The Official Manchester United Thread

[stacksbranning]

ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI is set to complete an £18million move to Manchester United in the summer.

The Borussia Dortmund striker will be offered a contract worth £80,000 a week over five years.

That £20m jackpot doubles the money the Pole, 24, is paid by the German champs.

It will also be seen as a huge statement of intent by United boss Alex Ferguson.

His side have already netted 48 League goals in 19 games this season — 11 more than second-highest scorers Chelsea.

Dortmund had to fend off interest from United last summer, after Lewandowski hit 30 goals to lead them to a German League and Cup double.

The player’s contract is up at the end of next season.

His refusal to sign a new one means Dortmund have decided to cash in rather than lose him on a free

Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/4715221/Robert-Lewandowski-transfer-Man-Utd-18m-move.html#ixzz2GNZPg3d6

[stacksbranning]

Cristiano ready to force move

 

CRISTIANO RONALDO has waited 11 months for Real Madrid to give him a new deal — now he can force his way out in the summer.

Just like he did when he was at Manchester United.

And it’s ironic how the Ronaldo story can come full circle as boss Sir Alex Ferguson wants the prodigal son back at Old Trafford.

His £810million get-out clause gives Madrid the upper hand. Or does it?

This summer, Ronaldo will have two years left on his contract.

Snub a new deal and, get-out clause or not, Madrid will have to accept a much lower fee.

In 2009, United lost their battle to keep Ronaldo who forced a move for a world-record £80m fee. Now the boot is on the other foot.

How amusing that must be for Fergie, if nothing else.

Frustrated Ronaldo watched Lionel Messi land a new six-year deal at Barcelona worth over £100m.

The winger was promised a new contract himself in January by Real president Florentino Perez.

But it has yet to be signed and last week Madrid were playing catch-up, saying Ronaldo will get a six-year deal worth up to £25m a season.

It may be too late. Ronaldo has told former United team-mates he wants to return and Madrid officials have already discussed a transfer fee they would accept — around £122m.

Real would effectively bank around £272m if you include the £150m in wages they would have had to pay Ronaldo.

It’s better than nothing in 2015 when Ronaldo will be 30 and available for free.

Naturally it will never come to that but how has it all come to this?

Ronaldo lived the Bernabeu dream by joining his “boyhood” team but that all seems a long time ago.

Ronaldo has not felt valued in Madrid for some time. He is still on his original Real contract, while Messi has signed SIX new deals at Barca in seven years.

In addition, the winger has never felt the club support his quest to be crowned FIFA’s Player of the Year.

The Ballon D’Or means everything to the Portuguese star — it is what drives him.

But Perez did not attend the UEFA Champions League draw when Barcelona’s Andres Iniesta picked up the Best Player in Europe award last August.

Barca president Sandro Rosell was there to watch his own star collect the trophy and Ronaldo admitted he was ‘sad’.

It was the final straw. No new deal and no support to win individual accolades made Ronaldo explode.

Fergie cunningly said last week that “Ronaldo is as good as Messi” — giving the winger the praise he feels he does not get from his own club.

And United’s Patrice Evra chipped in by saying if he came back he would “win the Ballon D’Or”.

Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/4712001/Cristiano-Ronaldo-ready-to-force-move-from-Real-Madrid.html#ixzz2GNa19TBe

[TF S4DK]

Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has revealed he was confronted by a gang of hooded fans during his contract talks with the club eight years ago. The group calling themselves the 'United boys' turned up outside the player's house to demand that he signed a new deal.

 

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2256152/Rio-Ferdinand-reveals-United-Boys-gang-turned-house-ordering-sign-new-contract.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

[WhiteTT]

OHHHH ROBIN VAN PERSIEEEE

OHHH ROBIN VAN PERSIEEEEEEEEEEEE

[The King]

Manchester United to rip up ‘collapsed’ Old Trafford pitch

Sport Staff

Last updated January 04 2013 1:22PM

1 of 2

The United pitch has 'collapsed' after six years of use

Phil Noble/Reuters

Sir Alex Ferguson says Manchester United will rip up their Old Trafford pitch in the summer after it became so heavy Darren Fletcher was unable to play on it.

After battling back to fitness after being struck down by a chronic bowel condition, Fletcher was involved in four matches in the space of a fortnight at the end of last month but has been a notable absentee during the festive programme.

“The pitches over the last few weeks have not suited Darren,” Ferguson said. “They are really heavy pitches. Unfortunately, Old Trafford seems to have collapsed in the last two weeks.

“We have had six great years out of the pitch. Our groundsman, Tony Sinclair, has done a fantastic job. But it is looking tired now and I think we will have a new pitch in the summer.”

It leaves Fletcher sweating on a place in Ferguson’s squad for tomorrow’s FA Cup third-round tie at West Ham, which Wayne Rooney will definitely miss with a knee injury.

Rooney suffered the knock in training on Christmas Day, and is likely to be sidelined for at least another fortnight.

“It is nothing serious,” Ferguson added. “He just got clipped behind his knee. We sent him for a scan and nothing showed up but he is still feeling it. Hopefully two weeks will sort it.

“It is not that we can’t cope, because we have not had our best squad available all season, particularly in defence. Nonetheless it is a loss. Although we are in great form you always want your best players available for the big games.”

[stacksbranning]

MANCHESTER UNITED have confirmed they will sign Wilfried Zaha in July.

The Crystal Palace winger, 20, will remain at Selhurst Park for the rest of the season.

United have agreed a deal worth around £15million for the Ivory Coast-born starlet, who will undergo a medical in Manchester today.

Zaha said: “I am delighted to be joining Manchester United and ending the recent speculation.

“I would like to thank the owners at Palace for making the move possible, however my focus for the next five months will be solely at Crystal Palace.

“I have been at Palace for more than 10 years, I will always love the club, “I want to help get them get back to the Premier League, particularly for the fans who have always been so good to me.”

Highly-rated Zaha was called up to the England squad for the match against Sweden in November.

He has played 123 matches for Palace and scored 15 goals after coming through the club’s academy.

Crystal Palace co-chairman Steve Parish said: “I feel this a great deal for the club and the player.

“We would like to thank Wilf for all he has done for the club and we all wish him well when he joins Manchester United in the summer.

“It was essential to Wilf and ourselves that he stayed at Palace for the remainder of this season to help the club with its main aim of promotion to the Premier League.”

Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/4762504/Wilfired-Zaha-transfer-Man-Utd-seal-July-move-for-Crystal-Palace-ace.html#ixzz2IytrquGI

[stacksbranning]

When is this prick gonna buy some fucking defenders

[Fresh]

Zaha & Pog could have been a future

[Mame Biram Diouf]

Zaha & Pog & Rav should have been the future

[youcleanwepaint]

Zaha & Pog & Rav should have been the future

maybe not zaha but paul and ravel defo

[JOHN DOE]

how it must feel to be a youngn from the 'ends' and signing for man utd 

 

all that hard work paying off

 

fuck

[The Somalian]

Ain't his dad a doctor though?

Not no night shift tesco shelf stacker

[i5_PRODUCER]

Not no night shift tesco shelf stacker

[youcleanwepaint]

banter about night-shift tesco shelf stacker

 

*nearly spits out my liptons ice-tea*

[welbz]

pogz goal the other day >>

mans banging 2 goals for juve while fergie plays jones. smh

[Mame Biram Diouf]

Manchester United are the first professional sports team to be valued at more than £2bn according to Forbes Magazine.

 

A report on Forbes' website on Monday said a recent surge in their share price had boosted the club's value to £2.1bn.

 

Their shares struggled in early trading on the New York Stock Exchange but have since improved, although they closed 41 cents lower at $16.48 on Wall Street on Monday.

 

The increase leaves United, English champions a record 19 times, comfortably ahead of the world's second-most valuable sports team, the National Football League's Dallas Cowboys, who are worth £1.34bn.

 

Forbes put the surge in shares down to brighter earnings prospects from new sponsorship deals and said the demand could continue given the team's potential for lucrative payouts in the Premier League and Champions League.

[Mame Biram Diouf]

Manchester United left-back Patrice Evra insists the arrival of Alexander Buttner has spurred him on.

 

The 23-year-old Buttner was taken to Old Trafford over the summer to provide competition for Evra - but the veteran Frenchman has upped his game to hang on to the starting role.

 

Evra, 31, told Inside United: "I love it when people start to doubt me and think, 'Maybe Patrice might lose his place', because it makes me think, 'Okay, we will see.'

 

"I remember when Alex arrived and he scored against Wigan and people started to say, 'Pat might lose his place'. I have been challenged by (Gabriel) Heinze, (Mikael) Silvestre... sometimes you need that.

 

"I will always try to help Alex to become a better player because I have more experience and can help him do things better for United.

 

"But on a selfish point I am happy with that challenge, because I know I will have to fight every time to get my place on the team."

 

 

[Gambino]

He's been playing well this season to be fair. Don't know where he started getting his Goals from either, small guy like him winning headers constantly in the box now.

[DRC]

^

thing is - he's small but he has always had ups, just it's only been utilised as of late

[Young £]

“To be honest, it was my choice,” Rooney revealed when asked if he was disappointed to have been relieved of penalty duties.

“It wasn't good enough. I went in to speak with the manager and said I'd spoken with Robin [van Persie] and told him he could take them.

“At a club like this, to miss two penalties like I did and not hit the target, it wasn't good enough.”

Waz>>

[Agony]

Ten year anniversary for a key, unsung, cog at United

Author:

DoronFollow Doron on Twitter

Naturally, fans tend to think about the players or a manager when either praising or criticising a club – rarely are the other members of staff considered. At United in the past 10 years, there is one member of staff in particular who deserves to be singled out above others, Rene Meulensteen.It’s understandable that coaches and other backroom members of staff don’t necessarily get the attention they should – they’re referred to as ‘backroom’ for a reason. What they do and how they impact the club is somewhat unknown and unclear to a lot of fans – that’s not a criticism; their intricate workings are kept private and away from prying eyes.Rene joined United in 2001 as Ferguson looked to expand his staff following the move to the Trafford Training Centre (Carrington) from The Cliff. His specific role was to work on both technique and skills with the various youth sides. United’s policy had always been to produce players who were capable on the ball, with a focus on quick passing football that entertains. Ferguson though was ready to take it to the next level and increase specialisation at the roots of the club.You may have seen

recently, featuring a very young Danny Welbeck and Larnell Cole amongst others. The clips, whilst amusing, serve to highlight Rene’s long-term role in the development of ‘talent’. As boys joined the Academy aged 11 their footballing education began with lessons based on control, touch and the simple but effective skills that all players should have.I’d have considered some of the skills to be more ‘street football’ – the kind of things I used to try all the time with friends in the road or on the playground. Traditionally though, coaching in England has always had more of a focus on other areas, things that do need to be coached into young players. Rene had a slightly different view, choosing to implement something he’d learnt under one of the unsung masters of footballing coaching, Wiel Coerver.Having heard about Coerver’s methods, Rene spent much of the 90s in the Middle East learning about them and working alongside Wiel (who by then was already 70). Rene learnt that coaches should analyse what made players great in the past – skills that were previously effective shouldn’t be ignored and can be taught to a new generation. The entire method and theory centres on the fact that at a young age, the players know no better than to respond to the environment they’re put in. If they’re encouraged to practice their skills from that age then it’ll become natural for them to still be doing them and be good at them by the time they’re 17 and hopefully turning pro.Implementing the Coerver Method at United became Rene’s challenge. The new generation of United players would be taught differently. Not that size has ever gone against a player coming through but the smaller players would be encouraged to be technically excellent so what they physically lacked they had elsewhere. A core part of what Coerver believed in was about a mixture of confidence and versatility. He suggested there was little wrong with playing a player with younger boys so he could physically compete but also believed that appreciating other positions was important. Skills can be used anywhere on the pitch regardless of where you play and so he encouraged the use of players in unfamiliar roles – we’ve seen that lately with Tom Thorpe in midfield and even Larnell Cole as a full back.Last November, Rene spoke to United’s website about what he’s been doing: “It’s all about quick feet and a quick brain” – whilst Barcelona have been benefitting from this attitude and belief lately, United have to continue to be patient. The fruits of Rene and the other coaches’ hard work is only just starting to be felt. Welbeck and Cleverley represent the first more technically gifted players to have come through our Academy for some time. Whilst still raw, it’s obvious to see how they’ve benefitted – Welbeck in particular has fabulous control and skill for such a lanky player.Since joining, Rene’s role has of course changed as he became more involved with the Reserves before eventually becoming a first team coach (he did manage Brøndy briefly for a spell in between it all too). The system he’s successfully managed to implement is a stock part of training for United players from the U11s up to the first team. It means that when players do breakthrough and train with the first team that they’re already familiar with the exercises and routines that they’re set to practice. It’s also allowed players to know each other inside out – it’s often been said that Cleverley and Welbeck; and Cole and Lingard are forever on the same wavelength, instinctively knowing each other’s movement and where to play the passes. It even prompted Welbeck to comment: “Sometimes I train against Larnell and Jesse and think I’m playing against a little Iniesta and Xavi.”Whilst it might be wrong to single one coach out above others (Paul McGuinness in particular has been doing superb work with our U18s), it seems fitting that in Rene’s tenth season at United, so many of his first pupils have either made the breakthrough or made their debuts: Welbeck, Cleverley, Morrison, Fryers, W Keane, M Keane, Cole and although he’s not played for the first team, Lingard. In terms of United’s long term production of their own players, particularly given financial restrictions, Rene’s role should never be overlooked – a key member of staff whose impact on the club in the 21st century has already been unquestionably superb.http://www.stretford...-cog-at-united/

Philosophy pays off

Rene Meulensteen feels United are reaping the benefits of developing youngsters from an early age and bringing them through the system.

The first-team coach implemented his philosophy at Carrington, developing the famed Coerver method after working with his fellow countryman Will in the 1990s. Teaching schoolboys good habits allows them the flexibility to play in different positions and the fruits of the hard work are starting to become clear for all to see."I worked with Will myself and I was very fortunate to do that," he stated. "That provided the background, the basis of the philosophy which I've taken on board and expanded it so it has become my philosophy, engrained with all the other important aspects."I'm just a very strong believer in it because the best players out there in the world - past and present - have given us that information. If you go back in time to George Best, Johan Cruyff and Diego Maradona up to all of the best players now - Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney - they've got the ability to take players on and beat them. It's not only important for the team, it's very exciting for the game itself."Educating the youngsters is providing a massive benefit for United when they are asked to fulfil various roles later in their career. The in-built confidence in possession and comfort with the ball is vitally important to Meulensteen's programme."In the beginning, the kids are young and just respond to the environment you create for them," he explained. "They don't know what is good or bad, they just enjoy it or hate it but they will do it."If I had kids climbing the fence up and down all day, they don't know whey they're doing it."But, when they get to 18-20, they realise it's no good and they should've worked on their skills."When they've gone through that, it has become second nature and that's why skill development is so important in the early age groups because it can become second nature by 16, 17 and 18. If a player is going to be a defender, midfielder or attacker, they also know it's no problem because they think if I'm under pressure, I've got the skills to deal with it and that is the big difference."The progress of Danny Welbeck and Tom Cleverley into the first-team this season is providing evidence that the system is set to produce players of international calibre for Sir Alex Ferguson."It is, more and more, an exciting time for me," enthused Meulensteen. "It's started with Welbeck and Cleverley because, when I came in, they were 10 or 11. Now they've featured in the first team team and, just underneath, there's the likes of Larnell Cole, Jesse Lingard, Ryan Tunnicliffe, Tom Thorpe, Ezekiel Fryers and the Keanes."They've all been on the skills journey and are now coming back to Reserves training and working with the first team and they see the same coach, sending the same messages. They say: 'Do you remember?' and it's a case of: 'Yes, so now you can tell why we did it. It should make you a player who can make a difference for us'."For Michael Keane, Cole and Lingard in particular, patience was preached because of their slower physical development and that is beginning to pay off. "Exactly," asserted Meulensteen. "Height is no problem. It's all about quick feet and a quick brain. You see Barcelona showing us that every week."

RVP hails Meulensteen for prolific scoring rate

Wednesday, February 06, 2013

By Ben Lyttleton

Robin van Persie has claimed he is working with one of the best coaches in the world at Manchester United — but he’s not talking about Alex Ferguson.

The Dutch forward, who has scored 22 goals in 28 games this season for the Premier League leaders, has praised the work of United first-team coach Rene Meulensteen for helping him adapt so quickly to life at Old Trafford.

Van Persie is favourite to sweep the Player of the Year awards after an astonishing debut campaign with United but he has explained that none of his goals are an accident.

“Consider the game against Chelsea,” he said. “I scored after a low cross from Antonio Valencia on the right. It might seem a fluke, but the whole week before the game was spent working on that move.

“Another example is my goal against Wigan; when I cut the ball inside and shot with my right foot, again this situation, we trained on.”

And credit for that, believes Van Persie, must go to Meulensteen. “The way he trains is a relief,” he explained. “He is truly one of the best coaches in the world. I’ve had a lot of good trainers, but it’s the way he prepares our team for games. Every match is different so every training session in its build-up is unique. We know exactly what to expect. He wins points for us through his training. We’ve won a lot of games by the odd goal; they are point winners, which we work on.”

The appreciation is mutual: Meulensteen told Dutch TV station NOS that Van Persie’s speedy adaptation has taken him by surprise. “He walks around like he’s been here for five or six years,” said Meulensteen. “Robin has a photographic memory for football situations. He’s a great competitor. His left-foot is like Roger Federer’s forehand, technically perfect and costs minimal strength to execute. Everything he does is measured. Some people call him selfish but that is absolutely not Robin.”

Van Persie has also been helped by the lack of injuries, which dogged his first six years at Arsenal. Given that the forward is likely to start for Holland against Italy in tonight’s friendly, he and everyone at United will be hoping that continues. “This run of games without getting injured has only made me stronger,” Van Persie told NOS. “But I don’t want to talk about it, touch wood. I feel better and fitter. Really fit. In the last week I played Wednesday and Saturday. In those games I played with ease. I feel fit and recover as quick as lightning.”

http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/soccer/rvp-hails-meulensteen-for-prolific-scoring-rate-221844.html

Rene>>>>>

[kerser]

Never heard of him before, but i have no reason to really

 

But it seems like he has been doing some good stuff there

 

Congrats.x

[youcleanwepaint]

I take it you dont support man utd???

because if you do..SMH

[The Infamous]

used to always sign this coach on fm

 

his stats were f'd 

[kerser]

I take it you dont support man utd???

because if you do..SMH

No, I don't.