Sir Alex Ferguson is planning to rest his star performer Howard Webb to prevent 'a nee...
Sir Alex Ferguson is planning to rest his star performer Howard Webb to prevent 'a needless injury' after his tireless work in yesterday's FA Cup victory over Liverpool . Webb awarded his own side a penalty, but he stood aside to allow a team mate to take it.
Mr Webb who secured his team's passage into the 4th round of the FA cup is said to be 'exhausted' following his Herculean efforts in providing his side with the winning goal by awarding them a 'completely deserved' penalty after Liverpool's Daniel Agger 'viciously kicked Berbatov in the head with a knife'.
Man United's 12th man Howard Webb, whose dressing room locker is right next to Rio Ferdinand's, said: "Yeah, it's a massive win for the me and the lads. The gaffer told us all in his pre-match talk to get in their faces, and work hard for each other. He reminded me to wait at least an hour before giving us a penalty or it could look suss, but I was just too excited and went for it a few seconds after I blew the starting whistle, however, I did wait a little longer than usual to send Stevie G off, to make up for it.
"I was thinking about taking the penalty myself, but then thought I should let one of the other lads take the glory for a change. It's a team sport after all, and I get embarrassed when people tell me I single-handedly win all the games I get picked to play in."
However, his boss, Alex Ferguson is concerned that if he continues playing his star man in every game he'll pick up a serious injury or may get exhausted towards the business end of the season.
"Howard's a great servant to the club, " said Sir Alex. "And he's a real role model for the younger lads. He's always first on the training pitch in the morning and the last to leave. He practices pointing at the spot, and sending opponents off for hours on end. But I fear if he carries on at the same intensity he'll pick up an injury that could see him out for months.
"And that's a risk we can't take. He's just too important for us, his ratio of games played to penalties given is almost one per match, which are amazing stats."
Manchester United's club shop has just released its sales figures which indicate that 'Howard Webb' is now the most requested name on the back of their replica shirts, and that if his popularity grows they may be forced to rename the Stretford End in his honour by changing it to the 'Massive-Bell End', or MBE for short.
you can't say that - spearing needs to be given a chance. if it doesn't work out, ...
you can't say that - spearing needs to be given a chance. if it doesn't work out, then fair enough, but he's not had the chance. not all players can just burst onto the scene like rooney - some need time to develop and gain confidence. whats the point in having a youth team and players like spearing if they are never going to be given a chance to develop in to the first team. i would rather the club blooded players like spearing, than splash out silly money on petrov. thats the sign of a manager who is looking to steady the ship - not take the team forward....
Modric had been an established Croatian international for 2 years before Comolli "sig...
Modric had been an established Croatian international for 2 years before Comolli "signed" him....and everyone knew about Berbatov who was also linked with clubs before he joined Spurs. He can't take credit for discovering these players, but he can take credit for convincing his employers at the time to part with their cash, and, in the case of Berbatov, re-coup that a couple of years later with profit.
The fact that we are now paying £35m for Carroll and £20m for Henderson - 3 three caps between them - represents a greater risk than buying established international players.
Only time will tell if they are successful purchases - way too early to pass judgement now.
Ok - well, in that case, Hiddink is a name to be thrown in the ring. However, I think I wo...
Ok - well, in that case, Hiddink is a name to be thrown in the ring. However, I think I would prefer to see somebody within the Anfield circles to be appointed. That was the way it was done in the old days, and that should be the way its done now. Kenny Dalglish is available, and perhaps somebody like Steve Nicol (if he is able to come back from the USA), Ian Rush or Jan Molby would be perfect as an assistant manager.
don't get it. if SAF was going to make up a story about rooney's ankle, then why n...
don't get it. if SAF was going to make up a story about rooney's ankle, then why not get the story straight with the player beforehand? if we assume he did that, then rooney's answer when asked about his ankle injury can only be interpreted as dissent against the manager.
unless they can patch it up, we all know SAF has no problem in getting shot of players who cross him....stam, becks, etc....i had always though that rooney and SAF had a good relationship, so it makes this story all the more interesting....
At this moment in time, the only person who is available (and wouldn't cost the earth)...
At this moment in time, the only person who is available (and wouldn't cost the earth) that would be able to do a decent job is Kenny Dalglish. He knows the club inside out, has the respect of the players, and has won titles before.
If it transpires that he doesn't want to do the job on a long term basis, then he can be appointed on a temporary basis, with a view to finding a long term replacement in the Summer.
Realistically, Benitez will not walk on his own accord, and getting rid of him will be costly. While things haven't been going well for us recently, the decent thing to do is to back him until at least the end of the season and then assess the position then. I find little or no value in sacking him mid-way through the season - that isn't the Liverpool way.
Apparently we are now being linked with January moves for Charles N'Zogbia and Blackpo...
Apparently we are now being linked with January moves for Charles N'Zogbia and Blackpool's Charlie Adam....
Both are good players, and Adam is currently a player in form - 3 goals and 3 assists to date.
Not sure that either of these players will set the first team alight - but will undoubtedly be welcome additions to the squad as a whole.
If anything, I think that the mere fact that we are being linked to these players shows that we can no longer attract the top top players - there was a time when we were being linked to players like David Silva and David Villa - those days are long gone....
Having said that, I do like Adam as a player and think that he be a useful squad player.
It was very disappointing not to have secured 3 points vs Arsenal on Sunday, and conceding...
It was very disappointing not to have secured 3 points vs Arsenal on Sunday, and conceding late goals has become an increasing problem.
We lost to both Arsenal and Man Utd last season after taking the lead in both games. We also lost games vs Tottenham and Fulham when the games were 1-1. We drew games against City and Birmingham (twice I think) after taking the lead.
The last min OG by Riise also sticks in my mind vs Chelsea in the champs league and I am sure there are other recent examples where we have conceded late on.
Needless to say, the players must work hard to the final whistle and keep up the concentration levels. These silly mistakes cost us 3 points here and 2 points there - and ultimately can cost easily 15 points come the end of the season.
Whilst it was only the first game of the season, the game vs Arsenal should be looked at as two points dropped - even with Joe sent off - when you are leading 1-0 at home with only injury time to play - you should close out the game.
I agree. We did defend well (on the whole) on Sunday, and yes, it was a Reina mistake whic...
I agree. We did defend well (on the whole) on Sunday, and yes, it was a Reina mistake which cost us the 3 points.
However, you say its time to move on - but can you not see that this is something that has crept into the team over the last season or so - silly defensive errors or blunders which have cost us points - i've given you 4 or 5 examples where it happened last season (which you totally ignore). To be fair to Benitez, he always had the defence very well organised, and during his second and third seasons, we probably had the best defence in europe - teams found it impossible to break us down.
this is a recent problem, and Hodgson needs to sort it out. i don't think we need to sign anyone, but we need to ensure that concentration levels are maintained until the final whistle, and that silly mistakes are avoided.
