Man United Thread

[Guest Ren]

Manchester United's new signing Park Ji-Sung has vowed to prove himself worthy of being more than just an Old Trafford marketing tool.

The energetic South Korean midfielder will complete switch from PSV Eindhoven - understood to be worth £4million - once he passes his medical and receives a work permit after agreeing a four-year contract with the Red Devils.

A member of the national squad which reached the World Cup semi-finals in 2002 and helping PSV advance to the last four of the Champions League last term, Park must now transfer his talents into the hurly-burly of Premiership combat.

But while some may claim his signing has more to do with enhancing United's global appeal, particularly with a four-match tour of the Far East looming next month, the 24-year-old is determined to force his way into Sir Alex Ferguson's starting line-up on a regular basis.

'I am confident I can prove myself at one of the world's top clubs,' he said.

'I want to show my value to United in terms of my ability, not for some marketing strategy for Asia. I am not going to England for business.'

Although he had never previously expressed any desire to leave PSV, Park had no hesitation in accepting United's offer once Ferguson had made his intentions known.

His arrival will bolster the Red Devils' midfield options, while he could also provide cover for Gary Neville at right-back should the need arise.

Park is due to complete his medical in the next 24 hours before returning to his homeland for a short break. It means he will miss next week's trip to Portugal, but he should be back to meet his new team-mates when pre-season training begins in earnest on July 4.

He will then almost certainly be named in Ferguson's squad for the Far East trip, which takes in visits to Hong Kong, China and Japan, before United begin their new campaign with a Champions League qualifier on August 10.

With Malcolm Glazer's takeover of the club virtually complete, Ferguson is under pressure to ensure there is no repeat of United's disappointments in both Premiership and Champions League combat over the past two seasons.

The capture of veteran keeper Edwin van der Sar from Fulham has already helped beef up the Scot's squad, while talk persists of a move for England striker Michael Owen, even though such a deal would almost certainly lead to the departure of injury-plagued Louis Saha.

[public enemy]

Hiddink hits out at Park

PSV Eindhoven boss Guus Hiddink has hit out at new Manchester United man Park Ji-sung by declaring he will prove to be 'a waste of time' at Old Trafford.

The South Korean star is just waiting on a work permit before he can complete his dream move to the English giants, although Hiddink has been disappointed by his decision to leave the Philips Stadion.

The Dutch tactician has been a key influence in Park's career as he marshalled the Asian nation to the 2002 World Cup semi-finals before taking the midfielder to De Eredivisie as he took the helm at PSV.

Now, after losing his attacking talisman to United, Hiddink has expressed his concerns that Park will follow in the path of Brazilian flop Kleberson in fading into obscurity on the sidelines at The Red Devils.

The move for Park has been interpreted in some quarters as a cynical marketing ploy as United attempt to increase their hold on the Asian market, and Hiddink thinks the 24-year-old should have remained with the Dutch champions for a further year before moving to one of Europe's more competitive leagues.

"Park will be a waste of time at Manchester," said Hiddink.

"He will spend most of his time on the bench, it was not a wise decision for him to go.

"The Brazilian midfielder Kleberson is a good example for Park, he went to United and was a failure.

"Park should have stayed with PSV for another year."

[public enemy]

Beast keen on Premiership

Sevilla star Julio Baptista has issued a come-and-get-me plea to Premiership clubs eyeing his signature.

The prolific hit-man, who has registered 50 goals in the past two seasons, is reportedly on the summer wish-list of Barcelona and Real Madrid but seems to favour a move to England.

Arsenal and Manchester United are thought to be monitoring Baptista's progress - with the player conceding that he would be keen on either Premiership giant.

Baptista, known as 'The Beast' in Spain, is under contract at Sevilla until 2008 but it is expected his current paymasters may struggle to retain his services for next season.

''I would love to play for a team such as Manchester United or Arsenal,'' said Baptista.

''I have made up my mind that I want to go to England.

''It wouldn't just be a financial decision.

''The league there is the best in the world and my style of play would suit it.

''I don't feel valued at Sevilla.''

[Malenko]

Baptista a powerful player, who is a great goalscorer considering his position as 10. Going to England he would need to play a different role, but i think he would be able to adjust to it, unlike most of his position coming from Brazil. What i was wondering was where did they get those numbers, as he didn't surpass the 20 goal mark in neither season playing for Sevilla, which would make it hard to get 50 goals

[Guest ZizouFWF]

I have just read 50 goals in 2 seasons, that is wrong, he scored 20 out of 30 in first season and then 18 this year in 33 I think, that is 38, he is more of an attacking midfielder and does have a great record for a mid converted striker, he at Sao Paulo was a defensive mid, over here, they are saying he will be at a Barcelona for 20 million, this is due to the fact Ronaldinho, Eto'o and Marquez applying for Spanish citizenship.

[public enemy]

I'm suddenly feeling all-the more optimistic about the takeover procedure.

Probably because this morning I watched MUTV's exclusive interview with Joel Glazer for the first time. Beforehand, I'd only read a number of quotes from the papers on the interview, most of which were taken out of context.

The interview itself was quite insightful. He seemed to acknowledge the rich history of the club and the fact that the fans are the life and soul of a successful team. He also rubished as reported the 'rumours' of transfer caps, the running of the club from abroad, the changing of the United logo and the selling-lease of the stadium among otherthings. You could geniuenly see his frustration on behind such rumours as he repetedly assured the host that they would never have bought the club with the intention to fail.

Don't get me wrong I've always been optimistic. If truth be told, the team needed a good shake-up and with the Glazer's obviously wanting to succeed on behalf of they're investment, I'm now all for the new ownership albeit moreso than I once was. Unlike the other self-proclaimed 'true fans' who have turned to violence and hooliganism, I don't want the club to be ran into the ground and if they would all give the Glazer's a chance like so many others including neutrals are prepared to do, then we'd be more than likely better off than the prediciment beforehand.

[public enemy]

Heinze Breaks Mould With Player Of The Year Vote

Gabriel Heinze is the first defender and non-European player to be voted Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year.

Almost 17,000 One United Members and E-Members voted - that's a quarter of Old Trafford at its capacity - with Heinze claiming a third of those votes.

The Argentine left-back, 6511 fans having nominated him, beat Wayne Rooney to the award by almost a thousand votes. Cristiano Ronaldo was acknowledged for an impressive second season with 2310 votes in third place.

A revelation since his £6.9million move from Paris Saint Germain last summer, Heinze fast became a fans' favourite in his debut season at Old Trafford.

His committed style and ceaseless work rate complement the quality of his tackling and passing, and was widely considered one of the shrewdest purchases of the season.

So impressive was Heinze last term that supporters rank his first season with the Reds more highly than Wayne Rooney's.

The pair were rare shafts of light in a gloomy season for Sir Alex Ferguson's side, who finished the campaign empty-handed.

That a defender topped the voting ahead of Rooney, who treated fans to a debut hat-trick and breathtaking goals against Middlesbrough and Newcastle, speaks volumes for Heinze's quality.

The 27-year-old signed for United in June last year, but didn't make his debut for three months until September due to his involvement in the Copa America and Olympic Games with Argentina.

With an Olympic Gold medal secured, Heinze set about a charm offensive with his new club. He produced a goal on his debut, a 2-2 draw with Bolton, whilst his first outing at Old Trafford, against Liverpool on Monday 20 September, gave an early indication of what fans could expect week in, week out.

Buoyed by a capacity crowd on Rio Ferdinand's return from suspension and playing against fierce local rivals Liverpool, Heinze revelled in the atmosphere. He produced three sliding tackles one after the other - each with a louder roar than the last.

In the return fixture, in January, his sliding challenge on Fernando Morientes was nothing short of world class.

He missed the FA Cup final due to an ankle injury, but another season like his first would surely deserve, and hopefully produce, a winners' medal.

[public enemy]

Good match yesterday I thought. Clyde put up a good fight and made it an excellent start to a pre-season for both teams.

Just a few thoughts on certain players;

Nice to see the debutants in Park and Van Der Saar at last although neither of the two really had much of an impact. Park seemed to be trying a little too hard; originally starting on the right he played three or four different positions throughout the first half giving a few good balls but with no real pay-off. Still, nice to see he was giving it his all on his debut. Van Der Saar hardly got a touch from what I remember, a few simple saves but nothing extraordinary just yet. Once again it was Rio who was the figure of some controversy. The fans booing his every touch was nothing more than what he deserved after such a lengthy stall in the contract talks.

Saha was another very lively character in the first half, always popping up and having a chance at goal. Hopefully this will be his season in the sense that he can stay fit long enough to provide a challenge for Ruud’s place. Kleberson scoring first came as a bit of a shock even if it was only because he was in the right place at the right time, much like Miller’s goal later in the second half. Hopefully a few good pre-season performances like that one could fetch us a decent price for him or help restore some confidence in his ability.

Tim Howard is still shit. And although the conceded goal wasn’t necessarily his fault, he did make a few cock-ups before and after. Stars in the second half were Paul Scholes who really dominated the mid-field, Giggs who provided a few killer-balls and Ruud who finally looked himself in scoring form once again.

In total the game was a good assessment, a friendly with a sharper edge towards it in the sense that Clyde were there to play. Some of our reserves looked good mixed in with the first-team and hopefully with our six other pre-season games we'll be more than ready to kick off the new season at Goodison.

Manchester United – Optical Express Cup Winners '05

[Turbo Yannis]

That was funny as hell when Giggs got the cup. He obviously didn't give a fuck.

It was a good game yesterday. Clyde were far better than I expected, but still not great thought. When the second half started you could tell how much better all the first team players were. Also thought the Cylde goalie looked good too. Alan Smith was brilliant playing in front of the back four, too.

Just a pity I was sat in the Clyde section. Jesus, what a bunch of retards those people are. One gusy actually shouted

"We're better than this! You woudln't be playing lke this against a Bell's Division side"...idiot.

[public enemy]

Manchester United 6 - Peterborough United 0

Thank fuck we're actually winning some Pre-Season games this term, not to mention in emphatic fashion.

Last night’s game was a bit of a slow-starter in the sense that it only really came to life in the second half with the attempts in the first proving ineffective.

Several players looked increasingly sharp once again, both Saha and Rooney providing a number of good shots on goal. Kieran Richardson was perhaps the most impressive in the first half though, filling in as left back just like at the weekend, his pace going forward was un-matched and he even made some decisive defensive tackles.

If there's any negative factor in the first half it was over new-boy Park. Not looking like he had any definitive position, Park worked his way across the field left wing to right constantly losing possession with Peterborough's defence just running through him. I'm predicting the tour of the far-east will either make or break Park’s position in the United team in the upcoming season and prove whether or not he’ll be subjected to life on the sidelines.

In comparison to the second, the first half seemed rather dull and uneventful with the only break-through coming in the form of the own-goal which was for no valid reason disallowed by the ref.

Another 11-man change at half-time from United left the tired and depleted Peterborough men against a fresh batch of Ronaldo’s, Scholes and Van Nistelrooys...Those three alone constantly showing they’re class in outplaying the opposition. Youth was again the standout with the reserve stars in Rossi, McShane and Eckersley all impressing amongst the first-team. Truth be told, all of our goals were top-class and it was no surprise given his form at the weekend for Ruud to accomplish his first hatrick in recent memory. All in all it was another fantastic performance and an experiment which duly paid off.

The only bad thing is that now I can't fucking wait for the new season to start...

EDIT:

Smith can replace Keane

Sir Alex Ferguson has finally accepted that Alan Smith could be viewed as a full-time midfield option, and even a possible replacement for ageing captain Roy Keane.

The tigerish former Leeds United striker arrived from Elland Road last summer with Ferguson insisting Manchester United only wanted to consider him as an out-and-out forward.

Smith started the season brightly when handed the responsibility of leading the line but faded from the picture in the latter stages of the campaign and did not even get off the bench during the FA Cup final with Arsenal.

The England international played the second half of the 6-0 friendly romp against Peterborough United wearing the number four shirt and played in a holding midfield role behind Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs.

Within seconds of his introduction, Smith added an element of aggression to the proceedings and his performance had Ferguson purring afterwards as United scored all six goals after the break.

"We see a lot of potential for him too," Ferguson told Sky Sports News. "He's only 24.

"He's young and obviously it's something we're possibly looking at in terms of maybe the replacement for Roy eventually. We keep talking about it.

"You don't get Roy Keanes obviously but Alan Smith is Alan Smith and he brings a different type of character than Roy."

With Giuseppe Rossi pressing hard to join in-form Ruud van Nistelrooy, Wayne Rooney and Louis Saha in the striking slots, the logical solution for Ferguson would be to withdraw Smith to midfield, particularly if he is unsuccessful in any attempt to land Bayern Munich's Michael Ballack.

Edited July 20, 2005 by public enemy

[fineintent]

I'd still buy big if were Man Utd - playing well in a pre-season match against Peterboro is one thing, doing it consistently against the big teams is another. If Ballack is available, United should bite Munich's hand off.

[public enemy]

In an ideal circumstance (read: Chelsea's) I'd agree with you.

Unfortunately, such a transfer may not be possible with the Glazer's possibly being unwilling to fork out any more money so early after the takeover. Although a big signing would calm supporter unrest over the said takeover, Ballack could be very costly and we could face some serious competition over his signature.

He may only have one year left on his contract but Bayern aren’t going to let him go for cheap especially given the similar circumstances with Julio Baptista and the massive fees being quoted for him despite the player having no European experience, something Ballack can seriously offer.

Alan Smith can be moulded into a Roy Keane replacement certainly, but for the meantime we could really do with a player like Ballack...Let's just hope the Glazer's can see it that way.

[fineintent]

I thought you still had around £15 million to spend, and didn't reports say Bayern will only want about £12 million? That'd leave you £3 million to pick up another Djemba-Djemba.

[public enemy]

It was never actually announced how much we had to spend, it was just speculation.

When buying Rooney, the manager sacrificed all available transfer funds for this season from the board. When the Glazers took over it was reported by the papers that there would be a transfer cap, that we could not spend over £25Million in a season for the next four seasons. In the exclusive interview with MUTV, Joel Glazer rubished all rumours of a transfer budget cap claiming that if a player became available that the manager thought would improve the team, they would provide the funds necessary to buy that player.

The extent to which Joel Glazer was telling the truth is unknown. No-one really knows how much we have to spend or how much the Glazers are prepared to pay. All of our transfers thus far have been on a small scale, the Glazers haven't actually funded any of them with the money coming from players leaving the club. Bayern may only want £12Million on paper but when other clubs pick up on the race, United may not necessarily be able to keep up unless the Glazer's heavily bankroll the transfer.

[fineintent]

I really hope United can get Ballack - just because I'd like to see a more competitive title race, and without someone to really dictate play in the middle I can't see United troubling Chelsea, or Arsenal (to a lesser extent).

United have the core to a very good side, with Ronaldo, Rooney and Heinze looking great, they just need to improve on a few key positions - Van der Sar has been brought in, Van Nistelrooy needs to be kept fit and a new CM is a must really.

I still think United and Arsenal should have kept an eye on Carrick last year, but their loss is our gain I guess.

[TMM]

Wonder if you'll cave in to Rio's demands? You should just say take it or leave it, and if he doesn't take it, tell him to get stuffed and sell him. You'll either loose your best defender for free or get some money for him.

I just really want him to come out and say "I don't understand why the fans are booing me"

[public enemy]

First off, Rio Ferdinand can fuck right off.

We're allready offering him £100,000 a week. That alone is a huge ammount of money and would automatically upon acceptance make him the highest earning player in the club's history.

Don't get me wrong Rio Ferdinand, despite what a lot of people recently have been arguing against, is a fantastic player. I think that the reason he hasen't shone this season is our current set-up. He and Silvestre, who for the most part of the season was his partner, are too similar in they're play. Both are the kind of defenders who sit-back and play clean-up rather than directly challenge for the ball like John Terry, Sol Campbell and Sami Hyypia to quote a few would.

To have a great defence you must have a combination of some-one who will challenge and some-one who will clean-up. Losing Ferdinand would'nt be the end of the world right now for us because of Silvestre. Not only would he fetch a decent price but with the money we could easily buy an experienced replacement to fill the void whilst some of our less experienced center-halfs come through the ranks, both John O'Shea and Wes Brown have looked great in the past and will do again whilst plenty of our reserves have massive potential (Pique, Bardsley and McShane to name a few).

It may look like Ferdinand is currently in the drivers seat over negociations. We've stood by our offer for over a year now and it's up to him how we progress. But one thing's for sure, losing him would not be as crushing a blow as he may think it would be. If he is greedy enough to demand wages of anywhere in between £115,000-£125,000 a week then he can demand elsewhere. Selling him wouldn't be a problem as I doubt he'd look out-of-place in the Real Madrid's and Barcelona's of this world. It just sickens me that the loyalty the club showed him during his drug ban and the fee we originally paid to bring him to the club are left unrewarded because of the greed of the player. The very fact that the manager is now refusing to give Rio the captain's arm-band shows his frustration and I believe that if Rio doesn't accept the current terms within the next few weeks, he will be on his way out of Old Trafford.

[TMM]

First off, Rio Ferdinand can fuck right off.

We're allready offering him £100,000 a week. That alone is a huge ammount of money and would automatically upon acceptance make him the highest earning player in the club's history.

Don't get me wrong Rio Ferdinand, despite what a lot of people recently have been arguing against, is a fantastic player. I think that the reason he hasen't shone this season is our current set-up. He and Silvestre, who for the most part of the season was his partner, are too similar in they're play. Both are the kind of defenders who sit-back and play clean-up rather than directly challenge for the ball like John Terry, Sol Campbell and Sami Hyypia to quote a few would.

To have a great defence you must have a combination of some-one who will challenge and some-one who will clean-up. Losing Ferdinand would'nt be the end of the world right now for us because of Silvestre. Not only would he fetch a decent price but with the money we could easily buy an experienced replacement to fill the void whilst some of our less experienced center-halfs come through the ranks, both John O'Shea and Wes Brown have looked great in the past and will do again whilst plenty of our reserves have massive potential (Pique, Bardsley and McShane to name a few).

It may look like Ferdinand is currently in the drivers seat over negociations. We've stood by our offer for over a year now and it's up to him how we progress. But one thing's for sure, losing him would not be as crushing a blow as he may think it would be. If he is greedy enough to demand wages of anywhere in between £115,000-£125,000 a week then he can demand elsewhere. Selling him wouldn't be a problem as I doubt he'd look out-of-place in the Real Madrid's and Barcelona's of this world. It just sickens me that the loyalty the club showed him during his drug ban and the fee we originally paid to bring him to the club are left unrewarded because of the greed of the player. The very fact that the manager is now refusing to give Rio the captain's arm-band shows his frustration and I believe that if Rio doesn't accept the current terms within the next few weeks, he will be on his way out of Old Trafford.

←

You'll be fine without him, you have some good defenders coming through but my point is losing him on a FREE would be a big, big mistake. He can fetch nearly (or more than) £20m still, and considering how much you paid for him, and your financial state right, letting him leave on a bosman would be a bad decision, hence why I think you need to sell him now.

[fineintent]

Who would you have replace Ferdinand?

A British player like King, who'd cost upwards of £15 million, or try and bring in a big name from abroad? If King were to leave, Spurs would be fucked, but he'd cope fantastically well with the demands of CL football. And if there's one thing Ledley King has shown, by signing every deal put in front of him, is that he has some loyalty.

What I find funny is that everyone accused Jermaine Defoe of lacking loyalty after the West Ham debarcle, but even with interest from Chelsea, he's signed a new deal. Ferdinand would do well to remember all the club has done to him, what the fuck is an extra £15,000 to him anyway?

[TMM]

Who would you have replace Ferdinand?

A British player like King, who'd cost upwards of £15 million, or try and bring in a big name from abroad? If King were to leave, Spurs would be fucked, but he'd cope fantastically well with the demands of CL football. And if there's one thing Ledley King has shown, by signing every deal put in front of him, is that he has some loyalty.

What I find funny is that everyone accused Jermaine Defoe of lacking loyalty after the West Ham debarcle, but even with interest from Chelsea, he's signed a new deal. Ferdinand would do well to remember all the club has done to him, what the fuck is an extra £15,000 to him anyway?

←

He's just comes across as a greedy fuck who thinks he's better than he is. He isn't the best defender in the world, or the country; he's not even the best English defender in the country (behind John Terry and Sol Campbell, don't argue )!

He's not worth the amount Man Utd paid for him, and he doesn't deserve the amount of money he's been offered, let alone what he's after.