www.red11.org DAILY NEWS
Date: Tues Sep 22 GMT+00:00 1998
Mail: barry@www.red11.org
This Issue:
1. EASE OF ARSENAL VICTORY SHOULD WORRY FERGIE
2. FERGUSON'S PROBLEMS GO BEYOND THE LEAKY DEFENCE - 365
3. Teamtalk
4. VILLA TO MAKE NEW BID FOR COLE
5. FERGIE:I BLEW TITLE CHANCE / ALEX IS TOO SMART FOR OWN GOOD? (mirror)
++++++=========+++++++========+++++++++========++++++++
Daily RED Trivia Tues 22nd September:
1934: Len Langford made his United debut against Norwich City. A lean goalkeeper,
Langford was signed from Manchester City and played 15 times between 1934-35.
He won an FA Cup finalists medal with City in 1933.
1981: United win 2-0 at Middlesbrough in Division 1 with goals from Garry Birtles
and Frank Stapleton watched by 19,895. Team was: Bailey, Gidman, Albiston,
Wilkins, McQueen, Buchan (Duxbury), Coppell, Birtles, Stapleton, Macari, Moses.
********************************
Next 3 games:
Result/Fixture Index:
http://www.red11.org/mufc/fix9899z.htm
Thu 24/9 Liverpool (H) PL
Wed 30/9 Bayern M (A) CL
Sat 3/10 Southampton (A) PL
UNITED Stats v Liverpool are here:
http://www.red11.org/mufc/stats/vsliverpool.htm Url
http://www.red11.org/mufc/stats/vsliverpool.xls Excel File
*** PL TEAM RESULTS - MANCHESTER UNITED - AS AT 12/09/98 ***
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
*** FIXTURES ON 24/09/98 ***
Manchester United v Liverpool
*** FIXTURES ON 26/09/98 ***
Aston Villa v Derby County
Charlton Athletic v Coventry City
Chelsea v Middlesbrough
Everton v Blackburn Rovers
Newcastle United v Nottingham Forest
Sheffield Wednesday v Arsenal
Tottenham Hotspur v Leeds United
++++++=========+++++++========+++++++++========++++++++
"Are you Against the BSkyB takeover? Please Read! Click on image!"
Monday 21 September 1998
Subject: EASE OF ARSENAL VICTORY SHOULD WORRY FERGIE
Arsenal 3 Manchester United 0
EVEN with 11 players on the field, Manchester
United were simply no match for an Arsenal side
which has hardly found second gear, yet alone
the cruise control which powered them to the
Premiership title in May. The margin of this defeat
should cause some alarm for manager Alex
Ferguson, who was clearly resigned to defeat even
before Nicky Butt’s second half dismissal.
It’s worth noting that while United were parading
£27 million worth of new talent in Dwight Yorke,
Jaap Stam and Jesper Blomqvist, Arsenal began
the game with a familiar looking line-up, minus the
influential Emmanuel Petit and with their other World
Cup stars, Dennis Bergkamp and Marc
Overmars, still nowhere near their title-winning
form of a few months ago.
Arsene Wenger did introduce new signing
Fredric Ljungberg ten minutes from time and he
completed United’s misery with a debut goal to add
to the earlier strikes from captain Tony Adams and
Nicolas Anekla. They had given the Gunners a first
half cushion they rarely, if ever, looked like
relinquishing, even to the supposed biggest threat
to their crown.
It was United's first Premiership defeat of the
season, but their fourth in a row against the Gunners
and the Highbury crowd revelled in the visitors’
discomfort. Such a prospect will be horrific for
Ferguson, who had to take responsibility for a
tactical ploy that backfired badly.
He tinkered with his line-up, playing Ryan Giggs
up front with £12.6m new signing Dwight Yorke to
give Swedish flyer Jesper Blomqvist a starting berth
on the wing. But as the match started running
against his side, Ferguson was left with no options
on the bench, with strikers Teddy Sheringham
and Andy Cole not even deemed worthy of seats
there.
Arsenal, who had suffered the frustrations of five
successive draws, ripped into United from the start.
Lee Dixon had a goalbound blast blocked in the
second minute and then Dennis Bergkamp volleyed
over after Butt and Peter Schmeichel lost the thread
of their defensive cover. Giggs, as central support
striker with Yorke, showed some familiar silky
touches, but Adams and Martin Keown locked both
of them in an iron grip, something United’s £10m
defender Jaap Stam was unable to do at the other
end. This was another disappointing afternoon for
the Dutchman, who needs to start proving his
perceived worth sooner rather than later.
Overmars, without hitting the over-drive button,
was a constant menace down the left and put one
good chance in the side-netting after Stephen
Hughes - a magnificent deputy for the injured
Petit - played him in. Hughes, probing from the
right this time, set up Adams' opener, his first
goal of the season, by curling in a free kick after
Blomqvist's trip on the raiding Lee Dixon.
The Arsenal captain brushed off the ineffective
challenge of Stam to power home an
unstoppable header. By now, United just could not
cope with Arsenal's midfield drive and industry
and were lucky not to concede a second goal in
the 22nd minute when another lovely ball by
Hughes was ferried on by Overmars and Anelka for
Bergkamp to stab inches wide.
David Beckham, predictably booed by the
Arsenal fans every time he touched the ball, launched
a couple of his free-kick specials from distance
without troubling David Seaman and the
frustration showed when both Beckham and skipper
Roy Keane were lectured by the referee for
disputing decisions.
Arsenal rode their luck, however, when Beckham
struck a beauty from 20 yards after Yorke squared
the ball to him, the shot curling back across the
area after slamming into Seaman's right-hand post.
Arsenal took charge, though, with Ray Parlour
firing just wide after another smart link with
Overmars, before Anelka brought a marvellous
one-handed save from Schmeichel in the 43rd
minute. The young Frenchman, who missed a
hatful of chances to bury Lens in the Champions
League on Wednesday, must have thought his
luck was out again. Deja-vu was the clear
feeling when Overmars put him clean through a
minute before the break and Anelka saw his shot
again parried by Schmeichel.
But this time fate smiled on the Frenchman and he
buried the rebound with a flourish. Beckham, who
went down from a challenge which saw
Hughes booked, seemed to exact revenge in a later
clash, but escaped with a warning. Then Keane
barged the Arsenal midfielder to the ground
with the ball a long way distant, but once more
the referee decided only a warning was necessary.
Nicky Butt was sent off for the second time in five
days as things went from bad to worse for United in
the second period. The United midfielder,
dismissed for handball in Wednesday's Champions'
League draw with Barcelona, had to take the
lonely march again after tripping Arsenal's
rampaging French midfield star Patrick Vieira six
minutes into the second half.
It was a harsh decision from referee Graham
Barber because Vieira still had plenty of work to do
even though he was beyond the United
defence when racing onto Anelka's pass.
But by then Arsenal's dominance had long been
established and once Butt saw red, the rest of the
game was a formality and United caved in miserably
as Arsenal teased and toyed with them in the
last half hour.
The champions roused themselves to construct a
third goal, lobbed home by their new £3million signing
Ljungberg, who had been on the field for only five
minutes as a substitute for Anelka. Arsenal’s
dominance was complete
ARSENAL V. UNITED - Reactions
ALEX FERGUSON admitted that Manchester United had been
“outplayed” by champions Arsenal and confounded his critics by refusing to
condemn Nicky Butt’s sending-off. “Arsenal were far more determined –
they were first to every ball,” said Ferguson. “Quite frankly I am terribly
disappointed in our players. They lacked the determination that Arsenal
had.”
Ferguson had been vocal in his condemnation of the referee in
Wednesday’s Champions’ League game against Barcelona, but today’s
official Graham Barber escaped his venom.
“People talk about professional referees, but I don’t think that you
would necessarily get better decisions. Arsenal were the better
team and we were outplayed for most of the game, so I’ve got no
complaints.
“You have great ups and great downs as a football manager. On Wednesday
we were part of one of the great nights of football, and today we had a
different sort of experience.”
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was typically diplomatic about the
sending-off, saying: “It was one of those difficult decisions. If he had got
a yellow card I wouldn't have contested it.
“Every game is different, but psychologically we knew that we
could beat United. The performance in Lens made a big difference – we had
some doubts but the game in France did us some good.
“It was an important game today, because if we had lost it would have
been five games without a win – but this puts us up with the top
contenders.”
"Are you Against the BSkyB takeover? Please Read! Click on image!"
Subject: FERGUSON'S PROBLEMS GO BEYOND THE LEAKY DEFENCE - 365
Monday 21 September 1998
FERGUSON'S PROBLEMS GO BEYOND THE LEAKY DEFENCE - PLAYERS MUST FOLLOW HIS
EXAMPLE
IF CONCEDING three goals at home in the Champions League against Barcelona
last week set the alarm bells ringing, after yesterday’s 3-0 mauling at
Highbury Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson now knows exactly how
much his team has to shape up if they are going to be a dominant force this
season.
Ferguson will surely have seen that he has
problems in three key areas. Firstly, his most
recent defensive signing, Jaap Stam, has
failed to settle in the Premiership and is
making United look extremely vulnerable at
the back. Secondly he will have to ask
questions – once again – of David Beckham’s
temperament after a needless and spiteful
stamp on Stephen Hughes. And thirdly,
Ferguson must be concerned about the
example that his captain Roy Keane is
setting for the team.
The manager himself appeared to lose control in front of the
television cameras after the Barcelona game, but following this
comprehensive defeat Ferguson conducted himself impeccably,
accepting that his side had been outplayed while acknowledging that
he was very worried about United’s lack of commitment. United need
similar cool heads tout on the pitch now to overcome their difficulties
and Roy Keane simply must follow his manager’s lead. His explosive
temperament bubbled up again yesterday after Nicky Butt was
dismissed for a late challenge on Patrick Vieira and he earned a
booking for his troubles.
But more significantly, Keane’s ongoing petulance seemed to spread
throughout the United team during the match. After Keane had
earlier flattened Stephen Hughes, Beckham followed through with a
cowardly stamp which, if the referee had had the benefit of video
replays, could well have seen him receive a red card. Beckham
appears to have learnt little from his French experience and he needs
to quell this nasty streak which continues to damage his tarnished
reputation. And the prospects for his team.
The reputation of £10m centre-back Jaap Stam has also been
damaged as the season begins to take shape. Of course it is far too
early to start branding the giant Dutchman an expensive flop, but it
is fair to say that the giant Dutchman has looked out of sorts in the
rarified atmosphere of the Premiership. He certainly doesn’t look like
the ‘finished article’ the manager promised. The man who was
supposed to provide backbone in the United defence this season is
actually making the back four look decidedly flimsy with his lack of
positional sense. Ferguson is surely expecting more from his
big-money signing, even at this early stage, and it is important for
Stam to start producing more commanding performances than we
have seen so far.
As our headline says, Ferguson need to make sure his players wise up
and they must do so quickly.
"Are you Against the BSkyB takeover? Please Read! Click on image!"
Subject: Teamtalk
A bit hysterical isn't it?
Worst still to come ? ««
Rumours in the North East suggest United fans should prepare for the worst
later this week, in the wake of Sunday's title defeat at Highbury.
Arsenal are favourites to sign Alan Shearer from Newcastle with the
players' agent having been spotted at Highbury last week.
Shearer will issue a second statement in the space of eight days later in
the week, when he is expected to reveal his discontent with the situation
at St.James' Park.
If Arsenal do sign Shearer many will say we might as well stop the
championship now.
Fergie's tactical shocker ? ««
Scholes: Dropped for Highbury hammering
Alex Ferguson's decision to drop Paul Scholes and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for
the crucial Highbury clash on Sunday looked strange beforehand, but
appeared foolish after the 3-0 thumping was meted out by the champions.
The United boss had promised to 'freshen up' his line-up following the 3-3
Champions' League draw with Barcelona in midweek but the outcome was bizarre.
How could he see fit to tinker with the partnership of Yorke and Solskjaer
up front ?
What was the thinking behind bringing Jesper Blomqvist into the side ?
Why was Paul Scholes not brought on after Nicky Butt was sent off ?
Why on earth was Jordi Cruyff preferred to Andy Cole on the bench ?
Fergie's decsion making will come under scrutiny again unless his side can
turn things around against Liverpool on Thursday.
Wenger defends United stars ««
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has defended Manchester United's Roy Keane and
David Beckham after they were involved in a number of skirmishes with his
players yesterday.
The champions ran out 3-0 winners with United's Nicky Butt receiving his
marching orders and both Keane and Beckham being spoken to over some
vicious-looking tackles.
But Wenger said: "Roy Keane is Roy Keane. If you take his aggression away
from him then he's not Roy Keane.
"And I don't think David Beckham is a dirty player - only in the World
Cups, but not the championship."
Fergie - "no excuses" ««
Alex Ferguson said there were no excuses for his side's 3-0 defeat at the
hands of Arsenal.
Ferguson said: "I thought that Arsenal had far more determination to win
than we did. They earned the right to win by sheer effort. Some days you
can find no excuses and this was one of them."
But the Scot was far from happy with the sending-off of Nicky Butt, his
second in five days, in the early stages of the second half.
Fergie added: "The decision to send off Butt was wrong. We talk about pro
refs but how do you improve a situation like that?"
United fans call for Sky boycott ««
Manchester United fans, unhappy at the proposed takeover by BSkyB, are
appealing for football fans to join their protest by boycotting SKY TV
channels.
The Independent Manchester United Supporters' Association (IMUSA) and the
Football Supporters' Association (FSA) plan to distribute one million red
leaflets to fans of every Premiership, Nationwide and Conference club. The
leaflet will urge fans to cancel their subscribtions to Sky Sports channels.
IMUSA chairman Andy Walsh said: "The red leaflet protest will be the
biggest British football has ever seen. We have linked up with the FSA to
take the campaign nationwide.
"We will ask supporters to cancel their Sky subscriptions to show Murdoch
that fans have real economic power.
"We are confident that fans from other clubs will show their opposition to
the BSkyB takeover. The backing we have had from supporters of other clubs
has been phenomenal. We have received support and messages of encouragement
from fans of every Premiership club. They have put normal club allegiances
aside and shown they fully understand the wider implications of the United
takeover."
"Are you Against the BSkyB takeover? Please Read! Click on image!"
"Are you Against the BSkyB takeover? Please Read! Click on image!"
Subject: FERGIE:I BLEW TITLE CHANCE / ALEX IS TOO SMART FOR OWN GOOD? (mirror)
FERGIE: I BLEW TITLE CHANCE
Alex Ferguson has confessed that his errors cost United the championship
last season.
He admits, in the second part of a ITV documentary to be screened tomorrow
night, that his reluctance to move into the transfer market handed the
initiative to Arsenal.
Ferguson watched Chilean goalscorer Marcel Salas but hesitated over paying
River Plate £12million for him.
And there were other possible targets that he missed.
Fergie says: "I should have brought in a bigger squad. I hold my hands up.
"You would think, with my experience, that I would have been well prepared
for that type of thing. The wife says I'm greedy, that I think I should win
all the time.
"Although it is my intention to win every time, that is not always possible.
"I want to get to the top. Some people want to go to Blackpool or Spain for
their holiday.
"Or you can go to the moon. But whatever you aim for in this game, you need
luck."
ALEX IS TOO SMART FOR OWN GOOD
Alex Ferguson has proved he is the best manager in Britain and needs no
lessons on how to run a football team. But he has a weakness.
Obsessive tinkering has cost him before and yesterday he disabled his team
before a ball was kicked. The sending-off of Nicky Butt early in the second
half merely compounded his folly.
By opting to play Ryan Giggs down the middle and Jesper Blomqvist on the
left wing, Ferguson not only weakened United in the areas they could hurt
Arsenal most, he also sent an unmistakable message of weakness to his
opposite number.
Giggs is a better winger than Blomqvist will ever be and, with the greatest
respect to the talented Welshman, Ole Solskjaer a superior centre forward to
him.
Fergie can talk all he wants about rotation, about big games coming up and
the lack of width in the Highbury pitch, but the home of the champions is no
place to mess around with your title aspirations.
United looked unbalanced and the cutting edge you associate with the deposed
champions away from home was never in evidence.
The Gunners made the most of the initiative handed to them, creating the
only openings worth having in the first half.
United managed three shots on goal, all from the boot of David Beckham, who
had David Seaman ringing his hands with two free kicks and also hit a post.
Of course, Fergie's shake-up in no way diminished Arsenal's achievement.
Beckham aside, they were streets ahead of United whose black shirts were
appropriately funereal.
Ironically, the team that wears a canon on its breast has suffered all
season for the want of a striker who can shoot straight. Not yesterday.
Arsenal had no fewer than 10 shots on target. Three produced goals with the
second from Nicolas Anelka vindication of his manager's belief in him as a
striker.
So Arsene Wenger tightens his psychological grip over Fergie. The Frenchman
would have been heartened to see his illustrious counterpart changing his
line-up to accommodate the threat of his men - a classic sign of
trepidation.
That's four out of four for Wenger over Ferguson. No-one ever won the title
in September. Nevertheless, when the season is at an end it is often the
results against your major rivals that have proved decisive.
Last year Arsenal did a double over United and won the title. The previous
year United did likewise.
As things stand Wenger seems to have a greater grasp of the bigger picture.
While Fergie twists and turns and sees demons in every corner, Wenger simply
picks his best team and sends them out to play.
Simple game, football. A 3-0 win at home against the institution everyone
loves to hate is about as good as it gets. It was the least Arsenal
deserved.
Perhaps Mr Murdoch is buying into the wrong team.
"Are you Against the BSkyB takeover? Please Read! Click on image!"
Pic Link today is http://www.red11.org/mufc/imusa.htm
Barry
J. Leeming Digest Prgram
by 
William
McArthur Canada
