man chester united online magazine issue 3

8/6/2019 Man Chester United Online Magazine Issue 3

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Pung the football world to rights

www.football-united-blogs.com

FUB is a ManchesterUnited themed website which

oers regular arcles, latest news, interviews, podcasts

& compeons

FootballUnited Blogs @FootballUB


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Like many fans I settled down in front of the

television last Sunday night to watch United,

the BBC drama retelling the story of the Mu-

nich air crash, which as we all knew killed 23

people including eight Manchester United

players. The programme has come in for criti-

cism from some corners, most notably from

the families of those depicted in the 90 minute

show. Sir Matt Busbys family were rightly

dismayed by the performance of Dougray

Scott who played the United manager. Consid-

ering, like Busby, Scott hails from Scotland

himself, I found his accent would have been

more appropriate had he been playing a sinis-

ter Spanish matador. The whole demeanour of

Scott came across quite uncomfortable view-

ing, an assertion that appears to be favourable

with most fans who watched the programme.

That said, it would be wrong for me to be

overly critical of a programme which I actual-

ly found both emotive and fascinating (for

great want of a better term). As with manyfans, due to my age I never experienced life

after the crash, so reading books and accounts

of the incident and aftermath is really all I

have to fall back on. However after UnitedI do

feel like I understand it a little better. By no

means was it a documentary (and it never

advertised itself in that way), I do believe the

sentiment of the tragedy was spot on. Whilst

many have criticised some ill-informed inci-

dents in the programme I revert back to what

it said at the beginning, based on true events.The word based says all that needs to be said

on the matter.

I was most impressed with the performances

of both David Tennant and Jack O Connell

who starred as Jimmy Murphy and young

Bobby Charlton respectively. I found the mo-

ment that Tennant/Murphy was told about

the crash by the club secretary one of the most

spine tingling scenes within the whole show.

Prior to the programme, like many United

fans, I was nervous as to how the BBC would

portray the incident, after all theyve got it

badly wrong with Munich broadcasts in thepast. However on this occasion I was pleased

with the outcome. United was hugely emo-

tional, a quick glace on Twitter during the

show compounds this with many fans openly

admitting they cried throughout most of it. An

action I shared. Possibly, however, the emo-

tion rendered most forcibly was one of pride.

After what Manchester United overcame in the

years that followed that fateful day, I feel

proud to be a fan. Not just a United fan, but a

supporter of football in general. Unfortunatelythe night following Uniteds airing the ugly

side of our sport reared its ugly head once

again at Ewood Park.

Within minutes of Blackburn and our classy

neighbours kicking off, City were joined in

unison singing about the Munichs. Oddly on

this occasion it wasn't just a small, disgusting

minority either. Anyone who watched the

match would have heard the singing quite

explicitly through their own television sets.The songs were sickening. Even more so when

you consider the effect the crash had on Man-

chester as a whole. City lost one of their own

Welcome to the

Football United fanzine

Editorials


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As this is an exclusively online magazine we do not offer printed copies.

However if you would like to receive a PDF ile of the magazine, so you can

print it off yourself, please send an email to: [email protected] and we

will happily email a copy over to you.

ContributorsLiam Scott

Chris Bennett

Alan Monger

Brett BurgersKeith Woodford

Paolo

Tony Park

Will Davenport

Alex Wardrop

Tom Clare

A special thanks toOlly Murs

Ambuj Gupta

The Chelsea Blog

in Munich and yet still feel it appropriate to

sing these songs. Im not sure whether its

stupidity or sheer uneducated fools.

Im under no illusion that United fans are

perfect either. Not so long ago a group of reds

were rightly criticised for their Hillsborough

chants during the clubs FA Youth Cup victory

over Liverpool at Anield. I ind both Hills-

borough and Munich chants equally sickening

and offensive. I came in for some stick not so

long ago when I compared the two but in my

eyes (which I don't expect everyone to agree

with), singing about either is quite simply

wrong. Innocent lives were lost on both occa-

sions, whether it was players or fans, people

still died. As a result of my day to day job Ive

had to watch the footage of what happened at

Hillsborough a few times over the years. Thosewho say the fans deserved it, or some rubbish

like that are very, very wrong. If youre read-

ing this believing that those who lost their

lives in Shefield deserved it I urge you dig out

the live footage, you might change your mind.

I dont live in a fantasy world where I believe

all the bad things in football will be eradicated

from the game. Of course that wont happen.

But I would like to see those who partake in

these type of chants severely reprimanded by

the authorities. Will it happen? Probably not,

but it doesn't stop me from hoping. A deroga-

tory Carlos Tevez chant is one thing, a chant

about people who have lost their lives is an-

other. Heres to hoping that football fans focus

their attention to what is happening on the

pitch.Steph (editor)

@stephdoehler


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ContentsPage 3: Editorials

Page 6: Hot Topic

Page 7: Captain Legend?

Page 8: United Against

The World

Page 11: Tweets From

The Terrace

Page 12: Bye Bye Berba?

Page 13: The Gossip Tree

Page 14: Blast From The

Past

Page 16: Olly Murs

interview

Page 18: Micky Owen PI

Page 19: The Great De-

bate

Page 22: Overseas Reds

Page 24: Youth Watch

Page 26: Views From TheStretford End

Page 28: Simply The Best

Page 31: The Ones That

Got Away

Page 33: April Round-Up

Page 35: Meeting The

Enemy

Page 38: Its All In The

Mind

Page 39: May Predictions

Page 41: Legends

Allenby Chilton

Page 44: Pretenders To

The Throne

Page 46: The Final Word

All material unless otherwise stated, is copyright to the Football United Fanzine. The views expressed are not

necessarily those of the editors, however you have the right to reply to the following email address:[email protected]

The Football United Fanzine is completely independent of Manchester United Football Club. The Football United

Fanzine accepts no responsibility for services offered by advertisers.

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I ended my last editorial with two

wishes. One, for us to start April better

than we did March, which we succeeded

in with four victories in a row. I alsowished to still be talking about United

winning the treble this season, which

Im not, following our FA Cup semi-inal

defeat to City. I was of course disap-

pointed, as we all will have been by that

game, but hopefully you all got some

nice Easter eggs to cheer you up. I got a

Manchester United birthday cake the

day after the City game and made sure I

ate Berbatov and Scholes irst. I felt it

was fair punishment for Berbatov miss-ing a sitter and Scholes seeing red. Lets

hope that Stoke can rustle up another 5-0 victory on the 14thof this month when

the inal is played at Wembley. If Bir-

mingham can do it against Arsenal,

Stoke can do it against City.

All in all April wasnt a bad month

though. Those four victories I men-

tioned obviously included back to back

wins over Chelsea in the ChampionsLeague, taking us through to the inal

four. No Terry or Anelka comedy mo-

ments this time, but still no Champions

League win for the blues either, so hap-

py days. We then also managed to take

an advantage over Schalke in the semi

inal with a 2-0 victory in the away leg. I

felt it was one of our best performances

of the season and gives us a great

chance of making the Wembley inal. We

have also not conceded a single awaygoal in the competition this year which

is a brilliant achievement.

A big inal month of the season there-

fore ahead of us, with the second leg

against Schalke at Old Trafford and a

title run in featuring clashes with title

rivals Chelsea and Arsenal who we are

currently 6 points and 9 points clear of

respectively, with four matches to

play (if you can still call Arsenal title

rivals!). We can no longer dream of

partying like its 1999 but I will deinite-

ly be happy to party like its 2008 by

completing the league and Champions

League double. If we can get past

Schalke we will obviously have the not

so easy task of defeating Barcelona or

Real Madrid in the inal. Hopefully, if we

make it, we can get a better Wembley

result. It could be a repeat of the 2009

inal which United lost to a wonderful

Barcelona side or it could be a Ronaldo

reunion with the familiar Mourinho

factor. Either is a highly exciting pro-

spect, but we do of course actually have

to get their ourselves irst.

We have been criticised all season

from all angles yet here we are, top of

the league and the only English team

still standing in Europe. Everyone it

seems is so desperate for us to fail. I for

one just hope we can inish the season

with some silverware so we can stick

two ingers up to all the other fans, the

media and the FA who no longer allow

opinions or emotions from our playersor manager. The hate (jealously in the

most) will just make it all the sweeter if

we can inish strong. The inal league

table never lies and if we have been so

poor this season, what does that say

about all the teams who inish below

us?

Ill leave you with that thought. Enjoy

the rest of the magazine and the all-

important inal month of the season.Lets hope its a great one for United.

Rachel (Deputy Editor)

@Rachel_jj2011

Editorials


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It should mean more to them than money.

Lets be honest, most can no longer be called profes-

sional footballers. Being a professional footballer used

to be about being the elite of the world. For very few,

they live the alternate life and spend every day playing

the game we all hoped we could. And, for their talent,

they dont have a bad life out of it. Flash cars, house,

totty on the arm, not to mention the spare couple of

quid they have lying around after paying for all of that

- in some cases that includes the totty too.

On top of this they have sponsorship deals, imagerights, appearance fees, all looding into bank de super-

stardom. And ok, this isnt about the money they pick

up, albeit an overly exuberant igure, why shouldnt

they, most outield players only play until theyre, at a

maximum 36, goalkeepers until theyre 40ish- why not

set themselves up for life- its what wed do, right?

Actually no, this is something bigger than all of that. As

was covered in the last issue, the ticking time bomb that

is our nations greatest sport. Incorrect decisions might

be one reason to think the game is at the point of implo-

sion, but this is a much more pressing issue. Footballersthinking they are above the laws and traditions of the

game they are paid to play. So why do they think they

are above the game? And what can be done to stop it?

Hot topic to initiate discussion- Rooney shouting exple-

tives into a camera during a live broadcast. Lets get my

view out there straight away so theres no confusion- no

amount of heat of the moment, wasnt directed at any-

one in particular, but swearing is part of the game, will

cut it. What Rooney did WAS WRONG. He knew it and

the club knew it because lets face it, the apology made

afterwards wasnt written by Rooney himself was it?!

And yet, in deiance of the rules, Rooney and Manches-

ter United began a quest, to have the penalty reduced,

stating that it was clearly excessive. Which can only lead

me to one real conclusion on the individual- Wayne, if

you know what it means to be clearly excessive, why

are you swearing into a camera- isnt that also clearly

excessive?

The topic seemed to divide the footballing masses into

three groups, those who agreed with the penalty, thosethat didnt, and the non United fans that thought he

should of being hung from a yardarm. So why the big

issue with what he did? Footballers swear, everyone

knows it. Unfortunately for parents watching the gamewith their children, its quite dificult to explain to the

aspiring footballing sprog watching with you, that

Rooney was actually shouting about his pet duck!

What ducking what, when he was 3mm away from

the lens. Doesnt leave much to be lost in the crowd

chants does it? And whether Rooney likes or accepts

the fact, he is to many youngsters, a role model.

So the FA saw sense, which Rooneys penalty should

now serve as a big shout out to all Premier League

players. We all know swearing happens on the pitch

and it is accepted. The test will come when the nextmuppet tries it. If the FA are able to clearly deine in

their punishments what is classed as on ieldand off

ield I think the etiquette improvement will be there

for everyone to see. If they dont and their decision

making is as luctuant as referees match to match

variance, the newspapers, managers and players

wont be able to help themselves lining up to take a

pop at the system - much to the destruction of the

sport.

My other thoughts on this are the example on disci-

pline that rugby gives. Teams disciplining their ownplayers before the leagues or competition organisers

have to get involved. Why? Because there is a better

sense of fair play in rugby, which runs not only through

the individual teams, but through the leagues. The idea

that Rooney would have been irst banned by Manches-

ter United, and the FAs ban relect the punishment the

club have handed down. Could you imagine the impact

clubs self-regulating themselves would have? How many

matches would Chelsea of banned Torres from - for

diving in the irst leg of the Champions League quarter

inal? (Not that it would have made any difference to his

effectiveness).

If clubs took a bit of responsibility and stopped

worrying about player revolts, fan revolts and re-

sults, the sport would be a much more enjoyable,

less controversial, fairer game. Something that it

once used to be.

First and foremost, the FA, Premier League, all of

the Clubs, United included, must remember

football: sport irst, business second.

By Liam Scott

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Recently, as you are probablyaware, Bryan Robson

was diagnosed with throat cancer, however, the prog-

nosis is good and he should make a full recovery.

It is generally considered by all that saw Captain

Marvel (and even by those who didn't, myself includ-

ed) that he was, and still is, a legend in every sense of

the word.A player thathis colleagues and fans alike

looked to when the going got tough, the player thatwould run through a brick wall to win a football

match and invariably get an injury in the process,

only to recover to reach the same standards he had

always set himself. To borrow an opinionfrom a mate

of mine, Robbo is the second best player he has ever

seen in a United shirt, the best being, well, Best!

This got me thinking about United legends and what

makes a legend? What separates a legend from the

good players? For other clubs, it would be

their highest appearance maker or highest scorer,maybe the captain that led them to their irst league

title or to the FA Cup inal. But not at United. The

beauty of this club is that such a variety of players are

considered legends that you cannot set criteria for a

player to meet and then be considered one.

As I have researched this in more depth I have come

to realise that a legendfor one supporter is not neces-

sarily a legend for the next, going back to my mate

mentioned earlier, he does not count Bobby Charlton

in his top 20, whilst other fans from this era have himin their top three or ive. However, speaking

toaround 30 other supporters, covering every season

from 1962-63 to the present day and asking them to

pickthree legends, there are a lot of names that crop

up, but only two seem to be constant amongst all,

Best and Robson.

Now, George Best needs no introductions from me,

so much has been written about him I would only be

covering old ground. Whereas Bryan Robson is a very

subjective opinion, when looking at stats alone, these

point to no more than a good player. Eight major

honours (two being league titles in which Robson was

sadly, a fading force), whilst impressive is relatively

low compared to other United players who have been

lucky enough to play in much better teams, for exam-

ple:Phillip Neville has 11, Nicky Butt andJohn O'Shea

have 10 each. Robbo wore the red shirt in an impres-

sive 461 competitive matches which still only puts

him 15th on the list of all-time appearance makers. His

goals, 99 of them, whilst an impressive haul for amidielder still only rank him 22nd on the all-time list,

albeit the majority of the 21 ahead of him are either

strikers or have played many more games for the

club.

Luckily, stats don't even tell half the story! Robson

achieved all the above despite suffering a list of inju-

ries that would cripple mere mortals, how he man-

aged to play into his late 30's will bafle medical pro-

fessionals for generations. These achievements were

also in a very mediocre team, cup runs were plentiful

but the holy grail of the league eluded the

team,always in the top four (barring three seasons in

the late 80's and early 90's) but never lasting the

distance, much like the Arsenal team now just with

the ability to win the odd FA Cup and European Tro-

phy.

An all action, leave everything on the pitch, run

through brick walls to win the tackle type of player,

the man the fans and players alike turned too when

things weren't going well. If any of us got the

chanceto play for United, welike to think we'd show

the desire and passion that Bryan Robson did. The

type of passion that we ask from all players that only

very few possess, that win at all costs attitude that

only the very best have.

Unfortunately for Robbo,but luckily for United,his

replacement was a certain Mr Roy Mau-

rice Keane who ensured that we did not miss his

inluence on games as much as we could have done.

Still, this has far from diminished the fans memories,still recognised as a legend despite being the out-

standing player in a distinctly average team.

I just wish that we could have seen Robson in his

prime, alongside the likes of Scholes, Keane and Giggs,

alongside a team that was able to match up to his

ambitions.

Ah well, for now, get well Bryan Robson, Captain,

Leader Legend!

By Chris Bennett


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In the eyes of a lot of non-United

supporting fans, United are treateddifferently by oficialdom, be it theFA, UEFA, referees, the media,whoever. And you know what,

they're probably correct. However,whilst the ABUs bang on aboutbias being shown towards United,

history actually shows that Unitedare more often than not the perse-cuted party. To illustrate, justlooking at the two bans incurred

by Sir Alex Ferguson and WayneRooney since I wrote last monthsarticle in FUFanzine would appearto back this view up.

Literally within hours of inishing

my article came news that Sir Alexhad been given a ive match touch-

line ban for his comments aboutreferee Martin Atkinson after theChelsea game. He'd said "You want

a fair ref, a strong one anyway....when I saw who was refing it I

feared the worst"His leeting use ofthe word 'fair' before he quickly

adjusted it to 'strong' was jumpedon by the FA who deemed him tobe questioning the integrity ofAtkinson. A good job really that he

didn't go the whole hog and call

him incompetent, biased and pret-ty useless.

Compare Fergie's comments withsubsequent utterances of threeother Premier League managers:

"Im too disgusted to speak about it.

These things can have an impact on

the Premier League. Justice has not

been done. The decisions punished

us severely. You do not want things

going against you, but it hap-

pened...The referees job is to makeright decisions"Arsene Wenger inthe wake of Arsenal's 0-0 drawwith Sunderland.

"When I saw he was refing, with his

record against Stoke I was worried."

Tony Pulis talking about MikeDean.

"You need to have personality,

courage and character. Not always

do referees have these kind of skills"

Carlo Ancelotti after the Chelsea vUnited UCL QF 1st leg.

None of Wenger, Pulis or Ancel-

lotti has been charged by either theFA or UEFA for their comments.Funny that. One rule for Fergie, onerule for the others? Appears to be

so.

Quickly onto Rooney's ban. Heswore. He shouldn't have. He apol-

ogised. End of matter? Um no.Actually a two match ban handeddown for "abusive, indecent or

insulting words or behaviour" (NBnothing in there about swearinginto camera). Therefore, clearly an

FA statement of intent to "clean up

the game," to strengthen the Re-spect campaign. So, in the interestsof fairness ALL subsequent in-stances of "abusive, indecent or

insultingwords"being picked up on

camera are now going to bringforth a two match ban, yes? You'd

have thought so. But no. Alreadywe have seen the likes of PeterCrouch in particular quite clearlystepping over the newly estab-

lished parameters but with nopenalty.

So, United have been shafted

twice in quick succession. It'snothing new though.

The issuance of bans, plus theactual length of bans once issued,has down the years invariably

shown an anti-United bias by the

FA. Back in 1950 for example,Charlie Mitten of United wasbanned by the FA for the 'crime' ofhaving gone to play for leading

Colombian side Santa Fe of Bogota,who in the time of the maximumwage, offered riches too great for

the 'Bogota Bandit,' as he came tobe known, and many other playersto turn down. At the time however,Colombia was outside FIFA, and

any player based there was consid-ered an outlaw. One year on, theSouth Americans were re-admittedby the sport's governing body

but only on condition that the so-called rebels were sent home. So

Mitten returned and was handed asix month ban, a 250 ine and a

transfer by United to Fulham forhis 'misdemeanours.' Two otherEnglish players, Neil Franklin and

George Mountford, both formerlyof Stoke City, and who had actuallyjoined Santa Fe before Mitten,were also banned on their return.

Six month bans for them too? Uhno, four months for them. Incon-sistency, but a sign of things tocome.

Last issue Alan Monger quashed the notion of the FA favouring United, as

regularly perceived. Today he looks at this notion from a historical

perspective. Sit back and enjoy...


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feature in the same sentence.

September 2009 JavierMascherano clearly elbows Jer-maine Beckford in Leeds v Liver-

pool Carling Cup match. No actionat time, video evidence ignored. Noban. January 2010 Ferdinand re-ceives retrospective three match

ban for elbow incident againstFagan in match v Hull. Ban in-creased to four games after

'frivolous' appeal.

March 2010 Steven Gerrard givestwo ingers up to referee Andre

Marriner, and also mouths an

obscenity at the same time to himduring Liverpool's defeat to WiganAthletic. FA take no action. January

2011, Steven Gerrard visiblymouths fuck off Manc twatsto thecamera after being sent off in FA

Cup tie at Old Trafford. No actionby FA, despite viewers' complaints.March 2011 Rooney swears atcameraman who has invited him to

kiss the camera after completion ofa match-turning hat trick vs West

Ham. FA administer two matchban.

Enough of disciplinary matters.History shows that United have

suffered at the hands of the FA orthe old Football League in so manyother ways. Let's go back to themid 50's. The European Cup began

in the 1955-56 season, but theEnglish authorities had adopted asniffy attitude towards it and had

told Chelsea, the previous year'sEnglish Champions, not to competeand they duly complied. The fol-lowing season

ine. September 2003 Rio Ferdi-

nand forgets to take drug test(though did provide a negative testwithin two days). Subsequentlyreceives 8 month ban plus 50k

ine. He offers to take 'hair follicletest' which would have given re-

sults for the past 6 months, datingbefore his original test date, but

the FA declined his request. Boththe FA and FIFA sought to have theban increased to 12 months (half

the possible maximum). In 2004Adrian Mutu, Chelsea, tests posi-tive for Cocaine use. 7 month banplus 20k ine. 2011 Kolo Toure

suspended by Man City after test-ing positive for carrying a'speciied substance.' FA have still

not oficially banned him some twomonths later.

August 2003 Liverpool pair Ste-

ven Gerrard and Neil Mellor bothsent off against Galatasaray in pre-season Amsterdam tournament. Noban for either, tournament outside

of FA jurisdiction. August 2006,Scholes and Rooney sent offagainst Porto in Amsterdam tour-nament. Both receive three match

bans, with appeals against bansrejected by the Football Associa-tion. FA seemingly from nowhere

'acquire' jurisdiction.

January 2006 Robbie Fowlerscores for City against United, and

celebrates excessively in front ofUnited fans. No questions asked, nocomplaints from United. No actionby the FA in respect of possible

incitement of United fans. The

following week, Gary Neville runsfrom halfway line back to his own

goal and celebrates Ferdinand'slast minute winner in front ofLiverpool fans. Carragher bleats,FA impose 5,000 ine for

'Improper conduct.

2008 Patrice Evra receives fourmatch ban for altercation with

Chelsea groundsman during postmatch warm down. FA ignore

separate witness statements stat-ing Evra was racially abused, quot-ing inconsistencies. Delicious ironythat the FA and 'inconsistencies'

Twenty years or so later, it was

George Best's turn to consistentlyfeel the wrath of the governingbodies. Each mistake by him(throwing mud at a referee was a

good one) brought forth longersuspensions than any other con-

temporary player received (5-6week bans compared to the norm

of 2-3). Maybe our sometime way-ward genius would have beentreated the same by the stuffy

beaks at the FA had he played foranother club, but I doubt it. Historysuggests merely being a Unitedplayer is usually ample enough to

raise their hackles.

As exempliied further by Eric

Cantona's ban for events atSelhurst Park on 25th January1995. No need to go into detailshere, sufice to say that United

immediately, and in accordancewith FA wishes, suspended Can-tona for the remainder of the 1994-95season (effectively handing the

title to Blackburn Rovers), andined him 20k. In most people'seyes United's swift action was seenas suficient punishment and cer-

tainly United felt that the matterhad been dealt with fully. The FAhowever had other ideas and in-

creased the ban up to 8 monthsand ined him another 10k. It wasalmost as if they were saying "hangon, we can't have United being

happy' with this outcome, let'sscrew them a wee bit more."

At this point let me say that the

Cantona 'Kung fu' attack was pret-

ty much without precedent, so theban can't really be compared to

any other likewise incident interms of how (un)fair the FA were.Unlike the following exampleswhere if you look really closely a

trend can be seen to develop....Actually I lie, you don't really haveto look THAT closely, the inconsist-encies are about as obvious as the

results of Tevez's argument with akettle.

2003 Man City's ChristianNegouai misses drug test, havingbeen 'stuck in trafic.' No ban. 2k


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Alan has been a United fan ever

since his dad took him to watch

them play Spurs in 1972. He wasa Stretford Ender in the days

when you could turn up and pay

20 minutes before KO. He also

had a ST in North Stand before

work took him abroad. His best

memory was the trip to Barcelo-

na for the 1999 Champions

League inal. His favourite play-

ers are Eric Cantona and Ryan

Giggs.

Matt Busby decided that United

WOULD play in it, telling his Chair-man: "football has become a world

game...this is where the future of the

game lies." Opposition still came

from the Football League, whowrote to United forbidding them to

enter. Busby however was ada-mant: "at our next board meeting I

again proposed that if the Football Association were willing to accept

and back us we should enter. This

was duly forthcoming... " Whoa,hang on, the FA supporting Unitedin something? ..... Yes, butpossiblyonly to counter the Football

League's stance. And only briely.Roll on two years and this is clearlyshown to be a minor aberration on

their part.

In the aftermath of the Munichdisaster, and as a mark of sympa-

thy and respect, United were ex-tended a special invitation to com-pete in the 1958-59 European Cupby the European Union, despite not

being English champions. RealMadrid, the winners in 1958, werefully supportive of this invitation(NB they had actually proposed

that the 1958 competition bescrapped once the disaster hadoccurred), yet the English authori-

ties prevented such participation.The Football League had immedi-ately objected, and whilst the FAinitially gave their blessing, they

subsequently did a complete aboutturn, Stanley Rous, the Secretary,penning a letter to United saying"as by its name this is a competitionof Champion Clubs, Manchester

United F. C. does not qualify to take part in this season's Competition.

Consent is therefore refused". Shab-by, heartless and completelydisre-spectful treatment by BOTH theFootball League and the FA to

United, and to the memories ofthose who lost their lives in Mu-nich.

So Englands football authori-ties showing a complete reluctance

to afford any spirit of bon accord toUnited is nothing new. And yetthey expect, nay demand, so much

in return.

Fast forward to 2000 for exam-ple, and the FA in the hope of im-proving their chances of being

awarded the 2006 World Cup,applied extraordinary pressure on

United to participate in the inaugu-ral World Club Championship in

Brazil. Taking place as it did in themonth of January, so United had topull out of the FA Cup that season,

a decision they've never beenallowed to forget, forever beingaccused of devaluing the Cup bynot participating in it. As Sir Alex

said: "Perhaps we should not havebeen too surprised to ind that themen from the FA and Government

who orchestrated that pressuresomehow faded into the back-

ground, and behaved like mere

bystanders once the media fastened

on to the issue and it became clear

that the absence of the trophy hold-

ers from the oldest knockout compe-

tition in football was being treated

as a national scandal. All the quiet

promises of oficial backing evapo-rated and we were left on our own

as the convenient villains of the

piece."

With the massive beneit of

hindsight United would probablyhave been best served by tellingthem to stuff it. After all, the subse-quent years' maltreatment we have

received at the hands of the FAcould hardly have been any worse.

One last example of United being

shafted by the FA, and particularly

relevant as we prepare for ourChampions League Semi Final

against Schalke. Can you imagineone of our top players not being

allowed to play in the forthcomingsemis because England are under-taking a rather meaningless sum-mer tour and have selected him togo on that? No? Well, it happened

in 1958. Bearing in mind that theMunich disaster occurred as theteam lew home from a successfulquarter inal in Belgrade, thus

setting up a semi-inal against ACMilan, the two games taking placein May 1958, a rather heartless

(again) FA decided to deny a cer-tain Robert Charlton the oppor-tunity of playing in this two leggedtie, instead selecting him to go on

their short tour of Canada, a tourthat preceded that years WorldCup. Barely believable, but truenonetheless.

Finally, the FA are keen to pushthe Respect campaign, and rightly

so. What I would say to them how-

ever is that respect is earned notjust given. Get your own house inorder, get rid of all of the inconsist-

encies and then maybe, just maybe,you might actually merit somerespect yourself. At this presenttime, and indeed for quite some

time now you just don't. Fact.

@almanuman

Page 10


11/46

Page 11

Home leg pending,

who would you like

to see United face in

the CL inal?

@TheMancunianRed:Barca, you want to beat the

best and I want to see

Messi live again and also

want the world to see us

attack Barca.

@JackColeman7:I wouldn't want to face

Ronny in a major inal but

at the same time I fear

Barca would murder us.

@SpookeLuke:

Unquestionably Real. Bar-

ca, are far too strong for

United currently. Our

chances of overcoming the

former are much greater.

@gallifrey24:Bara for sure in the inal.

to avenge our defeat in

2009 of course.

Is David De Gea the

right person to

replace Van der

Sar?

@dilynux:Would prefer

Stekelenburg. Bit cheaper,

more experience (WC),

well with ball at feet,

Conident.

@aquelious:Yes. Quality keeper, if

inexperienced. With Rio,

Vidic etc in front of him, he

will learn from the best.

@redracoon1:No he's not! He still hasn't

proven himself but then

again it will be dificult to

replace VDS anyway. Not

convinced.

@jharbert7:

Da Gea certainly one of the

most talented young

keepers in Europe,

but#mufcneed someone

with a bit more

experience.

Was Wayne Rooney

inappropriate to

swear at the camera

or was it just

emotion taking

over?

@AlexWylie:

Emotion taking over. It

was a huge goal and I

know that I would

celebrate in exactly the

same way.

@mazymixer:

It was inappropriate and

deliberate. Not great towatch MOTD with your

kids and for them to see it

straight at camera.

@Spalletti:

WR can't do anything

without criticism. Don't

like the kid, but think he is

being treated unfairly.

@HoldAndGive:Didn't think it was

emotions or inappropriate.

I actually thought it was a

well delivered satirical

comment#mufc

@AlGordon1980:Emotions, that win may

get 19th & he knows it.

Inappropriate of MOTD to

replay just to let Lineker,etc be judgemental. IMO

Page 11
http://twitter.com/#!/starkravingredhttp://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23mufchttp://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23mufchttp://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23mufchttp://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23mufchttp://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23mufchttp://twitter.com/#!/starkravingred


12/46

Page 12Page 12

Despite having arguably his

best season at United since his

arrival from Spurs in 2008 the

speculation surrounding the

future of Berba continues to

linger in the air around Old Traf-

ford like an over cooked

Gyuvetch. Hes been linked withrumoured moves to Real, Milan,

Fenerbache and more recently

Bayern Munich, Genoa and Juve.

I preface the question of

whether to pay a blind bit of

notice to the speculation by

reminding everyone of the

Tevez saga. A very popular

player on the surface of it, a very

successful player on the surface

of it, a very important United

player on the surface of it. Specu-

lation surrounding the future of

Tevez at United was rife for a

long time. The player kissed the

badge, gestured to the fans with

an overtly apparent appreciation

of a mutual devotion and then

buggered off for a wheelbarrow

full of money. We all know Kia

Joorabchian was without ques-

tion the person most responsiblefor the whole messy affair, but

what is an agents job if its not

to make his client the most mon-

ey? In the end none of the things

that most fans think are im-

portant seemed relevant to

whether the deal went ahead or

not. It all came down to cold

hard cash.

Now to Berba. Many fans have

always appreciated his languid

style coupled with his

undoubted footballing ability

and he has won over his fair

share of doubters recently with

his goal scoring exploits. Howev-

er, there are still fans who right-

ly or wrongly suggest his body

language is that of a player not

giving it his all or 110% in foot-ball speak. He has recently, with

the phenomenal break through

of Chicharito, been used as an

impact substitute or been

pushed to the fringes dependant

on your philosophy.

Now please, understand I am

only putting this in very simple

terms. My personal opinion is

that Berba is an integral part of

the squad, if not starting eleven,

and I would be for want of a

better word gutted if he were to

be sold in the summer.

Bearing in mind what hap-

pened with Tevez, a player who

with the greatest of respect for

Berba, appeared a more commit-

ted and popular player, left. It

would be silly to assume that

whatever the fans think or how-ever popular he is in the dress-

ing room - he recently won a

rather dubious award for being

the most popular player amongst

active players in Europe - or

however many goals hes scored

when the season is over, he is

anything more than a commodi-

ty to the PLC.

The rumours are rumours,however continued speculation

tends to have a root somewhere.

Then the weed grows. Whether

the manoeuvres behind the

scenes are being made by Berba-

tovs agent Emil Dantchev or by

someone acting on behalf of

United to test the water as to

who might be interested if he

were to be made available well

never know. But put simply

Berba is at a pivotal point in his

career, having just turned 30 and

just had, on paper, his best sea-

son in the Premier League he is

more than likely never going to

be in such a strong position to a)

Improve his terms at the club b)

Make a big money move.

Dantchev has obvious inancial

gain from both. As for Berba, aman who always speaks highly

of plying his trade here, Im sure

would love to stay at United, but

he may not have a say in the

matter. We do know one thing

and its that United dont like

being made to feel like they are

being held to ransom. His agent

recently stated his intent to see

out his career at United, but

statements like this, as we haveseen historically, are nothing

more than the early posturings

of contract negotiations.

Personally, I think he will leave

in the summer. I dont think

there is any sentiment in football

for players like Dimitar. The

business of football cant com-

prehend what happens inside

fans when Berba brings down a60 yard hoof from Van der Sar

whilst performing a steadying

pirouette. I really dont want him

to go. The brief glimpses this

season Ive seen of Chicha and

Berba with Rooney in behind

(add Nani and Tony V on the

wings for good measure) have

been enough to bring on heart

yearning palpitations.

By Brett Burgers


13/46

Page 13Page 13

Its hard to keep up with the number of Manchester United related rumours

we hear each month. Here Steph takes a look at some of the transfer storiesthat have come up in April.

* United are closing in on a 25m deal

for Aston Villas Ashley Young. The Sun

* Javier Hernandez is Jose Mourinhos

top summer transfer target.

caughtoffside.com

* United are preparing a summer move

for Bayern Munichs Franck Ribery.

caughtoffside.com

* United have held initial talks about a

17.5m move for Atletico Madrids

David de Gea. Daily Star

* United will take advantage of impend-

ing cut backs at Everton by bidding for

Jack Rodwell. Various

* Bayern Munich will make a summer

move for Dimitar Berbatov. Various

* Valencia midielder Juan Mata could

move to either United or City this sum-

mer. Metro

*United are monitoring the form of

Juventus midielder Claudio

Marchisio.talkSPORT

* Spanish legend Raul reveals that talks

were held between him and United dur-

ing lasy years close season. Daily Mirror

*Patrice Evra has vowed to sign up for

yoga classes following the recent perfor-

mances of team mate Ryan Giggs. The

Sun

* Oliver Bierhoff has urged Manuel Neu-

er to sign for United if he has the chance.

Sky Sports

* United will go head to head with Liver-

pool for the signing of defender Phil

Jones during the summer transfer win-

dow. The Sun

* Manchester United have opened talks

with Sporting Lisbon for 10million-

rated keeper Rui Patricio. Daily Mirror

* Sir Alex Ferguson will try to exploit

growing turmoil at Inter Milan by mak-

ing a concerted attempt to sign WesleySneijder at the end of the season. Daily

Mail


14/46

Page 14

Having supported Unit-

ed since the 60s I hadnt

been to a Euro away until

the opportunity arose in

the 1977/78 season. Hav-

ing won the FA Cup in the

previous season (and hav-

ing thwarted a possible

treble for the Scousers),the 77/78 season saw

great optimism amongst

United supporters and

qualiication for the Cup

Winners Cup. During the

70s it wasnt uncommon

for United to take 15,000

or more fans to domestic

away games and likemany lads around my age

there was a desire to ex-

tend our adventures into

Europe.

The draw for the Cup

Winners Cup matched us

with St. Etienne, who

were enjoying the mostsuccessful period in their

history. I decided, along

our accommodation and

set off in pursuit of tickets

for the match. I still have

no idea how many United

fans went on that trip but

the city centre was buzz-

ing with supporters drink-

ing and singing but gener-

ally in good humour. Hav-ing settled in a pub for a

couple of beers we started

to ask around about ticket

availability. We were di-

rected to a pub where a

French guy was selling

tickets for the home end.

Having been told that tick-

ets for the away sectionwere near on impossible

to ind we decided that

the home end tickets were

our best option.

After a bite to eat and a

couple of drinks or more

we set off to the game

with a little trepidationnot knowing what to ex-

pect. Entering the

with three friends of the

time, that this would be

our irst foray into Eu-

rope. Having decided that

a ferry and rail would be

our best means of travel

we set off not knowing

what to expect.

After a relatively une-

ventful journey to Paris

we started to meet up

with more United fans

who were making the

same journey. The train

south to St. Etienne was a

lively one and a fair few

beers consumed.

It became apparent that

many on the trip, includ-

ing myself and mates,

were travelling to the

game without tickets, but

which nobody thought

would be a problem. We

arrived in St. Etienne justafter midday on the day of

the game. We booked into


15/46


16/46


17/46

Page 17

You do quite a bit of work with the MU Foundation, can

you tell us a bit about that?

Yeah we did a bit last year, I did various different events forthem. Its great to be involved to help the kids of Manches-

ter United, its truly fantastic. Im always open to JohnSheilds, the chief exec, if he ever needs me he knows to get

in contact. For me its great to get involved with Manches-

ter United and theres only certain things you can do to tryand help out the club in some way, shape or form. The door

is always open if they need me. I did a performance for

their open training session and all the money for that was

going to go to the Foundation. Obviously I didnt get paid

for that, it was to help out the club.

As youve said you have played and sang on the Old

Trafford pitch, have you met many of the players?

I met Wayne Rooney last year at the Player of the Year

awards which was wicked. I met and trained with Giggs for

Soccer Aid. Van der Sar came up to me and I did someautographs for his kids, which was truly weird! Ive tweet-

ed Rio a couple of times and hes replied so thats good. Iperformed at Darren Fletchers wedding last year which

was a really great night. Being a United fan and being asked

by Darren Fletcher to do it was wicked, I was really hon-oured. Anytime I can get up to see United train or play, Im

always there so its great.

Finally, whos your favourite player in the current

squad?

(long pause), ermId have to sayIve got allegiances so

Id have to say Fletcher. What I love about Fletch is that heworks like an absolute horse, he works, works, works. Hesgot great ability and hes become one of the sought after

players at Old Trafford in midield and he puts a good shiftin. Hes been brilliant for United. I really think hes been

one of our best performers. Hes been really consistent

when weve played. Hes been out lately but hell come backstrong for the run in. And if we win the treble, well, itll

probably be the best weve won. With the players weve gotit would truly be a shock to most fans to go all the way. I

think most United fans would be happy with just winning

the 19th league title.

Being an Essex-boy, what made you start supporting

United?

Basically it was all down to when Leeds won the old FirstDivision, just before the start of the Premiership. My dad is a

United fan and he bought us kits for the season so I startedsupporting them. They were also one of the irst teams you

could be on computer games as well so I sort of fell in love

with them. It inally hit home around 95 -96 when Beckhamscored against Villa I think. Here was this blonde haired guycoming through from Essex and people were talking about

him. Then he scored the goal at Selhurst Park from the half

way line. I fell in love with Beckham and United even more.

It was easier for me to go to school where people supportedthe likes of Arsenal, Chelsea, West Ham, Tottenham and Iwas able to turn around and say Well I support Man United

and theyve got David Beckham.

With some players coming towards the end of their

careers, the likes of Van der Sar, Scholes and Giggs,

which particular players would you like to see replace

them?I think for Giggs the one player that everyones talking aboutthat plays left sided is Gareth Bale. He was someone United

were interested in when he left Southampton to go to Tot-tenham and we didnt quite pull it off but now I think Bale

would be a fantastic addition to the team. Id love to see thenumber 11 shirt never to be worn again but I dont suppose

that will happen. I think for Bale it would be a massive

opportunity for him. Hes the kind of player who could go onto prove he is the best left winger in the country and if he

comes to Man United he can achieve that. Scholes yourenever going to replace this player but for me personally

theres three players, Modric would be fantastic. Wesley

Sneijder at Inter Milan and also Schweinsteiger at BayernMunich would be a great signing as well, so those three for

me. It would be great to get an English player to playScholes role but I dont think there is anyone as good as him

in the league. I still think Jack Rodwell would be good but

we need somebody who has lair. Van der Sar, again, youre

never going to replace him. But there are some good keep-ers across the country. Yknow what I think, theres some-

thing about Shay Given. A lot of people havent spoken aboutShay and I know obviously crossing Manchester to come to

United might be a problem, I dont think itll ever happen,

but hes a fantastic goalkeeper. Hes got great experience, wecould still get a good 5 or 6 years out of Given.

You can get a get a copy of Ollys debut album

Olly Murs on Play.com

@ollyoficial

Page 17

Murs vs Giggs

Soccer Aid 2010

It was great and I can say itwas a dream come true.


18/46

Page 18

After plying his trade in Europes shanty town, Liverpool, Micky Owen spent most of his

investigative career embroiled in English and Spanish gambling cartels. That was until Sir

Alex Ferguson found him, loundering on a park bench at St. Jamess Park and offered him

a contract to protect the integrity of the players & staff of Manchester United Football Club.It was a normal Friday evening like any other. I was

at the card table sipping on a Gin and Lucozade. It

wasnt my night, so I decided to call it a day. I waved

farewell to Mike Ashley and Alan Pardew who were

playing craps together in the corner, they were al-

ways playing craps. Two guys, one cup, enough said. Inodded to Roman Abramovich as I left; he was sitting

in a lower position at the premier table throwing

money at the game but not winning anything. As Istepped outside there was a screech of tyres break-

ingIt was the SAF Mobile! I instinctively knewsomething was wrong. Wazza and Ravel Morisson

didnt even hang out round here. Micky Phelanwound the window down and Sir Alex poked his head

out, he was chewing so hard I thought he was going to

dislocate his jaw! He thrust some print outs from the

tinterweb in to my hand and gestured for me to read.

The article was discussing the recent Respect cam-

paign launched by the footballing authorities and in itthey were lambasting managers who had bought the

game into disrepute by inappropriately commenting

on referees. I agreed with the sentiment, especially

when names such as Wenger, Redknapp, Coyle andWarnock were mentioned But STOP THE PRESS!!!The article went on to accuse Sir Alex himself of being

one of the main perpetrators of this heinous crime

This was tantamount to treason. Michael, Michael?Sir Alex shouted behind me as I limped off into the

night, but I didnt have time to say goodbye, some-thing would have to be done and fast.

After calling in a few contacts I received word from

Andy McNab via a long piece of string with a paper

cup on each end that he knew of the whereabouts ofthe evidence that would undoubtedly clear Sir Alexs

good name. McNab had worked with the S.A.S on asimilar case (when Alan and Chris were still at Black-

burn) so I knew I could trust him. Id rented my all

terrain wheelchair to Hargo for the weekend so had

to make my way on my bionic legs, sometimes re-

ferred to as crutches. Sir Alex had already put thepress off the scent, issuing a statement that I hadaggravated my groin in training and would be out for

another 2-

3 weeks.

In no time at all (about 12 days), I arrived at the

address in Cheshire McNab had painstakingly foundfor me. Something terrible was afoot, I could see

Cathy Ferguson, Sir Alexs wife inside the property

cooking! I let myself in via a patio door round the

back and made my way to the study to ind the box

iles I was looking for. With my instinctive nature

inside the box, I soon found what I was looking for.

The colour coding and alphabetised system also camein handy. But then, the lights licked on! I turned to

see Sir Alex standing over me and with an almighty

hairdryer he said Looking for this wee Micky?! Heput the almighty hairdryer down, explaining his hair

had really needed a good drying and placed downbeside it a document entitled Timetable of voluntary

work for The Samaritans. Sir Alex explained that hehad been shouting me the other night to see if I want-

ed a lift round to his house, where we were now, so he

could explain to me what was going on, but Id disap-

peared before he could get my attention. Being a life

long volunteer for The Samaritans Sir Alex had been

scheduled to work on Saturdays through April andman the phones. The Glazers, being very uncharita-

ble folk, had refused Sir Alex compassionate leave and

suggested that revealing his caring nature may be

seen in the media and with rival clubs as a weaknessand had suggested he ind an alternative means ofoperating the phone lines on match days. As a inal

twist, Sir Alex introduced me to their dinner guest

that evening and fellow Samaritans volunteerMartinAtkinson. They had come up with the whole covert

plan together. Martin added, Sometimes I cantswitch off from my voluntary charitable work and

give decisions to the less privileged players and clubswho need a helping hand against United! We all

heartily laughed. Case closed.

Due to its sensitive nature this article will self de-

struct on completion of its readingOh yourestill reading? Ok Ill try and get that function sorted

for next time. If youve downloaded it as a hard copy,

then just burn it. If youve saved it to your hard drive

then chuck your laptop in the nearest incinerator,

Thank you.

I will not rest until the integrity of Manchester Unit-

ed is upheld. Keep em peeled!

Image courtesy of www.deemointernational.com

By Brett Burgers


19/46

Page 19

There is two sides to every argument, right? Steph and Paolo

are going head to head in the irst FUFanzine Great Debate:

Should United fans forgive and forget Wayne Rooneys early

season contract saga?

Page 19


20/46

Page 20Page 20

I still remember the moment when Fergie conirmed

hat our star player, Wayne Rooney, wanted to leave

Manchester United, the biggest club in the world, be-

ause they didnt match his ambition. Thats probably

he only thing I would never expect a United player to

ay. Lacked ambition? Surely there was more to the

tory than meets the eye. I wouldnt surprise me if we

never hear exactly what happened during those few

days between Fergusons press conference and

Rooney signing a new contract, maybe well ind out in

Rooneys ifth autobiography released when he retires.Though, in truth, Im not entirely sure I really care

what happened. I know a lot of United fans have strug-

gled to forgive Rooney over the last few months, how-

ver I am not one of them, and here I will explain why.

We choose which football club to support, normally

rom a young age, and we follow them for the rest of

our lives. For many of us, supporting a football team

especially one like United) consumes us each and

very day. Quite simply, we live our football club. I am

one of those people, Manchester United possess this

trange quality which can either make or break my

weekend (and sometimes my week). The joy I have

rom watching them is unrivalled. I am sure I share

hose feelings with fellow fans. Wayne Rooney,

hough, isnt a United fan hes a United employee and

herein lies the difference.

So often we, and here Im referring to football fans

across the world, are sucked in by our players. We

believe they feel like we do about their clubs. Maybe

ome of them do, the likes of Giggs, Neville, even *dare

say it* John Terry, but most players, those boughtnto the club, are unlikely to harbour those feelings.

Case in point, Mr. Rooney once a blue, always a blue

according to the t-shirt he wore when playing for

Everton. His feelings werent going to change just

because he had a new boss and its unfair for us to

xpect them to. Fernando Torres looked to be Liver-

pool through and through, even before his move to

England, now hes struggling to score goals at Chelsea.

Essentially speaking it is our fault that we have this

irm belief players love the club as much as we do.One of the only things Id criticise Rooney for is his

dishonesty about the situation, dont claim to love us if

you dont simple. We all knew it was Ronaldos dream

to one day play for Real Madrid and as much as it hurt

losing him, I think every United fan could understand it.

Yes, Rooneys situation is a little different but Im not

sure its fair to expect pure dedication from a player

who we not only purchased, but grew up supporting a

different team.

However, Ive digressed somewhat here, in essence I

think its time for our anti-Rooney fans to move on, get

over it and realise that as long as he is a ManchesterUnited player, we should be supporting him. For the

Rooney bashers out there let me ask you a simple ques-

tionsyoure not happy with your current employer so

tell them youd like to leave but before you can look for

another job they offer you a nice big pay rise and tell

you everything will be ok does it make you a bad

person if you remain with the same company? You

might sit there thinking this is a completely different

situation but how is it? Rooneys job may be a little

lashier than ours but it is still his job nevertheless.

Since the debacle Rooneys form is on the up he is

scoring goals, playing well and pretty much pulled us

back from certain defeat at Upton Park almost single-

handedly. Finally we are talking about his one ield

actions once again (even if that does include an elbow

and some profanities). At this pivotal time of the season

lets get behind each and every one of our players, yes

even Darron Gibson, and show them why we are the

biggest club in the world. Until Wayne Rooney leaves

United whether it be via transfer or retirement, we

must support him. I have never agreed with the notion

of booing one of our own and whilst it is a select fewwho still bare grudges against the player, Wayne

Rooney is one of us for the time being whether you

like it or not.


21/46

Page 21Page 21

From a very young age I can remember sitting at

family lunches and football would always be brought

up. Being an Italian meant that the likes of Zoff, Rossi

and Maldini were always brought up in the conversa-

tion. My Nonno (Grandfather) would always say that

these men played with pride, they played because they

wanted to play for the club and did it with passion.

Money was not an issue. Later on, I was told about

players like Best, Charlton and Law. Players who

wanted to be at United, players who played with pride.

I am sure we can all agree that since 2009 it has been ahard time for United fans, taking into account Ronaldo

leaving, the Glazer situation and missing out on the

league by one point. During this hard time we needed

a leader. Someone who was going to stand up for us on

the ield, someone we could rely on to bring us suc-

cess. Wayne Rooney seemed to be that man. He was

brilliant in 2009/10 and we all expected the same

from him in 2010/11 season.

When the news broke about Rooney wanting to leave

I couldnt believe it. I was furious with the player and

the situation we were in. It felt as we had been kicked

when were down. Our leader had turned into a Judas

and money got the better of him. The one player we all

knew would take this club forward had turned his

back on us. What is worse is that he fed us garbage

about wanting to stay till his late 30s and emulate

Giggs and Scholes. What a load of nonsense that all

turned out to be. We should have known that when he

so easily turned his back on Everton he would do the

same to us.

I suppose the reason for my anger is that before hisI want to leave United... oh you will pay me more mon-

ey? I will stay now saga I was proud to say that

Rooney could one day be a United legend. In 30 years

time I would tell my grandchildren of the great Best,

Charlton, Cantona and Rooney. Now I will tell him how

the hero of Old Trafford stabbed us in the back.

How can he expect the fans to ever be on his side

again after he lied? Yes he is staying now, but he has

shown his true colours. Maybe the only positive this

could have brought for us is that the Glazers might beforced to give Sir Alex Ferguson money to buy news

players. Even with that said, it still not justiication for

manipulating us like a bunch of sheep. I genuinely

dont know where Rooneys loyalty is anymore, and at

this stage I feel as if he doesnt deserve to wear the

shirt- a shirt worn by greats that would frown down

upon him for his actions.

I have seen some articles justifying Rooneys

transfer in, transfer out by saying he is an employee

of Manchester United and he is right in asking for

more money. The only problem here is that playing for

United is not a job, it is a privilege. If you cant see thedifference you dont understand, and will never under-

stand what the club is about.

The rise of Hernandez has conirmed by desire in

wanting to see Rooney leave. Here is a lad who really

wants to play for United. Never mind the glamour and

money, he genuinely wants to be a United player. His

body langue on the ield and his comments off the ield

conirm that.

I remember when United accepted an offer from

Spurs for Ole.The only thing left was for Ole to sign. He

never did, and said I would rather play for United

reserves than Spurs irst team. He did play in the

reserves and the rest is all history. These are the char-

acteristics I look for in a United player: pride, passion

a desire to be a Red and the money issue coming last.

If a player doesnt show these attributes, in my opin-

ion, they would be better off sipping cocktails in Spain

or Italy.

Lets hope for the best and see Rooney leave in the

summer and to be replaced by a local Salford lad whowill be the backbone of the team!


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Page 22

As we all know Manchester United are one of the

most widely supported clubs across the world. Each

issue the fanzine will interview an overseas fan and

discuss their experiences of supporting the club.

IntroducingAmbuj Gupta from India

What made you start supporting United?This is a question that I am asked frequently

by anyone who knows that I am crazy about

United. And rather than giving the stereotype

answers like they play beautifully, they

win or they have good players; I say even I

dont know. I mean, it was like an infatuation.

The moment I started watching football, I

knew United is my team. The irst Unitedmatch I saw was the UEFA Champions League

match against Porto in which Ronaldo scored

from a nearly impossible distance in the 6th

minute. Since then, I have read innumerous

books, articles related to United and watched

the old United matches, like the 1999 FA Cup

semi-inal, Munich inal, the oficial United

history and everything I could lay my hands

on.

How well known are United in India?United are perhaps the most followed team in

India, followed by Arsenal and since the arri-

val of Abrahimovic, Chelsea. Barcelona and

Real Madrid are also a common name in India.

We have United cafe -bars over here. Indian

telecom company, Bharti Airtel, recently

agreed a 5 year deal with United and so now

we expect United soccer schools to open up

shortly. For most of the fans, United =

Rooney. You will ind a lot of them sporting

United jerseys but on being asked to nameeven ten United players, they go quiet. When

Iactively started blogging about United I had

to face various people accusing me of being a

glory hunter etc. Yes, most of the Indian fans

follow United just because they win but then

for others, its just an obsession.

How big is football in India compared to

your other big sport, cricket?

India is basically a cricket obsessed nation.

You will ind the streets deserted if a cricket

match is going on. People here live andbreathe cricket. But ever since the arrival of

the Premier League and perhaps growing use

of internet, the popularity of football has

grown leaps and bounds. Now you will ind

more and more people talking about football,

mainly EPL and La Liga.

How do you go about watching their match-

es?Most of United matches are shown on the TV

channels. Though, different tournaments gettelecast on different channels. Like for Carling

Cup, there is a different channel, for the FA

Cup there is another. Watching Champions

League matches or mid-week Premier League

matches is a pain. They start early morning at

around 1:30 AM and end at 3:30 AM because

of the difference in time zones. But then, any-

thing for United.

Is it expensive to watch United in India?

Nah, I dont think so. A basic cable connectionis enough. Though if you decide to go to the

United cafe -bar, things get a bit expensive.

Overseas Reds


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Page 23

Does supporting them have an impact on

your life with regard to work and leisure

time?

Alot! When I am not doing anything, I am on

my mobile phone, accessing internet, getting

regular United updates, reading the articles on

various blogs etc. I avidly follow the Football

United Blogs (especially the 60 second round-up) along with various others like 7Cantonas,

writtenoffmufc, therepublikofmancunia etc. I

also write about football on a website

www.sportskeeda.com where most of my

articles are United related and my co-writers

often pull my leg for my obsession with Unit-

ed.

Have you ever been to Old Trafford?

Not yet. But it is now like a dream to come

over there and feel what it is like to be in thestands, shouting at the peak of your voice,

supporting, taunting. Heaven.

Do you support any team in theIndian

leagues?The condition of football in India is very poor.

You can put the blame on poor administration,

corruption or the supremacy of cricket. But

still, there are a few football teams in India

like Mohun Bagan, East Bengal. But no, I dont

support any Indian football team.

What's been your favourite United

moment?Since I started watching United, my favorite

moment has to be Michael Owens winner

against Manchester City in the Premier League

and Wayne Rooneys winner against the same

opponents in the Carling Cup. Also, when

Ronaldo was here, every moment was special.

You just couldnt take your eyes off the televi-

sion set. The guy would do impossible thingswith the ball. Also, I know how joyous the year

1999 was for United fans. I have seen the Mu-

nich match tape over and over again and I

could still feel the chill running down my spine

whenever I hear the words, Beckham into

Sheringham and Solskjaer has won it.

Who is your favourite United player and why?Considering the plethora of stars that United

have produced over the years, its impossible

for me to pick up a single player. From thecurrent players, Gary Neville (yeah I know he

is retired now) is my favorite. The guy gives

his all whenever he wears the United shirt and

never gives up and that is what United is all

about, never giving up. From the youngsters,

Anderson is my favorite. Although at the mo-

ment he is not performing up to the mark but

he has enormous potential to become the best

midielder in the world. He just needs to be a

bit more consistent. Also, Macheda is another

youngster I simply adore. I just wish he re-

turns to Old Trafford from Sampdoria at the

end of the season. Though I havent watched

him play live, Roy Keane is one player I ad-

mire. I was reading his quotes the other day

and I couldnt help but smirk when I read this:

Patrick Vieira is 6 foot 4, and he starts having

a go at Gary Neville, so I said come and have a

go at me. Simple as that. He's trying to intimi-

date my players and Im not having it."I mean,

he was a fantastic leader, the kind of player

that we dont see much often now days.

Indian players have yet to force their way

into the English Premier League, why do

you think that is?

The only reason is the poor administration

and the lack of facilities. Just the other day, I

read about a 15 year old Indian boy who was

selected to play in American Soccer League

but the boy had no money to buy decent foot-

ball kit. The website I write for took the initia-

tive and started a campaign to collect a partic-ular sum of money for him. The nation is simp-

ly obsessed with cricket and a very little atten-

tion is paid to other sports. Even then, there

are a few who have performed well. Sunil

Chhetri is in MLS team and played against

United when they visited USA for the pre-

season.
http://www.sportskeeda.com/http://www.sportskeeda.com/


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Page 24

Name: Jesse Ellis Lingard

Born: Warrington, 15th December 1992

Position: Midielder

When I irst started watching the Manchester Unit-ed youth teams the irst thing I noticed was how big

the opposition were in comparison to our lads. Sides

like Blackburn, Wolves, West Brom, Birmingham,

Derby and particularly Manchester City were full ofgiants!

Check his birth certiicate!

I wish I had a pound every time some wag from the

sidelines yelled that one outbut it was true, visitingteams seemed to select players not on their foot-

balling ability, but on how big they were!

While at U/18 level our boys had developed sufi-

ciently to compete, at the lower levels it was men

against boys. The bigger, more physical lads of Leeds

or Huddersield used their strength to win gamesand believe me, even at 15 years old every visiting

team wanted to beat Manchester United.

Of course we have always had a different philoso-phy, focusing on technical skill, passing, movement

and teamwork. An ethos reinforced by Rene Muelen-

steen and now integrated across our Academy.

So back in 2007 I had the shock of my life when Isaw three boys take the ield who looked about ten

years old. Brad Byrne, Larnell Cole and Jesse Lingardlined up for the U/16s after being promoted from the

year below. Comedians would have had a ield daymost people on the sideline did! Yet when the game

kicked off, all three boys just got on with itpassing

the ball the Manchester United way, asking for theball, moving into position.

I would like to tell you that football won that day

but the smaller boys were completely knocked out oftheir stride and Leeds won comfortably. I asked a few

people afterwards and it became clear that Unitedvalued all three lads very highly.

Just wait until they get olderthey will come into their

own!

Although Brad moved on to another club, both

Larnell and Jesse proved that skill can win overbrawn.

So when I was at Stamford Bridge a couple of weeks

ago for the FA Youth Cup semi-inal, I allowed myselfa wry smile as Larnell Cole ran the Chelsea midield

ragged and Jesse Lingard scored a peach of a goal toput the Reds back in the game.

Their time had most deinitely come!

Born to a Jamaican father and English mother, JesseEllis George was in born in Warrington some sixteen

miles west of Manchester. A pupil at St. Margarets

Infant School, his natural ability with a football wasevident from an early age despite his size. CreweAlexandra offered him a ten-year deal, however, after

being spotted at a youth tournament at Great San-

key, he originally joined Liverpool for a year when hewas six years old.

Twelve months later, Lingard, who had taken up his

mothers name after his parents separated, joined

Manchester United, the team he had always support-ed and he started progressing through the junior


25/46


26/46

Page 26

Here we are, the business end of the season.

Squeaky Bum Time as the now famous saying

goes and we got to witness two games of foot-

ball that could not be more different if you

made them wear helmets and use an oval

shaped ball.

First of allwe hadFulham. The thing that

struck me about this was the weather, strange-

ly enough, beautiful sunshine enabling me to

break out the loral shorts for the irst time

since I care to remember.However, for a hugely

important game that was just as much a 'must-

win' as the following two games, itlacked the

nervousness and tension that the teams of old

have created, there was no going behind, no

wasted opportunities and as a contest was overwhen Valencia scored our second just after the

half hour, and boy you could tell.

There are not many games I have attended at

Old Trafford that have been instantly forgetta-

ble, Bursaspor earlier in the season was possi-

bly the irst due to sheer lack of anything hap-

pening but this game is now part of the not-so

illustrious club. Against a Fulham team that

were clearly there just because they had to be,

the team and fans seemed to make the most of

the sun, topping up our tans and waiting for the

Grand Nationalresult to come in.

Then came Chelsea, with all that money they

took from that big Russian crook (and they'll

never win three in a row), in the Champions

League, witha vital away goal brought back to

Old Trafford you could sense the conidence.

However, for such a big game the atmosphere

was terrible in comparison to the heights it hasreached for similar games in recent years. After

two minutes you knew it was going to be a

constant battle with 'Steptoe,' the steward from

our block, ordering people to sit down, thus

ruining the momentum our block had gathered,

and if you read my irst article, you know how

strongly I feel about the whole crowd momen-

tum issue.

After a while a large proportion of the stand

decided to ignore him and stand regardless,

allowing the 'prawn-sandwich' brigade to up

and leave, some with 25 minutes left on the

clock! Oh well, these prawn sandwichers also

missed the sheer euphoria or watching Park

bang one in past Petr Cech to virtually seal the

tie.

So, with two home games played, my hearthasn't been put under half as much stress in the

previous seasons with late winners and come

from behind wins. Which means one of two

things, the team has learnt how to get ahead

early in games and stay there, or, there is a lot

of drama to come in the inal weeks of the sea-

son. I'll take a guess at the latter and get my

cardiologist on speed dial!

As with last months article, I have one inal

word, aimed at the stewards who earn their

money parading the concourses and stairwells

at Old Trafford.

We're Man United, we'll stand if we want!

By Chris Bennett

Chris has been a season ticket holder for two years

and a regular matchday goer for eight. His favourite

former players are Eric Cantona and Denis Irwin.

Although his favourite current player is Paul

Scholes he is, in his own words, developing a man-

crush on Javier Chicharito Hernandez.

The Stretford End, oficially named the West Stand, has long been

known as Uniteds premier area on matchday. Here, two seasonticket holders discuss their recent experiences.


27/46

Page 27

By Will Davenport

Will is 24 and been going to Old Trafford for ten years,

however this is his irst as a Season Ticket holder.Despite being from the Wirral, on Merseyside, his whole

family are United fans and his uncle, Peter Davenport,

played for the club from 1985-89.

Im not going to lie. That really hurt. A fantas-

tic day spoilt by a lapse in concentration. It just

didnt seem fair yet we got what we deserved.

The Wembley Manchester Derby Experience

was an odd one to say the least. Driving down

to London, it was astonishing to see the amount

of coaches travelling both United and City fans,

even more astonishing to see a car with a Unit-

ed AND a City scarf hanging out the window!

As for the game itself, Im still at a loss as to

why we simply never came out for the second

half. The momentum that you usually feel when

were attacking and chasing a game just wasnt

there. It all felt a bit lat really. Walking away

from the stadium, it was hilarious to ind nu-

merous City fans taunting us with You can

shove your treble up your arse! True, we can,

but at least weve won one you bitter bastards.

So the unlikely treble dream may be dead but

were still ighting on all fronts. By the time this

goes to print, we will be in the middle of our

Champions League semi-inal with Schalke.

Everything is set for a memorable night at Old

Trafford as we look to book our place in our 3rd

European inal in four years; a simply incredi-

ble achievement if we can pull it off. Make no

mistake, what we are on the brink of achievingdoesnt happen often and its even more special

considering we have been written off all year

by pundits, journalists and opposing support-

ers. Its hard to blame them for writing us off

though. Who would have thought wed be here

after dropping points at Fulham & Everton,

blowing a two goal lead at home to West Brom

and going through the Wayne Rooney saga?

Speaking of Rooney, how good has he been

lately? His hat-trick at West Ham was season-

deining in the same way that Macheda (v Aston

Villa), Hargreaves (v Arsenal) & Kettleneck (v

Blackburn) were in previous title-winning cam-

paigns. My friends & I often talk about those

moments. Moments which feel absolutely hugeand make you feel unbeatable. Heres to a cou-

ple of them in the upcoming games against

Arsenal & Chelsea.

Enough has been written about Wazzas goal

celebration at Upton Park and subsequent two

match ban by the Football Association. It was a

mind-boggling decision and had more than an

air of skulduggery about it. All of these things

will just make any success we have this seasonall the sweeter. The same can be said about

losing to the bitters. While I love the FA Cup

and value it highly as a trophy, it would pale

into insigniicance if we can get to #19 and

make it back to Wembley at the end of May. For

this team to do that would surely rank as one of

Fergies greatest achievements.

The atmosphere against Chelsea was brilliant.

We need to keep that level of noise up for the

remainder of the season, home and away to

help the lads inish the job. It feels like were on

the verge of something special and I think thats

why the anti-Glazer chants have quietened

down somewhat. Everybody seems to be focus-

ing on the team and what they can achieve. I

think this is a good thing. I also believe this kind

of support is down to the them versus us atti-

tude that United have created. Were all rallying

around the lads and showing that nobody is

going to stop us winning this title.

So Martin Atkinson, David Bernstein, Man-

chester City; enjoy your moments in the spot-

light. It wont last. Were Man United. And well

never die.


28/46

Page 28Page 28

On 22nd May George Best would have been

65 years old. Many argue he was Unitedsgreatest ever player. Sadly most of us who

work on this magazine were not fortunateenough to witness him play irst hand.

Rachel has written a moving tribute to theNorthern Irish winger.

Simply The Best


29/46

Page 29

I think Ive found you a genius, Manchester

United scout Bob Bishops telegram pro-

claimed to United manager Sir Matt Busby

when he discovered George Best at the age of

just 15 in Belfast. He wasnt wrong. The wing

wizard was phenomenal with the ball at his

feet and is widely regarded as one of the

worlds best ever footballers. He could beat

players, score goals and use both feet in a way

that few, if anyone else, could. Republic of

Ireland and Leeds midielder Johnny Giles

described Best as the most naturally gifted

player I have ever seen. He had the lot: balance,

pace, two good feet, he was brave, strong and a

good header of the ball. Pele wasnt as gifted as

George Best and I would deinitely put George

above Johan Cruyff because he had more heart.

Best would have been 65 on the 22ndof the

this month if he hadnt unfortunately passedaway on the 25thof November 2005 due to

multiple organ failure in relation to his ongo-

ing alcohol problems. To celebrate the birth-

day of a United legend I have taken some time

to have a look into his life.

Best grew up in Cregagh, Belfast. His local

club Glentoran had deemed him too small and

light to become a footballer but Manchester

United thought differently. He was given a

trial and signed up before making his debutfor the club in September 1963 at the age of

17 against West Brom. He got his irst goal for

the club in his second game in December of

that year against Burnley. The youngster went

on to make 26 appearances for the club that

season, scoring six goals. United were howev-

er pipped to the league by Liverpool, but

would win the title in Bests second season

which ended in 1965. He played 59 games that

season, scoring 14 goals, 10 of which came in

the league. He won the league again with Unit-ed in 1967. That season he made 45 appear-

ances, scoring 10 goals, all of which came in

the league. He scored over 20 goals in each of

the next ive seasons for the club.

The season he really shone was however

1967-68. United failed to win the league but

Best made 53 appearances and scored an

impressive 32 goals. That season United be-

came the irst English team to win the Europe-

an Cup with a 4-1 victory against Benica. Thegame entered extra time with the teams level

at 1-1. Best then scored Uniteds second be-

fore they added two more. His pace saw him

b

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