news
Fri, 20 Apr 2001 05:12:41 -0700
--------------------------------- [32] More on Red on the pitch --------------------------------- Posted Friday, April 20, 2001 by bar-knee: >From the official site 'Manchester United's club photographer insists he wasn't fooled by the fan who posed as a player in Munich. John Peters said he spotted Karl Power as soon as he cheekily lined up next to Andy Cole in the pre-match photo. "He stuck out like a sore thumb because he was still wearing his watch," jokes John.' --------------------------------- [31] Jaap speaks --------------------------------- Posted Friday, April 20, 2001 by bar-knee: "The mystery bloke featured in the Manchester United line-up before the Bayern Munich game seems to have caused a lot of attention in this morning's newspapers. However, I am sorry to say, I can't shed any light on his identity as I don't know where he appeared from. All I can say is that we walked out of the tunnel and then this guy suddenly appeared when we posed for the photographers before the match kicked off. A few of us were looking around thinking `Who the hell is this guy?' but nobody seemed to know. Afterwards we just got on with the game and forgot about it, but it seems to have caused a few waves today. There's a huge sense of disappointment among the players at being knocked out of the Champions League. However we can't hide from the facts. We were not good enough over the two legs and didn't deserve to go through. To be honest, we have underperformed all season in Europe. We failed to reach the standard we set ourselves when we won the tournament two seasons ago. There's been some decent performances at home but we've been beaten four times and, but for a last-minute equaliser in Athens, we would've been beaten five times in 14 games. Opponents seem to have worked out a way to play against us in Europe. It's very frustrating as we felt we had a team capable of winning the Champions League but we haven't displayed our full capabilities out on the pitch. So what's missing? We don't know at the moment, because if we did we would have solved it. A lot of people have advanced the view that because we haven't been pushed in the Premiership our performances have suffered in the Champions League, but I don't agree. We can't blame the Premiership - it's our own fault. The Premiership is a strong league; just look at Leeds, who have made it to the semis of the competition. We spoke about getting a good start last night and found ourselves a goal down after five minutes. We should have done a lot better in defending that goal. But in a sense that goal didn't change the fact that we needed two goals to go through. The real blow was conceding Mehmet Scholl's goal just before the break. We battled back but it was always going to be difficult and our chances didn't go in." --------------------------------- [30] Big Fat Ron on the players we need --------------------------------- Posted Friday, April 20, 2001 by bar-knee: >From the Guardian "Sir Alex Ferguson is desperate to retire at the end of next season with the European Cup - and to my mind there are three signings who could help Manchester United achieve that. The bad news for the accountants at Old Trafford is that it will cost at least £50m. Given the chance to take any player in Europe, I'd plump for Luis Figo. But there isn't a cat in hell's chance of getting him from Real Madrid and, because Zinedine Zidane and Andri Shevchenko are also probably out of reach, I've picked a trio Alex might just be able to land. At the back I'd go for Fabio Cannavaro of Parma. United were let down by their defending in Munich and Cannavaro epitomises what Italian defenders are all about. I'd love to see him alongside Jaap Stam. Although Wes Brown has great pace and potential he struggled in Germany and at the moment I'm not sure he's aggressive enough in terms of doing the ugly things. He doesn't yet intimidate opponents like Tony Adams, Martin Keown and Steve Bould did at Arsenal in the famous five. Cannavaro has that aura and attitude which says "thou shalt not pass". At Euro 2000, particularly in the semi-final against Holland, he and Alessandro Nesta were blocking down shots, stopping crosses and doing the ugly business. It is possible Brown would be a better bread-and-butter defender if he was in a struggling team. He may be more used to playing from the halfway line forward in the Premiership, particularly at home. By and large United attack teams and it may come as a surprise when he is put under pressure more. But it is not just at the back that United have struggled in Europe. They haven't scored enough goals against the top sides, particularly away, and I think they've got to try to get a fantasy player. Rivaldo would be perfect. I put him ahead of Alessandro del Piero as the ideal man to play off the main striker. I have a feeling Barcelona would be a decent club to target because I think players there will be moved out. United certainly need somebody to do the job Dwight Yorke did for them two years ago when he was full of adrenalin and life. The move from Aston Villa suited him down the ground and he was playing like a kid with a new toy. He plays like a kid with other new toys now. His movement in Munich wasn't as good as it should have been and there's a lot of talk of him moving. It may well be that players like Yorke or Nicky Butt would have to help finance the deals I'm talking about. David Beckham might even choose to go abroad, which would be a blow for United. The money is presumably there to buy Ruud van Nistelrooy and I'd be surprised if he wasn't at Old Trafford next year. But the jury is still out on him and the players I'm talking about have done it. Obviously with Rivaldo, Alex would have to weigh up whether the signing would damage his squad. Apart from Eric Cantona, who was idolised by the lads who grew up at United, the foreign players have always integrated rather than simply coming in and taking over. Alex would have to feel Rivaldo could do the same and also consider the wages. The Brazilian would have to be paid miles more than even Roy Keane, and there are others in the camp who might turn round and say: "I know we want to win the European Cup but I'm as valuable as he is." Then you can get a few little seeds, so it is a fine line. The third man on my list, Barcelona's Philip Cocu, might not be seen as a star in England but he's a tremendous all-round player. He's got something of everything and gets my vote ahead of his Holland team- mate Edgar Davids. Cocu's a great passer, has a good shot and could almost be another Bryan Robson. He may not be quite so prolific a goalscorer but he's tremendous in the air arriving in the box and has a lot of those ingredients. He's more than capable of contesting midfield and is so versatile that he can not only fill virtually any position but play it as a world player. That he would be a perfect left wing-back is handy because, if were Alex, I would look at the possibility of playing 3-5- 2, particularly in Europe. In the Champions League I think teams need a lot of bodies in midfield. It's not a question of blocking the game up and ball winning but the best sides make sure they have a lot of midfielders who can deal with the ball and move it around. That's why Steve McManaman flourishes at Madrid. United at their best trust themselves and play that way with a midfield four but they seem more cautious than the fearless side who won the European Cup in 1999 and may need a tactical reappraisal. What they don't need is a huge clear-out. But to move on to the next level new faces are required. Just before the treble season Alex bought Stam and Yorke, which seemed to kick-start everybody. That's the sort of thing he has do again." --------------------------------- [29] Stroppy ref --------------------------------- Posted Friday, April 20, 2001 by bar-knee: >From PA 'A referee abandoned a football match after fans discovered he was a farmer and chanted: "We hope you get foot-and-mouth." Russell Tiffin walked off the pitch in tears and ended the game between Esh Winning and Penrith in County Durham. It's thought to be the first time a match has been abandoned because the crowd was abusing the referee. He'd angered the 50-strong crowd at the Northern League Division Two match by sending off one of the home side's players just before half time. He tried to weather the abuse in the second half but broke down when he heard a yob yell he hoped his farm would be struck by the disease. Mr Tiffin, 41, walked off the pitch and told the players the match was being abandoned. Police were called to the ground and one person was ejected. Alan Morton, Esh Winning's secretary, said: "The ref was getting terrible abuse throughout. It was foul-mouthed and very personal and was clearly upsetting him. At one point he actually broke down. "People may think it is strange for a referee to be upset by abuse at a game where there are so few spectators. But the fact that there is only a handful of people there only makes things worse because it is more personal." Penrith secretary John Balmer said: "It is a great shame the match was called off. We were in the lead, playing well - and playing down the slope, which is always important." Mr Tiffin from Sunderland was too upset to talk about his ordeal. He's due to be assistant referee at the LDV Vans Final between Brentford and Port Vale at a sold-out Millennium Stadium in Cardiff this weekend.' --------------------------------- [28] Blue on Reds --------------------------------- Posted Friday, April 20, 2001 by bar-knee: Jeff Whitley: "You don’t win as many Premiership titles and cups as United have without being great professionals and great professionals want to win every single game in which they play. As well as their ability, the one thing that shines through with United is that they approach every match as if their lives depend on it and that is the attitude that we have to match tomorrow. They will be trying their socks off to make sure they beat us. There are enough locally-raised lads in their side to know what a derby victory means to the people of Manchester and anyone who thinks United will be coasting after winning the title is living in a fantasy land. I am glad in one respect that United cannot send us down if they beat us. That would have been an unbearable thing to have happened and to have lived with and we showed at Leicester that we are up for the fight. We are under no illusions about the task we are facing but we are not going there feeling scared or inferior. We know we probably need! ten points, preferably twelve, if we are to stay up and those figures do not allow for a defeat at Old Trafford." --------------------------------- [27] Song doing the rounds in Bayern --------------------------------- Posted Friday, April 20, 2001 by bar-knee: Firstly rather poor attempt by me to cheer myself up after the game "1-0 in the second half" then "In '68 it was Matt Busby In 99 Fergie won all 3, United, Man United, We're the boys in Red and we're on our way to... Hampden Park" and the very popular from the Salford lads "If you want to go to heaven when you die, You must keep the red flag flying high, You must wear a red bonnet, With fuck the Scousers (or city) on it, If you want to go to heaven when you die" --------------------------------- [26] Get those Spurs applications in --------------------------------- Posted Friday, April 20, 2001 by bar-knee: Reminder: Spurs(A) applications due Saturday noon Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester United White Hart Lane, Saturday 19 May, 3pm We have received an overall allocation of 2913 tickets of which 1221 are priced at £32 adults £16 under 16s/over 65s (upper tier) and 1692 are priced at £27 adults £14 under 16s/over 65s (lower tier). Postal applications are now being accepted from Season Ticket Holders, on production of voucher 39 (duly completed), letter of application, open cheque (made payable to MUFC), sae and the following 8 match vouchers properly affixed to the official token sheet: 31 (RSC Anderlecht) 32 (PSV Eindhoven) 33 (Dynamo Kiev) 34 (Panathinaikos) 35 (Valencia) 36 (Sturm Graz) 37 (West Ham United) 38 (Bayern Munich). Private Box/Exec Suite and Club Class Members can also apply in the usual manner quoting their facilities held. All applications need to be received in the Ticket Office no later than 12 noon on Saturday 21st April. As we anticipate being heavily oversubscribed a postal ballot will be held to determine the successful applicants. --------------------------------- [25] Fergie speaking before the Bayern game --------------------------------- Posted Friday, April 20, 2001 by bar-knee: Just to put some context into the defeat, two days on... "It will be a very flat year for us if we go out of the European Cup. It will be a big disappointment for us particularly as our League campaign in England hasn't been as exciting as normal. If we go out against Bayern it will take away a lot of the excitement. Of course, we want to win our own domestic League and the players have done well to win it this season in record time. But you have to always progress as a club and for us Europe is the place to do that. People judge you by how well you do in Europe and that's why losing to Bayern would be a big disappointment to us." --------------------------------- [24] One quick thought --------------------------------- Posted Friday, April 20, 2001 by bar-knee: Wasn't Barthez heroic on Wednesday - charging about and having a passion to win the game that seemed to be lacking elsewhere. He was - like Keano - desperate for it. Neither deserved to lose. --------------------------------- [23] Schmeichel repeats that he wants Fergie's job --------------------------------- Posted Friday, April 20, 2001 by bar-knee: "I would like to have that job. I would like to go into management at a later stage in my life and obviously I have always set myself targets. That is the biggest job in football, so that is the one I am going to go after. I wouldn't like to be anywhere near that job for the first 10 or 15 years. I would also like to manage my country so those are the ambitions I will have after my playing days. It takes a very, very special character to manage Manchester United and to follow Sir Alex Ferguson takes an even more special character. Eric Cantona could be that character but I am not sure if he wants it.Fergie wants to win every game he takes part in and he puts that over to the players. He is the driving force. He still has the hunger." --------------------------------- [22] Stam on replacing Fergie --------------------------------- Posted Friday, April 20, 2001 by bar-knee: "Of course it will be difficult to replace him. He's a great manager with so many qualities. It could be a nightmare for the new manager because everyone knows what Ferguson has done. I think we are going to get an experienced manager to replace him. At least he won't have to buy a lot of new players. Wes Brown is very relaxed on the pitch. He's young and has that confidence that nothing can go wrong. At United, it is rare for a young player to play centre-half, but the manager knows Wes has the quality to become one of the greatest defenders in the world. Gary Neville's a bit busier than Wes, a bit noisier. But you need that as well. You need to talk to each other and drive each other on. He's a great defender." --------------------------------- [21] More from Fergie --------------------------------- Posted Friday, April 20, 2001 by bar-knee: "This has taken away the joy of winning on Saturday and I think this is disappointing. We look at the European challenge as the challenge we need to progress as a football team. We have failed and that's a disappointment. I felt we contributed to their victory with really bad defending. Their first goal after four minutes was the last thing we wanted and although we managed to get some control of the game, the second goal was a real killer for us. In the second half I thought we did well and we should have scored some goals. We needed a second goal and at the right moment I think we may have won it. But it wasn't to be and at the end of the day we have to look at our defending as the reason why we are not in the next stage. I think they know when you make mistakes like we did tonight that it will cost you. I think in terms of the general play we were the better side, but you can't give teams that kind of start. In the first game in the second half at Old Trafford, I thought Bayern were the better side, but tonight I felt we were the better side. "We needed a break to score that second goal, which would have meant a lot to us, and we either missed the chances or it just didn't break for us. We had enough time left and we had some good chances. Oliver Kahn has made two or three good saves, one from Giggs in particular, and I think if we had scored the second goal we would have won the match. We were a bit unlucky like that and I think Bayern were glad at the final whistle." --------------------------------- [20] Keano quotes in full --------------------------------- Posted Friday, April 20, 2001 by bar-knee: "The players gave it their all, but we are just not good enough. You have to face the facts and I think the signs have been there this season - PSV, Anderlecht, Panathinaikos - while we were also lucky to get to the first stage even. The players gave it their all tonight but we are just not good enough and maybe it's time to move on. Maybe it's the end of the road for this team, although I'm not sure. It's no good winning the Premier League, we need to step up a level in Europe. I keep going on about Real Madrid but they're setting the standards we have to match." --------------------------------- [19] Those Keano comments --------------------------------- Posted Friday, April 20, 2001 by bar-knee: "The players gave their all, but we are just not good enough and maybe it's time to move on. Maybe it's the end of the road for this team, I'm not sure." --------------------------------- [18] More from Fergie --------------------------------- Posted Friday, April 20, 2001 by bar-knee: "In the group stages we won the games that mattered and so we progressed to the quarter-finals. We deserved to be in the quarter-finals. Now everyone is entitled to their opinion on whoever they think was the best side over the two legs. Some people may think we were not good enough, but I think we are as good a team as Bayern Munich without question. I think that we've proved that we can get through all the time and the capabilities are there. Everyone who saw this game would agree with that. I think the concentration went a little bit at times, but in the context of a full game of football you are going to get moments where there are lapses. The moments that cost you and I would have to say that it was a disappointing night for me." --------------------------------- [17] Pre-season tickets go on sale --------------------------------- Posted Friday, April 20, 2001 by bar-knee: For our game in Singapore at www.sistic.com.sg --------------------------------- [16] Joe Royle thinks we're massive --------------------------------- Posted Friday, April 20, 2001 by bar-knee: Joe Royle "I think they are a terrific side and they have had a fantastic season despite what happened against Bayern. You don't win the league by a country mile in April if you are not a very, very good side and that's what they are. Week in, week out they have been the most successful and consistent side in the country and we will pay them all due respect for that. They are a fantastic team and I'm not going to talk about chinks in their armour or anything like that. I'm not going to say anything daft and you've got to accept the facts about where they are. I'm sure their defeat won't change their attitude to the weekend. We need to have an exceptional day and they need to have an off day for us to get a result." --------------------------------- [15] Utd shares tumble --------------------------------- Posted Friday, April 20, 2001 by bar-knee: >From PA 'Manchester United has seen millions of pounds wiped off its market value after being knocked out of the European Champions League. Shares fell 4% in early trading after last night's defeat at the hands of Bayern Munich, reducing the club's market value by £17 million to £445 million. At 11.45am, the price had recovered slightly to stand at 175p, down 3p or 1.7%. Football analyst Nigel Hawkins, at City stockbroker Williams de Broe, says Manchester United's failure to make it through to the semi-finals means the club will lose out on millions of pounds in television revenue. But he adds that the club is still the strongest in the UK, and the defeat is unlikely to have a long-term impact on its share price. Mr Hawkins says: "They are certain to qualify next year as Premier League champions, but they do miss out this year on revenue from television for the semi-final and, possibly, the final. For Manchester United, there is some disappointment from the investment side. They won't get some of the big revenues they would have got but, off the field, they are in a very different league to every other club in the UK. One or two newspaper reports are suggesting there may have to be changes, which would involve spending, but they have a strong balance sheet." Mr Hawkins says if Manchester United's defeat had been worse, their share price may have gone down by more. He adds that the club is still "immensely strong", and will be looking at collecting about £30 million next year through a combination of television revenues from BSkyB and pay-per-view.' --------------------------------- [14] Utd-Bitters stats --------------------------------- Posted Friday, April 20, 2001 by bar-knee: >From Telegraph... Manchester United v Manchester City By John Ley (Filed: 18/04/2001) Managers Head-to-Head P W D L Success Sir Alex Ferguson 574 316 157 101 55% Joe Royle 141 60 39 42 43% Form over last 10 Premiership games Man Utd WWWDWDWLWW Man City DDLWLDLLLW * City's last win at Old Trafford was in April 1974 when they won 1- 0. Since then they have lost 10 and drawn seven of 17 subsequent visits. * City have lost 11 home games, equalling their record number of home losses - with two more home games to come. * If United win their remaining two home games they will have won 17 of their 19 Old Trafford home games - their highest number of home wins in the Premiership. RN comment: After Wednesday we couldn't ask for a better and bigger game (massive? to get us back into the groove... --------------------------------- [13] Frank Stapleton on Bayern --------------------------------- Posted Friday, April 20, 2001 by bar-knee: "The disappointing part was they did not during the two games put the Germans under real pressure, apart from the closing stages last night. Alex has not had a settled defensive partnership. Wes Brown has done wonderfully well this season but Alex has not been able to give him a rest because Ronny Johnsen has been injured most of the season." --------------------------------- [12] Gordon Hill - we need changes --------------------------------- Posted Friday, April 20, 2001 by bar-knee: Gordon Hill: "United's success has always come because they were such a tight unit but it cannot last for ever. We hear reports of how much money Sir Alex will have and somewhere down the line he has got to go out and spend it. The jury is still out on Wes Brown a little bit, he has been thrust in at the deep end very quickly. Up front we have great firepower but it is just not good enough at that level. Dwight Yorke would have to be a casualty. Sir Alex is going to have to sit down and lay out a blueprint of what he wants to achieve in his last year in charge. Does he continue to build the team up for the future with youth, or does he just go for it? Other teams have had less success with teams built around individuals but United have always had that core. The heart of it all is a very good youth system to bring the unit through. Leeds are doing it at the moment and Liverpool are also nearly there. I can't see United's dominance being there to the same extent next season - not with the team as it is at the moment." --------------------------------- [11] Giggs reflects --------------------------------- Posted Friday, April 20, 2001 by bar-knee: "I think if you compare it with the time when we did win it, we were playing big games. Every game was a big game really in the league and the FA Cup. It was different this year, but you can't use that as an excuse. When you play for Manchester United you should play your best in every game and we probably didn't in the two legs. Losing is not good enough for a team like United. We will look at it and come back stronger next year. We've got to rebuild for next year. We are a good side and I'm sure we will produce next year." --------------------------------- [10] Teddy on Wednesday --------------------------------- Posted Friday, April 20, 2001 by bar-knee: Teddy Sheringham "We can't switch it on and off at will. The season we won the European Cup, we were in motion the full season. We didn't have a chance to put our feet up and have a rest here and there. We know we've got to do that to keep the pulse racing and make sure we are on top form when we need to be. We've not had to perform week in week out in the last couple of months and I think that showed when we played Bayern in the first leg." --------------------------------- [9] More on Red on pitch --------------------------------- Posted Friday, April 20, 2001 by bar-knee: >From PA 'Men's magazine Front has claimed responsibility for helping a man sneak into Manchester United's Champions League team picture. Manchester United's millionaire players were left bemused when the Eric Cantona lookalike wandered on to the Bayern Munich pitch and took part in the team photograph. Front editor Piers Hernu said the man used a Manchester United pass card of some kind to get near the pitch and then just coolly strode on to have his picture taken. Mr Hernu said after getting his picture taken the man went back to the side of the pitch to watch the game. The Guardian's website named the man as Carl Power from Droylsden, Greater Manchester. Noel Edmonds and Vanessa Feltz have also fallen victim to previous Front publicity stunts. Mr Hernu said: "We have done a feature on a bloke who blags his way into every match Manchester United play abroad." He said that gave the magazine the idea for the publicity stunt. "It's just a question of having the right clothing in terms of bibs so you look official." Describing Mr Power's run to stardom, Mr Hernu said: "He timed his run perfectly." Photo of it can be seen at http://www.manufan.co.uk/news/010418/010418.asp --------------------------------- [8] Eric has belief --------------------------------- Posted Friday, April 20, 2001 by bar-knee: Cantona speaking before the Bayern game from Dubai where he is for a beach soccer tournament : "I am a little worried but as long as they will want to score, they will win. They will go through." He was wrong but good to see that he still really cares. --------------------------------- [7] We'll be alright says Bayern man --------------------------------- Posted Friday, April 20, 2001 by bar-knee: PA story 'Bayern Munich vice-president Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has backed Manchester United to bounce back quickly from their Champions League exit. "United are a great team and have excellent players. They have the best defence and an excellent keeper. I am sure they will do something in Europe in the future. After the second goal we knew we would go through. Also, we had to put the defeat to United in the 1999 final behind us. Every coach is important but they have such good players that they will find a coach who can continue their evolution. The biggest and best stars want to play in Spain first and foremost. The only league that has become more likely to challenge that is the English league. The problem in Germany is that the world's best players want to go to Spain, England and Italy and our country is after those." And the song played as we left the ground - I will survive. --------------------------------- [6] Another Bayern rumour --------------------------------- Posted Friday, April 20, 2001 by bar-knee: Rumour heard on the plane coming back... Schmeichel coming back to United as goalkeeping coach Have to say that the disappointment in the result reqally hit the travelling Reds but the Boxing Bar et al provided a drunken trip and a half as usual. Great Utd support, and no real mither - and again not a word about how well behaved we were in the press... --------------------------------- [5] Transfer gossip in Bayern --------------------------------- Posted Friday, April 20, 2001 by bar-knee: That Chelsea are sniffing around with interest in Dwight. --------------------------------- [4] Top stunt with Eric mask --------------------------------- Posted Friday, April 20, 2001 by bar-knee: Talk on flights back yesterday was that one plan was for the Red to come on the pitch with an Eric Cantona mask... --------------------------------- [3] Utd fan on pitch explains all --------------------------------- Posted Friday, April 20, 2001 by bar-knee: >From Ananova A football fan who tricked his way into Manchester United's official team photo has claimed it was the best football sting ever. Karl Power, 33, sneaked past security and joined the bewildered stars in the line-up before their Champions League clash with Bayern Munich. The father-of-one said he had planned Wednesday night's stunt with friends for two years as if it was a "military campaign". The unemployed labourer told the Sun newspaper that defender Gary Neville tried to "grass him up" as he ran on to the pitch at Munich's Olympic Stadium. "He knew exactly what was going on and started waving his finger at me and telling me to get the hell out of it," said Power, from Droylsden, Manchester. "But I just opened my mouth and yelled, 'I'm doing this for Eric Cantona - now shut it!'. I was as surprised as anyone when he did." The prankster said he accidentally took striker Andy Cole's position and the player had to muscle him out of his spot in the picture. Captain Roy Keane glowered at him and Power, nicknamed Fat Neck by friends, feared he would have "taken it a step further" than Neville. But United star Dwight Yorke gave him an "incredible" smile which gave him the confidence to stay until the photographers had finished, he claimed. He then ran off, put his tracksuit back on and stood next to amazed photographers at the side of the pitch.' --------------------------------- [2] Bloody statistics --------------------------------- Posted Friday, April 20, 2001 by bar-knee: Liverpool 1 Barca 0 It is over 20 years since Barcelona failed to score in two legs of a European tie. Bollocks. --------------------------------- [1] Not a crisis, just a blip --------------------------------- Posted Friday, April 20, 2001 by bar-knee: The papers are full of crisis talk at United - Mail going for 'Manchester Disunited' after Keano's salvo. But crisis is not the case - a side that wins the Premiership this easily is not one that is suddenly crap or poor - just one that repeatedly at the moment finds it hard to raise their game against higher quality opposition. Keano is desperate for the biggest prize and he has continually spent the past few weeks trying to get the players up for the latter stages in Europe. It didn't work. That wasn't Keano's fault but others - hence his outright annoyance and quotes from yesterday. Keano et al want to see Utd match his ambition - and his view that this side as it is needs tinkering with, with players in and out is only saying what loads of Reds are saying. The core of the side is there - but we are short in departments and considering that we haven't signed a high level outfield player for a year and a half shows why Keano has come out firing. Everyone is upset over Wednesday and immediate diagnosis has been strong from most quarters. There isn't that much wrong with this great Utd side - but there are some areas where we can improve. That is why you hear so many Reds suggesting not only names to join but to leave as well. Fergie's last season is a benchmark - but he'll need 100% support from the PLC to see his last game one at Hampden Park. --------------------------------- [5] Red News returns from the Bayern trip --------------------------------- Posted Thursday, April 19, 2001 by bar-knee: We'd just like to thank you for your patience whilst most of the RN team were on a 3 day trip to Bayern - and to those left behind who kept the daily postings going. We'll have a massive news for you on Friday with a complete catch-up together with all the latest. As to the game? What can we say? The saddest thing of all was the lack of real surprise on any Reds face when the 2nd home goal went in. It was if the lack of belief from 1999 that is so clearly missing from the side that we've seen all through our European campaign this year caught up with us in the end. We lost both games. We are out. Saturday obviously comes at the perfect time to bounce back (and what betting it'll be 'spot the Bayern' merchandise in the Bitters end - they must have been sending out search parties for it this morning - sad!) yet we can't escape the fact that at the highest level we've not only failed to re-capture that 1999 glory but taken steps back. We dominate the Premiership but until Utd realise that we're still lacking in the areas that we thought needed new blood in even before the Nou Camp win then Madrid and Bayern won't be the only big game European disappointments. The news here will be back to normal as of Friday. Let's hope it's a derby day pick-me-up this weekend. And however much yesterday hurt and belief that we are short in certain areas, let us not undervalue just what this title means to us. 25 YEARS! --------------------------------- [4] Hitzfeld admits luck played a part --------------------------------- Posted Thursday, April 19, 2001 by ps: Bayern coach Ottmar Hitzfeld believed fortune played its part after his side had gained a two-goal cushion through Giovane Elber's goal after five minutes last night. "It was important that we scored our first goal early on because it settled our nerves," he said. "However after that we allowed Manchester United back in the match and our second goal was against the run of play. In the end, they had chances to score but luck was on our side today." --------------------------------- [3] Barca Meeting Confirmed --------------------------------- Posted Thursday, April 19, 2001 by ps: >From Teamtalk: Barcelona president Juan Gaspart claims Rivaldo is not on the agenda when he meets United officials for talks later this week. The Nou Camp chief today admitted he would meet his Old Trafford counterparts while in the country for Barca's UEFA Cup semi-final second leg against Liverpool tomorrow night. Gaspart said: "This is never to speak of a possible transfer of the player (Rivaldo)." Makes story [2] even more interesting --------------------------------- [2] Silvestre Rumours --------------------------------- Posted Thursday, April 19, 2001 by ps: Barcelona have been linked with a move for United fullback Michael Silvestre according to Italian news sources. A meeting is expected on Thuesday between the clubs in order to start up negotiations. --------------------------------- [1] Strong Words from Keano --------------------------------- Posted Thursday, April 19, 2001 by ps: Keano in no doubt that heads should roll. "We haven't been good enough. It's hard to accept as a player that we aren't good enough but it's a fact. The signs have been there in Europe this season." "It's the managers decision in the end, but maybe you have to accept that this team has come to an end" Not difficult to see that Keano is desperate to win the European Cup and wants new players around him to help him achieve that.