Manchester United news and links

Rio Ferdinand has received a four-match suspension after losing his appeal against an FA violent conduct charge.


The chances of the Manchester United man getting off with the charge were always slim given the clear nature of his attack on Craig Fagan during Saturday’s 4-0 win over Hull.

Rio Ferdinand has received a four-match suspension after losing his appeal against an FA violent conduct charge.


The chances of the Manchester United man getting off with the charge were always slim given the clear nature of his attack on Craig Fagan during Saturday’s 4-0 win over Hull.

• Manchester United defender guilty of violent conduct
• Process allowed Ferdinand to face Manchester City

The Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has received a four-match ban from the Football Association, for a combination of violent conduct and a frivolous appeal.

He received a three-match ban for violent conduct, after being found guilty of deliberately striking Craig Fagan during United’s 4-0 win over Hull City on Saturday, and a further match for making an appeal that had no chance of being upheld.

The appeal might have been a calculated gamble by United, who knew that it was the only way of allowing the defender to play in last night’s Carling Cup semi-final, second leg against Manchester City. But the Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, said yesterday that he was optimistic about the appeal.

“If he gets a fair hearing Rio has a good chance,” said Ferguson. “He was getting wrestled and punched. There were all sorts of things happening. He was just trying to get himself free of it and unfortunately caught the lad on the back of the neck.”

Ferdinand’s suggestion that contact with Fagan had been accidental however failed to convince the FA’s disciplinary panel. The match referee, Steve Bennett, did not see the incident at the time but had indicated that had he done so Ferdinand would have been sent off.

The decision means Ferdinand will miss Sunday’s Premier League match with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. In addition the 31-year-old will also sit out matches against Portsmouth, Aston Villa and Everton next month, although he will be available for the Carling Cup final against Aston Villa at Wembley on February 28.

“The independent commission felt that the player’s claim against the charge was frivolous and on that basis have awarded an additional one-match ban upon the statutory three-match ban awarded for violent conduct,” said an FA statement.

Ferdinand to miss next four games after being found guilty of violent conduct.

Ben Foster will line up against Bolton’s second string on Thursday night.

Sir Alex Ferguson has hailed Edwin van der Sar as the best goalkeeper in the Premier League.


The 39-year-old has endured a difficult campaign so far, first breaking two fingers in a pre-season game with Bayern Munich that condemned him to two months on the sidelines.

Sir Alex Ferguson has hailed Edwin van der Sar as the best goalkeeper in the Premier League.


The 39-year-old has endured a difficult campaign so far, first breaking two fingers in a pre-season game with Bayern Munich that condemned him to two months on the sidelines.

Our photographer got behind the scenes access in the dressing room.

Manchester United have promised to hand out indefinite bans to any supporter found guilty of throwing missiles at last night’s Carling Cup semi-final.


It is believed Greater Manchester Police have already arrested the fan who threw a bottle of cider at Craig Bellamy as the Manchester City winger was about to take a corner during the second half of United’s highly-charged 3-1 win.

Manchester United have promised to hand out indefinite bans to any supporter found guilty of throwing missiles at last night’s Carling Cup semi-final.


It is believed Greater Manchester Police have already arrested the fan who threw a bottle of cider at Craig Bellamy as the Manchester City winger was about to take a corner during the second half of United’s highly-charged 3-1 win.

Sir Alex Ferguson claimed Manchester United would not have been flattered if they had scored “six or seven” in their Carling Cup semi-final thriller with Manchester City last night.


While Roberto Mancini felt the Blues were largely comfortable, Ferguson saw a different game, one where the Reds were in total control.

Sir Alex Ferguson claimed Manchester United would not have been flattered if they had scored “six or seven” in their Carling Cup semi-final thriller with Manchester City last night.


While Roberto Mancini felt the Blues were largely comfortable, Ferguson saw a different game, one where the Reds were in total control.

Police praise supporters for their generally good behaviour at the Manchester derby.

• Manchester United promise indefinite bans
• FA yet to decide whether to act against hosts

Manchester United have promised to hand out indefinite bans to any fan found guilty of throwing missiles at last night’s Carling Cup semi-final.

Greater Manchester Police have arrested the fan who threw a bottle of cider at Craig Bellamy as the Manchester City forward was about to take a corner during the second half of United’s highly charged 3-1 win. CCTV is being used to search for the coin-thrower who struck Bellamy on the back of the head at around the same time.

United expect GMP to request immediate banning orders for any supporter convicted, which could be in place by United’s next home game against Portsmouth on 6 February. However, even if GMP did not ask for an order, United would suspend any supporter indefinitely.

The FA will study the report of referee Howard Webb and United’s own security report before deciding what, if any, action is to be taken against United. Club officials fear a fine but the FA will want to establish that all relevant security measures were in place before deciding whether that would be an appropriate move.

“Once we have the referee’s report and asked for a report from the club itself we can establish what, if any, action is merited,” said an FA spokesman.

Eleven people were arrested before and during last night’s game, fewer than the 29 arrests made at and as a result of the first game, which City won 2-1. Of last night’s match, which United won 3-1, a GMP spokesman said: “Officers policing the Manchester derby have made 11 arrests. Eleven men have been arrested on suspicion of various offences including public order, affray and criminal damage.”

Three men, aged 34, 17 and 34, were arrested for section five public order, a 35-year-old man was arrested for criminal damage, a 44-year-old man was arrested for public order and possession of class A drugs, a 35-year-old man was arrested for attempting to enter the ground while drunk and an 18-year-old man was arrested for theft.

Two men were arrested inside the stadium during the match, one of whom was detained after a plastic bottle was thrown on to the pitch. The other in connection with offences at a previous match. Two other men were arrested in the city centre.

Assistant Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said: “The arrests we made prior to the game and the work we carried out with the clubs has paid dividends. The vast majority of fans have taken on board our messages ahead of the game, making sure it has been a safe evening and one that can be remembered for the football.

“The low number of arrests on the night is testament to the excellent work of all those involved. The vast majority of fans behaved very well and I would like to thank them for listening to the messages we have been giving, to help make the evening pass off peacefully.”

Reds recover from the ecstacy of beating City and look to the showdown with Arsenal.

United and Real Madrid served up a feast of football in April 2003.

As expected, the papers reflect on Reds’ dramatic Cup win over City.

Secondary ballot to take place for United’s match with Aston Villa at Wembley

Officers policing the derby match between Manchester United and Manchester City arrest 11 people on suspicion of various offences.

• Manchester City forward hit when retrieving ball for a corner
• Beer bottles among other missiles thrown at Welsh striker

Manchester United face a Football Association disciplinary inquiry after the Manchester City striker Craig Bellamy was struck on the back of the head by a coin and had several other missiles aimed at him.

Among the other objects hurled from a section of Manchester United supporters were three beer bottles containing liquid. They narrowly avoided striking him.

Bellamy was hit when he retrieved the ball for a corner early in the second half and the impact caused him to fall to the floor holding the back of his head.

The Manchester United goalkeeper, Edwin van der Sar, picked up a bottle and appeared to call for restraint from the home fans in the area from where the missiles were thrown.

The referee, Howard Webb, asked for extra security to be brought to that part of the stadium. He was handed a coin by the City midfielder Gareth Barry.

United could be sanctioned by the FA for the behaviour of their fans, which came despite calls for calm in the build-up from the FA and Greater Manchester police.

A spokesperson for United said: “Our security thinks they [the perpetrators] were identified and arrested.” They can expect to be banned from Old Trafford for life.

Manchester City’s manager, Roberto Mancini, said he was too far away from the incident to see what happened.

Eleven fans were arrested in the build-up to the match.

The striker answered his manager’s ‘One for all and all for one’ rallying call and made criticism of him look ill-judged

Two hours before last night’s kick-off a schoolboy was walking through the tunnel under the main stand and past the memorial to the victims of the Munich disaster, wearing a T-shirt evoking an earlier period of Manchester United’s history. First revived almost 20 years ago by the club itself in order to flog a few more away strips, the green and gold colours of Newton Heath FC, United’s forebears, formed in 1878 as the works team of a railway depot, have recently been restored to prominence as an emblem of resistance against the consequences of the leveraged takeover engineered by the Glazer family of Florida in the summer of 2005.

The boy was not alone. Thousands of other spectators were making their way into the ground with shirts and scarves in the colours first worn by the men of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. When the boy turned round, it could be seen that the back of his T-shirt, bought that afternoon for a fiver, carried a message intended to resonate across the Atlantic: “United’s soul is never sold / So proudly wear the Green and Gold / We’ll never wear our famous Red / Til Glazer’s gone or even dead / So raise that ancient standard high / By Green and Gold we’ll live or die / That day will come again for sure / When we can wear our Red once more.”

If any red-shirted player on the pitch last night embodied that boy’s defiance, if perhaps not precisely his objection to the effects of global capitalism, it was surely Wayne Rooney, combining finesse and defiance in a match-turning performance that reached its climax with a decisive strike in the 92nd minute. As the roar from the throats of 65,000 United fans split the sky, it was tempting to conclude that, when it comes to football clubs and their sticky moments with controversial owners, there is not much that a sequence of satisfying results and the promise of trophies cannot overcome.

The stadium was shuddering with emotion as United took the field to defend the Carling Cup. Manchester City’s raucous contingent, 9,000 strong, alone made sure of that. But beneath the waves of chanting seethed the undercurrent of dissatisfaction flowing through the foundations of Old Trafford.

“One for all and all for one,” Sir Alex Ferguson had written in his programme notes for the Hull City match. “The family of Manchester United is under pressure…”

When Ferguson uses the word “family”, he is referring to the fans and the playing and coaching staff. Others might use it in reference to the Glazers, whose aura hangs around the club like a noxious cloud. Last night, however, the pillars of the real family showed their resilience. Paul Scholes, playing high enough up the field to be absolved of the responsibility for making tackles, spread the ball with the vision and accuracy of his prime and opened the scoring with a marvellous piece of opportunistic sniper-fire, while Ryan Giggs caused City endless problems.

Gary Neville, the third survivor of the generation now in their mid-thirties, was not there to increase the turbulence, the club captain’s absence perhaps Ferguson’s response to the raised finger at Eastlands last week rather than a sign of disapproval of the anodyne opinion Neville expressed on the subject of Carlos Tevez in his column in a Maltese newspaper.

Rio Ferdinand, however, was on duty for his second match since returning from injury, and his presence was appreciated after 20 minutes when he raced neck and neck with Tevez, cleverly unbalancing his opponent as the Argentinian prepared to shoot. Midway through the second half, however, Ferdinand made another and rather different contribution, failing to prevent Tevez from reaching Craig Bellamy’s cross with a backheeled volley at the near post that recalled a famous effort by the watching Roberto Mancini for Lazio against Parma a decade ago.

No United player, however, gave more than Rooney, perhaps as a result of the slighting remark uttered this week by Jorge Valdano, Real Madrid’s director general. “Rooney is English and we all know they find it difficult to adapt to another type of competition other than the Premier League,” he said, responding to rumours of his club’s interest in the player.

Rooney’s boots and his spirit provided an ample response last night. In the first half he foraged alone up front, ceaselessly searching for the long balls aimed from deep midfield and drawing an early save from Shay Given. Six minutes into the second half, after Micah Richards’s run and shot had almost given City the lead, he changed the shape and mood of the tie by driving a magnificent diagonal ball across from the left touchline to send Giggs on the run that led to Scholes’s strike. And finally, in stoppage time, the perfect timing of his run and header killed off City’s hopes. “A true world-class performance,” Ferguson said, choosing his words with care. Were you watching, Señor Valdano?

• Garry Cook’s remarks in New York bar mentioned before game
• Alex Ferguson describes Rooney’s display as ‘truly world-class’

Sir Alex Ferguson eulogised about Wayne Rooney’s performance, describing the forward as “truly world-class,” after ­Manchester United had booked their place in the Carling Cup final but Darren Fletcher suggested that the home side had also been motivated by comments from the Manchester City chief executive, Garry Cook.

The game was preceded by Cook boasting that City were on the way to superseding United as the biggest club in the world and describing it as “when rather than if” his team reached Wembley. Cook was speaking at a fans’ event in a New York pub called the Mad Hatter and later tried to excuse himself by saying he thought it was a closed event, despite the presence of TV cameras.

His speech was brought up in the United dressing room before the match. “There is a great rivalry between the two clubs and we know about everything that went on in the first leg,” Fletcher said. “But it was important for us to go on the pitch and let our football do the talking. It’s easy to talk and whatnot, but you have to do it on the pitch and that’s what we did tonight.”

It means a record seventh final in this competition for Ferguson and the United manager identified Rooney for special acclaim after his 92nd-minute winner, the ninth goal the Premier League ­champions have scored in stoppage time this season. “I thought he was much better tonight than he was on Saturday [against Hull City] when he scored four goals. His control, his penetration and leading of the line – everything was terrific. That was a truly, truly world-class performance.”

He added: “I’m very proud and I’m delighted for the fans. Our support was unbelievable. When they are like that you never want to let them down.”

The defeat means City are still waiting for their first game at Wembley since the FA Cup final in 1981. “I’m very disappointed,” their manager, Roberto Mancini, said. “I think we played well apart from 10 minutes in the second half when we conceded two or three chances. After we got our goal I really didn’t think we would lose the game. So I’m disappointed for the players and the supporters because I would have liked to have reached the final.”

City have bid £5m, potentially rising to £8m, for the Middlesbrough winger Adam Johnson, as well as provisionally agreeing a loan deal until the end of the season for the Roma right-back Marco Motta.

Our photographer goes behind the scenes to capture United’s derby win.

FIND out how we rated the United players for their performance in the 3-1 win over City.

Sky is to launch its 3D channel with a live Premiership match this weekend in nine pubs around the UK.

Michael enjoys his second derby goal - and another last-gasp win over City.

Sir Alex Ferguson hails Wayne Rooney as “truly world class” after the striker leads Manchester United into the Carling Cup final at the expense of Manchester City.

WAYNE Rooney scored in injury time to send Manchester United into the Carling Cup final and leave City heartbroken once again.


Paul Scholes and Michael Carrick put United in command before Carlos Tevez pulled the Blues back into contention. However, just as they did in the league game earlier this season, United delivered the hammer blow in added time as Rooney headed home.

Check out our selection of snaps from the dramatic Carling Cup semi-final at Old Trafford.

Check out our selection of snaps from the dramatic Carling Cup semi-final at Old Trafford.

The United banner commemorating Manchester City’s 34 trophyless years endures but Cityitis no longer seems incurable

So the “34 years” banner remains in place. It can be seen on the Stretford End, goading and teasing, permanently in place to celebrate the length of time since the club Sir Alex Ferguson has derided as “noisy neighbours” last won a trophy. “We will pull it down,” Roberto Mancini had promised in the build-up to this match – but not yet. Manchester City’s best was not quite good enough.

They are skilled in the art of schadenfreude at Old Trafford because of the trophies they have greedily accumulated during an era that began when Ferguson was a plain old mister. For the second time this season a stoppage-time goal gave United the upper hand in this divided city. City’s supporters must feel like tweaking the old Gary Lineker quote: football is a game played by 22 men over 90 minutes and at the end Manchester United win in time added on.

Yet that does not quite tell the full story. United’s almost annual trip to Wembley is now circled in red for 28 February’s meeting with Aston Villa but this was also a night when City demonstrated how intent they are on hanging on to the coat-tails of their neighbours and not letting go. Mancini’s men played with spirit and togetherness. They lost but that does not mean they played badly. Losing does not always equate to performing poorly. They deserve more than to be patronised as “plucky” or “brave”.

They do not want our sympathy at City nowadays. They do not want to be seen as lovable losers and they played as though they wanted us to know. They were quick to the ball, fast in the tackle. They chased and harried. They seemed determined to show how far they have developed since those days when the only thing the two clubs seemed to have in common was the first letter of their postcode.

Football can be brutal sometimes. When Carlos Tevez scored that peach of a goal there were moments when City looked the side that could score a tie-winner to spare us from another 30 minutes of nerve-shredding cup-tie football. Then Rooney did what Michael Owen did in September and suddenly there were players in blue shirts lying on the ground, faces in the turf.

To understand their misery it is probably necessary to revisit their history. City have not been to Wembley since 1981. This is the club Niall Quinn remembers “reeking of poverty and bad organisation” – a “hole-in-the-sock sort of club”, which is a polite way for saying they were broke and clueless.

The new-look City is a club of oil-rich billionaires, private jets and seven-star stop-offs but it is still the same people watching them and these supporters know what it is like to lose to York, Wycombe and Lincoln. They understand what Joe Royle meant when he talked of “Cityitis”. They remember grubbing around for points in what used to be the Third Division in the same season that Sir Alex Ferguson was jigging across the pitch at the Camp Nou uttering the words: “Football, bloody hell!”

At least they can be confident now that Cityitis is not the incurable illness they once feared. When these sides met in September Ferguson’s message was that, when you get bothered by noisy ^­neighbours, the way to react is to turn down the volume on them. Except it is not that simple when your own club has £716m worth of debts while the opposition are being bankrolled by the richest men on earth, sitting on 9% of the world’s oil reserves.

United’s supporters are becoming recognisable by the green and gold they wear to commemorate the club’s roots as Newton Heath in a show of collective disdain for the men in suits operating the club by remote control from Florida. City, meanwhile, can prepare to say goodbye to the £32.5m Robinho with barely a shrug of regret when it comes to the financial implications. Robinho was not even on the bench tonight as he negotiates a move to Brazil but City supporters will quickly forget him when the next superstar comes along. They will not forget the misery of Rooney’s 92nd-minute winner. But it is safe to assume nobody in the away end was wearing the black and white of Ardwick FC – and that, at least, will stifle some of their misery.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson hailed a ‘world class’ performance from Wayne Rooney after the striker fired the Reds to Wembley.


Rooney scored in injury time to break City hearts and set up a Carling Cup final clash with Aston Villa.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson hailed a ‘world class’ performance from Wayne Rooney after the striker fired the Reds to Wembley.


Rooney scored in injury time to break City hearts and set up a Carling Cup final clash with Aston Villa.

Messrs Rooney and Fletcher reflect on a thrilling Manchester derby.

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney spoke of his joy at steering his side through to the Carling Cup final against Aston Villa at the expense of rivals Manchester City.


Rooney scored in stoppage time to seal a 3-1 win on the night - 4-3 on aggregate - against Manchester City at Old Trafford.

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney spoke of his joy at steering his side through to the Carling Cup final against Aston Villa at the expense of rivals Manchester City.


Rooney scored in stoppage time to seal a 3-1 win on the night - 4-3 on aggregate - against Manchester City at Old Trafford.

Sir Alex pays ‘special tribute’ to supporters as United make it to Wembley.

FIND out how we rated the United players for their performance in the 3-1 win over City.

WAYNE Rooney scored in injury time to send Manchester United into the Carling Cup final and leave City heartbroken once again.


Paul Scholes and Michael Carrick put United in command before Carlos Tevez pulled the Blues back into contention. However, just as they did in the league game earlier this season, United delivered the hammer blow in added time as Rooney headed home.

The best images from the second leg of the Carling Cup semi-final between Manchester United and Manchester City at Old Trafford

• Supporters detained for affray and criminal damage
• First-leg arrest tally stands at 29

Eleven fans were arrested tonight in the build-up to the Manchester derby. The men were arrested before the two Premier League teams met at Old Trafford in the second leg of the Carling Cup semi-final.

There was a large police presence at Manchester United’s ground in an attempt to avoid a repeat of events at last week’s first leg which resulted in appeals for the public to identify troublemakers.

So far 29 people have been arrested for alleged offences stemming from the first game, which City won 2-1.

A Greater Manchester Police spokesman said: “Officers policing tonight’s Manchester derby have made 11 arrests. Eleven men have been arrested on suspicion of various offences including public order, affray and criminal damage.”

The Manchester derby is deadlocked at 3-3 as millions of football fans around the globe watch United take on City at Old Trafford in the Carling Cup semi final.

Police made eleven arrests as crowds gathered before the match but there have been no reports of serious disorder.

• Forward wants Premier League/Champions League double
• Rooney looking forward to facing David Beckham’s Milan

Wayne Rooney believes Manchester United can win the Champions League and retain the Premier League title. “I want to win the Premier League which for three years has belonged to United and be top goalscorer,” said Rooney, whose four-goal haul against Hull City took his club total this season to 19.

“We are doing well, but we have to look out for Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool. And I’m also worried about Manchester City and Tottenham,” he continued.

“We are aware of our own values and we are equipped to win the Champions League. But it is a difficult tournament because it’s a competition that’s all down to the details. But we don’t have to look for motivation anywhere. It’s always there.”

United face Milan in the last 16 of the Champions League and the presence of David Beckham in the opposition ranks has added an extra spice to the matches, which will be played on 16 February and 10 March.

“David is a champion and represents the history of United,” he added. “I hope he will get a great welcome. It will be emotional to play against him. I’m most worried about [Clarence] Seedorf. He’s probably the strongest player I have ever played against.

“I have rarely seen people do what he does on the pitch. You can’t keep him out. And then there’s [Andrea] Pirlo and Beckham: Milan are really great. Playing at the San Siro is special.”

United are going to Wembley as Rooney clinches a semi-final thriller against City.

Rio Ferdinand will face Manchester City in the Carling Cup this evening after denying a charge of violent conduct.


Ferdinand had until 6pm to respond to the FA but has got his plea in early, confirming that he will be in Sir Alex Ferguson’s United line-up for the semi-final decider at Old Trafford.

Rio Ferdinand will face Manchester City in the Carling Cup this evening after denying a charge of violent conduct.


Ferdinand had until 6pm to respond to the FA but has got his plea in early, confirming that he will be in Sir Alex Ferguson’s United line-up for the semi-final decider at Old Trafford.

Former players preview tonight’s Carling Cup clash, on MUTV’s new show.

Sir Alex believes Rio Ferdinand has good reason to contest his FA charge.

Manchester United allow Serbian winger Zoran Tosic to join German side FC Cologne on loan until the summer.

Manchester United have agreed to let winger Zoran Tosic join Bundesliga outfit FC Cologne on loan until the summer.


Tosic has failed to make any impression at Old Trafford since arriving 12 months go from Partizan Belgrade as part of a double-deal that included Adem Ljajic.