Xavi Not Happy - Manchester United And Chelsea Could Be

Xavi is not a happy player right now. His contract is up for renewal and Barcelona refuse to offer what he wants and this fact has alerted Manchester United and Chelsea.

I am at a loss as to why Barca would mess him around like this. Xavi is one of those very rare players these days who has shown complete loyalty to his team.

Xavi came up through Barcelona's youth system and has spent all of his footballing life with them. Showing exceptional talent for a player of his age, he quickly made his way through the youth and reserve teams and was a key member of Jordi Gonzalvo's FC Barcelona B team that won promotion to the Spanish Segunda Division.

At the age of 18 he was thrown in at the deep end and made his debut in the Super Cup Final and believe it or not, he scored too, what a start. He was that impressive he soon became a permanent fixture in Louis Van Gaals team that won La Liga.

Although his main role is as a central midfielder, he is also capable of playing as a defensive midfielder and would be an ideal replacement for Paul Scholes who is showing signs of his age and is running out of time at Old Trafford. Xavi does have a buyout clause of £100m but that seems to mean nothing these days, if a player wants to leave then the price is more likely to be around £20m - £25m. I'd love to see him at ~United and think he would be a great asset. As I said, Scholes is on borrowed time now, Owen Sa(Ha)rgreaves seems to be crocked too often, and we need someone of Xavi's calibre.....Back To Home Page...

Pele Good, Maradona Great, George BEST!

Three years ago today
25th November 2005
George Best passed away
R.I.P George, we miss you xx

At the age of 15, Best was discovered in Belfast by Manchester
United scout Bob Bishop, whose telegram to United
manager Matt Busby read: "I think I've found you
a genius." His local club Glentoran had previously rejected
him for being "too small and light". Best was
subsequently given a trial and signed up by
chief scout Joe Armstrong.

Best made his Manchester United debut, aged 17,
on 14 September 1963 against West Bromwich Albion
at Old Traffordin a 1-0 victory. Two weeks later
Best scored his first goal against Burnley. By the
close of the season Best had six goals, and Manchester
United finished second, behind champions Liverpool.

In his second season, Best and Manchester
United claimed the league title.

Best hit the headlines the age of twenty when he
scored two goals in a European Cup quarter-final match
against Benfica in 1966, and was dubbed "O Quinto Beatle"
(The Fifth Beatle) in the press for his long hair,
good looks and extravagant celebrity lifestyle,
and even appeared on Top of the Pops in 1965.
Other nicknames included the "Belfast Boy" and
he was often referred to as Georgie, or Geordie in his
native Belfast.

The 1966-67 season was again successful as Manchester
United claimed the league title by four points. The
following season Best became a European Cup winner
after scoring in the final against Benfica. United
won 4-1 and Best was later crowned European
Footballer of the Year and Football Writers'
Association Player of the Year; after that
began a steady decline.

George Best Quotes

“I spent 90% of my money on women and drink. The rest I wasted”

“I'd have to be superman to do some of the things I'm
supposed to have done, I've been at six different
places at six different times.”

“I'm OK. Much better than on other occasions. It's true
that I've made lots of mistakes but I've never tried
to bother anyone. I want to stay alive, preferably in
peace, without seeing every one of my mistakes in the
papers, and on many occasions, even stories that are lies.”

“That's what children do - throw food. That's not
fighting. We were real men. We'd have chinned them.”

“He can't kick with his left foot, he can't tackle, he can't
head the ball and he doesn't score many goals. Apart
from that, he's all right.” ~ On David Beckham

Rossi Could Come Back But Will He ?

Guiseppe Rossi was an outstanding prospect for Manchester United and we sold him for £6.6m to Villareal. Not because he was no use to us but purely and simply because the guy wanted first team football and Sir Alex Ferguson will NEVER guarantee that for any player.

Since he went to Villareal he has enjoyed a lengthy run in the first team and he has been scoring freely too. I would imagine he will be in action against United tomorrow as Villareal are the opponents in the Champions League. The winner of this game will become favourites to top the group.

How annoying and ironic if he were to score the winner against us.

Rossi is actually Italian-American and signed for Parma as a young boy, his father moved to Italy with him in order for him to follow his footballing dream. When he was seventeen years old Manchester United bought his contract and Rossi enjoyed a great run in both the youth team and the reserves.

At the beginning of the 2006-07 season he went North to Newcastle on a loan spell and scored once for them, but making an impression and impressing everyone at the club. For the second half of the same season he was loaned out again to his original team Parma where he scored nine times in nineteen games helping to save them from Serie B.

After this period he was being pursued by a host of European clubs and he was making demands on United for first team football so they eventually let him go for £6.6m with a buy back clause in his contract. Manchester United have first option to buy him back should he come up for sale. Fergie has talked of this option but whether or not he signs him again is doubtful. I feel it is just Sir Alex keeping his options open......Back To Home Page

England Tried To Poach Sir Alex Not Once, Not Twice But Three Times

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was approached on at least three occasions for the England manager's job, claims Former FA executive director David Davies.

The first approach to the our man boss came after Terry Venables' resignation in 1996. Ferguson is said to have been targeted again after the subsequent departures of Glenn Hoddle and Kevin Keegan but rejected all three attempts by the FA.

Speaking to The Herald, Davies said: "After Terry Venables, I wanted Fergie. I was absolutely clear he was the best person for the job. I was a personal friend of Sir Roland Smith, then chairman of Manchester United, and he didn't totally kick the idea into touch. I was vaguely encouraged.

Davies went on to admit he didn't expect Ferguson to take the post, adding: "I don't think he ever came near becoming the England manager. The idea of Alex leading England out at Hampden is somewhat far-fetched. He is a very, very proud Scot. He was, I think, tickled by the idea, though. When I recruited Keegan, I would have loved Ferguson to become manager. But the conversations were very brief."

If you ask me, the England managers job is tantamount to footballing suicide. The English media and the English fans have no loyalty unless you are winning. If you dare have a bad patch or get a bad result then don't expect any support or words of comfort, they will tear you apart and grind you down until the ob becomes impossible. The English have this strange mentality of expecting to lose, then they lose, then they get bitter because they lost.

Can anybody seriously imagine the England Prima Donnas being capable of listening to someone who does actually know more than them and is held in much, much higher regard than every single one of them ? I don't. They would all have spat the dummy out, hopped out the pram and gone home to sulk. Good decision Fergie.........Back To Home Page

The truth about Thaksin's swipe at the UK

Thaksin’s interview in the Arabic media is remarkable for two reasons. First, he’s let his anger (some might call it arrogance) get the better of him again. Those who do not reside in Thailand might misconstrue his “feel sorrow” comment. I’m certain this is a face saving exercise for the former PM. Thaksin is used to being looked upon as a man of great power. He took a gamble by praising the UK as “democratically mature” during his asylum bid, the obvious intention was to send a message saying: “Look, democratic countries want me! That shows how badly I was treated in Thailand!”.

Therefore his cancelled visa no doubt caused a great loss of face to him. His jab at the UK was his measured yet angry response. The little snipe at Britain will receive far more press in Thailand than the UK, and can fool his followers into thinking Thaksin is as influential in England as he is at home. The reality, of course, is that the UK government really isn’t concerned at all. Thaksin is page seven news at best for most Brits.

The other remarkable fact about Thaksin’s interview is that he directly states he will return to politics and discusses conditions for his return. These conditions are very frank for a sensitive topic in Thailand.

But even in absentia the former PM’s aftermath is still being felt, as tensions rise by the minute in Bangkok.

How Can Tevez Possibly Stay Now ?

Carlos Tevez has clearly been relegated to 4th choice at Manchester United so is it really worth Manchester United spending £30 million on making his move permanent ? After starting just one of the last six Premier League games he is clearly fourth in the striking pecking order behind Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Dimitar Berbatov.

The deal to turn his loan into a £30million permanent move was supposed to have been completed by now but so far all we have heard is excuses after excuse from Fergie about how the cash is available but the deal will be done in December, January, February etc etc. If they reached the summer and said "No thanks" it would not be a big surprise to any of us really.

While his penalty finally ended QPR’s resistance in the recent Carling Cup game, his all-round play hardly suggested he was grasping this opportunity with both hands. His finishing was awful, which is why United needed a late penalty to sink the Championship outfit and make it to the Carling Cup quarter-finals.

Right now Alex Ferguson has been linked with bids for Karim Benzema. He has also mentioned the possibility of recalling Frazier Campbell from Spurs in the January transfer window and we have Danny Welbeck impressing everyone too. Add to this the talk of the buy back clause for Guisseppe Rossi from Villareal and to me it seems Fergie isn't placing much emphasis on a United future for Tevez.

Alex Ferguson has spent big, big money to get his team back to the top - £29 million on Wayne Rooney, £32 for million Dimitar Berbatov, £19 million on Anderson, £29 million on Rio Ferdinand, the list goes on. With all these expensive signings some might argue what is one more? But with the credit crunch biting even Chelsea, Manchester United will need to make cutbacks. Can they really justify spending £30 million on a 4th choice striker ? That puts them in the leagues of Chelsea in terms of profligacy – so will the fans appreciate the success as much when it has clearly been bought ? .....
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Danny Welbeck Can Play For England, Ghana, Scotland............Any More Bids ?

Manchester United's Danny Welbeck has a dilemma on his hands right now. He must choose whether he plays for England, Ghana or Scotland! How this choice for him ever arose is beyond me and that is my point here.

Ghana showed an interest in him for obvious reasons. Aged just 17 he is extremely talented and has a great future ahead of him. Both his parents are from Ghana too.

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has laughed off this dilemma though. He has been capped by England at Under-19 level, and could continue along the England path or choose to represent the country of his parents. Fergie has offered some sound advice - ignore both and play for Scotland instead. "His parents are from Ghana so it is not a surprise, it is the boy's choice, although I would be surprised if he didn't play for Scotland. That is my big challenge now."

I think this "pick a country" option is ridiculous myself. If I was a footballer, it would mean I could play for India, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Hungary, Ukraine, Romania, Moldova or Ireland !! Why is that ?

Romany people stem from India and have travelled west for over 800 years and occupied all the countries I have mentioned. I could trace my family back to any one of these countries. I tagged Ireland on the end as my father is Irish, though I haven't seen him for years. This makes me half Romanian and half Irish technically. Though I feel 100% allegiance to Romania and always will do, no offence to the Irish.

Here's the way I see it. The location where you are born is irrelevant. If a dog is born in a barn it's not a horse is it ? So it should come down to your parents and nothing else. With Danny Welbeck, he has Ghanaian parents so he is Ghanaian. Obviously he has lived here all his life, he has a British passport and is entitled to it, but his roots are in Ghana, he should want to represent the people he is originated from.

There will be times when one parent may be from say, France and one from Italy, as an example. In this situation they must choose between the two. As things stand right now, you can choose your country and then come up with some bizarre back tracking and that's it you qualify.

Welbeck playing for Scotland mystifies me. Maybe he ate a plate of Haggis aged six, or could he have glimpsed a copy of the Daily Record through a window of WH Smith ? .....
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