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www.red11.org DAILY NEWS
Date: Sun Oct 03 08:18:02 GMT+00:00 1999
Mail: barry@www.red11.org
This Issue:
1. DEFINITELY TAIBI FOR UNITED
2. D-DAY FOR CHELSEA CHALLENGE - official site
3. Butt looking for a place of his own
4. SPURS DATE PUT BACK
5. Sir Alex insists 11 points are required to qualify.
6. Cole hits target - Guardian
7. New recruit offers case for defence- Sunday Times
8. European treadmill starting to take its toll
9. Danny Kelly on Beckham - Football 365
++++++=========+++++++========+++++++++========++++++++
MANCHESTER UNITED DAILY NEWS Sunday 3rd Oct 1999:
Barry Comment:
Today a crunch match, Chelsea away to stay top of the premier.
Hopefully we can protect our unbeaten record in the League & Cup to 39!
Live RADIO coverage today at
Match Tracker from 3.30pm, half an hour
before the big match kicks off.
Click here for more information:
http://www.manutd.com/matches/intro.sps?id=1640165
Official site - 02-OCT-1999 [06:00] Ready For Action
Manchester United are focused, hungry and ready for action.
That?s the frightening message from Alex Ferguson to Chelsea
ahead of the Stamford Bridge clash on Sunday.
Fergie says that he expects a good game on a ground where United
have performed well in recent years. And according to the Boss,
there is no reason why that record should not be extended at the weekend.
Confidence, seemingly, is not a problem!
http://www.manutd.com/news/feature.sps?from=latest&id=1641411
Uniteds unbeaten runs currently stand at:
29 games League
45 games League and Cup
38 games domestic League and Cup
Message from Paul Hinson:
The 40-game record Nottingham Forest hold is 40 games in domestic League
and Cup. United need to remain unbeaten against Chelsea/Watford
and Aston Villa in the Worthington Cup 3rd Round to beat it.
The League only record is 42 games, against by Forest, and we would need to
avoid defeat up to around January 15 2000 to manage that!
NEW Treble Background
http://www.red11.org/mufc/images/bmp/treble_big.bmp
2359352 Sep 20 08:33 treble_big.bmp
or http://www.red11.org/mufc/images/99/treble_mufc.jpg
111250 Sep 20 08:32 treble_mufc.jpg
Group D ** Manchester United **
Olympique de Marseille * NK Croatia Zagreb * SK Sturm Graz
Manchester United FC Champions League Squad List
1 Mark John Bosnich 2 Gary Alexander Neville 3 Dennis Joseph Irwin
4 David May 6 Jakob Stam 7 David Robert J Beckham
8 Nicholas Butt 9 Andrew Alex. Cole 10 Edward Sheringham
11 Ryan Joseph Giggs 12 Philip Neville 14 Johan Jordi Cruyff
15 Lars Jesper Blomqvist 16 Roy Keane 17 Raimond RJH Van der Gouw
18 Paul Scholes 19 Dwight Yorke 20 Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
21 Henning Berg 23 Michael Jamie Clegg 25 José Quinton Fortune
26 Massimo Taibi 31 Nicholas James Culkin 33 Mark Antony Wilson
34 Jonathan Greening
Real Audio - Last weeks Daily News Sound Archive:
Click on INDEX at http://www.red11.org/sound
*** FIXTURES ON 03/10/99 ***
Chelsea v Manchester United
Newcastle United v Middlesbrough
Tottenham Hotspur v Leicester City
Watford v Leeds United
West Ham United v Arsenal
************************
99/2000 fixtures/match reports are at
http://www.red11.org/mufc/992000.htm
Mark Bosnich's Personal Details
http://www.red11.org/mufc/bosnich.htm
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
MANCHESTER UNITED STATS v ALL teams on the Web
http://www.red11.org/mufc/stats.htm
Previous News:
BSKYB Takeover news/pics at http://www.red11.org/mufc/bskyb.htm
Brian Kidd Press conference, pic, real audio
http://www.iol.ie/~redcafe/kidd.htm
Peter Schmeichel's last Season at United!
http://www.red11.org/mufc/news/schmeichel.htm
*** RESULTS AND ATTENDANCES ON 02/10/99 ***
Aston Villa 0-0 Liverpool 39,217
Bradford City 0-4 Sunderland 18,204
Everton 1-1 Coventry City 34,839
Sheffield Wednesday 5-1 Wimbledon 18,077
*** CONDENSED LEAGUE TABLE AS AT 02/10/99 ***
Pos Team P W D L F A GD Pts
---------------------------------------------------------
1 Manchester United 9 6 3 0 23 10 13 21
2 Sunderland 10 6 2 2 18 8 10 20
3 Leeds United 9 6 1 2 17 11 6 19
4 Arsenal 9 6 1 2 12 7 5 19
5 Everton 10 5 2 3 16 10 6 17
6 Aston Villa 10 5 2 3 11 9 2 17
7 Chelsea 7 5 1 1 10 3 7 16
8 Leicester City 9 4 2 3 14 11 3 14
9 Tottenham Hotspur 8 4 2 2 14 11 3 14
10 West Ham United 7 4 1 2 9 5 4 13
11 Middlesbrough 9 4 0 5 10 13 -3 12
12 Liverpool 9 3 2 4 10 10 0 11
13 Southampton 8 3 1 4 13 16 -3 10
14 Coventry City 10 2 3 5 12 14 -2 9
15 Watford 9 3 0 6 5 9 -4 9
16 Derby County 9 2 2 5 7 15 -8 8
17 Wimbledon 10 1 5 4 14 23 -9 8
18 Bradford City 9 2 2 5 4 13 -9 8
19 Newcastle United 9 1 1 7 18 22 -4 4
20 Sheffield Wednesday 10 1 1 8 8 25 -17 4
---------------------------------------------------------------
NEXT MATCHES
---------------------------------------------------------------
TODAY [16:00] Manchester Utd. vs Chelsea (FA Premier League, AWAY)
11-OCT-1999 Sir Alex Ferguson's testimonial OT [Schmeichel + Cantona]
13-OCT-1999 [19:45] Manchester Utd. vs Aston Villa (Worthington (League) Cup, AWAY)
16-OCT-1999 [15:00] Manchester Utd. vs Watford (FA Premier League, HOME)
19-OCT-1999 [19:45] Manchester Utd. vs Marseille (UEFA Champions League, AWAY)
24-OCT-1999 [15:00] Manchester Utd. vs Spurs (FA Premier League, AWAY)
The line-up for the testimonial game is:
Eric Cantona Peter Schmeichel
Zinedine Zidane Gabriel Batistuta
Paul Gascoigne Juninho
George Weah Alessandro Costacurta
Christian Ziege Lillian Thuram
Roberto Mancini John Collins
*** TEAM RESULTS - MANCHESTER UNITED -
UNITED Stats v All teams:
http://www.red11.org/mufc/stats/
ALL FIXTURES at: http://www.red11.org/mufc/fix992000.htm
First Team Fixtures 1999/2000
All dates/times subject to change
Dates of possible cup ties also shown
Date Opposition Score Pos. Attend.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
15/07/99 Melbourne Australia pre-season W 2-0 - 60,000
18/07/99 Sydney Australia pre-season W 1-0 - 78,000
21/07/99 Shanghai Shenhua pre-season W 2-0 - 80,000
24/07/99 Hong Kong South China pre-season W 2-0 - 40,000
1/08/99 Arsenal Wembley Charity Shield L 1-2 - 70,185
3/08/99 Omagh Town Omagh Bomb Fund W 9-0 - 7,000
4/08/99 Wigan Athletic friendly W 2-0 - 15,000
08/08/99 Everton Away PL D 1-1 10 39,141
11/08/99 Sheffield Wednesday Home PL W 4-0 3 54,941
14/08/99 Leeds United Home PL W 2-0 1 55,187
22/08/99 Arsenal Away PL W 2-1 1 38,147
25/08/99 Coventry City Away PL W 2-1 1 22,024
27/08/99 Monaco - Lazio ESC L 0-1 - 15,223
30/08/99 Newcastle United Home W 5-1 1 55,190
11/09/99 Liverpool Away W 3-2 1 44,929
14/09/99 Croatia Zagreb Home EC D 0-0 - 53,250
18/09/99 Wimbledon Home D 1-1 1 55,189
22/09/99 Sturm Graz Away EC W 3-0 - 16,480
25/09/99 Southampton Home D 3-3 1 55,249
29/09/99 Marseille Home EC W 2-1 - 54,276
3/10/99 Chelsea Away PL 16.00 "live on sky"
*11/10/99 Sir Alex Ferguson's testimonial OT [Schmeichel + Cantona]
13/10/99 Aston Villa Away WC 3 19.45
16/10/99 Watford Home PL 15.00
19/10/99 Marseille Away EC 19.45
24/10/99 Tottenham Hotspur Away PL 15.00 - moved from 23/10
27/10/99 Croatia Zagreb Away EC 19.45
30/10/99 Aston Villa home PL 15.00
2/11/99 Sturm Graz Home EC 19.45
6/11/99 Leicester City Home PL 15.00
20/11/99 Derby County Away PL 15.00
24/11/99 ? EC
27/11/99 Sheffield Wednesday Away PL 15.00
30/11/99 Tokyo Palmeiras WCC 20.00
1/12/99 ? WC 4
4/12/99 Everton Home PL 15.00
8/12/99 ? EC
11/12/99 FAC 3 Will not enter ...
15/12/99 ? WC 5
18/12/99 West Ham United Away PL 15.00
26/12/99 Bradford City Home PL 15.00
28/12/99 Sunderland Away PL 20.00 "live on sky"
3/01/2000 Middlesborough Home PL 20.00
***** 5-14 /01/2000 Brazil WTC ***** [3-4 games]
* 8/01/2000 FAC 4 Will not enter ...
12/01/2000 ? WC sf i
15/01/2000 Leeds United Away PL 15.00
22/01/2000 Arsenal Home PL 15.00
26/01/2000 ? WC sf ii
* 29/01/2000 FAC 5 Will not enter ...
5/02/2000 Coventry City Home PL 15.00
12/02/2000 Newcastle United Away PL 15.00
* 19/02/2000 FAC 6 Will not enter ...
26/02/2000 Wimbledon Away PL 15.00
27/02/2000 ? Wembley WC f
1/03/2000 ? EC
4/03/2000 Liverpool Home PL 15.00
8/03/2000 ? EC
11/03/2000 Derby County Home PL 15.00
15/03/2000 ? EC
18/03/2000 Leicester City Away PL 15.00
22/03/2000 ? EC
25/03/2000 Bradford City Away PL 15.00
1/04/2000 West Ham United Home PL 15.00
5/04/2000 ? EC qf i
8/04/2000 Middlesborough Away PL 15.00
* 9/04/2000 FAC sf Will not enter ...
15/04/2000 Sunderland Home PL 15.00
19/04/2000 ? EC qf ii
22/04/2000 Southampton Away PL 15.00
24/04/2000 Chelsea Home PL 15.00
29/04/2000 West Ham United Away PL 15.00
3/05/2000 ? EC sf i
6/05/2000 Tottenham Hotspur Home PL 15.00
10/05/2000 ? EC sf ii
14/05/2000 Aston Villa Away PL 15.00
* 20/05/2000 Wembley FAC f Will not enter ...
24/05/2000 ? EC f
http://www.red11.org/mufc/match.htm
++++++=========+++++++========+++++++++========++++++++
Click On pic - for latest interviews/pics from OT"
Subject: DEFINITELY TAIBI FOR UNITED
Massimo Taibi is still number one choice at Manchester United despite the
form of Raimond van der Gouw in goal for the Old Trafford club.
Van der Gouw had hoped he had done enough to oust Taibi following another
solid performance for United in the Champions League win over Marseille in
midweek. The Dutchman's hopes had also been raised by Taibi's blunder
against Southampton last Saturday when he let Matt Le Tissier's
daisy-cutter trickle through his legs.
However Sir Alex Ferguson will stick with Taibi, who was ineligible for the
Marseille game, and the Italian remains his first-choice goalkeeper. He
said: "(Taibi) did make a mistake, but the important thing is to get over
mistakes in games. That's a quality people have to have here."
Van der Gouw will be disappointed by Ferguson's decision. When asked
following the victory over Marseille if he would like to face Chelsea, he
replied: "You don't have to ask me that, you already know the answer."
Mickael Silvestre is also available again and Ferguson will play him at
Stamford Bridge and rest either Phil Neville or Denis Irwin. Otherwise the
side will largely be the same as Wednesday because seven players are still
in the treatment room.
"We've got one or two back and Mickael Silvestre will come back in and he
wasn't available for Wednesday, as you know," said Ferguson. "That will
freshen things up, but other than that we will depend on the same lads
again because we have a lot of injuries.
"But these lads have done well and we'll be OK."
The match will be United's last Premiership engagement for two weeks and by
the time they face Watford at Old Trafford on October 16, Roy Keane should
be back.
The United skipper is being rested in an attempt to treat his troublesome
ankle and Ferguson feels he should be fine by then.
"He won't be available for Sunday," he said. "There's no game after that
for two weeks and so that should give him sufficient rest."
Click On pic - for latest interviews/pics from OT"
Subject: D-DAY FOR CHELSEA CHALLENGE - official site
Managers Sir Alex Ferguson and Gianluca
Vialli will doubtless roll out the usual cliches on
Sunday afternoon, whatever the outcome of Chelsea
versus Manchester United.
"Too early for a title decider," they'll say,
understandably trying to hush the hype. Sometimes
the media can be rather hysterical about these big games,
almost turning a blind eye to the significance of a gritty 1-0
away win at Middlesbrough or Coventry which is where the
real difference often lies.
That could be reflected in last season's League meetings
between Luca's Blues and Fergie's Reds, played over a
festive fortnight. The United manager joked about his team's
Christmas spirit gifting Southampton a 3-3 draw last
weekend, but last Yuletide they were rather less generous
to Chelsea. Both games ended in low-scoring draws (1-1
and 0-0), and there was another stalemate when the sides
met at Old Trafford in the FA Cup.
So Chelsea fared well against the Champions, if you ignore
the exquisite double by Dwight Yorke which settled the Cup
replay. The Blues also beat Liverpool home and away, held
Arsenal at Stamford Bridge and took four points off Leeds
United.
But it was in the so-called lesser fixtures where Chelsea
choked, such as the goalless draw with Sheffield
Wednesday in late April. So they have some work to do
this season to convince pundits they have the spirit and the
conviction to really push Manchester United all the way to
the wire.
Halting the Reds' long unbeaten run would be a good start,
though, especially as Chelsea haven't savoured the sweet
taste of victory over Manchester's finest since November
1996. That was at Old Trafford, surprisingly enough, and
you have to go back a further three years for a Chelsea win
at the Bridge. It was so long ago that Glenn Hoddle was
still lacing up his boots!
The Chelsea side has changed beyond all recognition since
11 September 1993, and there certainly isn't the same
dependency today on British talent.
Then, there were nine Brits in the starting eleven, including
Denis Wise, the only link with the current team. Now, Wise
is sometimes the only Brit in a side comprising Italians,
Frenchmen and other nationalities.
United, meanwhile, have retained three survivors from that
season, 1993/94 - Roy Keane, Denis Irwin and Ryan Giggs.
Elder statesman Irwin is presently the only match-fit
member of that trio, but there's a good chance Giggsy will
recover in time from his hamstring injury. The Welshman
trained on Friday.
Should Ryan not make it, Phil Neville would be a good
option for midfield, given that he performed so well to snuff
out the threat of Gianfranco Zola last season. The skilful
little Italian is still Chelsea's best weapon, even if his
finishing has been rather erratic recently.
The same accusation could be levelled at ten-million-pound
signing Chris Sutton, the big Norwegian Tore Andre Flo and
others in the goal shy side.
Top scorer Gustavo Poyet only has three to his name in all
competitions, and the last four League wins have all been
clinched with a 1-0 margin. Even at home to ten-man
Galatasaray, who had their goalkeeper Taffarel sent off after
33 minutes, the score was still only 1-0 to Chelsea,
courtesy of midfielder Dan Petrescu.
It's a problem that needs a quick solution, but at least
Gianluca Vialli can feel satisfied with his defence, the
tightest in the division with only three goals conceded in
seven League games this term.
The formidable pairing of French World Cup winners Marcel
Desailly and Frank Leboeuf are the best bedrock you could
wish to find; their contest with the Premiership's premier
attack should make for an absorbing contest on Sunday
afternoon.
Probable teams:
United: Taibi; Irwin, Stam, Berg, Silvestre; Beckham, Butt,
Scholes, Giggs (or P Neville); Cole, Yorke.
Chelsea: De Goey; Ferrer, Desailly, Leboeuf, Babayaro;
Petrescu, Wise, Morris, Ambrosetti (or Poyet); Sutton,
Zola.
Click On pic - for latest interviews/pics from OT"
Subject: Butt looking for a place of his own
Nicky Butt arrives in London's West End tomorrow to continue the audition
that will determine whether he becomes a star as Roy Keane's potential
successor or remains merely a gifted member of the Old Trafford chorus.
With Keane's long-term future uncertain, Butt, 24, recognises that he is
moving into the defining moment of his Manchester United career and says:
'I know I could be the one to take over if Roy leaves and I know it's down
to me right now to show I am ready.
'I am working on getting better, on increasing the number of goals I score
from midfield - something that Keano does so well. This might be my chance.
If it is, I want to give it my best shot.'
United have been linked with Barcelona's Rivaldo and Edgar Davids of
Juventus as replacements should Keane move on. Butt could save a £20million
fee if he proves good enough.
In the absence of the injured Keane, he continues his midfield alliance
with Paul Scholes against Chelsea tomorrow and is full of praise for his
partner. 'Paul is playing brilliantly, so there's opposition from that
area,' he added.
Click On pic - for latest interviews/pics from OT"
Subject: SPURS DATE PUT BACK
Manchester United's away clash with Tottenham Hotspur
has been put back 24 hours to October 24. Spurs went
through to the next round of the UEFA Cup with a 0-0 draw
against Zimbru Chisnau of Moldova, and will play their
next match on Thursday October 21. To allow them time
to recover, United will now travel to White Hart Lane on
the Sunday rather than the Saturday.
Click On pic - for latest interviews/pics from OT"
Subject: Sir Alex insists 11 points are required to qualify.
Champions' League verdict
-------------------------
United are walking it Sunday October 3, 1999
Little wonder Sir Alex Ferguson looked a picture of satisfaction after
Marseille had been ticked off by Andy Cole and Paul Scholes.
United are cruising through the group without exerting themselves. There
wasn't a whiff of anxiety when they found themselves trailing Ibrahima
Bakayoko's early blast with time slipping away. It was almost as if they
knew that they could wriggle out of that little pickle sooner or, as the
case was, later. Last season's European exploits have imbued the team with
unshakeable inner belief.
Critics of the new format, 32-team Champions League lament groups like
this, which may as well be a pre-qualification round before the real thing
starts for the likes of United. Until the moment they are eyeball to
eyeball with fellow giants, the European night tingle doesn't quite hit the
spine. As a team they are not yet in scintillating form, but then they
don't need to be. This is a good opportunity for Cole and Dwight Yorke to
enjoy their telepathic rapport, and for Raimond Van der Gouw to press his
case in goal. The only surprise is that Fergie hasn't given some of his
less experienced players more of a run-out.
Sir Alex insists 11 points are required to qualify. With seven already in
the bag and three at home to Sturm Graz as sure as sure can be, it is
impossible to envisage anything other than a spot in the draw for the next
stage. Worryingly for rivals at home and abroad, qualifying without too
many stresses and strains can only benefit United in the longer term.
Click On pic - for latest interviews/pics from OT"
Subject: Cole hits target - Guardian
... on why he'll miss the FA Cup... on United's flat nights in Europe...
on England
Paul Wilson Sunday October 3, 1999
It is always a good idea to interview a striker when he has scored a
notable success, as opposed to when he has missed a penalty or failed to
find a barn door, and the day after Andy Cole's spectacular overhead kick
had transformed the Champions League tie against Marseille found the
Manchester United forward in ebullient mood.
'I think it might have been one of the best goals of my career,' he said.
'I will have to watch it a few more times to decide, but those chances are
always difficult and it's great when they come off. It's not important that
it was spectacular, the main thing was that it put the team back in the
match and gave us a reward for our pressure, but obviously there are some
goals you are more proud of than others.'
Few strikers at any level can match Cole's phenomenal rate of almost a goal
every other game, though spectacular is a word more normally applied to the
contributions of Dwight Yorke or David Beckham. Cole's goals, during the
Manchester United years at any rate, have tended to be less memorable than
his misses, so it makes a pleasant change for him to be feted for an
unquestioned piece of skill. Or it should do.
'I couldn't help noticing everyone said I had scored with the hardest
chance after missing several easy ones,' he said. 'Some reports even
suggested I missed half a dozen chances, in which case I was either at a
different game or there's something wrong with my arithmetic. It seemed to
me I only had one real chance before I scored, and I put it by the post,
but of course I'm no expert. All strikers miss chances, and I'm no
different. You just pick yourself up and get into position to miss the next
one. There's no point dwelling on criticism, you just have to get used to
it.'
Cole has had a lot to get used to in his time. He claims to have conquered
the chip on his shoulder placed there by pen treatment, but he would have
to be inhuman to remain unaffected by some of the vitriol hurled in his
direction. Here, for example, is what Malcolm Allison, no blinkered hack
but a coach of some standing (he was scouting for England under Terry
Venables at the time), had to say on the subject of Cole's transfer from
Newcastle to Manchester United four years ago.
'Alex Ferguson has just made the biggest mistake of his life. He has bought
£7.5 million of problems. Cole will not help United win the European Cup,
and might even prevent them retaining the championship. I have analysed his
game, and when he's not scoring he's doing nothing. You are effectively
playing with 10 men. If I was drawing up a list of strikers Stan Collymore
would be at the top and Andy Cole at the bottom.'
Allison never was one for sitting on the fence when he could hang himself
from it, but it might cheer him up a little to know Cole has thoroughly
enjoyed proving him wrong. Collymore is presumably less delighted. 'I love
doing that,' Cole said, almost biting the air with enthusiasm. 'I might
have to accept criticism but it doesn't mean I have to enjoy it, and
proving your critics wrong is a fantastic feeling. I don't think there's
any doubt I have made Malcolm Allison eat his words, every single one of
them.'
Cole's goals, particularly the one against Juventus in Turin, were
instrumental in helping United win the European Cup, and his partnership
with Yorke has highlighted all the quick passing ability, vision and
support play that often had to be taken on trust when he played alongside
Eric Cantona. Cole is far too polite to point it out, but Yorke really
should have opened the scoring against Marseille from his inviting lay-off.
'Credit the goalkeeper with making a good save,' he said. 'Dwight got his
shot on target and nine times out of 10 he would have scored.'
Unsurprisingly, the 3-2 win at the Stadio delle Alpi last season remains
Cole's proudest European memory. The final in Barcelona might have been the
ultimate demonstration of United's unquenchable desire and extraordinary
ability to keep going - until the 94th minute if necessary - but the
semi-final victory over Juventus was the psychological breakthrough, the
true moment of self-discovery when they knew winning the European Cup was
not beyond them. Even if United were to win the treble again this season
(which they can't unless they rejoin the FA Cup) it would inevitably appear
anti-climactic. Cole accepts this philosophically - 'Manchester United are
probably the only team who can win a championship and it's still not
enough' - but agrees that the game's administrators don't appear
over-stressed about preserving football's romance or playing fair by the
fans.
'I'm disappointed not to be playing in the FA Cup, because it's a great
tournament and a magical day out if you reach the final,' he said. 'It's
going to feel strange watching this season's final knowing we weren't even
in the competition, but players don't get a say in these matters. We
haven't even talked about it much. It's our job just to get on with the
games.'
Which is precisely why Uefa, and all their individual FAs, should try to
protect players whenever possible instead of constantly inventing new
fixtures and running the risk of losing interest through over-exposure.
Fifa are not blameless either, though their secretary general, Michel
Zen-Ruffinen, surely struck a chord this week when he claimed the expansion
of the Champions League was not in anyone's interests and viewers would
soon begin to switch off. Manchester United would possibly be among the
last clubs to lose support, but Cole feels the Champions League has been
devalued.
'We won it from second place last season, so perhaps I'm on dodgy ground,
but I think it's a bit much if teams who finish third or even fourth can
get in,' he said. 'European nights should be special. It should never be
hard to get excited about playing in Europe, but I can see that situation
arriving. Someone mentioned before the Marseille game there did not seem to
be the same atmosphere. It was just another game. You know you have to get
through this group and then after that there's another group before you get
down to the nitty-gritty.
'It's hard work, and you can't expect players or teams to hit peaks on a
weekly basis. We play far too many games, and everybody knows it.'
That brings us neatly to Chelsea this afternoon. 'It's not difficult to
motivate yourself for a game like that, I'm looking forward to it,' Cole
said. Does it follow then that the supposed 'easy' games, the Wimbledons
and Southamptons at home, are the payback time for Champions League
exertions? 'Not necessarily,' Cole said. 'That might be what has been
happening, but you quickly learn at Manchester United that you have to be
up for every game, because you can guarantee your opponents will be at
their very best. There's no rest here.'
Cole will get a rest next weekend though, since Kevin Keegan has not called
him up for England's friendly against Belgium. He is likely to field an
experimental side anyway, and Keegan knows what Cole can do. So does Cole.
Since blowing his top over his treatment by Glenn Hoddle, he is relaxed
about his international career.
'If I'm in I'll do my best, if not I'll live with it,' he said. 'I've
always seen my priority as Manchester United. Appearing for England is
nice, but I'm playing international football every week for my club. I
don't think I have anything to prove.'
Click On pic - for latest interviews/pics from OT"
Subject: New recruit offers case for defence- Sunday Times
At three o'clock on Friday morning, Mickael Silvestre woke with a start.
The fire alarm had gone off at his Manchester hotel. He would be relieved
to be moving to his new house outside the city later that day.
A month into his career with Manchester United, Silvestre otherwise feels
very much at home. It's just that he could do with no more alarm bells, and
there are one or two still ringing over the contagion which has swept
through the United defence over the past eight days. In two games at Old
Trafford, opponents have scored a total of four goals, each the consequence
of an individual error.
Silvestre, his head hung a little low, listened to the manager address the
issue last week. Sir Alex Ferguson used the word "suicidal". Of the
defendants, Massimo Taibi blushed deepest, following his goalkeeping howler
against Southampton. Then there was Henning Berg's blunder against
Marseille. Jaap Stam and Silvestre were both sinners in the 3-3 draw with
the Saints.
The excuses? There are the absences, injured, of Gary Neville, Ronny
Johnsen, Wes Brown and David May. Closer to the mark, United have been
without the formidable sentryman Roy Keane. Difficulties accommodating
replacements for the vigilant and vocal Peter Schmeichel also seem to be
extending beyond the edge of the penalty area.
There are new personnel to bed-in, too, such as Taibi, Mark Bosnich and
Silvestre, whose one error thus far - he allowed himself to be dispossessed
close to goal by Marian Pahars - ought not to disguise the general
impression left by the Frenchman. Comfortable on the ball, athletic and
strong in the air, Silvestre's faux pas looked like the slip of somebody
adjusting to the rhythm of English football, with its high premium on time
and space.
"At United," Silvestre says, "there's also the crowd pushing you to go
forward all the time. What I was trying to do at that moment against
Southampton was use the ball on the counter-attack. It may be that
sometimes we are too concentrated on attack." He spoke these words with a
coy smile, his expression its own mea culpa.
That one notable mistake and the perils of hotel living apart, Silvestre
has enjoyed being at United since his £4m move from Internazionale. He
comes with a good pedigree. He's from France, where defences win World
Cups, and did his most recent learning in Serie A, the modern defender's
Oxbridge. And Silvestre, 22, is versatile. At Stamford Bridge today he is
likely to continue at left-back, although his preferred position is
centre-half, where Ferguson expects him eventually to flourish.
In a sense, he says, he's been lucky that United's many injuries allowed
him to break straight into the team. In another, he was unlucky, joining
too late to register for the first group phase of the Champions League. "I
knew we'd qualify for the second round anyway," he adds, with
characteristic confidence.
The promise of European football had been a factor in the move, Inter
having failed to qualify for continental competition. Besides that, the
Italian club had begun to make Silvestre feel peripheral, restricting him
last season to uncomfortable duty at wing-back and then spending the summer
buying defenders at a rate which would make even George Graham cry
"Enough!" Once Laurent Blanc and Christian Panucci arrived in Milan,
Silvestre "felt deflated. I'm young, and I need games".
Liverpool quickly announced their interest. Once United declared theirs,
the choice seemed straightforward.
"United are the defending European champions," he enthuses, "and they are
in the Intercontinental Cup and the World Club Championship." By most
reckonings that's about two competitions too many, but for a tyro who had
found first-team starts hard to come by in Italy, the concentration of
United's fixture list looked like a bait rather than a burden.
"Another difference from Italy was the politics of recruitment," observes
Silvestre. "I had four different managers in just over a season at Inter."
At United, Ferguson surprised him by going to the airport to collect him.
That was on the Thursday. By Saturday morning, he would be lining up to
make his first start, against Liverpool.
It made for a memorable debut, confirming everything Silvestre had hoped
for and heard about the vibrant English game. It was the adventure and the
atmosphere which attracted him to this country, he says, and which made
encounters like today's visit to Stamford Bridge more appealing even than
the European nights, particularly at this stage of the season. He feels it
strongly. If he was to end the campaign with one, and only one, champion's
medal, I wondered, which would he choose it to be, domestic or European?
Silvestre pondered and came up with the former. "I get that feeling from
the reactions of supporters," he says.
So, the Premiership has seduced him. "It's a good league to be a defender
in, too," Silvestre says, "because you see so much more of the ball.
There's more work. I sometimes feel I'm getting the ball every 30 seconds.
That's not the case in Italy."
Others making the same journey would concur. After today's contest,
Silvestre might care to compare notes with Chelsea's Marcel Desailly, his
compatriot and the man Silvestre should one day succeed at the heart of the
France back four. Les Bleus, present and future, are in vogue among
United's two London rivals, Chelsea and Arsenal. Yes, says Silvestre, but
remember who began the fashion: "It was Eric Cantona who opened the door
for French players in England and he didn't just push it ajar. He made a
huge impression while he was at United, both in France and here."
As a young man growing up in Chambray-Les-Tours, Silvestre admired Cantona;
as a boy, it had been Michel Platini. Football was a family obsession.
Silvestre's father, a first-generation immigrant from Guadeloupe who worked
for the French railways, was a keen follower and Mickael's older cousin,
Frank, would become a respected professional at Montpellier, a centre-half
and something of a mentor.
Ferguson, meanwhile, had held Silvestre in high regard since his
performances at the 1997 World Under-20 championship in Malaysia, in a
French team including Nicolas Anelka and Thierry Henry. Silvestre was
already off limits, though, having signed a pre-contract with Inter, an
agreement which gained him some notoriety at home. He was nurtured by the
French system and by Rennes, so Silvestre's move to Italy, for no
significant fee, caused a rumpus all the way from the patriotic heart of
France to adjudication at Uefa. "It made a big noise," recalls Silvestre.
"The fact is the French system wanted me to sign for Rennes for five years.
I might have ended up playing in the second division with them. Under
Bosman, the law said I could go."
In Milan, he would be governed by sod's law. Inter had a dreadful season by
their standards and Silvestre found himself marginalised.
When he did play, it was usually wide on the left. It did not suit him. "I
was on the outside of a back five," he says, "and I do prefer it as a
centre-half. In a 4-4-2, I'm happy at left-back, in a position where
there's always someone in front of me, be it Ryan Giggs, Jordi Cruyff or
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer."
It will not be Giggs today, although the Welshman has begun training again
after injury. Gary Neville and Johnsen are further away from full fitness,
weeks rather than days. It is a concern for Ferguson, not least because of
the major contests ahead. Fatigue will be one of United's more persistent
opponents this season, and if the trips to Tokyo and Brazil either side of
the new year seem exciting for their French recruit, to others they will be
about as welcome as a letter from the taxman. The new boy recognises the
hazards. "We must keep our concentration," says Silvestre.
Click On pic - for latest interviews/pics from OT"
Subject: European treadmill starting to take its toll
Saturday October 2, 1999
The Guardian
The much-travelled followers of Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United are
about to get a fortnight's rest from check-ins and check-outs, security
bleeps and passport
controls. For the next two weeks the Champions League is taking a breather.
As well it might. Already the monster has generated 48 matches in 16 days
and the opening group phase is still only half complete.
By the time the tortuous business is over next May those television viewers
now cursing their lack of ONdigital, which is the only way to watch the
Tuesday night matches
live, may feel grateful to have missed part of the TV deluge. Surely even
the most devoted fan can only take so much.
For the supporters who trek back and forth across Europe these must be
wearying times. If it's Tuesday we must be in Florence or Berlin and where
on earth is Hertha
anyway? For the moment at least Arsenal will be going nowhere more exotic
than Upton Park.
Tomorrow, moreover, Chelsea and Manchester United will meet at Stamford
Bridge in one of the Premiership's top fixtures without the distraction of
having to play
Champions League matches two or three nights later. For once both sides can
concentrate fully on the job in hand.
It is not quite the same in the UEFA Cup. Nevertheless David O'Leary, the
Leeds United manager, is right to regard as a nonsense the late entry of
eight Champions League
drop-outs into the third round of this tournament. "I've never heard of
teams knocked out of one cup being allowed to enter another," he said,
"except at Wimbledon."
Plate competitions aside, the initial intensity of Champions League football
this season, with another tidal wave imminent, has prompted the thought
that, in its efforts to
appease the leading clubs and prevent a breakaway Euro-league, UEFA risks
losing the essential appeal of its most prestigious competition.
When in the 1950s Gabriel Hanot and the French newspaper L'Equipe evolved
the idea of a tournament for the champions of the European leagues the aim
was to provide
an exhilarating diversion from domestic football, not a rival treadmill.
Already, if the performances of the English teams are any guide, players are
raising their games for the
big matches - Milan, Barcelona etc - but slipping into neutral for others.
Likewise the fans. At Old Trafford on Wednesday the corner of the ground
populated by the supporters of Marseille made a fine din all evening but the
Manchester United
crowd were mute until the late goals arrived.
European football was never meant to become just another night shift, but
that is what is happening. The crowds are still flocking to games and the TV
ratings remain high
but those who assume that a fully fledged European league, which is
virtually what we have now, will have limitless appeal may be presuming too
much.
A European league can only be as strong as the teams who take part and that
strength comes from the national leagues which must always be the bedrock of
the game.
So when clubs competing in the Champions League feel they can rotate their
squads for routine Premiership matches they are playing fast and loose with
the foundations.
Watford's recent victory over a much-changed Chelsea was important in more
ways than one.
A big European night still makes the pulse race and the way Manchester
United won the Champions Cup last season, with their multi-goal thrillers
against Barcelona and
Juventus preceding that unforgettable climax at Nou Camp, was as enthralling
as anything previously seen.
Yet so much of European football is now about multinational teams playing
one another wearing colours of convenience. In terms of national pride
supporters identify more
with the shirts than the players.
When Ajax were achieving their European Cup hat-trick in the early 70s this
was Dutch football making its case to be regarded as a world power. When
Bayern Munich
also won the trophy in three successive seasons they were speaking for
Bavaria, not West Germany. Liverpool reflected the variations in the British
game as did Matt
Busby's Manchester United in the 60s.
There is no longer a curiosity about foreign teams, a situation hastened by
the influx of foreign footballers into Britain. When Moscow Dynamo toured
this country in 1945,
spectators sat on the stand roofs at a packed Stamford Bridge to see if the
Russians had snow on their boots.
European football should be special but some of the recent Champions League
matches have been about as entertaining as watching queues for cashpoints.
And this,
sadly, is what a large part of the exercise is about: a hole in the wall
which guarantees millions simply for turning up.
Millions are still turning up or turning on to watch it, but for how long?
Click On pic - for latest interviews/pics from OT"
Subject: Danny Kelly on Beckham - Football 365
'Hail Beckham, The Most Powerful Figure In English Football'
WHAT a brilliant week for David Beckham. And, as a kind of sideshow, an
excellent one for footy fans too.
Yes, David Beckham, even though he almost certainly doesn't know it, has
advanced his plan for global domination while we, the poor bloody infantry
who only watch the game, have been treated to a stunning illumination of
just where the power lies in the modern game.
Ok, let's deal with the power thing first. Anybody above the age of 14
months knows that David Beckham has had a, how shall we say, turbulent start
to the season. It's not just that he has been booked more times that
Engelbert Humperdinck in Las Vegas, but he's also been seen screwing his
face up like Violet Elizabeth Bott from Just William and kicking seventeen
shades of shinola out of, among others, Jamie Redknapp and Herr Thatbloke of
Sturm Graz.
But the recent efforts of Graham Bean, the FA's Compliance Officer (whatever
the hell that is) to get to speak to Mr Posh about his behaviour have been
nothing short of laughable. Not even the intervention of David 'look I'm
still in charge, me' Davies has made a jot of difference to Man United's
attitude. Without actually baring their arse to the FA, the European
Champions have pretty well told them to sod off. David Beckham is, after
all, their property, and they won't have him messed about by a collection of
unrepresentative amateurs.
Good for them in this case, but be aware that this is the thin end of the
wedge. How long will it be before United, or any other big club for that
matter, refuse to accept the FA's ruling on any matter? And what are the FA
going to do about it? Throw them out of the Premiership? Oh yeah, sure.
So we know that Manchester United pretty much run English football now.
Cool. But who runs Man United? The sight this week of Sir Alex Ferguson
attempting to reign in the excesses, both physical and sartorial, of his
young England star has been as comic as that of watching the FA dance from
foot to foot like a schoolboy about to piss himself outside the closed gates
of Old Trafford.
Alex Ferguson can fine David Beckham £50,000 but it doesn't matter a fig to
Becks. Let's get this straight: Beckham is nowadays surrounded by an army of
media savvy PR literate advisers, not least of them his own wife. When he
goes to a jewellery launch wearing a £75 snot-rag on his head, it is not
because he is interested in cameo brooches or avant-garde headwear. He goes
because he has been told to go, he goes because his PR advisors know that,
dressed like a refugee from a church hall production of The Pirates Of
Penzance, he will be photographed and that picture will be in all the
papers. Furthermore, that picture will be in next year's coffee table best
seller 'Becks: My Life In Pictures'. And the memory of that will be one of
many carefully orchestrated triggers that will remind the adoring millions
why to shell out for the glossy tome.
Here are the economics: 1) David photographed looking like a prat puts on,
lets say, 100,000 sales of aforementioned photo annual at, say, £15 a throw.
Bingo! One-and-a-half million of your English straight off. 2) Alex
Ferguson fines Captain Pugwash fifty grand. 3) As a result of 2), picture
is printed in papers again. Another 100,000 readers, another one-and-a-half
million in the Becksy bin. 4) Total profits to David Beckham £2,950,000.
Kerching! And more to the point, would you like another Ferrari with your
toast dear?
In any event, Alex Ferguson, for all his public bravado, will actually have
asked David Beckham for the £50,000 fine from a kneeling position; probably
while polishing Beckham's boots as well. Everybody knows that there are
powerful voices within the immediate entourage of David Beckham plc who want
him to play in London. Not Barcelona, not Milan, not smoggy old Turin, but
London. So, even while Fergie is sheepishly laying down the law to his most
prized possession, somewhere in the bowels of Highbury, Arsene Wenger
crosses another date off the specially prepared calendar that he keeps in
his office, counting down the days until his plum falls, weirdly dressed,
into his lap.
Yes, a great week for David Beckham and for us. He is nearly £3million up on
the deal and we now understand better the pecking order in English football.
The FA quiver and quake at the very shadow of Manchester United. But that
David Beckham, he fears no man...
Click On pic - for latest interviews/pics from OT"
Pic Link today is http://www.red11.org/mufc/sound/99/
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