an edict from their bosses. But when
they change from game to game, that's the
frustrating thing for managers."
"Peter Schmeichel's last season at OT" Click on image for more!"
Pic Link today is http://www.red11.org/mufc/news/schmeichel.htm
To debate ALL subjects about Manchester United Football Club we at Simplenet recommend:
The "RED-DEVILS MAIL LIST" all subscription requests to: <RED-DEVILS@PIPELINE.COM>
To subscribe to the daily Digest type 'Digest' in message body
or "THE INTERNATIONAL MANCHESTER UNITED MAILING LIST" <listserv@listserv.indiana.edu>
Write the command: sub mufc (your_name)
If ever they are playing in your town
You must get to that football ground
Take a lesson come to see
Football taught by Matt Busby
Manchester, Manchester United
A bunch of bouncing Busby Babes
They deserve to be knighted
Barry
J. Leeming Digest Prgram
by 
William
McArthur Canada
