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--------------------------------- [30] Wenger cocks it up --------------------------------- Posted Monday, June 10, 2002 by bar-knee: >From Ananova 'Arsenal face world-wide embarrassment after it was revealed they had dumped one of the stars of the World Cup just days before the tournament began. The Gunners released Japanese midfielder Junichi Inamoto from his contract and will let him leave Highbury on a free transfer at the end of this month. The double winners, it has emerged, told the 22-year-old Japanese star just before the start of the World Cup. Not only will they lose the potential talents of a man they signed from J-League Hiratsuka Bellmare 11 months ago for a reported £4million, they will also forfeit the potentially huge commercial profits in the Far East generated by Inamoto's massive profile at this World Cup. The man with the peroxide hair and boyish face scored in Japan's 2-2 draw with Belgium and followed that up by scoring the only goal in his nation's first ever World Cup victory - a 1-0 triumph over Russia. He was made man of the match in both games. His image adorns posters the length and breadth of Japan. He is rarely off television screens and his heroics have been greeted with a frenzied euphoria which Japan usually reserves only for baseball. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was at Sunday night's match in the Yokohama Stadium, working for Japanese television, and he was later linked up with Inamoto in a post-match interview. There was an obvious air of embarrassment on Inamoto's features as he listened to his Highbury coach extolling the virtues of Japan. In this morning's edition of the Japanese language Sankei Sports newspaper, Wenger, in a personal column, was coy about Inamoto's position with Arsenal, couching the star's future in confusion. "It's not a good time to talk about whether he's leaving Arsenal or staying," wrote Wenger, a former coach of J-League side Nagoya Grampus. "I haven't decided yet but he's shown that in Europe he can play in any team." All the time, however, Wenger was aware that he had decided Inamoto was no longer part of his plans. Wenger has steadfastly refused to play Inamoto in the Premiership, limiting his first-team appearances to two Worthington Cup ties and 20 minutes in the Champions League. The shy and reserved Inamoto who speaks little English, looked uncomfortable throughout his interview with Wenger, admitting later: "It was the moment I dreaded most. I was very aware that somebody was watching me from somewhere tonight." Feyenoord, who already have Inamoto's close friend Shinji Ono on their books, are rumoured to be interested in the 22-year-old, as are Atlanta and Perugia.' --------------------------------- [29] Becks on the penalty --------------------------------- Posted Monday, June 10, 2002 by bar-knee: "At that point, how important being a captain is to a team and for the players hit home to me and for the players to sort of listen to me and take note of what I was saying." --------------------------------- [28] Becks wants Veron to stay --------------------------------- Posted Monday, June 10, 2002 by bar-knee: "I think Seba will stay at Manchester United. I hope he does because he's a world-class player and he deserves to be at one of the biggest clubs in the world. So hopefully he will stay on." --------------------------------- [27] More from Becks --------------------------------- Posted Monday, June 10, 2002 by bar-knee: "A lot of friends called me and said they had never seen things like it. Right from the [Queen's] Jubilee to the whole weekend with [world heavyweight champion] Lennox [Lewis] fighting [in America] and other things in the country - it is amazing. We know we have had support at home with record ratings on the TV and people taking the day off work. It has been amazing over here too, something that the players will never forget. One of the best parts of it is that there has been no trouble and that's important. Everyone is enjoying themselves in football and getting that back into the game is important and went out of the game for a while. For players to take notice of me is important but we had 11 captains out there and a few on the bench. That was a big part of the game. Nicky can play for England for a lot of years, I have always said that. He just needed a chance and he took it. It gave Scholesy [Paul Scholes] a chance to get forward and he was a rock in midfield. For me! , he was man of the match." --------------------------------- [26] Veron not happy --------------------------------- Posted Monday, June 10, 2002 by bar-knee: "I'm not at all happy with how I've been performing. But I've barely played for two months and I'm carrying a problem with my achilles. It was OK but after five or 10 minutes it came back and made it hard for me. The tendon is no excuse. I'm not at my best in footballing terms but physically I'm fine because I worked. Things will work out OK. I hope it's soon." --------------------------------- [25] Selected Becks quotes --------------------------------- Posted Monday, June 10, 2002 by bar-knee: "As soon as the referee blew, I thought 'Oh my God!' - I knew I would be taking it and obviously there was a bit of pressure to score after what happened in other games. It was important to take it, but I could not get my breath at one point. There was two or three minutes between the ref giving it and taking it and it was pretty intimidating at the end in front of the Argentinian fans. I never get nervous taking penalties or free-kicks - but I was nervous with this one. I said before the game they would be cunning and they tried to be - but that is part and parcel of gamesmanship. To be fair to them, they are all world-class players and after the game they were very professional. Diego Simeone shook my hand before the game and grinned, then afterwards I shook his hand and grinned." --------------------------------- [24] Mills says Argentinians spat at him --------------------------------- Posted Monday, June 10, 2002 by bar-knee: Danny Mills "When you're wiping phlegm off your face for a second time, having nursed a stray elbow only minutes earlier, it takes a degree of discipline not to lose your cool. When Argentina are the opposition and the nation's hopes are at stake, the temptation to react is even stronger. It's obvious their players were aware of my supposed disciplinary problems, so I was delighted to emerge not only victorious, but also unruffled. I don't think there's any doubt we deserved the three points, but as we entered the Sapporo Dome we'd already struck a psychological blow. As we waited in the tunnel the Argentinians began their mind games. They were confident: laughing, shouting, basically trying to get to us. Teddy Sheringham had warned us, so we ignored them completely. As the final whistle went the defence celebrated as one. I tried swapping shirts with Kily Gonzalez, but he refused." --------------------------------- [23] United call Rio talk --------------------------------- Posted Monday, June 10, 2002 by bar-knee: "speculation" --------------------------------- [22] Rio cools talk --------------------------------- Posted Monday, June 10, 2002 by bar-knee: "I'm here to do a job with England and produce the goods here to make everyone at home happy. That is my sole aim at the moment. I'm a Leeds United player and I'm very happy at the moment and I'm not looking to move. They gave me the opportunity to come to Leeds United from West Ham and they paid big money to do it." --------------------------------- [21] Bud to be new sponsors? --------------------------------- Posted Monday, June 10, 2002 by bar-knee: Only idle specualtion at the moment but a US reader with contacts with a couple of high placed Budweiser guys who told him - and thus us - first about the opposition for next year's pre-season tour has met them again, and they have alleged that Budweiser have bought out the last half of Vodafone's sponsorship contract with United, and that they'll be official partners in about two years, maybe three. That's all they said. Our RN American Spy did some spywork and - came up with the following 'Okay, I've done some research. According to Manchester United's website, Vodafone has a four year contract that started last season (2000-01). The contract is entering its third year, which means in two years the contract will up and Budweiser may take over (I'm not sure). But as for the contract buyout, unless it only bought the contract for the last year, it seems like there was no afforementioned buyout. ' But Bud to be the new name looks a starter. --------------------------------- [20] Transfer targets? --------------------------------- Posted Monday, June 10, 2002 by bar-knee: Red News has it from a good source that United are looking at bids of £18m for Thuram and £22m for Kluivert --------------------------------- [19] Duff happy at Rovers, for now --------------------------------- Posted Monday, June 10, 2002 by bar-knee: Damien Duff "I read in the papers before I came away and saw my name linked with some pretty big clubs in the Premiership, but I am happy at Blackburn. The attraction of playing for a bigger club some time would appeal to me, because everyone wants to play in the Champions League. Blackburn are a big club, but the Champions League is the place to be. Having said that, Blackburn are in Europe next season and although it's not the Champions League, I will relish the challenge." --------------------------------- [18] Russians riot --------------------------------- Posted Monday, June 10, 2002 by bar-knee: Good few hundred Russia fans - average age of 10 it seemed - went on the riot (one stabbed to death) in Kremlin Square after watching their woeful defeat to Japan on big screens erected there. --------------------------------- [17] O'leary on United Rio interest --------------------------------- Posted Monday, June 10, 2002 by bar-knee: "They had a chance to buy him a couple of years ago and they didn't really fancy him and that made my job easier. I don't want to lose him. I'm trying to build a team here. But if you start getting offered £40m I think that will be put to the plc and not me. Good managers don't want to lose their best players and he is going to go on to be one of the great players." --------------------------------- [16] Sven on Butt --------------------------------- Posted Monday, June 10, 2002 by bar-knee: "You could not see from the way he played that he's been away for a long time with an injury. He is a very important player for us. I must say I was surprised by the performance of Nicky Butt on Friday. It was a positive surprise and he played extremely well. He is the sitting type of midfielder who breaks up attacks and wins a lot of balls which is an important role because without the ball you cannot do anything yourself. I asked him afterwards if he was tired but he said 'no' although he had some blisters on his feet." --------------------------------- [15] Veron stick - far and wide --------------------------------- Posted Monday, June 10, 2002 by bar-knee: >From MEN 'THE Argentinian media have singled out Juan Sebastian Veron for criticism following the midfielder's disappointing performance against England. Daily newspaper Clarin labelled Veron, who was taken off at half-time, "the standard-bearer for disappointment", adding his display was "his worst ever for the national team". La Nacion went further blaming the Manchester United star as one of the reasons behind the result. It was the worst night Veron could have imagined," the paper stated. "He represented all the bad things about Argentina in a 45 minutes to forget. He showed a lack of precision and looked numb." --------------------------------- [14] Nicky Butt on Becks pen --------------------------------- Posted Monday, June 10, 2002 by bar-knee: "I had every confidence in him. He does it in training, smashing the ball down the middle of the goal." --------------------------------- [13] 5-a-side tourny --------------------------------- Posted Monday, June 10, 2002 by bar-knee: EUROWORLD TRAVEL FORMALLY AMBASSADOR TRAVEL SECOND ANNUAL MANCHESTER UNITED SUPPORTERS 5 A'SIDE FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT BLACKPOOL 6 JULY 2002 For further details please contact us on Tel - 0870 330 0400 Fax - 0870 330 1007 e'mail - [EMAIL PROTECTED] --------------------------------- [12] The claws come out --------------------------------- Posted Monday, June 10, 2002 by bar-knee: Gabriel Batistuta "There are better teams in this tournament than England. They should enjoy victory over us while it lasts because I have seen nothing to convince me that they are anything less than average or that they can go much further in this World Cup. They were simply hanging on after scoring a dubious penalty and, if we hadn't put in an average display against them, they would probably be on their way home. If we put in another performance like that we can forget about winning the World Cup. I don't think England created that many chances because they sat back and defended in depth. But if we came up against a side that played with more purpose up front, they would destroy us on the evidence of our showing in this match." --------------------------------- [11] Betting offer --------------------------------- Posted Monday, June 10, 2002 by bar-knee: England v Nigeria - Scholes Galore! Register with SportingOdds and place a £5 bet on any World Cup market and SportingOdds will give you £5 for EVERY goal England score against Nigeria! * Plus WIN or LOSE they'll also give you 2 FREE £10 bets on the game. See site for details. To register click here: http://www.sportingodds.co.uk/adserver/scripts/ict.dll?click?rnews0 http://www.sportingodds.co.uk/adserver/scripts/ict.dll?click?rnews0 * Maximum payout £20 per client. New clients only. Terms and conditions apply - see site for details --------------------------------- [10] Help a good cause --------------------------------- Posted Monday, June 10, 2002 by bar-knee: A top Red and occasional RN contributor is taking part in a sponsored charity bike ride to the Eiffel Tower, Paris starting on 24 July and lasting for four days. That's 285 miles at an average of 70 miles a day! Sore arse guaranteed. It's in aid of a charity called Action Research, which funds medical research into a load of conditions such as premature birth. One in 30 babies born has some kind of medical problem to contend with. And one in ten of the general population has a disability which seriously affects their lives. Action Research supports top class medical research projects which have a very real chance of making a difference to the lives of men, women and children everywhere. End of spiel! It's a good cause and a great challenge for a mid-thirties, prematurely grey, overweight Manchester United fanatic to undertake.He's to raise a minimum of a grand and is half-way there at the moment. If any Reds can help, he would be grateful to receive any donations, payable to Action Research (check out their website for authentication purposes - www.actionresearch.co.uk) to Brendan O'Toole at: The Old Bakery Albion Road New Mills High Peak Derbyshire SK22 3EX --------------------------------- [9] A Red Perspective --------------------------------- Posted Monday, June 10, 2002 by bar-knee: Was watching the Italy/ Crotia match on the beeb, and at the half time anaylsis, Lineker led O'Dreary down a one way conversational route. Don't know if you saw it but they were discussing the oustanding performance by Ferdinand, when Lineker queried where he might be next season. Now instead of simply stating that he would be with Leeds, DL seemed to put the issue to his PLC with 'No manager wants to lose his best player, but if the bid is good enough'? Now am I clutching at straws but is this tantamount to asking United just what bid they have in mind and if it's good enough we can have him? Just seemed to me that O'leary wasn't at all confident he could keep his man. Then again I'm still hung over... Jason --------------------------------- [8] Pre-season round-up --------------------------------- Posted Monday, June 10, 2002 by bar-knee: Our Dutch correspondent Jan confirms that Spurs are playing Feyenoord in Rotterdam on August 4th at the same time United fans will be down the road in the Dam (and presumably where Spurs fans will be staying) for the 4 team tournament. Surprised the authorities have let that one pass and even bigger raised eyebrows considering there is a lot of animosity going back to the trouble in the 80s between Feyenoord and Spurs. Jan also tells us that the prices in the home end, south stand and north stand (both lower) are Euro 25,- for our two games, the away end is in the corner of the north stand lower, like the away end at O.T. --------------------------------- [7] Red News summer offer --------------------------------- Posted Monday, June 10, 2002 by bar-knee: Red News published 9 issues last season, of which we have limited stocks of 8 still available. As a special offer you can purchase ALL eight issues together with a FREE copy of Red News' book celebrating the Nou Camp triumph in 1999 - European Glory - all for the bargain price of just £13.50 including postage and packing. This is a must have offer so go on! 8 issues + book for £13.50 inc p&p in the UK 8 issues + book for £16 inc p&p in Europe and rest of the world. Send your order by cheque, made payable to Red News, to Red News, P.O.Box 176, Manchester, M16 8LG or you can now order by credit card. click on --------------------------------- [6] Veron latest --------------------------------- Posted Monday, June 10, 2002 by bar-knee: Talksport yesterday afternoon Veron trained with the "reserves" in Argentinian squad yesterday (Sunday in Japan) also reported to be "dropped" for their next game. --------------------------------- [5] Order RN online --------------------------------- Posted Monday, June 10, 2002 by bar-knee: Thanks to our new link with the safe, simple to use and world wide massively known paypal you can now order your 10 issue subscription to Red News the fanzine via credit card payment, ordering online from wherever you live in the world, getting the mag to your door. To order the 10 issue sub to be sent to a UK address click on To order the 10 issue sub to be sent to an address in the rest of the world click on And those philanthropists out there can help with our costs by making an online donation via paypal. Doesn't matter how small the amount is, every bit helps with the costs of the site - thanks. click on. --------------------------------- [4] Totti rumours gather pace --------------------------------- Posted Monday, June 10, 2002 by bar-knee: An Italian agent went on tv to claim that cuddly Pete is going to get Francesco Totti. --------------------------------- [3] Please catch up guys --------------------------------- Posted Monday, June 10, 2002 by bar-knee: The NOW reveals that Keano will come up against the Irish team in the pre-season tour of America next year, a story we bought you first here days ago. --------------------------------- [2] Reds are here, Reds are there --------------------------------- Posted Monday, June 10, 2002 by bar-knee: A RN operative passing through Japan's Osaka Kansai airport at the same time as an England party of fans came across various information stands available all with free internet access, so, just prior to a 15-or-so strong England party coming through, he tuned them all into the Red News home page and sat back and waited for the reaction, looks of bemusement all around as they noticed Red News on all screens. --------------------------------- [1] Irwin offered deal --------------------------------- Posted Monday, June 10, 2002 by bar-knee: Wolves have offered Denis a contract ---------------------------------------------------------- This email has been filtered for swear words which cause some email systems to block messages. ----------------------------------------------------------
