31 August 2010

Tevez misses a sitter against Sunderland!

O how the hell is this possible! Carlos Tevez has become every Red Devil's enemy after joining City.. This video should make all the Red Devils happy!!!









Watch Tevez's missed opportunity against Sunderland Aug/2010

New signing "Bebe" called up for Portugal U-21 team


Manchester United's latest summer transfer Bebe has "realised a dream" after being called up to the U-21 team for his home country Portugal.

The 20-year-old's remarkable summer was given another boost after he was selected for the Portuguese youth team for the first time. After he completed a shock move to Old Trafford, the chance to prove his worth on the international stage is one that has thrilled him.

Speaking to Sky Sports News, Bebe admitted he can't wait to face England when the two nations lock horns on Friday night.

He said: "I have realised a dream. I am very happy.

"Playing with the Under-21s will help my development. If I play against England Under-21s it will be incredible."


The portugese striker who wasn't selected for the reserves team because of fitness problems is working hard alongside to improve. Can he make the most out of this chance and shine in the upcoming U-21 friendly in Portugal?

Darren Fletcher sells £1.5million mansion to Darren Gibson


Soccer star Darren Fletcher has completed a £1.5million transfer by selling his house to a young team-mate.
Manchester United midfielder Fletcher, 26, has sold the six-bed mansion to 23-year-old Irish/Man Utd midfielder Darron Gibson.

Fletcher put the property in Bowdon, South Manchester, on the market last summer after his wife Hayley suffered a terrifying knife raid there last year.

The Scottish international moved to a £2.5million house in nearby Hale because of the bad memories associated with the burglary.
A source said: "Hayley was left really shaken by the ordeal when she had a knife held to her throat.
"They installed a high-tech CCTV system and security system but decided to move to a more private location and start afresh. Darron Gibson is pleased with the deal."

"Everybody needs to chip in"-Ryan Giggs

Manchester United veteran, Ryan Giggs, is highly impressed with the way his team is performing this season.With eight different players on the scoresheet so far, Manchester United already look in terrific form. They are always favourites for the title, but with the present quality of execution, they are sure to win.

Giggs expressed that last season it was Rooney all the way with no less than 34 goals,which sure helped the team to gain the second spot, but wasn't enough for the title.United were enjoying the top spot until Rooney injured his foot and missed games. The team lost its backbone, which affected their mental strength as well. Chelsea, on the other hand, were already in high spirits and easily pushed them aside.
"We can’t just rely on Wayne like we did last season, " he told MUTV. "Berba has started on fire - in the games so far, he’s had a lot of chances and he’s putting them away.
"But everyone needs to chip in, midfielders, defenders, everyone. As a team, we need to score a lot more goals from different areas on the pitch."
Meanwhile, Giggs has expressed his happiness for Rooney, who recently ended his goal draught!

30 August 2010

A Wednesday:What lies ahead for Owen Hargreaves?

Bad days come often in one's life,but Owen Hargreaves is having his worst days since a while. Suffering from a terrible knee injury, Hargreaves is facing more than just pain. He missed the WC 2010, but that is past, there are speculations that he would miss most of the Premier League.

Owen in action with MU's reserve team.
If Sir Alex Ferguson opts against naming the midfielder in his 25-man Premier League squad on Sept 1, the 29-year-old will be ineligible for league games until January and faced with the prospect of reserve fixtures and Carling Cup ties between now and New Years’ Day.

By professing that he does not know whether he can afford to allot one of the 25 places to Owen Hargreaves, Fergie has almost wiped the mist off the dubious minds of fans.

Warming up for the 30 second display against Sunderland
There is no certainty about when Owen's nightmares would end,as its been 2 years since he has been howled by injuries,this one being the worst,because it seems like a wound on his otherwise excellent career.Since his last Premier League outing for United, a 90 minute appearance in the 1-1 draw at Chelsea on Sept 21, 2008, Hargreaves has managed 45 minutes for the reserves and less than sixty seconds as a substitute during the 1-0 win at Sunderland on May 2.

Although Sir Alex has described his omission as 'unfortunate', but he is helpless himself. With his contract ending with the end of the season, Hargreaves future seems to be forlorn.

Hargreaves played Chelsea while he got injured in Sept, 2008.
Few fans have already started grieving for the loss of one of the best mid-fielders of present times,for the squad of Manchester United and England's National Team.Both the teams would still welcome him back,but Hargreaves has admitted himself that his surgeon, Dr Richard Steadman, claimed his knees were in as bad a state as any he had seen his career and sure that is not good news!
But the news can become sorrier for him,if Sir Alex refuses to bet on his future by putting his Club's future at stake.

Wednesday is the D-Day,lets see what is the future of Owen Hargreaves! The Red Devil Spot wishes him all the best and hopes for the good news!

Man Utd eye Rodwell before the the transfer window closes

Will the Jack of Everton agree on landing at Manchester United?


With less than 48 hours left for the transfer deadline to close (31st August), Man United may have a new signning coming to Manchester United, his name is Jack Rodwell, some people compare him to Wayne Rooney as both happen to be English with similar style of attack. However United's squad strength (as in number) may not increase as they're heading for a switch... Read on.....

Sir Alex Ferguson had the Jack of Everton in contention since last year's record £80m Cristiano Ronaldo exit.

This time the offer seems nice and profitable for the Toffees as Man United are offering them £10 million + our of favour England and Man Utd midfielder- Michael Carrick.

The Toffees have apparently disagreed on the £10 million, but Michael should benefit from a Everton move, Man Utd is just not for him, where you always got to be improve your performance, this guy just doesn't seem to be improving!

Are you in favour of this transfer? Shoot your feedback

The Busby Babes - A tribute to a legend


All the hardcore Manchester United fans sure must know about Matt Busby.The eponymous Club Manager who is widely regarded as the sculptor of the club as we know today!

Matt Busby was of Scottish decent and had played for Manchester United's arch rivals Manchester City and Liverpool before becoming the club manager in 1945.He is the longest staying manager of MU,ahead of Sir Alex.In 24 years i.e.,from 1945-1969,Matt Busby created the strong and valiant team of Manchester United.

Assisted by Jimmy Murphy,Busby scripted the bright future of MU by nurturing the young players and making them immediate heroes.The team was widely acknowledged as 'Busby Babes' and till date the term is associated with every group of young players who are capable to turn things around.

He started the trend which is still there in the veins of Old Trafford,the trend of polishing the skills of players available rather than wasting money on buying new ones.It was Busby who made Manchester United a team to fear,a team which would never lose its glory and a team which just hates to give away the crown!
But unfortunate events tried to scale-off Busby's fortune.The 1958 Munich Air Disaster which left the world shocked was a big blow to the future of Matt and MU.The Busby babes was finished with Geoff Bent,Roger Byrne,Eddie Colman,Duncan Edwards,Mark Jones,David Pegg,Tommy Taylor,Liam "Billy" Whelan DEAD! Busby suffered multiple injuries and twice received the Last Rites, but he recovered from his injuries and left
hospital after nine weeks.

He was not aware of the extent of the Munich tragedy until some weeks after the crash, as doctors felt he was not strong enough to know the truth until then. He reportedly told his wife Jean that he felt like quitting the manager's job, as he had feelings of guilt over the disaster (he had gone against Football League officials wishes by pressing for Manchester United's participation in the European Cup, and had not felt able to challenge the aircraft's pilot about taking off in heavy snow), but his wife urged him to carry on with his duties in honour of the players who had died.
After the crash, Busby built a new side around Munich survivors including Harry Gregg, Bobby Charlton and Bill Foulkes. He also brought in players from other clubs - these included David Herd, Albert Quixall and Denis Law. Northern Irish forward George Best was scouted for Man Utd by Bob Bishop and signed to the club's playing staff by chief scout Joe Armstrong.

In 1963, Busby had successfully rebuilt United as he guided them to a 3-1 victory over Leicester City in the FA Cup final. They were league champions in 1965 and again in 1967, with only a defeat on the final day of the 1967-68 season stopping them from recording a rare championship hat-trick.
The biggest success of his career came on 29 May 1968 when the team won the European Cup. He retired as manager a year later but remained at the club as a director.Busby was awarded the CBE in 1958 and was knighted following the European Cup victory in 1968, before being made a Knight Commander of St Gregory by the Pope in 1972.
This way Matt Busby served like a soldier for Manchested United and became a true hero.He climbed,was burnt down and in the end he rose just like a phoenix from his ashes and made the club as it is today!
The Red Devil Spot salutes to the legend and thanks him for all his unmatchable efforts.
May his soul Rest in Peace!
Amen!

29 August 2010

Match 3: Wayne Rooney finally ends the goal drought against Hammers! HD Highlights

Manchester United 3 - 0 West Ham
Where: Old Trafford, Manchester 
Who Scored? Rooney (33), Nani (50), Berbatov (69).
Wayne Rooney finally ends his 18 hr long drought!

























Match Highlights


Manchester United v West Ham United
Don | MySpace Video



A game which saw so many elegant passes, wonderful long balls by Scholes who literally kept the tempo of the game nice and high, lovely volley-driven goal by the Bulgarian Dimitar Berbatov (surely he's gonna make his fans smile), crisp defending by Nemenja Vidic, great possession by the Red Devils and of course not to forget - Wayne Rooney end his 18 hour goal drought at the best stadium in the World - Old Trafford.







In other words, the Red Devils were rock solid today and could have gone on to win 6-0 had the chances been converted into goals. Also we try to respect the visitors unlike Chelsea who like to defeat teams 6-0 or 8-0 as well. Manchester United certainly does respect its opponents!

Talking about the game, it was excellent until Paul Scholes was there who was later substituted for Michael Carrick with 15 minutes still to be played. Scholes really dictated the tempo of the game. After the substitutes were made the game just died down... 

Penalty cool-ly taken
Wayne Rooney was hyped up a lot before the start of the game, the obvious question raised was: Will he score? And he really answered the question 33 minutes after the start of the game with a very cool-ly taken penalty! Giggs was fouled really cheaply by Hammer defender - Spector and the Ref had no doubt in mind while pointing towards the penalty spot. After the Fulham game, it was quite evident who was gonna take the penalty - none other than Wayne Rooney and everybody knows he hardly misses it!



The next goal was scored by Nani at the beginning of the 2nd half who surely increased his confidence after a horrendous penalty miss last weekend at Craven Cottage. Overall, Rooney looked much more composed, much more sharper at the wings and gave loads of awesome crosses into the opponent's penalty box. 


One of Nani's crosses were nicely captured and volley-ed home by the Bulgarian - Dimitar Berbatov. It was one of the best strikes I've ever scene by the Bulgarian, really sweet and accurately timed volley leaving the goal keeper who had a dreadful World Cup - Rob Green! with no chance to save it. 
You can watch the goal in the Sky Sports highlights above.






As far as other chances go, Fletcher nearly scored by a lovely use of curl spin but unfortunately Rob Green made a lovely diving save. Scholes also nearly made it 4-0 from a trademark strike which landed in Green's gloves. All-in-all, it was a great attack by United,, it was nice to see the legendary Scholes-Giggs partnership; Scholes provided some lovely long balls as he does it.


Obviously, he deserved a yellow card for showing off No.9, he doesn't realise there is a bigger on on the back of his tee!

Nemenja Vidic was crystal clear with the defending, he made some lovely timed tackles with no chance of Ref having to think it deserve a penalty. Performances like these make the other clubs want him, but the lad is on a 5 year contract!

28 August 2010

Manchester United draw Scunthorpe United in Carling Cup 3rd Round





The Irons vs The Red Devils
Later this September
The draw for the Carling Cup third round came out today - 28/08/2010 and Manchester United have drawn North Lincolnshire, team called Scunthorpe United.




United have never faced Scunthorpe United in a competitive football game, this would be the first time they do.


The tie will take place at Scunthorpe's home in North Lancashire which is a good hour and a half drive from Old Trafford probably on 21st September, 2010.




Scunthorpe United, often nicknamed "The Irons" play in the football league championship and are currently the highest seeded team in Lincolnshire. They recently survived the season after coming 20th, luckily!


United are the defending champions in this Carling Cup season. They had a mesmerizing season last year after defeating Wolves 1-0, thanks to a memorable header by Paul Scholes, Barnsley 2-0 which saw an amazing goal scored by Michael Owen, Spurs 2-0 and a lovely semi-final encounter with local rivals Manchester City in the winter days of 2010 which saw one of the games cancelled scheduled to take place early January due to heavy snowfall! Manchester derby was incredibly memorable.


United finally lifted the Carling Cup after defeating Aston Villa 2-1 at the cursed Wembley pitch which saw Michael Owen end his World Cup career due to a hamstring injury after scoring a lovely attacking goal February 2010. This also forced him to sit out of the Pre-season US tour which was a lovely opportunity for Michael to win over some American fans!


The Carling Cup player of the final was awarded to Antonio Valencia last year, and it's a record worth noting that no player has won it twice and I fully rely on Ecuador's Valencia to duly break this record!!


Like we had a Manchester derby last year in Semi-final, this year's 3rd round presents a very interesting 3rd Round North London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspurs! I back Spurs to win it!!
Any how, this season is back and United should aim to demolish Scunthorpe at their home..  More updates to follow once the match day and time is confirmed!


Full Draw
Brentford v Everton
Portsmouth v Leicester
Stoke v Fulham
Chelsea v Newcastle BIG GAME!

Aston Villa v Blackburn
Tottenham v Arsenal BIG GAME!
Millwall v Ipswich
Wolves v Notts County
Burnley v Bolton
Birmingham v MK Dons
Liverpool v Northampton Town
Scunthorpe v Manchester United
West Brom v Man City
Sunderland v West Ham
Peterborough v Swansea
Wigan v Preston


(Source: manutd.com)

27 August 2010

Manchester United all set to hammer West Ham tomorrow



theredevilspot predicts 6-0 win for Manchester United


United face West Ham in an easy encounter at Old Trafford on Saturday with full expectations to easily win the game. 


West Ham, who have lost both the opening games and conceded 6 goals already will definitely be on the low after a dismal start of the new season. 


Can he finally celebrate tomorrow?


The big news for United is that Wayne Rooney is back after recovering from a bug that ruled him out of the drawn Fulham game at Craven Cottage. The big question is, will West Ham provide Wayne with the opportunity of ending his 18hr goal drought? We got to wait and watch to know this. 


"Bad times, first United and then Chelskea :("
West Ham's captain Scott Parker is absolutely dreading the fixture with Rooney back in the squad. Even if West Ham lose tomorrow, which the odds easily confirm, the Hammers have no time to relax as they face Chelsea after the international break. So it's a sharp uphill from here for Parker's men. 


Manchester United probables:
Formation: 4-3-3
Van Der Sar, Evra, Vidic, Evans, O' Shea, Valencia, Fletcher, Scholes, Park, Gibson, Rooney



Interesting statistics

• United have won 11 of their last 12 Premier League games at home, scoring an average of whooping 3.25 goals per game
• West Ham have not won away from home in the league since beating Wolves 2-0 in their first match of last season
• Wayne Rooney has touched the ball 37 times in the opposition half this season, but not once in his own half!
• West Ham have conceded 14 goals in their last five visits to Old Trafford, scoring only once.

Rio Ferdinand to make an unexpected come back soon enough!

Manchester United defender is back!

Following the tragic knee ligament injury while training session in Rustenberg, South Africa that killed off Ferdinand's 3rd world cup, the centre back is back at Carrington training ground in Manchester. 

No hard feelings surprisngly!

According to Sir Alex, he has made a tremendous come back as the manager was expecting him at the end of September. 

How the injury happened? Well basically Rio was training and the big fat Emile Heskey gave him a nice jerk on his knee. Since then, 4th June 2010 has since then been the worst day for them.

Sir Alex "He wont't play against West Ham on saturday obviously, but we have to think when we can get a game in the next two weeks, he is THAT close. Rio has trained this week, he has surprised me with his progress, its fantastic."



Perhaps thinking "Thank You Emile Heskey!"
Meanwhile the 31 year old centre back is all set to miss the Euro 2012 qualifiers against Bulgaria (3rd September) and Swtizerland (7th September)

Group stage Champions League draw 2010/2011 declared!

United are drawn with Glasgow Rangers in Group C. The first leg stars at Old Trafford on 14th September.

Group A: Inter Milan, Werder Bremen, Tottenham Hotspur, FC Twente.
Quite reasonably the group of death. This group features the current champions of Europe - Inter Milan, A very competitive German team 0 Weder Bremen, London's Hotspurs who obviously qualified recently and Orange champions FC Twente. 
We expect Inter and Spurs to go through to the last 16.
Group B: Lyon, Benfica, Schalke, Hapoel Tel-Aviv.
Quite straight forward for Lyon and Benfica. 100% predict them to go through to the next round.

Group C: Manchester United, Valencia, Rangers, Bursaspor. 
Yet another tricky encounter. United are drawn with Scottish champions - Glasgow Rangers, Span's very own Valencia and Turkey Champions Bursaspor. Predict United and Valencia to go through. United will finish top of the group with a probable away defeat to Valencia. 

Group D: Barcelona, Panathinaikos, FC Copenhagen, Rubin Kazan.
Very straight forward for Barca. They're drawn with really tiny teams. Real threat for United as they might face Barca in the next round provided either of the teams comes second in their group. Fergie might as well plot some tactics here :P

Group E: Bayern Munich, Roma, FC Basel, CFR Cluj.
Bayern Munich and Roma all the away.

Group F: Chelsea, Marseille, Spartak Moscow, MSK Zilina. 
Expect Chelsea and Marseille to proceed easily
Group G: AC Milan, Real Madrid, Ajax, Auxerre.
2nd most hardest group after Group A. Expect AC and Real to go forward obviously but certainly Ajax and Auxerre will not spare the two top notch teams.

Group H: Arsenal, Shakhtar Donetsk, Braga, FK Partizan.
Arsenal can well celebrate!

Matchday 1: 14th/15th September
Matchday 2: 28th/29th September
Matchday 3: 19th/20th October
Matchday 4: 2nd/3rd November
Matchday 5: 23rd/24th November
Matchday 6: 7th/8th December

UNITED's NEXT FIXTURES
Manchester United face Glasgow Rangers at home on Tuesday, the 14th of September. There have been security alert in Manchester already and extra police officers have been planned to be deployed.
42 fans were arrested two years ago when Rangers lost the UEFA cup final in Manchester.
Alex Ferguson is delighted to have been drawn against Rangers.’
United boss Ferguson added: ‘Walter Smith has already been on the phone, talking about tickets for Old Trafford! 

Walter Smith and Sir Alex have been long-time friends, they now go head to head on 14th September, 2010
There are great hopes from Manchester United this year especially Champions League. It's of course a tricky encounter with teams like Valencia and Rangers involved. Last year, Manchester United managed to emerge top of the group following the late drama at Besiktas after the defeat. It's shocking to know that neither of the group-stage teams United faced off last year have made it to the last 32 this year! Obviously they weren't good enough but Champions League is like a World Cup for Europeans and it means a lot to every player. 

Glory Glory Manchester United. Hope they battle off Rangers on the ground and off the ground too!

25 August 2010

Ferdinand ruled out until late September

Rio will miss the first Champions League encounter too.
Rio hasn't recovered since early July when he damaged his ligament during the England training session before the World Cup started. Initially, he was to be sit out for 6-7 weeks, but now Fergie has revealed this could be till 28/29 September when United play their second Champions League game.

"I still think Rio won't be back until the end of September," said Sir Alex. "It was a knee ligament injury, not the cruciate: it was medial ligaments. It was a freak training ground accident at the World Cup and nothing to do with his back, which was a problem for him last season. But I think he should be back late September." Last season's Premier League runners-up will discover their group-stage opponents in Thursday's draw in Monaco."

Champions League 2010/11 draw tomorrow!!


The road to Wembley Stadium, 28th May 2011 begins!! It only gets bigger and more exciting each year.

Just for the record, this would be the 56th Champions League season and Manchester United alongside Sir Alex have big hopes after last year's early exit thanks to Wayne Rooney's injury. 

Last year, one would say (especially Sir Alex) it was a tough group stage encounter with United finally finishing top of the group in 2009. 

The group stage draw for this season takes place tomorrow at 16.00 GMT / 18.00 CET at the Grimaldi forum in Monaco, Spain.

The line-up is now complete each of the 32 teams have been divided into four seeding pots for the draw.

It is a proud moment for Mancheste United as they witness this draw for the record 16th time out of the maximum of 19 played so far in the history of UEFA.

The four Pots are listed below (Source: uefa.com)

ClubQualified asLast in group stage
Previous appearances
Last season*
Best performance**
Pot 1
FC Internazionale MilanoHolders/ Champions, Italy2009/109WinnersWinners (1964, 1965, 2010)
FC BarcelonaChampions, Spain2009/1014Semi-finalsWinners (1992, 2006, 2009)
Manchester United FCRunners-up, England2009/1015Quarter-finalsWinners (1968, 1999, 2008)
Chelsea FCChampions, England2009/108Round of 16Runners-up (2008)
Arsenal FCThird place, England2009/1012Quarter-finalsRunners-up (2006)
FC Bayern MünchenChampions, Germany2009/1013Runners-upWinners (1974, 1975, 1976, 2001)
AC MilanThird place, Italy2009/1013Round of 16Winners (1963, 1969, 1989, 1990, 1994, 2003, 2007)
Olympique LyonnaisRunners-up, France2009/1010Semi-finalsSemi-finals
Pot 2
SV Werder BremenThird place, Germany2008/096UEFA Europa League, Round of 16
Quarter-finals
Real Madrid CFRunners-up, Spain2009/1014Round of 16Winners (1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1966, 1998, 2000, 2002)
AS RomaRunners-up, Italy2008/096UEFA Europa League, Round of 32Runners-up (1984)
FC Shakhtar DonetskChampions, Ukraine2008/095UEFA Europa League, Round of 32Group stage
SL BenficaChampions, Portugal2007/085UEFA Europa League, Quarter-finalsWinners (1961, 1962)
Valencia CFThird place, Spain2007/086UEFA Europa League, Quarter-finalsRunners-up (2000, 2001)
Olympique de MarseilleChampions, France2009/106UEFA Europa League, Round of 16Winners (1993)
Panathinaikos FCChampions, Greece2008/098UEFA Europa League, Round of 16Runners-up (1971)
Pot 3
Tottenham Hotspur FCFourth place, EnglandDebut0Did not compete in UEFA competitionSemi-finals
Rangers FCChampions, Scotland2009/109Group stageSemi-finals
AFC AjaxRunners-up,
Netherlands
2005/068UEFA Europa League, Round of 32Winners (1971, 1972, 1973, 1995)
FC Schalke 04Runners-up, Germany2007/082Did not compete in UEFA competitionQuarter-finals
FC Basel 1893Champions, Switzerland2008/092UEFA Europa League group stageSecond group stage
SC BragaRunners-up, PortugalDebut0UEFA Europa League, third qualifying roundN/A
FC København Champions, Denmark2006/071UEFA Europa League, Round of 32Group stage
FC Spartak MoskvaRunners-up, Russia2006/079Did not compete in UEFA competitionSemi-finals
Pot 4
Hapoel Tel-Aviv FCChampions, RomaniaDebut0UEFA Europa League, third qualifying roundN/A
FC TwenteChampions, NetherlandsDebut0UEFA Europa League, Round of 32N/A
FC Rubin KazanChampions, Russia2009/101UEFA Europa League, Round of 16Group stage
AJ AuxerreThird place, France2009/103Did not compete in UEFA competitionQuarter-finals
CFR 1907 ClujChampions, Romania2008/091UEFA Europa League, group stageGroup stage
FK PartizanChampions, Serbia2003/041UEFA Europa League, group stageGroup stage
MŠK Žilina Champions, SlovakiaDebut0UEFA Europa League, play-off roundN/A
BursasporChampions, TurkeyDebut0Did not compete in UEFA competitionN/A 

Now you must be wondering what the hell a "Pot" mean? 
Well basically, there would be one team from each pot in one group. All this means is that neither Man United or Barca or Chelsea can't be in the same group. There cannot be more than one team from a pot in the same group. For a group to form, there got to be a team from each Pot. Pots is a relatively new way to chop the teams into reasonable and fair groups. It will ensure that each group is the same, surely it wouldn't make sense if Man Utd play Inter Milan at group stage would it? Although I'm cent percent sure United will beat Inter anyway..

What TheReDevilSpot predicts for Manchester United
-----------> Manchester United ENG <--------------
------------>        Valencia SPN         <--------------
------------>          Spurs ENG           <--------------
------------>     FC Twente NED       <--------------

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