www.red11.org DAILY NEWS
Date: Mon Dec 21 GMT+00:00 1998
Mail: barry@www.red11.org
This Issue:
1. Post Match reaction
2. Brave Boro punish dreadful United
3. BORO PUNDIT'S CHEEKY PROMISE
4. DEFENSIVE BLUNDERS ANGER STAND-IN BOSS
5. Barca in for United boss? ««
6. Two questions
7. Squaddies by David Marshall
8. Re: Squaddies
++++++=========+++++++========+++++++++========++++++++
Daily RED Trivia Mon 21st December 1998:
21/12/1957: Kenny Morgans made his debut against Leicester City. Morgans won FA
Youth Cup winners medals in 1956 and 1957, but the promising Winger was injured
in the Munich crash in 1958, and having made 23 appearances between 1957-61
moved to Swansea Town in March 1961 for £3000.
1996: United thrash Sunderland 5-0 at Old Trafford in a Premiership game watched
by 55,081. Eric Cantona 2, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer 2 and Nicky Butt got the goals.
Team was: Schmeichel, G.Neville, Irwin, May, P.Neville, Pallister (McClair),
Cantona, Butt, Solskjaer (Poborsky), Scholes, Giggs.
***************
Barry Daily Comment:
Have a RED Christmas
Lets hope the boys pull their socks up soon?
A win is desperatly needed against Forest next Sat.
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 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
19/12/98 Middlebrough Home L 2-3 3 55,152
******
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
Manchester Utd v Inter Milan
Real Madrid v Dynamo Kiev
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: Post Match reaction
Jimmy Ryan said he couldn't believe it as Middlesbrough won
3-2 at Old Trafford. United were without Jaap Stam, who has
an ankle injury, and his presence was missed as United's
defence had a day to forget.
Acting assistant manager Ryan, who was in charge because
Alex Ferguson was in Scotland following the death of a
close family member, said he felt disbelief as United went
3-0 down. He felt defensive errors had contributed to their
first home defeat since mid March.
"I thought it was a game where defensive mistakes cost us,"
he said. "We should not be in a position where we are
chasing a third goal in order to get a point at home. The
effort from the players was tremendous in the last period
and it is just regrettable that the mistakes they had made
put them in such positions."
Ryan, who found out on Friday night that he would be in
charge for the day, spoke to Ferguson after the game and he
said: "He was disappointed but he has something happening
back there which is more than occupying his mind."
*******************
Bryan Robson hailed his first win over his old club as the
finest victory of his Middlesbrough reign. Boro held off a
United fightback for a 3-2 win - their first success at Old
Trafford since January 1930 to climb to fourth place in the
table just one point behind United.
A delighted Robson said; "Old Trafford is probably the most
difficult place in the country to come and win so it's a
great result for us.
"It's probably the best result we have had since I have
been manager of the club. Manchester United have given us a
few runarounds so it's lovely to come back and win. It also
give me satisfaction in the sense that for me they are
still the best team in the country."
Middlesbrough's strike partnership of Hamilton Ricard and
Brian Deane were the architects of what was only the
Teesiders fifth League win over United since the War. They
scored a goal apiece in between a tremendous volley from
Dean Gordon and although United clawed two goals back,
through Nicky Butt and substitute Paul Scholes, the
visitors hung on for a deserved victory.
Robson said: "I just felt that the two strikers made a
difference for us. I thought their link-up play was great
and they were always a handful for United. They are big
strong lads and they are a handful for anybody as they have
been proving in the last couple of weeks."
"Peter Schmeichel's last season at OT" Click on image for more!"
Subject: Brave Boro punish dreadful United
By Paul Wilson
Saturday December 19, 1998
Alex Ferguson missed this game due to a family bereavement in Scotland, and so
was not around to see Middlesbrough's first win at Old Trafford for 68 years cost his
side another chance of reclaiming the Premier League leadership.
United players were probably grateful he was not present to see this shambles first
hand, and might want to be absent themselves when he catches up with the
video. United were unrecognisable as the team Ferguson left behind, and unless this
was all part of an elaborate plan to lull Internazionale into a false sense of
security, they appeared to have taken their manager too literally when he said they
could take a bit of a breather before the next stage of European competition.
Very few visiting supporters get the chance to sing 'Are you City in disguise?' at Old
Trafford, but when the gleeful Boro fans gave it an airing as Bryan Robson's side
eased into a scarcely believeable 2-0 first-half lead, it did not strike anyone as a
gross exaggeration.
Boro played splendidly and were full value for their win, as a 3-0 scoreline early in the
second half suggested. United really were that bad. It may be heresy to suggest it,
but Ferguson's policy of squad rotation does not appear to be working. Jaap Stam
was rested for this game, properly rested rather than merely selected on the bench,
a decision United began to regret as soon as Gary Neville and Ronny Johnsen
realised they were in for a difficult afternoon against Hamilton Ricard and Brian Deane.
Dwight Yorke's injury led to a recall for Teddy Sheringham, but Paul Scholes and
Wes Brown were relegated to the substitutes' bench. The same thing had
happened to David Beckham and Ryan Giggs against Chelsea on Wednesday, two
key attackers bizarrely rested for one of the biggest games of the season, only for both
to be sent on when the going became tough.
On this evidence neither appeared any fresher for the experience. Giggs's touch
was poor for the first half-hour and Beckham, who put in one of his least
substantial performances, was himself withdrawn after just over an hour.
That in itself was odd, since the United fightback had just got under way, and
Beckham had supplied the cross for Nicky Butt to beat Mark Schwarzer with a firm
header. Three minutes earlier there seemed no way back for United when Deane helped
himself to Boro's third goal courtesy of a mistake by Johnsen, who had given the ball
away to Ricard.
This might not have been such an expensive error last year, when Ricard
would have been likely to miscontrol it or fall over it, but there had been plenty of
evidence in the first half that the Colombian's reputation as football's most
changed man is thoroughly deserved.
Just seven minutes had elapsed when Ricard gave notice of his intentions with a
shot from 25 yards which had Peter Schmeichel scrambling backwards to tip
over. That was as impressive as his next contribution, a tap-in to put Boro in front,
was straightforward. All the hard work was done by the excellent Dean Gordon's
searching crossfield pass, which left Schmeichel for dead but which Deane
hooked back from the brink, leaving Ricard to prod home from close range. Gordon did
even better for Boro's second goal, with a first-time shot from the edge of the penalty
area that flew past Schmeichel, but the opening arose from an Andy Townsend
free-kick on the right. Gary Neville conceded it, unable to knock Ricard off the
ball by any other means than pulling him down.
Giggs put a header wide and Beckham missed with a shot before half-time, but
with Gary Pallister playing predictably well against his old club, United's chances to
reply were strictly rationed.
Boro almost increased their lead at the start of the second half, Ricard again
holding off Gary Neville and crossing for the unmarked Deane to head tamely at
Schmeichel, but the finish was better when the same pair took advantage of Johnsen's
slip in the 58th minute. At 3-0 United had little option but to throw everything into
attack, and with Boro forced to defend ever deeper, the last half-hour resembled a
siege once Butt's goal had given the home side some encouragement. Substitute
Scholes grabbed a second with 20 minutes remaining, picking up a rebound from Andy
Cole and shooting past an unsighted Schwarzer, but for all United's pressure,
their best chance of an equaliser came when the Boro goalkeeper rashly threw out
to an unprepared Pallister three minutes from time. Cole was on to the ball in a flash
and should have scored, but Schwarzer recovered to half-save and Steve Vickers
completed the clearance off his own line. At least that allowed Pallister to fully enjoy
his first return. Ferguson, who described him as one of his favourite players, will
have been pleased about that.
"Peter Schmeichel's last season at OT" Click on image for more!"
Subject: BORO PUNDIT'S CHEEKY PROMISE
Cheeky Boro TV pundit Bernie Slaven will bear his bum in
public tomorrow (Monday) in celebration of the team's
historic win at Old Trafford.
The former Middlesbrough winger claimed he would display
his rear in the shop window of Binns department store in
Middlesbrough if the Teessiders beat Manchester United.
Bryan Robson's side duly recorded their first win at Old
Trafford since January 1930 and a game Slaven will go
through with the bet tomorrow.
Slaven explained: ''After last Saturday's game my colleague
asked me: 'Bernie, we're sitting fourth in the league, doing
well and going to Old Trafford. How far would you go if we
beat Manchester United?' I said I would go as far as to say I
would flash my bum in Binns shop window. It's not a pretty
sight, but I'm going to bear it. It's caused a lot of banter
and we've asked Binns if it's OK to do it and they've agreed
I can go into the window and flash my backside.''
Former United old boy Gary Pallister joked Slaven's dare
had been as effective a spur for victory as any team talk:
''The lads knew all about what Bernie had said and the
manager didn't need to say anything else in the dressing
room because that was all the motivation we needed. I
don't know if Binns window is going to be big enough to get
Bernie's bum in, but certainly I'd pay to see it.''
"Peter Schmeichel's last season at OT" Click on image for more!"
Subject: DEFENSIVE BLUNDERS ANGER STAND-IN BOSS
United were without Jaap Stam, who has an ankle injury,
and his presence was missed as United's defence had a day
to forget. Acting assistant manager Jim Ryan, who was in
charge because Alex Ferguson was in Scotland following the
death of a close family member, said he felt disbelief as
United went 3-0 down. He felt defensive errors had
contributed to their first home defeat since mid March.
''I thought it was a game where defensive mistakes cost
us,'' he said. ''We should not be in a position where we are
chasing a third goal in order to get a point at home. The
effort from the players was tremendous in the last period
and it is just regrettable that the mistakes they had made
put them in such positions.''
Ryan, who found out on Friday night that he would be in
charge for the day, spoke to Ferguson after the game and
he said: ''He was disappointed but he has something
happening back there which is more than occupying his
mind.''
ROBSON RELISHES HIS BEST BORO WIN
Bryan Robson hailed his first win over his old club as the
finest victory of his Middlesbrough reign. Boro held off a
United fightback for a 3-2 win - their first success at Old
Trafford since January 1930 to climb to fourth place in the
table just one point behind United.
A delighted Robbo said: ''Old Trafford is probably the most
difficult place in the country to come and win so it's a great
result for us. It's probably the best result we have had since
I have been manager of the club. Manchester United have
given us a few runarounds so it's lovely to come back and
win. It also give me satisfaction in the sense that for me
they are still the best team in the country.''
"Peter Schmeichel's last season at OT" Click on image for more!"
Subject: Barca in for United boss? ««
More reports in the Sunday press have claimed that
Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson is high on the wanted
list of Spanish giants Barcelona - if and when Dutchman
Louis Van Gaal the current boss gets the boot. United of
course helped to knock Barcelona out of the European Cup
this season, and the Spaniards were obviously impressed
with the way Ferguson's United outplayed them for the first
half at Old Trafford and came close to recording a famous
win in the Nou Camp. Reports claim Barcelona are ready to
offer Ferguson £2m a year to move to Spain - which doubles
his current salary. Ferguson's contract at Old Trafford
runs out in 18 months time, and United fans have already
started a campaign to keep the popular Scot at the club.
For his part, Ferguson has never indicated a desire to
leave Old Trafford, and the odds of him uprooting to Spain
at this stage of his life would appear to be unlikely -
given past positive comments concerning finishing his
career at United.
"Peter Schmeichel's last season at OT" Click on image for more!"
From: "Tony Smith"
Subject: Two questions
First a little quiz question - one that I've only just learned the answer to
(to my surprise): Name the United player (who played on Wednesday) whose
previous clubs include Djurgarden of Sweden and Aldershot!
Second, a question that occurred to me in the car tonight. I wondered what
was the most depressing result of a United match ever. I can think of quite
a few obviously: Losing the league in 92; losing cup semi-finals (especially
1970); 5-1 at City; Arsenal last season; Dortmund the year before. But I
reckon there is one game that will be remembered by those who were around as
the most depressing ever. It will be interesting to see if our over-45s
mention it. (And I'm not referring to 1958, which goes without saying, and
wasn't a tragedy because of a football result.)
Look forward to some feedback on the list. I'll post my answers to these
questions next week.
Tony
(c) 1998
"Peter Schmeichel's last season at OT" Click on image for more!"
Subject: Squaddies by David Marshall
Hi All,
I thought George Best was talking a lot of good sense when he said a
club should put its best XI on the park week in week out.
If he could manage 70 matches in a season, with his alleged
extracurricular activities, surely the present day Reds, with all the
modern training and fitness drills, should be both up to it and up
for it. I think, no matter how great the ability of individual
players, stuffing around must cause disruption of playing patterns to
some extent, and apparently receiving no reward for excellence (eg
Solks for his 2 goals last start) must be diheartening, no matter how
Red nor how stoic in public a player may be. We are victims of our
own riches to some extent. Now the UEFACL has gone to bed until March
and we have only the two traditional comps to concentrate on, and despite our
never putting the same team on the park twice last time we were
champions (often more due to necessity than choice), I really would like
to be able, as we once could, to say "this" is United's first team and see
them be allowed to blend and gel for a few consecutive games. I
believe any one of quite a few combinations, given the chance, could
easily become unbeatable, which is what United should be.
Cheers,
David Marshall
Brisbane, Australia.
Red 'til I'm dead.
"Peter Schmeichel's last season at OT" Click on image for more!"
From: Terry Dale
Subject: Re: Squaddies
David Marshall wrote:
> I really would like
> to be able, as we once could, to say "this" is United's first team and see
> them be allowed to blend and gel for a few consecutive games.
Well, we're now seeing the downside of the squad system. Fergie may well
be forced to change formations not merely to give players a rest (as he
claims) but to keep the squad as a whole happy. So players who are up
for it every game, like Becks and Scholes, may have to sit it out
occasionally to make sure that Butt, Blomqvist, Teddy, Ole and so on,
also get a game. If we only changed our team when there were injuries, a
number of players would start to wonder whether they really had a future
at Old Trafford. I was shocked to see Stam left out. If it was caused by
an injury, fine, but if it's Fergie giving him a 'rest' or leaving him
out to keep a bench player happy, then it was a ploy that failed
miserably.
As for the Boro game, I knew we were doomed as soon as I saw Boro
trotting out in Argentinian shirts. The three goals we conceded were
fine examples of schoolboy howlers. For the first, both Gazza and
Dinnnis appeared to misread the ball, but not Deane or Ricard. For the
second, Ronnie's failure to clear produced a fine goal from Gordon
although two Boro players did appear to be standing offside when he
shot, one close enough to Schmikes to suggest he was particpating in the
play, but we would have complained if we'd had a goal disallowed for
that. At half time we were leading 8-1 (on corners) but didn't look
capable of breaking down a pretty packed Boro defence. The third goal,
on 59 minutes, was a real comedy of errors. Ronnie (?) played a lousy
pass to Gazza Neville that was intercepted by Deane. It looked as if
Phil Neville would win the ball but his tackle on Deane was
embarrassingly weak. As I've noted on other occasions, Phil looks good
going forward with the ball but is suspect as alast line of defence.
All credit to the Reds for the fightback but the wake-up call came too
late. Why on earth was Becks taken off? He, at long last, produced a
fine cross for Butt to head in our first goal, then did another
immediately afterwards to give Giggs a good chance ... and then, er, he
was taken off. This looks to have been a decision that was taken at
half-time but was inappropriate when the moment finally arrived. The
goal bucked up Butt a bit (he hadn't being doing too well till then),
and his strong run led to Scholes getting our second after Cole had made
a bit of space for him. We had chances to draw level, most notably from
Andy Cole and Butt, but, despite all our late pressure, I don't believe
we would have deserved to share the points. Ineptness in defence and
poor finishing deserve to be punished. If not, the decision-makers at
Old Trafford might get the impression that there really is nothing wrong
that a bit more 'resting' won't cure.
Thank God we can still rely on City in these moments of crisis ;-)
____________
Terry
Saudi
"Peter Schmeichel's last season at OT" Click on image for more!"
Pic Link today is http://www.red11.org/mufc/news/schmeichel.htm
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If ever they are playing in your town
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Take a lesson come to see
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Manchester, Manchester United
A bunch of bouncing Busby Babes
They deserve to be knighted
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