Manchester United To Visit Asia Again

Manchester United are off to Asia again in July for a pre-season tour this time visiting China, South Korea, Malaysia, and, for the first time, Indonesia, chief executive David Gill said on Wednesday.

The tour will actually begin on July 16 when Manchester United depart for China where they will play in a yet-to-be-decided city. After this they will move on to Seoul for a match on July 20 and then down to the capital of Indonesia, Jakarta for the first time, where they will take on an Indonesia Super League Select at the massive Gelora Bung Karno Stadium on July 24.

The European and Premier League champions wrap up the tour against a Malaysia XI in Kuala Lumpur July 26. Vietnam offered to pay United $2.47 million for a one off game but this has been declined so no fixture for them there.

David Gill who is currently in Macau finalising the details for the tour said: "Our tours to Asia are always special, the atmosphere generated by the supporters is amazing. The club enjoys unrivalled support across the continent and it is great to give those fans the opportunity to see their heroes in action in their own country. This tour takes in some new areas with a game in Malaysia, where we haven't played since 2001, and one in Indonesia, so it promises to provide some exciting new experiences."

United are hugely popular in the region and television revenues from Premier League games shown in Asia are big, but Gill insisted they wouldn't be making significant money from the tour.

"But our presence allows us to deal and have relationships with multinational companies," he said. "That presence enables us to have that extra income which is then invested back into the club. Also it allows us to get closer to the fans."

United last toured Asia in 2007 when they visited China, South Korea, Japan and Macau but a date in Kuala Lumpur was scrapped after they found themselves embroiled in a spat with the Asian Football Confederation, which insisted no foreign team should be playing when the Asian Cup was being held in Malaysia.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson told the club website the players were already looking forward to Asia after their hugely successful trip to Japan in December when they won the Club World Cup and were treated like kings.

"The players are really looking forward to our Asia tour. For some, the Club World Cup in Japan was the first time they had experienced the passion generated by the club in Asia and they enjoyed it immensely, we know we will get terrific support in each of the locations and we will be going to put on a show for our millions of fans over there. Indonesia will be a new experience for us and one I'm especially looking forward to."

By utilising these tours to Asia as United have done, they have been able to finance their continued success off the back of the marketing income earned from these trips. Something that Liverpool failed miserably with during their time of non-stop success in the late 1970s and 1980s. We have the likes of Peter Kenyon, David Gill and Sir Alex Ferguson to thank for this, despite Kenyon moving across to Chelsea. .....Back To Home Page...

Rafa v Fergie Battle Continues

Manchester United chief executive David Gill has hit back at Rafael Benitez following the Liverpool manager's recent verbal tirade against the club.

Benitez criticised United counterpart Sir Alex Ferguson ahead of last weekend's Premier League fixtures, claiming he has been allowed to go unpunished when criticising referees.

The Spaniard then questioned the influence Gill has on the Football Association due to his position on the board at the governing body of football in England.

But Gill has defended his position, insisting there is no conflict of interest between his role at Manchester United and with the FA.

"With respect to his comments on my position they are totally inaccurate," said Gill, speaking in Macau at the launch of United's tour of Asia, which will take place later this year. The reality of it is that on the FA board sit three representatives of the Premier League in Premier League chairman Dave Richards, Bolton chairman Phil Gartside and myself. They are elected every year by every club in the Premier League and when we are on the board we are there representing the Premier League and I am not there representing Manchester United. The reality is that when you look at the decisions and issues I think anyone would understand that we don't get special treatment because of that. Therefore I was surprised (by Benitez's comments) and I think they are totally inaccurate."

The problem here is that Rafa is having to continually look over his shoulder now and he is a worried man. Liverpool AND Chelsea had the chance to go 16 points clear at the top of the table while Manchester United were away in Japan becoming World Champions. But they failed to do so, and now Chelsea have been hauled back in and Liverpool are again in reach if United can beat Wigan and Fulham at home (this is the 2 games they have in hand).


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Manchester United + Hublot = More Money !!

Manchester United have signed a new multi-million pound sponsorship deal with Swiss watch manufacturers Hublot. The three-year contract comes hot on the heels of similar contracts with Saudi Telecom, Seoul Metropolitan Government and Budweiser.

It just goes to show that despite all the moaning and groaning by the Anti-Glazer brigade the United brand has become stronger and stronger, even during a worldwide economic slump which has seen West Ham's shirt sponsor XL go into administration and Manchester United's other sponsors AIG be effectively bought out by the US government.

While some critical fans vehemently opposed to the Glazer family ownership will continue to insist United's finances are precarious, club officials will point to increased sponsorship as evidence to the contrary.

David Gill, Manchester United's Chief Executive said: "We are delighted to welcome such a prestigious partner as Hublot to the Manchester United family, their reputation for excellence and innovation makes them a fitting and exciting sponsor for the club. Sir Alex (Ferguson) is known as a stickler for timekeeping, both on and off the pitch, now we have a partner that shares his passion." .....Back To Home Page

Should Manchester Board Up The Windows Or Will Scottish Fans Behave This Time ?

You're only as good as your last game !! So when Celtic fans 'invade' Manchester for the Champions League game against Manchester United in 2 weeks what can be expected from them ? Rangers fans are the last Scottish visitors and they left a few memories in the minds of the Manchester residents !!

Only Celtic fans with tickets are being encouraged to travel for next Tuesday's Champions League trip to Manchester United. It will be the first time an SPL side played in Manchester since Rangers were beaten in May's UEFA Cup final. Manchester City Council and Greater Manchester Police are desperate to avoid a repeat of the ugly scenes involving a minority of supporters following the game. Council leader Sir Richard Leese, Chief Supt Gerry Donnellan and Manchester United chief executive David Gill issued a joint statement appealing to fans on Celtic's official website.

"Manchester is looking forward to welcoming Celtic fans visiting the city for Tuesday October 21's UEFA Champions League tie with Manchester United. We're a city that's passionate about football with a proud reputation for hospitality. In return, we are sure that Celtic fans will want to uphold the great reputation of the club and its travelling supporters. Along with Celtic, we are urging supporters who do not have tickets not to travel to the city. Ticketless supporters will not be able to get into the game and facilities will not be provided for fans to watch the match elsewhere. We promise to show the greatest respect to visiting Celtic fans and are sure that they will respond in kind by helping keep our streets litter-free and abiding by local bye-laws. These laws obviously include a ban covering on-street drinking and this will be enforced."

"We have welcomed Celtic supporters to Manchester on many previous occasions with great success. We are sure next week will enjoy the same great experience. We hope you will all enjoy the match and visiting Manchester."

Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell added: "Celtic supporters have a tremendous reputation and have become renowned across Europe for the positive manner in which they travel and support the club. This was again in evidence just a few weeks ago when our supporters travelled to Villarreal in numbers and despite the result once again made friends and enjoyed a great sporting occasion. We are delighted that Celtic Football Club and Manchester United FC also enjoy such a fantastic relationship. We have met on a number of occasions previously in both competitive and friendly matches, with thousands of our supporters travelling to the city to honour such great footballing names as Bobby Charlton, Mark Hughes, Roy Keane and Ryan Giggs. We are sure our fans will travel to Manchester once again with the aim of supporting the club positively as they enjoy another great meeting between two of Europe's great clubs. We would like to thank the city of Manchester in advance for hosting our club and our supporters next week."......Back To Home Page

Manchester United Chief Executive On The 2018 World Cup Board

The Football Association has confirmed Manchester United chief executive David Gill and Football League chairman Lord Mawhinney will both be on Lord Triesman's England 2018 World Cup Limited executive board.

With world governing body FIFA expected to announce the timetable and bidding process to host the 2018 World Cup this month, the FA are fine-tuning the structure of their dedicated board. As voices from within football, Gill and Mawhinney have been earmarked as Triesman's deputy chairmen on the board, with Minister for Sport Gerry Sutcliffe the Government representative...Back To Home Page

Why The Delay Over The Tevez Transfer ?

Carlos Tevez is now into the second year of his two year loan deal at Manchester United and none of us have heard any word of him being signed permanently, have we ? No, I didn't think so. So what is going on ? Surely we're not going to kick our hells, talk, talk and then talk some more only to suddenly realise Manchester City of Chelsea have nipped in through the back door, done a nice deal with Kia Joorabchian and our star man is off to play for somebody else.

Manchester United have denied there is any delay to their plans to sign Argentina frontman Carlos Tevez on a permanent deal. Tevez has expressed a desire to commit himself to the Old Trafford club, with his advisor Kia Joorabchian recently rejecting any interest in overtures from Manchester City but we all know things can change very quickly !

Sir Alex Ferguson also wants the deal done, believing Tevez to be part of his long-term plans for United. However, with no conclusion in sight, reports have emerged that Tevez is getting frustrated by the situation and is wondering why United are taking so long, it can't be a nice situation for him.

The Glazers have already said the cash for this deal, which should be around £30m is not a problem, despite the rather bleak financial outlook in the States.

Apparently United have denied there is any delay and that the original plan was to conclude the deal this year. A spokesman said: "The Chief executive David Gill told the papers in South Africa in July that we would hope to conclude a deal with Carlos before the new year. That is still our aim. The clocks haven't even gone back yet, so to talk of delays is nonsense. Both the club and Carlos are relaxed about the situation."

Well, let's hope they're right !!