Tevez, Nani And Park To Be Shown The Exit As Fergie Tries To Reshape Manchester United

Sir Alex Ferguson will reshape his humiliated Manchester United squad after their Champions League debacle against Barcelona.

I think Shell-shocked Fergie has decided he will not take up the option to buy Carlos Tevez, even though David Gill will be meeting up with Kia Joorabchian tomorrow to try to come to some sort of arrangement. I think too much damage has been done to the relationship with Tevez now. After all his efforts and some timely goals for us too, he now feels terribly let down by Fergie. At the same time, Nani and Ji-Sung Park could also be high-profile victims of the Rome drubbing.

The United manager believes Lyon’s Karim Benzema represents better value for money than Tevez – and to meet Lyon’s £30million asking price there will be fall guys. Nani has failed to impress in his second season at United, while Park may be sacrificed so Fergie can bring in Wigan’s £15m-rated midfielder Antonio Valencia, a long-term target.

Goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak is on his way out this summer after failing to impress in three years, with Fergie keen to give England goalkeeper Ben Foster more first-team opportunities next season. United will not take up the option to buy Tevez unless the player’s advisers, led by Kia Joorabchian, lower their asking price by a third to around £18m. (Story continues below)

Tevez’s exit seemed all but decided with him again criticising Ferguson yesterday. He said: “I wanted to play in the starting line-up in Rome but that decision was down to the coach. “But with a strategy more attacking in the first minute then perhaps the result would have been different. It has not been a good time for me because I believe that I should have played more minutes. My future will now be decided. My agents are negotiating and I am waiting to hear some news.”

Tevez was the only senior member of the squad not to return to Manchester with the rest of the United party yesterday and wore a tracksuit to the subdued United post-match party, rather than the official club suits his team-mates adhered to.

One player staying put is Cristiano Ronaldo. New Real president Florentino Perez is targeting AC Milan’s Kaka instead, while former Real icon Zinedine Zidane, whom Perez wants as his sporting director, rates Bayern Munich’s Franck Ribery above Ronaldo.

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West Brom's Paul Robinson's Appeal Over Manchester United Red Card Successful

West Brom defender Paul Robinson has had his red card against Manchester United rescinded by the Football Association.

The 30-year-old had faced a three-game ban after he was shown a straight red by referee Rob Styles following his first-half challenge on Park Ji-Sung in Tuesday night's 5-0 defeat to Manchester United at the Hawthorns.

The FA have, however, overturned the decision on appeal after viewing replays of the incident, freeing the left-back to play against Hull this weekend.

This is one of those rare occasions when the FA gets it right. Robinson meant no agression to Park Ji-Sung when he went in for that challenge and this is great news that he is free to play this weekend.

Well done to the FA......Back To Home Page...

Park Ji-Sung On The Verge Of His Century

Park Ji-sung, who receives very little attention for the great efforts he makes for Manchester United and who also takes quite a lot of criticism, is on the verge of reaching the great milestone of 100 appearances for the team should he make an appearance against Spurs this weekend, which seems likely.

So far this season he has made 16 appearances, his best total yet in a season and despite the strength in depth of Manchester United's midfield, he has managed to force his way into keeping a regular place in the line up.

Personally, I love the guy and his work rate but most of all I admire him for his attitude. He wont ever give up chasing the ball and more often than not he wears down the opposition, continually snapping at their heels. For a defender he must be a complete nightmare to play against, he wont allow anybody time on the ball. In fact, Cristiano Ronaldo might like to take a leaf out of his book and get some work done.

Speaking on MUTV this week he said: "I'm so happy with the way things are going this season. I enjoy playing and I've been involved a lot in the first team, I need to prove what I can do and I'm going to keep doing my best."

That's all we can ask of any player and I hope we see the likes of Ji-Sung Park on many more occasions. I imagine the opposing defenders think the opposite to me, and that's a good thing.....Back To Home Page...

Come Fly With United

Some football fans may laugh, others cry, but there will surely be a glint of pride in the eyes of at least a few Manchester United fans, when they see 'their' latest plane. They actually entered service in 2006 but I think they're pretty impressive so I added them here for those who haven't seen them.

Low cost airline, AirAsia has honored Manchester United, one of the most popular football clubs in
the world, by having one of its aircraft painted in the colors of the club.

The 9MAFC, otherwise known as the Red Devil Airbus A320,arrived at the KL International Airport from Toulouse, France. The 180 seater Airbus A320 is emblazoned in signature red, and adorned with images of the club's elite players on both sides of the aircraft's fuselage. The tail and aircraft engines also feature the Manchester United Football Club's
Crest.

"Manchester United has one of the biggest following in Asia. As the official low fare airline for Manchester United, AirAsia hopes to create opportunities and exciting avenues to reach out and connect with Manchester United's loyal fan base in Asia. As such, it is only befitting that we dedicate the aircraft to all the Manchester United Fans in Asia." said Dato' Tony Fernandes, Group CEO, AirAsia Berhad.

"We are delighted to be the first football club in the world to own our very own aircraft livery. The AirAsia Red Devil Airbus is an epitome of how a dynamic sponsor like AirAsia, can creatively blend art and function into their everyday business. The plane will certainly ensure we're the most well traveled team in Asia" said Peter Draper, Marketing Director, Manchester United Football Club.

The Red Devil Airbus A320 is AirAsia's 3rd Airbus delivery within 2 months. The aircraft will commence servicing Penang, Kota Kinabalu and Surabaya, Indonesia.

Featured on the Red Devil Airbus A320 are:

Sir Alex Ferguson
Park Ji Sung
Wayne Rooney
Ruud Van Nistelrooy
Cristiano Ronaldo
Alan Smith
Rio Ferdinand

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Park Ji-Sung Scores As South Korea Rout UAE

South Korea had a 4-1 win over the United Arab Emirates to take a share of top spot in Group B of the World Cup Qualifiers ahead of the later match between North Korea and Iran. Manchester United Star Park Ji-sung scored for South Korea.

South Korea's 4-1 win over the United Arab Emirates enabled them to take a share of top spot in Group B. With two automatic spots at the 2010 tournament in South Africa up for grabs in each of the five-team groups, the UAE is all but out of contention following three straight losses - two at home. Competition is tight in Group B, with South Korea joining Saudi Arabia and North Korea on four points.

Lee Keun-ho ran on to a through pass from Lee Young-pyo to fire past Majed Naser in the UAE goal from inside the area after 20 minutes. Park doubled the lead five minutes later, shooting fiercely into the top left corner after skipping past a defender on the edge of the penalty box. UAE pulled a goal back in the second half but Lee sealed the win with his second with 10 minutes remaining and Kwak Tae-hwi headed a late fourth.....Back To Home Page

Sercan Yildirim, Rafael, Ji-Sung Park And Wayne Rooney

Turkish whizkid Sercan Yildirim who is still only 18, is a target for Manchester United, according to reports. The Sun newspaper claims that the £5million-rated Bursapor striker, said:

"United have contacted my family and the president of the club.

"When a club with their reputation is interested in you, you have to take notice."

Currently he is his teams top scorer with four goals from four games.

Meanwhile, Park Ji-sung has earned a national recall after being named in South Korea's 29-man preliminary squad for their World Cup qualifier against United Arab Emirates on October 15.

Park was omitted from the team that drew 1-1 with North Korea in September as he was returning from injury.

Meanwhile it seems, Nemanja Vidic is more than happy with the abilities of the young Brazilian, Rafael Da Silva saying he is confident youngster Rafael Da Silva will go on to be a Manchester United great.

Vidic: High hopes for Rafael

The teenage Brazilian was outstanding against Aalborg on Tuesday night before injury curtailed his involvement in a three-goal hammering of the Danish minnows.

At just 18, Rafael is already putting pressure on established right-backs Gary Neville and Wes Brown and it appears only a matter of time before the former Fluminese youngster forces his way into Sir Alex Ferguson's side on a regular basis.

"Rafael will be a great player, he has a very big personality. He played his own game, had the courage to go forward but got back as well. At just 18, he deserves a lot of credit to play at this level, in the Champions League, the way he did. He is not afraid to get forward and did everything else as well. He has a great future at this club."

Certainly it cannot be long before Rafael is banging hard on the first-team door, although the extent of his injury must first be assessed.

Another injury blow for United is that of Paul Scholes, out for 10 weeks with a knee problem sustained in the Champions League clash but there has been no official word on Wayne Rooney's injury. The situation regarding Rooney is slightly more ambiguous as the striker tried to continue after taking a blow to the ankle inside the Aalborg penalty area, eventually limping away before he indicated he could not carry on.

Saturday's game at Blackburn would appear to be out of the question, which would leave his place in England's squad for World Cup matches with Kazakhstan and Belarus in considerable doubt. Fergie will certainly want Rooney available for big matches against Celtic, Everton and Arsenal over the next few weeks, although that prospect is looking on the bleak side. In any event, United's £30.75million record buy Dimitar Berbatov has now hit goalscoring form, cementing his place at Old Trafford.

"Of course the pressure is there to score, hopefully I can deal with that and handle it in a positive way. I feel happy playing in this Manchester United team. It is everything I thought it would be. Ryan Giggs has been here since the beginning and says he never wanted to go anywhere else. I don't want to go anywhere either."