Manchester United news and links

The Guardian report that capacity will be up to 70,000 for Birmingham on March 26th.

An outrageous £39 for Bolton away: We will receive an allocation of approximately 2,700 tickets priced £39 adults, £28 over 65s and £21 under 16s in the Upper Tier and £31 adults, £24 over 65s and £16 under 16s in the Lower Tier.

From the M.E.N: FC United have confirmed Andy Walsh as their new chief executive.

From the M.E.N. Brian Kidd is ready to return to football after winning his fight against a life-threatening illness.

From The Guardian: Telecom giant’s marketing chief explains why they are happy to leave United and Ferrari for vision of future

Eric in The Telegraph: Cantona loves the ethos of attack and be damned embodied by the club of Rooney and Ronaldo. “Since the club were created, Manchester United are strong, and always have the same kind of [creative] football,”

The FC United Mid Season Review 2005/2006 DVD is to be released on the 15th February

From BBC Sport: Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes has been ruled out for the rest of the season with an eye problem.

Ashling O’Connor in The Times: “MANCHESTER United hinted yesterday that they may no longer publish the fees they pay agents while their Premiership rivals remain steadfastly silent on the sums handed to the player-transfer middlemen.”

Nick Harris in The Independent: Sir Alex Ferguson will be Manchester United’s manager “for many years to come”, the club’s chief executive, David Gill, said yesterday, as he launched a bullish defence of United’s stuttering performance, on and off the pitch.

From BBC Sport: Manchester United have announced a profit of £46m for the year ending June 2005, which amounts to a drop of £12.3m from the previous 12 months.

Daniel Taylor in The Guardian: Giuseppe Rossi’s breakthrough season has been so impressive it could end with him joining some of his more established and recognisable team-mates at the World Cup.

Andy Hunter speaks to Giuseppe Rossi in the Independent

Dominic Fifield in The Guardian: As the 145th Manchester derby kicks off today, once diehard fans will have greater cares. Dominic Fifield finds the breakaway FC United thriving in a world without Glazer.

Download the 5-0 pasting of city on 10th November 1994…

From ManchesterOnline: “SIR Alex Ferguson has refused to rule out the possibility of bringing in another new face to bolster his Manchester United squad during the current transfer window.”

Reuters: Patrice Evra hopes his move to Manchester United will help him secure a place in France’s squad for the World Cup finals later this year, the defender said on Thursday.

From The Telegraph: Manchester United have rejected claims Paul Scholes is suffering from a cyst and partial blindness.

If he means the division they’ve caused in our support, then yes, they’re doing an excellent job. From BBC Sport: “Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson says he is delighted with the impact the Glazer family have made on the club since becoming the new owners.”

Oliver Kay in The Times: Manchester United players will put their reputations on the line tomorrow afternoon, when they run on to a sandpit of a pitch, it will hardly represent a field of dreams. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is an exception, given that he is in contention to start a game for the first time since May 2004.

Steve Tongue in The Independent: Manchester United’s South Korean recruit admits to culture shock over the European game as he gives first major interview to a British newspaper.

Paul Wilson in the Observer: This column can vouch from personal experience that some City fans define themselves more by their hatred of United than their affection for their own team and, given that a few Munich taunts were heard when Sir Alex Ferguson was spotted at the Tottenham game last Wednesday, there is no guarantee the club’s appeal will succeed.

Another defender to arrive… who will be leaving? “Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed that he has won the race to sign Patrice Evra, with the Monaco full back due to undergo a medical on Monday.”

Some good news from the other side of the Penines “Manchester United midfielder Liam Miller has extended his loan deal with Leeds until the end of the season, reports BBC Radio Leeds.”

Scholes Misses Out, But Smith Is Back

Pigs fly over Maine Road… “Manchester City have launched a campaign to eradicate chanting about the Munich air disaster at the derby match against Manchester United on Saturday week.”

Have your say on the latest issues in the game

Have your say on the latest issues in the game

From RTÉ Sport: “However, RTÉ sports editor Tony O’Donoghue claimed that the decision was far from mutual, and that Keane was forced out in what ammounted to a sacking. According to O’Donoghue, Keane turned up for a Manchester United reserve game last night only to be told that his services were not needed. When he enquired further he was told to take up the issue with Alex Ferguson, and following talks today, his exit was announced.”

Manutd.com: “Manchester United has today reached agreement with Roy Keane for Roy to leave the Club with immediate effect.”

From manutd.com: “Manchester United is delighted to announce that it has agreed terms with Cristiano Ronaldo of a further two years to his current contract. This will keep Ronaldo at the club until June 2010.”

Applications due Monday 28th November through to 5pm on Tuesday 29th November.

Applications due Monday 28th November through to 5pm on Tuesday 29th November.

Nick Harris in the Independent: “Since 17 May, when Glazer’s stake ticked past 75 per cent of the club, giving him the power to do what he pleased with United, he has removed 23 non-playing staff, including senior executives. Two people volunteered to go, one took early retirement and 20 were forced into redundancy.”

From manutd.com: “Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has revealed that the unrelenting resolve to make his United comeback stems from the support he has received every day from his team-mates, the manager, the club and the fans.”

15-year-old attacking midfielder Daude Massude joins the Academy according to Planet Football.

The Guardian: “Manchester United are so determined to sign Michael Ballack that they are willing to make him the highest-paid player in the Premiership’s history, with an annual salary in excess of £6m.”

Applications due Monday 14th November through to 5pm on Tuesday 15th November.

Applications due in from Friday 4th November until 5pm on Thursday 10th November. We have received an allocation of approximately 3,500 tickets the majority of which are priced £16.00 and the remainder £18.00.

No mention of Keano on manutd.com’s “What The Papers Say” - they obviously read different newspapers to the rest of us…

Daniel Taylor in the Guardian: “Manchester United’s season went from bad to worse last night when Roy Keane castigated his team-mates in an interview so explosive that Sir Alex Ferguson and his chief executive David Gill immediately banned it from being shown on the club’s in-house television station.”

Oliver Kay in the Times: “MANCHESTER United were last night forced to pull the plug on an explosive interview in which Roy Keane identified the culprits for the club’s malaise. Keane’s frank assessments of the team are nothing new, but on this occasion, pointing the finger at underachieving team-mates such as Rio Ferdinand, he was so outspoken that the club’s in-house television station was forced into a desperate cover-up.”

All that fucking about and now they kiss and make up. From The Scotsman: “Sir Alex Ferguson has surprisingly buried the hatchet in his bitter dispute with Coolmore stud boss John Magnier”

Exciting times ahead reports Daniel Taylor in the Guardian: “Making no apologies for bringing a more defensive approach to the club, the Portuguese assistant took a leaf out of the George Graham manual of management by stating that United should pick up the habit of winning more matches 1-0.”

Steve Tongue interviews Phil Bardsley in the Independent: “It’s nice to be one of a new generation, because I think there’s not been one for some time, probably since Wes Brown and John O’Shea, then Darren Fletcher. From the Academy now there’s some good young players coming through, including Giuseppe Rossi, Sylvan [Ebanks-Blake] and Lee Martin. I’m sure they’ll all get an opportunity and I’m sure they’ll make it.”

Roy Collins in The Telegraph: Undoubtedly, there are now big questions to be asked of United and manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who is rumoured to be making this his last season at Old Trafford. If he cannot right a ship that looks on a permanent list, the club’s new owners might believe that they need a new man on the bridge.

Park Ji-Sung interviewed in The Observer: There is no such thing as the paparazzi in Korea, and until the 2002 World Cup there was not even a word for footballer, only for ’sportsman’. That, though, has not stopped Park Ji-Sung becoming ever more famous in his homeland.

Daniel Taylor in The Guardian: If the fanzines represent the view of the ordinary fan then United’s come across as cynical, disillusioned and rapidly falling out of love with the man who once had the league title returning to Old Trafford as if it were a homing pigeon.

From the Guardian: FC United’s Tony Howard enjoys Monday Night Football, without a Sky camera in sight.

From manutd.com: Manchester United is to reward its most loyal fans by making 7,000 new season tickets available for the 2006/07 season.