www.red11.org DAILY NEWS
Date: Fri 17 Dec 1999 08:11 GMT
Mail: barry@www.red11.org
This Issue:
1. JOHNSEN DELIGHTED TO BE RUNNING AT LAST
2. JESPER RULED OUT UNTIL MARCH
3. New Beckham Ban Twist
4. Why Im a Red by Brian
5. Alex & Edwards have the good of the club at heart
6. FA Cup opponents
7. Tom turns down Sir Matt
8. Kalum Mooniaruck
9. HUGHES CONFIRMED AS WALES BOSS
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MANCHESTER UNITED DAILY NEWS Fri 17th Dec 1999:
Webmaster comment:
At last a football match! Tomorrow REDS step out at the Hammers
for the first of their THREE games in December.
Note this - when we get back from Brazil and start with Arsenal on 24th Jan 2000
this will start a match run of 28 games in 4 months thats 7 per month or 2 every week
assuming we go all the way to Paris EC Final 24th May 2000 - see you there!?
News for Oz fans:
ABC Shops in Australia have a video of the treble.
These can be brought online from www.abc.net.au
* If you have an article for this MUFC Daily News bulletin
please mail it to Thanks!
*** Remember our December Competition!
To enter first download 1 meg here
http://www.red11.org/mickz/mufc_snow.exe
Lets see how far us REDS can get, I already made it to Level 2
Proof here: http://www.red11.org/mickz/level2.jpg
The best 3 efforts will win a copy of the NEW book
"European Glory" by RED NEWS edited by Barney Chilton
Eyewitness Accounts of United's 1968 & 1999 European Triumphs
A book celebrating the amazing events in the Nou Camp on May 26th - retails at £7,95
Enties to the competition must include an attched screen pic as proof of
your efforts mail to barrylee@post3.tele.dk GOOD LUCK Comp closes 24th Dec 1999
----------------------
Red Devils' Webstation - danlim@mailexcite.com Danny Lim, Malacca, Malaysia.
URL:
This is the place for rantings, ravings and reverence
(well, mostly reverence) of the marvelous football institution known
as Manchester United FC ! Man United's All-Time Greatest XI and the
Red Devils' Hall of Fame ! Great Manchester United Line-ups in
History The Manchester United Squad United in Transition
Taken from The Worldwide Manchester United Fans Webring - 400+ RED sites!
http://www.webring.org/cgi-bin/webring?ring=manufan;list
* UK TV info: BBC TO COVER UNITED'S BRAZIL MISSION
The BBC will broadcast live coverage of Manchester United's World Team
Championship challenge in Brazil.
Champions League Url: http://www.red11.org/champ
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
1999/2000 UEFA Champions League Second Group-Match Stage - Group B
Group B P W D L F A Pts
Fiorentina AC 2 1 1 0 2 0 4
Manchester United 2 1 0 1 3 2 3
Valencia CF 2 1 0 1 3 3 3
Bordeaux 2 0 1 1 0 3 1
Second stage Euro Draw GROUP B
Manchester United Valencia Bordeaux Fiorentina
Tues Nov 23 Fiorentina v Manchester United 2-0
Valencia v Girondins Bordeaux 3-0
Wed Dec 8 Girondins Bordeaux v Fiorentina 0-0
Manchester United v Valencia 3-0
Wed Mar 1
Group B: Manchester United v Girondins Bordeaux
Group B: Fiorentina v Valencia
Tues Mar 7
Group B: Girondins Bordeaux v Manchester United
Group B: Valencia v Fiorentina
Wed Mar 15
Group B: Manchester United v Fiorentina
Group B: Girondins Bordeaux v Valencia
Tuesday, March 21
Group B: Fiorentina v Girondins Bordeaux
Group B: Valencia v Manchester United
FINAL Group D P W D L F A PTS
Manchester United FC 6 4 1 1 9 4 13
Olympique de Marseille 6 3 1 2 10 8 10
SK Sturm Graz 6 2 0 4 5 12 6
NK Croatia Zagreb 6 1 2 3 7 7 5
*******************************
Real Audio - Last weeks Daily News Sound Archive:
Click on INDEX at http://www.red11.org/sound
************************
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
*** FIXTURES ON 18/12/99 ***
Arsenal v Wimbledon
Aston Villa v Sheffield Wednesday
Bradford City v Newcastle United
Leicester City v Derby County
Liverpool v Coventry City
Middlesbrough v Tottenham Hotspur
Sunderland v Southampton
Watford v Everton
West Ham United v Manchester United
*** FIXTURES ON 19/12/99 ***
Chelsea v Leeds United
*** CONDENSED LEAGUE TABLE AS AT 06/12/99 ***
Pos Team P W D L F A GD Pts
---------------------------------------------------------
1 Leeds United 17 12 2 3 30 19 11 38
2 Manchester United 16 11 3 2 40 21 19 36
3 Arsenal 17 11 2 4 31 16 15 35
4 Sunderland 17 10 4 3 31 17 14 34
5 Liverpool 17 9 3 5 24 14 10 30
6 Leicester City 17 9 2 6 26 23 3 29
7 Tottenham Hotspur 16 8 3 5 25 20 5 27
8 West Ham United 16 7 4 5 17 14 3 25
9 Chelsea 15 7 3 5 21 15 6 24
10 Middlesbrough 17 7 3 7 21 24 -3 24
11 Coventry City 17 5 6 6 23 18 5 21
12 Everton 17 5 6 6 25 27 -2 21
13 Wimbledon 17 4 8 5 27 29 -2 20
14 Newcastle United 17 5 4 8 28 30 -2 19
15 Aston Villa 17 5 4 8 14 19 -5 19
16 Southampton 16 4 5 7 20 25 -5 17
17 Bradford City 16 3 4 9 13 25 -12 13
18 Derby County 17 3 3 11 15 29 -14 12
19 Watford 17 3 2 12 13 33 -20 11
20 Sheffield Wednesday 16 1 3 12 14 40 -26 6
*** TEAM STATISTICS - MANCHESTER UNITED - AS AT 04/12/99 ***
AVERAGE HOME ATTENDANCE: 55,171
HIGHEST HOME ATTENDANCE: 25/09/99 - Southampton (55,249)
LOWEST HOME ATTENDANCE: 11/08/99 - Sheffield Wednesday (54,941)
BEST WIN: 11/08/99 - Sheffield Wednesday (4-0)
30/08/99 - Newcastle United (5-1)
04/12/99 - Everton (5-1)
HEAVIEST DEFEAT: 03/10/99 - Chelsea (0-5)
BEST HOME WIN: 11/08/99 - Sheffield Wednesday (4-0)
30/08/99 - Newcastle United (5-1)
04/12/99 - Everton (5-1)
BEST AWAY WIN: 22/08/99 - Arsenal (2-1)
25/08/99 - Coventry City (2-1)
11/09/99 - Liverpool (3-2)
20/11/99 - Derby County (2-1)
HEAVIEST AWAY DEFEAT: 03/10/99 - Chelsea (0-5)
NEXT MATCHES
---------------------------------------------------------------
18-DEC-1999 [15:00] Manchester Utd. vs West Ham (FA Premier League, AWAY)
26-DEC-1999 [15:00] Manchester Utd. vs Bradford C (FA Premier League, HOME)
28-DEC-1999 [20:00] Manchester Utd. vs Sunderland (FA Premier League, AWAY)
06-JAN-2000 [21:15] Manchester Utd. vs Necaxa (World Club Championship, AWAY)
08-JAN-2000 [21:15] Manchester Utd. vs Vasco de Gama (World Club Championship, AWAY)
*** 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 L 0-5 2 34,909
11/10/99 Sir Alex Testimonial Home F L 2-4 LEGENDS 54,842
13/10/99 Aston Villa Away WC3 L 0-3 - 33,815
16/10/99 Watford Home PL W 4-1 2 55,188
19/10/99 Marseille Away EC L 0-1 - 57,745
23/10/99 Tottenham Hotspur Away L 1-3 3 36,072
27/10/99 Croatia Zagreb Away EC W 2-1 - 30,000
30/10/99 Aston Villa Home PL W 3-0 2 55,211
2/11/99 Sturm Graz Home EC W 2-1 - 53,745
6/11/99 Leicester City Home PL W 2-0 1 55,191
20/11/99 Derby County Away W 2-1 1 33,370
23/11/99 AC Fiorentina Away EC L 0-2 - 40,000
30/11/99 Tokyo Palmeiras N WCC W 1-0 - 53,372
4/12/99 Everton Home PL W 5-1 2 55,193
8/12/99 Valencia CF Home EC W 3-0 - 54,606
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"
pp 27/11/1999 Sheffield Wednesday Away PL ? *No new date yet
pp 3/01/2000 Middlesborough Home PL ? *No new date yet
pp 15/01/2000 Leeds Away PL ? *No new date yet
****************************************************
JAN 05-14 Brazil WTC [3-4 games]
----------------------------------------------------
06/01/2000 Necaxa (Mexico) Neut WTC 16.00
08/01/2000 Vasco da Gama (Brazil) Away WTC 16.00
11/01/2000 South Melbourne (Australia) N WTC 16.00
Final? 14/01/2000
****************************************************
24/01/2000 Arsenal Home PL 20.00 "live on sky"
5/02/2000 Coventry City Home PL 15.00
12/02/2000 Newcastle United Away PL 15.00
26/02/2000 Wimbledon Away PL 15.00
1/03/2000 FC Girondins de Bordeaux Home EC 19.45
4/03/2000 Liverpool Home PL 11.30 "live on sky"
7/03/2000 FC Girondins de Bordeaux Away EC 19.45
11/03/2000 Derby County Home PL 15.00
15/03/2000 AC Fiorentina Home EC 19.45
18/03/2000 Leicester City Away PL 15.00
21/03/2000 Valencia CF Away EC 19.45
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
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
24/05/2000 ? EC Final
http://www.red11.org/mufc/match.htm
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JOHNSEN DELIGHTED TO BE RUNNING AT LAST
Ronny Johnsen has begun his recovery from knee surgery and is back in
training with the United squad.
The Norwegian international took part in light work-outs on Monday and
Tuesday, and was pleased with his progress: "It feels great to be back in
training, but I don’t see myself in match action for quite a while yet.
First of all, I have to get rid of the pain, and I need plenty of practice.
"It’s been a while since I last changed clothes in the Untied wardrobe, in
fact, more than 6 months. On Monday I had my first practice with the team
again, and it actually was quite an experience.
"I trained both Monday and Tuesday, and it went just fine. I still feel
pain in my knees, but the pain has become much less severe. I’m able to run
normally, which is an achievement in its own.
"I have no idea of when I’ll be back, after all, it has been six months
since I last played football."
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JESPER RULED OUT UNTIL MARCH
Manchester United winger Jesper Blomqvist has been ruled out until March
after undergoing a second knee operation.
The 25-year-old Swedish international impressed on the pre-season tour of
Australia but has not made a Premiership appearance this campaign.
He had an operation in August but it was unsuccessful and last week he was
in Sweden for more surgery.
Manager Sir Alex Ferguson said: "Jesper is still feeling something with his
knee. We just don't know what is causing the pain so he's gone back to
Sweden and he'll have another op and hopefully they will be able to
discover what the problem is.
"Unfortunately it will mean another six weeks out for him and it may be
around March before he is back in action."
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New Beckham Ban Twist
Reports are now suggesting that David Beckham has had his driving licence
returned. Earlier today, his appeal against an eight-month driving ban had
been quashed, but the judge has now decided that there were "special
circumstances" in the case, believed to be the fact that David was
attempting to escape the attentions of a paparazzi photographer. The 800
pounds fine stands, but his licence has not had any points added to it.
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Why Im a Red by Brian
Hi everyone
I have been a red for about 25 years, I am 45 years old
and as a lad I used to support B.ham City ( STOP LAUGHING)
which is where I live , I started to take an interest in united after
watching the 68 euro final but I continued to go to watch B.ham until
about 73 when they lost to Fulham in a F.A.cup semi, enough was enough! A
couple of lads in my local used to go to o.t. and suggested I go along with
them, it was the year after we had came up from the old division 2 , and
Tommy doc had got what I thought was a promising side playing good
football. The first game I went to at o.t. was against B.ham! we drew 2-2,
but from the minute I got close to o.t. and was surrounded by a seemingly
endless sea of red and white scarves I knew this was where I would watch
football from for the rest of my life!.I have tried for many years to put
my finger on why but I just can`t explain it, its not just supporting a
team its like belonging to an enormous family , I have suffered many taunts
over the years about not supporting your local team even recently from some
fellow reds, I have had many trials and tribulations in travelling to
Manchester ( the notorious M .6!! ) but whatever happens when I am watching
the reds nothing else matters, I think this is the root of it , its just a
great escape and release that keeps bringing you back time after time ( and
not like my wife says that I`m a sad old git ! ). Of course it helps to
have success , but even in the lean years being a red was all that counted
and I think everyone is the same (apart from glory hunters) once the bug
bites its with you for life, and its hard to explain . Well hope I
haven`t bored you too much, I could go on for hours !!
Bye for now
Brian
brian@palms100.freeserve.co.uk
Other www.red11.org Daily News readers that wish to write their story?
please mail to barrylee@post3.tele.dk - thanks in advance!
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Alex & Edwards have the good of the club at heart
Soccernet Friday, December 17, 12:05am London Time
New claims add fuel to old United feud
By Ken Lawrence
The miracle of it all is that they have lasted so long together, this
irascible product of the Govan shipyards and the plummy, middle class boy
from Cheshire who inherited the keys to the kingdom of Old Trafford.
But as the mud- slinging between them continues, the next miracle will be
for them to last until the end of Sir Alex Ferguson's contract.
The Manchester United manager must now confront the alleged character slur
that his chairman Martin Edwards had so little trust in the Scot that he
kept secret the fact that BSkyB were preparing a £623million takeover bid
last year.
They call Old Trafford the Theatre of Dreams. Like many theatres, it is
also a nest of vipers as the principal actors indulge in vitriol and
venomous intrigue, back-biting and back-stabbing as they scramble for the
most advantageous position.
For public performances, Ferguson and Edwards paint their faces in the
style of partners who may disagree on certain matters but in the end always
have the good of the club at heart.
In private, the masks are torn away. They are now further apart than ever
and the United manager is sure to be appalled that Edwards, it is claimed
in a new book Manchester Unlimited, would not trust Ferguson as far as he
would clearly sometimes like to throw him.
The more it becomes clear that relations between the pair have soured so
much since Edwards flew to Aberdeen in 1986 to secure his services, the
less certain it must be that Ferguson will actually see out the remaining
two-and-a-half years of his contract.
Today's book - in which Edwards is reported to have been aghast at the
thought of telling Ferguson about BSkyB's bid, saying: 'If you tell him,
he'll leak everything' - will hurt the Scotsman's famous pride so much that
he will either immediately find his position untenable or be just one more
explosive episode away from storming out.
He has, after all, threatened once before to walk out because he believed
he was being short- changed over his salary before a deal was reached in
1996.
Ferguson might even have been forced out had Edwards listened to the fans
before the manager claimed his first trophy, the 1990 FA Cup. In those dark
days, the chairman really stood by his man.
But Edwards, it is claimed, considered a swap between United and the
Football Association - Ferguson for then-England coach Terry Venables -
during extremely antagonistic contract discussions between the Scot
Initially, Ferguson was said to have been interested in the job of FA
technical director but according to former Lancaster Gate chief executive
Graham Kelly, Ferguson liked the idea of taking over from Venables, who was
to become a free agent after Euro 96.
Since then, Edwards has confirmed that, despite Ferguson's history-making
trophy haul, there will be no place for him either on the board or
elsewhere at United when his current contract, worth £1.6m a year, expires
in 2002.
Last summer, Ferguson touched all the raw nerves that had been exposed by
the escalating problems between the pair, usually over money. When that
subject was mentioned, Ferguson wrote, 'then you had a problem with Martin
Edwards.'
In his autobiography, Managing My Life, Ferguson stressed that much of the
serious strains in their relationship in recent years had been over money
and added that United's move into the stock market almost a decade ago had
further hampered communication between them.
On the other side of the coin, Ferguson has insisted on several occasions
that he appreciated the support in the transfer market he has received from
the chairman but it is only since last season that he feels he has been
given the personal rewards he deserved.
But any praise from the manager for his chairman has usually been
overshadowed by differences of opinion such as that over Dwight Yorke, John
Hartson and the role Brian Kidd played as Ferguson and Edwards waged war 18
months ago over which of the two strikers they should buy.
Edwards had agreed with Ferguson's former aide Kidd that Hartson should be
the new centre forward. According to Manchester Unlimited, Ferguson
returned from holiday and confronted Edwards and plc chairman Sir Roland
Smith, enraged over what he believed was collusion between Edwards and Kidd
and furious over the club's reluctance to rush through what is now the
final contract of his Old Trafford career.
Again, such were the problems between Ferguson and Edwards that the manager
considered withdrawing his P45. He won this battle. He got his new deal,
though he considered the way United haggled over the figures was
'pathetic', and he got Yorke.
He later got back at Kidd. He used his book to prove to Edwards and the Old
Trafford power-brokers that he was prepared to reveal details of some of
the day-to-day dramas within the club by suggesting that his former No. 2
had gone behind his back to the chairman and claiming Kidd did not have
what it takes to succeed him as manager.
Ferguson, it was once assumed, would one day be allowed to become involved
in either grooming or nominating his successor. That, now, is highly
unlikely to be the case.
Indeed, Edwards' reported comments may turn a dysfunctional relationship
into one that is completely fractured.
As well as the claims over the BSkyB deal, Edwards is also reported to have
accused Ferguson of being less than proficient with money and suggests the
manager went out of his way to block Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's proposed £5.5m
move to Tottenham last year after the chairmen of both clubs had agreed the
deal.
The claims will make extremely unpalatable reading for the most successful
club manager in British football history.
Ferguson, humiliated and perhaps even undermined by the chairman's alleged
comments in the new book, must be experiencing a sense of betrayal today.
And this time, there seems no way Old Trafford's Odd Couple will ever again
be able to sit comfortably together in the same room.
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FA Cup opponents
To throw another spanner in the works - if United were in the third round
draw we would have been assigned ball no. 22 instead given to
Middlesborough so we would not have played Villa but would have played
Wrexham.
Some points to ponder:
1. Boro would obviously not have been beaten by Wrexham and Robbo's job may
be a little more secure (assuming that they had not been beaten by their
alternative which is pretty far fetched judging their current form)
2. Darren Ferguson may still have scored but then again do you seriously
think that our defence would have opened up so easily?
Hypothecation and complete and utter bollox but one thing is for certain no
matter who we had played there would have been a full house - witness some
of the crowds on Saturday and you just know that they only go to see
United. We weren't in the cup yet we still got the backpage headlines.
Andy
Message text written by "Manchester United Football Club (soccer)"
>Escape From Old Trafford?
If you believe that Aston Villa would have been drawn against Manchester
United in the FA Cup 3rd round, rather than lucky loser Darlington, the
logical conclusion is that United would have won, so we would have been
bound for Old Trafford in round 4.
Aston Villa is tough enough, but at least we might be allowed to win there
(although Dion Bloody Dublin will probably score another two goals),
whereas we know from our bitter experience of 96 that however well we play
Saints would not be allowed to beat (or even score against) United in the
cup.<
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Tom turns down Sir Matt
Singing superstar Tom Jones has turned down the chance to play Sir Matt
Busby in a new musical. Jones had been lined up to play the legendary
manager in "Theatre of Dreams", a stage production based on the history of
Manchester United. But his spokesperson said, "It's not right for him at
the moment." The search continues!
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Kalum Mooniaruck
Manchester United can continue to play their teenage prospect, Kalum
Mooniaruck, in their academy team despite the fact that he lives in Bishop's
Stortford. The Premier League have checked into the 15-year-old's background
and confirmed that he was attached to United before they imposed the rule
that such players should live within 90 minutes' driving distance of their
club.
In future the Premier League will stop players signing for distant teams
before they are old enough to leave school, but it is expected that the
richer clubs will try to get round it by moving their families into the
area. United have a second 15-year-old, Kieron Richardson, who travels from
Essex to play for them. He, too, was signed before the deadline.
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HUGHES CONFIRMED AS WALES BOSS
By Paul Walker, PA Sport
Mark Hughes was officially appointed as the new Wales manager on
Thursday.
The Southampton star's installation as Bobby Gould's successor was
confirmed by the FA of Wales at a full council meeting in Llangollen.
The 36-year-old midfielder will now start a four-and-a-half-year
contract, the first 18 months of which will be part-time as he completes
this season with the Saints and another year's deal he has been offered at
The Dell.
Thursday marks the end of a lengthy process as the FAW have searched
for a replacement for Gould, who quit the night Wales lost 4-0 in Italy
last June.
Hughes and Neville Southall were put in charge for one match before
Hughes was appointed caretaker boss in August.
He was not the first choice of the specially appointed selection
committee, who initially recommended Terry Venables for the post.
But that move was blocked by the full council, and since then Hughes
has taken temporary control while he discussed a contract with the FAW.
Those negotiations were completed last month, although managerial
appointments have to be ratified by all the council members - and but for
two abstentions today Hughes got the backing he wanted.
Now the former Manchester United star will start appointing a
backroom team, including a new coach because another of his old clubs
Chelsea will not allow Eddie Niedzwiecki to continue in that role despite
giving him permission to work with Hughes for two matches.
Eric Harrison will now be officially confirmed as assistant manager,
with Jimmy Shoulder and Mark Bowen to run the under-21s.
Hughes' first match in control will be a friendly in February,
possibly against Germany in Cardiff, with two more friendlies and a likely
four-team competition in Luxembourg during June.
He will then have to confront a difficult World Cup qualifying group
against Armenia, Ukraine, Poland, Belarus and Norway starting next autumn.
Hughes did not attend the meeting but said later: "I realise that it
has dragged on a bit. I think everybody has got a little fed up with
waiting and wondering what exactly the situation was.
"Now it has been confirmed I am obviously delighted and am able to
get on with the job."
© PA Sporting Life
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