United's Welsh Dragons

As Wales and England prepare to meet, we look at the United men who've played for the principality through the years...

Ryan Giggs' international retirement means that United's connections with Wales' senior side are, for now, consigned to the past.

The evergreen winger tops our list of Welsh Reds but before we look at the stellar quintet in more detail, there are plenty of their compatriots deserving of honourable mentions. Alan Davies won 13 Welsh caps, his first coming soon after he played in the 1983 FA Cup final, while namesakes Simon Davies and Ron Davies made one Wales appearance apiece during their United careers in the 1990s and 1970s respectively.

Brothers Jack and Roger Doughty were among Newton Heath’s Welsh internationals while pre-war United representatives included Harry Thomas, Tom Jones and Jack Warner. Cardiff-born striker Colin Webster played in the 1958 World Cup after appearing in the FA Cup final for United earlier that year, while Graham Moore won two caps whilst at Old Trafford in the 1960s.

Robbie Savage made all of his 39 international appearances after leaving United and it’s worth remembering Jimmy Murphy actually combined his assistant manager duties at Old Trafford with an eight-year stint in charge of Wales, including their only World Cup finals campaign in 1958.

With Giggs now concentrating on his domestic career, it’s left to 17-year-old Tom Lawrence to carry the torch with the Wales Under-21s. Ryan Giggs (1991-2007 – 64 caps / 12 goals)
While the Reds legend is arguably the greatest-ever player from Wales, it’s fair to say his best moments have been at club level. However, he was his country's youngest ever player against Germany in 1991 and was absolutely outstanding in his second game against Belgium. It was nine years before he played in a friendly but his commitment to the cause was unquestioned when Wales almost reached the 1994 World Cup finals, only to lose to Romania after Paul Bodin's costly penalty miss. After his country again came close to qualifying for a major tournament in 2004, he retired from international duty in 2007 to help prolong his club career.

Mark Hughes (1984-1999 – 72/16)
Sparky’s warrior-like qualities helped him become a key figure for the Wales team, in which he formed a devastating partnership with Ian Rush. The winning goal on his debut against England in 1984 quickly endeared himself to the Welsh faithful and it was obvious he would be a stalwart for many years. One extraordinary scissor-kick against Spain always springs to mind when thinking of his international highlights, one of his 16 international goals. Hughes also coached Wales from 1999 to 2004 and revived their fortunes, only for Russia to end their Euro 2004 qualifying hopes in the play-offs.

Billy Meredith (1895-1920 – 48/11)
Star of probably the first great United side, the wiry winger made his international bow way back in 1895 against Ireland. Incredibly, ‘Old Skinny’ did not earn his final cap until 1920 as he turned out in a sweet victory against England at the ripe old age of 45 years and eight

Read more...

Manchester United Bidik Wesley Sneijder

Sneijder dianggap sosok yang tepat untuk menggantikan Paul Scholes.

Scholes belum kunjung memperpanjang kontrak di United, padahal kontraknya akan berakhir pada musim panas mendatang.

Situasi ini membuat Sir Alex Ferguson mencari alternatif pengganti gelandang elegan asal Inggris itu. Beberapa pemain pun masuk dalam daftar incaran Fergie.

Kabar dari Mirror Football menyebutkan salah satu target utama Fergie adalah Sneijder. Kemampuan gelandang asal Belanda ini diyakini tidak jauh berbeda dengan Scholes, bahkan bisa berkembang lebih baik lagi.

Meskipun begitu, Sneijder merupakan andalan utama Inter Milan dan baru saja memperpanjang kontrak sampai 2015. Presiden Inter Massimo Moratti bahkan menegaskan kalau pemain berusia 26 tahun tersebut akan bertahan lama di Inter.

Nilai transfer Sneijder diyakini bisa lebih dari £40 juta. Selain itu, ia meminta gaji sebesar £140.000 pada klub yang berminat mendatangkannya.

Read more...

Neville's career highs

Nev's United career stats


Total appearances/goals: 602/7.


By competition:
League: 400/5.
FA Cup: 47.
League Cup: 25.
Champions League: 115/2.
UEFA Cup: 2.
Other: 13.


Honours:
Premier League winner: 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2009.
FA Cup winner: 1996, 1999, 2004.
Champions League winner: 1999.
League Cup winner: 2006, 2010.
Intercontinental Cup winner: 1999.
FIFA Club World Cup winner: 2008.


Favourite ever game to play in...
The FA Cup semi-final replay against Arsenal in ’99. The reason being it was the last, what I would call, old-fashioned football match I played in. It was a night-game, a semi-final replay and everything happened in that game. The fans were on the pitch and holding players aloft after the game. Now because of security and health and safety, and all the restrictions, those days are becoming more difficult to create.


Greatest career moment...
My debut and the last three minutes in Barcelona. My debut is probably my most special moment because to play at Old Trafford for United was always my dream. As for Barcelona, well, you can never describe that feeling, you could never put what happened into words. It would never do it justice. That would have to be the high, but there were some other unbelievable highs. We didn’t win the league for three years, then won it back in 2006/07. The nights of winning trophies, going out with the lads. Those nights are the greatest of your life, you can’t replace them.The favourite goal I’ve scored..
I haven’t got many to pick from! I’d definitely say my first one against Middlesbrough [in May 2007], it was the certainly my best ever finish. We won the league the next day after Liverpool and Newcastle both dropped points so my claim to fame is that I won us the league!

Best team-mate...
Wow [pauses]. How can I pick one? I can’t separate my brother, Beckham, Scholes, Giggs and Butt, and I’d add Roy Keane to that list too. I used to laugh my head off just being in the company of those six people. They were just so funny all the time. Without wanting to sound corny I can’t think of many players I’ve not got on with during my time here. There haven’t been any bad eggs at this club because we just don’t have them.

Best training ground moment...
Nicky Butt getting a tea-pot and burning Peter Schmeichel in a place where he shouldn’t have!

Biggest practical joker...
Probably David May or [former youth team player] George Switzer. They were always up to something. Actually, you can add Scholesy and Giggsy to that list as well.

First manager rollicking...
[Smiles] It was after a game against Chester for the ‘A’ team in 1993. He told me I wouldn’t be travelling with the team for quite a while, or words to that effect!

Most memorable manager team-talk...
Probably the one before the 2008 Champions League final. I wasn’t involved in the game, but I just remember the speech he gave. Going on to win the trophy made it an unbelievable night.

Favourite terrace song...
[Pauses] The fans sing great songs… I always like hearing ‘Championees’ because it means we’ve won something. And ‘We’ve got our trophy back’ because it meant something.

Favourite trophy...
I’d always want to win the Premier League, but winning the European Cup was a great feeling.

Most cherished piece of memorabilia...
I’ve kept a lot of my shirts down the years. [Pauses to think] There was one season when me, Scholesy, Giggsy, Butty and Phil all swapped shirts with each other so we had one of each – they’re special.

Worst experience in the game...
The defeat to Vasco da Gama [in the World Club Championships in January 2000].

Best piece of advice you’ve been given...
Work hard.

Most respected ref...
That’s a difficult one! I’ll say Collina.

Best opposing team faced...
Juventus in ’96/97.

Team you most wanted to beat...
Juventus.

Favourite away ground to play at...
Villa Park. It’s a ground I absolutely love and was lucky to experience so many great memories at.

Hardest opponent to defend against...
Louis Saha. I had a disaster against him three seasons on the bounce when he was at Fulham.

Thing you’ll miss most about playing...
Coming in to training every day and seeing the lads, and those few minutes when you’re stood in the tunnel waiting to go out for a game. That feeling of unease, anxiousness and excitement – nothing can replicate that.

Thing you’ll miss least…
Travelling and hotels.

Favourite trip you’ve been on...
The first pre-season trip I went on to Asia in 1995 when we went to Malaysia. The whole experience was a real eye-opener.

Biggest change in football during your career?
The increase in the size of squads and the number of coaching staff there is now – everything has got bigger. The media side of things is huge now too.

How would you sum up your career in one sentence?
I did my best. Read more...

Ferdinand: Butuh Karakteristik Khusus Untuk Menjadi Kiper United

Ferdinand menilai menjadi kiper di United berbeda dengan menjadi kiper di klub lain.


Bek Manchester United Rio Ferdinand mengatakan bahwa untuk menjadi kiper di Old Trafford harus mempunyai karakteristik yang khusus.


Ferdinand merasa bahwa Edwin van der Sar telah mendemonstrasikan bagaimana karakteristik seorang kiper United tersebut.


"Fans melihat seorang kiper melakukan penyelamatan gemilang di klub lain dan mereka berpikir bahwa mereka ingin melihatnya beraksi di United. Tetapi menjadi seorang kiper di United berbeda dengan menjadi kiper di klub lain," ujar Ferdinand kepada United Review.


"Anda mungkin membuat satu penyelamatan di satu pertandingan, tetapi anda harus waspada dan fokus untuk membuat penyelamatan tersebut di saat yang benar-benar diperlukan. Itulah yang memisahkan antara kiper yang luar biasa dengan kiper yang bagus." Read more...