UK News

from Reuters Soccer Blog:

Have City knocked United off their perch?

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini was quick to say that his team’s 6-1 mauling of arch-rivals United meant little more than another three points in the bag, but the Italian must surely be hoping it could signal a shift in the balance of power.

Having knocked Liverpool off their perch when they won a record 19th league title last season, United now face the prospect of playing second fiddle to City in England and Manchester, should their heaviest defeat to their neighbours in 56 years prove to be more than just a temporary setback.

Ferguson and several pundits wasted no time in pointing out United were undone after central defender Jonny Evans was sent off for a professional foul early in the second half.

But City were already on top at that point and earned their extra man on the pitch by carving United open with a defence-splitting pass -- which left Evans only with the alternative of letting Mario Balotelli run through on goal.

Fielding his unpredictable compatriot Balotelli instead of Edin Dzeko up front turned out to be a masterstroke by Mancini, much like his entire strategy which worked to devastating effect.

Any hopes of a trademark United comeback when Darren Fletcher made it 3-1 vanished after late substitute Dzeko scored a brace to throw the blue half of Manchester into raptures, prompting Ferguson to adopt an unfamiliar line in his post-match reactions.

“We just kept attacking. It’s alright playing with the history books but common sense has to come in at times. With the experience we had at the back, we should have realised that and settled for what we had when it went to 4-1,” Ferguson told the club’s official website (www.manutd.com).

from Reuters Soccer Blog:

United get rude awakening

The plain sailing Manchester United would have expected in the group stage of their Champions League campaign has turned into a rough ride after Tuesday’s 3-3 home draw with Swiss side Basel, who were unlucky not to have come away from Old Trafford with the three points.

Two draws in their last two games, away to Stoke City in the Premier League and the late escape against Basel, will have rooted out any complacency that might have crept into Alex Ferguson’s men after their flying start to the season which included an 8-2 drubbing of Arsenal.

United’s last two performances also showed that despite their three big summer signings in David De Gea, Phil Jones and Ashley Young, the team still lack depth when key players are injured.

With Wayne Rooney, Nemanja Vidic, Javier Hernandez and the increasingly influential Chris Smalling all sidelined, United’s makeshift 11 with Ecuador winger Antonio Valencia filling in at right back looked bereft of ideas up front against Stoke and utterly unconvincing even when they were 2-0 up against Basel, when only a late Young header spared them from paying in full for a comedy of errors at the back.

Any thoughts of wrestling the Champions League title away from holders Barcelona will have also taken a back seat for the time being, especially given they also drew 1-1 at Benfica in their opener, as Ferguson could face fresh dilemmas with what to do with one or two players.

Dimitar Berbatov looks confined to the fringes, behind four other strikers in the pecking order, and Ferguson might be tempted to offload the Bulgarian during the January transfer window when he can still get a decent bargain for last season’s joint top scorer in the Premier League.

Michael Owen won widespread praise for his brace in the 3-0 League Cup win over Leeds United last week but looked rather flat against Stoke and played no part on Tuesday, while Rio Ferdinand was completely at sea against Basel’s 32-year old striker Alexander Frei.

from Reuters Soccer Blog:

Treble? Manchester United’s season could still collapse

Strong belief in emulating the 1999 treble must surely be gripping Old Trafford after Manchester United’s somewhat fortuitous 1-0 win at Chelsea in their Champions League quarter-final first leg, but Alex Ferguson and his troops will also be aware they are still a long way from crossing the finish line first in any competition.

With Wayne Rooney losing his appeal to have a two-game ban reduced and the ever-present threat of injuries crippling a squad well short of the talent of the 1999 crop,  United will once again have to dig deep into their resources as the strength-sapping season reaches its climax.

United are seven points clear of Arsenal in the Premier League but what belies this seemingly big advantage in the run-in is the fact that Arsenal have a game in hand and only the league title to play for, which could be a telling factor when United visit the Emirates Stadium on May 1.

With Rooney out of the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City on April 16 there is no chance of him repeating the spectacular overhead kick which gave United a 2-1 win in their league fixture and Ferguson’s men may well find the going much more difficult against their fired-up neighbours, who have no other chance of silverware.

Rooney’s temporary loss could be a huge blow to United and the few who have jumped to his defence after the striker’s lack of anger management in United’s 4-2 win over West Ham at Upton Park could plausibly argue that a hefty fine might have been more appropriate punishment.

Here’s why: There is no excuse for what Rooney did but it would take some level of hypocrisy to say that swearing is not part of the game, on and off the pitch, just like horrific tackles such as the one that kept former Arsenal striker Eduardo sidelined for 18 months.

Birmingham defender Martin Taylor was handed a three-game ban after the late lunge which resulted in a triple leg fracture and nearly ended Eduardo’s career in Feb. 2008, when the Brazilian-born Croatia striker was at the peak of his powers.

from Reuters Soccer Blog:

Van Persie to miss Barca clash…Arsenal’s chances gone?

Arsenal hitman Robin van Persie injured himself while scoring against Birmingham City in the League Cup final on Sunday and will now miss his team's last 16 second leg clash against Barcelona on March 8. Not good news for the Gunners.

However, beat Leyton Orient in the FA Cup on Wednesday to set up a quarter-final with Manchester United, and keep the pressure up on their great rivals in the Premier League who have just lost to Chelsea, and there are still honours to be won.

But the Champions League? Without Van Persie, who scored against Barca in the first leg, the London club are a bit thin on the attacking front.

That said, Marouane Chamakh remained upbeat after the galling last minute defeat on Sunday, and the Morocco international could be just the man to fill the void.

How do you rate Arsenal's chances of landing some silverware in 2011? Discuss this and other stories in world soccer on the Reuters Soccer Facebook page.

from Reuters Soccer Blog:

Rooney wonder strike could make United’s season

Wayne Rooney said it was his greatest goal and Alex Ferguson said he had never seen anything like it. Even opposition manager Roberto Mancini had to applaud.

So many times you see players fall flat on their faces as they attempt an overhead wonder goal but any smirks that might have been rising as Rooney embarked on what looked like mission impossible were quickly replaced by utter disbelief at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Rooney was lurking in the box when Nani sent his cross in from the right and the England striker jumped high and swivelled his body while stretching out his right leg to acrobatically strike the ball over his head and into the top right corner.

It was a sort of pinch yourself moment. A stunned silence -– a sort of "did we really just see that?" -- erupted almost immediately into a deafening roar as Rooney grabbed the winner against neighbours and fellow title contenders Manchester City.

Rooney said he had not attempted anything like that since his school days -– and the likelihood is that if he tried it again he would end up in a messy heap on the turf with the ball high in the stands.

It is the sort of manoeuvre school children across the country will be trying to copy at break time next week –- teachers, get your plasters ready!

In that one second of brilliance, Rooney achieved many things.

from Reuters Soccer Blog:

Fergie’s smile spells trouble for Premier League title rivals

When Alex Ferguson declares he is happy with his squad for the season remainder, it is time for Manchester United’s Premier League title rivals to start worrying.

The busy Christmas and New Year period is often important in the Premier League, as fringe players are called upon to help negotiate a sea of fixtures which put managers under increasing pressure.

With the worst of it now over, United are beginning to emerge from the pack.

Their recent wins over West Bromwich Albion and Stoke City might not have oozed confidence or screamed ‘champions’ but the results will have worried Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea.

Ferguson rested some key players in both victories, instead letting the likes of Tomasz Kuszczak, Gabriel Obertan, Darron Gibson and Javier Hernandez stretch their legs.

After having his faith repaid with United top after 20 games, he has no doubt raised a smile at fifth-placed Chelsea’s stuttering form and Arsene Wenger’s attempt at squad rotation resulting in third-placed Arsenal coming unstuck with a draw at Wigan Athletic.

Wenger’s decision to make eight changes to the side that beat Chelsea proved fruitless and raised questions as to their strength in depth. They remain a force, but when Wenger tries to tinker, the cracks in his squad can still be seen.

from Reuters Soccer Blog:

An Englishman abroad? Rooney might not have fitted the bill

So Wayne Rooney says he would only have left Manchester United to go abroad. Could the fact that foreign suitors seemed shy to express any interest have anything to do with his sudden U-turn to stay at the Premier League club?

Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho was right in his prediction that Rooney would stay after all. He told United to "give me call" if the striker's departure was on the cards but never went further than that.

Given the impressive way the Portuguese has got Real playing this term (ignoring those ridiculous yellow cards), it was always diffcult to see how Rooney would have fitted in.

Sure, they only have Gonzalo Higuain and Karim Benzema for the main striker role but two players for each position used to be enough didn't it? I'm also not convinced with Rooney upfront on his own, he likes to drop too deep at times as he has shown with England while last season with United he was never isolated in attack as he could have been elsewhere.

But apart from Real, why did no other non-English club step forward? Injury-riddled European champions Inter Milan are desperate for new firepower but president Massimo Moratti never contemplated Rooney.

Generally European sides have bad memories of signing English players. You can maybe count on one and a half hands the truly successful British footballers to have played abroad. John Charles, David Platt, Gary Lineker and I guess David Beckham but already I'm struggling.

There have been too many Ian Rushs and Luther Blissetts for European clubs, especially Italian, to swallow.

from Reuters Soccer Blog:

Will United fans forgive and forget?

Football fans are very forgiving types – if my football club were a person I’d have stopped speaking to it a long time ago.

Pretend for a minute you are Manchester United and Wayne Rooney is your best mate. He swears undying loyalty to you – it’s a friendship that will last forever. Then suddenly he tells you you’re basically not good enough for him and that you should get lost.

In real life you and Wayne would be finished – no going back. And you might hammer the message home with a barrage of four-letter words. If he doesn’t want you, it’s his loss.

In football life, you sweet talk him, tell him he’ll never have to buy a beer again and kiss and make up.

Rooney has not played a game since his shocking change of heart over signing a new contract but after returning from an intensive week of training in the United States, his return is imminent.

Will the Old Trafford fans who a month ago waved banners along the lines of “We won’t forgive you” simply tip-ex over the “won’t”?

Based on what other terrible things we forgive our teams for – relegation, 9-0 defeats, selling our best players, penalty misses and extortionate ticket prices – the answer is probably yes.

from Reuters Soccer Blog:

Mr. Rich invests in Bedlington for the love of the game

American billionaire Robert Rich Jr, the 488th richest man in the world, can buy just about anything he wants to from private jets to diamonds, mansions to ocean-going liners and everything in between.

But this week it emerged that he has put some of his vast fortune at the disposal of a tiny, impoverished minor league English club by the name of Bedlington Terriers.

Their average attendances in the Northern League, the ninth tier of the English pyramid, are around 100, although they sometimes get 300 on a good day.

The appropriately named Mr Rich, whose vast food company is based in Buffalo, New York State, discovered an ancestral link with Bedlington, has visited the area and the club and is now the honorary Lord of Bedlington after his wife bought the title which was once owned by one of his forefathers.

But what he loves most, he told me in a phonecall from Buffalo, is the passion of the people, all volunteers, who keep Bedlington alive.

They have had an incredibly modest history since being formed in 1949, but Bob Rich understood the true worth of the club as soon as he met the people who keep it going.

"They are fantastic people, there is a real community spirit," he said.

from Reuters Soccer Blog:

Breaking news: Rooney to stay at Manchester United

Well, what an extraordinary twist this is: Wayne Rooney has agreed a new five-year deal with Manchester United and is staying at Old Trafford after all. Here's the club statement:

Wayne Rooney has agreed a new 5 year contract to stay at Manchester United until at least June 2015. The agreement follows intensive discussions between the Club and the player’s representatives and means that by the end of his contract Wayne will have been a Manchester United player for 11 years.

Sir Alex Ferguson said: “It’s been a difficult week, but the intensity of the coverage is what we expect at Manchester United.  I said to the boy that the door is always open and I’m delighted Wayne has agreed to stay.

“Sometimes, when you’re in a club, it can be hard to realise just how big it is and it takes something like the events of the last few days to make you understand.  I think Wayne now understands what a great club Manchester United is.

“I’m pleased he has accepted the challenge to guide the younger players and establish himself as one of United’s great players. It shows character and belief in what we stand for.

“I’m sure everyone involved with the Club will now get behind Wayne and show him the support he needs to produce the performances we know he is capable of.”

Wayne Rooney said: “I’m delighted to sign another deal at United.  In the last couple of days, I’ve talked to the Manager and the owners and they’ve convinced me this is where I belong.  I said on Wednesday the Manager’s a genius and it’s his belief and support that have convinced me to stay.