football manchester united news

Fergie: Rooney Not Ready For Captaincy Yet

John O’Shea was very proud to be named captain for our opening game of the season against Birmingham but the media were curious as to why Ferguson made that choice. Our manager has today responded to this question as well as looking at the possibility of Wayne Rooney wearing the armband.

“I can explain it. He was the longest-serving player. Simple,” said Ferguson, obviously overlooking the mild natured Paul Scholes. “Probably a lot would love to be captain. Rooney? It’s possible. Not at the moment.”

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Searching For A Result Following Burnley Disappointment

You would think that our fans had never seen through a whole season supporting United, judging by the reaction to our defeat against Burnley. Don’t get me wrong, it was a dreadful result and a poor performance, but christ, it’s not as if we haven’t seen them before. Just looking over the past ten years or so, we’ve had some bloody awful results and performances. Who remembers that 3-1 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday during the 98/99 season? What about the 5-0 thumping we were delivered by Chelsea (before their days in the top four) the following season? Or how about when Boro did us 4-1? I wonder which United people have been watching all these years when a 1-0 at Burnley is seen as the end of the world.

Of course, the knee-jerk reaction is simply because we have sold Cristiano Ronaldo. Whether you’ve been confident of our success with or without him, we’ve all wondered what we would look like without a player who has been at the focal point of our team for a couple of years. When we lost 3-1 on the opening day of the season to Aston Villa following the sales of Mark Hughes, Paul Ince and Andrei Kanchelskis, there will have been similar worries.

football manchester united news

PICTURES: Wigan 0 - 5 United

football manchester united news

Wayne Rooney Joins 100 Club

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Rooney: I’m Proud Of 100 Goals

Wayne Rooney joined the Manchester United 100 club yesterday, scoring his 100th and 101st goals in our jersey, at the start of his sixth season with the club. He’s now 149 goals short of becoming our highest ever scorer of all-time. Playing in a new central role and given his commitment to the club, do you think that’s something Rooney should now be aspiring to?

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“Kiko And Welbeck Not Good Enough Yet”

“Sir Alex Ferguson would have us believe he is quite happy with his squad going into their defence of their Premier League crown,” said Stan YSB Collymore. “Yet I still think United look a lot weaker than last term following the loss of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez. Federico Macheda and Danny Welbeck, as I said recently, are a pair of strikers for the future. They are not good enough to come in for a six or ten-game spell if necessary, and nor should they.”

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August 26th, 2009

Anderson Puts His Toys Back In The Pram

Two weeks after the Community Shield the papers ran a story that claime when he found out he would be playing. The papers claimed that Anderson didn’t back down when confronted by the manager and therefore Sir Alex Ferguson was now ready to sell him.

Given that Anderson was in the squad for the first game of the season and started our second match, it was hardly likely that Ferguson was preparing to ship him out.

Regardless, Anderson has today admitted his frustration over being left out of the Community Shield team and he accepts that he has to do what the manager says in putting more effort in.

“I believed that I would play in the Community Shield but that is forgotten now,” said Anderson. “I thought that, without Cristiano Ronaldo around, I could play more and that has been my challenge from pre-season onwards. But the coach decides the teams and to discuss this with him is foolish because he is the chief. I do not want to leave United. No. Sir Alex Ferguson has demanded a bigger effort from me and I accept that. Because to get into this United team is very complicated and difficult for any player.”

Here’s a bit of advice for you lad. You take on the manager and you will lose, so keep your head down and get on with it.

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Fergie: I Should Have Played Valencia Against Burnley

Like at Burnley a few days before, Manchester United were struggling to break Wigan down on Saturday and went in to half time with a 0-0 scoreline.

Ten minutes after the restart Antonio Valencia was on the ball and whipped in an inch-perfect cross to Wayne Rooney’s head, which he buried in the back of the net.

Sir Alex Ferguson has today conceded that we probably could have done with Valencia starting against Burnley.

“We see the potential in Antonio, particularly in the training sessions,” said Ferguson. “He has good stuff to work with. He is quick and he is balanced. He is tough and is a good crosser of the ball. He has areas in which he has to develop and we have an idea how to go about that. The lad has a chance. Some players have come to the club and taken to it like a duck to water, some need time. He will be all right. We maybe should have picked Antonio at Turf Moor. I had the Wigan game in mind for him. You don’t know how they handle Saturday-Wednesday- Saturday-Wednesday at this club. It is a different kettle of fish. Because he was a new player into that we decided to leave him out at Burnley.”

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Evans: I’m Not A Top-Class United Centre Back Yet

Manchester United haven’t had much luck with our defensive injuries this season, with Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand, Wes Brown, Gary Neville and Rafael all already missing games through injury, whilst Jonny Evans has limped off and sooner or later.

Hopefully Evans should be fine to face Arsenal at the weekend, partnered by Vidic, and this is a challenge our young defender relishes.

“Sometimes playing against bigger teams is a bit easier,” said Evans. “You are playing against better players and it raises your concentration levels. You think about the game a bit more. Concentration is a big part of defending. You need to keep switched on to do your job properly.”

Last season Evans played in both games against Chelsea, the away leg against Inter Milan, the League Cup final victory over Tottenham, and our crucial final home game of the season against Arsenal which saw us lift the Premiership trophy.

“I didn’t expect to play so many games last season,” he added. “But I didn’t expect Rio to have the problem with his back or Vidic to get suspended for a couple of games. It got me into the team for a while, so there was a bit of luck involved. But getting into the team lifts your confidence and self-belief. There was a bit of a blip when people started to look at my performances a lot more, so it can go both ways. But overall it was a great experience. But I also know there are plenty of things I need to add to my game before I even think about becoming a top-class centre back at United.”