If at this point there were still any doubts as to the level of excellence Manchester United is exhibiting on the field then one only need to point out the drubbing the Tottenham Hotspurs received from the Red Devils today to quash any kind of misgivings.

The Red Devils handed the Hotspurs a 4 – 0 spanking that has really driven home to all of the other teams on the Premiership that Manchester United is determined to win a title this year and that all opposition should cower in fear. The level of sportsmanship the team showed today was at a level that would actually make you remember the 1994 Dream Team or the 1999 team that won the treble.

Of course talks about the last treble have ManUtd fans abuzzing that this could be the year when the elusive goal may be reachable again. But many are being cautious with their hopes for the team though, trying not to jinx an amazing run that would most likely bring them a title.

[tags]Red Devils, Tottenham Hotspurs, ManUtd, 1994 Dream Team [/tags]

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Former Chelsea boss Gianluca Vialli has tipped Manchester United to pip the champions to the Premiership title.

Vialli says Chelsea’s desire to win the Champions League could see them struggle to retain their league crown.

He told the news media: “I think United are going to be slightly too strong. They look really determined to win it. Probably the distraction of wanting to win the Champions League will be too much for Chelsea to compete with Manchester United.”

The two sides played out a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford on Sunday to leave United three points clear in the title race.

“I think a draw was a fair result,” Vialli added. “Manchester United were better than Chelsea in the first half and Chelsea came back strong in the second half. I think everyone will be happy with the result. Chelsea are still in contention and Manchester United are still top so both managers will be very happy with what they saw on the pitch.”

But Vialli, who spent over four years with the Blues as a player and manager, believes his former club have the better chance of going all the way in Europe.

He added: “I wouldn’t be surprised to see Manchester United win the Premiership and Chelsea win the Champions League. I think both clubs, both managers and their players would settle for this. Chelsea have a squad big enough with so many quality players that Jose Mourinho can rotate the team depending on whether they are playing in the Premiership or Europe, the opposition or the physical condition of his players and their squad is big enough to try to win both competitions. But the competition in the Premiership is stronger. Manchester United are firmly determined to win the title after a few years and Chelsea are more focused on being the best in Europe.”

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Sir Alex Ferguson admits Manchester United face a stiff test of their ability in the cauldron of Celtic Park in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Ferguson said to the news media:

“Celtic Park is one of the best atmospheres to experience and their players can be inspired by it. If the game is going Celtic’s way, you have your work cut out to stem the tide of emotion and enthusiasm it generates. Celtic’s record at home is one of the best in Europe, so we accept we are in for a tough game on Tuesday.”

United have a huge Premiership game with Chelsea on Sunday, but Ferguson is wary of making too many changes after losing 1-0 to FC Copenhagen last time around.

He added: “I have not made my mind up about who should be left out. We took a risk in Copenhagen, so we are well aware of the dangers of taking too many chances. There is a temptation to play my strongest side because we still have another five days before the Chelsea game.”

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Sir Alex Ferguson says Manchester United are keen to put behind them last season’s failure to qualify from their Champions League group.

United managed just one win in six group games and failed to score in four of their outings.

“There is a desire and a need to do well in Europe.” said United boss Ferguson, ahead of their opening Group F game against Celtic at Old Trafford.

“Myself and the players know we have to do better than last year.”

Since winning the competition in 1999, United have yet to reach another Champions League final and in the 2004/2005 competition, failed to get past the last 16 round after being knocked out by AC Milan.

United have not reached the quarter-finals of the competition since the 2002/2003 season.

Ferguson added: “I think if you look at our European campaign last year I think it’s best written off. It was a poor one. We did not nearly get to our level of performance and of course that was a lot down to that we did not score goals. Hopefully that’s behind us and I think the players are eager and keen to do that and make sure that’s forgotten. They won’t let the fans down this year. We were disappointed last year and that won’t happen this year.”

With Ruud van Nistelrooy, who scored 35 goals in 43 Champions League games for United, having departed to Real Madrid, Ferguson is confident Louis Saha will fill the attacking void left by the Dutchman.

“There is no question he can handle the responsibility of leading our attack. He is an excellent footballer. He is quick, has two good feet and is good in the air. His goal ratio is terrific. I don’t see any problems with him at all. The key is for him to keep himself fit.”

During the news conference Ferguson refused to answer questions about his relationship with Celtic manager Gordon Strachan, with whom he has had a bitter rivalry stretching back more than 20 years.

“If you want to know about my social life, ask somebody else,” said the United manager.

Manchester Utd Blog Prediction-:

Man Utd 2 Celtic 1

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Charlton 0 Manchester United 3

Rampant Manchester United maintained their stunning start to the season against Charlton at The Valley.

Darren Fletcher capitalised on an error by Addicks defender Jon Fortune to smash home the opener after half-time.

United carved out the best chances – and hit the woodwork three times – but Charlton twice had penalty appeals turned down by referee Chris Foy.

Louis Saha made it 2-0 from 20 yards before substitute Ole Gunnar Solskjaer slotted in the third at the death.

United, who have hit eight goals in their two opening games, were never short of options in attack despite being without suspended duo Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes.

Saha led the attack on his own, supported from the flanks by the lively Ryan Giggs and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Boss Sir Alex Ferguson drafted in Fletcher, Mikael Silvestre and Park Ji-Sung, while Iain Dowie took charge of his first home game, bringing in Fortune for the suspended Djimi Traore.

Ronaldo, who was jeered by the Charlton fans from the start, raised a cheer from the home faithful by firing wildly off target in the seventh minute.

Park should have broke the deadlock when he was picked out unmarked inside the box by Rio Ferdinand. He spun quickly but drilled a low shot straight at Carson, who was making his home debut for Charlton after signing on loan from Liverpool.

Charlton survived again when Giggs struck the post direct from a 20-yard free-kick but then had appeals for a penalty rejected when the ball appeared to strike Patrice Evra’s arm.

Giggs forced an excellent save from Carson just before the interval when the Welshman weaved his way into a great position on the left and curled a shot which the keeper did well to parry away.

Ronaldo blasted the ball against the crossbar seconds later from 25 yards, leaving Charlton relieved to go in on level terms at the break.

United went ahead on 49 minutes after Fortune made a hash of clearing Park’s speculative cross from the right, allowing Fletcher to coolly take control before firing an unstoppable shot into the net.

Sir Alex’s side turned up the pressure as they sought to kill the game off and Ronaldo’s trickery on the left ended with Park slamming the ball against the post.

Charlton should have been awarded a penalty on the hour when Wes Brown went up for a header in a penalty-box scramble only for the ball to strike his arm.

United gave £18m signing Michael Carrick his debut for the final 14 minutes after his recovery from injury and he set up Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who was denied by a brilliant Carson save.

The ever-popular Solskjaer rounded off a superb night for United when he sidefooted in the third from Saha’s cross for his first Premiership goal in three injury-hit years

Man Utd Blog Man Of The Match-:

Ryan Giggs- there’s life in those old legs yet!!

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According to some TV reports….

Marcello Lippi is being lined up to join Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.

Italy boss Lippi has told friends he will quit after Sunday’s World Cup final.

He is now being linked with a role alongside Old Trafford chief Fergie. And that could see him eventually succeed the Scot.

Fergie is a long-standing friend and huge admirer of the former Juventus manager.

He once said of the Italian: “Just looking into his eyes is enough to tell you he’s in command of himself and his professional domain.”

Ferguson, 64, is expected to relinquish the reins after 20 years in charge at the end of the coming season. Italian sources believe Lippi, 58, could either work in tandem with the United supremo or under him — with Fergie promoted to general manager.

A source close to Lippi said:

“He is not looking for a lucrative contract since he has achieved success at the highest level. And working abroad is the only thing that interests him. He will not find it diminishing to work either alongside or under another manager.”

To catch the latest news on Man Utd., visit the hottest soccer fan site on the net right now, Ji-SungPark.com, with its dedicated RSS feed.

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Gary Neville is convinced England’s World Cup day of judgement will arrive when they face Portugal.

Right-back Neville is expected to be recalled at Michael Carrick’s expense for Saturday’s quarter-final after overcoming a calf injury.

“I believe there is a time and a moment for players to deliver and I think it will be on Saturday,” said Neville to the Sun.

“If we fail we have to hold our hands up and say the talk of us being potential world champions was rubbish.”

If England go out in the quarter-finals – as they did in Japan four years ago and in Euro 2004 against Portugal – Neville promised there would be no excuses from the team.

He said: “If we don’t deliver then I will be talking on Saturday after the game saying that you have found the true measure of this team. I have said before this tournament that there are no excuses this time. We are not coming off that pitch on Saturday thinking ‘we could have done this better’ or ‘we could have done that better’. We have got to make sure that if Portugal seem to be doing better in one area of the pitch, we have to deal with it. We have to fix that problem. We can’t allow it to just slowly eat away at us during the match – we have to affect the game. We have to use our experience. We have got players in the team who, I think, will deliver on Saturday.”

Neville believes England will reach a World Cup semi-final for the first time since 1990, when Bobby Robson’s team sealed a last-four place.

“This is it for us. In four years we will be in South Africa. It could be 45 degrees, we might not qualify, we could get a group of death. We have had a pretty decent track to this quarter-final and now we have got to beat Portugal to get to the World Cup semi-final. Is this England team capable of doing it? Can it do it? I believe the answer is yes.”

To catch the latest news on the World Cup., visit the hottest soccer fan site on the net right now, Ji-SungPark.com, with its dedicated RSS feed.

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4-o vs. Wigan after the disappointing draw against Everton. Rio breaks his duck. Keano does a medical at Real Madrid and then signs for Celtic. All this and more. One doesn’t know whether one is coming or going anymore as a Man Utd. fan. Plus, when you look at the draw the other three English clubs got in the Champions League, you have to wonder what the Football Gods are up to. Chelsea vs. Barcelona? Arsenal vs. Real Madrid? It’s all too much to contemplate.

So how it is going to play out? We’re going to kick Villa in the …and Ji-Sung Park will score his first hatrick for the club (wasn’t it a bit strange RVN took the penalty against Wigan and didn’t give Rooney boy the chance to keep the match ball?). All this pushing O’Leary over the edge, of course. Chelsea will lose to the Arsenal, so we’ll be just 6 points behind- a gap which will close further over the holiday fixtures. Come the New Year, an undercover reporter sensationally reveals a in-depth exclusive on the John Mikel Obi affair- about how he has been a passionate lifelong Man Utd supporter and was desperate to join, only to be blackmailed and threatened by the Russian Mafia. FIFA launches the largest investigation into a football club ever and in the wake of the endless negative press, the ever-paranoid Mourinho quits as Manager of Chelsea, to join Real Madrid. It’s the beginning of the end of Chelsea‘s good fortunes, as Abramovich turns his interests to Formula One instead- buying the beleagured Minardi team and looking to sell his investment at Chelsea, as first reported in Pravda. Meanwhile, Man Utd, on course for a domestic treble, get Google as their sponsors and make a signing to dwarf all others- capturing the signature of Ronaldinho from Barcelona for 25m cash, plus Cristiano Ronaldo and RVN, as well as signing the teenager Theo Walcott from Southampton.

Well….one can dream…can’t one? Something has to give- that is for sure. Manchester United are the greatest team in the world- as even now they can sometimes show- but there is too much mediocrity in our squad and not enough killer instinct. Nevertheless, hope is eternal and just a few things going our way could paint a very different picture. In essence, buy some quality in January and hope that Chelsea slip up. Napoleon once said upon being told that a particular General was “good“-: “Yes. But is he lucky?” The truth is that we have an absolutely awesome strike force in RVN and Rooney, backed up by Saha, Rossi and Smithy. Plus attacking midfielders who can score at will- Ronaldo, Scholesy, Giggsy and Park. There is just no reason why we shouldn’t be killing teams off that we are drawing against, or even losing to. It’s that small, almost indefinable gap in what we call “luck“- a deep, inner self-belief that is shared by the whole team. That was the difference in the remaining minutes of the 1999 Champions League Final and that was something that we were infamous for- getting something out of games with just seconds remaining. When you look at the Benfica, Villareal and Everton games recently- our energy in these last minutes were just lacking in this respect. This is what we need back and why we need players like Park in our team: non-stop energy and a never say die attitude.

Given all this, we’ll not just be the greatest team in name, but in achievement as well- as it should be!

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It just can’t be stressed enough how important this game is. I have been so nervous about it, that I haven’t slept for nights. Really!!
It’s D-Day, no question about it. We simply have to beat Benfica tonight- there are just no second chances!!

It’s not just the fact that it would be a serious downer if we were to go out of the Champions League now- humiliating in fact, with Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool already through- but it would also seriously endanger our short-term future as a club. Everybody knows the precarious situation that we are in, after the Glazer family has bought the club and leveraged so much debt in order to finance the purchase, unlike Roman Abramovich at Chelsea who has seemingly unlimited funds. Initially, it was rumoured that Glazer promised SAF a 25 million pound transfer kitty. But with the likes of Phil Neville and Jose Kleberson going out, and Van der Sar and Ji-Sung Park coming in- this has yet to materialise. And certainly, any financial considerations or estimates pre-season would have included MU at least qualifying through the initial stages. To not do so would, according to most sources, cost the club anywhere from 20 to 40 million pounds. This in turn might endanger Glazer‘s promised transfer kitty, as well as putting off some potential transfer targets from joining the club. What is more- it will just add to a perception that Man Utd are on the down and out, and no longer a force to be reckoned with.

If we do win tonight against Benfica, qualification is assured- so at least we can say that our fate is in our own hands. But we would also be achieving what we haven’t done in over two years- namely, to win away in Europe. If we draw, the permutations get a little complex and dependent on what is happening in the other game, Villareal vs. Lille. If there is a draw in that game as well, MU will go out, as Lille have a better head-to-head record. If Villareal win, a draw will be enough to see us qualify. If Lille win, it will go down to goal difference with Villareal, the head-to-head being equal. A draw will be enough to ensure UEFA qualification. So it’s all up in the air! We can finish top of the group, or bottom.

Nobody is sure yet of the line-up Fergie will pick. He might go with Park, over Ronaldo, as he has done over recent games. Gary Neville is expected to start and Captain the team, while O’Shea is expected to recover in time from a hamstring strain.

Man Utd have only ever played Benfica four times, and on each occasion has won- most famously twice in the sixties when George Best was at his very best. There would be no better tribute to the great man than a resounding win tonight.

Right now we’re still in all competitions and 2nd in the Premiership. Fergie’s position looks safe. We’re on a winning run. But fail tonight and ALL this could change…..

Please, please boys….get it done tonight….no more excuses!!!!

Prediction? Man Utd: 2 Benfica 1

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