Mac - Downing better than Giggs

Middlesbrough boss Steve McClaren has insisted he would pick Stewart Downing ahead of Ryan Giggs.

McClaren has been criticised by some Boro fans for protecting his young charge too much.

However, McClaren´s approach looks to be paying dividends as Downing is now producing on a regular basis and this has seen him touted as the answer to England´s left sided dilemma.

McClaren used to coach Giggs at Manchester United and he thinks Downing is ahead of the man he has been likened too in recent months.

" At present I wouldn´t change him with Ryan," said McClaren.

" I am happy with Stewart, he is only 20 and has a great future.

" Give me Downing and Giggs and I´d be very happy. Stewart´s performances on the park are doing the talking.

" He´s good at coping with the pressure. He´s excellent with a great attitude and his feet are on the ground. He just gets on with it and wants to play."

faite un résumé quand vou prené des truc en anglai svp ca sera plus compréhensible pour tt le monde sinon prochain match mercredi contre arsenal en cup mais ca sera les ékipe b normalement donc bon allé manchester

Neil Barker

EVERTON will rival Manchester United´s interest in Wigan Athletic´s highly-rated left-back Leighton Baines.

Wigan, pushed off Championship top spot by the weekend´s results, may struggle to hold on to the England Under-21 starlet - despite the youngster vowing he is happy to stay.

Baines was first checked out by United chief scout Mick Brown in Latics´ win at Stoke. And both clubs ran the rule over him in the 1-1 draw with promotion rivals Reading.

Wigan took the lead through Alan Mahon´s deflected free kick, but were pegged back by Lloyd Owusu´s bullet header, allowing Ipswich to leapfrog them.

Baines served his apprenticeship at Anfield before joining Wigan as a schoolboy. Baines said: " This kind of speculation linking you to big clubs doesn´t interest me, I am enjoying my football at Wigan."

Wigan boss Paul Jewell would be reluctant to lose a player tipped for a big future.

He is keen, though, to bolster his squad with three new signings, but United will not let Kieran Richardson join them on loan. The Reds also blocked moves for Darren Fletcher, forcing Jewell to turn to Sweden midfielder Andreas Johansson.

A month in which Wigan have picked up only two points and scored one goal, has prompted Jewell to act.

He said: " We´ve got the money and we´ve got to spend that wisely. We were six points clear at one stage but I always knew it was a difficult league."

Un joueur de Wigan qui intéresse MU et Everton. Arriére gauche de 21 ans.

MANCHESTER UNITED have again offered trials to highly-rated Nigerian starlets Michael John Obi and Isaac Promise.

Playmaker Obi and striking ace Promise starred in the recent Fifa World Youth Championship in Finland, catching the eye of a number of clubs.

The young duo have caught the eye of the United coaching staff and they have invited them for trials at Old Trafford so they can have a closer look at them.

The African pair have already visited United´s Carrington training ground, having played for the Nigerian Under-17s side against the USA earlier this year.

United have had a long-term interest in both players, but they failed to get them over from Nigeria for a trial last March after the authorities refused them visas, but they are hopeful of finally getting the chance to put them through their paces.

2 nigérians à l´essai.

Glazer in a final push for United
Malcolm Glazer is preparing for one final push to take over Manchester United because failure to buy the Premiership giants will result in an enormous financial hit for the American tycoon. Glazer borrowed £53million to buy the 28.2 per cent stake in the club and has run up huge bills from his previous bankers. He is also paying out massive interest charges on top of fees for legal and financial advice. United are anxious to approach the American tycoon with the peace offering of a place on the board in return for backing off for at least a year.
Harry Harris, Daily Express

Ruud on fire
Corner a wounded animal and it turns into a dangerous beast. Bryan Robson reckons the same can be said of Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy. The Dutch scoring machine has struggled to find the back of the net in the Premiership this season. Saturday’s close-range header was only his fourth League goal and the FIRST from open play. Robbo’s West Brom were the victims of the Van man and a double from born-again Paul Scholes.
Janine Self, The Sun

United prepare for Premiership title push
Sir Alex Ferguson could be sitting in a hot-seat of a different kind this Christmas - on a celebrity edition of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. Ask the audience whether United will be champions this term and the answer will probably be a negative, but Saturday´s win over West Brom was further proof that Ferguson has woken his sleeping giant. Four wins and draw in their last five Premiership matches have pushed United back into a position from where they can compete for the title - and only those with very short memories will write them off now.
Martin Rogers, Daily Mirror

Robson: It´s too early to rule United out of race
Bryan Robson was only too happy to talk about the resurgence of his former club after admitting how painful it was watching Manchester United dismantle his new West Bromwich Albion side. " United are getting it together and are looking dangerous," said Robson. " It might seem unbelievable for them to put enough wins together to take the title but they´ve done it before."
Ray Matts, Daily Mail

Round-up by Gemma Thompson.

< <<< glazer fais encore chier dieu sait quan il comprendra qu´on ne veut pas de lui . .

tous les journaux viennent de se rappeller qu´on est toujours la et seulement a 9 points de chelsea et que la course au titre est relancé

surtout que chelsea n´a affronté aucun gros encore

maintenant ça serait bien qu´arsenal batte chelsea comme ça on recolle bien à la première place.

surtout que chelsea n´a affronté aucun gros encore

>>>> si nous et ils nous ont battu...

je vote pour on serait ainsi a 6 points de chelsea et 4 d´arsenal . ..

en tout cas méme un nul nous convient . .

mais ce qui est sur ausi c´est qu´il ne faut plus perdre de notre coté non plus . .

en debut de saison en pleine méforme de scholes , en pleine fatigue de ronaldo sans heinze et ferdinand et sans rooney . ..

on est plus tout a fait la méme équipe

je verrais le doublé voire le triplet si c´est encore possible...

moi jpense que yorai moyne pour la ldc car contre les grosse ékipe c un otre manchester que l´on voi sinon le championna arrivé 2ème me suffirai pui la cup ca serai pa mal encore fo til battre arsenal et puis chelsea si on doi les rencontrer(jle sen)

j´aimerais bien mais qu´on gagne un titre cette année . .

ce serait déja ca . ...

pour le triplé on verra un autre jour . ..

quand on arua rosicky et vicente

giggs et scholes peuvent nous le faire gagner le triplé en plus ils l´ont déjà fait...

cette année j´y crois pas trop quand méme . ...

je veux un titre mais surtout une place eb C1 . .

l´année prochaine ce sera une autre histoire .

car comme tous les ans un joueur de niveau mondial va nous rejoindre , au millieu cette fois et on va a nouveau tout fracasser

ce sera steven pour remplacer super keano qui risque de prendre sa retraite...

la je n´y crois pas mais pas du tout . .

chelsea y mettra le double de nous et il ne veut toujours pas quitter liverpool , en plus je en vois pas un joueur de liverpool jouer a MU , a chelsea ou arsenal d´ailleurs . .

je penche plus sur de rossi

Shepherd attacks United

Newcastle United chairman Freddy Shepherd claims Premiership rivals Manchester United have lost their sparkle.

The Magpies supremo has criticised The Red Devils for losing key personnel on and off the pitch, following the departures of Martin Edwards and David Beckham.

Former Old Trafford chairman Edwards left a position on the club´s board in the summer of 2003, the same time that England captain Beckham was sold to Real Madrid.

Since those exits, Newcastle chief Shepherd believes his Premiership rivals no longer have the same lustre attached to them.

Shepherd also claimed The Red Devils´ main investors - John Magnier, JP McManus and Malcolm Glazer - are only interested in the financial aspect of football, unlike himself, who retains Newcastle´s best interests at heart.

" First they lost the captain of the ship in Martin Edwards, then they suffered from losing David Beckham," said Shepherd at the annual Soccerex conference in Dubai.

" They lost two characters there.

" Over the last two years they have lost a bit of stardust. They miss Martin Edwards hugely because it´s like a ship without a sail.

" I met Magnier in February playing golf and he said he was there purely as an investor. He made it clear he was only there as that, nothing else.

" Both of us ( himself and major shareholder Douglas Hall) are fans through and through and we´ve never sold a share.

" We´ve spent £300 million in the last ten years and we run the club as a business.

" We are not ashamed to say we take a dividend out of it but at the end of the day we are fans too."

Shepherd has never been averse to ploughing millions into his attempts to turn Newcastle into genuine title contenders but concedes there are players at St James´ Park earning far too much money.

He added: " We have a wage bill of over £15 million. They are well paid, some of them are overpaid."

ince est bien parti à liv, rio et smithy sont venu chez nous, ça se fait maintenant ce genre de transfert.

le nombre de personne qui voudrait nous voir mort c´est affolant

mais gerard est vraiment un joueur majeur attaché a liverpool

je ne sais pas jesauterais partout certes et on redeviendrait la meilleure equipe du monde mais j´ai du mal a y croire