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Football Legend Sir Bobby Robson passed away at the age of 76 today.

Sir Bobby Robson was England Manager from 1982 to 1990 and lead the England squad to the semi-finals of the 1990 World Cup in Italy. You can read more about Sir Bobby Robson’s career over at Wikipedia.

Tags:   Bobby Robson · Legends

The wonder boy from Portugal has been voted as 9th most influential man of 2008 in an online roll released on Tuesday that asked men to decide who most impacted the way they behave,buy and think

The survey conducted by Askmen lifestyle website,ranked Cristiano Ronaldo as 9th most influential man in US beating the Republican Party Candidate,Mc CainthThe number one spot was held by BarrackObama  while Steve Jobs followed him behind.

The poll was conducted on basis of 200,000 voted from readers of website whose average age is 27-28 years.

Tags:   Ronaldo

So I was wrong and we signed another player, Portuguese 20-year young striker Bébé from Vitória de Guimarães. While the deal still is subject to a medical the interesting news here is not that we signed another player, for an undisclosed sum, but what is really going on at Old Trafford.

Left and right Ihear that we haven’t improved our squad since both CR7 and Cryboy left but the truth is that SAF is working at something much more interesting and exciting: he’s reshaping the squad and slowly preparing a new squad, a squad ready to replace the still active legends Red Neville, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs. Not only does the young Portuguese follow in an lacklustre line of bad hair-dos or is another prodigy coming from Portugal, more so he is another young talent we recruited in the last two years. Although for now we will place a question mark after the transfer until both clubs confirm this, especially because Bébé doesn’t have any stats on his Vitória de Guimarães player profile.

What really matters though is that Alex Ferguson will probably continue to stay at OT for several more years, helping the new squad taking shape and once more enjoying the good ol’ adagio you don’t win anything with kids. I bet Wenger’s fuming inside to see what happens at OT and to realise once more the Scot while outwit him and do what the Gunners haven’t done for years now: win silverware, more so win silverware with youngsters.

Our line up of most used youngsters now reads like this: The Twins, De Laet, Cleverley, Gibson, Kiko, Obertan, Possebon, Diouf, Hernandez and we could arguably add Nani, Johnny Evans and Anderson to this list, just as well as Welbeck.

Tags:   Bébé · Transfers

Man United Blog, having brought you the complete history of Manchester United in its eleven part series, covering the period from the 1870s to 2000-onwards, feel that the playing history of the club would not be complete without also considering the history of its famous ground, Old Trafford. This could not be considered at a more pertinent time, when one reads a report from The Sun today saying that Old Trafford will be re-named under a possible sponsorship deal, after Vodafone prematurely ended its deal with the club. The Sun claimed the new sponsor could get its name not only on the players’ shirts but also as an addition to the title of the ground. So to the history…

As the The Sporting Chronicle stated on Saturday 19th February 1910:

“The most handsomest, the most spacious and the most remarkable arena I have ever seen. As a football ground it is unrivalled in the world, it is an honour to Manchester and the home of a team who can do wonders when they are so disposed”

The above words were written on Old Trafford’s opening day in 1910. Manchester United had just moved from their old stadium of Bank Street, Clayton, to a new stadium in the Old Trafford area of west Manchester. Built in 1909, for the then huge sum of GBP60,000 it was terraced on three sides with a seated main stand undercover. The stadium was designed by famous Scottish architect Archibald Leitch, who also designed stands at Hampden Park, Ibrox Stadium and White Hart Lane. In 1911 and 1915 it held the FA Cup final and in 1920 it had its largest ever attendance of 70,504 for a league game against Aston Villa. The FA Cup Semi-Finals of 1939 of Portsmouth vs Grimsby would top that with 76,962. The stadium was heavily damaged in World War 2 and for a while United played at local rivals, Man City’s Maine Road stadium from 1946-1949. Old Trafford was a venue for the 1966 World Cup and also held the 1970 FA Cup Final replay between Chelsea and Leeds. Old Trafford became the first stadium to erect perimeter fencing in the 1970′s to combat crowd disturbances.

Roofed cover was later added to the other three sides of the stadium, however all these stands suffered from obstructed views because of old fashioned roof-post design. In the mid 1960s development of modern cantilever stands began on the north and east of the ground. The new design had terracing at the front and a large seated section behind. Gradually the entire ground was redeveloped in the 70s and 80s, culminating with the Stretford End in 1994. In the 1960s, 70s and 80s, over 58,000 could pack into Old Trafford. However in the early 1990s after the Hillsbrough disaster, the Taylor Report required England’s top teams to become all-seater stadiums. The Old Trafford design master plan of the 1960′s was now complete and the stadium was a perfect bowl, but With United more popular than ever the reduced 44,000 capacity was just too small.

This led to further expansion in 1995-6 with the construction of the giant three-tiered North Stand, holding 26,000 and bringing capacity to nearly 56,000. The North Stand, reaching around 200 feet in height has four lift towers and the largest cantilever roof in Europe. This massive, brooding structure towers over the pitch, intimidating opposing teams. Costing GBP19 million to build it also houses the excellent United Museum (open on non-match days) and glittering trophy room (hopefully always full) as well as the Red Cafe restaurant and two layers of executive “Sky” boxes. The South stand is the main stand at Old Trafford, containing the managers bench area, the directors/ television/ police control boxes and luxury restaurants and executive suites. Here, the seating slopes at a different angle to the rest of the stadium, making it slightly lower than the other stands.

Interestingly, the first 20 or so rows of seats around all four sides of the ground are below street level. The South stand is rarely seen on television as it contains the TV gantry, which looks North. The players tunnel used to be at the centre of this stand but in 1993 it was moved to the South-west corner. The old tunnel still remains and is opened for special occasions and stadium tours. The East Stand is home to the diehard K-Stand United fans as well as the away fans enclosure in the South-East corner and disabled section. It was formerly known as the Scoreboard End, so called because of the large scoreboard that resided until the late 60s, when an electronic one was installed. This scoreboard was recently replaced by two modern electronic scoreboards in each corner of the North Stand. Further building redevelopment added a second tier at the east end in January 2000, making a 61,000 capacity. On the outside is a large tinted glass front, similar to a modern office block. Here stands the Sir Matt Busby Statue, Munich memorial plaque and the famous clock commemorating the Munich air crash on 6th February 1958. Its also the location of the huge Manchester United Megastore where every type of club merchandise is available.

The west side of the ground for many, will always be known as the legendary Stretford End. In the days before all-seater stadia the Stretford End was a heaving mass of almost 20,000 standing United fans who were amongst the loudest in Britain. It was once measured that the roar from the crowd was louder than a Jumbo Jet taking off. The old terrace was replaced in 1993 and in August 2000 a second tier of seating was added here, bringing a total capacity of 67,750. The West Stand holds the Family seating area and beneath the corner is the players dressing rooms/tunnel and lounge. It also has a statue of 60′s striker Denis Law in the upper concourse – Law was known as “The King of The Stretford End”.

Old Trafford was a Euro 96 venue and is now an annual host for the FA Cup Semi-final. Many claim the atmosphere at Old Trafford is not as good as it once was, ironically it is the legend of the Old Trafford atmosphere that has brought the tourists yet they are partly responsible for its decline. Sir Alex Ferguson has often complained about the lack of singing and low noise levels, therefore the new upper West Stand tier has designated singing areas to try and recreate the days of old. The long-term plan for the stadium is to rebuild the South stand in a similar style to the North and fill in the corners to make a whopping 90,000. Possible hindrances to further enlargement are the nearby Bridgewater Canal and railway track which restrict space around the stadium. There are currently no plans for any more expansion work in the immediate future.

Old Trafford is undoubtedly one of the greatest and most famous sporting arena’s in the world. In an era where many clubs are moving from their traditional homes and although down the years it has changed beyond all recognition, the magic of Old Trafford will always remain. On a big match day or European night the atmosphere is as good as any venue in world football. The Theatre of Dreams (as Bobby Charlton named it) is the biggest club ground in Britain and a fitting home for the world’s most famous football club.

The history and development of this infamous football ground is covered in some excellent books which you can find at The Ji Sung-Park Online Shop. You can also buy some wonderful Old Trafford memorabilia through one of our sponsors: Kitbag

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Edwin van der Sar may not be having a very stellar season right now but Sir Alex Ferguson still has a lot of confidence in him and has gone so far as to declare Van der Sar as the best goalkeeper in the Premier League.

Van der Sar has been going through a rough patch this year because of different woes. For example, he broke two fingers during a pre season game against Bayern Munich. The injury forced him to the sidelines for two long months. He then suffered another injury when he collided with Tim Cahill of Everton last November, which put him out of action for five weeks. He was already nearing his eventual return from injury but his wife suffered a stroke, which has forced him to go on indefinite leave from the team.

Van der Sar finally made a return last January 16 in the match against Burnley, and proving how good of a goalkeeper he is Manchester United has yet to concede a goal and he has been instrumental in the Reds getting throug the Carling Cup Final.

Sir Alex said that it’s a combination of his talent, his composure under pressure and his adeptness with the football. With that kind of warm praise from Sir Alex, I’m pretty sure that Edwin van der Sar is feeling quite invincible right now. Hopefully, that feeling of invincibility will be sustained until next week because of the tough match against Arsenal.

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Manchester United’s goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar has been announced to have been given an indefinite compassionate leave after her suffered a personal crisis. Van der Sar’s wife suffered a brain hemorrhage.

Van de Sar has not played since Manchester United’s win over Everton because of a knee injury. Because of the unfortunate medical emergency, he was allowed to go back immediately to Holland. He will just receive treatment for his knee from a Holland-based team doctor.

There is no news yet on the condition of Van der Sar’s wife. Annemarie van Kesteren is 36 years old. She is being examined to find out the cause of the problem.

Our well wishes for the speedy recovery of Annemarie.

Tags:   Edwin Van der Sar

It didn’t come as a surprise at a ll.

Ryan Giggs has signed a new contract with Manchester United, extending his stay with the Red Devils until the summer of 2011.

The new one-year deal will mean that Giggsy will be staying at Old Trafford past his upcoming 37th birthday. Giggs has been declared the BBC Sports Personality of the Year and with good reason, the man has been in fine form this season. We all know that Giggs is a stable and consistent player but this year looks like he has upped his game and he’s been performing exceptionally well. In the Fantasy League I play in, practically everyone has him on every team roster, and that’s a fair indicator of the numbers he’s been putting out this season. Even Sir Alex Ferguson couldn’t help but remark about the amazing form Giggs has been showing this season.

Tags:   Manchester united · Ryan Giggs

Manchester United’s Rio Ferdinand has seen scant action this season.

The Red Devil center-back has been injury plagued of late and has not played for the team since the Red Devils’ 2-0 loss against Liverpool last October. He’s been sidelined because of a calf injury that has been traced back to a back problem he’s had in the past.

There’s been much speculation on Ferdinand’s injury including talk that his injury is far more serious than what is being reported. But Sir Alex Ferguson has repeatedly denied that Ferdinand’s injury will be long-term. Fergie has also expressed confidence that Rio will be back soon to help in the Red Devils’ cause and to defend the team’s Premier League championship.

It’s no surprise that Manchester United’s defensive capabilities has been severely tested because of the injuries its defense has suffered. Wes Brown, John O’Shea, Jonny Evans and Gary Neville have all been injured and are now in the sidelines slowly recovering from their injuries and helplessly watching their team as it tries to maintain its position in the Premier League table. But in fairness, the injuries of some of the team’s top defensive players show Fergie’s strong knack for picking the right boys because the team has only conceded three goals since Ferdinand last appeared.

If your reserve members are playing this well, it shows just how deep the talent is in Old Trafford.

Tags:   injury. · Manchester united · Rio Ferdinand

If you thought that the Abu Dhabi family’s problems could have been made easier with the help of a decent translator, which could have saved them the embarrassment of buying a team without own stadium, you’ll have to think again.

Not only do the multi-billionaires have to live up that error now it also seems that they will have to send their manager to ground school again. Former ManUtd legend Mark Hughes admitted that he will keep an eye on the game at Anfield on Sunday but contrarily to other seasons this time he will look at the result in the hope that one team might drop points and improve Citeh’s position. According to the greying Welsh man top 4 teams seem to perform worse than in previous seasons:

When we go up against the top four teams, if we can do our work and take points off them, then that will help us in terms of the ambitions we have,” he added

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Tags:   Bollocks · Mark Hughes · premier league · Quotes · Smug · The Council House