Van der Sar close to pen improved contract

February 8, 2010

Edwin van der Sar is set to sign a new deal at Manchester United. The Dutch goalkeeper will pen a new, £90,000-a-week contract this week, according to the Daily Express.

Van der Sar’s current contract is due to expire this summer. The 39-year-old shot stopper had delayed agreeing to the fresh deal while he monitored the health of his wife Annemarie, who suffered a brain haemorrhage two days before Christmas.

But Annemarie is well on the way to a full recovery back in Holland and Van der Sar can now turn to his own future at Manchester United.

Last month, Sir Alex Ferguson said he hoped that Van der Sar would extend his stay at Old Trafford.

“Edwin makes a big difference, it is not just his saves, it is his composure and use of the ball.

“I know there are a few young keepers out there doing very well but Edwin is the best in the league just now.”

The Daily Express reports that Van der Sar is close to committing himself to United for another 12 months by signing a new £4.7million contract.

Van der Sar joined the Red Devils in 2005 from Fulham.

Tags: alex ferguson, annemarie, brain haemorrhage, Christmas, composure, daily express, days before christmas, Edwin, Edwin van der, edwin van der sar, Express, fulham, Goalkeeper, health, Holland, Manchester, manchester united, new deal, red devils, sir alex ferguson, Trafford, Van der, van der sar

Ferdinand´s England captaincy ´will boost United´

February 7, 2010

Sir Alex Ferguson believes Manchester United can benefit from Fabio Capello’s decision to make Rio Ferdinand the new England captain.

Ferdinand served the second game of his four-match suspension as United returned to the top of the table with a 5-0 victory over Portsmouth.

The defender, 31, was watching from the stands just 24 hours after taking the England skipper’s armband from John Terry, who was stripped of the captaincy by Capello on Friday following allegations about his private life.

Ferguson admits he is proud that a United player will captain England at the World Cup in South Africa later this year and hopes the accolade has a positive effect on Ferdinand’s performances during the Premier League title run-in.

He said: “We’re pleased for him and it’s great for Manchester United to have one of our players captaining his country.

“Over the years we’ve had Gary, Bobby Charlton and Bryan Robson for 60-odd games or something so we?re very proud of that.”

Ferguson was happy with the patient display of his team against Avram Grant’s strugglers.

United took until the 40th minute to make the breakthrough but Ferguson thinks that his team, who have dropped just two points against bottom-half teams, were rewarded for their calm approach.

He added: “We had a lot of pressure and possession of the ball but we were patient enough and that?s important when teams come and sit in the way they did here.

“Portsmouth were there to make it difficult but we got the goal just before half time and it was a bit fortunate with the second one but that opened the game for us in the second half and it was a good performance.”

Ferguson admits he is willing Arsenal to take points off Chelsea when the two London teams meet at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

The United manager added: “I don’t know if I’ll watch it or not because I’m going up to Glasgow but I’ll be thinking about it.”

Grant insists that Portsmouth, who face a winding up order, will continue to fight despite their position looking more and more dangerous.

The club are working under their fourth set of owners of the season and are seven points from safety at the bottom of the Premier League.

But the former Chelsea manager is hoping that the Fratton Park club have turned a corner.

He said: “We need to do our job even if it feels like it is going against us.

“I hope that the club will be more stable now. It was almost impossible in the last matches with all the mess around the club and uncertainty.

“I hope now it will be more stable and it’s important for the club. It’s a unique club the whole city is behind the club.

“On the pitch we are doing very well and when you look back over the years, the team at the bottom you see a lot of difference from them to other teams but there’s not a lot of difference between us and tenth place.

“All we want is stability at the club because it will be very difficult to continue like this.

“Positive thinking is always better than negative thinking and as long as we have the chance we will fight.”

United took the lead when Wayne Rooney scored his 23rd goal of the season and Anthony Vanden Borre’s own goal gave the champions a two-goal half-time lead.

Just before the hour, Michael Carrick’s shot looped in off the bar off Richard Hughes and Dimitar Berbatov added a fourth with a fine solo goal.

Portsmouth’s embarrassment was complete when Marc Wilson volleyed into his own net from Patrice Evra’s cross.

MANCHESTER (AFP)

Tags: accolade, alex ferguson believes manchester united, Anthony Vanden, avram grant, bobby charlton, bryan robson, calm approach, captain England, captain. Ferdinand, CHELSEA, England, england captain, england skipper, fabio capello, Gary, john terry, Manchester, odd games, patrice evra, Portsmouth, private life, richard hughes, rio ferdinand, second game, sir alex ferguson, South Africa, stamford bridge, wayne rooney, winding up order

Ferguson sees United hitting form at right time

February 6, 2010

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson feels that his team are hitting form just as the season is beginning to get serious.

United have already lost five Premier League matches this season and were knocked out of the FA Cup at the third round stage by League One team Leeds.

Having lost in the Champions League at home to Besiktas and also suffered defeat in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final with Manchester City, United have had an unusually inconsistent opening to the campaign.

But, having beaten Arsenal 3-1 at the Emirates last weekend, Ferguson’s team are still firmly in the race for the Premier League title race with Chelsea.

They have also lined up a League Cup final date with Aston Villa and are through to the second round of the Champions League, in which they face AC Milan.

Ferguson thinks that overcoming City in the second leg and then beating Arsenal have put United’s season on track and he expects his team to get stronger and stronger as the end of the campaign approaches.

“Historically, we have always grasped the nettle at this time of the year. They realise there is something at stake and we can’t afford inconsistency.

“Teams will drop points in every run-in, there is no doubt about that, but we are experienced and know that if you’re going to drop more than the rest you’re going to lose the league. That’s a fact.

“Our aim is to try to be as consistent as we can, and try to produce the kind of performances we did on Sunday (against Arsenal) and that will take us very close.

“We are talking about the run-in to the league now and three points is three points, it doesn’t matter where you get them from.

“Whatever games we have got left, if we win most of them we have a good chance.

“We have got to keep the momentum going, we have an important time coming up. We have to go to Villa Park on the Wednesday, then we’ve got the Milan game and League Cup final, we have got a big time coming up, consistency and form is going to be important for us.”

Ferguson believes his team’s conditioning gives them an edge at this time of the season.

“It definitely has a lot to do with the training we do, but you have to have the players. You can have the fittest team in the world but if they can’t play, what chance have you got?”

Ferguson is hoping that the possibility of playing in the World Cup can help Owen Hargreaves win his battle against serious knee problems.

The England midfielder has been sidelined since September 2008 and Ferguson has left him out of United?s Champions League squad.

The United manager remains confident that Hargreaves will play before the end of the season and thinks he could contribute to Fabio Capello?s squad in South Africa.

He said: “It’s hard for him, of course. He’s been out for a year and a half. It’s bound to be hard for him. The physios are doing their best with him. There are some times we feel he’s almost there, and then he seems to be slow again.

“I’m confident he will be back before the end of the season. It’s the recovery, it’s slow.

“The biggest incentive should be to get back into our team, but if at the end of it is that carrot of being at the World Cup, then I’ll be happy with that. I think he would be an important player for England too.

“If he gets back, the confidence would come back. If he were to start playing, the confidence would come back. The confidence would be the key factor in that.”

MANCHESTER, England (AFP)

Tags: ac milan, alex ferguson, big time, champions league, CHELSEA, consistency, emirates, England, FA Cup, fabio capello, good chance, inconsistency, LEEDS, Manchester, manchester city, manchester united, Milan, nettle, no doubt, owen hargreaves, premier league, sir alex ferguson, South Africa, stake, villa park

United’s £500m bond leaves investors nursing losses

February 3, 2010

Manchester United’s 500-million-pound (800-million-dollar) bond, the centrepiece of the club’s recent refinancing, has become one of the worst performing issues of the year.

The bond was fully subscribed, enabling the club to slightly reduce its debt-servicing costs and enjoy greater flexibility on future spending plans.

But investors have been left nursing paper losses which could make it hard for United to return to the bond market in the future, according to the Financial Times.

The bid price of United’s 250 million pounds of sterling-denominated bonds has dipped to 93 percent of face value while those denominated in dollars (425 million) were on offer for 94.5 percent of face value.

Bankers and analysts said the decline reflected over-pricing at the launch and the lack of a credit rating.

“In a benign credit market, Manchester United is one of the worst performing bonds since the beginning of 2009,” Suki Mann, a credit strategist at Societe Generale told the FT.

The bond issued by United has proved unpopular with fans because of controversial provisions contained in the prospectus.

These include the possibility of United’s Old Trafford stadium and Carrington training ground being sold and then leased back to the club, as well as authorising the transfer of funds from United’s reserves to the club’s parent company, Red Football Joint Venture Ltd.

The most recent accounts for Red Football, owned by the US-based Glazer family, showed that it had debts of 719 million pounds, including over 200 million owed to hedge funds in the form of ‘payment in kind (PIK)’ notes on which the interest rate now exceeds 16 percent.

United’s chief executive David Gill said at the weekend he was “100 percent convinced” the sale and leaseback of Old Trafford and Carrington would never happen and stressed that the Glazers, not the club, were responsible for repaying the PIK notes.

Gill also insisted that the club’s finances were not preventing United boss Sir Alex Ferguson from strengthening his squad, as many fans suspect.

LONDON (AFP)

Tags: bid price, bond market, centrepiece, controversial provisions, David Gill, dollar bond, financial times, Glazer, glazer family, glazers, launch, london, Manchester, manchester united, old trafford stadium, paper losses, payment in kind, pik notes, red football, sale and leaseback, sir alex ferguson, societe generale

Ferguson wary of Beckham ‘media circus’

February 3, 2010

David Beckham’s return to Old Trafford will add some spice to the confrontation between Milan and Manchester United. Sir Alex Ferguson will warn his players not to get caught up in the ‘David Beckham media circus’.

“Our job is to concentrate on the football match and let the David Beckham media circus carry on,” Ferguson told United’s club magazine. “He’s such a high-profile celebrity – not just a high-profile footballer – and we haven’t really seen anybody else return to the club in that situation.”

Beckham is in his second loan spell at Milan. The 34-year-old Los Angeles Galaxy player hopes his performances will persuade England boss Fabio Capello to include him in the squad for this summer’s World Cup.

“I think I told him myself last year when I saw him before our game against Inter that he should be thinking about getting back to Europe if he wanted to go to the World Cup,” said Ferguson.

“It looks like he might just get his wish now. He had a good spell with Milan last time, so it made sense to me to see him back there again.”

Manchester United and Milan will face each other on February 16 and March 10. United starts with an away match. “The European Cup is always special to us and we’ve had some marvellous nights at Old Trafford. I just hope we have another one.

“We’re away from home in the first leg, which won’t be easy, but I’m certain the tie will be decided back at Old Trafford.”

Tags: boss, celebrity, confrontation, David Beckham, Europe, fabio capello, footballer, galaxy player, game, high profile, last time, los angeles galaxy, manchester united, media circus, Milan, old trafford, sir alex ferguson, spice, World Cup

Hargreaves looks set for United return

February 3, 2010

Finally, there’s light at the end of the tunnel for Owen Hargreaves. The Manchester United midfielder has been recovering from various knee injuries for almost one and a half year now and should’ve been fit for a while.

At last, his return looks to be in sight: the Mancunian aims for a comeback against Milan, later this month.

Sir Alex Ferguson hopes Hargreaves will be available to him for the first time in seventeen months.

“But we won’t rush him,” insisted Ferguson. “We are being patient with the rehabilitation following his knee operations and he is alternating his training with the reserve and first-team squads, working for two days and then resting a day.

“It’s a matter of him regaining his confidence and, when he is able to train every day, that will be the moment for him to return to match play.”

Hargreaves has gone through a hard time the last months. The former Bayern Munchen man played his last league match on September 21, 2008 against Chelsea. After that he was troubled by various knee problems and he received surgery on both knees in December 2008 and January 2009.

Several setbacks have lengthened the recovery time.

Tags: Bayern, bayern münchen, both knees, CHELSEA, Ferguson, half year, hard time, knee injuries, knee operations, knee problems, light at the end of the tunnel, Manchester, manchester united, mancunian, match, midfielder, Milan, owen hargreaves, recovery time, setbacks, sir alex ferguson, t rush

Hull apply the brakes to Chelsea title charge

February 3, 2010

Didier Drogba celebrated his return to Premier League duty with a first half equaliser at the KC Stadium to cancel out Stephen Mouyokolo’s earlier effort on a frustrating night for Carlo Ancelotti’s Chelsea.

Drogba struck his 20th goal of the season on 43 minutes to haul the Premier League leaders level after Hull defender Mouyokolo had headed Phil Brown’s Hull City side into a surprise lead with his first ever goal for the top flight strugglers.

But despite Drogba coming to the rescue it wasn’t enough to help Chelsea secure the win they so badly needed to restore their four point advantage over Manchester United at the top of the table.

The London club now have a lead of just two points and United manager Sir Alex Ferguson will be thankful to Hull for holding his great rivals to a draw to blow the title race wide open.

Ancelotti had the luxury of recalling Drogba for the first time since he departed for the African Cup of Nations over four weeks ago, while England internationals Joe Cole and Ashley Cole had to be content with a place on the bench.

John Terry also maintained his place in the side despite the on-going pressure on him to resign as England captain following his off-field problems while Deco was recalled to the starting line-up.

Brown, meanwhile, made just one change to the side which was held to a disappointing draw with Wolves last weekend, recalling Craig Fagan on the right wing in place of Bernard Mendy. The Hull manager resisted the temptation to hand a full debut to new loan signing Amr Zaki.

Hull had gone nine games without a victory and found themselves entrenched in the relegation zone. Considering Manchester City were the next visitors to the KC Stadium then the immediate future looked bleak.

But Chelsea struggled to find their rhythm from the start and seemed to make Hull’s evening easier than expected.

Frank Lampard worried Boaz Myhill with a swerving drive inside nine minutes which the Hull goalkeeper could only palm straight to Nicolas Anelka but the French striker stubbed his shot badly wide with the goal at his mercy.

It wasn’t until the 24th minute that Chelsea threatened again when Branislav Ivanovic sent over an inch-perfect cross for the waiting Michael Ballack but all the German midfielder could do was power his diving header straight at Myhill from close range.

The longer the game went on the more Hull seemed to grow in confidence but it still came a surprise when they took the lead with their first real attack of the game.

Terry was nowhere to be seen as Stephen Hunt swung over a corner and Mouyokolo rose the highest to head past the helpless Petr Cech.

But Hull’s lead always looked fragile and it lasted just 13 minutes before Drogba levelled the scores with a powerful free kick into the bottom corner of Myhill’s goal.

Hull could have restored their lead on the stroke of half time when Tom Cairney’s free kick found the head of the unmarked Anthony Gardner, but the defender could only direct his effort over the crossbar.

Yet Chelsea always carried a threat and Myhill had to be at his best to keep the scores level with a fine double save just before the hour mark.

First he got down sharply to tip wide a skidding drive from Florent Malouda before producing an even better stop to keep out Drogba’s downward header from Malouda’s cross as Brown’s men hung on for a point that is of much more use to them than Chelsea.

HULL, England (AFP)

Tags: african cup of nations, alex ferguson, Anthony Gardner, ashley cole, bernard mendy, Boaz Myhill, Brown, carlo ancelotti, CHELSEA, Cole, Craig Fagan, didier drogba, England, england internationals, frank lampard, frustrating night, HULL, hull city, Joe Cole, john terry, kc stadium, london, london club, Manchester, manchester city, Michael Ballack, Nicolas Anelka, Petr Cech, phil brown, point advantage, premier league, relegation zone, sir alex ferguson, Stephen Hunt, Stephen Mouyokolo, Terry, Tom Cairney, Zaki

Ferguson: ‘Everyone thinks Nani is fantastic’

February 2, 2010

Reports suggested that Sir Alex Ferguson was fed up with Nani and that the Portuguese international was set to leave Manchester United during the winter break. However, the 23-year-old winger stayed at United and silenced his critics with an excellent performance against Arsenal.

Nani played a part in two of United’s goals as United closed the gap on the leaders Chelsea to a single point. Ferguson believes the former Sporting Lisbon player is now coming of age, presenting a welcome selection dilemma in competition with Antonio Valencia.

“Nani has settled down now and is getting maturity,” Ferguson said on MUTV. “He has been pretty immature since he came to the club, but you are seeing the development now.

“He is a shy boy and you hope games like at Arsenal will give him the confidence to know he is a United player.

“We are all delighted with him. It is amazing when you talk to the players, they all think he is fantastic and want him to play.

“We are getting consistency from him now. It gives me a massive decision now between Nani and Valencia.”

Tags: alex ferguson, Antonio Valencia, arsenal, CHELSEA, coming of age, consistency, dilemma, Ferguson, games, gap, Manchester, manchester united, maturity, nani, portuguese, shy boy, single point, sir alex ferguson, sporting lisbon, winger

Fergie hopes for a favour from Arsenal

February 1, 2010

Sir Alex Ferguson has delivered a hammer blow to Arsenal’s title hopes but the Manchester United manager believes Arsene Wenger’s side can do his team a favour at Chelsea next weekend.

Ferguson was rewarded for an inspired team selection as England forward Wayne Rooney and Portugal winger Nani took advantage of the United manager’s tactics to inspire a 3-1 win at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

The champions’ impressive victory moved them to within one point of Premier League leaders Chelsea, although Carlo Ancelotti’s men can re-establish a four-point advantage on Wednesday if they win their game in hand at Hull.

Ferguson is confident United have the experience and desire to overhaul the Blues, but he has no qualms about admitting he would love to see Arsenal win at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

“The run-in is always a difficult period. We have handled it over the years and I am trusting them to handle it again,” Ferguson said.

“We hope Chelsea drop points obviously and they will be saying the same about ourselves.

“Arsenal are not out of it and I hope they go to Stamford Bridge next Sunday and batter them. I hope they can get some points off them.”

Judging by Arsenal’s tame surrender against United – a lacklustre performance which echoed the Gunners’ 3-0 home defeat against Chelsea in November – Ferguson shouldn’t invest too much hope in Arsenal tripping up their London rivals.

Wenger’s team showed their mental fragility by crumbling as soon as goalkeeper Manuel Almunia pushed Nani’s cross into his own net in the 33rd minute.

With Arsenal’s morale in tatters, Rooney capped a breathtaking counter-attack that covered the length of the pitch with a perfect finish to claim his 100th Premier League goal four minutes later.

South Korea winger Park Ji-Sung took advantage of woeful Arsenal defending to slot home United’s third goal early in the second half and Thomas Vermaelen’s volleyed goal in the 80th minute was scant consolation for the hosts.

Deployed by Ferguson as a lone forward, Rooney tormented Arsenal’s back four and he rightly earned praise from the Scot for the kind of influential display that made him such a formidable force this season.

But Ferguson also reserved a special mention for Nani, who was moved across the left to right wing and ruthlessly exploited Arsenal left-back Gael Clichy.

Nani was in Ferguson’s bad books earlier in the season for expressing his unhappiness at his lack of playing time, but he has been revitalised over the last fortnight.

The stunning piece of skill which saw him flick the ball between his legs to bewilder Clichy and Samir Nasri in the build-up to United’s first goal was testament to his new-found confidence.

“The boy has come back from an injury freshened up and his last three games have been first class. This was his best performance for us,” Ferguson said.

“Maturity is one reason, he is 23 now. He is a very shy boy and maybe his personality is getting stronger to deal with playing for us every week.”

While Ferguson showered praise on his stars, Wenger was unusually acerbic when asked to assess Arsenal’s latest letdown against a title rival.

Wenger, whose side were beaten for the first time in 11 league games, knows Chelsea could be eight points ahead of Arsenal before kick-off next weekend and he conceded it will take a major effort to recover from such a dispiriting defeat.

“Next Sunday we have to deliver a better performance before we think about winning the game,” he said. “We have to focus completely on delivering a different performance.

“We were naive. We never had any cohesion, offensively or defensively. We were completely not at our level. Why? I believe there are some mental reasons in there.”

“We were never close with our marking. You do not win big games because of that.

“We need to deliver something special now to stay in the race. Of course I am conscious of that.”

LONDON (AFP)

Tags: arsene wenger, carlo ancelotti, difficult period, fragility, hammer blow, impressive victory, ji sung, lacklustre performance, league goal, league leaders, Manuel Almunia, nani, park ji sung, point advantage, sir alex ferguson, stamford bridge, team selection, title hopes, wayne rooney

Mancini tells City to keep up United standard

January 31, 2010

Roberto Mancini has urged his Manchester City players to put their midweek League Cup disappointment behind them when Premier League strugglers Portsmouth visit Eastlands on Sunday.

Mancini and his squad have been licking their wounds since Wednesday’s crushing semi-final defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford, but the Italian has been making a good job of hiding his hurt in the hope that this will give his players the lift they need.

Mancini says he was proud of his side and believes City will have no trouble in securing Champions League qualification for the first time if they can maintain the same levels that saw them push Sir Alex Ferguson’s men to the very limit.

Mancini said: “That game is now in the past, but after the game on Wednesday we still feel that we are strong.

“United scored late and won the game, but we still think we played very well. For us, the most important thing is that we did well and showed that we can win. I’m happy about that, but disappointed for the players.

“But now it’s in the past and we must think about the next game. We need to keep up the same level of performance. If we can do this and win the next three games in front of us then we know we have a good chance of getting fourth place.

“If we continue to play like we did against United then we will be fine. Okay, we lost to United but that is football. We played well.

“The important thing was that in two games we played at the same level as United. I am pleased with that. Now we have to focus on the game on Sunday, which is very important. We want to win and we must win.”

Mancini welcomes back Kolo Toure from African Cup of Nations duty, while Emmanuel Adebayor could be in line for his first start since his ill-fated departure for the same tournament with Togo.

Former Arsenal midfielder Patrick Vieira remains sidelined with a calf injury, however, but Mancini believes he will be fit to make his debut against Hull next weekend and bring an end to supporters’ fears that his signing might have been a gamble that has backfired.

Portsmouth could well represent cannon fodder to City as the club’s financial troubles show no sign of easing. It was not even certain that Avram Grant would still be their manager for Sunday’s match, such is the depth of the turmoil at Fratton Park.

The players have once again been forced to wait for their wages for the fourth time in succession, while Grant and chief executive Peter Storrie have accused the club of trying to sell players without consulting them both.

Storrie has decided against walking out on the club but admits he and Grant have plenty of cause to consider their futures.

He said: “We are both angry, frustrated and fed up, but neither of us are quitters. I don’t intend to quit now I’ve slept on it and although I cannot speak for Avram, from what we have talked about I don’t think he will quit either. And, let’s face it, we both have good reason to walk out.

“I am no longer involved in the finances, I am not involved in the transfer negotiations and Avram doesn’t know what players are being sold.”

The duo’s anger surfaced when Portsmouth opened negotiations with Tottenham to sell defender Younes Kaboul and goalkeeper Asmir Begovic without their knowledge.

It is understood the club are waiting to receive payment from Tottenham for the Kaboul deal before they can cover this month’s staff wages.

In the meantime, Grant will welcome midfielder Jamie O’Hara back into his side for the trip to Eastlands.

O’Hara has returned to Fratton Park on-loan from Tottenham until the end of the season, although Grant is still waiting for Kanu, Nadir Belhadj and Hassan Yebda to return from the African Cup of Nations.

MANCHESTER, England (AFP)