UK News
Insights from the UK and beyond
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.
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.
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.
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.
Best of Britain: Waiting game
This week’s Best of Britain features several photos that are about waiting, whether it’s a referee pointing to his watch during a football match, people on shore watching crews trying to free the stuck submarine HMS Astute, or officials and leaders watching the construction of an Olympic venue.
Also included are photos of stag running through Deergate Park, a penguin bobbing for apples, cross-dressing Stoke City fans, or a solemn funeral for an aid worker slain in Afghanistan.
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.
from Reuters Soccer Blog:
Will Rooney’s departure signal United’s decline?
Wayne Rooney's demand for a move away from Manchester United has stunned manager Alex Ferguson, especially given the striker's poor form and support the club have given him through personal problems.
After winning three successive Premier League titles with United and the 2008 Champions League, Rooney enjoyed his best personal season with the club in 2009-10 -- when his impressive tally of 34 goals in all competitions was only enough to bring the League Cup to Old Trafford.
from Reuters Soccer Blog:
Ferguson spares Rooney but opens the door to more abuse
Wayne Rooney has been taking, and largely ignoring, abuse from Everton supporters for six years but Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson decided on Saturday that a garnish of tabloid tittle-tattle on top the traditional "Judas" fare was too much.
"He gets terrible abuse here and I'm not going to subject him to that," Ferguson said when explaining his decision to leave the England striker out of the remarkable 3-3 draw.Â
from Reuters Soccer Blog:
4-2-3-1…4-5-1…4-4-2…that’ll be four midfielders and two forwards then?
So Fabio Capello's masterstroke in revitalising Wayne Rooney and turning England from World Cup no-hopers to instant Euro 2012 favourites was....to tell the Manchester United striker to hang back a bit.
That sage advice, if most of the English press is to be believed, transformed England's formation from a prehistoric 4-4-2 to the liquid 4-5-1 that all the modern young bucks were using in South Africa.
Country-house opera wonders where it will get its next million
There’s more to the English summer social calendar than sport – but it is in danger of being drowned out by the cries of disappointed football fans and sapped by lack of cash.
During the June and July evenings when much of Britain grinds to a halt to watch World Cup matches on giant screens in pubs and smaller screens at home, a different style of audience escapes to the countryside, wearing evening dress and carrying picnic hampers, for the 2010 season of country-house operas.
-
The Wall
